Government
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has deployed 1,000 Texas National Guard troops to the Southwest border to support Customs and Border Protection (CBP) regarding border security.
“The crisis at our southern border is unlike anything we’ve witnessed before and has put an enormous strain on the existing... Read More »
According to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), first responder communications are at serious risk with the pending, 2021 sale of the T-Band part of the radio spectrum.
In 11 large metropolitan areas, police, firefighters and other first responders rely heavily on that spectrum, and in... Read More »
Sen. Martha McSally (R-AZ) and Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) recently introduced legislation designed to strengthen the Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Biometric Identification Transnational Migration Alert Program (BITMAP), which detects and deters illicit criminal entry.
BITMAP is... Read More »
Pennsylvania state and county officials recently attended the Tabletop the Vote 2019 cyber training exercise hosted by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.
The exercise provided election, information technology, and security personnel... Read More »
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) met in Washington, D.C. last week to discuss how to help industry and government stakeholders manage risks to information and communications technology (ICT) supply chains.
At the meeting, CISA’s Information and Communications... Read More »
The House of Representatives has adopted an amendment adding $6 million to the Defense Appropriations bill to increase funding for Army, Army Reserve, and Army National Guard training.
The effort, introduced by Reps. Andy Barr (R-KY) and Brett Guthrie (R-KY), is part of H.R. 2740. It would take... Read More »
New legislation advanced last week by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee would allot $75 million annually for grants to nonprofits and faith-based organizations specifically dedicated helping them secure their facilities.
The Protecting Faith-based and Nonprofit... Read More »
Legislation recently introduced in Congress would provide tax incentives to firearm manufacturers and small businesses for the development of smart gun technologies while encouraging consumers to purchase firearms that utilize the technologies.
The Start Advancing Firearms Enhancements and... Read More »
The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee advanced a bill to foster stronger cybersecurity coordination between the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and state and local governments.
The State and Local Government Cybersecurity Act would encourage national... Read More »
Marine Corps personnel are currently evaluating the Compact Laser Weapons System, or CLaWS, which serves as the first Department of Defense (DoD)-approved ground-based laser.
The DoD has recently begun to view directed energy weapons, which are commonly known as lasers, as an affordable... Read More »
The World Health Organization (WHO) has launched a global campaign urging governmental adoption of the AWaRe tool to reduce the spread of antimicrobial resistance, adverse effects, and costs.
The AWaRe tool was developed by the WHO Essential Medicines List. It files antibiotics into three... Read More »
Bipartisan legislation recently introduced in the Senate aims to promote stronger cybersecurity coordination between the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and state and local governments.
The State and Local Government Cybersecurity Act encourages national cybersecurity watchdogs to share... Read More »
U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers (R-AL) introduced a legislative package of seven bills called the “American Security Agenda,” which seeks to improve the U.S. response to homeland security threats.
“The goal of the American Security Agenda is to take a hard look at the Department’s missions and act... Read More »
Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) is lauding the Coast Guard’s recent decision noting Seattle will serve as the homeport for three new Coast Guard polar security cutters, or polar icebreakers.
“This is great news,” Cantwell, the top Democrat on the Senate Commerce Committee, which has... Read More »
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently issued recommendations for National Nuclear Security Administration contractors.
The contractors design and manufacture explosive materials for nuclear weapons, and there are approximately 100 different nuclear- weapon components that... Read More »
Highlighting the success of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) in disaster response, U.S. Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND) recently encouraged federal departments to partner with his state’s Northern Plains UAS Test Site in the fight against wildfires.
Specifically, he wanted to see the site’s knowledge... Read More »
Cianbro was awarded a $12.2 million contract to expand the warehouse facility at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (PNSY) in Portsmouth, N.H.
“I have long advocated for the Navy to address the modernization needs at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, and I am so pleased to announce that the contract has... Read More »
The House Armed Services Committee (HASC) recently adopted a pair of National Defense Authorization Act amendments blocking the Guantanamo detainee transfers to certain countries presenting national security threats.
