NADO Advocacy Blog

On July 31, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) finalized four rules that expand agencies’ ability to conduct Reductions in Force (RIFs), while also transferring authority over RIF-related employee appeals from the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) to OPM itself. The rules were published in the Federal Register on Monday, August 3, and are set to take effect 30 days after publication.

On June 23, Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman John Boozman (R-AR) introduced the Senate version of the 2026 Farm Bill, the Agricultural Act of 2026. Major portions of the Senate discussion draft are similar to the House version that passed back in April. For Regional Development Organizations (RDOs), this bill represents an opportunity to influence federal policy that shapes everyday life in rural America.

America has a shortfall of over four million housing units, the product of more than a decade of construction falling to meet household demand. Additionally for renters, the US is facing a shortage of seven million rental units for the lowest-income renters. For Regional Development Organizations (RDOs), housing is not a marginal concern. When families can’t afford to live where jobs are located, when rural communities can’t maintain an aging housing stock, and when localities lack the necessary planning capacity to zone for growth, regional economies are negatively impacted. The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act is the most significant federal housing legislation in decades, seeking to address these challenges at a national scale.

On June 3, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee held a hearing on “The Federal Highway Administration’s Proposed FY2027 Budget.”

On May 29, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) announced a proposed rule for a sweeping revision of government-wide federal financial assistance rules (2 CFR), covering grants, cooperative agreements and related awards across dozens of agencies. The rule would require conforming changes by agencies including the departments of Agriculture, State, Energy, Treasury, Transportation, Commerce, Interior, Labor, Education, Environmental Protection Agency and others.

On May 19, 2026, the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) released the BUILD America 250 Act, a five-year surface transportation reauthorization proposal covering highways, transit, safety, freight and passenger rail. The bill authorizes approximately $580 billion over fiscal year (FY) 2027 through FY 2031.

On April 3rd 2026, President Trump published his FY27 budget request for the fiscal year beginning October 1, 2026.

What NADO Members Need to Know About the FY27 Appropriations Process: Programmatic Requests & Community Project Funding Updated March 20, 2026. As Congress kicks off

On February 13th, House Agriculture Committee Chairman G.T. Thompson (R-PA) introduced the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026, which would reauthorize the Farm Bill. The House Agriculture Committee is expected to mark up the bill on February 23rd.

On February 9th, the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed the Housing in the 21st Century Act by a vote of 390-9. The package impacts nearly every federal housing tool used by local governments, regional development organizations, and rural communities, and for the first time, creates a new regional housing planning grant program for which NADO members are directly eligible.

On February 3rd, the House of Representatives passed the Senate Amendment to H.R. 7148, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026, with a vote of 217 to 214. Shortly thereafter, President Trump signed the bill into law. The appropriations package funds the U.S. Departments of Defense, Education, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Treasury and Transportation, as well as a funding patch for the Department of Homeland Security through February 13th.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The National Association of Development Organizations (NADO) applauds Representatives Kristen McDonald Rivet (D-MI) and Robert Bresnahan (R-PA) for their introduction of bipartisan legislation, The Bridges and Safety Infrastructure for Community Success (BASICS) Act, in the U.S. House of Representatives on Monday February 9, 2026.