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Legislation introduced to address terror threats with cloud-based apps like TikTok
U.S. Reps. August Pfluger (R-TX) and Jimmy Panetta (D-CA) announced they had introduced legislation to thwart terror threats from cloud-based apps like TikTok. Pfluger, chairman of the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Counterterrorism, Law Enforcement and Intelligence, said the... Read More »
Committee passes bill to extend Homeland Security Task Force’s authority
U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) announced Tuesday that the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee had passed legislation to reauthorize the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Joint Task Force’s authority. The bill would extend the task force’s authority for two... Read More »
DoD awards nearly $12M for lithium processing, production
On Monday, the U.S. Department of Defense said it had awarded $11.8 million to Lithium Nevada Corporation to accelerate the extraction and processing of lithium carbonate. The award, made via the Defense Production Act Investment office, directly supports the 2024 National Defense Industrial... Read More »
National Security Workforce gets AI-enabled tools for upskilling
A recent DARPA competition is working to develop tools to help build national security workforce training programs, officials said. As part of DARPA’s “Building an Adaptive and Competitive Workforce,” six teams received cash prizes to kickstart and refine solutions showing promise in... Read More »
CBP officers confiscate largest fentanyl seizure in history
On Thursday, officers with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency seized more than half of a ton of fentanyl pills, the largest singular fentanyl seizure in the agency’s history. The seizure of an estimated 4 million pills at the Port of Lukeville, AZ was part of Operation... Read More »
Legislation to deter foreign espionage introduced
On Tuesday, in the light of Cuban spy Manuel Rocha pleading guilty to anti-American espionage, U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL), John Cornyn (R-TX) and James Lankford (R-OK) introduced legislation to remove the statute of limitations on espionage charges. The Congressmen said they hoped that the... Read More »
Legislation introduced to drive semiconductor R&D
U.S. Rep. Blake Moore (R-UT) introduced legislation that would advance U.S. semiconductor research and development initiatives through tax credit initiatives. The legislation, the Semiconductor Technology Advancement and Research (STAR) Act, would create an investment tax credit for... Read More »
Legislation to advance federal cyber workforce introduced
On Friday, U.S. Sens. Mike Rounds (R-SD) and Jon Ossoff (D-GA) introduced legislation that would help advance the development of the country’s federal cyber workforce. Rounds, the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Cybersecurity said the legislation, the... Read More »
New York hosts “Ravens Challenge” training exercise
More than 100 public safety and military personnel participated in the 2024 “Ravens Challenge," New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said Saturday. “Ravens Challenge” is the world’s largest annual training exercise for public safety bomb squads and military explosive ordnance disposal teams. The... Read More »
Rep. Luetkemeyer introduces legislation to make PRC investments, reliance more transparent
On Thursday, U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkmeyer (R-MO), chair of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on National Security, Illicit Finance, and International Financial Institutions, joined U.S. Rep. John Moolenaar (R-MI), chair of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), to... Read More »
DHS announces inaugural members of Federal School Safety advisory board
On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced the inaugural members of the Federal School Safety Clearinghouse External Advisory Board. The group, school safety experts and education leaders, will provide recommendations on how to enhance school safety and security. Officials... Read More »
Border agency announces expanded enforcement against transnational criminal organizations
On Monday, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced it was expanding enforcement efforts against Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs). Troy Miller, senior official performing the duties of Commissioner said the agency would be expanding Operation Plaza Spike to the El Paso and... Read More »
DoD awards Constellium Muscle Shoals $23M to increase aluminum casting capacity
On Monday, the U.S. Department of Defense announced it had awarded Constellium Muscle Shoals LLC $23 million to increase annual aluminum casting production capacity. The award will also help the Muscle Shoals, Alabama-company secure the capability to supply U.S. mills with aluminum casting and... Read More »
Legislation introduced to reform travel screening practices
On Friday, U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) introduced legislation to reform screening practices at airports and ports of entry that can affect individuals who may pose no danger to national security. The Enhanced Oversight and Accountability in Screening Act would require the Secretary of the... Read More »
Human smuggler indicted in United States, arrested in Mexico
On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced that the alleged leader of an international human smuggling ring responsible for bringing thousands of migrants into the country had been arrested in Mexico. The defendant, Abdul Karim Conteh, 42, a Sierra Leone national, was... Read More »
Legislation introduced to investigate risk of reliance on foreign medication suppliers
On Wednesday, U.S. Sens. Gary Peters (D-MI) ad Joni Ernst (R-IA) introduced legislation that would require the U.S. Department of Defense to better understand the risk of relying on foreign suppliers for critical medications. The legislation, the Pharmaceutical Risk Assessment and Mitigation... Read More »
Legislation introduced to address potential waste in defense contracting
On Tuesday, U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) chair of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, introduced legislation to prevent defense contracting waste and fraud. The legislation, Denial Reporting in the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System Act, would... Read More »
