Policy
Bill addresses small business cyberattack preparedness
U.S. Reps. Andrew Garbarino (R-NY), Steve Chabot (R-OH), Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA), and Dwight Evans (D-PA) introduced Monday the Small Business Cyber Security Training Act, which seeks to aid small businesses in cyberattack preparedness. The legislators indicated the legislation would assist the... Read More »
Report details southern border activity
A fact sheet recently released by Homeland Security Republicans showed that southern border activity demonstrates the situation has become a humanitarian crisis involving thousands of migrants. According to the report, border crossings this year included more than 1.1 million illegal crossings... Read More »
Bipartisan group of legislators advocate maximum wildfire preparedness
A group of Oregon lawmakers led by U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR) is encouraging the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to make efforts to maximize wildfire preparedness initiatives. Merkley and DeFazio, chair of the House Transportation and... Read More »
Two House bills seek to guarantee U.S. treats pandemics as national security threats
Given the destructive nature of the past year and a half under the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) last week introduced two bills to strengthen pandemic response and treat them as national security threats rather than political minefields. First was the National Security... Read More »
DHS announces funding for preparedness grants
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas announced Friday the final allocations for seven competitive preparedness grants for Fiscal Year 2021. The $475 million in grants add to the nearly $1.5 billion in non-competitive grant funding announced earlier this year, bring to $2... Read More »
CEPI seeks improved flow of critical COVID-19 vaccine supply chain with COVAX Marketplace
Partners in COVAX, a global collaborative effort to accelerate development, manufacturing and equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines, launched the COVAX Marketplace last week to match buyers with suppliers through a secure new platform and overcome short-term bottlenecks. The Marketplace is a... Read More »
Sen. Ernst sounds alarm on threats to homeland after Afghanistan exit
U.S. Sen. Joni Ernest (R-IA) introduced legislation Wednesday that would require military and intelligence agencies to monitor the threat from terrorist organizations that could result from the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan. Ernst, a combat veteran and member of the Senate Armed... Read More »
Justice, Homeland Security Departments launch website designed to combat ransomware
Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials said the agencies have united with federal partners to launch a new website designed to combat ransomware attacks. StopRansomware.gov serves as a hub for ransomware resources accessible to individuals,... Read More »
Legislation protecting full-time jobs of FEMA Reservists advances Senate
A bill seeking to prevent Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Reservists from losing full-time employment when aiding community disaster response advanced the U.S. Senate last week. U.S. Sens. Gary Peters (D-MI) and Rob Portman (R-OH) introduced the Civilian Reservist Emergency Workforce... Read More »
U.S. Surgeon General stresses continued threat of health misinformation amid COVID-19 vaccination efforts
U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy recently issued the first Surgeon General's Advisory of this administration warning of the urgent dangers posed by health misinformation and disinformation, threatening COVID-19 vaccination efforts in the United States. The American public needs to be aware... Read More »
Bills to strengthen cybersecurity advance in Senate
The U.S. Senate advanced this week legislation authored by U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) designed to protect public and private networks from cyber threats. Peters' two pieces of legislation - The K-12 Cybersecurity Act and the Supply Chain Security Training Act - passed unanimously in the... Read More »
Legislation offers protections from clawbacks of assistance to disaster victims
U.S. Sens. Rob Portman (R-OH) and Gary Peters (D-MI) recently introduced legislation designed to offer disaster victims protections from Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) assistance clawbacks due to agency errors. The senators commended the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental... Read More »
Appropriations Committee approves Defense Funding Bill for FY 2022
On Tuesday, the U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations Committee approved the Defense Funding bill for FY 2022 on a 33-23 vote. The bill provides $705.9 billion in defense spending, an increase of 1.4 percent over 2021’s budget. The increase reflects President Joe Biden’s budget... Read More »
Cyber, infrastructure investments included in approved Homeland Security funding bill
The U.S. House Appropriations Committee announced this week the approval of the fiscal year 2022 Homeland Security funding bill, which invests in cyber and infrastructure security while combating domestic extremist violence. The action also expands the Coast Guard's Arctic reach and the maritime... Read More »
HHS awards $398M from the American Rescue Plan to aid small rural hospitals with COVID-19 efforts
Approximately $398 million was issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) this week through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) as a means of helping 1,540 small rural hospitals address COVID-19 testing and mitigation. “Our state-based SHIP grantees... Read More »
Congress launches probe into Covid-19 origins
A congressional panel began the formal process of investigating the origins of Covid-19 Wednesday amid recriminations over allegations of researchers being intentionally misled by the Chinese government and American media and politicians. U.S. Rep. Michael Waltz (R-FL) labeled it “a bit... Read More »
IAEA breaks ground on International Nuclear Security Training Center
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) announced it had broken ground on a new facility to strengthen countries’ abilities to tackle nuclear terrorism Monday. According to Rafael Mariano Grossi, director general of IAEA, the new IAEA Nuclear Security Training and Demonstration Centre... Read More »
