VA to Expand Telehealth Across States Starting November 2025

2025-10-02

Bridges of Care and Labor by DALL-E 3

VA to Expand Telehealth Across States Starting November 2025

Bread and Circus: The Complete Record of American Governance

Today’s newsletter covers official U.S. government happenings from the executive, legislative, and judicial branches yesterday, as well as key economic indicators. Below, you’ll find concise summaries of each document, with links to the original sources for further reading.

What Happened Yesterday:

🦅 Executive Branch: 5 documents (2 Proposed Rules, 3 Rules)
🏛️ Legislative Branch: 2 documents (1 Congressional Record - Daily Digest, 1 Congressional Record - Senate Section)
⚖️ Judicial Branch: No activity
📊 Economic Indicators: No activity
Total words condensed: 102,836 into 1,493

The Big Picture

This week’s government actions show a mix of regulatory adjustments and legislative efforts aimed at improving fairness, access, and efficiency in key areas. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau extended deadlines for lenders to report on loans to small businesses owned by women and minorities, delaying full data collection until late 2027. Meanwhile, the Department of Veterans Affairs expanded telehealth access by allowing VA health workers to treat veterans across state lines starting November 3, 2025, removing state licensing barriers when federal law applies. These moves reflect a focus on improving service delivery and fairness but also highlight the trade-offs between thorough data collection and timely implementation.

At the same time, the Federal Housing Finance Agency paused work on new mortgage-related rules, maintaining the status quo for now, while the Environmental Protection Agency sought public input on simplifying air quality rules for national parks, aiming for more flexible pollution controls. The Department of Labor updated wage rules for temporary foreign farm workers, adjusting pay scales by skill level and state starting October 2, 2025, to better reflect local labor markets and housing benefits. On Capitol Hill, the Senate debated speeding up government job approvals and considered bills supporting Native American land rights, with a looming vote on spending bills to avoid a government shutdown. These developments show a cautious approach to regulatory change, balancing economic stability, environmental protection, and social equity with practical timelines.

Pattern to Watch

A clear pattern emerging is the government’s effort to balance regulatory oversight with flexibility and efficiency, especially in labor, lending, and healthcare access. The CFPB’s extended deadlines and the FHFA’s pause on mortgage rules indicate a cautious stance on imposing new financial regulations, likely to avoid disruption in lending and housing markets. Simultaneously, the VA’s telehealth expansion and the EPA’s proposal to ease air quality plan updates suggest a trend toward modernizing service delivery and environmental rules to be more adaptive and less burdensome. The updated farm worker wage rules also reflect a nuanced approach to labor policy, adjusting pay to local realities while supporting agricultural productivity. Continued developments in these areas—such as final EPA rule changes, Senate votes on spending bills, or further regulatory delays—will signal whether this pragmatic, incremental approach to policy reform will persist or shift toward more aggressive regulation.

🦅 Executive Branch

Federal Register

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has changed the rules about how banks and lenders must collect and report information on loans to small businesses owned by women, minorities, and others. This rule is called Regulation B, part of a law that helps make sure small businesses get fair treatment when they apply for loans. The CFPB is giving lenders more time to follow these rules: the biggest lenders must start by July 1, 2026; medium-sized lenders by January 1, 2027; and smaller lenders by October 1, 2027. This matters because it helps protect small businesses from unfair lending and helps communities understand where small businesses need support, but the delay means this helpful information will take longer to collect and use. Read full document →
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has updated its rules about how VA health care workers can use telehealth, which means providing medical care through video or phone calls. Starting November 3, 2025, VA health care workers can offer care to veterans in any state, even if they don’t have a license from that state, as long as they follow federal laws. This change helps veterans get medical help more easily and safely, especially if they live far from VA clinics or during emergencies. It also means that if a state tries to stop a VA worker from using telehealth because of state rules, those state rules won’t apply if they conflict with federal law. This update supports better access to care for veterans and helps VA workers provide care without being blocked by different state laws. Read full document →
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) decided to stop working on three new rules it had planned for banks that help with home loans and government-backed mortgage companies. These rules would have set new money safety rules for big mortgage companies to make sure they have enough cash during tough times, changed how bank leaders are chosen and behave, and adjusted limits on certain types of loans banks can give without extra security. The FHFA announced on October 2, 2025, that it will not finish these rules and won’t require anyone to follow them now. This matters because it means the current rules stay the same for now, so banks and mortgage companies don’t have to change how they manage money or leadership until the agency decides to try again in the future. Read full document →
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is asking for ideas to change the rules about how states protect clean air and clear views in special natural places like national parks. Right now, states must make plans every 10 years to reduce pollution that makes the air hazy and blocks the view. The EPA wants to make these rules simpler and clearer, so states only have to update their plans when needed, based on how much progress they have made. States, local governments, and others who cause pollution that affects these areas should pay attention and send their comments by December 1, 2025. This matters because cleaner air means better health and more beautiful views for everyone who lives near or visits these protected places. Read full document →
The U.S. Department of Labor changed the rules for how much farms must pay temporary foreign farm workers (called H-2A workers) in most states starting October 2, 2025. Farms must now pay wages based on two skill levels—entry-level and experienced workers—using new government data that better matches the real pay for similar jobs in each state. Also, if farms provide free housing to these workers, they can pay a bit less to reflect that benefit. This change helps farms find enough legal workers because fewer people are coming illegally, and it aims to keep food affordable and farms running smoothly. The new wage rates vary by state, for example, in Alabama, entry-level workers must be paid at least $11.25 per hour, and experienced workers $14.95 per hour, with a housing adjustment lowering pay by up to $1.20 per hour for workers with free housing. This rule affects farms using the H-2A program and helps protect U.S. farm workers’ wages while supporting food supply and prices for everyone. Read full document →

