Legislative Activity In Wake of Paris Attacks, Lawmakers Consider Domestic Risks, Impact on Visa Waiver Program Lawmakers continued to react to the November 13 attacks in Paris, voicing concerns about risks to the homeland in light of elevated terror alerts across the world, including Brussels, where law enforcement officials conducted raids late Sunday. Members also … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Lawmakers React to Paris Attacks The world reacted with sorrow and outrage following a series of attacks across Paris on Friday, November 13. While the French continued to mourn the scores lost, the Hollande government stepped up airstrikes in Syria against ISIL, which claimed responsibility for the attacks. Lawmakers quickly began to into … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity House to Consider Homeland Security Legislation On Tuesday, October 20, the House of Representatives will consider several bills related to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), including: H.R. 3572, the DHS Headquarters Reform and Improvement Act of 2015, which would reorganize DHS functions and update the agency’s acquisitions procedures; H.R. 3350, the … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Cyber Legislation Coming Soon to the Senate Floor It appears that the Senate may celebrate the fact that October has been designated as National Cybersecurity Awareness Month by finally considering the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA/S. 754) on the Senate floor. The timing for the bill’s consideration is dependent on when the Senate … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity House Homeland Security Committee Will Mark up Cyber-Related Legislation On Wednesday, the House Homeland Security Committee will mark up the Department of Homeland Security Cybersecurity Strategy Act of 2015 (H.R. 3510), which would direct the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to develop an internal cybersecurity strategy. The bill is in response to DHS’s … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Administration Announces It Will Accept At Least 10,000 Additional Syrian Refugees During FY 2016 This week, the Administration announced it would accept up to 10,000 additional refugees fleeing conflict in Syria during the next fiscal year. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina), Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State Foreign Operations, has said … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Congress Continues Oversight of Aviation Security Agency On Thursday, July 23, the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Transportation Security advanced three measures aimed at strengthening the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), after covert TSA testing earlier this year found airport screeners failed to detect prohibited items in 67 out of 70 test cases. The … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Senate Appropriations Panel Approves Homeland Security Spending Bill This week, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved its FY 2016 Homeland Security spending bill. The measure, adopted 26-4, provides $40.213 billion in funds for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), $765 million above the FY 2015 enacted levels but $1.2 billion less than requested … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Lawmakers Respond to Results of TSA Internal Investigation Upon news that Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screeners failed to detect prohibited items in 67 out of 70 test cases conducted by U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Inspector General undercover teams, the acting TSA Administrator was reassigned and replaced by Acting TSA Deputy Administrator … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity House Homeland Security Chair Concerned with Flow of Foreign Fighters On Friday, May 29, House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mike McCaul (R-TX) participated in a meeting with top officials from around the world, including U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, at the United Nations to discuss the threat from foreign fighters. … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Immigration Provision Removed from House Defense Bill On Friday, the House passed H.R. 1735, the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2016, by a vote of 269 in favor and 151 against. During floor debate, the chamber narrowly approved an amendment proposed by Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL) stripping language from H.R. 1735 that would … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Immigration Amendments Threaten Annual Defense Authorization Bill This week, the House of Representatives will debate the FY 2016 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) (H.R. 1735), Congress’s annual measure authorizing defense programs. During its consideration of the bill last week, the House Armed Services Committee approved two amendments that would ask the Defense Secretary … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity DHS FY 2016 Appropriations Continues Debate Over Immigration and U.S. Secret Service Challenges FY 2016 funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) could restart debate on Capitol Hill regarding the President’s executive actions on immigration, the very same fight that almost derailed FY 2015 funding for the agency earlier this year. While … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Gyrocopter Lands on Capitol Lawn, Sparks Security Concerns On Wednesday afternoon, Doug Hughes, a Florida postal worker, flew a small gyrocopter through protected Washington airspace and landed on the west lawn of the Capitol. Hughes reportedly planned to deliver letters on campaign finance reform addressed to each of the 535 Members of Congress. … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity House Homeland Security Committee to Mark-Up Cyber Information Sharing Bill On Tuesday, the House Homeland Security Committee will mark up the National Cybersecurity Protection Advancement Act, which will officially be introduced on Monday. The Committee has worked collaboratively with the private sector and stakeholders to develop the legislation for the last few weeks. … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Appropriations Season About to Begin Congress returns from a two-week recess this week, with work on twelve appropriations bills set to begin very soon. Last week, House Appropriations Chairman Harold Rogers (R-KY) announced vice chairmen for each of the panel’s subcommittees. Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ), chair of the Defense Subcommittee, will also serve … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity House Bill Would Tighten Requirements for Visa Waiver Program A proposed House bill seeks to strengthen requirements under the visa waiver program in place for nationals from certain countries. The Visa Waiver Program Improvement Act of 2015 (H.R. 158), originally introduced by Rep. Candice Miller (R-MI), aims to tighten requirements under the visa … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Immigration Reform Unlikely to Move in Foreseeable Future After weeks of back and forth, the House and Senate successfully passed legislation funding the U.S. Department of Homeland Security through the end of the fiscal year. The final bill did not include controversial provisions blocking implementation of the President’s recent executive actions on immigration. … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Congress Avoids DHS Shut-Down With only hours to spare before the midnight Friday deadline, the House and Senate passed a stop-gap measure extending funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) by one week, delaying a long-term solution to the current partisan impasse but avoiding a temporary shut-down of the agency. In remarks … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity House and Senate Committees Move Forward on Information Sharing Legislation Last week, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence began circulating a draft version of the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA) that it plans to introduce in the coming weeks. While the Committee is now led by Chairman Richard Burr (R-NC), the bill appears … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity DHS Funding Deadline Days Away With days before U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding expires on February 27, Congress appears no closer to resolving the partisan impasse. The Senate has set aside time Monday to vote on the House version of the spending bill (H.R. 240), but it remains to be seen … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Congress Considers Information Sharing Legislation This Wednesday, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC) will host a hearing to discuss information sharing legislation, which is a priority for the HSGAC Chairman Ron Johnson (R-WI). Chairman Johnson is expected to work with the Senate Intelligence Committee to draft and consider information sharing … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity This Week’s Hearings: Wednesday, November 13: The House Homeland Security Committee will hold a hearing at 10:00 am titled “Cyber Side-Effects: How Secure is the Personal Information Entered into the Flawed Healthcare.gov?” Thursday, November 14: At 10:00 am, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee will hold a hearing regarding threats to … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Cybersecurity Legislation After postponing a previously scheduled markup due to the government shutdown, the House Homeland Security Committee plans to mark up the Critical Infrastructure Research and Development Advancement Act of 2013 (H.R. 2952) and the Homeland Security Cybersecurity Boots-on-the-Ground Act (H.R. 3107) on Thursday, October 24 at 9:00 am. The bills were … Continue Reading
