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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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
A major provision of the recently passed National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA, or H.R. 7900) – which advanced from the House by a vote of 329-101 last week – addresses commercial wildlife markets and illegal wildlife trafficking.
An amendment to the act from U.S. Reps. Mike Quigley... Read More »
U.S. Sens. Joni Ernst (R-IA), Gary Peters (D-MI), and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) introduced this week the CONSULT Act, which aims to prevent Russian, Chinese, and other countries of concern from meddling with national security consulting firms.
CONSULT, or the Combating Obstructive National Security... Read More »
