Security

October 07, 2009 -- WASHINGTON - U.S. Reps. Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (R-Texas) and Charles A. Gonzalez (D-Texas) have introduced House Concurrent Resolution 193, expressing the sense of Congress for the need to pass meaningful legislation to protect commercial and government data from data breaches.

"The safety of millions of American is put at risk because of the potential of unknown risk within the nation's data network," Congressman Burgess (TX-26) said. "It's time Congress got serious about enacting meaningful legislation that would put into place needed safeguards and protections to ensure cybersecurity for our nation's information infrastructure."    » read more »

October 7, 2009 -- (Washington, DC) - U.S. Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-Queens/L.I.) today issued the following statement on New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s undercover investigation of illegal firearm sales at gun shows.

“I praise Mayor Bloomberg for launching this unprecedented undercover investigation of illegal sales at gun shows. This sting further exposes the ease with which felons and other individuals who are prohibited from purchasing guns can do so, and, most alarmingly, can do so without background checks.

The gun show loophole continues to be a very serious problem. The mayor’s investigation highlights the necessity of Congress passing the Gun Show Loophole Closing Act (H.R. 2324) of which I am proud to be a cosponsor.    » read more »

October 1, 2009 -- Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano today announced more than $355 million in funding for more than a dozen airport security projects funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

“These state-of-the-art technologies will bolster security and increase efficiency for both travelers and employees,” said Secretary Napolitano. “Investing Recovery Act funds in these critical airport projects will create jobs in local communities while strengthening our efforts to guard against terrorism.”    » read more »

October 1, 2009 -- WASHINGTON—U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke proposed reforms to modernize America’s export controls system, which will enhance national security and increase the competitiveness of U.S. companies, in a speech at the Bureau of Industry and Security’s Update Conference on Export Controls today. The United States export control system seeks to prevent sensitive items from falling into the hands of those who seek to do us harm.    » read more »

Remarks as prepared for delivery.

DENVER, COLO. ~ Monday, October 5, 2009 -- Thank you, Chief Laine, for that kind introduction.

Chief Whitman, thank you for hosting the IACP in your home city.

And IACP Executive Director Dan Rosenblatt, thank you for your strong leadership of this outstanding organization.

Officers and Members of the Board of Directors, friends, and colleagues. It is my great pleasure to be able to join you today for the first time as Attorney General.    » read more »

October 5, 2009 -- "Mr. President, the Violence Prevention Research Program at the University of California, Davis released an important report earlier this month detailing many of the potential dangers at gun shows. The report, Inside Gun Shows: What Goes on When Everybody Thinks Nobody’s Watching, was composed from an analysis of existing research as well as direct observation and photographic evidence.

During a three year period, data was collected from 78 gun shows in 19 states. The report provides a clear illustration of a largely unregulated gun market that is “an important source of guns used in criminal violence.”    » read more »

October 2, 2009 -- President Obama recently announced that he has accepted the unanimous recommendation of his civilian and military advisors to restructure our plan for missile defense in Europe. This plan will better protect our security and that of our allies.

The plan the president has outlined replaces one established during the previous administration. That plan would have established an anti-missile radar and an interceptor launch site in Eastern Europe. It would have taken years to deploy. Instead, the new system, with a combination of ship- and land-based missiles, will deploy faster and is better designed to counter Iranian missiles, which are the primary threat in that part of the world.    » read more »

National Competition in Search of Tomorrow’s Cybersecurity Leaders

October 2, 2009 -- Washington, DC – California will join the U.S. Cyber Challenge, a series of competitions aimed at recruiting and training America's next generation of cybersecurity experts, U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and the California Office of Information Security announced today.

The U.S. Cyber Challenge consists of three competitions: The Digital Forensics competition, led by the U.S. Department of Defense Cyber Crime Center; the CyberPatriot Defense competition, led by the U.S. Air Force Association; and the NetWars Capture the Flag competition, led by the SANS Institute.    » read more »

Energy and Climate Legislation is Designed to Provide More Jobs, Less Pollution, and More Security

WASHINGTON (September 30, 2009) – The Natural Resources Defense Council welcomes the introduction of the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act by Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and John Kerry (D-MA).

Following is a statement by Frances Beinecke, President of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC):

“This bill will help curb climate change, strengthen our economy, and make our country more secure. It will help generate jobs, reduce our reliance on foreign oil and create a healthier future for all of us. And it will put Americans back to work, making our country the world leader in the green technologies that are driving growth in the global marketplace.”    » read more »

Washington, DC - 09/30/2009 - Today, Carol Browner, director of the White House Office of Energy and Climate Change Policy and Kathleen Hicks, deputy undersecretary of Defense for Strategy, Plans and Forces joined leading military and defense experts to discuss the critical links between climate change, energy and national security.

The Pew Project on National Security, Energy and Climate, the Military Officers Association of America and CNA hosted the National Security, Energy and Climate Forum: Challenges and Solutions for the Future. During the event, panelists discussed how climate change and our energy posture threaten the country’s national security and ways the U.S. military is preparing to meet these challenges.    » read more »

Legislation Would Protect Privacy Rights and National Security

September 17, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Jeff Bingaman today joined in introducing legislation to reform the Patriot Act and other surveillance laws to better protect Americans' constitutional right to privacy while providing the government with the tools necessary to effectively fight terrorism.

The legislation, titled the Judiciously Using Surveillance Tools in Counterterrorism Efforts (JUSTICE) Act, would:    » read more »

Bill includes Mikulski provisions for greater accountability and congressional oversight and to strengthen cyber espionage and cyber-crime fighting capabilities

17-Sep-2009 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.), a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI), today announced Senate passage of the fiscal year 2010 Intelligence Authorization bill. This critical legislation contains key provisions supported by Senator Mikulski that enhance oversight and accountability of our nation’s intelligence community.    » read more »

JUSTICE Act, Introduced on Constitution Day 2009, Would Fix Long Standing Problems with the PATRIOT Act and Other Surveillance Laws

September 17, 2009 -- Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Russ Feingold (D-WI), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Jon Tester (D-MT), Tom Udall (D-NM), