Policy
Coast Guard issues vessel cybersecurity guidelines
The Coast Guard released this week a best practices Safety Alert in the wake of what is categorized as a growing cybersecurity threat landscape amid expanded reliance on technology to support vessels. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is encouraging vessel and facility... Read More »
Rep. Norton seeks to give DC mayor control over National Guard for local emergencies
U.S. Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) proposed legislation to give the District of Columbia home-rule authority over the D.C. National Guard. This bill -- filed as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2020 -- would give the D.C. mayor the same authority that... Read More »
CBP seizes ship that carried 20 tons of cocaine to Philadelphia
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) seized 20 tons of cocaine last month at the Port of Philadelphia and seized the vessel July 4. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania issued a seizure warrant for the vessel, MSC Gayane, after an application was filed by the U.S.... Read More »
Texas man pleads guilty to terrorist activities with ISIS
A Houston man pleaded guilty to attempting to join and provide information to the terrorist organization the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS). Kaan Sercan Damlarkaya, 20, attempted to join and support ISIS, the U.S. Justice Department claims. He provided information to other ISIS... Read More »
Laredo CBP effort nets sizeable narcotics seizure
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials said a pair of recent Laredo enforcement operations yielded narcotics seizures worth a combined estimated street value exceeding $4.1 million. “I congratulate our officers for their dedication which has prevented these dangerous narcotics from... Read More »
Workshop aims to strengthen African disease response
South Africa’s National Institute for Communicable Diseases, in collaboration with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other global agencies, held a workshop last month addressing biosecurity and biosafety gaps. More than 50 experts from the Southern African region met in... Read More »
NTI effort addresses high consequence biological risks
Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) personnel recently joined a series of partners in addressing the increasing risks of a catastrophic biological event. Citing such factors as rapid technological advances, an increasingly interconnected world with health security challenges, ongoing global... Read More »
Stefanik language included in Intelligence Authorization Act
House officials said language from Rep. Elise Stefanik’s (R-NY) Counterintelligence Accountability Act bill has been incorporated in the 2019 Intelligence Authorization Act (IAA). The IAA ensures the Intelligence Community has the necessary resources, funding, and authorities to protect and... Read More »
CBP agriculture specialists identify rare, aggressive pest in Florida
A shipment of malangas -- a starchy root vegetable common in South America -- from Mexico to Florida’s Port Manatee was found to contain a rare, aggressive and highly destructive type of New World army ant known as Eciton. The discovery, made in June, was conducted by U.S. Customs and Border... Read More »
Congressmen urge advancement of Don’t Break Up the T-Band Act following GAO report
Following the release of a report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), Representatives Lee Zeldin (R-NY-1), Eliot Engel (D-NY-16), Peter King (R-NY-2), and Al Green (D-TX-09) recently urged the advancement of a bill that would preserve the T-Band spectrum for use by emergency... Read More »
PA Sen. Casey includes several key provisions in National Defense Authorization Act
U.S. Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) announced last week that several key provisions that he worked to advance were included in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The Taking Back Congressional Authority Over War Authorization amendment prohibits the United States from spending funds that could... Read More »
Engineer convicted of violating International Emergency Economic Powers Act
The Department of Justice said an electrical engineer has been found guilty of violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and faces a maximum prison sentence of 219 years. After a six-week trial, Yi-Chi Shih, 64, a part-time Los Angeles resident, was found guilty of... Read More »
IDSA board member urges Congressional effort to stabilize antibiotic market, encourage new drugs
In testimony before the House Oversight and Reform Subcommittee on National Security, Dr. Helen Boucher -- treasurer for the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) -- called for action to circumvent the growth of antimicrobial resistance. “While bacteria develop resistance in nature,... Read More »
Senators urge White House to put pressure on Iran’s nuclear program
The International Atomic Energy Agency recently confirmed Iran violated the restrictions on stockpiling enriched uranium specified in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). In response, three Republican senators sent a letter to President Donald Trump urging the administration to put... Read More »
DHS action expedites border wall project
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials said an agency waiver would expedite construction of three miles of a new border wall system in the Border Patrol’s Rio Grande Valley (RGV) Sector. The work would be located west of Roma near Fronton, in Starr County, Texas, with the waiver... Read More »
Army looks to biotech for solutions to protect soldiers from mosquito-borne illnesses
Since the U.S. Army discovered in 1904 that mosquitoes were transmitting yellow fever, malaria, and other diseases, they have been working on ways to protect themselves. Even in modern times, US troops, deployed to mosquito-infested areas, have been using basic or crude protections.... Read More »
Sen. Rubio touts DHS cybersecurity resources
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) is encouraging Florida League of Cities and Florida Association of Counties officials to take advantage of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) resources to bolster cybersecurity efforts. Rubio recently forwarded correspondence to both organizations in response to... Read More »
