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The newly enacted Every Student Succeeds Act, or ESSA—which replaces No Child Left Behind—includes a number of key provisions that are aimed at addressing the problems with today’s testing systems in schools. The new law provides an opportunity for states and districts to move toward more coherent, aligned assessment systems that support student learning. There is a risk, however, that states and districts might not take advantage of this opportunity and might instead continue on their current paths

We are pleased that the court has rejected petitioners' attempts to block the Clean Power Plan from moving forward while litigation proceeds. We are confident that the plan will reduce carbon pollution and deliver better air quality, improved public health, and jobs across the country.

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Julián Castro and the Rockefeller Foundation announced the winners of the $1 billion National Disaster Resilience Competition (NDRC).  Secretary Castro traveled to Norfolk, Virginia where he joined Governor Terry McAuliffe in announcing the winners of the competition.

On the heels of the announcement that 2015 was the hottest year on record, today the public comment period closes for the federal backstop for the Clean Power Plan, President Obama’s central strategy to tackle global warming.

The Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority moved one step closer to completing its propane conversion project thanks to the approval of the long awaited permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE).

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) acted today to improve the cyber security of the bulk electric system by approving revisions to seven critical infrastructure protection (CIP) Reliability Standards, including requirements for personnel and training, physical security of the bulk electric system’s cyber systems and information protection.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced the 16 collegiate teams selected to participate in the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2017 competition. The teams, from colleges and universities across the United States and around the world, will now begin the nearly two-year process of building solar-powered houses that are affordable, innovative and highly energy-efficient

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced today it is providing a total of $50,000 in financial and technical guidance to help Selma, AL invest in drinking water and wastewater infrastructure. EPA’s new Water Community Assistance for Resiliency and Excellence (WaterCARE) program will assist the community in developing robust and resilient finance strategies for water infrastructure that meets long-term needs

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today announced that at the end of February, Ophelia Basgal is retiring from federal service after nearly 40 years of work to promote affordable housing and community development across the nation and throughout the Department’s Pacific/Hawaii region.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Census Bureau jointly announced the following new residential construction statistics for December 2015

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today announced it is making approximately $15 million available to test a promising housing and services model for low-income seniors to age in their own homes and delay or avoid the need for nursing home care. Read HUD’s Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA).

U.S. Deputy Secretary of Commerce Bruce Andrews today announced he will lead a delegation of 18 American companies on a Smart Cities Infrastructure Business Development Mission to India from February 8-12, 2016, with stops in New Delhi, Mumbai, and Chennai. Director of the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) Lee Zak and Vice President of Global Business Development at the Export-Import Bank Ray Ellis will also participate in the mission

As part of the Energy Department’s Grid Modernization Initiative announced by Secretary Ernest Moniz last week to improve the resiliency, reliability and security of the nation’s electrical power grid, DOE today announced $18 million in funding forsix new projects across the United States. These projects will enable the development and demonstration of integrated, scalable, and cost-effective solar technologies that incorporate energy storage to power American homes after the sun sets or when clouds are overhead.

Committee on Natural Resources Chairman Rob Bishop (R-UT) issued the following statement on the Obama Administration’s coal lease moratorium on Federal lands. “Yep, there they go again. Americans now know the ‘all-of-the-above’ energy agenda the President repeatedly claimed to support was an election year lie.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and Southern Company met with 2014 Five Star and Urban Waters Program awardees to recognize and highlight their work to restore streams and watersheds

The Justice Department filed a proposed settlement of a lawsuit alleging that a Waunakee, Wisconsin, landlord and apartment complex owner violated the Fair Housing Act by discriminating against two residents of Applewood Apartments based on disability

The ARIES Collaborative, a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Building America research team, recently developed and evaluated methods to reduce energy use in factory-built housing, as compared to best practice HUD-code construction. The results of this research prove that it is technically feasible to construct factory-built homes to be up to 50% more energy efficient for nominal increased cost.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has announced the availability of funds for supportive services grants under the Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) Program. Applications for supportive services grants under the SSVF Program must be received by the SSVF Program Office by 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Feb. 5, 2016.

The Energy Department’s (DOE) Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) today announced $11 million in funding for seven transformational projects that will develop realistic, open-access models and data repositories to aid in improving the U.S. electric grid. ARPA-E’s new program, Generating Realistic Information for the Development of Distribution and Transmission Algorithms (GRID DATA), follows the release of DOE’s comprehensive new Grid Modernization Multi-Year

U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz announced up to $220 million in new funding for a consortium of DOE national laboratories and partners to support critical research and development over the next three years to help modernize our nation's electrical power grid. The secretary also announced the release of DOE's comprehensive new Grid Modernization Multi-Year Program Plan (MYPP), a blueprint for the Department's research, development, and demonstration agenda to enable a modernized grid