U.S. Policy
The International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) is calling on Congress to clear regulatory logjams to get relief money from the CARES Act to firefighters and first responders.
IAFC leaders say legal and regulatory minutiae is preventing funding from the Assistance for Firefighter Grant... Read More »
Laredo Port of Entry Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers recently executed a narcotics interception effort yielding hard narcotics with an estimated street value of more than $25 million.
Authorities indicated the seizure occurred at the World Trade Bridge when an officer referred a... Read More »
Criticizing President Donald Trump’s unilateral decision to end funding for the World Health Organization (WHO) as reckless, Democratic members of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs called on the president to restore funding and to stop putting COVID-19 blame on the organization.
Chairman... Read More »
U.S. Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK) introduced a bill in the House that authorizes additional scientific research to fight the novel coronavirus and other infectious diseases.
The legislation -- the Computing Opportunities to Vanquish Infectious Diseases Research Act of 2020 (the COVID Research Act)... Read More »
U.S. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) is urging the Trump Administration to shore up the safety of the personal protective equipment (PPE) supply chain and protect hospitals from scammers.
“Hospitals and health care workers are busy saving lives and protecting the... Read More »
Fallout from Dr. Rick Bright’s sudden removal from his post as director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) is growing, as U.S. Sen. Edward Markey calls for an official investigation into the motivations behind the move.
Bright has served as BARDA director... Read More »
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced last week that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is awarding $631 million to 64 jurisdictions in support of the COVID-19 response.
“This new funding secured from Congress by President Trump will help public health... Read More »
A group of U.S. Senators recently called on President Donald Trump to address what they see as his administration’s mismanagement of the Strategic National Stockpile.
The senators want to know why states were left without the federal assistance and supplies to combat the coronavirus pandemic.... Read More »
House Energy and Commerce Committee members recently met with Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Stephen Hahn to discuss the ongoing COVID-19 response.
“Energy and Commerce Committee members held a productive discussion with Commissioner Hahn,” Committee Chairman Frank Pallone,... Read More »
Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Tom Carper (D-DE) led 14 bipartisan colleagues in forwarding correspondence to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), urging the agency to expand its existing COVID-19 tracking framework.
The legislators are encouraging the CDC to determine and log... Read More »
In a new report titled Developing a National Strategy for Serology in the United States, the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security argued for the creation of a national antibody testing strategy in the United States to counteract the spread of COVID-19.
One of the major problems for the U.S.... Read More »
Under legislation introduced by a collection of nine Democratic senators this week, AmeriCorps would take on more Americans and offer greater compensation, as part of a three-year response and recovery period linked to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Pandemic Response and Opportunity Through National... Read More »
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a plan that will produce bridge ventilators to support local hospitals and health care workers.
Through this effort, local manufacturers will produce at least 3,000 bridge ventilators, which will be deployed to hospitals in the fight against... Read More »
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is awarding $10 million to help communities combat terrorism and targeted violence across the country.
The funding comes from money appropriated by Congress for the Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention (TVTP) Grant Program.
“Attacks by... Read More »
Though 72 potential vaccines and treatments for COVID-19 are currently under development, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and its federal health partners note that urgency for additional products remains, and to jumpstart possibilities, they have launched a new Coronavirus Treatment... Read More »
Newly developed COVID-19 testing options were approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) this week, with the granting of emergency use authorization (EUA) for an at-home test.
It marks the first at-home iteration of tests for the disease, which has infected more than 788,000 in the... Read More »
U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ) is calling on the Trump Administration to develop a comprehensive COVID-19 testing strategy as part of its efforts to reopen the economy.
Pallone, chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, is concerned that the Trump Administration appears to be abandoning... Read More »
Legislation introduced in the U.S. House seeks to ensure greater accountability in the distribution of personal protective equipment (PPE) and other emergency resources under the Defense Protection Act and Stafford Act.
Specifically, the bill -- the Emergency Supply Chain Transparency Act --... Read More »
U.S. Reps. Debbie Dingell (D-MI) and Jackie Walorski (R-IN) introduced a bill to shore up the medical supplies in the Strategic National Stockpile.
Their bill, the Medical Supplies for Pandemics Act of 2020, would strengthen the Strategic National Stockpile by enhancing medical supply chain... Read More »
Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) recently led a bipartisan group of colleagues in urging the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to address fire department and emergency medical service (EMS) equipment shortages under the Coronavirus Relief, Aid and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
Sen. Jon Tester... Read More »
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker filed a bill to help the state combat mosquito-borne diseases like Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) and the West Nile Virus (WNV).
The legislation -- An Act to Mitigate Arbovirus in the Commonwealth – would empower the State Reclamation and Mosquito Control... Read More »
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) has forwarded correspondence to President Donald Trump, encouraging efforts to provide COVID-19 patients the right to try hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) in the course of their diagnosis.
Johnson is seeking to have the president issue a directive to remove the Food and Drug... Read More »
Invoking the Defense Production Act (DPA), the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has entered a new, $336 million contract with General Electric (GE) that will see 50,000 ventilators supplied to the government by July 13.
"The President promised on March 27 that we would have 100,000... Read More »
Congressional legislators on Friday introduced two bipartisan bills in the U.S. House of Representatives to bolster the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS), the nation’s repository of antibiotics, vaccines and other critical medical supplies that has been strained by the current coronavirus... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is seeking to temporarily amend H-2A requirements to help U.S. agricultural employers during the coronavirus emergency.
The H-2A program allows U.S. employers to bring foreign nationals to the country to fill temporary agricultural jobs.
The rule... Read More »
Citing an increased need for medical staff to handle the surge in confirmed COVID-19 cases, Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and Rep. Albio Sires (D-N.J.) are encouraging the waiving of restrictions on doctors with employment-based visas.
The legislators said the restrictions prevent the doctors from... Read More »
Ohio State University researchers have received Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for a process designed to expand and accelerate COVID-19 testing statewide.
In response to shortages of test kit components, including swabs and vials filled with a liquid called viral transport media... Read More »
A group of lawmakers recently introduced a measure designed to expand assurances for public safety officers contracting COVID-19 in the line of duty.
Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ), co-chair of the Congressional Law Enforcement Caucus and Fire Services Caucus, House Judiciary Committee Chairman... Read More »
A group of senators recently forwarded correspondence to Vice President Mike Pence, the Coronavirus Task Force, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) seeking COVID-19 testing clarity.
Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Tina Smith (D-MN) joined colleagues in calling for the initiation... Read More »
A group of Democratic U.S. Senators will introduce a bill to establish a commission to examine the country’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.
The commission would be charged with reviewing the government’s coronavirus response and make recommendations on how it can be improved. The bill... Read More »
In a second emergency use authorization (EUA), the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the decontamination of N95 and equivalent respirators for reuse by health care workers in hospitals working to contain COVID-19.
Such masks have been in short supply as hospitals... Read More »
A group of Congressional lawmakers are calling on leaders of the World Health Organization, the United Nations, and the World Organization for Animal Health to ban live wildlife markets and international trade of live wildlife.
Live wildlife markets, also known as “wet” markets, create a... Read More »
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has extended the No Sail Order for all cruise ships to combat domestic spread of COVID-19.
“We are working with the cruise line industry to address the health and safety of crew at sea as well as communities surrounding U.S. cruise ship... Read More »
U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) introduced legislation designed to protect first responders and frontline workers in the fight against the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.
The COVID–19 Workers First Protection Act (S. 3584) directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue an emergency temporary... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) awarded roughly $1.3 billion to health centers to help them respond to the coronavirus pandemic.
The funding – through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) – went to 1,387 different health centers. The awards may be... Read More »
