Democratic Rep. Hank Johnson (Ga.) on Wednesday said a regulatory reform bill moving through Congress has “the Koch brothers' fingerprints all on it.”

Johnson made the reference to the billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch, who provide funding to a number of conservative groups, during a hearing on legislation aimed at curbing the use of “sue and settle” practices in fights over regulations.

The top cop for making sure small-business loans aren’t being granted to scammers is warning that months-old federal budget cuts are hurting her agency’s ability to police waste and fraud.

The Small Business Administration (SBA) inspector general told the House Small Business Committee on Wednesday that cuts triggered by sequestration have reduced the staff's budget by the equivalent of the salary for 10 people for seven months, an especially damaging cut at an office that relies exclusively on its manpower.

“My office is all people. We don’t have any programs,” said Inspector General Peggy Gustafson. “The minute that I lose those people, I’m losing some of our ability to do our mission.”

The agency bowed to intense criticism from lawmakers and aviation groups who warned of the threat from terrorists.

The directive applies to all federal agencies and could lay the groundwork for new rules on climate change.

Regulators voted Wednesday to propose new rules designed to reduce the threat of runs in the nearly $3 trillion money market fund industry.

Years in the works, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) action represents just one in a set of hurdles on the way to reforms sought as a measure to help stave off a repeat of the 2008 economic crisis.

Republican members of Congress claim an environmental regulation requiring that gasoline be mixed with biofuel kills jobs and hurts families.

President Obama’s nominee to head the White House office charged with reviewing proposed regulations will face questions from a key Senate panel next week.

On Thursday, a bunch of advisory councils and committees will announce meetings across the country. Here are the upcoming announcements:

On June 14, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights is holding a meeting in Washington to discuss operations and planning. 

Only a few new regulations are coming out in the Federal Register on Thursday. Here they are:

Communications:
The Federal Communications Commission wants to give additional incentives to provide broadband service in rural areas.

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