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Fair Pay for Federal Firefighters Act proposes short-term base pay raise despite USDA funding issues
U.S. Reps. Dan Newhouse (R-WA) and Doug LaMalfa (R-CA) introduced the Fair Pay for Federal Firefighters Act (H.R. 4831) last week, offering a base pay raise for federal firefighters as a stopgap against U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) pay cuts caused by lack of funds. “Our firefighters... Read More »
Safe to Tell Act reintroduced in House to support creation of school threat reporting programs
At a school safety roundtable last week, U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) reintroduced the Safe to Tell Act, proposing support for threat reporting programs nationwide. The bill would provide $25 million in grant funding annually for four years, so the Department of Justice could create... Read More »
Senate SEASONAL Act introduced to allow governors flexibility with H2-B nonimmigrant visas
As the United States reckons with its seasonal labor needs and political infighting over immigration, a new bipartisan effort known as the SEASONAL Act seeks to allow governors the ability to push supplemental H-2B visas beyond the national cap of 66,000. The SEASONAL Act, or the State... Read More »
Outbound Investment Transparency Act attached to Senate’s NDAA, promising additional national security investment screening
A years-running bipartisan effort at national security sector investment scrutiny from U.S. Sens. Bob Casey (D-PA) and John Cornyn (R-TX) gained traction this week, as the Senate voted to attach the Outbound Investment Transparency Act to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). At the... Read More »
Bill to set single deadline for individual-focused FEMA disaster programs applications advances Senate
The bipartisan Disaster Assistance Deadlines Alignment Act queued up for consideration in the House this week after advancing through the Senate, raising the possibility of a single application deadline for Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) disaster assistance programs. “Survivors of... Read More »
Space systems, services could become critical infrastructure under Space Infrastructure Act
Currently, the world is still reckoning with how the endless expanse of outer space fits into its terrestrial-focused economic structure, but the Space Infrastructure Act introduced in the House last week seeks to take a crack at it by filing space systems, services and technology under critical... Read More »
Bipartisan legislation targets increases to critical domestic medication supply, generics
Under the newly introduced Rolling Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient and Drug act, U.S. Sens. Gary Peters (D-MI), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) last week proposed fighting drug shortages with increased domestic supplies of critical medications. The bill would front and center... Read More »
DHS S&T awards $1.67M to Pacific Northwest National Lab for emergency response management research
The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) won $1.67 million from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) this week, to aid research into future emergency response structures. In this context, this includes items like emergency operation centers... Read More »
Senate approves banning China, Russia, North Korea and Iran from buying American farmland and agriculture
Seemingly joining with states’ efforts to block certain foreign entries into American agriculture, the U.S. Senate approved an amendment this week that would ban four nations in particular from buying up either American farmland or agricultural businesses. In a 91-7 vote, the Senate... Read More »
New York makes available $20M to improve local public safety, emergency communications systems
A total of $20 million in grant funding was made available to eligible counties in New York last week to improve land mobile radio interoperability among public safety agencies and, more generally, improve the state’s emergency communications systems. "Communications are the backbone of... Read More »
Reps. Kim, Manning reintroduce bill to keep U.S. dominant on telecommunications infrastructure
Working together, U.S. Reps. Young Kim (R-CA) and Kathy Manning (D-NC) reintroduced the Securing Global Telecommunications Act (H.R.4741) last week, resurrecting an attempt to push global telecommunications security by clamping down on foreign influence. Specifically, the bill was geared toward... Read More »
Mapping America’s Pharmaceutical Supply Act introduced in Senate push for public health preparedness
A database could help identify and address vulnerabilities in the pharmaceutical supply chain, according to a new bill proposed in the Senate last week – the Mapping America’s Pharmaceutical Supply Act (MAPS), allowing greater preparedness for public health threats overall. The... Read More »
Bicameral NICS Data Integrity Act seeks mandatory, thorough FBI gun-purchase background checks
As gun sales increase and shootings nationwide rise, U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and U.S. Rep. Jimmy Panetta (D-CA) have introduced the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) Data Integrity Act requiring the FBI to complete all gun-purchase background checks. Currently,... Read More »
Two health security bills propose investigation of nuclear war health impacts, safe use of gene synthesis
A pair of bills introduced by U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA) and U.S. Sen. Edward Markey (D-MA) this week would authorize the federal government to investigate the health impacts of nuclear weapons and promote safe design and mass-production of genetic material through artificial gene synthesis.... Read More »
Graphite mining to expand in DoD push for domestic battery production push
Through a new, $37.5 million agreement with Graphite One, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) is pushing expansion of domestic graphite mining and processing, in the hopes of building up American capabilities to produce large-capacity batteries. While such batteries are proving critical to... Read More »
Sens. Peters, Collins press for centralized point of coordination on Northern Border
Through introduction of the Northern Border Coordination Act, U.S. Sens. Gary Peters (D-MI) and Susan Collins (R-ME) seek to create a new center to improve border coordination and security under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and other authorities. “The federal government must... Read More »
Bill to ensure mass production of medical countermeasures greenlit by House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee
In a vote from the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health, U.S. Rep. Bob Latta’s (R-OH) Helping Evaluate Appropriate Logistical Infrastructure for National Government (HEALING) Response Act (H.R. 3703) was cleared as part of a broader reauthorization legislation. Latta’s bill, as... Read More »
