Policy
TSA should develop plan for safety working group, GAO says
Threats in the public areas of airports have increased, prompting the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) to issue a recommendation to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) administrator. The recommendation suggests the administration develop a plan outlining roles and... Read More »
Cybersecurity, election security programs to be fully funded
Programs that promote election security and combat cyberthreats will be fully funded in the next fiscal year’s budget, a DHS official confirmed at a Senate hearing. The Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC) program as well as the Election Infrastructure Information... Read More »
House bill would help state, local governments fight hackers
Legislation was introduced this week to authorize a new grant program at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to address cybersecurity vulnerabilities on government networks. State and local governments have been frequent targets of cybercriminals. In 2019, ransomware attacks hit... Read More »
Internet crime becoming more sophisticated, spawning highest losses and complaints to date
The FBI Internet Complaint Center’s (IC3) 2019 Internet Crime Report found that last year, internet-enabled crimes spawned the highest number of complaints and losses since May 2000. In all, IC3 took in 467,361 complaints in 2019 and tracked more than $3.5 billion in losses among individuals... Read More »
Legislation would ensure Border Patrol agents receive overtime pay
A recently introduced bipartisan bill would bring the Border Patrol pay system in line with other federal law enforcement agencies. The Border Patrol Pay Security Act would ensure agents who work more than 80 hours per week would receive overtime pay at time and a half their normal rate. It... Read More »
Trump Administration launches School Safety website
The Trump Administration launched a new website called Schoolsafety.gov, which is a resource for kindergarten through grade 12 administrators, educators, parents, and law enforcement to prepare for various threats to safety and security. "School safety is the number one priority of parents... Read More »
Sens. Murphy, Rubio encourage FDA to secure imports from China due to novel coronavirus outbreak
Fearing for the pharmaceuticals, food, and medical supplies coming from China amid the novel coronavirus, U.S. Sens. Chris Murphy (D-CN) and Marco Rubio (R-FL) implored the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to take action this week. In a letter to FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn, the senators... Read More »
Coronavirus Task Force briefs National Governors Association on COVID-19 outbreak
The National Governors Association (NGA) received a briefing on the U.S. response to the novel coronavirus, which was officially renamed COVID-19 by the World Health Organization this week, during its winter meeting this week, from representatives of the White House-appointed Coronavirus Task... Read More »
Senators request more aircraft at Nevada base to fight wildfires
U.S. Senators from California and Nevada are requesting the U.S. Air Force to upgrade the Nevada Air National Guard Base in Reno with eight new aircraft. Upgrading the Nevada Air National Guard’s C-130J fleet would help improve the Nevada Air National Guard’s ability to fight wildfires in... Read More »
Bill to make fentanyl Schedule I substance signed into law
The Temporary Reauthorization and Study of the Emergency Scheduling of Fentanyl Analogues Act was signed into law last week by President Donald Trump. The legislation extends the Drug Enforcement Agency’s temporary order making fentanyl-related substances Schedule I, a designation reserved... Read More »
Senators urge selection of Fort Benning as new Army Corps headquarters
Sens. Kelly Loeffler (R-GA) and David Perdue (R-GA) recently urged the U.S. Army to select Fort Benning as the Army’s fourth corps headquarters. Fort Benning is one of three finalists for the headquarters that is needed to fulfill National Defense Strategy requirements. In their letter to... Read More »
Democrats urge Trump administration to fully fund pandemic preparedness and response
Faced with a novel coronavirus outbreak that has taken the world by storm, U.S. Sens. Gary Peters (D-MI), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Patty Murray (D-WA) and Bob Menendez (D-NJ) recently highlighted lax pandemic funding from the Trump administration. The group of Democrats pressed the administration... Read More »
Alliance for Biosecurity urges Congress to quickly increase funding to address coronavirus
National health security advocates argue the U.S. government is not fiscally prepared to address the possible spread of the 2019 novel coronavirus in the United States, and it must take rapid steps to ensure funding is in place to head off potential threats. In Feb. 7 letters addressed to... Read More »
NIST releases publication on how businesses can minimize cybersecurity risk
A new publication by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) outlines a set of risk management techniques for businesses to reduce cybersecurity risk to global supply chains. The publication, called Key Practices in Cyber Supply Chain Risk Management, addresses the... Read More »
Senate Intelligence Committee releases report on Russian election interference
The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence released the third installment of its investigation into Russian interference in U.S. elections. The third volume of the report, “U.S. Government Response to Russian Activities,” examines the Obama Administration’s reaction to initial reports of... Read More »
Experts warn quarantines, travel bans may be ineffective in combating coronavirus
The second wave of Americans arrived in California on Wednesday, traveling from Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the coronavirus (2019-nCoV) epidemic. They will spend days on military bases in quarantine as public health officials determine if there are any cases of the virus and to treat those... Read More »
Sen. Grassley, HHS says coronavirus no imminent threat to US general public
Following a classified briefing of his staff by the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office of National Security (ONS), U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) reiterated that the novel coronavirus appears to pose no immediate threat to the United States. Where concern remains is for... Read More »
