Policy
Human trafficking provision signed into law as part of National Defense Authorization Act
U.S. Sens. Gary Peters (D-MI) and Rob Portman (R-OH) announced Monday that at provision they authored to combat human trafficking had been signed into law as part of the National Defense Authorization Act. Based on Peters and Portman’s DHS Blue Campaign Enhancement Act, the provision would... Read More »
CBP outlines expansion of Washington Simplified Arrival
Simplified Arrival, an enhanced international arrival process utilizing facial biometrics to automate manual document checks at border crossings, has been expanded in Washington state, according to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The expansion applies to border crossings at the... Read More »
Justice Department seeks to improve services for crime victims with more than $40M in grants
A total of 14 programs focused on victims of crime earned more than $40 million in grants from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) last week as a means of culturally specific enhancement to help them better reflect and support their communities. Of these, an award of nearly $2.9 million went to... Read More »
CDC releases emergency guidance for healthcare facilities in response to potential Omicron surge
As the number of Omicron variant cases of COVID-19 grows, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued updated guidance for healthcare workers regarding their isolation and quarantine times after being infected. Additionally, the CDC updated its guidance for contingency and... Read More »
CBP in final stages of upgrading marine vessel fleet
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials said Air and Marine Operations (AMO) is in the final stages of upgrading and modernizing its marine vessel fleet. The AMO contractually accepted its final 41-Foot SAFE Boat Coastal Interceptor Vessel (CIV) on Dec. 15. The vessel slated to arrive... Read More »
Sen. Warren, Rep. Escobar call on DoD to increase resilience against climate change
U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-TX), called on the U.S. Department of Defense to take proactive steps that would ensure defense assets and installations are ready in the face of climate change. In a letter sent to Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III,... Read More »
DHS seeking homeland security technology proposals
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) is soliciting research proposals from entities for a broad range of 11 homeland security technology needs. “A strength of the DHS SBIR program is that each year we can partner with innovative small businesses... Read More »
Secret Service appoints coordinator to address fraudulent COVID-19 relief
With stolen benefits from COVID-19 relief applications nearing $100 billion, Secret Service investigations of fraud at this scale are ramping up, and as part of those efforts, the agency this week appointed Assistant Special Agent in Charge Roy Dotson as National Pandemic Fraud Recovery... Read More »
ICE announces body camera pilot program
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced Tuesday it would be launching a body camera pilot program for ICE law enforcement officers in pre-planned operations. The use of body worn cameras, the agency said, will enhance ICE operations, including at-large arrests and searches, as... Read More »U.S. Senate passes bill to improve federal workforce’s understanding of AI
Bipartisan legislation authored by U.S. Sens. Gary Peters (D-MI) and Rob Portman (R-OH) aimed at improving the federal workforce’s understanding of artificial intelligence (AI) passed the U.S. Senate on Monday. The bill, Artificial Intelligence Training for the Acquisition Workforce Act, would... Read More »
HHS launches PandemicX Accelerator to narrow health inequities
In an effort to close health disparities brought to light and exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced this week that it has banded together with 15 digital health startups in the 2022 PandemicX Accelerator. “PandemicX will... Read More »House bill seeks to protect supply chain from adversaries
A group of lawmakers have introduced a measure they said seeks to protect the domestic supply chain from foreign adversaries that include China and Russia. Reps. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), and Victoria Spartz (R-IN) introduced the National Critical... Read More »
Top NIH scientists call for global collaboration in pursuit of universal coronavirus vaccine
With a growing body of evidence that novel coronaviruses will continue to infect animals to afflict humans anew, top scientists from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have called for collaboration in pursuit of a universal coronavirus vaccine. Drs. Anthony Fauci, Jeffery Taubenberger, and... Read More »
Rep. Thompson, Sen. Warren release report on disaster recovery barriers, equitable outcomes
U.S. Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, and U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) released a report Thursday from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) on Federal Government disaster recovery programming and equitable outcomes. The... Read More »
DEA warns criminal drug networks mass-producing fentanyl to flood U.S.
