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Friday, March 29th, 2024

Government

Amendment blocks Saudi nuclear weapon development

House legislators have adopted an amendment prohibiting U.S. sales of nuclear power equipment to Saudi Arabia without safeguards preventing nuclear weapon development. Officials said the House adopted the language as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act, which is expected to... Read More »

Legislation targets border trafficking, smuggling

Citing the disabling of smuggling and trafficking as a national intelligence priority, Reps. Will Hurd (R-TX) and Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) introduced last week a measure to address the matters along the border. The Trafficking and Smuggling Intelligence Act of 2019 ensures the intelligence... Read More »

DHS finishes assessment of contract oversight procedures

The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) maintains a recently completed audit determined the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) lacks contract management policy and guidance. The OIG said DHS components did not always properly solicit, award, and manage contracts according to federal and... Read More »

Amendment aids military bases damaged by earthquakes

Reps. Paul Cook (R-CA) and Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) introduced Wednesday a National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) amendment as a means of aiding military bases sustaining recent earthquake damage. The amendment includes damages sustained at Edwards Air Force Base, Fort Irwin, and Naval Air... Read More »

Mental health treatment bill moves to president’s desk

The Supporting and Treating Officers in Crisis (STOIC) Act, which would improve mental health treatment and support for our nation’s law enforcement officers, now heads to the president’s desk for signature. The bill highlights the need for suicide prevention. Law enforcement officers are... Read More »

Coast Guard issues vessel cybersecurity guidelines

The Coast Guard released this week a best practices Safety Alert in the wake of what is categorized as a growing cybersecurity threat landscape amid expanded reliance on technology to support vessels. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is encouraging vessel and facility... Read More »

Report examines public mass attacks in 2018

The Department of Homeland Security recently released its annual report on Mass Attacks in Public Spaces (MAPS). Last year there were 27 targeted attacks in the United States in public spaces in which three or more persons were harmed. A total of 91 people were killed and 107 were... Read More »

Laredo CBP effort nets sizeable narcotics seizure

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials said a pair of recent Laredo enforcement operations yielded narcotics seizures worth a combined estimated street value exceeding $4.1 million. “I congratulate our officers for their dedication which has prevented these dangerous narcotics from... Read More »

Workshop aims to strengthen African disease response

South Africa’s National Institute for Communicable Diseases, in collaboration with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other global agencies, held a workshop last month addressing biosecurity and biosafety gaps. More than 50 experts from the Southern African region met in... Read More »

Indy 500 aided DARPA threat detection effort

Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) officials said the 2019 Indianapolis 500 aided the department’s nuclear, biological and chemical threat detection process. During the event, an advanced network of sensors kept continued vigilance, providing security real-time awareness of any... Read More »

DHS action expedites border wall project

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials said an agency waiver would expedite construction of three miles of a new border wall system in the Border Patrol’s Rio Grande Valley (RGV) Sector. The work would be located west of Roma near Fronton, in Starr County, Texas, with the waiver... Read More »

ICE official assesses enforcement statistics

Immigration and Custom and Enforcement (ICE) Executive Associate Director Nathalie R. Asher recently offered an assessment of the agency’s January-March 2019 enforcement statistics, citing a commitment to arresting unlawfully present aliens. “During this time period, more than 85 percent of... Read More »

Sen. Rubio touts DHS cybersecurity resources

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) is encouraging Florida League of Cities and Florida Association of Counties officials to take advantage of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) resources to bolster cybersecurity efforts. Rubio recently forwarded correspondence to both organizations in response to... Read More »

Legislation creates annual DHS deepfake report

A group of lawmakers recently introduced legislation designed to direct the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to conduct an annual study of deepfakes and other types of similar content. Deepfakes are hyper-realistic, digital manipulations of real content depicting events that did not... Read More »

Bill package addresses national security

House Republican recently introduced fours bills as part of the Republican’s American Security Agenda. The agenda is aimed at combating new and evolving threats by providing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) with resources, reforming structure and management, and granting the agency... Read More »

Package restores northern border staffing levels

House lawmakers have advanced an emergency spending package containing a provision restoring a robust Customs and Border Protection (CBP) presence along the northern border. “Restoring hours at these ports is critical to commerce, emergency medical services, and to everyone who lives and... Read More »