U.S. Policy
With the introduction of new legislation last week, U.S. Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-SC) has proposed the creation of the Office of Policy Development and Cybersecurity (OPDC) within the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to advance national cybersecurity... Read More »
The EB-5 Regional Center program, which is slated to expire June 30, will likely remain temporary now that the U.S. Senate blocked a proposed reauthorization and reform bill.
U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), ranking member of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, yesterday brought up his EB-5... Read More »
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) personnel are touting the benefits of a Puerto Rico hurricane preparedness exercise.
The ASPR indicated collaboration with the Department of Health of Puerto Rico would involve... Read More »
U.S. Rep. Andre Carson (D-IN) introduced legislation Tuesday that would uncover the threats posed by white supremacist groups both in America and abroad.
Carson, chair of the House Subcommittee on Counterterrorism, Counterintelligence, and counterproliferation, said the groups threaten national... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced Tuesday that the Biden Administration would invest more than $3 billion from the American Rescue Plan to discover, develop, and manufacture antiviral COVID-19 medicines.
The investment is part of the administration’s “whole of... Read More »
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) has introduced the COVID Act of 2021, authorizing sanctions against the Chinese Communist Party should it fail to allow a probe into the origins of COVID-19.
The sanctions and restrictions would be applied 90 days after enactment concerning a probe of suspected... Read More »
Laredo Air Branch Air and Marine Operations (AMO) personnel have detailed how crew detection, surveillance and tracking operations experienced a 143 percent increase in migrant apprehensions.
The Laredo Air Branch Air and Marine Operations (AMO) was involved in the apprehension of 12,400... Read More »
While Congress continues its debate of President Joe Biden’s proposed $2 trillion American Jobs Plan, 25 medical and healthcare stakeholder organizations are urging the legislators to support the $30 billion the plan would direct to prepare for future pandemics.
In a letter to Congressional... Read More »
Three legislators recently introduced legislation designed to enhance national wildfire policy by establishing a commission of federal and non-federal stakeholders addressing prevention and mitigation.
U.S. Sens. Mitt Romney (R-UT) and Mark Kelly (D-AZ) joined Rep. John Curtis (R-UT) in... Read More »
With feet to fire, congressional lawmakers are feverishly working to get bipartisan, bicameral companion bills to reauthorize the EB-5 Regional Center Program ready for a U.S. Senate vote before the program’s June 30 expiration date.
There isn’t much time left to get a final bill worked... Read More »
A group of 48 legislators forwarded correspondence last week calling for full Byrne Justice Assistance Grant (Byrne JAG) program funding.
The letter was sent to U.S. Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Jerry Moran (R-KS), respective chair and ranking member of the Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice,... Read More »
U.S. Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Thom Tillis (R-NC) recently reintroduced a measure designed to provide law enforcement with resources to enhance cybercrime combating initiatives.
The International Cybercrime Prevention Act would update... Read More »
U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), and Jacky Rosen (D-NV) introduced legislation Thursday that would create a U.S.-Israel Artificial Intelligence Research and Development Center to further collaborate in AI and contribute to the field’s advancement.... Read More »
U.S. Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) led a group of eight lawmakers who introduced legislation this week banning federal agencies from using facial recognition and other biometric technologies.
The Facial Recognition and Biometric Technology Moratorium Act would also prohibit the... Read More »
A group of lawmakers recently reintroduced legislation they said would require the government to develop a list of scientific and engineering institutions affiliated with the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA).
U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Tommy... Read More »
Citing an increased number of cyberattacks, a pair of lawmakers are encouraging bolstered cybersecurity efforts for the
K-12 education sector.
U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, and Susan Collins (R-ME), a member of the Senate Intelligence... Read More »
The Pray Safe Act, introduced to the U.S. Senate last week, represents a joint effort on the part of U.S. Sens. Rob Portman (R-OH) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) to provide faith-based organizations and houses of worship with easy access to security best practices, federal grant programs, and... Read More »
Utilizing funds provided for in the American Rescue Plan, the Biden Administration announced last week that it will invest more than $3 billion into the Antiviral Program for Pandemics, promoting the pursuit, development, and manufacturing of antivirals for COVID-19.