FDA claims critical milestone in novel coronavirus fight with first emergency use authorization for a diagnostic
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) that will allow use of a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Diagnostic Panel by any CDC-qualified lab in the United States when dealing with cases of the novel coronavirus. That authorization,... Read More »
Defense Department plans to acquire submarine-launched ballistic missile
The U.S. Department of Defense recently announced plans to acquire a W76-2 low-yield submarine-launched ballistic missile warhead. “In the 2018 Nuclear Posture Review, the department identified the requirement to ‘modify a small number of submarine-launched ballistic missile warheads’ to... Read More »
International community launches $675 million coronavirus prep effort
With cases of coronavirus (2019-nCoV) now rooted in 25 countries and afflicting more than 24,000 people, the international community is attempting to fight back with a $675 million Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan (SPRP). While many nations have responded swiftly to the novel... Read More »California granted $2M for fire detection cameras
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) recently granted the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services and Sonoma County $2 million for long-range fire detection cameras for its Hazard Mitigation Grant Program. The program aims to prevent the loss of life as well as property... Read More »
FDA licenses avian flu vaccine
The U.S Food and Drug Administration licensed Audenz, an influenza vaccine designed to protect against the H5N1 avian influenza virus. AUDENZ was developed by Seqirus with support from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) within the Office of the Assistant... Read More »
Bipartisan House group introduces nuclear resolution
A bipartisan group of 10 House of Representative members recently introduced a resolution commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) going into effect. The NPT at 50 Resolution reaffirms Congress’ support for the treaty. The treaty was... Read More »
Sens. Warren, King inquire as to why infectious disease program was closed
Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and Angus King (I-ME) recently requested information on why the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) PREDICT program was ended. The USAID PREDICT program was founded in 2009... Read More »
Novel coronavirus declared public health emergency in United States
U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar began a new path last week in the previously measured efforts to contain the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV), declaring a public health emergency for the nation and opening more flexibility for health authorities to respond. The emergency... Read More »
Sens. Klobuchar, Murkowski introduce bill to combat hate crimes
U.S. Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) introduced a bill that seeks to ensure that federal prosecutors can effectively enforce the federal hate crimes law. Since it was passed in 2009, the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr., Hate Crimes Prevention Act in 2009, federal courts... Read More »
Reps. Davis, Stefanik introduce bill to help states secure elections
U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis (R-IL) sponsored a bill that would provide states with more resources to secure their elections. The Protect American Voters Act (H.R. 5707) updates the Help America Vote Act of 2002 by directing the Election Assistance Commission to issue guidelines for “non-voting”... Read More »
Customs and Border Protection processed $2.7T in imports last year
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) processed $2.7 trillion of imports and 410 million travelers last year, according to its Trade and Travel Fiscal Year 2019 Report. “CBP continues to make lawful trade and travel more efficient and convenient while protecting the American people and our... Read More »
House Energy and Commerce Committee members told coronavirus risk remains low
Members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee were briefed this week on the ongoing novel coronavirus outbreak by top members of the Trump administration and reiterate that risk remains low. These members were addressed by Dr. Robert Redfield, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and... Read More »
Bill would grant subpoena power to CISA on cybersecurity
A bill that would grant subpoena authority to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) in certain cases was approved by the House Committee on Homeland Security Wednesday. The Cybersecurity Vulnerability Identification and Notification Act (H.R. 5680), introduced by Rep. Jim... Read More »
House Homeland Security committee advances three cybersecurity bills
The House Homeland Security Committee advanced three bills designed to improve cybersecurity. The three bills are the CISA Director Reform Act (H.R. 5679), introduced by Rep. John Katko (R-NY); the Transportation Security Transparency Improvement Act CISA Director Reform Act (H.R. 5670), ... Read More »
Senators call for information and strategy on coronavirus outbreak
Faced with five confirmed cases and dozens of potential infections being traced across the U.S., senators from both parties have called on the federal government for updates and strategies for how to contain the recent outbreak of coronavirus. For some, the concern lay with the Department of... Read More »
Rep. Buchanan calls for Wuhan coronavirus to be declared public health emergency
Though the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) continue to call risk to Americans by the Wuhan coronavirus -- 2019-nCoV -- low, U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) became the latest federal lawmaker this week to call for a public health... Read More »
Pennsylvania Senate bills would provide benefits for fire, emergency workers
The Pennsylvania State Senate approved two bills this week that would provide financial benefits for fire and emergency management services (EMS) workers. The bills focus on easing the financial pressures faced by fire and EMS companies due to the increasing costs of equipment and training.... Read More »