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Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Rick Scott (R-FL) recently forwarded correspondence to President Donald Trump to certify to Congress that Colombia is committed to working with authorities to combat the illegal drug trade.
Colombia, who the senators said is one of the most proactive nations... Read More »
The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) instituted last week a new final rule, altering its 2020 Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) in a way that changes how Medicare services are paid for, along with greater payment for newer antimicrobial drugs.
The new rule... Read More »
Building on non-competitive grant funding already provided to various preparedness efforts throughout the United States, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced $350 million will be divided between six competitive preparedness grant programs this year.
Those funds will support... Read More »
The United States officially withdrew from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty last week, ending a 30-year ban on a class of weapons that both the United States and the then Soviet Union, now Russia, recognized as particularly dangerous and destabilizing.
These land-based... Read More »
Honeywell has joined the Global Cybersecurity Alliance (GCA) as a means of aiding the process of keeping infrastructure and building systems secure and protected.
“Cybersecurity is the great equalizer for any company,” Matthew Bohne, vice president and chief product security officer -... Read More »
A bill designed to protect the health and safety of firefighters and emergency responders frequently exposed to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in foams was recently introduced by Sens. Cory Gardner (R-CO), Gary Peters (D-MI), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), and Maggie Hassan (D-NH).
The... Read More »
As he called for immediate action to eradicate a major outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) last week, U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) also denounced the Trump Administration for its failures to combat the growing crisis adequately.
The outbreak is now recognized by the... Read More »
A bill urging the Trump Administration to place limits on Russia’s strategic nuclear arms was introduced in the U.S. Senate last week.
The legislation – sponsored by Sens. Todd Young (R-IN) and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) -- calls for extending the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START)... Read More »
Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Susan Collins (R-ME) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) reintroduced Wednesday a measure designed to close loopholes they said offenders exploit to obtain firearms through straw purchasing and firearms trafficking.
The Stop Illegal Trafficking in Firearms Act of 2019 is landmark... Read More »
As a means of addressing this year’s fire season, California officials are highlighting efforts to bolster preparedness with a series of actions to prepare for wildfires and other natural disasters.
Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed an executive order increasing the number of seasonal firefighters... Read More »
A new test for tuberculosis will soon be available for research use, and its creators -- Advanced Biological Laboratories (ABL) and the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) -- say that it will be smaller, more portable and more affordable than its contemporaries.
Known as... Read More »
U.S. Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA) was awarded Wednesday the 2019 Congressional Biosecurity Champion Award from the Alliance for Biosecurity.
The annual award recognizes Congressional members that work to improve the country’s capabilities to prevent and combat chemical, biological,... Read More »
Sens. Mike Rounds (R-SD) and Jacky Rosen (D-NV) introduced this week a bill requiring the State Department to investigate potential benefits of establishing a U.S.-Israel cybersecurity center.
According to the legislators, the U.S.-Israel Cybersecurity Center of Excellence Act would aid in... Read More »
U.S. Sens. John Cornyn (R-TX) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) introduced cybersecurity legislation this week, seeking to improve the work of the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) program.
Their solution is the Advancing Cybersecurity Continuing... Read More »
The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) exercised its first $261 million contract option with Emergent BioSolutions Inc. to procure its next-generation anthrax vaccine known as AV7909 for delivery into the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) over 12 months, the company... Read More »
As a means of simulating a full-scale response to a large-scale attack, the Coast Guard and local officials slated an active shooter drill at the Port of New Orleans Cruise Terminal on Wednesday.
The effort will involve coordination between the U.S. Coast Guard, Federal Bureau of Investigation,... Read More »
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has issued the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) five recommendations as a means of addressing nuclear security program concerns.
The IAEA executes its nuclear security program under its Division of Nuclear Security through four subprograms,... Read More »
U.S. Sens. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Marco Rubio (R-FL) are encouraging the leadership of the Senate and House Armed Services Committee to include the DETER Act in the final National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) conference report.
The Defending Elections from Threats by Establishing... Read More »
Sens. Edward J. Markey (D-MA) and Mike Lee (R-UT) recently called on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to provide Congress with the status of an overdue biometric identification technology report.
Under the Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act of 2018, DHS was required to... Read More »
Legislators have requested Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) include Valley Fever in the Tropical Disease Priority Review Voucher (PRV) Program.
Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) spearheaded a recent effort to forward correspondence to HHS Secretary Alex Azar... Read More »
Global research and development company Battelle officially signed onto the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA’s) Epigenetic Characterization and Observation (ECHO) program this week, to develop a quick and mobile means of identifying those touched by weapons of mass destruction... Read More »
Legislation to provide financial support to the Global Fund to fight AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives last week.
The Global Fund was established in 2002 to raise money to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria. Contributions by the United States... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) has awarded SIGA Technologies a contract valued at up to $19.5 million, with an initial award of $12.4 million, to advance work that could provide a label expansion for TPOXX, a drug used to treat smallpox.
This multi-year contract, which was announced this... Read More »
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently cleared the first use of a commercially available product to manage blister injuries caused by sulfur mustard, otherwise known as mustard gas.
Silverlon, a silver-plated nylon dressing, is used widely to aid in the management of acute skin wounds... Read More »
The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) is partnering with biotech company Valneva to fund the development of a single-dose vaccine for the disease Chikungunya.
Chikungunya is spread by the bites of infected female Aedes mosquitoes. It causes fever, severe joint pain, muscle... Read More »
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has issued a series of recommendations to federal agencies as a means of assisting with methods of addressing accompanying challenges.
The GAO outlined 57 recommendations to the 23 agencies and one to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in... Read More »
The Senate Intelligence Committee released last week the first volume of a report exploring the body’s investigation into Russia’s attempts to interfere with the 2016 election.
“Over the past two years, the Senate Intelligence Committee has investigated Russia’s relentless efforts to... Read More »
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently developed the Autocidal Gravid Ovitrap (AGP trap) intending to slow down the growth of the mosquito population.
The AGP trap is meant to attract and capture female mosquitoes looking to lay eggs and grow mosquito populations.... Read More »
The Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC) has approved the Deepfake Report Act by a bipartisan voice vote.
Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH), co-founder and co-chair of the Senate Artificial Intelligence Caucus, said the measure directs the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to... Read More »
A study conducted by the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR) Clinical Trials Center reveals that a new vaccine for Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS CoV) may be viable for human use.
Developed by GeneOne Life Science Inc. and Inovio Pharmaceuticals, the vaccine... Read More »
In 2018, there were 156 incidents in 23 countries where nuclear and other radioactive materials were found outside of regulatory control, according to the updated annual edition of the Global Incidents and Trafficking Database.
The database is produced by the James Martin Center for... Read More »
The World Bank Group is investing $300 million to support the global response to the Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The investment follows a declaration by the World Health Organization (WHO) that the current Ebola outbreak constitutes a Public Health Emergency of... Read More »
The second longest outbreak of Ebola in history poses little immediate threat to the United States, officials told a U.S. Senate panel on Wednesday, but that could quickly change if the outbreak is not contained.
During a hearing titled, “Confronting Ebola: Addressing a 21st Century Global... Read More »
Thanks to the efforts of data analyst and visualization technologist Ryan Chen, of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, a new model gives emergency responders a means of simulating and testing a situation no one ever wants to witness firsthand: the explosion of a radiological dispersal... Read More »
National security experts met last week for a three-day summit in New Orleans hosted by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the Chemical Sector Security Council to discuss chemical security.
It was the 12th iteration of the Chemical Sector Security Summit, which is... Read More »