That program will be run... Read More »
U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) and Sen. James Risch (R-ID) called on President Joe Biden to immediately impose legally mandated sanctions against the Putin regime in a letter Wednesday.
McCaul, the House Foreign Affairs Committee Lead and Risch, the Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign... Read More »
A group of lawmakers recently reintroduced a bill they said is designed to make the nation's pharmaceutical supply chain less dependent on foreign countries like China.
U.S. Reps. Earl L. "Buddy" Carter (R-GA), Tom Rice (R-SC), Darren Soto (D-FL), Matt Cartwright (D-PA), and U.S. Sen. Tim Scott... Read More »
U.S. Rep. John Katko (R-NY), ranking member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, has expressed opposition to the Biden administration’s decision to lift Iranian sanctions.
In recent correspondence to U.S. Department of the Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Katko detailed what he deemed... Read More »
An additional order of 200 million doses of the Moderna, Inc. COVID-19 vaccine, mRNA-1273, this week has brought the total U.S. government's order commitment to 500 million.
As of June 14, Moderna has supplied 217 million total doses to the government. Another 110 million doses are slated for... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) announced this week that funding opportunities are available for research and development into 10 new first responder technology areas.
To that end, the agency is seeking documents from industry, academia,... Read More »
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has issued the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) a series of recommendations
regarding modernizing its supply chain and preparing for future public health emergencies.
The GAO indicated its study stemmed from the VA encountering issues acquiring... Read More »
With acts of domestic terrorism occurring with increasing regularity in the United States, the Biden administration signaled an effort to counter such attacks with the release of the country’s first National Strategy for Countering Domestic Terrorism.
The federal government has provided the... Read More »
Proposed congressional legislation would overhaul the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS), expand domestic manufacturing of medical supplies and improve America’s preparedness for public health emergencies.
U.S. Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) on June 8 unveiled the... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently outlined the plan for allocating border barrier funds ending wall expansion to the extent permitted by law.
The prior administration sought to spend over $15 billion on wall construction, diverting more than $10 billion of those funds from... Read More »
U.S. Reps. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) and Mo Brooks (R-AL) recently forwarded correspondence to the House Appropriations Committee requesting full funding for missile defense programs in the Fiscal Year 2022 budget.
The representatives sent a letter to House Appropriations Chair Betty McCollum (D-MN)... Read More »
The chairman and ranking member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee -- U.S. Sens. Gary Peters (D-MI) and Rob Portman (R-OH) -- wrote to the Biden administration this week to urge efforts to counter mounting ransomware attacks on critical infrastructure.
In the... Read More »
Two batches of COVID-19 vaccine solution that Emergent BioSolutions Inc. manufactures for Johnson & Johnson at its Baltimore Bayview facility are suitable for use, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) announced on Friday.
“These actions followed an extensive review of records,... Read More »
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) personnel said a recently formed partnership would target criminal smuggling enterprises.
The partnership is tied to Operation Sentinel, a new counter-network targeting operation launched in April 2021. Operation... Read More »
On Wednesday, U.S. Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) joined U.S. Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) and Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) to introduce legislation that would expand the U.S. response to the coronavirus on an international level.
The Nullifying Opportunities for Variants... Read More »
U.S. Sens. Gary Peters (D-MI) and Rob Portman (R-OH) recently applauded Senate action advancing legislation designed to expedite the government’s ability to respond to cyberattacks.
The measure was advanced with a larger legislative package enhancing domestic competitiveness on the global... Read More »
A new agreement struck between the Biden administration and Merck & Co. will provide the U.S. government with 1.7 million courses of the company’s investigational COVID-19 antiviral treatment, molnupiravir.
This agreement is contingent upon either emergency use authorization (EUA) or approval... Read More »
The White House, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR), and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released policy recommendations Tuesday to ensure the security of the U.S. pharmaceutical supply chains.... Read More »
