• Power companies seek federal funds for smart grid

    The Obama administration has placed a priority on smart grid technology, and Congress has approved $3.4 billion in federal grants for smart grid projects nationwide

  • DHS authorization bill more likely next year

    An authorization bill sets policy and spending priorities for a departmental budget; since its creation in 2003, DHS has never operated under an authorization bill — and the administration has asked Congressional committees not to mark up the FY 2010 DHS bill

  • DHS is searching for buyers for Plum Island facility

    The Plum Island Biosafety level 4 facility — the only type of research lab authorized to handle diseases that are communicable between humans and animals and for which there is no known cure — is aging; DHS has selected a Kansas site for a new, $500 million replacement; DHS is beginning to look for buyers for the Plum Island facility

  • NYPD to receive stimulus money -- after Justice funds were denied

    New York City officials were livid earlier this week after the Justice Department excluded NYC from law enforcement grants it gave cities that “needed it most” (among these cities: Caribou, Maine; Greybull, Wyoming; and Bayou La Batre, Alabama); DHS will now give NYPD $35 million in federal stimulus money

  • $7.7 million in stimulus funds for airport surveillance announced

    The stimulus package committed more than $3 billion for homeland security projects through DHS and GSA; of the $1 billion allocated to TSA for aviation security projects, $700 million is dedicated to screening checked baggage and $300 million is allocated for checkpoint explosives detection technology

  • European defense spending falls by almost $4 billion in 2009

    Defense spending by European countries will have fallen by nearly $4 billion (1.3 percent) in 2009; overall, defense spending of European nations will fall to $302.56 billion in 2009: down from $306.54 billion in 2008

  • GAO slams choice of Kansas as location of new BioLab

    In a critical report, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) says that the process by which DHS selected Kansas as the site for the $450 million BioLab was not “scientifically defensible”; GAO said DHS greatly underestimated the chance of accidental release and major contamination from such research; Tornado Alley may not be safe

  • U.K. undecided on UAV purchase

    The U.K. Defense Ministry’s Dabinett ISR program has two core elements: One is aimed at better exploiting what is already collected by existing platforms; the other is a “deep and persistent” collection capability-to be addressed by a long-endurance UAV; but which UAV?

  • U.S. Senate ends production of F-22 fighter

    The contentious debate about whether or not to continue production of Lockheed Martin Corp.’s F-22 fighter jets beyond the 187 now on order has ended: the Senate votes 58-40 for an amendment striking $1.75 billion for seven more F-22s from a defense spending measure

  • Mexican drug violence threat major concern to U.S.

    DHS assistant secretary Alan Bersin: “We take the threat of spillover violence very seriously… We’re prepared to deal with it in the event it occurs. There are contingency plans to respond”

  • Senate increases DHS 2010 budget by $300 million

    Senate DHS budget version highlights difference with House over immigration; among other things, the Senate bill would require the Obama administration to complete 700 miles of reinforced fencing along the Mexican border by the end of 2010 — disallowing using only virtual fencing and vehicle barriers for border protection

  • Experts: local and regional approach better for addressing radioactive waste

    The Obama administration has stopped funding for the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository, so experts say it is now time for a regional and local approach to solving the nuclear waste problem

  • Senate begins consideration of DHS budget

    The House approved a a $42.9 billion measure to fund DHS; the Senate picked up the measure yesterday; debate looms over whether to make the E-Verify measure permanent

  • U.K. high-tech sector worried about defense budget cuts

    Groups representing the U.K. high-tech sector say the government’s plans to cut funding for major weapons systems would cut 2 to 3 percent out of the U.K.’s engineering and skill base

  • DHS 2010 spending bill supports biometrics

    The legislation includes $352 million for the U.S. Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology, known as US-VISIT, the department’s largest biometric program; this is $52 million more than the fiscal 2009 amount