Legislation creates annual DHS deepfake report
A group of lawmakers recently introduced legislation designed to direct the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to conduct an annual study of deepfakes and other types of similar content. Deepfakes are hyper-realistic, digital manipulations of real content depicting events that did not... Read More »
Bill package addresses national security
House Republican recently introduced fours bills as part of the Republican’s American Security Agenda. The agenda is aimed at combating new and evolving threats by providing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) with resources, reforming structure and management, and granting the agency... Read More »
Package restores northern border staffing levels
House lawmakers have advanced an emergency spending package containing a provision restoring a robust Customs and Border Protection (CBP) presence along the northern border. “Restoring hours at these ports is critical to commerce, emergency medical services, and to everyone who lives and... Read More »
Sens. Burr, Warner laud passage of National Defense Authorization Act
Citing it as an investment in the nation’s Intelligence Community, Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Richard Burr (R-NC) and Vice Chairman Mark Warner (D-VA) recently commended the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) passage. The NDAA, which addresses fiscal year 2020,... Read More »
Bill includes $74M for Wright-Patterson Air Force Base
The U.S. Senate recently passed the fiscal year 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that includes $74 million for the National Air and Space Intelligence Center (NASIC) located at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio. Funding for the base will be used to continue upgrades to... Read More »
Antimicrobial resistance challenges discussed at G20 meeting
The healthcare community needs to address antimicrobial resistance, or future generations will be at risk, a leading health expert said at the first-ever joint meeting of G20 Finance and Health Ministers in Osaka, Japan last week. Antimicrobial resistance occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi,... Read More »
Experts warn of antimicrobial resistance, additional threats to national biosecurity
Dr. Asha George understands firsthand the threats biological agents can cause. George, who is executive director of the Blue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense, served in Operation Desert Storm. She knows what it’s like to be standing on the battlefield wondering whether antimicrobial resistant... Read More »
Senate bill would establish national campaign for vaccine awareness, support vaccine research
New legislation, recently introduced by U.S. Sens. Gary Peters (D-MI), Pat Roberts (R-KS) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), seeks to increase vaccination rates through a campaign of awareness, grants, and research support. Primarily, under the VACCINES Act, the Centers for Disease Control and... Read More »
Agencies working with communities to fight wildfires
Three government agencies are partnering with national and international first responders to address the problem of fires in the wildland-urban interface (WUI). The WUI is an area between the undeveloped land and urban areas. Fires in the WUI spread quickly and cover acres. Homes in the WUI are... Read More »
Fort Drum in New York gets missile defense site designation from DoD
The U.S. Department of Defense designated Fort Drum in Jefferson County, N.Y., as an East Coast Missile Defense Site. U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) commended the choice. “I am proud to announce that after years of leading the effort on behalf of Fort Drum on the House Armed Services... Read More »
Bill would cover firefighters under federal workers’ compensation
Legislation introduced in the U.S. Senate Tuesday would amend the Federal Employee Compensation Act to make it easier for firefighters who were injured or became ill as a result of their service to be covered by federal workers’ compensation. Currently, federal law does not recognize certain... Read More »
New report finds cybersecurity lacking across multiple federal agencies
A new report from U.S. Sens. Rob Portman (R-OH) and Tom Carper (D-DE) details the failure of eight federal agencies, over the course of two administrations, to address vulnerabilities in their IT infrastructure. The senators, who serve as the chairman and ranking member of the Permanent... Read More »
Bill addresses federal law enforcement weapons theft
Rep. Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA) introduced a measure designed to create minimum standards preventing federal law enforcement officers’ service weapons from becoming lost and stolen. The Federal Law Enforcement and Public Protection Act stems from the fact in recent years in the Bay Area and... Read More »
BAE Systems secures $90M Navy contract
Engineering and integrations systems firm BAE Systems has secured a five-year, $90 million contract to modernize and maintain C5ISR systems embedded within vehicles, watercraft, and specialized communications platforms. The indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity pact spans five years while... Read More »
Defense bill includes $1.7B for tanks
The fiscal year 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) includes $1.7 billion in funding to upgrade 165 Abrams tanks and a $249 million for upgrading Stryker Vehicles, a $78 million increase from last fiscal year. The bill also increases the Abrams tanks’ rate of production in Lima,... Read More »
Bill to fund bulletproof vests for law enforcement approved
The program that reimburses state, counties and local jurisdictions for up to 50 percent of the cost of body armor vests purchased for law enforcement officers was included this week will get funded via a House appropriations bill. The U.S. House approved the Bulletproof Vest Partnership program... Read More »
Pandemic and all-hazards preparedness, response law emboldens U.S. disaster recovery efforts
The Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness and Advancing (PAHPA) Innovation Act, S. 1379, became law on Monday with the president’s signature, prompting accolades from national stakeholders, company executives and federal lawmakers. The far-reaching law ensures the United States will be better... Read More »