U.S. Policy
Specific states and local jurisdictions stand to benefit from federal funding under a targeted effort to counter COVID-19, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced this week.
Through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), an initial $25 million cooperative... Read More »
The bipartisan Cure the Coronavirus Act ( H.R. 6019) was introduced this week in the House in response to a growing presence of COVID-19 in the United States.
Through the legislation, U.S. Reps. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), Rep. Tony Cárdenas (D-CA-), Rep. Peter King (R-NY), and Rep. Jaime Herrera... Read More »
U.S. Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett is visiting the Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota Thursday at the invitation of Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND).
Hoeven invited Barrett to visit the facilities during her confirmation process last year. The senator, a member of the Senate Defense... Read More »
U.S. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) urged officials from U.S. health agencies to take action to stem the spread of the coronavirus at a Senate Health Committee hearing on the coronavirus this week.
Specifically, Collins said they should work to prevent drug shortages and protect Americans,... Read More »
Lockheed Martin recently highlighted a pair of F-35 aircraft milestones, one related to delivery and the other to logged flight hours.
Lockheed Martin and the F-35 Joint Program Office have delivered the 500th F-35, and last month, the F-35 enterprise surpassed 250,000 flight hours.
“These... Read More »
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has issued the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) a portfolio management recommendation regarding the agency’s nuclear weapon stockpile modernization efforts.
The GAO said the recommendation stemmed from the NNSA modernizing the nation's... Read More »
U.S. House and Senate leaders reached an agreement on an $8.3 billion emergency supplemental appropriations package on Wednesday to fund the nation’s response to the coronavirus outbreak, including critical funding for vaccine research and development.
“Today Democrats and Republicans in... Read More »
Right-wing extremists were responsible for a majority of extremist-related murders in the United States last year, according to a report by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).
Of the 42 extremist-related murders in the nation last year, 38 were committed by individuals subscribing to various... Read More »
Two government agencies said Southwest Valley Constructors Co. has secured a contract to build 15 miles of new Rio Grande Valley (RGV) Sector border wall.
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) officials announced the contract, valued at $179,580,000,... Read More »
With reports of COVID-19 cases spreading further across the U.S. day by day, U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) has become the latest lawmaker calling for swift congressional action to contain the virus.
While the novel coronavirus’s spread in the United States has remained low, Centers for... Read More »
Sens. Ron Johnson (R-WI) and Gary C. Peters (D-MI) recently forwarded correspondence to two agencies to inquire about medical supply chain security and stability in the event of a coronavirus outbreak.
Johnson and Peters sent a letter to Acting Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary... Read More »
Sens. Gary Peters (D-MI) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) introduced last week a measure designed to protect Customs and Border Protection (CBP) employees from accidental exposure to fentanyl and other synthetic opioids.
The Synthetic Opioid Exposure Prevention and Training Act of 2020 would... Read More »
Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), and Raul Ruiz (D-CA) have been selected to head up the new Bipartisan Congressional Coronavirus Task Force.
The task force will marshal the experience and expertise of Congress members and committee leaders to develop an action plan for... Read More »
The U.S. Senate recently passed the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act, a bipartisan House bill that would secure America’s telecommunications supply chain.
The bill was introduced by Reps. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, Greg Walden... Read More »
U.S. Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Edward Markey (D-MA) are asking the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to examine if the nuclear modernization activities by the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) are sustainable and affordable.
The GAO issued a report in 2017 recommending... Read More »
The House Appropriations Committee took testimony from Acting U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Mark Morgan this week, regarding the CBP’s portion of the Trump administration’s proposed FY 2021 budget.
For CBP, that portion amounts to a more than $18.2 billion budget... Read More »
A bill was introduced in the U.S. Senate that would reverse the Department of Defense’s recent transfer of $3.8 billion to be used to a border wall.
