The Buildout · Week of April 13–19, 2026

U.S. federal spending, week ending 2026-04-19.

The Department of Energy obligated $10.57 billion to Washington River Protection Solutions for management of the Hanford Site tank farms, the week's largest single award and part of a broader push across HHS and USDA that saw $18.3 billion flow to contact center operations and child nutrition programs respectively. Energy and defense contracting dominated the week's $47.1 billion in total obligations, though the Federal Register remained light with only environmental impact statements and a proposed rule on endangered species drawing notice. The Alumni Engagement Innovation Fund closes this week with no ceiling specified.

Context. $89,604,137,509 tracks the trailing-9-week average of $122,308,121,105.

This week's biggest contracts

$10,572,204,772 · Department of Energy → WASHINGTON RIVER PROTECTION SOLUTIONS LLC · energy

Management and operations of the Hanford Site tank farms for nuclear waste storage and handling.

Why it matters: Hanford is the largest environmental remediation project in the U.S., critical for managing legacy nuclear weapons production waste.

$2,779,736,793 · Department of Health and Human Services → MAXIMUS FEDERAL SERVICES, INC. · other

Funds contact center operations for Medicare and Medicaid program administration and beneficiary services.

$2,657,442,707 · Department of Agriculture → AGRICULTURE, TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF

CNP CN BLOCK PROG

Also this week:

Where the money went, by sector

• other — $12,702,263,636 across 60 awards (29%)
• energy — $11,419,775,390 across 10 awards (26%)
• defense — $9,207,362,347 across 39 awards (21%)
• aerospace — $7,697,025,656 across 31 awards (17%)
• telecom — $1,085,179,407 across 6 awards (2%)

From the Federal Register

Final rules

• Schedule of Fees for Consular Services-Fee for Administrative Processing of Request for Certificate of Loss of Nationality of the United Sta — State Department, 2026-04-17
• House Falls in Marine Terminals — Labor Department, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, 2026-04-17
• Settlement Policy for Small Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Cases — Transportation Department, Federal Aviation Administration, 2026-04-17

Proposed rules

• Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Endangered Species Status for Jamaican Kite Swallowtail — Interior Department, Fish and Wildlife Service, 2026-04-17
• Establishment of Class E Airspace; Rosenberg, TX — Transportation Department, Federal Aviation Administration, 2026-04-17

Notices and other

• Environmental Impact Statements; Notice of Availability — Environmental Protection Agency, 2026-04-17
• Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Extension: Regulation 14N and Schedule 14N — Securities and Exchange Commission, 2026-04-17
• Continuation of the National Emergency and of the Emergency Authority Relating to the Regulation of the Anchorage and Movement of Russian-Af — Executive Office of the President, 2026-04-17
• Importer of Controlled Substances Application: Royal Emerald Pharmaceuticals — Justice Department, Drug Enforcement Administration, 2026-04-17
• Records Schedules; Availability and Request for Comments — National Archives and Records Administration, 2026-04-17

On the record

Verbatim from agencies' own Federal Register filings this week.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), propose to list the Jamaican kite swallowtail (Eurytides marcellinus), a butterfly species from Jamaica, as an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act).

— Interior Department, proposed_rule, 2026-04-17

This action proposes to establish Class E airspace at Lane Airpark, Rosenberg, TX.

— Transportation Department, proposed_rule, 2026-04-17

The Department of State is correcting a rulemaking that appeared in the Federal Register on March 13, 2026.

— State Department, rule, 2026-04-17

Grants closing soon

Funding windows that close in the next 30 days. Quick-glance view — open Grants.gov for the SF-424 packet.

What to watch

Concrete things to look for in the next two weeks — re-bids opening up, rules taking effect, and funding windows closing.

Coming up for re-bid

• $4,425,784,857 · National Aeronautics and Space Administration → NORTHROP GRUMMAN SYSTEMS CORPORATION — ends 2026-06-30
• $3,282,976,341 · Department of Energy → JEFFERSON SCIENCE ASSOCIATES, LLC — ends 2026-05-31
• $2,511,478,245 · National Aeronautics and Space Administration → ASSOCIATION OF UNIVERSITIES FOR RESEARCH IN ASTRONOMY, INC. — ends 2026-06-30
• $2,075,724,899 · Department of Homeland Security → BOLLINGER SHIPYARDS LOCKPORT, L.L.C. — ends 2026-06-02

Rules taking effect

• Airworthiness Directives; DG Aviation GmbH (Type Certificate Previously Held by DG Flugzeugbau GmbH) Gliders — effective 2026-04-20
• Taking and Importing Marine Mammals; Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to Geophysical Surveys in the Gulf of America — effective 2026-04-20
• Enrolled Agent Special Enrollment Examination User Fee Update — effective 2026-04-20
• Airworthiness Directives; Costruzioni Aeronautiche Tecnam S.P.A. Airplanes — effective 2026-04-20

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The Buildout · Issue covering 2026-04-13 – 2026-04-19. Generated 2026-05-14. Data: USAspending.gov, Federal Register, Grants.gov, agency RSS. Subscribe · Archive · Methodology.