Government
The House of Representatives has advanced a measure sponsored by Rep. Anthony Gonzalez (R-OH) designed to aid the effort to stop money laundering supporting criminal activity.
The legislation was advanced with unanimous support.
The Advancing Innovation (AI) to Assist Law Enforcement Act... Read More »
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kevin K. McAleenan recently unveiled the agency’s plan to address terrorism and targeted violence during an event co-hosted by the Heritage Foundation.
The DHS Strategic Framework for Combating Terrorism and Targeted Violence at the Brookings... Read More »
There’s a new word on the street that packs a lot of punch: cyberbiosecurity, which is introducing a host of new multilayered threats to biodefense.
Members of the newly named Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense — formerly the Blue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense — last week sought a... Read More »
During an address at the Air Force Association’s Air, Space & Cyber conference, Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper encouraged military adaptability against potential space threats and cyberattacks.
Esper also said the emergence of Russia and China also expedites the need for adaptable... Read More »
In anticipation of the 2020 elections, federal lawmakers have approved $250 million in support of state and local governments’ efforts to strengthen election security.
The Senate Appropriations Committee recently granted approval to the allotment via an amendment to the Financial Services and... Read More »
The Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency recently awarded Western Maryland more than $5.6 million through the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant program.
The bulk of the funding, $5.5 million, was awarded to Frederick County while... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Drug Enforcement (DEA) is initiating an effort to combat the drug abuse epidemic in the South Coast region of Massachusetts.
The DEA is initiating a “360 Strategy” in that region – which is a comprehensive diversion control, law enforcement, and prevention program to... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Defense recently awarded Virginia Tech a $7.5 million Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative grant to study information latency, the measure of how quickly or slowly networked devices transmit information.
Virginia Tech will receive the funds over five years.... Read More »
Legislation that would prohibit the U.S. government from procuring drones manufactured by covered foreign entities identified as national security threats was introduced in the U.S. Senate this week.
The American Security Drone Act of 2019 was introduced by Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL), Rick... Read More »
BAE Systems has secured a $318 million Army contract to upgrade M88 recovery vehicles to an M88A3 configuration designed for single-vehicle recovery of the latest version Abrams tank.
“As the U.S. Army’s primary recovery vehicle, the M88 plays a critical role in the Army’s Armored Brigade... Read More »
U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar met with the Republic of Uganda President Yoweri Museveni this week to discuss a multilateral response to contain the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
The United States has long had a partnership with Uganda on... Read More »
Opioid vaccines hold the potential to counteract the plague of opioid-affiliated deaths that have swept the United States in recent years, according to the Government Accountability Office (GAO).
While clinical trials have begun, numerous barriers remain to use.
The matter of what exactly is... Read More »
Reps. Matt Cartwright (D-PA) and Daniel Webster (R-FL) introduced legislation Tuesday designed to enhance extreme weather events preparedness by establishing best practices to protect communities while saving taxpayer money.
The PREPARE Act would create an interagency council to provide... Read More »
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program operators are seeking to meet with Maryland-area small businesses to help address homeland security challenges.
Entities in the research and development domain are encouraged to attend Friday’s session,... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) through the U.S. Air Force Space Command recently awarded Iridium Communications a $738.5 million, seven-year, fixed-price contract to provide the agency with unlimited satellite services from its unique Low Earth Orbit constellation.
Iridium will provide... Read More »
U.S. Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) inquired about the information security practices of U.S. Customs and Border Protection contractors following a cyberattack that resulted in the theft of thousands of facial images of U.S. travelers.
The June attack led to the theft of at least 100,000 traveler ID... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) will add five accelerators to its network to enhance biotechnology innovates with technical and entrepreneurial support.
The new accelerators include Emory University & Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta; the Plug and Play Tech... Read More »
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) personnel at the Air and Marine Operations (AMO), National Air Security Operations Center Corpus Christi (NASOC-CC) recently aided Hurricane Dorian relief efforts in the Bahamas.
