U.S. Policy
U.S. diplomats would have access to new tools to rein in state sponsors of terrorism, to counter violent extremism, and to enhance regional and global security under a bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives on Monday.
The International Security Assistance Act of 2018, H.R. 5677,... Read More »
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) staff recently developed virtual reality environments designed to support industry in designing user interfaces for use by first responders.
These interfaces could include visual indicators, sounds or voice commands that could be embedded... Read More »
U.S. Army Gen. Paul Nakasone became commander of U.S. Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM) and director of the National Security Agency (NSA) during a change-of-command ceremony held in Fort Meade, Maryland, on Friday.
Nakasone assumed command from retiring U.S. Navy Adm. Mike Rogers. Nakasone, who was... Read More »
After concluding that conditions in Honduras have “notably improved” since a 1999 hurricane led to Hondurans being granted temporary protected status (TPS) in the United States, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced plans on Friday to terminate TPS designation in January... Read More »
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agriculture specialists at the Area Port of Baltimore have conducted 3,534 container searches since January, issuing 360 emergency action notifications and executing 625 actionable interceptions of commodities.
The Area Port of Baltimore has witnessed... Read More »
The Raytheon Company has been selected to help design, build and support a next-generation air traffic management system for an unmanned aircraft system (UAS) testing airspace corridor in New York State, the Northeast UAS Airspace Integration Research (NUAIR) Alliance announced on Thursday.... Read More »
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) had added six international airlines to its PreCheck program, the administration announced on Wednesday.
The six new partnering airlines include Air Serbia, Condor Airlines, Porter Airlines, Scandinavian Airlines, Thomas Cook Airlines (UK), and... Read More »
The Air Force announced Wednesday that it will host the new B-21 Raider aircraft at three existing bomber bases beginning in the mid-2020s.
The B-21 Raider will replace B-1 Lancer and B-2 Spirit aircraft at Dyess Air Force Base (AFB), Texas; Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota; and Whiteman AFB,... Read More »
Engility Holdings, Inc. recently announced that it was awarded a five-year, $90 million task order to provide software engineering and production support to the U.S. Navy's tactical afloat and submarine local area networks.
Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Atlantic awarded the Tactical... Read More »
In an effort to enhance security in the boundary waters between the United States and Canada, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced on Tuesday that it has expanded pilot locations for its Reporting Offsite Arrival-Mobile (ROAM) application for operators of small boats.
The ROAM... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) recently collaborated with the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Coast Guard (USGC) to assess critical mission capabilities of two National Security Cutters (NSC) through weeks of at-sea testing.
The cutters, the USCGC... Read More »
Rep. Dan Donovan (R-NY) hosted on Monday senior officials from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), New York City Police Department (NYPD), and the New York City Department of Education (DOE) for a roundtable discussion on school... Read More »
Amid conflicting reports about a presentation by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Iran’s alleged nuclear ambitions, the White House said on Monday it is consistent with what the United States has long known in that Iran currently has a clandestine nuclear weapons... Read More »
Citing “indiscriminate enforcement” of immigration laws, a Democratic coalition of senators called on U.S. Senate appropriators on Friday to reject the Trump administration’s request for border wall funding, additional border patrol agents and additional Immigration and Customs Enforcement... Read More »
U.S. Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) recently led a letter to Senate Armed Services Committee Chair John McCain (R-AZ) and Ranking Member Jack Reed (D-RI) urging the continuation of funding for modernizing Stryker A1 Vehicles in the fiscal year 2019 National Defense Authorization Act.
The funding would... Read More »
Until now, a deadly effect of certain chemical weapons has been unstoppable seizures that can lead to death or brain damage, but a partnership between the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Proniras Corporation seeks to develop a drug treatment to end those effects.
HHS’... Read More »
The U.S. House of Representatives recently advanced the Disaster Recovery Reform Act (DRRA), which proposes broad reforms at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
DRRA, introduced by U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta (R-PA), was included in the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018, H.R. 4.
