Government
Despite a rocky approval process this year, last week both the U.S. House and Senate passed the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024, teeing it up for signature by President Joe Biden.
It was a rebuke of last minute efforts by the far right to scuttle the bill, as Democrats... Read More »
With a looming sunset date for the Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office (CWMD) at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Sens. Gary Peters (D-MI) and John Cornyn (R-TX) introduced a bill this week to keep the agency open for another two years.
At stake, according to Peters, is... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) this week published two models for states to consider in terms of legislation to address gun violence and improve gun safety.
The first model would lock in requirements for securing firearms in residences and vehicles to prevent their acquisition by... Read More »
Through the Defense University Research Instrumentation Program (DURIP), the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) announced awards of $161 million will support 281 university researchers from 39 states next year, to help purchase major equipment for defense-relevant research.
"DURIP awards build... Read More »
A group of 49 federal lawmakers – both bipartisan and bicameral – wrote to U.S. Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall this week calling for the use of fleet leveling to balance fighters across active duty squadrons and allow for production capacity to catch up to demand.
This attempt to... Read More »
Through its SAFER grant program, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) awarded more than $22.4 million this week to the city of Philadelphia, to reopen three city fire stations and staff them with firefighters for three years.
As a result, the city will hire and provide benefits to 72... Read More »
With the introduction of the Safeguarding American Genetic Data Act of 2023 last week, U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) sought to prevent biotechnology companies with ties to foreign adversaries from accessing American genetic data and personal health information.
“Every day, Americans get blood... Read More »
The Biden administration, through the U.S. Department of Commerce, reached a non-binding preliminary agreement with BAE Systems Electronic Systems to provide approximately $35 million in federal incentives for its new Microelectronics Center in Nashua, N.H.
By the end of the project, the... Read More »
An ongoing contract between BAE Systems and the U.S. Marine Corps was modified this week to include an additional $211 million of Amphibious Combat Vehicles (ACVs).
As a result, 40 full-rate production ACV Personnel (ACV-P) variants will be procured, and the extra funding will cover both... Read More »
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), a part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), this week released a new set of physical security performance goals for faith-based organizations.
Partially in response to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestinians,... Read More »
Opioids have remained a major focus for Congress in recent years, given the scope of their spread across the United States, and this came to a head once more this week with the House’s passage of the TRANQ Research Act (H.R.1734), which now heads to President Joe Biden.
If approved, the bill... Read More »
Climate change is causing increased frequency and severity of disasters across the country, leading to rising costs that represent a collective challenge for all levels of government, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) latest National Preparedness Report.
“As the... Read More »
Over the years, federal agencies worked to improve their abilities to detect, analyze and handle cybersecurity incidents, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), but some have failed to meet requirements surrounding the tracking of incidents.
Responses to ransomware... Read More »
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) awarded an $8 million contract to address systemic risk surrounding procurement and delivery of supplies to aerospace and defense company RTX and its Raytheon BBN Technologies unit this week.
"DARPA has emphasized that supply demand... Read More »
In letters to Congressional leadership last week, groups including the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP), National Association of Police Officers (NAPO), and Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association (FLEOA) called for U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH)’s FEND Off Fentanyl Act (S. 1271) to be... Read More »
Last week, a new bill introduced in both chambers of Congress – the Federal Cybersecurity Workforce Expansion Act – proposed improving U.S. cyber defenses and its cybersecurity workforce through two new federal training programs.
“There is a crippling shortage of cybersecurity workers that... Read More »
The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) awarded $3.15 million to the Critical Infrastructure Resilience Institute at the University of Illinois to develop Next Generation 911 interoperability testing.
NG911 systems allow for interconnection among... Read More »
Under legislation recently proposed by a collection of six senators – the Traveler Privacy Protection Act – the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) would be banned from using facial recognition technology and collecting facial biometric data at airports in the United States.... Read More »
In a letter to the chairman and ranking members of the Senate and House Armed Services Committees, a group of federal lawmakers this week urged strong language be added to the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to keep sensitive technologies from American adversaries.
“There is... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) earned a U.S. patent this week for its Homeland Explosive Consequence Assessment Tool (HExCAT), which offers a unique modeling system for emergency managers.
“With the HExCAT, response planners are now... Read More »
While the Fentanyl Eradication and Narcotics Deterrence (FEND) Off Fentanyl Act has made it into the National Defense bill, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) this week publicly pressed for its enactment and called on the Biden administration for more resources to counter illicit drugs.
FEND Off... Read More »
As a means to protect the U.S. supply chain, the inaugural meeting of the White House Council on Supply Chain Resilience recently saw the announcement of a new Supply Chain Resilience Center (SCRC) to analyze vulnerabilities and collaborate with the private sector.
Primarily, the new... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the U.K. National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) recently released joint guidelines for secure AI system development.
These guidelines were targeted at developers of any systems that use... Read More »
After 73 days on patrol, the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Legare returned to Virginia last week, concluding a mission that took it from oil discharge response to interdictions of unlawful migrant vessels.
In ranging from the Windward Passage to the South Florida Straits, the vessel covered more than... Read More »
Boeing expects to provide its first low rate production aircraft of the MH-139A Grey Wolf sometime next year, following delivery of its sixth and final test craft to the U.S. Air Force last month.
With its research, development, test and evaluation (RDT&E) phase completed, the company can now... Read More »
Assembling its Manufacturing Innovation Institutes (MII) and stakeholders last month, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) held a Chicago-based workshop on its efforts to modernize and how the manufacturing innovation ecosystem could support it.
"OSD ManTech, through the MIIs, spearheads... Read More »
In introducing the Supporting Accurate Views of Emergency Services (SAVES) Act this week, U.S. Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) and Norma Torres (D-CA) sought to reclassify 9-1-1 dispatchers as first responders.
Otherwise, the bill would not change anything about these dispatchers’ work or the... Read More »
A total of 14 organizations earned the Infectious Diseases Society of America’s (IDSA) Antimicrobial Stewardship Centers of Excellence designation last week, for programs advancing science to better fight antimicrobial resistance.
The program emphasized these institutions’ abilities to... Read More »
Working with interagency partners, the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) last week upgraded its language access plan, promoting improved access to its programs and activities for those with limited English proficiency.
Helming the effort was the DHS Office of Civil Rights and... Read More »
Seeking to halt aerial development, U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AK), echoed by U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) in the House, introduced the No ICBMS or Drones for Iran Act last week, brandishing the legislative threat of additional sanctions for the long-time American adversary.
The bill was... Read More »
Without action from Congress, Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) will soon expire, and in a report released last week by the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, lawmakers called for its swift reformation and reauthorization.
Section 702 authorizes... Read More »
Calumet Electronics Corporation of Michigan earned a $39.9 million award from the United States Department of Defense (DoD) this week as part of efforts to improve production capabilities for High-Density Build-Up (HDBU) substrates.
Pulled from the Defense Production Act Investment (DPAI)... Read More »
The U.S. Senate advanced with unanimous consent legislation this week that seeks to combat human trafficking and expand support for its victims.
The IMPACTT Human Trafficking Act (S.670) is now under consideration in the U.S. House.
“The federal government must increase support for... Read More »
Following up on President Joe Biden’s executive order on artificial intelligence last month, the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) released its first roadmap detailing a federal approach to developing and implementing AI... Read More »
A group of federal lawmakers recently introduced the National Coordination on Adaptation and Resilience for Security (NCARS) Act to create a national resilience strategy in the face of increasingly prevalent natural disasters spurred on by climate change.
Backed by U.S. Reps. Maria Elvira... Read More »
