By Eduardo Bacci, The Investigative Journal. Documents below are those listed on the Federal Register’s public inspection desk as scheduled for publication on October 15, 2026, plus selected items from the October 14 issue. Public inspection versions may differ from the final published text; readers should confirm dates against the official edition.
Thursday’s Federal Register is led by a sweeping Treasury proposal that would rewrite how the premium tax credit works for roughly 13.5 million potentially eligible health-plan enrollees. Alongside it are a Securities and Exchange Commission proposal to expand cross trading among bond funds, a renewed federal entry suspension tied to a Bundibugyo virus outbreak in Central Africa, and a Federal Maritime Commission plan that would put a fee on Spanish-flagged vessels calling at U.S. ports. Here is what the filings show, and where the comment clocks stand.
1. IRS proposes premium tax credit rules implementing 2025 budget law
The Internal Revenue Service and Treasury Department are proposing amendments to the section 36B regulations to implement changes made by Public Law 119-21, the budget reconciliation law enacted July 4, 2025 (Document 2026-21056, REG-101576-26, 60 pages). According to the filing, the rule is designated significant under Executive Order 12866.
The proposal’s provisions are detailed. Beginning with taxable years after 2027, a month would not count as a coverage month for credit purposes unless the Exchange has verified enrollment eligibility, including residence and citizenship or lawful-presence status. For months with advance payments, the Exchange would also verify income, family size and the absence of other coverage. The proposal would waive family-size verification for enrollees who sign up through special enrollment periods triggered by events such as births, adoptions, marriage, divorce or death. It would also remove a rule that made certain lawfully present immigrants with incomes below 100 percent of the federal poverty level eligible for the credit when their immigration status barred them from Medicaid, effective for taxable years after December 31, 2025.
Another provision would eliminate the income-based cap on repayment of excess advance payments for taxable years after 2025, so that taxpayers repay the full excess. The filing estimates that about 3.7 million returns in 2028 would include an excess advance payment repayment because of the change. It also estimates that about 50,000 families with newborns would benefit from the family-size waiver, and that without it roughly $22 million in advance payments could be delayed. The document says about 15.6 million people are enrolled in Exchange coverage, and that the 22 State-Based Exchanges would carry out the verification and reporting duties.
Comment deadline: 45 days after publication, which by TIJ’s count falls on or about November 29, 2026; confirm against the published notice. A telephonic public hearing is scheduled for December 8, 2026 at 10 a.m. ET, with requests to attend due by 5 p.m. ET on December 4. The IRS maintains a newsroom page tracking guidance under the 2025 law.
2. SEC proposes to widen fixed-income cross trading
The Securities and Exchange Commission proposes amendments to Rule 17a-7, which governs cross trades between a registered fund and certain affiliates (Document 2026-21037, 179 pages). Under the current rule, only securities with “readily available market quotations” qualify. The proposal’s text notes that, since the September 8, 2022 compliance date of Rule 2a-5, most fixed-income securities have generally been ineligible.
The Commission would add securities valued using observable, or “Level 2,” inputs under U.S. GAAP, while keeping Level 3 and non-leveled securities ineligible. It would replace asset-specific pricing methods with two alternatives, net asset value pricing or a current market price the adviser determines reasonably reflects the market using unaffiliated sources. It would also require advisers to determine before each trade that the cross trade is in the best interest of each fund, and shift quarterly compliance reviews from the fund board to the chief compliance officer, with reports to the board. New reporting on Forms N-PORT and N-MFP would capture aggregate cross-trade data by asset class.
The release cites an industry survey indicating that funds engaged in more than $200 billion of fixed-income cross trades in 2020 alone, with estimated savings exceeding $300 million. It also identifies abuses such as “parking, cherry-picking, and dumping” that the added conditions are meant to address. Comment deadline: 60 days after publication, or about December 14, 2026, per the filing’s formula; the date was left as a placeholder in the public inspection copy.
3. CDC continues entry suspension tied to Bundibugyo outbreak
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is publishing an order continuing the suspension of the right to introduce certain persons from countries where a quarantinable communicable disease exists (Document 2026-21036, 16 pages). The order cites sections 362 and 365 of the Public Health Service Act and 42 C.F.R. 71.40. It covers non-citizens who were in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda or South Sudan during the previous 21 days, and the order states that it includes lawful permanent residents.
According to the order, it took effect at 5:00 p.m. EDT on October 11, 2026 and runs 30 days, through November 10, 2026, unless amended earlier. The CDC says the outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is the largest and deadliest in that country’s history, with 8,665 confirmed cases and 4,178 deaths as of October 5, 2026, and notes that no widely approved vaccine or specific antiviral exists for this strain. The order says Uganda’s outbreak was declared over on August 27 but that overland travel from the DRC still presents a risk, and describes South Sudan as high-risk because of its border with affected areas.
Exceptions include U.S. citizens and nationals, U.S. armed forces and government personnel serving overseas with eligible family members, and individuals approved by a customs officer based on law enforcement, safety, humanitarian or public health interests. Comments are due 15 days after publication, roughly October 30, 2026, at Docket No. CDC-2026-0892 on Regulations.gov; email submissions are not accepted. The CDC posts its orders on its port health legal authorities page, and law-firm client alerts such as this summary of an earlier extension trace the order’s history.
4. Maritime Commission proposes fee and import limits over Spain’s port policy
The Federal Maritime Commission has issued a proposed rule in Docket No. 26-14 stemming from an investigation it opened in December 2024 after reports that Spain refused port access to U.S.-flagged Maritime Security Program vessels (Document 2026-21067, 23 pages). The Commission states that it found “conclusive evidence” that Spanish laws or regulations create unfavorable shipping conditions, and that three Maersk vessels were turned away in November 2024. It reports that U.S.-flagged Maersk Line Limited calls in Spain fell from about 7.25 per month before November 2024 to six visits in 2026.