DRRA... Read More »
After U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions called the opioid epidemic the “deadliest drug crisis in our nation’s history” during an address to members of Montana law enforcers on Friday, U.S. Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) called for support of legislation he introduced to continue critical anti-drug... Read More »
A bipartisan coalition of senators introduced legislation on Friday that would reauthorize the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program through fiscal year 2023 to help law enforcement agencies at all levels hire new personnel and provide training and technical assistance.
In fiscal... Read More »
U.S. Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Angus King (I-ME) recently announced their support for the Extreme Risk Protection Order and Violence Prevention Act.
The legislation is designed to encourage states to give law enforcement the authority to prevent individuals who pose a threat to themselves... Read More »
A new federal grant program would help state and local police departments purchase screening equipment that can rapidly identify fentanyl and other dangerous substances in the field under a bill introduced in the U.S. Senate on Thursday.
Under the Providing Officers with Electronic Resources... Read More »
U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen testified before a House panel on Thursday about border security, sanctuary cities, immigration law loopholes exploited by transnational gangs, and deployment of the U.S. National Guard to the southern border.
During a U.S. House Homeland... Read More »
Bipartisan members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee released a discussion draft on Thursday aimed at improving the nation’s ability to prepare for and respond to deliberate bioterrorist attacks or naturally occurring pandemics in the United States.
The draft... Read More »
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) made a three-point recommendation regarding the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) this week, after finding that their current budget reporting fails to account for how much it actually spends on its acquisitions.
The issue is that DHS... Read More »
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently released details of its annual analysis of the Department of Defense’s (DOD) revised weapon system portfolio and purchasing reform policies.
GOA officials said the agency reports on the programs DOD uses to buy its 86 major weapon systems,... Read More »
A new paper from the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) provided recommendations for mitigating risks related to separated plutonium.
As compared to highly enriched uranium (HEU), separated plutonium has not received enough attention as a security risk, NTI Counselor John Carlson said in the... Read More »
With 22,000 unaccompanied minors and 40,000 families arriving at the U.S. border since January, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Kevin McAleenan testified before a House panel on Wednesday that transnational criminal organizations are “preying on these individuals.”... Read More »
The U.S. Secret Service’s National Threat Assessment Center (NTAC) would be expanded to include a national program that conducts research and provides resources on school violence across the country.
Named for Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School’s mascot, the Eagles Act, S. 2759, would... Read More »
Leadership from the Alliance for Biosecurity urged Congressional lawmakers at a hearing on Thursday to increase funding for programs to protect Americans from biological and chemical threats.
Speaking before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and... Read More »
With the volume of cyber attacks on government computer systems jumping from 5,500 in 2006 to more than 77,000 in 2015, legislation introduced in the U.S. Senate on Tuesday would give the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) tools to better protect against foreign attacks.
The Federal... Read More »
Despite recent efforts to mitigate cybersecurity risks to networks supporting the nation’s critical infrastructure, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has “not taken sufficient actions” to accomplish that goal, according to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report released... Read More »
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has issued recommendations to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) regarding the manner in which the agency assesses its grant programming.
In 2012 the GAO identified coordination challenges among Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)... Read More »
A “migrant caravan” from Central America began approaching the southern U.S. border on Monday, prompting Trump administration officials to warn that any violators of immigration law will face prosecution.
The caravan totaled about 1,500 people when it embarked from the Mexico-Guatemala... Read More »
During a roundtable discussion in Montana on Friday, U.S. Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) highlighted provisions of the federal omnibus spending bill that are designed to bolster homeland security by increasing resources for critical security and local police departments.
Tester, the ranking member of... Read More »
The U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee will hold a markup on Thursday of State Department reauthorization bill that would enhance training and recruitment of diplomats, make embassies more secure, crack down on public corruption, and harden information technology (IT) systems.
Under the... Read More »
