Countermeasures
A group of Republican lawmakers recently introduced legislation that seeks to clarify and strengthen violent crime laws focusing on offenses such as homicide, bank robbery, carjacking, and kidnapping.
Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Chuck Grassley (R-IA) led 24 Republican colleagues in... Read More »
San Francisco declared monkeypox a local public health emergency last week as New York state designated the disease an imminent threat.
In both cases, such designations will help focus preparedness and response efforts to rising cases of monkeypox. That same disease was declared a public health... Read More »
A group of Republican legislators recently forwarded correspondence to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) leadership regarding the ICE budget shortfall and its impact.
U.S. Reps. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) and Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) led U.S.... Read More »
The newly introduced Enhancing DHS Drug Seizures Act seeks to bolster efforts by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to detect and seize illicit drugs, including through the development of a plan for stronger public-private partnerships.
Introduced by U.S. Sens. Gary Peters (D-MI) and... Read More »
Monkeypox vaccine production is about to experience a significant surge following the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval this week of a supplement to the Bavarian Nordic JYNNEOS vaccine and its fill-and-finish capabilities.
Through an expedited inspection and approval process,... Read More »
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the Ukrainian State Service of Special Communications and Information Protection of Ukraine (SSSCIP) recently announced an expanded cybersecurity Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC).
“I am incredibly pleased to sign this MOC to deepen... Read More »
The U.S. Senate recently advanced the Homicide Victims’ Families Rights Act, which will now move to President Joe Biden’s desk to be signed into law.
The bill, introduced by U.S. Reps. Michael McCaul (R-TX) and Eric Swalwell (D-CA), seeks to help address the nation’s growing number of... Read More »
Drawing on funds from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that $1 billion is now being offered through the Community Wildfire Defense Grant program to assist at-risk communities.
“Insight and guidance from the communities most at risk for... Read More »
To improve first responder operations and get them the best technology, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) hosted the Urban Operational Experimentation (OpEx) 2022 from July 18-22, 2022.
At this gathering, S&T and its National Urban Security... Read More »
A new report from U.S. Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH), ranking member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, has found that China’s efforts to undermine the U.S. Federal Reserve System have been going on since at least 2013.
According to the report, China’s Threat to... Read More »
The Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers (FLETC) recently outlined the results of a recent school safety summit tailored for federal, state, local, tribal, territorial, and campus law enforcement personnel.
The School Safety Summit: Strategies for Prevention was conducted July 19-21, 2022,... Read More »
More than 100 members of Congress, backed by more than 100 organizations, sent a letter to the Biden administration this week, urging additional funding for sexual health clinics dealing with the expanding monkeypox outbreak.
Signatories of the letter, led by U.S. Reps. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and... Read More »
U.S. Rep. Val Demings (D-FL), chair of the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Recovery, recently convened a roundtable in Orlando, Fla., addressing federal security and disaster response and recovery operations.
The initiative allowed central Florida... Read More »
National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center (IPR Center) authorities recently detailed collaboration with 94 Interpol member countries resulting in 7,800 illicit medication seizures totaling $11 million.
Operation Pangea XV was conducted from June 23-30. The scope of work included... Read More »
The biopharmaceutical company Soligenix, Inc. signed a worldwide exclusive license this week guaranteeing supply of its ricin antigen to SERB Pharmaceuticals, which the latter intends to use in developing a therapeutic treatment for ricin toxin poisoning.
"We are pleased to be partnering with... Read More »
U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) recently introduced legislation to increase penalties against southern border drug cartel spotters illegally transmitting information regarding Border Patrol positions or destroying communication devices.
Ernst noted the Transnational Criminal Organization Illicit... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced last week that the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) has been renamed and elevated to the status of a standalone agency.
