U.S. Policy
Department of Justice personnel said the agency has earmarked more than $341 million in grants to aid the nation in combating addiction.
“The addiction crisis has taken an enormous toll on America’s families and communities, eroding public health, threatening public safety and claiming tens... Read More »
The Trump administration and the Department of Homeland Security said they have issued the first National Strategy for Critical and Emerging Technology to ensure the nation’s innovative edges are guaranteed.
Authorities indicated the plan outlines methods to protect technologies across... Read More »
Public health leaders from the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) and the Association of Immunization Managers (AIM) wrote Congress last week to request emergency funding to benefit COVID-19 vaccine distribution and administration.
The supplemental funding request came... Read More »
The United States and Canada are working together to improve and better coordinate nuclear safety and security.
The U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and the Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) today signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for... Read More »
The Justice Department said U.S. District Judge Dale A. Kimball sentenced a Utah man to life in prison for heading an organization that distributed more than 500,000 counterfeit pills nationwide.
Authorities said the sentence was handed down to Aaron Michael Shamo, 30, indicating he was the CEO... Read More »
U.S. Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC) introduced a bill that looks to identify obstacles in the drug supply chain that hinder domestic manufacturing.
Further, the bill, the American Drug Supply Chain Act, provides incentives to bring more drug manufacturing back to the United States.
"The COVID-19... Read More »
Reps. Susan Wild (D-PA) and Fred Keller (R-PA) introduced Wednesday a measure designed to address chronic miscounting of first responders, chiefly firefighters, and emergency medical services (EMS) personnel.
The EMS Counts Act of 2020 would ensure the government’s nationwide collection of... Read More »
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized a major medical breakthrough this week, approving Regeneron Pharmaceuticals to produce Inmazeb, the first treatment for Ebola virus infections to reach that point.
Inmazeb is a mix of three monoclonal antibodies, which work by targeting the... Read More »
Rep. David N. Cicilline (D-RI) has requested Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to acknowledge combatting online anti-Semitism addresses movements domestically and across the globe during next week's State Department conference.
“Anti-Semitic cyberhate is a serious global challenge, and we must... Read More »
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last week issued guidance to provide sponsors, or vaccine makers, with information on requesting an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for COVID-19 vaccines.
The October guidance, which complements June guidance issued by the agency, specifically... Read More »
Reps. Katie Porter (D-CA) and Garret Graves (R-LA) introduced last week a measure designed to standardize natural disaster research as a means of enhancing protection efforts.
The Disaster Learning and Life Saving Act would create an independent board to review the underlying causes of natural... Read More »
Congressional leaders on the House Energy and Commerce Committee are seeking a review by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) of cybersecurity incident response capabilities of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
The E&C leaders said the HHS needs to be able to manage... Read More »
U.S. Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) and Tom Malinowski (D-NJ), along with other congressional representatives from New Jersey, are urging the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to increase the federal response related to white nationalist groups in their state.
The lawmakers said they have seen... Read More »
The Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs (OJP) has revised its policy governing the award of grants to purchase foreign-made Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS).
The revised policy requires grant recipients to use OJP funds to procure and operate UAS only in a manner that promotes... Read More »
Election interference has sounded many alarms this year, all the way to the White House and the halls of Congress. Now, the Rand Corporation is warning that a coordinated effort on Twitter to influence and provoke chaos during the upcoming presidential election is underway.
“Social media has... Read More »
Coast Guard officials said the Coast Guard Cutter Steadfast crew recently returned to its homeport in Astoria, Ore., after a 57-day eastern Pacific Ocean counter-narcotics patrol.
Authorities said the mission included the deployment of an aviation detachment from Helicopter Interdiction Tactical... Read More »
U.S. Sens. Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) introduced a bill that would give the president the authority to sanction foreign nations that try to steal American research on COVID-19.
The Defend COVID Research from Hackers Act authorizes sanctions that would specifically target a... Read More »
Lawmakers and public health officials, along with officials from the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security at the Bloomberg School of Public Health, have launched the Capitol Hill Steering Committee on Pandemic Preparedness & Health Security.
