U.S. Policy
Members of the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health on Wednesday considered proposed updates to the nation’s law on preparing for and responding to national and global public health emergencies resulting from any chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear (CBRN) agent, toxin,... Read More »
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) said wildfire recovery funds are available via the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP).
The initiative spans Fire Management Assistance declarations for fiscal years 2017-2018 from Oct. 1, 2016, through Sept. 30, 2018, noting 85 events in 19... Read More »
As the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) prepares to shift its F-35 program into full-rate production, a U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) report released on Tuesday recommends that Congress consider withholding funding until “key deficiencies” are addressed.
Slated for full-rate... Read More »
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) would be directed to establish a computerized, searchable database of gun records under a bill introduced in the U.S. Senate on Monday.
The Crime Gun Tracing Modernization Act would strike a current federal prohibition on the creation of a... Read More »
A four-day training course coordinated by federal and territorial agencies in Puerto Rico last week culminated in a practice scenario that tested the ability of first responders and health care workers to respond to a simulated traffic crash that resulted in the release of chlorine gas.
The... Read More »
The U.S. Navy has awarded Raytheon Co. and Kongsberg Gruppen a contract to manufacture and deliver a long-range precision missile for littoral combat ships and future frigates over-the-horizon weapons systems.
The $14.8 million contract for offensive missiles and a single fire control suite... Read More »
U.S. Marines along with members of the British army Commandos concluded their Red Dagger training exercises last week.
This year's exercise is the fifth iteration of the bilateral training program, which took place at Fort Indiantown Gap (FTIG), Pennsylvania, May 12-25. The exercise featured... Read More »
Homeland Security officials have increased the number of temporary non-agricultural worker visas as a means of aiding American businesses.
Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen M. Nielsen said an additional 15,000 H-2B temporary visas would be available for Fiscal Year 2018, in addition to the... Read More »
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen visited multiple locations along the nation’s southwest border on Thursday, meeting with elected officials, local residents and representatives of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the U.S. National Guard.
Nielsen was joined by... Read More »
Legislators in the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives marked the beginning of the 2018 hurricane season Friday by introducing legislation that would dedicate $1 billion to improve the capacity and resilience of the nation’s evacuation routes.
The Enhancing the Strength and... Read More »
A report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) estimates to refurbish components of nuclear bombs were cost-effective and followed best practices, but the process could use improvements.
NNSA estimated that the cost to... Read More »
A recent Center for Strategic International Studies (CSIS) symposium focused on the global response to the Ebola virus outbreak in West Africa and strategies since to put health security policies into practice.
The symposium was part of the Commission on Strengthening America’s Health... Read More »
Information technology and consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton, Inc. (Booz Allen) has been awarded a spot on the Program and Systems Support (PASS) professional services contract by the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) Corporate Business Office (CBO), the company announced on Tuesday.
Valued... Read More »
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently recommended that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) facilitate better collaboration among first responders during emergencies.
After Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and the Gulf region in 2005, Congress passed a law... Read More »
In a worldwide ranking of the most innovative cybersecurity companies, Raytheon, based in Waltham, Massachusetts, ranked fourth.
The rankings, called the Cybersecurity 500, is conducted by Cybersecurity Ventures, a cybersecurity research and publishing company. Raytheon's high ranking was... Read More »
At her swearing-in ceremony last week, CIA Director Gina Haspel highlighted the need for the agency to bolster its foreign language proficiency, build stronger partnerships and deploy more field officers.
Haspel, the first woman to lead the CIA in the agency’s 70-year history, was joined by... Read More »
FLIR Systems, Inc. introduced last week three new radar and thermal imaging systems that can be used by militaries and government border patrol agencies to detect objects on land and in the air, including microdrones.
The FLIR Ranger R8SS-3D and R8SS radars can provide mid-range detection... Read More »
Cellular service providers would be required to provide limited cell phone data to police departments in emergency situations like missing persons cases under a bill introduced in the U.S. Senate on May 24.
