Federal Register Watch is The Investigative Journal’s running digest of consequential entries in the daily Federal Register, the official journal of U.S. regulatory action. Because July 3 is the federally observed Independence Day holiday and no edition was published, today’s digest covers the most recent issue — Volume 91, Number 126, dated Thursday, July 2, 2026, which carried 159 documents.
The July 2 edition was unusually heavy on deregulatory action and workforce policy, headlined by a Federal Aviation Administration proposal to end a prohibition on civil supersonic flight over land that has stood since 1973. Alongside it, the Register carried a rare presidential emergency proclamation on fertilizer imports, a consumer-facing reversal on airline fee disclosure driven by a federal appeals court, and a slate of proposed rules reshaping the federal civil service, the EB-5 investor-visa program, and air-quality enforcement. Below are eight notable entries, followed by items that intersect with TIJ’s accountability beats.
1. FAA moves to repeal the overland supersonic flight ban
The Federal Aviation Administration published a notice of proposed rulemaking (Docket No. FAA-2026-6935; RIN 2120-AM15) that would repeal the more than half-century-old prohibition on civil aircraft flying faster than Mach 1 over the United States. The current ban, codified at 14 CFR 91.817, dates to 1973 and was written to shield the public from sonic booms during the Concorde era. The FAA now states the general prohibition is “outdated and no longer appropriate” given advances in airframe design and flight techniques that can prevent booms from reaching the ground.
The proposal implements Executive Order 14304, “Leading the World in Supersonic Flight,” signed June 6, 2025, which directed the agency to repeal the overland ban within 180 days and establish an interim noise-based certification standard. Rather than requiring a case-by-case special authorization, the FAA proposes a performance-based framework that would permit supersonic operations provided no boom reaches the surface, and it signals a forthcoming Part 36 noise-certification standard.
The agency frames the change as clearing a path for a domestic industry that includes startups pursuing quiet supersonic designs. Public comments are open until August 17, 2026. The rulemaking is likely to draw responses from aircraft developers, airports, and community groups concerned about noise, and TIJ will track how the FAA defines and enforces the “no boom reaches the ground” threshold in any final rule.
2. Presidential proclamation declares fertilizer emergency, waives duties on Moroccan phosphate
President Trump issued Proclamation 11038 of June 29, 2026, declaring an emergency and authorizing temporary duty-free importation of phosphate fertilizer from Morocco. The proclamation states that phosphate fertilizers are “an essential component of agriculture and food production” and that robust food production is “critical to the economic and national security of the United States.”
The document indicates that global supply chains for phosphate and fertilizer inputs have been “disrupted in recent months” by conflicts in producing regions and trade actions by major producing countries, and that “the United States’ largest foreign source of phosphate fertilizer has experienced supply chain disruption.” Records note that U.S. domestic production is currently insufficient to meet demand after exports, and that farmers apply more than half of annually consumed phosphate fertilizer between the fall and early spring ahead of planting.
Morocco, through its state-controlled OCP Group, is one of the world’s largest phosphate producers. The temporary duty waiver is framed as an interim measure while the federal government works with the private sector to expand domestic manufacturing capacity. The proclamation is a data point worth watching for TIJ’s trade and agricultural-policy coverage, particularly its interaction with existing antidumping and countervailing-duty proceedings on imported phosphate.
3. DOT reinstates pre-2024 airline fee disclosure standards after Fifth Circuit vacatur
The Department of Transportation issued a final rule (Docket No. DOT-OST-2026-0199; RIN 2105-AF34), effective immediately on July 2, 2026, that restores airline ancillary-fee disclosure regulations to the standards that existed before 2024. The action implements a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, which vacated DOT’s 2024 rule “Enhancing Transparency of Airline Ancillary Service Fees.”
The 2024 rule had required carriers and ticket agents to disclose fees for checked and carry-on bags and for changing or canceling reservations at the point of first fare display. According to the DOT filing and contemporaneous court reporting, the appeals court found the Department violated the Administrative Procedure Act’s notice-and-comment requirements, in part by relying on a study the public had not had the opportunity to address. Because a vacatur reinstates the prior rules, DOT’s action returns the Code of Federal Regulations to standards established in 2011.
Consumer advocates had supported the 2024 disclosure requirements as a check on so-called “junk fees,” while airline trade groups argued the mandate exceeded the Department’s authority. The reversal removes the upfront-disclosure obligation; the practical effect on what travelers see at booking will depend on individual carrier practices. TIJ will continue tracking the parallel DOT action on air-fare price advertising published July 1.
4. Social Security overhauls cardiovascular disability criteria
The Social Security Administration finalized a rule (Docket No. SSA-2019-0013; RIN 0960-AI43) revising the medical criteria it uses to evaluate cardiovascular disability claims under Titles II and XVI of the Social Security Act. The 48-page rule updates the agency’s Listing of Impairments for both adults and children and takes effect October 30, 2026.
SSA states the revisions reflect its adjudicative experience, advances in medical knowledge, and public comments received in response to an earlier proposed rule. Changes to the listings can affect whether claimants qualify at the “meets or equals” stage of the disability determination process, making them consequential for applicants with heart failure, ischemic heart disease, and related conditions.
Because the cardiovascular listings had not been comprehensively updated in years, the rule is significant for beneficiaries and the clinicians who prepare supporting documentation. TIJ’s coverage of program administration will monitor how the new criteria affect allowance and denial rates once they take effect this fall.
