Short Takes – 10-6-26 - Federal Register Edition

FEMA Grants  

Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for OMB Review, Comment Request; Hazard Mitigation Grant Programs. FEMA 30-day ICR revision notice. Summary: “This collection of information is necessary for eligibility determinations, grants management, and compliance with other Federal laws and regulations for HMA's financial and technical assistance programs. HMA programs included in this information collection are the Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) program and FMA Swift Current (Swift Current), the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program, BRIC Direct Technical Assistance (DTA), the Pre-Disaster Mitigation (PDM) program, the Safeguarding Tomorrow Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) Program, the Rehabilitation of High Hazard Potential Dams (HHPD), and the National Dam Safety Program (NDSP).” 

Energy Transportation  

Notice of Rail Energy Transportation Advisory Committee Meeting. STB meeting notice. Summary: “Notice is hereby given of a meeting of the Rail Energy Transportation Advisory Committee (RETAC), pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act.” Meeting date: October 27th, 2026. 

Executive Orders  

EO 14432 - Streamlining Access to Government Services Through America.gov. 

EO 14433 - Eliminating Disease-Carrying Pests and Restoring Enjoyment of the Great Outdoors. 

EO 14434 - Inaugurating the Era of Super Intelligence. 

NOTE: I discovered a valuable information link for Executive Orders during a brief look at America.gov: https://www.federalregister.gov/presidential-documents/executive-orders  

OMB Approves UAS Spectrum Final Rule

Yesterday, the OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) announced that it had approved a final rule for the FCC on “Spectrum Rules and Policies for the Operation of Unmanned Aircraft Systems, WT Docket No. 22-323”. The notice of proposed rulemaking was published on February 7th, 2023. An interim final rule was published on January 28th, 2025. 

According to the 2026 Unified Agenda entry for this rulemaking: 

“This proceeding seeks to (1) develop rules enabling the use of the 5030-5091 MHz band for unmanned aircraft systems (UAS); (2) determine whether the Commission’s current rules governing flexible-use bands are adequate and appropriate to ensure co-existence of terrestrial mobile operations and UAS use; and (3) address the need of certain UAS operators to obtain a license in the aeronautical VHF band to communicate with air traffic control and other aircraft.” 

I do not expect to cover this regulation in any detail in this blog. I would expect to announce its publication in the appropriate Short Takes post. 

Review – Bills Introduced – 10-5-26

Yesterday, with the House meeting in pro forma session, there were 41 bills introduced. I do not expect to cover any of those bills in this blog. 

Space Geek Legislation 

I would like to mention one bill under my limited Space Geek coverage in this blog: 

HR 10750 To direct the Secretary of the Air Force to establish a pilot program to conduct in-space technology demonstrations regarding advanced nuclear fission propulsion systems and advanced nuclear fusion propulsion systems. Whitesides, George [Rep.-D-CA-27]    

For more information on these bills, including legislative history for similar bills in the 118th Congress, see my article at CFSN Detailed Analysis - https://patrickcoyle.substack.com/p/bills-introduced-10-5-26 - subscription required. 

Looking Back – 9-18-09 – CFATS Training

Nearly every morning I start my computer time by looking at information from Google about what happened in my blog in the previous 24 hours. Google, and blogspot.com is a Google service, provides interesting pieces of analytical data about my blog readership. One item of particular interest is the top ten blog posts each day. As you would expect, most of those posts were from the last couple of days, but with 16 years of publishing this blog, every once-in-a-while, a blog post from ancient history rises into that list. 

Today a blog post from September 18th, 2009, “CFATS Training”, appeared on the list. While the details about the CFATS training requirements may no longer be specifically required, the general discussion about the complex needs for a variety of types of chemical facility security training is still germane. 

One item that did not come up in this discussion is the specific training that would be needed for off-site response forces, including police. As I have discussed on a number of occasions, most chemical safety folks have very strong feelings about firearms on site; I have actually seen a plant manager ask an FBI agent to leave his personal side arm in his vehicle while attending meetings on site. There are two basic reasons for this. 

First is muzzle flash; the brief flash of flame emitted from the barrel of a firearm as the bullet leaves the barrel; such open flames are contraindicated where a flammable atmosphere might exist. By any reasonable reading of most plant safety rules, a hot work permit would be required to be issued before a firearm could be fired. 

Second bullets fired from hand weapons will puncture most of the structures in a chemical facility, including storage tanks and piping. Such holes will typically result in leaks of chemicals that could be harmful to the environment and personnel in the facility. All sorts of safety processes would have to be completed before random holes could be placed in chemical process equipment. 

Unless response forces are fully trained in the contents of all the fixed and moving structures in the facility, they will not be able to make a determination of what areas in the plant they need to avoid shooting into. Not to mention the fact that most people in a firefight would not have the personal fire discipline to even think about the consequences of stray bullets. 

Over the years I have talked with a number of law enforcement personnel that had armed response duties for chemical facilities, and none of them were aware of the potential scope of the problems associated with such responses. 

Review - S 5487 Introduced – TWICE Act

Last month, Sen Kennedy (R,LA) introduced S 5487, the Transportation Worker Identification Credential Efficiency (TWICE) Act. The bill would require TSA to develop guidelines to improve returning [from incarceration] citizens’ access to the TWIC program. No new funding is authorized by the bill. 

The bill is similar in intent to HR 5109, the Transportation Worker Identification Credential Efficiency Act, introduced by Rep Carter (D,LA) in September 2025. The House Homeland Security Committee held a business meeting on June 24th, 2026, that included consideration of the HR 5487. The bill was approved by a vote of 30 to 0. On September 16th, the House considered the bill under the suspension of the rule process and passed it on a voice vote. 

Moving Forward  

Kennedy is not a member of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee to which this bill was assigned for consideration. This means that there is not likely to be sufficient influence for this bill to be considered by that Committee. While I suspect that there would be some level of bipartisan support for this bill were it to be considered, I certainly do not think that there is sufficient time left in the schedule of the 119th Congress to see this bill move through the legislative process. The only way that this bill, or its House counterpart, will make it to the floor in the 119th session of the Senate will be under the unanimous consent process. I would expect an objection to such consideration by any one of several Republican Senators that would consider this to be ‘soft on crime’. 

Commentary  

As I mentioned when this bill was introduced, on September 16th, Laurie Thomas, an expert on all things Coast Guard, MTSA, and TWIC, left a comment on my blog post about the reporting of HR 5109: 

“Just my two cents but I think most facilities would prefer that the just-released establish a pattern of good behavior and compliance with legal norms before coming to work in a place whose risk posture requires a TWIC. Make HR 5109 make sense, please.” 

Nothing in the language of this bill would change the existing TWIC eligibility restrictions for convictions or incarceration for the serious offenses listed in §70105(c); no changes to that subsection have been proposed in this bill. It would simply require TSA to produce formal guidelines on how those restrictions would be applied in practice and what level of assistance TSA would have to provide personnel submitting appeals under 49 CFR 1515.7. Any changes to §1515.7 would have to go through the publish and comment process. 

For more information on the provisions of this bill, including additional commentary about reducing the time standards for interim disqualifying offenses – see my article at CFSN Detailed Analysis - https://patrickcoyle.substack.com/p/s-5487-introduced-twice-act - subscription required.