🦅 Executive Branch |
White House |
- On January 16, 2026, President Donald J. Trump issued a presidential proclamation declaring that day “Religious Freedom Day.” The proclamation says it marks the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence and asks all Americans to hold events and pray; it also says the Administration has set up a White House Faith Office, a Religious Liberty Commission, a Task Force to Eradicate Anti‑Christian Bias, directed the Department of Education to protect prayer in public schools, and launched “Freedom 250” and “America Prays.” A proclamation is a formal public statement by the President and usually does not change the law by itself, but it signals the President’s priorities and can affect how federal agencies, schools, and the public act. This affects students, members of the military, workers, patients, government employees, and religious communities because it encourages more public expression of faith and could shape policy and practice. Read full document →
|
Federal Register |
-
The Postal Regulatory Commission changed the rules so the U.S. Postal Service can only raise prices for its main mail services (like first‑class mail and magazines) one time each fiscal year, unless the filing only cuts prices or raises them by a very small amount; this limit runs from March 1, 2026 through September 30, 2030 (the rule takes effect February 17, 2026). The rule also says discounts given to companies that do some mailing work (“workshare discounts”) cannot be moved farther away from the actual cost the Postal Service saves, unless the Postal Service asks for a special waiver at least 60 days before it files the price change and proves, by showing it is more likely true than not, that the waiver should be allowed. The Postal Service must follow these rules, and they affect businesses that send lots of mail and everyday people by making price changes less frequent and by keeping discounts tied more closely to real cost savings. Read full document →
-
The Postal Regulatory Commission set a firm deadline for people to ask for changes to the rules that decide how mail prices and mail classes are made; anyone (including the U.S. Postal Service) who wants the Commission to consider a specific change must file a written petition by February 17, 2026, and people must file answers to any petition by March 2, 2026; petitions must include the detailed information the Commission requires. This matters because those petitions can lead to new rule changes about postage and mail services, which could change how much businesses, nonprofits, and everyday people pay to send and receive mail. Read full document →
-
Starting January 16, 2026, the Department of Homeland Security changed the rule for R-1 religious worker visas so that people who have already been in the United States on an R-1 visa for the five‑year limit must still leave when their time is up but no longer have to stay outside the United States for a full year before coming back in R‑1 status; they can return sooner once their employer has a new approved petition and, if needed, a new visa. This rule applies to R‑1 religious workers, their employers, and U.S. visa officials, and it is effective immediately on January 16, 2026. It matters because it can keep pastors, chaplains, teachers, and other religious workers from having to move abroad for a year and helps religious groups keep services running; the change responds to long waits for EB‑4 green cards (about 9,940 are available each year while well over 200,000 people are waiting), which made the old one‑year rule especially harmful. Read full document →
|
|
|
