U.S. Policy
A group of Texas legislators recently forwarded correspondence to Health and Human Services (HHS) officials requesting increased resources in response to the Rio Grande Valley COVID-19 surge.
Reps. Filemon Vela (D-TX), Vicente Gonzalez (D-TX), Henry Cuellar (D-TX) were joined by Sens. John... Read More »
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) personnel along the California border with Mexico recently reported that, in June, the agency seized 43,000 pounds of narcotics valued at nearly $92 million.
Officers at the six land ports of entry were able to foil numerous attempts to smuggle 34,685 pounds... Read More »
New legislation introduced by U.S. Reps. Eliot Engel (D-NY) and Michael McCaul (R-TX) last week -- the Rewards for Providing Information on Foreign Election Interference Act -- would expand an existing State Department program that rewards people for information on foreign election... Read More »
U.S. Reps. John Katko (R-NY) and Brad Schneider (D-IL) introduced legislation to ensure the administration and federal government are fully prepared to respond to the COVID-19 crisis and any future resurgences.
“With reports of COVID-19 spiking in most states, Central New York working... Read More »
Reps. Ed Perlmutter (D-CO) and Bill Posey (R-FL) have introduced a measure they said is designed to examine per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and firefighter exposure to the chemicals.
The Guaranteeing Equipment Safety for Firefighters Act of 2020 requires the National Institute of... Read More »
A bill designed to identify and combat efforts by the Chinese government to exploit the COVID-19 pandemic was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives.
The Preventing China from Exploiting COVID-19 Act calls upon the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) to investigate how the Chinese... Read More »
A group of House Democratic leaders sent letters to the CEOs of the major social media companies to request information on how they are responding to disinformation related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The letters were sent to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, and Twitter CEO... Read More »
A bill that would require a plan for diagnostic testing and public health system integration for COVID-19 and future pandemics was introduced in the U.S. Senate this week.
The bill, the Timely and Effective Systematic Testing (TEST) Act, was introduced by Sens. Cory Gardner (R-CO), Michael... Read More »
Reps. Darin LaHood (R-IL) and Cheri Bustos (D-IL) are calling upon Air Force personnel to provide a long-term C-130 aircraft fleet management plan.
The representatives recently forwarded correspondence to the House Committee on Armed Services regarding the request amid the committee’s work on... Read More »
The Trump administration filed a notice to withdraw the United States from the World Health Organization, senior officials with the administration confirmed to various news outlets.
The move has been received negatively by key Democratic and Republican lawmakers, as well as leading health... Read More »
A bill designed to strengthen the U.S. government’s counter-terrorism efforts against transnational white supremacy and identity groups was introduced in Congress.
The Countering Global White Supremacist Terrorism Act directs the U.S. Department of State to assess the global threat of the... Read More »
Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) has forwarded correspondence to the Department of Defense regarding the timeline for removing Turkey from the F-35 Lighting II Joint Strike Fighter supply chain.
In the letter to Defense Secretary Mark Esper, Lankford joined Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Thom Tillis... Read More »
U.S. Reps. Max Rose (D-NY) Kendra Horn (D-OK), and Stephanie Murphy (D-FL) introduced legislation requiring the U.S. government to combat efforts by the Chinese government to exploit the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Preventing China from Exploiting COVID-19 Act requires the Director of National... Read More »
National Emergency Number Association (NENA) personnel said the organization supports the House of Representatives’ recent action creating a new $12 billion federal grant program upgrading the nation’s 9-1-1 centers.
Next Generation 9-1-1 was incorporated into the Moving Forward Act, a... Read More »
House members of the Northern Border Caucus are pushing for a phased reopening of that United States-Canadian border, which has been shut down in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In all, 29 Congress members, led by caucus co-chairs Brian Higgins (D-NY) and Elise Stefanik (R-NY), called for... Read More »
Last week, the U.S. Departments of Homeland Security (DHS), Transportation (DOT) and Health and Human Services (HHS) issued joint guidance for the air travel industry, meant to provide a framework for airlines and airports operating amidst a global pandemic.
COVID-19 has spawned more than 11.4... Read More »
A bipartisan group of U.S. Senators called on the leaders of Central Asian nations to release detainees imprisoned for peaceful activism who are at high risk of contracting COVID-19.
