Government
The Defense Information Systems Agency’s (DISA) Defense Spectrum Organization (DSO) named Alion Science and Technology on Wednesday as an awardee of a five-year, multiple-award contract valued up to $137 million to assist the military’s access to wireless spectrum frequencies.
Alion will... Read More »
U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) released data from a U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on Wednesday that shows that approximately 91 percent of known or suspected terrorists passed a background check to purchase a firearm or explosives between Feb. 2004 and Dec. 2015.
The GAO... Read More »
U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Bill Nelson (R-FL) urged the president on Wednesday to reevaluate the Relative Risk Score Threat Level applied to the Orlando area so that it qualifies for funding under the Urban Area Security Initiative.
The two senators sent letters to the Obama... Read More »
Emergent BioSolutions, Inc.’s supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) seeking approval for the manufacture of BioThrax (anthrax vaccine adsorbed) at the company’s Building 55 was accepted for review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) this week.
“Emergent’s... Read More »
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) began its new Prometheus program on Monday to identify prognostic biomarkers that indicate contagiousness following infection but prior to symptoms appearing in a patient.
Prometheus will seek to discover a minimal set of molecular... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on Tuesday selected the California Department of Health, in partnership with Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is Los Angeles, to serve a region covering Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada and the Pacific Islands.
With its selection, Cedar-Sinai... Read More »
The House Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee held a hearing on Tuesday concerning the U.S. public health response to antibiotic resistant bacteria, otherwise known as “superbugs.”
The hearing was initiated after the discovery of the MCR-1 gene in a Pennsylvania woman who contracted... Read More »
The Los Alamos National Laboratory is holding its annual Robot Rodeo, a competition that tests the abilities of bomb disposal robots from companies throughout the southwest, this week.
“The Robot Rodeo gives bomb-squad teams the opportunity to practice and hone their skills in a lively but... Read More »
The House Homeland Security Committee on Friday unanimously passed legislation authored by U.S. Rep. Will Hurd (R-TX) that enhances U.S. visa screening procedures at posts overseas.
The Strong Visa Integrity Secures America Act of 2016, H.R. 5253, seeks to deploy trained law enforcement... Read More »
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-CA), along with Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-WI), unveiled the House Republicans’ blueprint for security at home and abroad on Friday.
The blueprint is part of the House GOP’s “A Better Way” initiative, which outlines ideas to... Read More »
Lawrence Livermore National Lab (LLNL) researchers took to the New York City subway system last month to aid in conducting a series of tests on how a biological agent, such as anthrax, might disperse throughout the rapid transit system as a result of a bioterrorism attack or accidental release.... Read More »
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report on Tuesday detailing the security gaps in counterterrorism operations with overseas partners.
The report warns that many countries involved with the visa waiver program (VWP) are not holding to the agreements they made to exchange... Read More »
The House Energy and Commerce Committee held a Health Subcommittee markup on Tuesday, discussing the Strengthening Public Health Emergency Response Act, H.R. 3299.
"There is a clear role for the federal government to play in creating medical countermeasures and contributing to our nation's... Read More »
The Alliance for Biosecurity lauded the Senate Labor, Health and Human Services Appropriations Subcommittee on Tuesday for recommending sustained funding in its FY 2017 appropriations bill for some essential medical countermeasures programs at the Department of Health and Human Services.
The... Read More »
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) Collaborative Operations in Denied Environment (CODE) program awarded Phase 2 system integration contracts on Monday to two companies, with six other companies collaborating on the project.
The two awardees included Lockheed Martin... Read More »
The world-class team of global communications industry leaders that make up a company formed to bid on building the first nationwide 4G LTE broadband wireless network to successfully deliver the FirstNet network for public safety in the U.S. was announced this week.
Rivada Mercury’s group of... Read More »
House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX) recently released the June Terror Threat Snapshot, surveying growing threats that face America and its allies in the West.
“We face a challenging threat environment here at home as Islamist extremists abroad have dug into their... Read More »
The European Union (EU) Parliament’s Civil Liberties Committee recently approved proposals concerning border security, migration and cooperation with other countries.
