Read about some of NADO’s latest advocacy updates and achievements below.
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.
In April 2024, the DOJ released a final rule implementing Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) for web-based government services provided by state and local governments.
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 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.
On January 22, House Transportation & Infrastructure’s Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management held a hearing entitled “Smarter Spending, Stronger Results: Reducing Duplication and Ensuring Effectiveness Through Economic Development Reforms” to examine the implementation of the economic development program reforms included in the Thomas R. Carper Water Resources Development Act of 2024 (WRDA).
On January 15th, the Senate, in an 82-15 vote, passed a funding package that included three bicameral, bipartisan fiscal year (FY) 2026 appropriations bills: the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies; Energy and Water Development; and Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies bills.
On December 9, after a nearly two-year lapse, Congress passed the Secure Rural Schools Reauthorization Act of 2025 (S. 356), which reauthorizes the program for Fiscal Years (FY) 2024 – 2026.
On November 12, President Trump signed into law a stopgap funding package, formally ending the 43-day government shutdown that began on October 1.
On September 16, the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) released their Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 Public Works and Economic Adjustment Assistance (PWEAA) Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO). This update, the first since October 1, 2024, was to “specify EDA’s updated investment priorities and to make other technical changes.”
On Thursday, September 18, Lynne Keller Forbes, President/CEO of the South Eastern Council of Governments (SECOG) and Past President of NADO, participated in a congressional hearing convened by the House Agriculture Committee’s Subcommittee on Commodity Markets, Digital Assets, and Rural Development.
Questions? Contact Mirielle Burgoyne.