In name, the office officially became the Administration for Strategic... Read More »
As an international monkeypox outbreak continues to grow in scope, U.S. Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), and 20 colleagues last week dispatched a letter to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) calling for... Read More »
U.S. Sens. Gary Peters (D-MI) and James Lankford (R-OK) recently introduced legislation that seeks to simplify the federal disaster recovery assistance application resource.
The Disaster Assistance Simplification Act requires the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Small Business... Read More »
Last week, U.S. Sens. Rob Portman (R-OH) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) introduced a security modernization bill known as the Quantum Computing Cybersecurity Preparedness Act to address wide-reaching cybersecurity issues.
The bill would require federal agencies to engage the most up-to-date... Read More »
A workshop co-hosted by the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) and sponsored by the National Service Foundation (NSF) gathered partners and panelists this month to discuss critical systems and the potential for compromising supply chains.
For the... Read More »
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) personnel officially opened the new Port of Entry at Alexandria Bay on July 19, noting the project would increase efficiency and improve traffic flow.
“It’s a state-of-the-art facility that greatly enhances our officers' ability to screen incoming... Read More »
U.S. Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, is advocating Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) preparedness for a potential domestic dirty bomb attack.
Thompson recently released findings from a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report,... Read More »
U.S. Sens. Gary Peters (D-MI) and John Cornyn (R-TX) introduced the Non-Intrusive Inspection Expansion Act (S. 4572) this week, seeking to improve the screening of vehicles, cargo, and overall border security at the nation’s ports of entry.
Drug detection is one of the major focuses of the... Read More »
To guide its future medical, workforce health and safety, and public health authority, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) this week established a new Office of Health Security.
It is the result of a reorganization, which will shuffle the department’s organizational structure to a... Read More »
U.S. Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Bob Menendez (D-NJ) recently introduced legislation to monitor Iran's nuclear weapons and missile capabilities.
The Iran Nuclear Weapons Capability Monitoring Act of 2022 would establish a Department of State-spearheaded task force responsible for regularly... Read More »
At a hearing convened by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, lawmakers heard from federal officials about the risks posed by chemical, biological, nuclear, and radiological weapons, U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) efforts to counter them, and the creation of... Read More »
Following a spate of shootings in Buffalo, N.Y., last summer, the Erie County Gun Violence Prevention Task Force was formed to promote gun violence reduction initiatives and engage with the community, and as of this week, it delivered its first report on the efforts and successes that... Read More »
An amendment sponsored by U.S. Rep. Bill Foster (D-IL) to improve nuclear security advanced out of the House last week, along with others included in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
"I was proud to vote for the National Defense Authorization Act, which makes major investments to... Read More »
The Space Development Agency (SDA) recently announced the award of two prototype agreements to provide National Defense Space Architecture (NDSA) missile warning/missile tracking warfighting capability.
The agreements, which include a potential total value of more than $1.3 billion, are... Read More »
The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence has advanced legislation introduced by U.S. Sen. Susan Collins (D-ME) that authorizes funding, provides legal authorities, and improves congressional Intelligence community oversight.
The committee passed the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal... Read More »
U.S. Rep. Dave Joyce (R-OH) is commending the House of Representatives' passage of the Fiscal Year 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and his amendment regarding Chinese product and resource dependency.
The amendment eliminates the domestic Armed Forces’ dependence on Chinese-made... Read More »
Worried about rapidly fixing cyber vulnerabilities in the highly digital age, U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) introduced the Proactive Cyber Initiatives Act of 2022 last week to direct investment into new cybersecurity efforts and shift from responsive defensive tactics to proactive ones.
The... Read More »
As concerns about the monkeypox outbreak worldwide continued to grow, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) responded last week with an order for another 2.5 million doses of Bavarian Nordic’s JYNNEOS monkeypox vaccine to fill the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS).
While the... Read More »
U.S. Rep. Val Demings (D-FL) is commending colleagues for including her legislation supporting the Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
The action will be included in the NDAA Fiscal Year 2023, which serves as the legislative foundation for... Read More »