Federal Information Security Modernization Act proposes greater coordination, reform of cybersecurity laws
A group of senators and representatives collectively introduced the Federal Information Security Modernization Act of 2023 this week in an effort to reform federal cybersecurity laws left largely untouched since 2014, and to increase communication between governmental entities. The Federal... Read More »
Congressional delegation talks collective cybersecurity in trip to Netherlands, Estonia and United Kingdom
Reaching out to allies overseas, a bipartisan congressional delegation recently headed to the Netherlands, Estonia and United Kingdom to discuss their cybersecurity approaches and ways to improve both information sharing and collective defense. The trip was led by House Homeland Security... Read More »
Bipartisan Disease X Act would push future pandemic response through countermeasures program
While some have started to put the COVID-19 pandemic firmly behind them, other emphasize the lessons learned, and two of those figures this week introduced the Senate Disease X Act of 2023, proposing creation of a federal Disease X Medical Countermeasures program. Meant to ready the nation for... Read More »
United States completes destruction of obsolete chemical weapons stockpile
Last week the United States destroyed its last declared chemical weapons stockpile, allowing the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to confirm that all such stockpiles worldwide are now verified gone. It was work spanning decades, following on from the ratification of... Read More »
Major collaborative study shows preparedness made largest difference in COVID-19 pandemic
Nations with the best capacity to prevent, detect and respond to disease threats weathered the COVID-19 pandemic with lower overall mortality rates than less prepared nations, according to a new study from partners at the Brown University School of Public Health, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and... Read More »
GAO issues recommendations on counterterrorism information sharing
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has issued a series of recommendations to agencies and leadership regarding counterterrorism information sharing enhancements. According to the GAO, it remains unclear if federal programs designed to improve how terrorism-related information is shared... Read More »
Senate HELP Committee seeks feedback on proposal to reauthorize public health emergency preparations
Members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee released a discussion draft of a reauthorization for the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act (PAHPA), in search of feedback. PAHPA, first created in 2006, established the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and... Read More »
Bipartisan bill would require federal flags to be fully American-made
The phrase “Made in the U.S.A” would take on greater importance under a new bill in the Senate, which would require federally-purchased flags to be 100 percent produced and manufactured in the United States. All-American Flag Act is the brainchild of U.S. Sens. Gary Peters (D-MI), Sherrod... Read More »
Inaugural FirstNet Authority Board member receives communications award
FirstNet Authority Board officials are commending a member of the inaugural Board for receiving a communications award for contributions to advancement of public safety broadband communications. Teri Takai received the Chief Harlin R. McEwen Public Safety Broadband Communications Award during... Read More »
Justice Department creates regional outreach program for missing or murdered indigenous persons
After years of warnings about the growing number of missing or murdered Indigenous people, and a traveling federal commission investigating the issue, the Justice Department this week announced the creation of the Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons (MMIP) Regional Outreach Program. The new... Read More »
Vulnerability Disclosure Program at DoD Cyber Crime Center sees major growth through partnership with George Mason University
Thanks to a partnership with George Mason University (GMU), the U.S. Department of Defense’s (DoD) Crime Center Vulnerability Disclosure Program has grown significantly and successfully on the heels of an award-winning pilot. Utilizing the National Security Innovation Network Capstone... Read More »
Senate advances bills to close foreign lobbying loophole
Two bills authored by U.S. Sens. Gary Peters (D-MI) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) won the approval of their colleagues this week, putting it to the House whether efforts will be taken to close lobbying loopholes the pair fear foreign adversaries could exploit. Respectively, the bills include the... Read More »
Senators seek to extend CFATS program and its security for chemical facilities
The Protecting and Securing Chemical Facilities from Terrorist Attacks Act was introduced in the Senate last week as a proposal to extend the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) program beyond its impending July expiration. Introduced by U.S. Sens. Gary Peters (D-MI), Shelley... Read More »
Bipartisan bill would direct U.S. military to identify ways of reducing mineral dependence on foreign adversaries
Concerned about the U.S. need for critical minerals and the domination of those minerals by adversarial nations, three U.S. senators have introduced a bipartisan bill that would direct the Department of Defense (DoD) to find ways to reduce its foreign mineral dependence. Currently, China... Read More »
U.S. DOT proposes new rule to improve freight rail safety through real-time hazmat info
New requirements could be coming to railroads’ provision of hazardous materials information to responders during hazmat incidents, based on a new rule proposed by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA). If adopted, the proposal... Read More »
Newly introduced Disaster Mitigation and Tax Parity Act proposes tax exemptions for natural disaster preparations
A bipartisan, bicameral collection of federal lawmakers introduced the Disaster Mitigation and Tax Party Act this week, proposing that homeowners be exempt from federal taxes on rebates received for hardening their homes against natural disasters. Such rebates are not a national given, but some... Read More »
Three bipartisan cybersecurity bills advance out of Senate Homeland Security Committee
Three cybersecurity-focused bills authored by U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) advanced to the full Senate from the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee this week, proposing new possibilities for outreach, rural hospitals and partnerships abroad. The DHS International Cyber Partner... Read More »