Government
Looking to put the Biden administration’s withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan under greater scrutiny, several Republican senators led by U.S. Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) recently introduced legislation that would create a bicameral Joint Select Committee on Afghanistan.
The bill, known only... Read More »
In a bicameral move, U.S. Reps. Dave Joyce (R-OH) and David Trone (D-MD) introduced the Protecting First Responders from Secondary Exposure Act last week to create a federal program providing local governments with resources to purchase containment devices for narcotics and offer training to first... Read More »
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced a proposal to enhance international air travel security for commercial flight travelers to and from the United States.
The published Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) addresses the expansion of existing advance data requirements via... Read More »
U.S. Reps. James Comer (R-KY) and Frank Lucas (R-OK) recently forwarded correspondence to the Department of Energy (DOE) requesting documents and communications regarding three DOE National Laboratories targeted by a Russian hacking team last year.
Comer, chairman of the House Committee on... Read More »
The U.S. Army has awarded engineering solutions firm Curtiss-Wright Corporation a contract supporting the new Enduring Shield platform to meet the Army’s cruise missile defense needs.
The contract scope calls for Curtiss-Wright to design and build electromechanical actuators for the first 16... Read More »
Although the majority – nearly 79 percent – of recommendations related to federal cybersecurity called for by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) in 2010 have been implemented, major room for improvement remains, and this week, U.S. Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-NY) added her voice to the... Read More »
The United States Department of the Air Force will conduct a BRAVO hackathon from March 20-24, 2023, as a way for American citizens to help it innovate using open-source software and data otherwise unapproved for production with classified or protected data.
This event will take place at... Read More »
U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-NJ) recently introduced the Crime Gun Tracing Modernization Act, which would enable the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) to electronically search gun sale records following a crime committed with a... Read More »
According to the second annual report from the Center for Countering Human Trafficking (CCHT), a part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), 2022 brought implementation plans for a new victim-centered approach at the agency, along with hundreds of victims aided and thousands of... Read More »
Seeking to increase preparedness for wildfires and reduce the risks they pose, a bipartisan group of senators this week introduced the Wildfire Emergency Act, using it to push for funding, new programs, and greater firefighter training efforts.
“Wildfires throughout Western states,... Read More »
U.S. Reps. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) and Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) recently introduced legislation that seeks to educate students and teachers regarding human trafficking.
The Human Trafficking and Exploitation Prevention Training Act would establish a grant program within the Office of... Read More »
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) officials are espousing the benefits of its Fieldable Solutions for Hemorrhage with bio-Artificial Resuscitation Products (FSHARP) program, which addresses blood supply shortages.
“When blood donations decline – as we have seen during the... Read More »
The joint work of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Air Force Research Lab (AFRL), Lockheed Martin, and Aerojet Rocketdyne yielded a successful second flight test for the Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept (HAWC) this week.
HAWC is a cruise missile that uses its own... Read More »
The North Carolina Association of Fire Chiefs (NCAFC) has received a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant.
The two-year, $839,380 funding allotment would support firefighter recruitment and retention. The NCAFC is partnering... Read More »
U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra (R-IA) recently touted the benefits of the newly introduced Foreign Adversary Risk Management (FARM) Act, which offers supply chains and family farms foreign threats protections.
“American farmland belongs to American farmers – period,” said Feenstra, who helped... Read More »
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) officials said the agency's newly released FY 2023-2026 Strategic Plan targets strengthened capabilities and aids the nation in attaining its highest ideals.
“The work of USCIS makes the possibility of America a reality for immigrants from... Read More »
U.S. Reps. Mike Garcia (R-CA), Young Kim (R-CA), Julia Brownley (D-CA), and Judy Chu (D-CA) recently introduced the Fire Information and Reaction Enhancement (FIRE) Act, which seeks to enhance wildfire detection efforts.
Specifically, the legislation would enable the National Oceanic and... Read More »
Fallout continues for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) over the hack and release of data from its official No-Fly List earlier this month, as U.S. Reps. Mark Green (R-TN) and Dan Bishop (R-NC) demanded answers and oversight of how this happened.