From Aug. 29 to Sept. 8, NASOC-CC’s aircrews deployed to Birmingham, Ala., and... Read More »
The Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense, the newly renamed biodefense study panel group, more accurately reflects the earnestness and importance of the five-year-old organization’s mission, group leaders said today.
“We do not simply study the problem,” said Dr. Asha George, executive... Read More »
September is National Preparedness Month, FEMA’s annual campaign to promote disaster and emergency planning. This year’s campaign theme is Prepared Not Scared.
As a former emergency management professional in the state of Texas, I can attest that for most public safety professionals, every... Read More »
U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar led a contingent of U.S. officials on a tour last week of an Ebola treatment center in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
The delegation, which toured a facility in Butembo, DRC, observed the detection, infection prevention, and... Read More »
The Government Accountability Office recommends two agencies be more transparent about technology’s capabilities.
The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) are agencies that research, develop, and test... Read More »
Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND) recently secured strong funding in the 2020 Energy and Water Appropriations bill to extend and refurbish nuclear warheads bolstering the nation’s defense.
“Given the security challenges around the globe, it’s vital we invest in our nuclear warheads and nuclear... Read More »
Faced with the rise of anti-vaccination movements in the developed world, the European Commission and the World Health Organization (WHO) hosted the first Global Vaccination Summit last week, to counter those movements and promote action against vaccine-preventable diseases.
The European... Read More »
Air Force officials said the recent release of the branch’s Artificial Intelligence Strategy emphasizes the importance of artificial intelligence capabilities to 21st-century missions.
“The Air Force is charged to provide the nation with Air and Space Superiority, Global Strike, Rapid Global... Read More »
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) personnel have partnered with the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate as a means of bolstering illegal opioid detection methods.
Synthetic Opioid Detection at Speed (SODAS) began after a report by the President’s... Read More »
Under Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis (I&A) and Chief Intelligence Officer David J. Glawe recently addressed the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism's (ICT’s) 2019 World Summit on Counter-Terrorism in Israel.
Organizers said the gathering serves as one of the world’s most... Read More »
The Senate Appropriations Committee approved the FY2020 funding bill for the Department of Defense by a narrow 16-15 margin.
The $694.9 billion funding bill includes an increase of $20.5 billion above FY2019. The recommendation consists of $622.5 billion in base funding, $70.7 billion for... Read More »
An assistant attorney general, U.S. attorneys, state department officials, and local legislators have joined together to form a new Human Trafficking Council in Mississippi, to enhance prevention, protection and prosecution efforts in the state.
The council will have authority throughout the... Read More »
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials said the agency’s recently released enforcement actions report reflects a decline in the last 90 days while activity levels remain high.
The analysis showed this year through August, the total number of people apprehended or found to be... Read More »
The U.S. Senate recently advanced a bill that seeks to make air travel more convenient for transportation industry workers.
The TSA Credential and Endorsement Harmonization Act of 2019 is designed to reduce the number of duplicate screenings by expanding TSA PreCheck to those who have already... Read More »
A U.S. House committee hearing on Wednesday focused on how to strengthen a federal program that protects high-risk chemical facilities from terrorist attacks.
“High-risk chemical facilities hold large stores of industrial chemicals that pose a safety and security risk to the American people... Read More »
The Trump Administration announced this week that Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar would lead a delegation to three nations currently faced with one of the worst outbreaks of Ebola in world health history.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) -- where the outbreak began and... Read More »
Kentucky’s Boyd County has been chosen for inclusion in the Appalachia High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) program.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said the HIDTA program provides law enforcement agencies in designated counties with coordination, equipment, technology,... Read More »
Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Joni Ernst (R-IA) introduced Tuesday legislation designed to address asylum fraud and protect children arriving at the border from human trafficking.
The End Child Trafficking Now Act of 2019, amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to require a DNA test to... Read More »
