Lawmakers urge congressional leaders to take action on COVID-19 relief
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Rep. Josh Harder (D-CA) are among a group of lawmakers urging congressional leadership to include a six-month extension for states and local governments to spend their funding allocations provided by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act in... Read More »
FirstNet establishes Maryland cell site
Cecil County, Maryland officials said first responders there are recipients of a new, purpose-built FirstNet cell site - providing a boost in wireless communications. "This is great news for Earleville, Cecil County, and the surrounding areas,” Maryland State Sen. Steve Hershey (R-Dist. 36)... Read More »
Bill targets fraudulent firearms, ammunition sales
Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Bob Menendez (D-NJ) introduced a measure they said is designed to make it illegal to fraudulently sell firearms and ammunition online by circumventing technology companies’ terms of service. The Stop Online Fraudulent Sales of Firearms Act is part of a larger... Read More »
GAO calls for NNSA to develop formal plans detailing cost, benefit and risk of W87-1 warhead program
National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) plans to replace the W78 nuclear warhead with the W87-1 in 2030 are hamstrung by a lack of formal plans to assess cost, schedule, benefits, or risk, with as much as $14.8 billion on the line, according to the Government Accountability Office... Read More »
Trump administration lays out national distribution plan for Abbott BinaxNOW Ag Card rapid COVID-19 test
The federal government began its rollout of the Abbott BinaxNOW Ag Card rapid COVID-19 test to states this week with the announcement of a national distribution plan meant to support K-12 schools, higher education, critical infrastructure, first responders, and others as needed. The test is... Read More »
Report: Despite expanded access to naloxone through Medicaid, few getting overdose drug
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Underwood to chair cybersecurity subcommittee
House Committee on Homeland Security Chairman Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS) has appointed Rep. Lauren Underwood (D-IL) to chair the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection and Innovation. “From persistent attempts by foreign adversaries to influence our elections to growing... Read More »
DHS to evaluate first responder technology solutions
The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) Operational Experimentation (OpEx) Program has launched an effort to evaluate first responder technology solutions. The OpEx Program has released a Request for Information (RFI) with four Technical Topic Areas... Read More »Bicameral bill proposes cybersecurity assistance and improvements for small organizations
With the introduction of the Improving Cybersecurity of Small Organizations Act of 2020 (S. 4731) last week, a bipartisan mix of senators and representatives seek to promote guidance on cybersecurity for small organizations such as businesses, nonprofits and local government agencies. Among... Read More »
Senators call for greater federal assistance in battling western wildfires
In the aftermath of wildfires that devastated wide swaths of land and communities, senators wrote to President Donald Trump last week requesting additional federal aid for wildfire response efforts and to assist recovery. The senators requested quick increases to the number of fire personnel and... Read More »House advances bill that seeks to improve outage, disaster information reporting
The U.S. House of Representatives advanced legislation last week that would direct the Federal Communications Commission to issue reports after activation of the Disaster Information Reporting System and make improvements to network outage reporting. The passage of the Emergency Reporting Act... Read More »
Senate Republicans introduce bill to modify or repeal regulations that impede pandemic response
A bill was introduced in the U.S. Senate that seeks to repeal or modify regulations that have impeded the ability of the government to rapidly respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Pandemic Preparedness, Response, and Recovery Act establishes a commission charged with prioritizing regulation... Read More »
Victoria Coleman sworn to DARPA director post
Victoria Coleman, appointed as the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) 22nd director, received the oath of office from Acting Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Michael Kratsios. Coleman, who most recently served as senior advisor on microelectronics... Read More »
Firm secures language translation capabilities project
Kynamics of Mountain View, Calif., has secured a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate’s (S&T) Silicon Valley Innovation Program (SVIP) language translation capabilities funding award. The $192,520 in Phase 1 funding would yield a portable, standalone... Read More »