U.S. Policy
Amid rising breakthrough cases of COVID-19, largely fueled by the spread of the omicron variant, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last week shortened the time between primary and booster vaccination with a Moderna COVID-19 vaccine to five months.
This revised timeline was reflected in... Read More »
U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) joined U.S. Reps. Brian Higgins (D-NY) and Chris Jacobs (R-NY) in urging the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to keep the U.S.-Canada border open for vaccinated individuals.
Citing the economic livelihoods of New York businesses, as well as supply chain... Read More »
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) recently sent correspondence to Department of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin advocating Brazil bilateral security cooperation expansion.
Rubio indicated the effort would counter growing Chinese Communist Party influence (CCP) in the Western Hemisphere.
“Brazil... Read More »
Calling attention to human trafficking, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Blue Campaign announced that Jan. 11, 2022, will be Wear Blue Day and encouraged supporters to join in and speak out.
“Human trafficking is one of the most... Read More »
Three Republican representatives recently forwarded correspondence to President Joe Biden seeking an accounting of existing COVID-19 funding in anticipation of the administration requesting additional dollars.
House Budget Committee Republican Leader Jason Smith (R-MO), House Energy & Commerce... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Justice recently reported that a Chinese national formerly residing in Chesterfield, Mo., has entered a guilty plea to conspiracy to commit economic espionage.
According to court documents, Xiang Haitao, 44, conspired to steal a trade secret from Monsanto, an... Read More »
In response to hacker-discovered vulnerabilities in the widely used Java-based logging package Log4j, U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) convened a committee briefing with top federal cybersecurity officials this week to address the issue’s mitigation.
The Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs... Read More »
Rep. Brian Higgins (D-NY) recently detailed the application process for Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grants, noting the effort seeks to bolster local fire department staffing.
Higgins said the application period is now open, and the deadline is Feb. 4, 2022, before 5... Read More »
U.S. Sens. Rob Portman (R-OH), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), and Roger Wicker (R-Miss) sent a letter to the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Transportation Tuesday asking for information on the departments’ ability to thwart cyberattacks.
Portman, the ranking member of the Senate... Read More »
The U.S. Army has awarded Northrop Grumman Corporation a five-year contract valued at over $1 billion to produce the Integrated Battle Command System (IBCS).
The agreement would address low-rate initial production and full-rate production, touting IBCS’s open, modular, and scalable... Read More »
U.S. Rep. Peter Meijer (R-MI) applauded this week the passage of his legislation, the DHS Blue Campaign Enhancement Act (H.R. 2795), which increases human trafficking indicators awareness.
Additionally, the legislation, included in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year... Read More »
Former U.S. Sen. Sam Nunn (D-GA) and Former Secretary of Energy under the Obama administration Ernest J. Moniz, co-founders of the Nuclear Threat Initiative, said they applaud the position of world leaders that a nuclear war “cannot be won,” in a statement Monday.
The statement comes in... Read More »
In a letter to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, U.S. Sens. Richard Burr (R-NC) and Roy Blunt (R-MO) requested explanations for the nation’s COVID-19 testing shortages amid rising omicron variant infection cases.
Specifically, they blasted the Biden... Read More »
Through an amendment (H.R. 4350) to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) passed last week, U.S. Sens. Tina Smith (D-MN), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Bill Cassidy (R-LA) guaranteed a new federal study for the logistics of distributing COVID-19 doses abroad and ensuring vaccine... Read More »
U.S. Sens. Rob Portman (R-OH) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) announced the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative has been extended through 2022 as part of the FY 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
The funding was increased from $250 million to $300 million per year, with at least $75... Read More »
U.S. Sens. Rob Portman (R-OH) and Jacky Rosen (D-NV) are touting the recently signed Advancing American AI Innovation Act, which they said would bolster the nation's artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities.
The legislation signed into law in accordance with the FY 2022 National Defense... Read More »
In an effort to boost the number of EMTs available to New York during any winter surges of COVID-19, a new training partnership began last week between the New York State Department of Health and the New York National Guard.
While Gov. Kathy Hochul had already deployed 60 National Guard medical... Read More »
U.S. Sens. Rob Portman (R-OH) and Gary Peters (D-MI) recently praised the benefits of their advanced Domains Critical to Homeland Security Act, which advocates Department of Homeland Security (DHS) supply chain vulnerability research.
