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The Department of Defense has issued a final rule to adjust its civil monetary penalties (CMPs) for inflation. This adjustment is mandated by laws such as the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act, which requires that penalties be increased annually to reflect changes in the consumer price index since 2015. The rule, effective January 15, 2025, applies to penalties assessed after the effective date but does not carry significant costs or impact small entities or governments. It ensures the penalties remain a deterrent and that the Department follows statutory requirements without needing public notice or comments.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has updated the poverty guidelines to reflect a 1.2% increase in prices from 2019 to 2020, as measured by the Consumer Price Index. These guidelines help determine eligibility for federal programs like Medicaid. In some cases, due to adjustments in the formula, the guidelines may remain the same as the previous year despite inflation changes. The guidelines are mandated by law and are published annually by HHS, not the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), as some might mistakenly believe.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is proposing changes to its Privacy Act regulations, in line with the Social Security Number Fraud Prevention Act of 2017. These changes would restrict the use of full Social Security numbers (SSNs) in documents sent by physical mail unless deemed necessary by the Secretary of Homeland Security. DHS aims to further define what "necessary" means and to ensure that SSNs are redacted whenever possible. The agency also plans safeguards to protect SSNs, ensuring they're never visible on the outside of mail packages.

The Department of Defense (DoD) is proposing a rule to update the system of records for the DoD 0004 "Defense Repository for Common Enterprise Data (DRCED)" under the Privacy Act of 1974. This update includes an exemption from certain Privacy Act provisions due to national security concerns, allowing certain records to withhold classification information. Comments on this proposal are open until March 8, 2021, and the DoD states that the rule will not significantly impact small businesses or impose extra information collection requirements on the public.