Policy
Sens. Baldwin, Murphy rally support for invoking Defense Production Act to maximize medical equipment, supply output
In a letter to President Joe Biden this week, U.S. Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Chris Murphy (D-CT) led 24 other senators in supporting full use of the Defense Production Act (DPA) to ramp up the production and stockpiling of medical, testing and protective equipment for use in the COVID-19... Read More »
Bill to strengthen federal government’s response to domestic terrorism introduced in House
A bill designed to strengthen the federal government’s ability to prevent and investigate acts of domestic terrorism was introduced in the House this week. The Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act of 2021 (H.R. 350) DTPA would authorize three offices -- one each within the Department of Homeland... Read More »
Defense Department to investigate white supremacy and extremist ideology within military
The U.S. Department of Defense will investigate the prevalence of white supremacy and extremist ideology in the ranks of the military. The investigation comes after the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Lawmakers said that several of the insurrectionists who attacked the Capitol have been... Read More »
DEA announced expansion of Operation Crystal Shield
Timothy Shea, acting administrator for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, announced Friday that the agency would be expanding Operation Crystal Shield. The expansion identifies two additional methamphetamine “transportation hubs” in 2021. It would work to attack the entire supply... Read More »WHO hosts virtual forum to set research priorities for COVID-19 vaccines
The World Health Organization (WHO) hosted a virtual forum last week to identify knowledge gaps and set research priorities for vaccines against COVID-19. At the forum – attended by more than 2,800 scientists from 130 countries – the participants discussed the safety and efficacy of existing... Read More »
Bill introduced to reimburse states for COVID-related National Guard deployments
U.S. Reps. Cheri Bustos (D-IL) and Tim Ryan (D-OH) introduced a bill that would require the federal government to cover the full cost of National Guard deployments for COVID-19 response efforts. A companion bill will be introduced in the Senate on Jan. 21 by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT). These are... Read More »
CBP initiates Simplified Arrival enhanced process
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said Simplified Arrival, which uses facial biometrics to automate manual documentation required for admission, is being used at two California border crossings. The technology is being implemented at the San Ysidro and Otay Mesa pedestrian border crossing... Read More »
DHS initiates Real ID public awareness campaign
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced a new nationwide Real ID public awareness campaign that addresses requirements while encouraging action before the Oct. 1, 2021, full enforcement deadline. "Be Your REAL ID Self" urges Americans to obtain a REAL ID-compliant card or an... Read More »
G2P-UK consortium to study emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants with £2.5M in government funds
With £2.5 million in funding from UK Research and Innovation, an arm of the government, the G2P-UK National Virology Consortium has been founded to study the threats posed by new SARS-CoV-2 variants increasingly cropping up across the world. The effects of these mutations have yet to be fully... Read More »
CONTINUUS Pharmaceuticals awarded $69.3M federal contract to create U.S.-based manufacturing for critical medicines
The Departments of Defense (DoD) and Health and Human Services (HHS) awarded $69.3 million to CONTINUUS Pharmaceuticals Inc. last week to support the development of domestic production capability for critical medicines using integrated continuous manufacturing (ICM) technology. ICM is a... Read More »
Sens. Schumer, Gillibrand help secure funding to combat Lyme Disease
U.S. Sens. Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) announced that $16 million in federal funding has been secured to combat Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases. The funding, a $2 million increase over last year, was included in the recently passed bipartisan government... Read More »
MS-13 leaders indicted by federal authorities
An indictment was unsealed in Central Islip, N.Y., last week, charging 14 leaders in MS-13 who are known as the Ranfla Nacional, which operated as the organization’s board of directors, directing MS-13’s criminal activity for almost two decades. The indictment charges the defendants with... Read More »
Bill seeks to impose sanctions on financial supporters of Hamas
Reps. Brian Mast (R-FL) and Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) have re-introduced legislation they said imposes sanctions on foreign persons, agencies, and governments assisting Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, or affiliates. The Palestinian International Terrorism Support Prevention Act requires the... Read More »
Congressional lawmakers demand independent commission to investigate federal failings on domestic terrorism
Last week, a collection of 30 United States Representatives wrote to House and committee leadership to demand the creation of an independent, bipartisan commission to investigate the government’s failure to address domestic terrorism and prevent this month’s assault on the Capitol. Led by... Read More »
Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville selected as preferred site for Space Command HQ
Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Ala., has been selected as the preferred location for the U.S. Space Command Headquarters by the Secretary of the Air Force, on behalf of the Office of Secretary of Defense. The Department of the Air Force conducted virtual and on-site visits to assess which of... Read More »
Sen. Feinstein urges CDC to set COVID-19 vaccine distribution guidelines
U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) is calling on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to issue guidelines that will maximize vaccine distribution. In a letter to CDC Director Robert Redfield, Feinstein pointed out that some vaccine providers have reported leftover doses, doses... Read More »
DHS addresses emerging risks in Arctic Region
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has approved a document addressing emerging risks in the Arctic region amid expanded geopolitical interest and competition. On Jan. 11, then-Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad F. Wolf approved the Department’s inaugural Strategic Approach for... Read More »
