• IG: DHS inaction cost millions

    DHS Inspector General says DHS failed to implement more than 1,000 recommendations; FEMA largest offender

  • New Air Force Cyber Command politically savvy

    One way to secure the Hill’s backing — and bucks — for any new program is to spread it over as many states and congressional districts as possible; AFCYBER may be a new outfit, but its leaders are perfectly aware of this old political truth

  • Congress increases DHS budget

    Congress adds 6 percent — or $2.3 billion — to DHS budget over President Bush’s request; $950 million added for state homeland security grants, the same as last year, and $750 million above the requested level

  • DHS launches 3 transportation initiatives

    The Global Entry pilot program, the Passenger Service Program, and an expanded Model Ports Initiative, intended to strengthen customer service at U.S. ports of entry

  • Tom Daschle calls for greater U.S.-U.K. bioterror cooperation

    Daschle: “The threat of bioterrorism will increase exponentially because biological agents used to carry out such attacks will continue to become more accessible and more technologically advanced”

  • Is the threat of bioterrorism exaggerated?

    William Clark, professor and chair emeritus of immunology at UCLA, says it is

  • Boston biolab: Panel urges review of possible lab threats

    As community opposition to the almost-complete Boston University biolab continues, a panel of experts says neighborhood’s concerns — and safety — should not be excluded from consideration of final approval for lab opening

  • DHS awards $844 million to secure U.S. critical infrastructure

    DHS awards millions to bolster security fo rail, truck, and bus transportation; department says awards are strictly risk-based

  • U.S. hospitals could not handle terror attack

    Inquiry into the disaster preparedness of hospitals in several major U.S. cities conclude that they are — and will be — incapable to handle even a modest terrorist attack in those cities; one reason for for the lack of hospitals’ capacity: the Bush administration’s cuts in Medicaid reimbursements to hospitals overwhelm emergency rooms with patients suffering from routine problems, leaving no capacity to absorb and treat disaster victims

  • U.K. science's reputation damaged by funding fiasco

    In December 2007, the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) — the U.K. main funding body for physics and astronomy, and a body which looks after some of the largest science centers in the country — was faced with a deficit of £80 million; a new report slams the SFTC funding decisions since then

  • Pennsylvania invests in water infrastructure

    Pennsylvania approves $72 million in low-interest loans and grants for 19 brownfields, drinking water, wastewater, and storm water projects in 15 counties

  • Meaningful farm bill reform effort fails yet again

    Current law allows subsidies to farmers with annual adjusted gross income of as much as $2.5 million; the administration and many legislators wanted to to end payments to producers with adjusted gross incomes greater than $200,000; agribusiness industry plowed more than $80 million into lobbying last year — and defeated the measure

  • U.K.'s Future Soldier / Science and Engineering Week a success

    Two events — Future Soldier and National Science and Engineering Week — took place in London, showing how government, industry, and academia can fruitfully cooperate to promote science, engineering, and technology education

  • National Infrastructure Bank idea gains momentum

    The American Society of Civil Engineers estimates it would take about $1.6 trillion to shore up the deteriorating U.S. infrastructure; against this figure, the $60 billion bond issue proposed by Senators Dodd and Hagel to finance a National Infrastructure Bank may not seem that significant — but still, it is a start (and Senators Obama and Clinton support it, too)

  • Massachusetts not ready for bioterror attack

    State auditor criticizes state’s preparedness for a bioterror attack; the state acquired ten medical trailers to treat victims, but one of them is missing