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has revealed that criminal drug networks based in Mexico are mass-producing fentanyl and fentanyl-laced products for sale in the United States. Fentanyl has been one of the major drivers of overdose deaths in recent years. Today, the DEA claims that... Read More »
Boost global vaccine rates for faster U.S. pandemic recovery, experts testify
A growing, immediate need exists to accelerate global coronavirus vaccination efforts to help ensure America’s continued economic recovery, experts testified during a Dec. 14 hearing held by the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis. To date, nearly eight billion coronavirus... Read More »
Senate advances bipartisan legislation to recruit, retain federal cybersecurity workforce
Legislation from U.S. Sens. Gary Peters (D-MI), John Hoeven (R-ND), and Jacky Rosen (D-NV) that aims to revamp and reenergize the federal cybersecurity workforce passed a major hurdle this week after it won advancement through the Senate. Reckoning with a world at times inseparable from its... Read More »
Artificial intelligence bills included in FY 2022 National Defense Authorization Act
U.S. Sens. Rob Portman (R-OH) and Martin Heinrich (D-NM), co-founders of the Senate Artificial Intelligence Caucus, said two of their bipartisan bills addressing Artificial Intelligence and the U.S. government have passed as part of the FY 2022 National Defense Authorization Act. The bills, the... Read More »
National Guard’s FireGuard wildfire detection program slated for extension through 2026
Among the many items nearing approval through the federal defense authorization bill this month is the National Guard’s FireGuard wildfire detection and tracking program in California. The defense bill has been advanced by both the Senate and House and merely awaits the signature of President... Read More »
Senate’s Medical Device Integrity Act would require medical device manufacturers comply with FDA record requests
With as many as 40 percent of medical device manufacturing facilities refusing to submit records when asked by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), U.S. Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-IL) and Bill Cassidy (R-LA) have proposed a bill that would encourage compliance. The requests were made between... Read More »
Johns Hopkins report cites failure to integrate primary care providers into COVID-19 response as missed opportunity
A new report released by the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security this week determined that the failure to incorporate primary care providers into the frontline response to COVID-19 and the larger public health system could have improved care, testing, and vaccination acceptance. In... Read More »
Lawmakers initiate Hypersonics Caucus
Lawmakers in the House of Representatives have launched the Hypersonics Caucus to promote hypersonic weapons utilization in accordance with national security strategy initiatives. Reps. Mo Brooks (R-AL) and Jim Banks (R-IN) spearheaded the effort. “Russia and China have spent the past two... Read More »
Senators urge DoD to address risk from overreliance on foreign pharmaceuticals
U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) urged the U.S. Department of Defense to address the DOD’s overreliance on pharmaceuticals produced abroad in a letter on Friday. The letter, to Gregory Kausner, acting Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, said... Read More »HSI-led investigations net seizure of Iranian weapons, fuel
An investigation by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigation’s (HSI) Washington D.C. Field Office and Defense Criminal Investigative Service’s (DCIS) Mid-Atlantic Field Office has led to the seizure of Iranian arms from vessels in the Arabian Sea.... Read More »
Global experts endorse legislation creating COVID-19 commission
More than 100 COVID-19 experts called on Congressional leaders Thursday to pass bipartisan legislation to create a COVID-19 Commission. The legislation, introduced by U.S. Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Roger Marshall (R-KS), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Joni Ernst (R-IA), and Richard Blumenthal... Read More »
Document highlights TSA air cargo security goals
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) recently published a document identifying and addressing emerging threats and ensuring the efficient flow of commerce. The document, the Air Cargo Security Roadmap, is the result of collaboration within the air cargo industry with stakeholders. It... Read More »
Senate Homeland Security Committee holds hearing on PFAS contamination
The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee held a hearing recently to examine the harmful impacts of Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) at military sites. U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) convened the hearing after a Department of Defense (DoD) Inspector... Read More »
Public awareness campaign urges support for program to end pandemic threat
The Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense announced launched a public awareness campaign Wednesday to support the Apollo Program for Biodefense, a project that aims to eliminate pandemics in ten years and reduce other biological threats. The campaign, similar in scope and importance to landing... Read More »
Congress eyes new international biothreat organization
Members of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee expressed support for a proposed initiative that would create an international organization aimed at detecting and preventing new biological threats, either unintentionally developed or intentionally introduced by rogue actors, like terrorists or... Read More »
Reps. Franklin, Comer seek update regarding foreign adversaries benefits theft
U.S. Reps. Scott Franklin (R-FL) and James Comer (R-KY) recently forwarded correspondence to the Justice Department, seeking an update regarding efforts to address COVID-19 relief benefits stolen by transnational and state-sponsored organizations. The representatives cited a report that found... Read More »
USAID announces Global Vaccine Access initiative
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announced Monday it was creating a new whole-of-government effort, the Initiative for Global Vaccine Access (Global VAX), to accelerate efforts worldwide to provide COVID-19 shots and overcome access barriers to vaccines, with a priority on... Read More »
ICE details U.S-Brazil human smuggling ring disruption
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) recently detailed a United States-Brazil collaboration that disrupted a major human trafficking operation. ICE officials indicated a probe spearheaded by the agency's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in conjunction with the Department of... Read More »
Armed forces join Japan in bilateral training exercise
The U.S. Marines, Navy, and Army will join Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) members for a bilateral training exercise in multiple training locations across Japan. Resolute Dragon 2021 involves almost 2,650 Marines from across III MEF, representing all functions of the Fleet Marine Force.... Read More »
Gavi to invest $155.7M into malaria vaccine rollout for sub-Saharan Africa through 2025
Last week, the board of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, approved an initial investment of $155.7 million to support the introduction, acquisition, and delivery of malaria vaccines throughout eligible nations in sub-Saharan Africa between 2022 and 2025. The public-private health organization hopes... Read More »