The Kelsey Smith Act is named for an 18-year-old woman who was abducted and murdered in... Read More »
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is requesting input on concepts for advanced research, development, and demonstration of systems for military missions regarding national security.
The agency’s Tactical Technology Office will host a Virtual Proposers Day June 6-7 to... Read More »
Highlighting the importance of “peace through strength,” U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) introduced more than 30 amendments to the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2019 during U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee markup, which concluded on May 24.
In total,... Read More »
A three-week Border Patrol operation west of Yuma, Arizona, between April and May yielded the arrests of 170 human trafficking suspects.
Special Operations Detachment (SOD) and Intelligence Border Patrol agents detected the suspects near the Imperial Sand Dunes. Operation Sandman apprehended a... Read More »
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program recently announced that it awarded $2.94 million across 20 competitive research contracts to 19 small businesses in 10 states.
Each of the Phase I awardees will... Read More »
In response to reports that President Donald Trump had canceled the planned June 12 summit with North Korea, U.S. Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) called on Thursday to maintain pressure by continuing talks, engaging the international community and upholding tougher sanctions.
Portman, a member of the... Read More »
U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Bill Nelson (D-FL) praised on Wednesday the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions’ (HELP) advancement of the Pandemic and All Hazards Preparedness and Advancing Innovation Act (PAHPAIA).
The bill, S. 2852, would reauthorize various Pandemic... Read More »
The European Union (EU)-U.S. Joint Ministerial Meeting on Justice and Home Affairs held in Bulgaria on Tuesday and Wednesday allowed leaders to discuss joint efforts to combat terrorism, information sharing, efforts to prevent radicalization, aviation security, and chemical, biological,... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) recently awarded the City of San Antonio, Texas $1.5 million in grants to help prevent, protect against, mitigate, and respond to acts of terrorism.
“San Antonio is one of the fastest-growing cities... Read More »
U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrested 49 foreign nationals in Philadelphia during an operation that extended from May 14 to May 20 that targeted aliens with criminal records, fugitives, re-entrants and other violators of federal immigration laws.
Of the 49 individuals... Read More »
An active shooter response training simulation recently organized by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Office of Field Operations (OFO) from the Laredo Port of Entry enabled supervisors to focus on bolstering active shooter preparedness and prevention efforts.
Hosted by the Use of Force... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that New York was awarded hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding to enhance security preparedness and anti-terror activities through grant programming in fiscal year 2018.
New York City will receive $178 million under the... Read More »
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced this week that it is working with the Government of Puerto Rico to train emergency and healthcare workers to respond to mass casualty incidents.
FEMA’s Center for Domestic Preparedness is running a four-day training course from May 29 to... Read More »
The U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee on May 23 approved 22-1 the pending Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness and Advancing Innovation Act of 2018, S.2852.
S. 2852, introduced on May 15 by U.S. Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC), would reauthorize certain programs under... Read More »
Results of a recent survey examined the thoughts of Americans concerning the potential impact infectious and emerging diseases facing other countries will have in the United States.
The effort, commissioned by Research!America and the American Society for Microbiology, showed 95 percent of... Read More »
With tuberculosis killing 1.7 million people in 2016, the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) led more than 900 doctors, scientists, and researchers in calling United Nations (UN) Ambassador Nikki Haley to secure “concrete commitments” in this fall’s UN General Assembly High Level... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced Monday that $1.6 billion in funding would be made available to state and local governments, nonprofits, transportation authorities and the private sector to bolster terrorism prevention, response, recovery, and mitigation efforts in fiscal year... Read More »
Las Vegas will receive $5 million to help prevent terrorist attacks under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Urban Areas Security Initiative (UASI) grant program, reflecting an increase of $2.13 million from the previous year.
U.S. Sen. Dean Heller (R-NV) has been leading a push... Read More »
