U.S. Policy
U.S. Reps. Peter Roskam (R-IL) and Liz Cheney (R-WY) led a group of 20 other Republicans in introducing the Iran Freedom Policy and Sanctions Act (H.R. 4821).
H.R. 4821 aims to increase pressure on Iran for human rights abuses, support for terrorism and ballistic missile program. It would also... Read More »
The directed energy weapons program, meant to upgrade the military with high energy laser and high powered microwave weapons technology, has received a commitment of support from a nominee within the Department of Defense.
Michael Griffin, nominated for Under Secretary of Defense for Research... Read More »
A stratified biodefense hospital system would provide the United States with a protective shield in the event the country experiences a man-made or natural biological catastrophe, panelists told members of the Blue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense.
The suggestion is one the panelists strongly... Read More »
Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY), chair of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW), released Tuesday a statement in support of the petition by multiple uranium producers for an investigation into the effects of uranium imports on U.S. national security.
On Monday, American uranium... Read More »
A 51-year-old Polish national, who has been imprisoned on terrorism charges in France since 2003, faces four counts in U.S. federal courts, including conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals, under a superseding indictment that was unsealed on Wednesday.
Christian Ganczarski is also charged with... Read More »
Agents of the U.S. Customers and Border Protection (CBP) service raided a cargo vessel at the Miami Seaport this week, confiscating $6.25 million worth of cocaine.
The 550 pounds of illegal narcotic were hidden in bags hidden behind metal tubing aboard the vessel. In all, those bags contained... Read More »
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers will soon have access to new resources to detect fentanyl and other synthetic opioids that are being trafficked into the United States under a bill that was signed into law last week.
Under the International Narcotics Trafficking Emergency Response... Read More »
Seventy-five percent of those convicted of international terrorism or related charges in U.S. federal courts from 2001 to 2016 were born in foreign countries, according to a report released by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Department of Justice (DoJ) on Tuesday.
The report was... Read More »
Public health, when threatened not by Obamacare but by exposure to infectious diseases, natural disasters or chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear (CBRN) agents, is an area where members of Congress have been able to build bipartisanship.
Continuing such cross-party work will be... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) announced Tuesday that it is accepting proposals for advanced first responder technologies in partnership with the Israel Ministry of Public Security (MOPS).
The request is part of the NextGen First... Read More »
A joint program launched by the FDA and Department of Defense (DoD) on Tuesday will prioritize the development of medical products that can help save the lives of military personnel.
Using expanded authorities granted under a provision of the fiscal year 2017 National Defense Authorization Act,... Read More »
A panel of international policy experts told lawmakers Wednesday the best way to help rein in the nuclear ambitions of North Korea is through the intervention of the Chinese government, though none of the panelists expressed much optimism in Chinese assistance any time soon.
“I think getting... Read More »
In order to respond accordingly in the midst of large-scale biological events such as a terrorist attack or natural disaster, public and private organizations need to coordinate, but on Wednesday public health experts at a Blue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense meeting cited obstacles that highlight... Read More »
U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) introduced legislation Tuesday designed to prevent foreign actors from interfering in U.S. elections.
The Defending Elections from Threats by Establishing Redlines (DETER) Act would implement measures such as sanctions and blocking... Read More »
Seventy-five years after the first controlled nuclear chain reaction, Ernest Moniz, co-chair and CEO of the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI), recently warned that the United States faces “a different nuclear age” with miscalculation, diplomatic tensions, terrorism, technological advancements and... Read More »
The House of Representatives recently advanced 12 legislative proposals derived from recommendations from the Homeland Security Committee’s Task Force on Denying Terrorists Entry to the United States final report.
The legislation included various initiating designed to prevent terrorists from... Read More »
U.S. Sens Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Cory Gardner (R-CO) recently introduced the Wildfire Management Technology Advancement Act of 2017, which seeks to modernize fire departments by requiring the Forest Service and the Department of the Interior to provide GPS locators for crews fighting... Read More »
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently announced that the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has failed to verify some licenses for radiological shipments through U.S. airports.