Further, the Restoring Military Priorities Act of 2020 would reduce the transfer authority of the DoD to prevent President Trump from diverting... Read More »
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, charged Wednesday night with leading the federal government’s response to the coronavirus epidemic, has named a top AIDS expert to coordinate the response and clamped down on future outgoing coronavirus messaging by government health officials and... Read More »
The co-chairs of the House Global Health Caucus introduced a resolution in support of the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunizations (GAVI).
GAVI is dedicated to saving the lives of children in the world’s poorest countries by improving access to new and underutilized vaccines. Since... Read More »
Following the Trump administration’s request for $2.5 billion to address the growing novel coronavirus outbreak, Democratic U.S. Senators this week urged that appropriate resources be put in place to guarantee an effective response.
“The highly contagious and rapidly spreading Coronavirus... Read More »
The National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) is urging the Trump Administration and Congress to approve emergency supplemental funding for local health departments to respond to the coronavirus.
“Our nation has taken strong steps to help address the spread of... Read More »
U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) is seeking answers from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on how it will mitigate potential drug and medical device shortages.
The inquiry follows a recent report that the recent outbreak of novel coronavirus has threatened the domestic supply of some 150... Read More »
The National Governors Association (NGA) became the most recent organization to oppose a nearly $1.7 billion cut from the National Guard and Reserve.
The cut is part of a Trump administration proposal that would divert $3.8 billion in funding to the U.S.-Mexico wall border.
The budget cuts... Read More »
One of the greatest concerns pushed by U.S. lawmakers since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus -- COVID-19 -- has been the potential impacts on products coming from China, but this week, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) insisted its inspections have not been hindered, nor has the virus... Read More »
The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on Monday night sent Congress a total $2.5 billion emergency supplemental spending request to fight the coronavirus outbreak, which top U.S. government officials warned will inevitably spread across the nation.
“The administration believes... Read More »
Three Republican senators recently sent a letter to Chad F. Wolf, Acting Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), wanting to know how a former al-Qaeda leader in Iraq was allowed to emigrate to the United States as a refugee and become a citizen.
The Department of Justice... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials is providing state governors with increased flexibility regarding electronic submission of required documents for REAL ID applications.
Specifically, DHS said states may now add identity and lawful status source documents, through a secure... Read More »
U.S. Reps. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) and Judy Chu (D-CA) are seeking information from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on reports that Chinese-American scientists are being targeted as potential spies.
A recent article in The New York Times reported... Read More »
A bill was introduced in the U.S. Senate last week that would create a permanent fund to respond more quickly to public health emergencies.
The Public Health Emergency Response and Accountability Act (S. 3309) would provide automatic funding for the existing Public Health Emergency Fund based... Read More »
U.S. Reps. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) and Jerry McNerney (D-CA) introduced a bill in the House of Representatives to improve network resiliency in times of emergency.
The Reinforcing and Evaluating Service Integrity, Local Infrastructure, and Emergency Notification for Today’s Networks Act (H.R.... Read More »
A group of Democratic Senators recently questioned Defense Secretary Mark Esper about the decision to begin fielding W76-2 “low-yield” nuclear submarine-launched ballistic missile warheads.
“We write to express our concern about the recent decision to begin fielding the W76-2 low-yield... Read More »
A bill introduced in the U.S. Senate would give National Guard and Reserve members equal hazard duty incentive pay (HDIP).
The bill was sponsored by Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL). Similar legislation has already been introduced in the House.
“The... Read More »
The United States is struggling to implement a National Biodefense Strategy, according to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) review, but there are additional efforts that could make the strategy more effective.
GAO first recommended that the Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary should... Read More »
New legislation proposed by U.S. Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Tina Smith (D-MN) and Angus King (I-ME) seeks to create a permanent fund to encourage quicker responses to public health emergencies.
The Public Health Emergency Response and... Read More »
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recently launched biometric facial comparison technology at Houston’s William P. Hobby Airport.
The technology is intended to secure and streamline international travel.
CBP has processed more than 43 million travelers using biometric facial... Read More »
