Editor’s note: As of this writing, the Federal Register’s public API listed no documents for the October 22, 2026 issue. This digest therefore covers notable entries from the October 20 and October 21, 2026 issues, the most recent available. Comment deadlines below are drawn from each document’s Federal Register listing; readers should confirm them on the linked pages.
A presidential order tied to the new Russia and Iran sanctions law, a civilian-agency ban on DeepSeek technology, a sweeping Medicare proposal aimed at pharmacy benefit managers, and a pair of natural gas actions from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission lead this week’s regulatory docket. Below are the entries most likely to matter to taxpayers, businesses and the public, along with the deadlines for weighing in.
1. Executive order implements the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act
The most consequential presidential document in the October 21 issue is an executive order titled “Implementing the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026,” published at 91 FR 66627 and listed as Executive Order 14436. According to the Federal Register text, the order was signed October 16, 2026, and relies on the Graham Act, which the document says became law on September 18, 2026. Read the order at the Federal Register.
The order sets out several duty increases: a 500 percent ad valorem increase on goods from the Russian Federation, and 100 percent increases on the five largest importers of Russian crude oil and natural gas that knowingly make new purchases on or after October 18, 2026, as well as on the top five facilitators of Russian oil sanctions evasion. The document says these increases would stack on top of other duties, including antidumping and countervailing duties and measures under Trade Act sections 122, 201 and 301 and Trade Expansion Act section 232.
The order also invokes the statute’s presidential waiver authority. The text states that the President has made the national-interest certification to Congress that section 115 of the Graham Act requires, and Section 4 waives a broad set of the Act’s sanctions provisions and duties, including duties under the order itself, with no end date. Existing Russia-related sanctions under earlier executive orders are not affected, the document indicates. The U.S. Trade Representative is directed to monitor Russian oil and gas purchases and report to the President, and the order delegates implementing responsibilities among the State, Treasury, Energy and USTR. Because the duties and waivers appear in the same document, how they will operate in practice will depend on implementation guidance. Importers and energy traders will want to watch for agency notices.
2. DHS order excludes DeepSeek products from federal civilian IT
The Department of Homeland Security published a notice of order on October 20 (91 FR 66346, Docket DHS-2026-0628) excluding information technology products and services developed by Hangzhou DeepSeek Artificial Intelligence Co., Ltd. and its affiliates from civilian agency procurements and requiring their removal from existing civilian systems. The notice says the Secretary acted under the Federal Acquisition Supply Chain Security Act of 2018 after reviewing a recommendation from the Federal Acquisition Security Council. View the notice.
According to the document, the removal obligation also reaches third-party products and services built using DeepSeek implementations, which could complicate compliance for contractors that embed AI components from multiple vendors. The signed order appears in the notice’s appendix as images, and its deadlines and any exceptions could not be confirmed from the text available to us. Inquiries go to CISA’s FASCSA Order Implementation Team. For federal contractors, the practical question will be how quickly agencies demand certifications that DeepSeek-derived components are absent from their supply chains.
3. CMS proposes Medicare rules on PBMs, provider directories and low-income drug copays
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services issued a proposed rule (CMS-4214-P, 91 FR 66408) implementing three sections of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026, which the document says was enacted February 3, 2026. Read the proposal.
First, the rule would eliminate the $1 generic-drug copayment for certain full-benefit dual-eligible enrollees at or below 100 percent of the federal poverty level beginning in plan year 2028; CMS estimates roughly 6 million enrollees would be affected. Second, it would require Medicare Advantage plans to verify provider directory information at least every 90 days (annually for certain hospital-based facilities), remove out-of-network providers within five business days, run annual accuracy analyses and publish accuracy scores. Third, it proposes new accountability requirements for pharmacy benefit managers in Part D, including limits on remuneration, data reporting to plan sponsors and CMS, disclosure of certain manufacturer agreement terms, audit rights, and enforcement tools such as disgorgement of remuneration and pass-through of civil money penalties.
Comments are due by 5 p.m. Eastern on December 15, 2026. The Federal Register page lists docket numbers inconsistently (CMS-2026-3533 and CMS-2026-2533), so commenters should confirm the correct docket on Regulations.gov. The PBM provisions are the portion most likely to draw industry scrutiny, given the compensation arrangements at issue.
4. FERC proposes a blanket authorization program for LNG plants
FERC published a proposed rule (Docket RM26-2-001, 91 FR 66492) that would let LNG plant operators carry out certain activities without case-specific orders under the Natural Gas Act. The three-tier design is modeled on the commission’s decades-old blanket certificate program for pipelines: automatic authorization for minimal-impact work such as like-kind replacements; 60-day prior notice for capacity uprates within the existing footprint; and 90-day prior notice for new facilities outside the footprint, capped at 25 acres on adjacent land. See the proposal.
