U.S. Policy
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) is soliciting research proposals from entities for a broad range of 11 homeland security technology needs.
“A strength of the DHS SBIR program is that each year we can partner with innovative small businesses... Read More »
With stolen benefits from COVID-19 relief applications nearing $100 billion, Secret Service investigations of fraud at this scale are ramping up, and as part of those efforts, the agency this week appointed Assistant Special Agent in Charge Roy Dotson as National Pandemic Fraud Recovery... Read More »
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced Tuesday it would be launching a body camera pilot program for ICE law enforcement officers in pre-planned operations.
The use of body worn cameras, the agency said, will enhance ICE operations, including at-large arrests and searches, as... Read More »
Bipartisan legislation authored by U.S. Sens. Gary Peters (D-MI) and Rob Portman (R-OH) aimed at improving the federal workforce’s understanding of artificial intelligence (AI) passed the U.S. Senate on Monday.
The bill, Artificial Intelligence Training for the Acquisition Workforce Act, would... Read More »
In an effort to close health disparities brought to light and exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced this week that it has banded together with 15 digital health startups in the 2022 PandemicX Accelerator.
“PandemicX will... Read More »
A group of lawmakers have introduced a measure they said seeks to protect the domestic supply chain from foreign adversaries that include China and Russia.
Reps. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), and Victoria Spartz (R-IN) introduced the National Critical... Read More »
With a growing body of evidence that novel coronaviruses will continue to infect animals to afflict humans anew, top scientists from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have called for collaboration in pursuit of a universal coronavirus vaccine.
Drs. Anthony Fauci, Jeffery Taubenberger, and... Read More »
U.S. Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, and U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) released a report Thursday from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) on Federal Government disaster recovery programming and equitable outcomes.
The... Read More »
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has revealed that criminal drug networks based in Mexico are mass-producing fentanyl and fentanyl-laced products for sale in the United States.
Fentanyl has been one of the major drivers of overdose deaths in recent years. Today, the DEA claims that... Read More »
A growing, immediate need exists to accelerate global coronavirus vaccination efforts to help ensure America’s continued economic recovery, experts testified during a Dec. 14 hearing held by the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis.
To date, nearly eight billion coronavirus... Read More »
Legislation from U.S. Sens. Gary Peters (D-MI), John Hoeven (R-ND), and Jacky Rosen (D-NV) that aims to revamp and reenergize the federal cybersecurity workforce passed a major hurdle this week after it won advancement through the Senate.
Reckoning with a world at times inseparable from its... Read More »
U.S. Sens. Rob Portman (R-OH) and Martin Heinrich (D-NM), co-founders of the Senate Artificial Intelligence Caucus, said two of their bipartisan bills addressing Artificial Intelligence and the U.S. government have passed as part of the FY 2022 National Defense Authorization Act.
The bills, the... Read More »
Among the many items nearing approval through the federal defense authorization bill this month is the National Guard’s FireGuard wildfire detection and tracking program in California.
The defense bill has been advanced by both the Senate and House and merely awaits the signature of President... Read More »
With as many as 40 percent of medical device manufacturing facilities refusing to submit records when asked by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), U.S. Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-IL) and Bill Cassidy (R-LA) have proposed a bill that would encourage compliance.
The requests were made between... Read More »
A new report released by the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security this week determined that the failure to incorporate primary care providers into the frontline response to COVID-19 and the larger public health system could have improved care, testing, and vaccination acceptance.
In... Read More »
Lawmakers in the House of Representatives have launched the Hypersonics Caucus to promote hypersonic weapons utilization in accordance with national security strategy initiatives.
Reps. Mo Brooks (R-AL) and Jim Banks (R-IN) spearheaded the effort.
“Russia and China have spent the past two... Read More »
U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) urged the U.S. Department of Defense to address the DOD’s overreliance on pharmaceuticals produced abroad in a letter on Friday.