The Senators sent letters to the President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, President of Tajikistan Emomali... Read More »
As the U.S. Senate considers the latest National Defense Authorization Act, U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) announced last week that $500 million had been added to benefit the U.S.–Israeli Cooperative Missile Defense Program.
This inclusion will benefit the development of certain missile... Read More »
The Homeland Security Committee has released a report assessing the government’s coronavirus oversight response, detailing the Committee’s actions amid the pandemic.
Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, recently released a majority staff report... Read More »
Rep. Steve Chabot (R-OH) said he has introduced H.R. 7384, the Safer Communities Act, that would make communities safer by highlighting functional reforms, rewarding officers making a positive impact, and addressing power abuses.
“Instead of getting bogged down in partisan arguments on issues... Read More »
The U.S. Space Force (USSF) finalized its organizational structure with the Air Force this week, focusing itself more on mission than on a layered command system.
In all, President Donald Trump’s addition to the military system will operate under three echelons of command: Space Operations... Read More »
Alarmed by heavy U.S. reliance on foreign nations for both its supply of drugs and pharmaceutical products, U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Marco Rubio (R-FL) introduced a bill this week to require a study of that overreliance.
Specifically, the bill would require the Federal Trade... Read More »
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is providing licensure guidance for those companies and organizations developing COVID-19 vaccines.
The guidance, called the “Development and Licensure of Vaccines to Prevent COVID-19,” provides an overview of key considerations to satisfy requirements... Read More »
BAE Systems Applied Intelligence and Acuminor are developing new technology to help banks identify transactional behavior linked to human trafficking.
They are working on a trial with a major Nordic bank for their new solution to test the effectiveness of its financial crime detection systems.... Read More »
A bipartisan group of Congressional lawmakers is urging European Union (EU) member states to designate Hezbollah as a terrorist organization.
The lawmakers state that Hezbollah is using Europe as a launching pad for its criminal and terrorist activities, including money laundering, drug... Read More »
Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) are urging the colleagues to pass the Defending Elections from Threats by Establishing Redlines (DETER) Act, which they said addresses foreign interference with domestic elections.
While Rubio and Van Hollen filed the measure as an amendment... Read More »
Hoping to improve cybersecurity, four senators introduced an amendment to the FY 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) this week that would require the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to appoint cybersecurity coordinators in every state.
U.S. Sens. Rob Portman (R-OH), Maggie Hassan... Read More »
Members of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee wrote United States Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar this week with concerns about efforts to replenish the much-depleted Strategic National Stockpile.
That stockpile has been deeply impacted during the... Read More »
Legislators are not waiting for the coronavirus pandemic to subside to suggest ways to combat future health emergencies.
In his recently released white paper “Preparing for the Next Pandemic,” U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) outlines five recommendations Congress can act on in the next six... Read More »
A group of U.S. Senators recently called on Senate leadership to include federal funding for HIV/AIDS treatment, prevention, and housing programs in the next coronavirus pandemic response package.
Specifically, the Senators, including Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), are... Read More »
With the introduction of the Background Check Completion Act last week, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and more than 20 of his colleagues took a stand against a legal loophole that has allowed gun sales to move forward if a background check is not finished in 72 hours.
“No check, no sale... Read More »
U.S. Sens. Rob Portman (R-OH) and Michael Bennet (D-CO) introduced legislation last week designed to strengthen and improve artificial intelligence (AI) within the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD).
The Artificial Intelligence and National Security Act proposes to strengthen the department’s AI... Read More »
In accordance with the CARES Act containing a provision for the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to report on ongoing COVID-19 monitoring and oversight efforts, six recommendations have been issued.
The GAO indicated its recent analysis examined key actions the federal government has... Read More »
Lawmakers have introduced a measure creating a National Cyber Director position within the White House, who would serve as the president’s principal advisor on cybersecurity issues.
Rep. Jim Langevin (D-RI), Cyberspace Solarium commissioner, joined five colleagues in presenting the National... Read More »
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) Ministry of Health declared this week that an Ebola outbreak which has ravaged the eastern portion of the country since 2018 has finally reached its end.
The news was hailed by global and U.S. health officials, still themselves battling the worldwide... Read More »