5. DHS proposes EB-5 integrity rules with automatic petition revocation
The Department of Homeland Security, through U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, published a 127-page proposed rule (DHS Docket No. USCIS-2026-0100; RIN 1615-AC94) to implement the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022, the law that overhauled the immigrant-investor visa category and its associated Regional Center Program. Under the EB-5 program, foreign nationals may seek lawful permanent residence by investing in a new commercial enterprise that creates at least 10 full-time jobs for U.S. workers.
The proposed rule would codify integrity provisions added by the 2022 statute, including terms governing automatic revocation of petitions for immigrant classification. The EB-5 program has drawn scrutiny over the years for fraud and misuse in some regional-center projects, and the RIA was Congress’s response to those concerns.
Written comments are due by August 31, 2026. Given the program’s documented history of enforcement actions and investor-fraud litigation, the rulemaking is directly relevant to TIJ’s financial-integrity beat, and the agency’s final approach to revocations and regional-center oversight will bear watching.
6. OPM proposes sweeping civil-service accountability and staffing changes
The Office of Personnel Management advanced two proposed rules recasting how federal agencies manage and discipline their workforces. The first, “Promoting Employee Accountability” (Docket ID 2025-OPM-0012; RINs 3206-AO91 and 3124-AA35), issued jointly with the Merit Systems Protection Board, would streamline procedures for performance-based demotions, removals, and adverse actions. It would also refocus the MSPB’s penalty review on a “totality of the circumstances” test and restrict settlement agreements that scrub documentation of misconduct from personnel records.
The second, “Personnel Management in Agencies: Strategic Human Capital Management” (Docket ID OPM-2026-0368; RIN 3206-AO77), would replace existing Human Capital Operating Plans with “Annual Staffing Plans,” convert human-capital reviews into “Annual Staffing Reviews,” strengthen the authority of agency Chief Human Capital Officers, and reduce the number of required questions on annual employee surveys.
Both proposals carry a comment deadline of August 3, 2026. Together they represent a significant shift in federal personnel policy toward faster adverse-action procedures and centralized staffing oversight. Because changes to removal procedures and MSPB review touch directly on whistleblower protections and merit-system safeguards, the rulemakings are squarely within TIJ’s government-accountability coverage.
7. EPA proposes federal plan for solid-waste incinerators
The Environmental Protection Agency published a proposed federal plan (Docket EPA-HQ-OAR-2025-3028; RIN 2060-AW94) to implement revised emission guidelines for existing “other solid waste incineration” (OSWI) units. EPA first set OSWI guidelines in 2005 and revised them on June 30, 2025. The federal plan would apply to units in states or tribal areas that do not submit an approvable plan of their own by June 30, 2027.
The mechanism is a standard feature of Clean Air Act cooperative federalism: states are given the first opportunity to regulate, and EPA imposes a federal backstop where they do not. The proposal sets emission limits and monitoring, recordkeeping, and reporting obligations for affected incinerators.
Comments are due by August 17, 2026, with comments on the information-collection provisions best assured of consideration by the Office of Management and Budget if received by August 3. The rule matters for communities near incineration facilities and for operators weighing compliance costs, and it fits TIJ’s environmental-enforcement reporting.
8. Pentagon revisits printed-circuit-board sourcing restrictions
The Defense Department issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (Docket DARS-2026-0298; RIN 0750-AL62) seeking information to revise the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) provisions restricting acquisition of covered printed circuit boards from a “covered nation.” The action would implement sections of the National Defense Authorization Acts for Fiscal Years 2021 and 2022 addressing that prohibition.
Printed circuit boards are foundational components in defense electronics, and Congress has repeatedly targeted supply-chain dependence on adversary nations. The advance notice signals DoD is gathering industry input before drafting binding contract clauses. Comments are due by August 31, 2026.
On TIJ’s beats: civil rights, tax enforcement, and supply-chain security
Three additional July 2 entries connect to investigations TIJ tracks closely. First, the Department of Labor issued a final rule (RIN 1291-AA49), effective immediately, rescinding portions of its Title VI regulations to “eliminate disparate-impact liability.” The Department states the change aligns its rules with “Title VI’s original public meaning” and reduces compliance costs. The action follows Executive Order 14281, “Restoring Equality of Opportunity and Meritocracy,” signed April 23, 2025, which directed agencies to repeal or amend Title VI regulations contemplating disparate-impact liability. Civil-rights organizations have historically defended disparate-impact analysis as a tool for identifying facially neutral policies with discriminatory effects; supporters of the change argue the theory strays from the statute’s text. The competing interpretations are likely to be tested in litigation.
Second, the Internal Revenue Service posted a notice of public hearing (REG-113229-25) on proposed regulations that would raise the dollar thresholds for information reporting on business payments and modify the rules governing wagering-loss deductions. The hearing is set for July 17, 2026, with speaker outlines due by July 7, 2026. The reporting-threshold and gambling-loss provisions have drawn attention from small businesses, payment platforms, and professional gamblers, and TIJ’s tax-policy coverage will follow the testimony.
Third, the DFARS printed-circuit-board notice above underscores a continuing federal effort to reduce defense reliance on components from adversary nations — a thread that runs through TIJ’s reporting on Chinese-linked firms in sensitive U.S. supply chains. Readers can review any of these documents in full at the linked Federal Register pages, submit comments through the dockets cited, and consult the government’s Regulations.gov portal to participate in open rulemakings before the deadlines noted above.
Federal Register Watch will resume with the next published edition. All figures, dates, and quotations above are drawn from the official Federal Register documents and executive actions linked in this report.