Government
Three lawmakers have launched the Pandemic Preparedness Caucus, a coalition of lawmakers they said would work to advance policy solutions to challenges presented by COVID-19 and future public health emergencies.
Reps. Troy Balderson (R-OH) and Cindy Axne (D-IA) said the caucus would focus on... Read More »
Three lawmakers have introduced a measure designed to expand the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS’s) jurisdiction to review foreign investments in emerging and foundational technology.
Sens. Thom Tillis (R-NC), John Cornyn (R-TX), and Marco Rubio (R-FL) maintain the... Read More »
Doubling down on the increasingly rocky relationship between the United States and China, U.S. Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY) introduced the Transparency in Chinese Government Investment Act last week, which would require any publicly traded companies to reveal connections with China’s governing... Read More »
Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) introduced a bill designed to help veterans who served at Karshi Khanabad (K2) Airbase in Uzbekistan to obtain the health screenings and services they need.
According to a U.S. Army study conducted in 2015, service... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Department of Defense (DoD) struck a deal with the Janssen Pharmaceuticals, which is part of Johnson & Johnson, to demonstrate large-scale manufacturing and delivery of the company's COVID-19 vaccine candidate.
As part of the agreement,... Read More »
Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) and HIV Medicine Association (HIVMA) personnel have forwarded correspondence to the White House advocating nationwide mask requirements.
The organizations are urging issuance of a federal mask directive to curtail the spread of COVID-19, protect the... Read More »
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has earmarked $1 million to combat human trafficking in Alaska via the agency’s Housing Assistance Grants for Victims of Human Trafficking program.
Officials said Covenant House Alaska and the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation (AHFC) would receive $500,000 each... Read More »
Reps. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-NJ) and Diana DeGette (D-CO) forwarded correspondence Wednesday to Trump administration officials regarding an updated national COVID-19 vaccine plan.
Pallone and DeGette recently sent a second oversight letter to White House Coronavirus Task Force Coordinator Dr.... Read More »
Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) introduced this week a pair of bills he said are designed to further empower the nation’s strategic competition against the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
McCaul serves as Republican leader on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and Chairman of the China Task... Read More »
There are ways to conduct safe elections even during a pandemic like COVID-19, but despite lessons provided by recent primary elections, researchers from RAND warn that nine states have adopted no policies key to safe voter participation in the 2020 presidential election.
This lack of... Read More »
The House Problem Solvers Caucus has endorsed the COVID Preparedness, Response, and Effective Planning for Advanced Requirements by the Executive Branch (PREPARE) Act, a bill introduced by Reps. John Katko (R-NY) and Brad Schneider (D-IL).
The Problem Solvers Caucus is a bipartisan group in... Read More »
U.S. Rep. Tom Graves (R-GA) sponsored or cosponsored several cybersecurity bills that were passed recently by the U.S. House of Representatives in various funding bills.
Graves worked to include a dozen cybersecurity related priorities in more than half of the 12 funding bills, which now move... Read More »
A group of lawmakers recently introduced a bill they said is designed to find an alternative to PFAS contaminated firefighting foam.
Reps. Madeleine Dean (D-PA), Mike Gallagher (R-WI), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Dan Kildee (D-MI) and Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA) said the PFAS Free Foam Research and... Read More »
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) and Department of Transportation (DOT) have initiated the Next Generation 911 (NG911) systems interoperability and compatibility testing process.
The agencies have selected the Critical Infrastructure Resilience... Read More »
As the White House and states tussle over mail-in voting, U.S. Rep. Don Young (R-AK) introduced a bill this week known as the Emergency Assistance for Safe Elections (EASE) Act, which proposes to ensure safety at the polls and accuracy in mail-in counts.
“The November election is fast... Read More »
Reps. Michael McCaul (R-TX) and Jim Langevin (D-RI) introduced this week a measure designed to streamline the information transfer on imminent violence threats, whether the intent is to harm oneself or others.
The Protecting America through Information Sharing Act empowers the Department of... Read More »
The U.S. Department of the Air Force and Department of Defense are hosting a virtual event for cybersecurity professionals on securing space systems.