More than one million migrants arrived in the EU by sea in 2015, according to the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR. This... Read More »
Battelle demonstrated on Friday that its new Resource Effective Bio-Identification System (REBS) can successfully perform all required functions, including the identification of threat agent bioaerosols.
REBS is a cost-effective bioaerosol identification system that provides rapid, flexible... Read More »
Science Applications International Corp. (SIAC) was awarded a five-year, multiple-award, indefinite deliver, indefinite quantity contract worth up to $460 million on Wednesday from the General Services Administration (GSA) Federal Systems Integration and Management (FEDSIM) and U.S. Cyber Command... Read More »
The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) trained a group of 31 first responders from Central America and Mexico during a sub-regional exercise held May 16-20.
The exercise trained the attendees on responses to chemical warfare agents and incidents with toxic industrial... Read More »
The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday overwhelmingly passed the Intelligence Authorization Act (IAA) for FY 2017 by a vote of 371-35.
This year’s IAA focuses resources on ongoing threats of terrorism from groups like ISIS, while also prioritizing long-term threats. The legislation... Read More »
Representatives from 21 Eastern European States voiced their support of awareness-raising efforts by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) during the first regional meeting on education and outreach early this month in Vilnius, Lithuania.
In total, 45 participants from... Read More »
The Blue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense on Wednesday applauded legislation advanced by the Senate Committee on Homeland Security to ensure that the U.S. is prepared for biological threats, including the Zika virus.
The National Biodefense Strategy Act of 2016, S. 2967, introduced by U.S. Sen.... Read More »
The International Criminal Police Organization’s (INTERPOL) Chemical and Explosives Terrorism Prevention Unit, in coordination with INTERPOL National Central Bureaus (NCBs), carried out exercises across southeast Asia last week.
Operation Chase II involved passenger and motor vehicle... Read More »
Tyco Integrated Security recently unveiled a high-tech security system at Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport to help prevent costly exit lane security breaches and increase operational efficiency.
“Airports will be able to save costs overall by using technology over manpower,”... Read More »
The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), ordered a bulk supply of Bavarian Nordic’s non-replicating smallpox vaccine Imvamune on Friday.
Imvamune is being developed as a smallpox vaccine for... Read More »
The Energy and Commerce Committee Subcommittee on Health held a hearing entitled “Examining H.R. 3299, Strengthening Public Health Response Act” on Thursday to examine legislation meant to better prepare the U.S. to fight biological threats.
The Strengthening Public Health Emergency Response... Read More »
More than 200 bomb technicians and first responders from five states and Canada came together this week to participate in what has become the biggest explosive public safety bomb squad training exercise in the world.
Held in New York, the state with the highest risk of terrorism in the nation,... Read More »
The 44th International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) European Regional Conference is being held this week, with participants discussing the challenges posed by record numbers of migrants traveling to Europe.
Following the publication of the joint Europol-INTERPOL report on migrant... Read More »
Many U.S. mid-cap companies are struggling to defend themselves against cyber attacks, begging the question of what is the appropriate role the federal government should play in getting the private sector cyber ready, according to Michael Balboni, president of RedLand Strategies, Inc., a business... Read More »
Congressional staff visited the campus of the National Defense University (NDU) on May 3 to participate in a wide array of lessons that demonstrated the complex nature of cyber defense operations.
The event was hosted by NDU, along with representative of U.S. Army Cyber Command (ARCYBER) and... Read More »
U.S. Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-TX) introduced new legislation on Thursday that requires the administration to impose sanctions on hackers linked to the Iranian government.
The Iran Cyber Sanctions Act of 2016 requires the administration to take action on an April 2015 executive order that... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) on Monday agreed to sponsor a new point-of-care anthrax diagnostic test.
The 18-month, $2.5 million agreement is through ASPR’s Biomedical Advanced Research and... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a sponsored study on Tuesday that found that up to 99 percent of chemical contamination can be removed by carefully removing clothes and wiping skin with a paper towel or dry wipe.
The study was sponsored by HHS’s Office of the... Read More »