The proposed remedies would include a $200,000 fee on each entry of a Spanish-flagged vessel into a U.S. port, and restrictions on Spanish goods in five Harmonized Tariff Schedule chapters covering perfumery and cosmetics, oils and fats, ceramics, articles of stone, and sugar and confectionery. The Commission could ask the Department of Homeland Security to refuse clearance or detain covered vessels. The notice says Spain argued the Commission lacks authority and that diplomacy is the proper route; the Commission rejected that position. Spain may request a hearing on one of the findings. Comment deadline: 60 days after publication, approximately December 14, 2026, with anonymous comments not accepted.
5. NRC notice advances Holtec’s Michigan SMR-300 application
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is publishing a notice on SMR, LLC’s application on behalf of Palisades SMR, LLC, a Holtec International subsidiary, for a phased construction permit and a limited work authorization for Pioneer Units 1 and 2 (Document 2026-21049, Dockets 50-616 and 50-617). The notice describes a dual-unit SMR-300 plant at the Palisades Energy Center in Covert, Michigan, and says Holtec filed Part 1 on December 31, 2025. NRC staff accepted it for docketing in a February 27, 2026 notice. The filing indicates this is the third of four weekly notices; the copy reviewed did not state hearing-request deadlines and pointed readers to docket NRC-2026-0265. Related coverage is available from World Nuclear News.
6. DOT delays airline delay-cause reporting rule to February 2027
The Department of Transportation is delaying the effective date of its September 3, 2026 final rule on cause-of-delay and cancellation categories under section 511(b) of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024, from October 19, 2026 to February 1, 2027 (Document 2026-21058). The department says Airlines for America asked on September 21 for a January 1, 2027 start to allow systems updates. Because DOT acted without prior notice and comment, it relied on the Administrative Procedure Act’s good-cause exception. The practical effect is that consumers will receive the revised data later than originally planned.
7. FDA lists four emergency authorizations for New World screwworm
The Food and Drug Administration is publishing notice of four Emergency Use Authorizations for animal drugs against New World screwworm (Document 2026-21084, 34 pages): Elanco’s CLiK Extra (August 7), Zoetis’s Simparica TRIO (August 13), Bimeda’s Bimectin injection (August 27) and Sergeant’s CAPSTAR tablets (September 3). The authorizations rest on an August 18, 2025 determination by the HHS Secretary under section 564 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.
8. From Wednesday’s issue: a presidential memorandum and EPA deadline changes
Several items published October 14 remain open for comment or action. A presidential memorandum dated October 7 establishes a committee of inquiry to investigate allegations that Federal Reserve Governor Lisa D. Cook made false statements in connection with mortgage instruments. The memorandum names the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy, the EEOC Chairman and the Director of the Office of Government Ethics as members, and directs a report on whether “cause” exists for removal. It provides a closed, transcribed hearing on November 5, 2026, a post-hearing statement due November 10, and a right for Governor Cook to submit a written position, have counsel and present evidence. These are allegations, not findings, and the process is pending; the memorandum cites 12 U.S.C. 242 as construed in Trump v. Cook.
The Environmental Protection Agency issued an interim final rule moving the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program deadline for reporting year 2025 from October 30, 2026 to March 10, 2027, citing pending action on its September 2025 reconsideration proposal and e-GGRT readiness. Comments are due November 30; a hearing request is due October 19. The agency says about 8,200 facilities, suppliers and injection sites report annually. A separate EPA proposed rule would move several trichloroethylene compliance dates to December 31, 2027, with comments due November 13 under docket EPA-HQ-OPPT-2026-7327. The agency estimates present-value cost savings of $0.62 million to $0.65 million and forgone health benefits of $3,795 to $7,844.
What to watch on TIJ’s beats
For regulatory watchers, the premium tax credit proposal and the SEC cross-trading release are the heaviest filings, and both carry comment windows that close in late November and mid-December. For government accountability, the key questions are procedural: how agencies handle verification burdens placed on State-Based Exchanges, whether the CDC’s 30-day order is renewed again before November 10, and how the committee process in the Cook matter proceeds on its stated November timeline. Finally, the Federal Maritime Commission docket will test how far a shipping regulator can use fees and import restrictions against a foreign government’s port policy.
Right of reply: The agencies named above publish contact information in their Federal Register notices. TIJ will update this digest if any agency or named party provides a response or correction. All figures are drawn from the cited Federal Register documents; unpublished public inspection copies may change before final publication.
Sources
- IRS, Premium Tax Credit proposed rule (2026-21056)
- SEC, Investment Company Cross Trading proposed rule (2026-21037)
- CDC, Order Continuing the Suspension of the Right to Introduce Certain Persons (2026-21036)
- FMC, Spain port denial investigation proposed rule (2026-21067)
- NRC, Palisades SMR / Pioneer Units 1 and 2 notice (2026-21049)
- DOT, Cause of Airline Delay and Cancellation Categories; Delay of Effective Date (2026-21058)
- FDA, Emergency Use Authorization: New World Screwworm (2026-21084)
- Presidential Memorandum, Committee of Inquiry (2026-21061)
- EPA, GHGRP deadline extension (2026-20982)
- EPA, TCE compliance date extensions (2026-20964)
- IRS newsroom: One, Big, Beautiful Bill news
- CDC Port Health: legal authorities and orders
- World Nuclear News: Pioneer SMR construction permit application
- EIG Law: CDC extends Ebola-related travel restrictions