FERC cites its review of more than 100 LNG applications since 2006 and the United States’ status as the world’s largest LNG exporter since 2023. The document notes that most industry commenters supported a blanket program, while Earthjustice and nine state attorneys general opposed allowing expansions under it, arguing it would infringe on state and local interests. A protest that is not withdrawn would convert a project into a case-specific application. Comments are due December 21, 2026.
Separately, FERC released a draft policy statement (Docket PL26-3-000, 91 FR 66328) on environmental review of Natural Gas Act applications. Under the draft, FERC would stop routinely requiring air dispersion modeling for compressor stations and LNG facilities, relying instead on compliance with state and federal air rules and other information. Comments on implementation are due by 5 p.m. Eastern on November 16, 2026. View the draft policy statement.
5. NCUA proposals trim requirements for state-chartered credit unions
The National Credit Union Administration issued several proposed rules on October 21. The most substantive, “Nonconforming Investment Special Reserve” (Docket NCUA-2026-1886, 91 FR 66532), would end the requirement that federally insured state-chartered credit unions set aside a special reserve for investments beyond those permitted to federal credit unions. NCUA says changes in accounting standards have narrowed the reserve’s reach, that it does not materially add to loss-absorbing capacity, and that only seven institutions currently report one. The agency says the change is intended to reduce compliance burdens without weakening protection of the Share Insurance Fund, and it asks whether a higher risk weight or supervisory action might be a better alternative. Read the proposal. Comments are due December 21, 2026.
Companion proposals would let credit unions choose how to notify members about share insurance, including by linking to NCUA’s online resources rather than mailing hard copies (document), and remove a duplicative provision on share insurance after a conversion to a state charter (document).
6. SEC corrects notice on CFA credential and accredited investor status
The Securities and Exchange Commission published a correction on October 21 to its October 5 notice on whether the Chartered Financial Analyst designation should qualify natural persons as accredited investors (File No. 4-933, Release No. 33-11447). The correction, at 91 FR 66591, replaces the notice’s addresses section; the unofficial text we reviewed did not state the comment deadline, so interested parties should consult the original notice at 91 FR 63314. Comments may be submitted through the SEC’s online form or to rule-comments@sec.gov, referencing File Number 4-933. See the correction. The accredited investor definition determines who can access private offerings, so credential-based pathways draw attention from both investor-protection advocates and capital-formation groups.
7. HHS leaves civil monetary penalties unadjusted for 2026
HHS published a notice stating there will be no inflation adjustment to its civil monetary penalty amounts for 2026 (91 FR 66566). According to the notice, the Bureau of Labor Statistics could not produce October 2025 CPI-U data because of a federal funding lapse from October 1 to November 12, 2025, so no multiplier exists, and the Office of Management and Budget cancelled the 2026 adjustment in Memorandum M-26-11 on April 17, 2026. The 2025 maximums continue to apply. Read the notice. The episode is a concrete example of how a data gap during a shutdown can ripple into the regulatory calendar months later.
Also noted
USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service proposed lowering the minimum maturation temperature for beef and ovine meat imported from certain foot-and-mouth-affected regions of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay from 4°C to 2°C, citing alignment with World Organisation for Animal Health standards; APHIS deemed the rule not significant, and comments are due December 21, 2026 (Docket APHIS-2023-0016). The Commerce Department issued a final affirmative determination of sales at less than fair value on hardwood and decorative plywood from Vietnam (notice), and the FDA finalized guidance on prescription drug use-related software (guidance).
What this means for TIJ’s beats
Several items intersect with ongoing accountability coverage. On supply chain security, the DeepSeek order raises questions about how agencies will inventory and verify AI components across contractor systems. On trade and sanctions, the Graham Act order’s mix of duty triggers and waivers merits close tracking of USTR, State and Treasury implementation notices. On health spending, CMS’s PBM proposal could reshape how remuneration flows in Part D, and the December 15 comment window is the point at which industry and patient groups put positions on the record. On energy, FERC’s two actions would change how quickly LNG capacity can be added and how air-quality questions are handled in pipeline reviews. Each document linked above is a public record; analysis here reflects what those documents state, and agencies or affected parties are welcome to submit corrections or responses through The Investigative Journal’s editorial desk.
Sources: Federal Register documents linked above; FERC, CMS, NCUA, SEC, DHS and HHS notices as published in the October 20 and 21, 2026 issues. No agency press releases or third-party policy analysis were reviewed for this digest.