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With the introduction of the Securing American Acquisitions, Readiness and Military Stockpiles Act (S.B. 4805) this week, U.S. Sens. John Cornyn (R-TX) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) hope to enhance the military’s capabilities to refill stockpiles after they have been tapped for aid to American... Read More »
Looking to get ahead of future health concerns, a new financial intermediary fund (FIF) was officially launched last week by the FIF Governing Board, which was recently created with support from G20 members and other nations, along with a positive vote from the World Bank Board of... Read More »
New legislation introduced by U.S. Sens. Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Roger Wicker (R-MS) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) last week – the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2022 – would reauthorize the Coast Guard service throughout fiscal years 2022 and 2023.
“The Coast Guard keeps our maritime... Read More »
The public safety wireless communications provider known as FirstNet announced plans this week to expand 5G operations, improve connectivity and enhance 9-1-1 resiliency now that it has reached more than 40 cities throughout the United States.
“By delivering 5G on FirstNet in this unique way,... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security released a report this week entitled Electromagnetic Pulse Shielding Mitigations, which laid out a series of recommendations to best protect the National Public Warning System from the threat of an electromagnetic pulse (EMP).
EMPs can be man-made for... Read More »
In a letter to the Director of the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) last week, a dozen Republican senators critiqued an alleged policy proposal that conservative media said would cause illegal immigrants to be released into the United States before Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) could arrest... Read More »
An announcement from Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf last week revealed that $185 million in state funding would go toward two new programs to improve community safety, both through support for local law enforcement and county district attorneys’ offices.
The governor’s final capstone budget... Read More »
A year on, the United States is still learning lessons from its withdrawal from Afghanistan, and U.S. Reps. Jason Crow (D-CO) and Peter Meijer (R-MI) this week introduced the Will to Fight Act to guarantee foreign national resolve is on the list for study.
“As an Army Ranger in Iraq and... Read More »
Under the direction of the Biden administration and drawing on funds from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will create a $50 million Safeguarding Tomorrow Revolving Loan Fund program to bolster state and local government efforts to fight natural... Read More »
Grand River Aseptic Manufacturing (GRAM) of Grand Rapids, Mich., secured its place as the first face of domestic manufacturing for the JYNNEOS smallpox and monkeypox vaccine this week, thanks to an award of approximately $11 million in support from the United States Department of Health and Human... Read More »
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officially removed N95 respirators from its list of medical device shortages, deeming the personal protective equipment (PPE) in sufficient supply now after supply chain issues that roiled much of the COVID-19 pandemic.
While the agency will continue... Read More »
A federal grand jury in the Southern District of Texas indicted 10 alleged MS-13 gang members with a series of crimes.
The alleged crimes, according to the Department of Justice, include racketeering conspiracy, murder, attempted murder, and conspiracy to murder in aid of racketeering, related... Read More »
Leaders from the House Committees on Energy & Commerce and Homeland Security joined forces in a letter this week to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), pressing for urgent action to close vulnerabilities in the oversight of radiological material purchases.
Spurring the letter was a covert... Read More »
The Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense announced Tuesday that it had received a $5.2 million grant from Open Philanthropy to strengthen efforts to improve preparation for biological incidents, ranging from pandemics and zoonotic diseases to biological terrorism and warfare.
The private... Read More »
Amid a monkeypox outbreak that continues to grow internationally, the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) exercised an option on an existing contract this week to acquire additional intravenous (IV) doses of the TPOXX smallpox treatment.
TPOXX is a U.S. Food and Drug... Read More »
In a letter to leadership at the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) revealed nine whistleblowers had disclosed concerns of mislabeling and unauthorized manufacturing of... Read More »
Bavarian Nordic reached an agreement last week with pharmaceutical contract manufacturer Grand River Aseptic Manufacturing (GRAM), making arrangements backed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to create the first U.S. fill and finish line for the JYNNEOS vaccine.
JYNNEOS... Read More »
With no signs the monkeypox health emergency is set to lessen, a group of 14 U.S. senators wrote to congressional leadership this week in search of additional funding for a public health response in any future legislative package.
“Monkeypox is a serious threat to public health, and we need to... Read More »
Though border crossing attempts remain high, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reported in its July 2022 operational update that encounters at the Southwest border decreased by 4 percent, trending down for two months.
In terms of individuals encountered, the figures went up by 1 percent,... Read More »
In coordination with state and local partners this August, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced successfully identified and located 84 minors victimized by sex trafficking and sexual exploitation, as well as 37 children who had been actively missing.
Dubbed Operation Cross... Read More »
Utilizing money from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) put up more than $3 billion in funding last week for two grant programs meant to help communities improve resilience to climate change and extreme weather.
“Climate change is... Read More »
Responding to the ongoing American struggle with opioids in general and fentanyl in particular, United States Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) joined the Hamilton County Addiction Response Coalition (HC ARC) and other stakeholders in his state to address the larger issue of addiction and overdose.
Last... Read More »
Through letters dispatched to the U.S. Departments of Commerce, Energy, Health and Human Services, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, leaders of the House Energy and Commerce Committee have requested briefings on federal network... Read More »
As the monkeypox virus continues to spread and health officials warn that vaccine supply is not meeting demand, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) this week granted an emergency use authorization (EUA) to intradermal injections of Bavarian Nordic’s JYNNEOS vaccine.
The... Read More »
Pfizer Inc. and Valneva SE this week started a Phase 3 clinical study -- Vaccine Against Lyme for Outdoor Recreationists (VALOR) -- to study the efficacy, safety and immunogenicity of a Lyme disease vaccine candidate known as VLA15.
Currently, VLA15 is the only Lyme disease vaccine undergoing... Read More »
A bill from United States Sens. Gary Peters (D-MI) and James Lankford (R-OK), the Disaster Assistance Simplification Act, advanced out of Senate committee last week, putting to the Senate floor the idea of simplifying the application process for federal disaster assistance.
“Victims of natural... Read More »
The Safeguarding the Homeland from the Threats Posed by Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Act crossed its first legislative hurdle last week, after it was advanced from the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee to full Senate consideration.
A joint work from U.S. Sens. Gary... Read More »
From a virtual press conference to a letter to the White House, U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) led eight colleagues in pressing for the Biden administration to tap the Defense Production Act to increase domestic production of monkeypox vaccines.
The senator’s state of New York currently... Read More »
As more states and localities declare emergencies over the growing monkeypox outbreak, President Joe Biden this week formed an official White House national monkeypox team from other agencies to guide federal response.
Helming the team will be FEMA’s Regional Administrator for the American... Read More »
New legislation up for consideration in the U.S. House would revamp the Department of Homeland Security’s efforts on weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) by modernizing its Countering WMD office and formalizing and expanding its Office of Health Security.
The Health Security and Countering... Read More »
In a close vote of 217-213, the House advanced the Assault Weapons Bill (H.R. 1808) last week, marking the first vote on an assault weapons ban by the full House since 1994.
Originally introduced by U.S. Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI), the ban advanced with support from major gun safety... 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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
