Government
The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG) Program remains open for applications until March 13 at 5:00 p.m. EST.
U.S. Rep. Dave Joyce (R-OH) is a strong proponent of the program and urges constituents to take advantage of it.
“Our fire... Read More »
The National Governors Association (NGA) became the most recent organization to oppose a nearly $1.7 billion cut from the National Guard and Reserve.
The cut is part of a Trump administration proposal that would divert $3.8 billion in funding to the U.S.-Mexico wall border.
The budget cuts... Read More »
The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on Monday night sent Congress a total $2.5 billion emergency supplemental spending request to fight the coronavirus outbreak, which top U.S. government officials warned will inevitably spread across the nation.
“The administration believes... Read More »
Three Republican senators recently sent a letter to Chad F. Wolf, Acting Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), wanting to know how a former al-Qaeda leader in Iraq was allowed to emigrate to the United States as a refugee and become a citizen.
The Department of Justice... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials is providing state governors with increased flexibility regarding electronic submission of required documents for REAL ID applications.
Specifically, DHS said states may now add identity and lawful status source documents, through a secure... Read More »
U.S. Reps. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) and Judy Chu (D-CA) are seeking information from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on reports that Chinese-American scientists are being targeted as potential spies.
A recent article in The New York Times reported... Read More »
While the weekend sent global fears of a COVID-19 pandemic spiking, Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) Director Rick Bright touted the speed at which public-private partnerships have acted on medical countermeasures.
BARDA has expanded agreements with three companies... Read More »
Adm. Karl Schultz, commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, recently gave his annual State of the Coast Guard Address in Charleston, S.C., highlighting the guard’s plans and accomplishments.
During the speech, Schultz outlined plans to expand the Coast Guard’s footprint in the Charleston area. ... Read More »
A bill was introduced in the U.S. Senate last week that would create a permanent fund to respond more quickly to public health emergencies.
The Public Health Emergency Response and Accountability Act (S. 3309) would provide automatic funding for the existing Public Health Emergency Fund based... Read More »
U.S. Reps. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) and Jerry McNerney (D-CA) introduced a bill in the House of Representatives to improve network resiliency in times of emergency.
The Reinforcing and Evaluating Service Integrity, Local Infrastructure, and Emergency Notification for Today’s Networks Act (H.R.... Read More »
A group of Democratic Senators recently questioned Defense Secretary Mark Esper about the decision to begin fielding W76-2 “low-yield” nuclear submarine-launched ballistic missile warheads.
“We write to express our concern about the recent decision to begin fielding the W76-2 low-yield... Read More »
A bill introduced in the U.S. Senate would give National Guard and Reserve members equal hazard duty incentive pay (HDIP).
The bill was sponsored by Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL). Similar legislation has already been introduced in the House.
“The... Read More »
The United States is struggling to implement a National Biodefense Strategy, according to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) review, but there are additional efforts that could make the strategy more effective.
GAO first recommended that the Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary should... Read More »
New legislation proposed by U.S. Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Tina Smith (D-MN) and Angus King (I-ME) seeks to create a permanent fund to encourage quicker responses to public health emergencies.
The Public Health Emergency Response and... Read More »
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recently launched biometric facial comparison technology at Houston’s William P. Hobby Airport.
The technology is intended to secure and streamline international travel.
CBP has processed more than 43 million travelers using biometric facial... Read More »
A group of Senate Democrats expressed concerns to Trump Administration officials about the relative lack of resources to respond to the coronavirus outbreak.
The request follows the release of the Trump Administration’s new budget proposal, which suggested cutting public health and... Read More »
The U.S. Air Force recently completed flight testing of the Collins Aerospace Senior Year Electro-Optical Reconnaissance System (SYERS) sensor, SYERS-2C, on the U-2.
The entire U-2 fleet has been upgraded with this sensor capability, which provides increased optical performance and accurate... Read More »
U.S. Reps. Kevin McCarthy (R-TX) and David Schweikert (R-AZ) sent a letter to both the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on the development of medicine to combat Valley Fever.
