Government
Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and Angus King (I-ME) recently requested information on why the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) PREDICT program was ended.
The USAID PREDICT program was founded in 2009... Read More »
U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar began a new path last week in the previously measured efforts to contain the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV), declaring a public health emergency for the nation and opening more flexibility for health authorities to respond.
The emergency... Read More »
U.S. Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) introduced a bill that seeks to ensure that federal prosecutors can effectively enforce the federal hate crimes law.
Since it was passed in 2009, the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr., Hate Crimes Prevention Act in 2009, federal courts... Read More »
U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis (R-IL) sponsored a bill that would provide states with more resources to secure their elections.
The Protect American Voters Act (H.R. 5707) updates the Help America Vote Act of 2002 by directing the Election Assistance Commission to issue guidelines for “non-voting”... Read More »
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) processed $2.7 trillion of imports and 410 million travelers last year, according to its Trade and Travel Fiscal Year 2019 Report.
“CBP continues to make lawful trade and travel more efficient and convenient while protecting the American people and our... Read More »
Members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee were briefed this week on the ongoing novel coronavirus outbreak by top members of the Trump administration and reiterate that risk remains low.
These members were addressed by Dr. Robert Redfield, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and... Read More »
DNA synthesis technologies— a cornerstone of life sciences research and biotechnology development—are becoming more advanced and commercially available. Although much of this technology is used for clinical diagnosis and treatment, its potential exploitation may lead to ominous biological... Read More »
A bill that would grant subpoena authority to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) in certain cases was approved by the House Committee on Homeland Security Wednesday.
The Cybersecurity Vulnerability Identification and Notification Act (H.R. 5680), introduced by Rep. Jim... Read More »
The House Homeland Security Committee advanced three bills designed to improve cybersecurity.
The three bills are the CISA Director Reform Act (H.R. 5679), introduced by Rep. John Katko (R-NY); the Transportation Security Transparency Improvement Act CISA Director Reform Act (H.R. 5670), ... Read More »
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) OFFensive Swarm-Enabled Tactics (OFFSET) program recently demonstrated the use of autonomous air and ground vehicles to raid an urban area.
During the demonstration, the autonomous vehicles were deployed to conduct the DARPA-designed... Read More »
With those infected by the novel coronavirus – 2019-nCoV – now topping 7,000, the World Health Organization (WHO) and World Economic Forum have jointly created a public-private collaboration known as the Pandemic Supply Chain Network (PSCN) to drive the emergency supply chain.
The network... Read More »
Faced with five confirmed cases and dozens of potential infections being traced across the U.S., senators from both parties have called on the federal government for updates and strategies for how to contain the recent outbreak of coronavirus.
For some, the concern lay with the Department of... Read More »
Though the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) continue to call risk to Americans by the Wuhan coronavirus -- 2019-nCoV -- low, U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) became the latest federal lawmaker this week to call for a public health... Read More »
The Pennsylvania State Senate approved two bills this week that would provide financial benefits for fire and emergency management services (EMS) workers.
The bills focus on easing the financial pressures faced by fire and EMS companies due to the increasing costs of equipment and training.... Read More »
Raytheon Company has secured a five-year, $197 million contract Air Force contract to aid the branch in modernizing its missile warning architecture.
The effort involves developing the Future Operationally Resilient Ground Evolution (FORGE) Mission Data Processing Application Framework (MDPAF),... Read More »
U.S. Senator Edward Markey (D-MA) is urging the Trump Administration to reestablish the White House global health security and biothreats directorate within the National Security Council.
In 2016, after the Ebola virus emerged, the Obama administration created the global health and biothreats... Read More »
President Donald Trump signed into law a bill that provides grants to nonprofits and faith-based organizations to secure their facilities against a potential terrorist attack.
The Protecting Faith-Based and Nonprofit Organizations from Terrorism Act authorizes $75 million annually for five years... Read More »
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has issued the Department of Commerce a series of recommendations addressing FirstNet contract oversight with state officials and other stakeholders.
