Federal Newscast

House lawmakers push to bolster TSA budget

TSA officials have said allowing the agency to use all of the fee revenue would speed up airport security technology upgrades.

Michele Sandiford

May 14, 2026 1:31 pm

< a min read

House lawmakers are pushing to bolster the Transportation Security Administration’s budget by ending the diversion of airline ticket fees. Lawmakers on the Homeland Security Committee this week introduced a bill that would require the 9/11 Passenger Security Fee to be solely dedicated toward aviation and airport security. Since 2014, roughly $15 billion in fees have been diverted to the Treasury for deficit reduction. TSA officials have said allowing the agency to use all of the fee revenue would speed up airport security technology upgrades.
(Homeland Republicans introduce SAFEGUARDS Act - House Homeland Security Committee )

There’s another new acting leader at the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Robert Fenton is now the senior official performing the duties of the FEMA administrator. He replaces Karen Evans, who is reportedly returning to Department of Homeland Security headquarters for a new job. Fenton is the fourth acting official to lead FEMA since the start of the second Trump administration. The first one, Cameron Hamilton, was just nominated to be the permanent FEMA administrator this week. Fenton is a career official who also served on the FEMA Review Council, which just issued reform recommendations last week.
(FEMA leadership page - Federal Emergency Management Agency)

The Government Accountability Office found 97 new areas for agencies and Congress to reduce duplication, overlap and fragmentation. In its 16th annual report, GAO identified some of the new areas, include the sharing of healthcare resources between the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Defense Department and a governmentwide anti-scam strategy led by the FBI. For each area, GAO suggests matters for Congress to address, recommendations for agencies or both. From previous reports starting in 2011, GAO said there still are 610 open matters and recommendations. In all, auditors estimate that addressing these issues could save or avoid spending more than $100 billion.
(GAO duplication, overlap report adds 97 new matters - Government Accountability Office )

The proposed AI clause for GSA's schedules contracts remains in limbo. The General Services Administration continues to review comments on its proposed clause for artificial intelligence tools under its schedules program. Laura Stanton, GSA's acting commissioner of the Federal Acquisition Service, said they are trying to understand the pain points of the different aspects of the draft clause. She advised contractors at the Coalition for Common Sense in Government Procurement conference yesterday that they are in the middle of the process and there is still more to come. She didn't offer a timeline for the next step. GSA released the draft version of the AI clause in March and immediately heard concerns from industry about the new requirements around everything from intellectual property and licensing to restrictions on government data and data handling to disclosing all AI systems used in contract performance.
(Proposed AI clause for GSA's schedules contracts remains in limbo - Coalition for Common Sense in Government Procurement)

Agriculture Department employees are suing USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins over what they say is “coercive” religious messaging that violates the First Amendment. The new lawsuit comes after Rollins sent an Easter message to over 100,000 USDA employees. Plaintiffs say the secretary’s message suggested there is an “in-group” religion at USDA and that employees who don’t share Rollins’ views may be subjected to “negative consequences.”
(Agriculture employees sue Rollins over ‘escalating’ religious messaging - Federal News Network)

A watchdog report found security gaps at Department of Veterans Affairs medical facilities. VA police reported nearly 75,000 crimes at department facilities between 2024 and 2025. According to the Government Accountability Office, the most common were disorderly conduct, assault, theft and drug offenses. Weapons violations account for 7% of crimes reported to VA police. In one case, a patient brought a machete into a VA medical facility and used it to threaten a VA medical provider. In nearly all cases, VA staff did not confront an undercover investigator appearing to drink from a bottle of vodka while sitting in a VA waiting room.
(VA should fully implement federal security requirements and improve performance reporting - Government Accountability Office)

House Democrats are urging the Trump administration to halt plans to eliminate an Education Department office that supports students who are English language learners. In a letter to Education Secretary Linda McMahon, lawmakers warn that closing the Office of English Language Acquisition will harm millions of American students. They also say closing the office will lead to inefficiencies, and a loss of oversight and accountability.
(Letter on Education Department plans to eliminate OELA - House Education and Workforce Committee Democrats)

The General Services Administration is asking Congress for funds to address a multi-billion-dollar maintenance backlog for federal buildings. GSA is asking lawmakers to approve a $450 million “optimization fund” that would allow the agency to chip away at an approximately $50 billion maintenance backlog. It would also allow the agency to accelerate the disposal of buildings that are underutilized or are in poor condition.
(GSA fiscal 2027 budget request - Senate Appropriations Committee )