Your Congress in Action: July 13, 2026

Independence Day is known for its fireworks, including this year’s weather-delayed, smoke inducing and possibly record-breaking detonation of 850,000 pyrotechnics over DC. But this July 4, a once-headline grabbing government project came to an end, not with a bang but a tweet.

As Americans celebrated the Fourth earlier this month, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) – Elon Musk’s project to rid the federal government of waste – officially closed its doors for good. “While the formal mission of DOGE has come to an end,” the now-defunct office posted on X, “the mission to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse will continue.”

Named by Musk after a dog meme-themed cryptocurrency (try explaining that to your grandparents), President Trump formally created DOGE on his first day in office. Before his eventual fall-out with Musk, Trump would claim that DOGE made “the most sweeping and consequential government reform program in generations,” even promising taxpayers a “DOGE dividend” from the cost savings.

Although the Musk-promised $2 trillion in savings never quite materialized, and some of his more eye-popping claims of waste were revealed to be inaccurate, DOGE did oversee a massive reduction in the federal workforce, with nearly 300,000 employees leaving or being laid off. It led efforts to dismantle long-standing federal agencies like the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and cancelled tens of thousands of federal contracts. It spawned a cottage industry of lawsuits challenging its actions as unconstitutional. And it might have placed sensitive personal data about millions of Americans at risk.

Polling shows that DOGE was highly unpopular, and even its architects came to regret it: Trump said last summer that he would have gone about it differently than Musk. Even Elon said that if he had a chance to do it over, he probably wouldn’t.

DOGE is gone, but its legacy remains, in the form of a smaller federal workforce, cancelled grants and other disruptions to government operations which, in total, may make government less efficient than before. One example from the CRM world is that cuts to preservation staff threaten to slow down the Section 106 process, making it harder to get infrastructure projects moving.

And as for the promise of $2 trillion in reduced spending, DOGE claimed it saved about $215 billion, about 3 percent of the total annual federal budget. And some even claim that number is inflated.

There’s no doubt that government can be made more efficient and that many agencies need to rightsize their workforce. Hopefully the next effort won’t be named for a meme coin. RIP, DOGE.

More Agencies Rewrite their NEPA Regulations

Two additional federal agencies have issued proposed changes to their regulations implementing thew National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), reflecting the sea change in how the federal government approaches the landmark environmental law.

Last year, the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) eliminated its NEPA regulations, following two court decisions that found that CEQ lacks the statutory authority to issue binding NEPA rules. A month later, the Supreme Court ruled in the Seven Counties case that courts should narrow the scope of reviews required under NEPA to just the environmental effects of specific projects, and not to broader up- and downstream effects. Since then, a host of federal agencies have amended their NEPA regulations.

On July 1, NASA announced it is rescinding its existing NEPA regulations and rewriting them via an interim final rule, which means that the changes come into effect immediately. Among other moves, the new rules update the agency’s list of existing categorical exclusions.

On July 7, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) published a proposed rule that would narrow the scope of NEPA reviews to effects within the NRC’s statutory authority; update procedures for determining the level of NEPA review; establish new categorical exclusions; and provide new flexibility for licensees, applicants, and petitioners for rulemaking to submit environmental information.

As agencies have updated their regulations, ACRA has urged them to make sure that their new procedures continue provide the protection of cultural resources, reminding them that “changes to . . .  NEPA regulations do not release [them] from [their] obligations under Section 106 of NHPA and its accompanying regulations.”

BOEM Seeks Input on Effects of Space Activities on OCS

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has issued a request for information (RFI) about the potential use of submerged lands and offshore facilities on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) for space launch-related activities.

The RFI comes in the wake of a December 2025 Executive Order, Ensuring American Space Superiority, that directed federal; agencies to explore ways they can facilitate the U.S. presence in space. BOEM is considering whether existing offshore infrastructure like drilling platforms can be repurposed, or new offshore facilities built, to support commercial space launches and re-entry.

As part of their inquiry, BOEM is seeking feedback on these questions:

• What approaches to consultations and environmental review, including those applied under the National Environmental Policy Act, Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, Endangered Species Act, Marine Mammal Protection Act, Essential Fish Habitat, National Historic Preservation Act, Coastal Zone Management Act, Government to Government, Clean Water and Air Acts, and other applicable laws, may be appropriate for offshore space launch or re-entry activities involving OCS facilities?
• What considerations should BOEM evaluate when determining the timing, sequencing, and scope of environmental review for potential actions related to offshore commercial space launch or re-entry facilities? and related activities on the OCS. The siting, construction, and operation of such platforms or facilities—whether repurposed or newly constructed—would likely implicate multiple Federal authorities and legal frameworks. BOEM is issuing this RFI to improve its understanding of these considerations and to inform potential future interagency coordination, policy development, or guidance before any policy positions or decisions are finalized.

BOEM is accepting comments until August 7, 2026.