On Friday, U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) introduced legislation to reform screening practices at airports and ports of entry that can affect individuals who may pose no danger to national security. The Enhanced Oversight and Accountability in Screening Act would require the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security to provide Congress with a plan to reform the redress process and ensure counterterrorism resources are used effectively. Peters, the chair of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, said the bill will help evaluate a set of screening processes and improve t ..read more

On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced that the alleged leader of an international human smuggling ring responsible for bringing thousands of migrants into the country had been arrested in Mexico. The defendant, Abdul Karim Conteh, 42, a Sierra Leone national, was arrested on July 11 in Tijuana, Mexico, officials said. The U.S. is pursuing Conteh’s extradition on federal charges of conspiracy to smuggle migrants into the United States, as well as unlawful smuggling of migrants for financial gain, and other violations. Conteh’s wife, Veronica Roblero Pivaral, 25, is al ..read more

On Wednesday, U.S. Sens. Gary Peters (D-MI) ad Joni Ernst (R-IA) introduced legislation that would require the U.S. Department of Defense to better understand the risk of relying on foreign suppliers for critical medications. The legislation, the Pharmaceutical Risk Assessment and Mitigation Act, would require the DoD to expand its analyses into its reliance on high-risk foreign suppliers for critical drug supply chains. As part of the legislation, the DoD would be required to identify key materials used in making essential medicines, and asses the limitations to DoD’s analyses while implemen ..read more

On Tuesday, U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) chair of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, introduced legislation to prevent defense contracting waste and fraud. The legislation, Denial Reporting in the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System Act, would update U.S. Department of Defense contracting guidelines and require reporting when contractors fail to provide data justifying contract costs. The legislation would also note the contractors’ failure in the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System. Currently, contractors do not face pu ..read more

On Monday, U.S. Sens. John Hoeven (R-ND) and Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) introduced legislation to support Shadow Wolves agents and strengthen border security. The legislation, the Shadow Wolves Improvement Act, would provide career mobility opportunities to Shadow Wolves law enforcement officers and expand the program to the northern border. Shadow Wolves are a unit within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security made up of various members from Native American tribes. The unit patrols the 76-mile stretch of land that the Tohono O’odham Nation shares with Mexico and is known for its ability to trac ..read more

On Thursday, NATO Allies announced they had reached an agreement to establish a new center that will address increasingly sophisticated cyber threats. The NATO Integrated Cyber Defence Centre (NICC) will augment the protection of NATO and Allied networks as well as the use of cyberspace as an operational domain. The Centre will make NATO military commanders aware of possible threats and vulnerabilities in cyberspace, officials said, including in privately-owned civilian critical infrastructures that support military activities. U.S. Rep. Mark E. Green, MD (R-TN), chair of the House Committee ..read more

On Thursday, U.S. Sens. Gary Peters (D-MI) and James Lankford (R-OK) introduced legislation that would establish a comprehensive framework for cybersecurity regulations across the federal government. The bill, the Streamlining Federal Cybersecurity Regulations Act, seeks to address sometimes conflicting, contradictory cybersecurity compliance requirements by establishing an interagency Harmonization Committee at the office of the National Cyber Director (ONCD). “In order to properly combat the threat of cyberattacks, federal agencies must have comprehensive, coordinated cyber regulations in p ..read more

The Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced Wednesday it had published a final rule to implement Federal Flood Risk Management Standard (FFRMS). The final rule provides a flexible framework to increase resilience against flooding and help protect communities, officials said. Additionally, it will reduce the risk of flood impacts, protect people and infrastructure and protect workers. “The human and economic cost of flooding is devastating and will only grow in the years ahead as the impacts of climate change grow more intense and reach more commu ..read more

On Tuesday, legislation to extend federal programs aimed at helping to support local fire departments across the country was signed into law. The Fire Grants and Safety Act, authored by U.S. Sens. Gary Peters (D-MI), Susan Collins (R-ME), Tom Carper (D-DE), and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), reauthorizes the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant program, the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) program, and the United States Fire Administration (USFA), which are used by local fire departments to address staffing needs, purchase ..read more

On Monday, Lockheed Martin announced the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) had awarded it a $4.6 million contract to develop Artificial Intelligence tools for dynamic, airborne missions. Part of DARPA’s Artificial Intelligence Reinforcements (AIR) program, the 18-month contract would provide AI and Machine Learning techniques to DARPA’s AIR project that would create surrogate models of aircraft, sensors, electronic warfare and weapons within dynamic and operationally representative environments. The AIR program provides advanced modeling and simulation approaches for live, mul ..read more