Legislation introduced to strengthen border security support Shadow Wolves agents
On Monday, U.S. Sens. John Hoeven (R-ND) and Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) introduced legislation to support Shadow Wolves agents and strengthen border security. The legislation, the Shadow Wolves Improvement Act, would provide career mobility opportunities to Shadow Wolves law enforcement officers and... Read More »
NATO Allies to establish Integrated Cyber Defense Center
On Thursday, NATO Allies announced they had reached an agreement to establish a new center that will address increasingly sophisticated cyber threats. The NATO Integrated Cyber Defence Centre (NICC) will augment the protection of NATO and Allied networks as well as the use of cyberspace as an... Read More »
Legislation to harmonize federal cybersecurity regulations introduced
On Thursday, U.S. Sens. Gary Peters (D-MI) and James Lankford (R-OK) introduced legislation that would establish a comprehensive framework for cybersecurity regulations across the federal government. The bill, the Streamlining Federal Cybersecurity Regulations Act, seeks to address sometimes... Read More »
FEMA rule to increase flooding resiliency finalized
The Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced Wednesday it had published a final rule to implement Federal Flood Risk Management Standard (FFRMS). The final rule provides a flexible framework to increase resilience against flooding and help protect... Read More »
Legislation reauthorizing firefighter assistance signed into law
On Tuesday, legislation to extend federal programs aimed at helping to support local fire departments across the country was signed into law. The Fire Grants and Safety Act, authored by U.S. Sens. Gary Peters (D-MI), Susan Collins (R-ME), Tom Carper (D-DE), and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK),... Read More »
DARPA awards Lockheed Martin $4.6M contract to develop Artificial Intelligence tools
On Monday, Lockheed Martin announced the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) had awarded it a $4.6 million contract to develop Artificial Intelligence tools for dynamic, airborne missions. Part of DARPA’s Artificial Intelligence Reinforcements (AIR) program, the 18-month... Read More »
Legislation to secure titanium filed
In late June, U.S. Reps. Brad Wenstrup (R-OH) and Dan Kildee (D-MI) joined several of their colleagues to introduce legislation that would temporarily ensure U.S. titanium manufacturers have access to the global titanium marketplace. The Securing America’s Titanium Manufacturing Act would... Read More »
CISA holds cyber roundtables for industry, higher education, healthcare stakeholders
On Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Mark Green, M.D. (R-TN) held four cyber roundtables with Jen Easterly, director for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) for industry, higher education and healthcare stakeholders. The discussion followed hearings by the House Homeland Security... Read More »
Bipartisan Congressional group calls for passage of wildland firefighter pay fix
On Monday, a bipartisan group called for Congress to swiftly pass legislation to raise the pay for federal wildland firefighters in advance of wildfire season. U.S. Reps. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-WA), Joe Neguse (D-CO), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), and Jack Bergman (R-MI), met with wildland... Read More »
DHS to make new fire safety technology available for testing
On Monday, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) announced it would be making an innovative new fire safety tool available to fire departments across the country for testing. The tool – a helmet-mounted indoor visualization and navigation device... Read More »
House approves Homeland Security Appropriations Act funding
On Friday, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 212 to 203 to approve the Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2025. The $64.8 billion provides $600 million for southern border wall construction and forces Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to build the physical barriers... Read More »
Project ULTRA shows off first simulation of unmanned cargo transportation project
A new unmanned aerial systems (UAS) initiative focused on practical military drone applications, Project ULTRA, debuted last week with a simulation of the unmanned movement of cargo payloads for over 100 km. It was the Department of Defense’s (DoD) first task order related to the project,... Read More »
Military and Educational Data Integration Act proposes insights for students into military enlistment data
A bipartisan group of senators this week introduced the Military and Educational Data Integration Act, which would mandate a program granting state education systems access to enlistment data to potentially let high schools more accurately track the outcome of military careers. “The military... Read More »
DHS to distribute $160M for security at faith-based institutions, nonprofit organizations
As a first round of additional funding from the Biden administration, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) this week announced that $160 million would go to faith-based institutions and nonprofit organizations to better protect them from targeted attacks. This funding, pulled from the... Read More »
PHMSA sets new requirements for freight railroad hazmat disclosures
In a bid to improve rail safety and support first responders, the Biden administration’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) announced a final rule this week that would require railroads to proactively provide first responders with real-time details of hazmat... Read More »
U.S. congressman works to ensure nonprofits aren’t supporting terrorism
U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil (R-WI) has requested information from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) regarding U.S.-registered 501(c)(3) nonprofits and their potential involvement in terrorist activity. “We are concerned that nonprofit... Read More »
House committee chairs seek declassification of info surrounding Chinese drones’ risks to national security
In a letter to the U.S. Departments of Homeland Security (DHS) and Energy (DOE), House Committee on Homeland Security Chair Mark Green, MD (R-TN) and Committee on Energy and Commerce Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) urged the government to declassify information on the national security risks... Read More »