FirstNet has been tasked with establishing a nationwide broadband network for public safety officials,... Read More »
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has joined the international effort to fight the Wuhan coronavirus -- a novel coronavirus known as 2019-nCoV -- through assistance to developers, a public information campaign and diagnostics development.
“We have a vital mission to protect and... Read More »
A bill that would require the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to establish a Cybersecurity State Coordinator program was introduced in the U.S. Senate last week.
The legislation would ensure that each state has its own Cybersecurity Coordinator, who would be responsible for responding to... Read More »
Virginia’s congressional delegation is urging the Army National Guard to prioritize funding for a new aviation facility in Richmond, Va., as part of the Future Years Defense Program (FYDP).
The lawmakers said the funding would help complete a facility to house the Virginia Army National... Read More »
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has issued a series of recommendations to the federal government and industry personnel as a means of combating illicit trade.
The guidelines stem from President Donald Trump’s April 3, 2019, Memorandum on Combating Trafficking in Counterfeit and... Read More »
Bipartisan legislation recently introduced in the Senate would ensure body armor and personal protective equipment (PPE) is properly-fitted and readily available for female service members.
Access to smaller sized PPE and female-specific PPE is severely limited and issued to only some women who... Read More »
Confirmed infections of the Wuhan coronavirus reached five people in the United States over the weekend, with already known cases in Washington state and Chicago being joined by new patients in California and Arizona.
In all cases, the patients recently returned to the United States from Wuhan,... Read More »
U.S. Sen. Edward Markey (D-MA) sent letters to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the State Department seeking information on their response to the coronavirus originating out of Wuhan, China.
Respiratory droplets, similar to influenza, can transmit the coronavirus. It... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has launched an initiative with American Airlines to combat human trafficking.
The DHS Blue Campaign seeks to raise awareness of human trafficking by sharing awareness materials, engaging in events and public awareness campaigns, and amplifying a... Read More »
California lawmakers recently joined public safety dispatchers from across the state in celebrating a bill classifying those in the vocation as first responders.
California State Assemblymember Rudy Salas (D-Bakersfield) said Assembly Bill 1945 (AB 1945) recognizes the work of public safety... Read More »
Department of the Treasury officials said the agency’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has sanctioned four international petrochemical and petroleum companies they said aided financing of Iran's terrorist activities.
The action targets Triliance Petrochemical Co. Ltd. (Triliance), a... Read More »
Eight in 10 voters say it is essential or very important for presidential candidates to have clear plans and policies concerning the threat of nuclear weapons, according to an analysis by Hart Research Associates.
The majority of voters said they would have a more favorable opinion of a... Read More »
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed a second U.S. case of the Wuhan coronavirus on Friday, pointing to a patient in Chicago while revealing that 63 other possible cases are being tracked across 22 states.
Though Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDC’s National Center... Read More »
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the U.S. Coast Guard recently intercepted a 60-foot low-profile go-fast vessel carrying 2,200 pounds of cocaine with a street value of $28 million.
A CBP Air and Marine Operations (AMO) P-3 Orion Long Range Tracker crew spotted a suspicious vessel in... Read More »
The U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence held a hearing this week on the federal government’s security clearance reform efforts.
The current security clearance model has been mostly unchanged for more than 70 years. The
Intelligence Authorization Act for FY 2018, 2019, and 2020,... Read More »
The City of Port St. Lucie, Fla., received a $1 million federal grant to install fiber optic cables to improve emergency communication systems.
The grant came through the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP). The city will use the money to install more... Read More »
Georgia Tech Applied Research Center (GTARC) received a $704,000 research and development contract from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) to help improve the public safety community’s information sharing and safeguarding (IS&S)... Read More »
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) is recommending that seven Department of Defense (DOD) acquisition programs adhere to key reliability practices.
The GAO was asked to examine DOD weapon system reliability. The DOD invests billions of dollars each year in major defense acquisition... Read More »