Reps. Burgess, Lee introduce legislation incentivizing a full DOD audit
U.S. Reps. Michael Burgess (R-TX) and Barbara Lee (D-CA) recently introduced a bill to address defense budget transparency and accountability, ensuring the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) achieves a clean audit opinion on its financial statements. The Audit the Pentagon Act of 2021 will seek to... Read More »
Former NSA official Jen Easterly confirmed as director of CISA
After an eight-month void in official leadership, the U.S. Senate this week confirmed former Obama-era senior National Security Agency official Jen Easterly to lead the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) amid increasingly frequent digital attacks. Easterly, who formerly... Read More »
Measure seeks domestic genomics protections
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) is encouraging Senate passage of his legislation, The Genomics Data Security Act (S.1744), which establishes protections addressing Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) national security risks. S.1744 was presented in the wake of a recent Office of... Read More »
Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security proposes 13 initiatives to improve future pandemic response
Is the United States prepared for the next pandemic? That question has forced experts to either rethink preparedness strategies or find ways to bolster existing policy in the era of COVID-19. For the researchers at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, this has meant identifying 13... Read More »
Sens. Collins, Bennet introduce opioid, substance abuse training legislation
U.S. Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Michael Bennet (D-CO) introduced bipartisan legislation Wednesday to standardize opioid and substance abuse training for prescribers. The Medication Access and Training Expansion (MATE) Act would require controlled substance providers to complete substance... Read More »
GAO issues F-35 sustainment recommendations to Defense Department
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has issued the Department of Defense (DOD) a series of recommendations regarding F-35 aircraft fleet sustainment. The GAO review stems from the DOD's plan to acquire nearly 2,500 F-35 aircraft for about $400 billion and project expenditures totaling an... Read More »
Rep. Langevin applauds CISA funding allocation
U.S. Rep. Jim Langevin (D-RI) recently applauded the inclusion of $2.42 billion for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) in the House's draft Homeland Security Appropriations bill. Langevin and Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) previously forwarded correspondence to appropriators... Read More »
FDA grants breakthrough therapy designation to Valneva’s Chikungunya vaccine candidate
A chikungunya vaccine candidate created by Valneva SE is proceeding through the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) pipeline, having been awarded a breakthrough therapy designation this week after already gaining fast track designation. A single shot therapy, the vaccine -- known as VLA1553... Read More »
Reps. Gallagher, Hartzler introduce PLA Visa Security Act
U.S. Reps. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) and Vicky Hartzler (R-MO) introduced legislation Tuesday that would prohibit Chinese scientists affiliated with the Chinese military from studying at American universities. The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Visa Security Act would require the U.S. government... Read More »
VA, DHS launch noncitizen service member initiative
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced this week the launch of a new initiative to support noncitizen service members, veterans, and their immediate family members. "It’s our responsibility to serve all veterans as well as they... Read More »
Senators call for end to mask mandate on planes, public transportation
U.S. Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) joined several senators in introducing legislation calling on the Biden administration to end the mask mandate for fully vaccinated individuals on public transportation throughout the United States, including airports, commercial airplanes, buses, and rail systems.... Read More »
FBI, partners release Russian cyber activity report
The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) recently announced that it has joined law enforcement partners in releasing a Cybersecurity Advisory addressing Russian military intelligence cyber activities. The FBI, along with the National Security Agency (NSA), Cybersecurity and Infrastructure... Read More »
Rep. Thompson, Homeland Security Democrats reintroduce legislation initiating DHS reform
House Committee on Homeland Security Democrats reintroduced last week legislation designed to initiate reform within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). U.S. Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, recently joined Committee Democrats in... Read More »
NIH funds five additional projects to research safe means of returning to in-person school
As part of its Safe Return to School Diagnostic Testing Initiative, the National Institutes of Health funded five additional research projects last week to investigate ways of safely returning people to in-person learning in areas with vulnerable and underserved populations. Up to $15 million... Read More »
Mayorkas announces largest DHS cybersecurity hiring initiative
DHS Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas announced last week the agency's largest cybersecurity hiring initiative, noting the onboarding of nearly 300 cybersecurity professionals as well as the extension of an additional 500 tentative job offers. In May, Mayorkas established a goal to hire 200 new... Read More »
Bill targets supply chain security training
U.S. Sens. Gary Peters (D-MI) and Ron Johnson (R-WI) recently introduced legislation designed to enhance supply chain security via vigorous training initiatives. The Supply Chain Security Training Act creates a standardized training program to help federal employees responsible for purchasing... Read More »
U.S. lawmakers seek to fund program supporting academic medical centers in pandemic preparedness, response
A new legislative effort is pushing for a new program to designate academic medical centers as research and communication hubs in the American preparation for and response to pandemics. While COVID-19 is firmly in mind with the program, it also seeks to aid developments for fighting future... Read More »