The Department of Health and Human Services is using a biosurveillance system to enable a coordinated response and better data sharing amid the global pandemic. Dubbed HHS Protect, the system serves as a common data source to make sense of the COVID-19 situation in the U.S. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention helped build […]
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has formed a group consisting of government and industry members that will develop strategies to protect space systems supporting the nation’s critical infrastructure. The Space Systems Critical Infrastructure Working Group will work towards making commercial space systems more resilient and secure. Efforts will be focused on addressing areas that […]
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has approved temporary and targeted Jones Act waivers for two companies in response to the Colonial Pipeline disruption. The Jones Act is a federal law that requires goods shipped between U.S. ports to be transported by American-made ships operated by U.S. citizens or permanent residents. DHS said Wednesday that it is […]
The Department of Energy is investing $6.2 million in eight university-led projects to advance research on efficient hydrogen gas turbines. The research grantees are Georgia Tech, University of Central Florida, San Diego State University, Purdue University, Purdue University, Ohio State University, University of Alabama and University of California, Irvine. With the exception of SDSU, which […]
The Department of Health and Human Services has released a statement on Andrea Palm’s confirmation as the department’s deputy secretary, a role responsible for seeing day-to-day operations. HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra, a 2021 Wash100 winner, swore Palm in after the Senate voted 61-37 on Tuesday to appoint her to the role. She passed a Senate […]
The General Services Administration said it will switch to a better relay services infrastructure to better serve individuals with hearing and speech disabilities. The federal government currently relies on the FedRelay telecommunications service contracted through GSA to allow federal employees with communication disabilities to continue conducting official duties. Current users of FedRelay and Multiple Award […]
The Department of Homeland Security has scrapped a proposed rule that would have expanded the ability of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to collect biometric data. The biometrics rule was officially withdrawn as of May 10, according to a Federal Register notice. During its public comment period, the rule was criticized for being invasive, […]
The Department of Energy continues to build up its roster of executives with the addition of eight new Biden-Harris administration appointees. Ann Dunkin, former chief strategy and innovation officer at Dell Technologies, formally joined the agency as its new chief information officer. Dunkin has prior experience serving as CIO for Santa Clara County and the […]
FuelCell Energy has received a new $8 million contract from the Department of Energy to execute the second phase of a project aimed at developing ultra-high-efficiency solid oxide fuel cell systems. The Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy effort is part of the DOE’s Innovative Natural-gas Technologies for Efficiency Gain in Reliable and Affordable Thermochemical Electricity-generation program. […]
The Association of American Medical Colleges has called on the Department of Health and Human Services to tighten privacy standards related to individually identifiable health information under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. AAMA raised concerns regarding the confidentiality of protected health information after the HHS proposed changes to the HIPAA privacy rule. The […]