The letter, to Gregory Kausner, acting Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, said... Read More »
An investigation by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigation’s (HSI) Washington D.C. Field Office and Defense Criminal Investigative Service’s (DCIS) Mid-Atlantic Field Office has led to the seizure of Iranian arms from vessels in the Arabian Sea.... Read More »
More than 100 COVID-19 experts called on Congressional leaders Thursday to pass bipartisan legislation to create a COVID-19 Commission.
The legislation, introduced by U.S. Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Roger Marshall (R-KS), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Joni Ernst (R-IA), and Richard Blumenthal... Read More »
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) recently published a document identifying and addressing emerging threats and ensuring the efficient flow of commerce.
The document, the Air Cargo Security Roadmap, is the result of collaboration within the air cargo industry with stakeholders. It... Read More »
The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee held a hearing recently to examine the harmful impacts of Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) at military sites.
U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) convened the hearing after a Department of Defense (DoD) Inspector... Read More »
The Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense announced launched a public awareness campaign Wednesday to support the Apollo Program for Biodefense, a project that aims to eliminate pandemics in ten years and reduce other biological threats.
The campaign, similar in scope and importance to landing... Read More »
Members of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee expressed support for a proposed initiative that would create an international organization aimed at detecting and preventing new biological threats, either unintentionally developed or intentionally introduced by rogue actors, like terrorists or... Read More »
U.S. Reps. Scott Franklin (R-FL) and James Comer (R-KY) recently forwarded correspondence to the Justice Department, seeking an update regarding efforts to address COVID-19 relief benefits stolen by transnational and state-sponsored organizations.
The representatives cited a report that found... Read More »
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announced Monday it was creating a new whole-of-government effort, the Initiative for Global Vaccine Access (Global VAX), to accelerate efforts worldwide to provide COVID-19 shots and overcome access barriers to vaccines, with a priority on... Read More »
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) recently detailed a United States-Brazil collaboration that disrupted a major human trafficking operation.
ICE officials indicated a probe spearheaded by the agency's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in conjunction with the Department of... Read More »
The U.S. Marines, Navy, and Army will join Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) members for a bilateral training exercise in multiple training locations across Japan.
Resolute Dragon 2021 involves almost 2,650 Marines from across III MEF, representing all functions of the Fleet Marine Force.... Read More »
A new report from the Bipartisan Policy Center makes recommendations on modernizing the U.S. public healthcare systems in light of the challenges the country has faced during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The report, Public health Forward: Modernizing the U.S. Public Health System, outlines critical... Read More »
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials said the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has unveiled Security Directives to address surface transportation systems and associated infrastructure cybersecurity threats.
“These new cybersecurity requirements and recommendations will... Read More »
U.S. Reps. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) and Anna Eshoo (D-CA) commended House of Representatives colleagues for passing a pair of bills Kinzinger introduced that he said are designed to bolster cybersecurity.
The American Cybersecurity Literacy Act (H.R. 4055) requires the National Telecommunications... Read More »
U.S. Sens. Gary Peters (D-MI), Rob Portman (R-OH), and Alex Padilla (D-CA) introduced legislation Wednesday that would increase the transparency in what the federal government spends money on when it comes to disasters and emergencies – including pandemics, wildfires, and flooding.
The... Read More »
Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) and Communications and Technology Subcommittee Chairman Mike Doyle (D-PA) applauded the House of Representatives' passage of three cybersecurity bills.
“The House came together to pass three critical bipartisan bills that aim to... Read More »
Former U.S. Rep. Susan Brooks, a Republican who represented the 5th District of Indiana from 2013-2021, and former Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Peggy Hamburg, who served as the agency’s 21st commissioner between 2009-2015, have joined the Bipartisan Commission on... Read More »
U.S. Sens. Rob Portman (R-OH), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), and Angus King (I-ME) recently filed an FY 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) amendment that seeks to enhance the key technologies permitting process concerning national security.
The amendment focuses on the FAST-41 improved... Read More »
As the world continues to realign its approach and expectations in the wake of the emergence of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 in South Africa last week, U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) took the opportunity to renew calls for expanding U.S. vaccine aid to other nations.
“The emergence of... Read More »