Valley Fever is a fungal infection that can cause fever,... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released funding opportunities for eight preparedness grant programs totaling nearly $1.8 billion.
The grant programs provide funding to state and local governments, as well as transportation authorities, nonprofits, and the private sector, to... Read More »
As part of the response to the ongoing novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak worldwide, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last week outlined its efforts to facilitate diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of the disease, keep an eye on the medical product supply chain and maximize the... Read More »
Legislation recently introduced in the House of Representatives would establish a Border Enforcement Security Team (BEST) within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) focused solely on reducing arms trafficking.
There are currently 57 security teams within DHS, but none with this dedicated... Read More »
The Department of Defense has transferred $3.8 billion to fund President Donald Trump’s southwest border wall, of which democrats on the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee strongly disapprove.
They recently voiced their opposition in a letter to Defense Secretary Mark Esper.
The... Read More »
A bipartisan group of U.S. senators recently called on the Department of Health and Human Services to set guidelines for how state and local governments will be reimbursed for costs incurred while assisting the federal response to the coronavirus outbreak.
“Many state and local health... Read More »
Wuhan, the epicenter of the coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic, is also a production hub for pharmaceutical ingredients for the United States. As the virus spreads throughout China, the U.S. drug supply remains vulnerable to reduced production and export of essential materials. There are 400 drug... Read More »
With the growing weight of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) felt at home and abroad, members of the Senate have grown increasingly uncomfortable with a nearly two-year-old vacancy for a national senior public health security expert -- and last week, 27 of them pushed for a change.
The vacancy... Read More »
U.S. Rep. Kay Granger (R-TX) said the federal government must strengthen its capacity to produce pharmaceuticals to fight the novel coronavirus.
“For years, I have fought to ensure that funds are available in case of a public health emergency, and I was assured the Administration has the... Read More »
U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's (DARPA) Defense Sciences Office awarded a contract to BAE Systems to develop technology to help detect weapons of mass destruction (WMD) activity.
The analytics technology will leverage multiple data sources and uses data fusion, adversary... Read More »
While the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has prompted a public health emergency declaration in the United States and renewed global concerns over pandemics, the White House 2021 budget would cut programs that help prevent infectious disease outbreaks and earned the ire of the Infectious Diseases... Read More »
Threats in the public areas of airports have increased, prompting the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) to issue a recommendation to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) administrator.
The recommendation suggests the administration develop a plan outlining roles and... Read More »
Programs that promote election security and combat cyberthreats will be fully funded in the next fiscal year’s budget, a DHS official confirmed at a Senate hearing.
The Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC) program as well as the Election Infrastructure Information... Read More »
Legislation was introduced this week to authorize a new grant program at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to address cybersecurity vulnerabilities on government networks.
State and local governments have been frequent targets of cybercriminals. In 2019, ransomware attacks hit... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) intends to add a new layer to its relationship with Janssen Research & Development as part of efforts to contain COVID-19 -- the 2019 novel coronavirus -- through shared R&D costs on the company's investigational vaccine.
The Biomedical... Read More »
The FBI Internet Complaint Center’s (IC3) 2019 Internet Crime Report found that last year, internet-enabled crimes spawned the highest number of complaints and losses since May 2000.
In all, IC3 took in 467,361 complaints in 2019 and tracked more than $3.5 billion in losses among individuals... Read More »
A recently introduced bipartisan bill would bring the Border Patrol pay system in line with other federal law enforcement agencies.
The Border Patrol Pay Security Act would ensure agents who work more than 80 hours per week would receive overtime pay at time and a half their normal rate. It... Read More »
The Trump Administration launched a new website called Schoolsafety.gov, which is a resource for kindergarten through grade 12 administrators, educators, parents, and law enforcement to prepare for various threats to safety and security.
"School safety is the number one priority of parents... Read More »
