This Week in Washington — week of July 27, 2026

This week saw federal agencies adjust Medicare payment rates for psychiatric hospitals and nursing homes, open more halibut fishing days, and impose new airspace restrictions over New York City, while lawmakers introduced a wave of bills—from studying heavy metals in baby formula to tracking plastic waste—though nearly all remain proposals.

Public Health & Medicare

• The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services set new payment rates for inpatient psychiatric facilities and skilled nursing facilities for fiscal year 2027, a routine update to account for labor and service-cost changes.
• CMS also updated the lists of medical items that require a doctor visit or prior approval under Medicare, to align billing codes with current rules.
• The FDA reclassified three products as moderate-risk Class II medical devices: noise-canceling systems for infant incubators, non-medicated topical treatments for erectile dysfunction, and phase-changing markers used in radiation therapy. The change clarifies the regulatory pathway for manufacturers.
• The Senate placed the Patients Deserve Price Tags Act, the Biosimilar Red Tape Elimination Act, and the Medication Affordability and Patent Integrity Act on its legislative calendar—meaning they could be considered for a vote, but have not become law.
• Several health-related bills were introduced in the House and Senate, including proposals to study heavy metals (arsenic, cadmium, mercury, lead) in infant formula, require an FTC investigation of preterm infant formula marketing, create a national strategy for epilepsy, and form a task force on social media design and youth mental health. None have passed.

Transportation & Aviation Safety

• The FAA created a new prohibited area (P-75) in the airspace over the President’s New York City residence, restricting flights for security purposes. It also adjusted New York’s Class B airspace boundaries to match the new security limits.
• A separate rule now requires aircraft to use more resilient radio altimeter systems to prevent wireless signals from interfering with altitude readings during flight.
• The FAA issued or proposed airworthiness directives for multiple aircraft models, including mandatory inspections on Boeing 737 passenger seats, Airbus A330 components, Bombardier brake control units, and various helicopter engines and rotor parts. Each is a specific safety fix.
• The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration finalized over a dozen routine updates to its steel, plastic pipe, and corrosion-assessment standards, keeping federal regulations aligned with industry technical specifications.
• PHMSA also confirmed a rule that allows companies to store oil spill response plans electronically instead of in physical copy.
• The Federal Railroad Administration proposed new rules requiring locomotive engineers and conductors to demonstrate English proficiency before certification, along with changes to manual-operation testing.
• The FAA proposed a process change that would let it waive certain legal requirements to speed up licensing for commercial space launches and reentries.
• Temporary Coast Guard safety zones went into place for fireworks displays on Lake Ontario near Olcott, N.Y., and on the Ohio River near Follansbee, W.Va.

Environment & Natural Resources

• The EPA proposed redesignating the Detroit area as meeting federal ozone standards, which would alter how motor-vehicle pollution is regulated there through 2040. It also proposed similar classification updates for parts of Michigan and Warren County, Pa.
• Other EPA actions approved state air-quality plan revisions for California’s San Joaquin Valley, updated New Hampshire’s definitions of hazardous and regulated air pollutants, approved revisions to Missouri’s construction-permit exemptions for emergency generators, and proposed removing emergency exceptions in four California air districts.
• The agency gave businesses more time to comply with chemical safety requirements for perchloroethylene and carbon tetrachloride, and fixed a clerical error in pesticide residue limits for corn, wheat, and soybeans.
• The Fish and Wildlife Service issued corrections to rules listing the Florida Keys mole skink as endangered and designating critical habitat for the Canada lynx; neither change alters the underlying protections.
• The National Park Service proposed allowing bicycles on roughly 25 miles of trails at First State National Historical Park.
• NOAA determined that the smalltail shark will not be listed as endangered or threatened, added more August and September halibut fishing days for the Columbia River area, and issued a rule permitting the Navy to use low-frequency sonar in parts of the Pacific and Indian Oceans under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.
• The Nuclear Regulatory Commission proposed easing packaging rules for radioactive material shipments and making licensing more flexible for medical radiation use. It also corrected a definition in its advanced reactor framework.
• The Department of Energy extended the comment deadline for how it creates energy efficiency standards.
• Several bills were introduced: the Senate’s Tracking Plastic Act would require more reporting on plastic production and waste; the House’s Carbon Dioxide Removal Leadership Act aims to coordinate federal carbon-capture work; and the Spotted Lanternfly Research and Development Act in the Senate would authorize federal funding for study of the invasive insect.

Workplace & Employment

• The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission proposed ending mandatory employer reports including the EEO-1 through EEO-6, which would reduce the demographic data companies must submit.
• OSHA reopened the comment period for a proposal to change how much benzene workers can be exposed to, extending the input timeline.
• The Office of Personnel Management updated its procedures for filing Fair Labor Standards Act claims and administrative claims, and removed references to the Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures from civil service regulations.
• The Labor Department proposed rule changes that would adjust how coal mine operators prove they can self-insure for black lung benefits.
• Bills introduced in Congress would, among other things, require salary ranges in certain job postings (American Hiring Transparency Act), strengthen whistleblower protections for offshore oil and gas workers, and ban federal bonuses for employees

---

This weekly digest is generated from federal records (the Federal Register and Congress.gov) and summarized in plain English. It may simplify or omit detail — follow the linked official sources before relying on any item. Part of The Boring Parts.