Warning that such material as contained within these shipments could be used by terrorists to make... Read More »
A bill introduced in the House of Representatives Wednesday would authorize construction of a border wall, invest in new technology and expand ports of entry, and add 5,000 Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) agents.
The Securing America's Future Act would also require the use of a biometric... Read More »
The number of wireless network outages increased from 189 in 2009 to 1,079 in 2016, making safety-related communications like calling 911 and receiving weather alerts increasingly unavailable to the public, a recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) review found.
The increase in wireless... Read More »
A working group consisting of government officials, private-sector representatives, academics, and veterinarians would be formed to develop standards for breeding and training dogs to detect explosives under a bill that the House of Representatives approved on Tuesday.
The Domestic Explosives... Read More »
The Department of Homeland Security would be directed to draft best practices for using biographic traveler information and information about reservations and itineraries for counterterrorism screening under a bill introduced in the House of Representatives on Tuesday.
The Screening and Vetting... Read More »
The FCC’s forthcoming proposal to improve wireless emergency alerts will focus on making geographical targeting more precise so alerts can be used more effectively in local emergencies and disasters, the commission announced on Monday.
The FCC’s full proposal to revamp the wireless... Read More »
A request for innovators (RFI) has been released by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T), officially beginning the search for partners on emergency response technology development by 2020.
There are three projects on which the department is... Read More »
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recently released an update to its directive regarding border searches of electronic devices, which was designed to enhance the transparency, accountability, and oversight of the searches.
CBP currently searches the electronic devices of fewer than... Read More »
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screened a record number of passengers during the 2017 holiday travel period, Dec. 15, 2017, through Jan. 2, 2018.
TSA officers screened 42 million passengers and more than 30.6 million checked bags screened nationwide. Dec. 22 was the busiest day... Read More »
Four U.S. citizens were arrested and charged with providing material support to ISIS in December, marking an uptick in the number of cases of homegrown terrorism, according to an assessment released by the House Homeland Security Committee on Friday.
The Terror Threat Snapshot indicates that... Read More »
U.S. Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND) made the case last Thursday that North Dakota should serve a hub for federal efforts to integrate more unmanned aerial systems (UAS) into northern border security.
In a meeting with officials from the Department and Homeland Security (DHS) and Customs and Border... Read More »
Five businesses tied to Shahid Bakeri Industrial Group (SBIG), which plays a key role in Iran’s ballistic missile program, were sanctioned last week by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
The five businesses — Shahid Kharrazi Industries, Shahid Sanikhani... Read More »
North Korea denies claims made in the Trump administration’s recently released National Security Strategy that it “has spent hundreds of millions of dollars on nuclear, chemical and biological weapons” nor that it has researched “chemical and biological weapons which could be delivered by... Read More »
More than 4,735 pounds of cocaine was intercepted in the Caribbean Sea over a three-day period in December as part of Operation Full Court Press, which is being led by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Air and Marine Operations (AMO).
Operation Full Court Press is an interagency effort to... Read More »
In light of allegations that a Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) initiative targeting Hezbollah drug trafficking was improperly handled, Attorney General Jeff Sessions renewed his support of a full review.
The initiative, known as Project Cassandra, as launched in 2008 in response to evidence that... Read More »
A Tuscon, Arizona man was recently charged in U.S. District Court with the transportation of illegal aliens resulting in serious bodily injury, high-speed flight from a Border Patrol checkpoint, assault on a federal officer and use of a firearm
Court documents allege that Roberto Ramirez, 21,... Read More »
The Consortium for Verification Technology highlighted how students from partner universities contribute to nuclear nonproliferation research conducted at national laboratories during a recent annual meeting held at the University of Michigan.
Through the Consortium for Verification, the... Read More »
New best practices recently released by the wireless industry group CTIA outline steps for local governments to help maintain and restore wireless services during natural disasters and emergencies.
The guidelines call for better coordination and communication between wireless service providers... Read More »
