U.S. Policy
The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Fiscal Year 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
The NDAA addresses the nation's defense budget, Afghanistan accountability, additional defense priorities, as well as countering China and Russia.
“For 61 consecutive years, the House... Read More »
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officials said the agencies are collaborating to address illegal hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) importation.
“Using an all-hands-on-deck approach, we must urgently address the climate crisis that is threatening both our... Read More »
As the CEO of American PAPR, a Brooklyn-based company that manufactures American-made personal protective equipment, Giles Kyser has hired lobbyists to make the case that the federal government should procure medical equipment whose raw materials are sourced and assembled in the United States.... Read More »
A pair of lawmakers have forwarded correspondence to Attorney General Merrick Garland, seeking a progress report regarding hate crime reduction efforts and
COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act implementation.
The letter from Sen. Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) and Rep. Grace Meng (D-NY) was sent four months after... Read More »
The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) intends to invest $2.1 billion to improve infection prevention and control activities at the state, local and territorial levels, and better improve national capabilities to prepare for emerging infectious diseases.
These funds... Read More »
A group of lawmakers from Florida are encouraging the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to reverse its decision to ration monoclonal antibody (mAb) drugs for COVID-19 outpatient treatment.
The lawmakers said the HHS decision would result in Florida facing a deficit of doses. Sen.... Read More »
A pair of lawmakers introduced a bill that seeks to place Congressional controls on the use of emergency funding for enduring wars.
Sens. Mike Lee (R-UT) and Mike Braun (R-IN) maintain the Restraining Emergency War Spending Act prescribes a statutory definition to classify emergency war... Read More »
A pair of lawmakers have introduced a bill they said seeks to create an emergency supply of key ingredients used in essential generic medicines.
Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) maintain the bipartisan Promoting Readiness and Ensuring Proper Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient... Read More »
While buoyed by the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s advancement of the Build Back Better Act, and the offerings therein, the United States COVID-19 Global Vaccination Caucus chimed in last week to note that its offers for vaccine manufacturing are just a beginning.
The caucus consists of... Read More »
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Eli Lilly and Company have secured Department of Defense (DOD) contracts to produce additional doses of monoclonal antibodies to block the infectivity of SARS-CoV-2.
Authorities indicated the $3.2 billion total allotment is in coordination with the Department... Read More »
U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL) introduced resolutions Tuesday urging Secretary of State Anthony Blinken to designate the Afghan Taliban as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.
The resolution introduced into both chambers of Congress calls for freezing the Government of... Read More »
A group of Maryland lawmakers applauded President Joe Biden for granting their request to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for federal disaster assistance through the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP).
U.S. Reps. John Sarbanes (D-MD), Steny H. Hoyer (D-MD), Dutch Ruppersberger... Read More »
Boeing officials joined Missile Defense Agency (MDA) personnel in touting the recent successful demonstration of an advanced interceptor capability for the Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system.
The exercise would assist in achieving the overarching goal of defending the nation from... Read More »
U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) is touting the inclusion of $2.86 billion for the 9/11 World Trade Center (WTC) Health Program in the Build Back Better Act.
Officials said the funds would be included in the Energy and Commerce Committee’s portion of the measure, which is slated to be... Read More »
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas assured Thursday the growing effort to combat domestic terrorism and the mass influx of Afghan refugees will not distract the agency from its ongoing efforts to guard against attacks from international terrorism.
Speaking at the National Press Club... Read More »
In the hunt for a solution to one of burning buildings’ most dangerous effects, chemists from the United States Department of Homeland Security’s Chemical Security Analysis Center (CSAC) have created a test that could help firefighters identify whether civilians have been exposed to toxic... Read More »
A group of lawmakers launched the COVID-19 Global Vaccination Caucus, which they said would advocate for vaccines as a means of ending the COVID-19 pandemic.
Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), Tom Malinowski (D-NJ), Mark Pocan (D-WI) and Jake Auchincloss (D-MA) along with... Read More »
The Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense last week applauded the Biden Administration’s work on a new $65.3 billion American Pandemic Preparedness Plan for investments to combat the next biological threat, though it argues that greater funding is necessary to make sufficient plans.
The White... Read More »
Science fiction is becoming fact, according to United States Rep. Jim Langevin (D-RI) -- and as a result, he and fellow U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) have successfully added 11 artificial intelligence (AI)-focused amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022.
While... Read More »
Analogic Corporation has secured a $198 million Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agreement to secure mid-sized Computed Tomography (CT) x-ray systems for TSA checkpoints.
“This award is another important step in enhancing aviation security,” TSA Administrator David Pekoske... Read More »
A new House bill introduced by United States Reps. Mike Turner (R-OH), Jason Crow (D-CO), and Brad Wenstrup (R-OH) -- the Havana Syndrome Service Member Support Act -- seeks to provide aid for those with Havana Syndrome-induced brain injuries and initiate federal efforts to address related... Read More »
On Tuesday, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) issued a cybersecurity advisory that highlighted precautions and mitigation steps public and private sector organizations could take to reduce their risk of ransomware and other... Read More »
A group of lawmakers are encouraging the Department of Justice to prioritize investigating hate group networks supporting extremist ideology.
Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) recently joined Reps. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) in forwarding correspondence to... Read More »
Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra declared public health emergencies on Monday for Louisiana and Mississippi due to the effects for Hurricane Ida.
The declaration comes after President Joe Biden declared a state of emergency for the two states. Together, the declarations give... Read More »
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Cybersecurity Service has launched a new approach to hiring and retaining top cyber talent, the department said Friday.
In order to recruit the best cybersecurity employees to work across cybersecurity specializations and DHS Component Agencies,... Read More »
According to a new paper from the nonprofit Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI), artificial intelligence in nuclear weapons systems is a neutral wash of possibilities -- but it also appears inevitable, and as a result, immediate action is needed to balance benefits and risks while the technology is... Read More »
The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) placed a call for partners this week to aid the organization in developing new sequencing-based, agnostic diagnostic tests better capable of detecting respiratory RNA viruses.
Potential partners will be able to help guide the... Read More »
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Monday granted full approval to Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine for use among patients 16 years and older, making it the first of the disease’s vaccines to cross beyond conditional use.
Since Dec. 11, 2020, the mRNA-based vaccine had... Read More »
While key federal agencies prepared interagency response plans and conducted 74 interagency exercises from 2009 through 2019 to prepare for and respond to a wide variety of biological incidents, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently determined that the agencies weren’t on the same... Read More »
U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI) introduced legislation Wednesday that seeks to divert a small percentage of military spending towards global vaccination efforts, vaccinating potentially an additional 30 percent of the world’s low-income population within a year.
The COVID Defense Act would... Read More »
A group of lawmakers recently forwarded correspondence to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin seeking a complete account of military equipment left behind in Afghanistan.
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) joined 23 Senate colleagues in penning the letter to Austin. The equipment has already or risks... Read More »
U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Deb Haaland and U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced Tuesday that they would be implementing President Joe Biden’s pay increases for federal wildland firefighters.
The announcement ensures that the approximately 3,500... Read More »
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said officers staffing the Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) seized over $99,000 from a family bound to the Palestinian territories.
“Customs and Border Protection wants to make clear that there is no limit to the amount of money that... Read More »
Area Port of Memphis Customs and Border Protection (CBP) personnel said the agency routinely seizes low-quality, counterfeit COVID-19 vaccination cards.
This fiscal year, Memphis has initiated 121 seizures totaling 3,017 of the fake vaccination cards. The cards regularly contain typographical... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Justice announced last week that its Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) is expanding its Firearms Technical Assistance Project (FTAP) to reduce domestic violence.
The OVW awarded an estimated $6 million for up to 12 venues and $4 million for training and technical... Read More »