Green is the chairman of the... Read More »
The Disclosing Foreign Influence in Lobbying Act was reintroduced last week by U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) in a continued push to open up the Lobbying Disclosure Act and close loopholes that would increase awareness of foreign lobbying in the federal government.
Peters noted that the bill... Read More »
For successfully licensing its electronic radiological material tracker, Mobile Source Transit Security (MSTS), to private industry, a Pacific Northwest National Laboratory team was honored last week with a 2023 Federal Laboratory Consortium (FLC) Excellence in Technology Transfer Award.
The FLC... Read More »
Aerospace company Boeing has secured a $92 million, three-year U.S. Army award to produce additional Next Generation Automated Test System (NGATS) units.
NGATS is a single, mobile diagnostic tool providing real-time testing in the field while supplying automated fault diagnosis of over 100... Read More »
U.S. Sens. Gary Peters (D-MI) and Josh Hawley (R-MO) are urging the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to examine the national security risks of consulting companies contracting with the U.S. government and the Chinese government.
The senators also seek GAO examination of potential national... Read More »
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, agents last week concluded efforts ongoing since July 2022 to infiltrate the computer networks of the Hive ransomware group, seize its decryption keys and offer them to victims targeted for more than $130 million in demands.
“Last night, the Justice... Read More »
According to preliminary figures touted by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), new measures deployed by the Biden administration have led to drastic reductions in illegal border crossings in the first month of 2023, setting January up for the lowest levels of monthly border encounters since... Read More »
U.S. Reps. Morgan Griffith (R-VA), Bob Latta (R-OH), and Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) recently introduced the Halt All Lethal Trafficking of (HALT) Fentanyl Act, which seeks to permanently schedule fentanyl analogues while granting researchers the ability to conduct fentanyl substance... Read More »
United States Reps. Earl Carter (R-GA) and Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE) took a second go at introducing the Essential Medicines Strategic Stockpile Act (H.R.405) this week, seeking to create a pre-plotted list of generic medications essential for public health emergencies and cut dependence on China... Read More »
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) officials said a recently released report and toolkit seeks to aid K-12 schools in protecting against cybersecurity threats.
CISA noted Partnering to Safeguard K-12 Organizations from Cybersecurity Threats provides insight into the current... Read More »
Air Force officials have detailed a Howard University partnership in which the Historically Black College or University (HBCU) will lead a University Affiliated Research Center.
The focus on military systems tactical autonomy technology earmarks $12 million annually for Howard University for five... Read More »
This week, U.S. Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CN), and Chris Murphy (D-CN) introduced two bills to increase protections against guns nationwide following another series of mass shootings in California.
Respectively, the bills proposed were the Assault Weapons Ban and the Age... Read More »
In its latest operational update, covering the final month of 2022, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) figures showed a mix of figures, with overall encounters along the border increasing even as unlawful crossings fell and migration patterns shifted overall.
Large numbers of people... Read More »
Justice Department officials said Col. Hugh T. Clements Jr. has been appointed as the new Director of the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office).
“The Department’s COPS Office is central to our efforts to strengthen the public trust between communities and law... Read More »
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) noted its recent examination of comprehensive cybersecurity strategy and oversight challenges has resulted in a series of recommendations to address the concerns.
The GAO has issued 335 public recommendations regarding cybersecurity and oversight since... Read More »
Last week, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) turned to the public for information on those responsible for a series of threats against and attacks on reproductive health service facilities nationwide – and it put up $25,000 in rewards for that information.
In all, 10 incidents were... Read More »
Following up on a group letter from July 2022, United States Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ) last week called for Congressional action to block any proposed transfer of U.S. F-16 fighter jets and their components to Turkey.
Pallone and more than 30 House colleagues had urged the Biden administration... Read More »
As called for under the CARES Act stimulus bill of 2020, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) conducted an investigation of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) oversight practices surrounding research into pandemic pathogens and found cause for concern.
While such... Read More »