The legislation was signed into law with the FY 2022 National... Read More »
U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) is calling on the Senate Judiciary Committee to hold a hearing on the rise in violent crime across the country.
In a letter to Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin (D-IL), Graham and all of the Republican members of the Judiciary Committee linked the rise in... Read More »
Following an accelerated review process, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last week approved two new over-the-counter COVID-19 tests in a two-month turnaround time, opening the market to millions of new Roche and Siemens tests.
"Increasing Americans' access to easy-to-use, reliable... Read More »
The $770 billion Fiscal Year 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA; S. 1605) was signed into law last week, and among its many provisions were funding for addressing both Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) contamination throughout the United States.
This will take the form of new... Read More »
A bipartisan group of lawmakers recently applauded the passage of legislation authorizing non-reimbursable Office of the National Cyber Director (NCD) detailees.
U.S. Sens. Rob Portman (R-OH), Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), Gary Peters (D-MI), Angus King (I-ME), and Mike Rounds (R-SD) said the measure... Read More »
U.S. Sens. Joni Ernst (R-IA) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) recently commended the passage of their legislation, the Global War on Terrorism Memorial Location Act, which enables the placement of a National Mall memorial honoring Global War on Terrorism veterans.
“In the wake of 9/11, millions of... Read More »
U.S. Reps. Chris Jacobs (R-NY) and Tim Ryan (D-OH) are espousing the benefits of a recently signed measure they said is designed to aid Army Reserves and National Guard members.
The Reservists Opportunity Act (H.R. 5063) was signed into law by President Joe Biden in accordance with part of the... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Justice announced it would be providing nearly $126 million in funding to advance school safety under the STOP School Violence Act.
The grants fund safety measures in and around primary and secondary schools, as well as school violence prevention efforts, training for... Read More »
As a result of the FY 2022 National Defense Authorization Act’s (NDAA) passage into law, among the beneficiaries of its funding will be the U.S. military’s Abrams tanks, Stryker vehicles, and Maneuver Short-Range Air Defense (M-SHORAD) program, all slated for billions of dollars in... Read More »
U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) recently applauded the enactment of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (H.R. 6256), which stops U.S. imports produced by slave labor.
Smith served as the bill's co-sponsor.
"Enactment into law of the bipartisan Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act I co-sponsored... Read More »
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) recently announced that it is participating in an initiative to address microelectronics advancement challenges.
DARPA personnel have detailed the Joint University Microelectronics Program 2.0 (JUMP 2.0), described as a long-term university... Read More »
As part of a Department of State-led resettlement effort known as Operation Allies Welcome (OAW), the final group of Afghan nationals departed a temporary safe haven at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va., to find their way into the United States.
The Department of Defense still houses approximately... Read More »
U.S. Sens. Gary Peters (D-MI) and Rob Portman (R-OH) announced Monday that at provision they authored to combat human trafficking had been signed into law as part of the National Defense Authorization Act.
Based on Peters and Portman’s DHS Blue Campaign Enhancement Act, the provision would... Read More »
Simplified Arrival, an enhanced international arrival process utilizing facial biometrics to automate manual document checks at border crossings, has been expanded in Washington state, according to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
The expansion applies to border crossings at the... Read More »
A total of 14 programs focused on victims of crime earned more than $40 million in grants from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) last week as a means of culturally specific enhancement to help them better reflect and support their communities.
Of these, an award of nearly $2.9 million went to... Read More »
As the number of Omicron variant cases of COVID-19 grows, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued updated guidance for healthcare workers regarding their isolation and quarantine times after being infected.
Additionally, the CDC updated its guidance for contingency and... Read More »
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials said Air and Marine Operations (AMO) is in the final stages of upgrading and modernizing its marine vessel fleet.
The AMO contractually accepted its final 41-Foot SAFE Boat Coastal Interceptor Vessel (CIV) on Dec. 15. The vessel slated to arrive... Read More »
U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-TX), called on the U.S. Department of Defense to take proactive steps that would ensure defense assets and installations are ready in the face of climate change.
In a letter sent to Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III,... Read More »