BIRD Foundation unveils project funding initiative
The Israel-U.S. Binational Industrial Research and Development (BIRD) Foundation has awarded two projects a total of $1.5 million to address homeland security threat detection and 3D mapping technologies. The BIRD Homeland Security (HLS) program is a joint initiative funded by the Department of... Read More »
Rep. Trone: ‘All hands on deck’ needed to end opioid-related deaths
State and federal legislators must accomplish more to help protect Marylanders and other Americans from overdose deaths during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. Rep. David Trone (D-MD) said Wednesday. “The devastating increases in overdose deaths throughout my district and the state of... Read More »
Senators urge Trump administration to develop national COVID vaccine plan
A group of U.S. Senators recently demanded that the Trump administration take immediate action to remedy the COVID-19 vaccine distribution failures. Specifically, the 43 senators are calling on Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar to develop and implement a national vaccine plan.... Read More »
Measure would establish commission to investigate U.S. Capitol attack
Three lawmakers have introduced a bill they said would establish a national commission responsible for investigating the domestic terrorist attack on the United States Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Reps. Rodney Davis (R-IL), John Katko (R-NY), and James Comer (R-KY) noted the commission would consist... Read More »
European Commission, Valneva in advanced discussisons to supply up to 60M doses of COVID-19 vaccine candidate
Valneva SE and the European Commission (EC) are discussing the possibility of the specialty vaccine company supplying up to 60 million doses of its inactivated, adjuvanted COVID-19 vaccine, VLA2001, for use throughout Europe. “Today’s announcement helps to ensure that millions of Europeans... Read More »
U.S. government buys extra 1.25M doses of Regeneron’s COVID-19 antibody therapeutic
The U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Defense (DoD) shored up the national supply of casirivimab and imdevimab this week with the purchase of another 1.25 million doses of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc.’s combo monoclonal antibody therapeutic for COVID-19. Regeneron is... Read More »
Rep. Norton, Sen. Van Hollen call on Congress to fully fund DC security fund
U.S. Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) and Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) are calling on Congress to fully fund the District of Columbia emergency planning and security fund (EPSF). The EPSF pays for the unique public safety and security costs the District incurs as the nation’s capital. It is... Read More »
ICE honors National Human Trafficking Awareness Month
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) is honoring National Human Trafficking Awareness Month as a means of drawing attention to the international crime and the work of law enforcement to deter human trafficking, bring traffickers to justice, and aid... Read More »
Senate leaders plan to investigate security failures during Capitol riot
U.S. Senate leaders from the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration said they would hold investigations to examine the security failures during the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Senate Homeland Security Committee leaders,... Read More »
CBP operation yields seizure of nearly two tons of cocaine
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) personnel joined forces with military entities to successfully recover approximately 1.9 tons of cocaine and disrupted a Caribbean smuggling attempt. The Air and Marine Operations (AMO) National Air Security Operations Center—Jacksonville (NASOC—J) P-3... Read More »
Damage to communications grid in Nashville bombing prompts questions of preparedness
The violent suicide bombing that rocked downtown Nashville, Tenn., on Christmas morning and devastated dozens of businesses in the area also exposed the difficulties with an American reliance on reactive, rather than proactive, emergency planning efforts. While much focus has been placed on... Read More »
House committee leaders seek briefing from FBI on Jan. 6 riot at U.S. Capitol
Leaders of five House committees are seeking an immediate briefing with the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on its efforts to investigate the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol that led to five deaths. “We write to request an immediate and urgent briefing on the steps the... Read More »
HHS establishes temporary COVID-19 treatment center in Tucson
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Tucson Medical Center (TMC) began administering monoclonal antibody therapeutic treatments last week. The treatments were given at a temporary COVID-19 infusion center in Tucson. It is just the second federally supported infusion center... Read More »
NIH director: COVID-19 herd immunity requires more vaccinated Americans
At least 80 percent to 85 percent of Americans should receive the COVID-19 vaccine for the country to reach herd immunity, said National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins in a Jan. 6 interview with the Washington Post. “Herd immunity requires the majority of a population to be... Read More »
CDC to provide $22B in support for expanded response efforts to COVID-19 pandemic
Before Jan. 19, 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will release more than $22 billion in funding to support states, localities, and territories grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic through a mix of expanded testing and vaccination distribution efforts. "This funding is... Read More »
National Security Council launches task force to investigate Solar Winds cyberattack
The National Security Council staff has launched a task force to coordinate the investigation and remediation of the recent Solar Winds cyberattack involving federal government networks. The task force -- called the Cyber Unified Coordination Group (UCG) -- is composed of representatives from... Read More »
Sen. Durbin urges rural EMS agencies to apply for SIREN Act funds
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) is encouraging communities to apply for Supporting and Improving Rural EMS Needs (SIREN) Act funds in support of fire and emergency medical services (EMS). “In many small and rural towns in Illinois and across the country, rural fire and EMS agencies are a lifeline in... Read More »