Rep. Mike Rogers (R-AL), ranking member of the House Homeland Security... Read More »
Rep. Scott Tipton (R-CO) recently proposed legislation supporting the military’s high-altitude aviation training in Colorado, backing Department of Defense (DoD) guidelines for aircraft flying over the state’s wilderness areas.
Tipton said the bill, H.R. 2347, and resolution, H.R. 440,... Read More »
Sens. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) and Rep. Ted Deutch (D-FL) introduced legislation last week that would make it illegal to distribute online blueprints and instructions that detail how to automatically program a 3D printer to produce or manufacture a firearm.
The 3D... Read More »
Prosecutors from Colombia, Mexico, and the United States met in June to develop joint strategies and best practices to dismantle the transnational criminal organizations that threaten the three nations.
The meeting of the Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCO) Working Group in Cartagena,... Read More »
As a means of addressing the rising threat of bioterrorism, the House Judiciary Committee has approved a bill criminalizing possession of certain deadly substances.
Reps. John Ratcliffe (R-TX) and Kathleen Rice (D-NY) introduced the Effective Prosecution of Possession of Biological Toxins and... Read More »
The Tactical Air and Land Forces (TAL) Subcommittee has voted to advance the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
The effort to advance the measure out of Committee by a 33-24 vote stems from the overarching goal of building a strong national defense, supporting service members and... Read More »
U.S. Reps. Tom Graves (R-GA) and Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) introduced legislation that seeks to provide American more tools to defend themselves online from cyberthreats.
The Active Cyber Defense Certainty Act (ACDC) makes changes to the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) to allow use of limited... Read More »
The House Committee has advanced legislation designed to enhance Internet of Things (IoT) devices security and aid in preventing attacks on information technology infrastructure on Oversight and Reform.
The Internet of Things Cybersecurity Improvement Act, which was introduced by Reps. Will Hurd... Read More »
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) issued an urgent funding request to Congress this week, stating that the immigration surge at the southern border threatens to deplete existing budgets.
Though the Trump Administration requested $4.5... Read More »
The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Blue Campaign recently partnered with the Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l, the world’s largest airline pilot union, to fight human trafficking.
The partnership also includes U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the U.S. Department of... Read More »
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) introduced a bill to make it harder for suspected terrorists to purchase firearms.
The Terror Intelligence Improvement Act would also provide more authority for law enforcement agencies to go after suspected terrorists while safeguarding Second Amendment... Read More »
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has received its allotment of fiscal year 2020 funding via the House Appropriations Committee’s approval of the Homeland Security bill.
“I am proud to have drafted this smart, effective and humane Homeland Security funding bill,” Rep. Lucille... Read More »
The U.S. House of Representatives passed companion legislation Tuesday to the Senate’s bipartisan Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Cyber Hunt and Incident Response Teams Act.
The act, reintroduced in February, authorizes the DHS’s National Protection and Programs Directorate to create... Read More »
The U.S. House of Representatives advanced three different bills that are designed to modernize the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
“DHS was created in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks,” Rep. Mike Rogers (R-AL), ranking member of the House Homeland Security Committee, said. “It’s... Read More »
House lawmakers recently advanced a measure designed to ensure federal support to protect the safety of non-profits at risk of terrorism, including synagogues, mosques, churches and other places of worship.
The Securing American Nonprofit Organizations Against Terrorism Act of 2019 authorizes a... Read More »
Department of Homeland Security Acting Secretary Kevin McAleenan recently announced that Kenneth Cuccinelli has been named acting director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
USCIS administers the immigration system, adjudicating more than 8.7 million requests for immigration... Read More »
A bill introduced in the Senate would require shell companies to disclose their true owners to the U.S. Department of Treasury.
The Improving Laundering Laws and Increasing Comprehensive Information Tracking of Criminal Activity in Shell Holdings (ILLICIT CASH) Act would help law enforcement... Read More »
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) took into custody more than 144,278 migrants along the southwest border in May, the highest total in 13 years.
It marked a 32 percent increase over April when 109,474 were taken into custody. This year over 530,000 have already been apprehended, and the... Read More »