This nonpartisan group will convene educational... Read More »
Recent news that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) had overruled the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to allow COVID-19 lab-developed tests to come to market without FDA review was met by major warnings from House Democrats this week.
In a letter to HHS Secretary Alex Azar,... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced an interim final rule designed to strengthen the H-1B nonimmigrant visa program for U.S. workers.
The H-1B program was designed to allow employers to fill gaps in their workforce; however, it has now expanded far beyond that, often to the... Read More »
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released its Homeland Threat Assessment (HTA) – a report that synthesizes threat information across DHS, including intelligence and operational components.
“This HTA is as close as the American people will get to seeing and understanding the... Read More »
A group of lawmakers recently forwarded correspondence to Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) personnel, seeking continued immunization efforts.
Sens. Tom Carper (D-DE), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), and Tina... Read More »
The World Health Organization (WHO) hosted a special session of its Executive Board this week, providing an opportunity for discussion and review with Member States and seeking their guidance regarding strategic response efforts for COVID-19.
While President Donald Trump announced earlier this... Read More »
The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged individual and cooperative efforts by the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) and the U.S. State Department to counter biological threats around the world, prompting lawmakers to reevaluate the dangers that infectious disease outbreaks pose to U.S. national... Read More »
U.S. Sens. John Hoeven (R-ND) and Jacky Rosen (D-NV) introduced legislation that would create a voluntary Cyber Sense program at the Department of Energy to test the cybersecurity of products and technologies intended for use in the bulk-power system
The Cyber Sense Act (S.4795) would also... Read More »
Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS) is advocating for a change to the House of Representative’s Rules to give the Committee on Homeland Security primary jurisdiction over the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Both Republicans and Democrats have expressed openness to revisiting House Rule X and... Read More »
A group of lawmakers recently forwarded correspondence to Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf, seeking insight regarding Department of Homeland Security (DHS) plans to reopen southern entry ports.
Sens. John Cornyn (R-TX) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) joined Reps. Henry Cuellar (D-TX),... Read More »
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the National Counterintelligence and Security Center (NCSC) have released a film designed to increase awareness regarding foreign intelligence activities.
The presentation outlines how entities use fake profiles and other forms of deception on social... Read More »
The Essential Medicines Strategic Stockpile Act of 2020, introduced last week by U.S. Reps. Early Cater (R-GA) and Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE) would create an essential medicines strategic stockpile and reduce supply chain reliance on foreign nations.
"At the beginning of the Coronavirus... Read More »
As part of a community-focused move, particularly among schools, the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and The Rockefeller Foundation have agreed to identify and share effective approaches for using rapid point-of-care antigen tests to screen for COVID-19.
The pilot... Read More »
A group of Democratic U.S. Sens. sponsored legislation to establish a new core public health infrastructure program at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The Public Health Infrastructure Saves Lives Act (PHISLA) would include up to $4.5 billion in annual funding to fight... Read More »
U.S. Reps. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) and John Katko (R-NY) introduced legislation to protect against foreign influence designed to weaken the U.S. electoral system.
A statement from the U.S. Intelligence Community reported in August that “foreign states will continue to use covert and overt... Read More »
America's foreign adversaries, chief among them China, could utilize one of the federal government's most noteworthy immigration programs against the United States, threatening its national security and undermining democracy, U.S. Rep. Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA) told Homeland Preparedness... Read More »
Sens. Michael Bennet (D-CO) and Todd Young (R-IN) introduced this week legislation designed to address antimicrobial resistance via drug development targeting infections, improving antibiotics use, and ensuring domestic availability.
The Pioneering Antimicrobial Subscriptions to End Upsurging... Read More »
Members of the House China Task released its final legislative report, which includes an assessment of the growing threats posed by China, policies that strengthen America’s supply chains and economy, and opportunities to expand agriculture.
The task force, which launched in May, met with 125... Read More »