The Space Security Challenge 2020, which will run Aug. 7-9, features a mixture of virtual workshops and prize challenges along with a live... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense (JPEO-CBRND) awarded Johns Hopkins researchers $35 million for clinical trials to test a convalescent blood plasma outpatient treatment to fight COVID-19.
The treatment... Read More »
Findings from a Government Accountability Office (GAO) analysis requested by a pair of lawmakers determined nuclear weapons modernization costs will be larger than estimated unless programs are scaled or scrapped.
Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Edward J. Markey (D-MA) requested the GAO... Read More »
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has initiated new technology at John F. Kennedy International and LaGuardia Airports capable of validating traveler identification and confirming flight information in near real-time.
The TSA said JFK International Airport has 22 credential... Read More »
In a $1.3 trillion government funding bill advanced by the House last week, pandemic preparedness remained front and center, with several provisions incorporated to demand adequate stocking of the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) and regular reports on that stockpile.
The provisions were... Read More »
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced last week that it will award $248.7 million worth of contracts to seven biomedical diagnostic companies for new COVID-19 tests capable of increasing the number, type, and availability of tests by millions per week in short order.
With the need... Read More »
Recognizing the threat of both natural and terrorist-directed anthrax, the U.S. Coast Guard recently undertook its first decontamination field test to determine the best method of decontaminating facilities and vessels exposed to the deadly disease.
This was facilitated by the Analysis for... Read More »
The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) has reached an agreement with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals to procure Ebola virus treatment as part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) effort to prepare for public health emergencies.
The treatment, known as... Read More »
First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) officials said the high-speed broadband communications platform dedicated to and purpose built for America’s first responders is expanding across New York state.
Officials are espousing the benefits of adding 22 new FirstNet cell sites and other... Read More »
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) recently hosted the third Tabletop the Vote initiative, which officials said serves as a test of Election Day response plans.
The exercise executed July 28 to 30 included 37 states and approximately 2,100 total participants, officials... Read More »
Under an agreement reached with global biopharmaceutical companies Sanofi and GSK, the U.S. government will pay as much as $2.1 billion for development and delivery of 100 million doses of a vaccine to combat COVID-19.
It’s the largest agreement yet negotiated by Operation Warp Speed and it... Read More »
The U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee approved a bill this week that would authorize U.S. participation in the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), a public-private partnership developing vaccines for coronavirus and other infectious pathogens.
The legislation, the Securing... Read More »
As COVID-19 caused deaths in the United States have crossed 150,000, the Center for Health Security has released a report noting policy actions and data reporting needed at all levels of government to effectively turn the tide against the pandemic.
“Unlike many countries in the world, the... Read More »
A pair of lawmakers recently released a requested Government Accountability Office (GAO) analysis regarding potential national security threats resulting from climate change impacts.
Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Jack Reed (D-RI) sought to examine climate change impact on defense contractors... Read More »
The Department of Energy (DOE), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) are working together to share health data as well as research and expertise to aid in the fight against COVID-19.
The initiative between these three government agencies is... Read More »
A COVID-19 vaccine candidate -- mRNA-1273 -- produced by Moderna, Inc. and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) brought broad immune responses and protection to the upper and lower airways of nonhuman primates, NIAID scientists reported this week.
After two doses of... Read More »
A proposed COVID-19 appropriations bill released on Monday by U.S. Senate Republicans takes solid steps toward providing urgently needed relief and resources, but it also falls short of necessary responses, according to the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) and the HIV Medicine... Read More »
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) officials said the agency has expanded its COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing capacity via the Center for Innovation in Advanced Development and Manufacturing (CIADM).
The Texas A&M University System venue’s $265 million task order falls under an... Read More »
At sites across the United States, a phase 3 trial of the investigational vaccine mRNA-1273, jointly developed by Moderna, Inc. and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) is set to enroll 30,000 volunteers for testing.
Anyone 18 years of age and older, who does not... Read More »