🏛️ Legislative Branch

Congressional Record

On October 2, 2025, the Senate worked mostly on approving a plan called S.Res.412, which would let them quickly approve many government job nominees together instead of one by one. They agreed to keep talking about this plan the next day and planned a vote for 1:30 p.m. on October 3. The Senate also introduced a new bill, S.2967, and reported on bills S.105 and H.R.165, which both deal with giving certain lands to the Oglala Sioux and Cheyenne River Sioux Tribes. No votes were taken on these bills that day. The House of Representatives did not meet except for a short session planned for October 3. These actions are important because they help the government fill key jobs faster and support Native American tribes by managing their land rights. The Senate also planned to vote soon on important spending bills to keep the government running. Read full document →
Random excerpts from the Senate

This Democrat shutdown is nothing but a cynical political shutdown, with Senator Schumer kowtowing to his radical, leftwing extremists. He is desperately recoiling, fighting to stave off a primary and to save his party from the piranhas in their own midst. Look, I am sure he feels like he has been steamrolled by President Trump and the overwhelming “America First” mandate that 78 million American patriots who voted for real change. Everything else—all other excuses—is just a pathetic smokescreen to hide their failures.

— Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS)

Millions of Americans stand on the edge of a healthcare cliff. Over 20 million Americans are enrolled in an Affordable Care Act health insurance plan. If we don’t act, they are going to be forced to make impossible decisions. That doubling number that says the premiums are going to double came out of a study just this week by the Kaiser Family Foundation. If Congress doesn’t come together in a bipartisan way to extend these credits, these families, farmers, ranchers, small business owners, entrepreneurs, seniors, people living in rural communities will have to pay an average of double every month, hundreds of dollars more every month—not every year, every month—to keep their health insurance.

— Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)
Read full document →

⚖️ Judicial Branch

No activity today.

📊 Economic Indicators

No activity today.

Sources Covered Today

Federal Register: Small Business Lending Under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (Regulation B); Extension of Compliance Dates
Federal Register: Health Care Professionals Practicing Via Telehealth
Federal Register: Enterprise Liquidity Requirements; Federal Home Loan Bank System Boards of Directors and Executive Management; Federal Home Loan Bank Unsecured Credit Limits; Withdrawal
Federal Register: Visibility Protection: Regional Haze State Plan Requirements Rule Revision
Federal Register: Adverse Effect Wage Rate Methodology for the Temporary Employment of H-2A Nonimmigrants in Non-Range Occupations in the United States
Congressional Record: Congressional Record - October 2, 2025 - Daily Digest (Vol. 171, No. 162)
Congressional Record: Congressional Record - October 2, 2025 - Senate Section (Vol. 171, No. 162)

All U.S. Government Activity Yesterday:

Presidential actions issued: 0
Regulations: 5
Bills presented to president: 0
Bills that became law: 0
Supreme Court opinions issued: 0
Supreme Court oral arguments: 0

This is your daily record of history unfolding — no spin, just facts. For 342,590,953 people in the United States, this was yesterday.

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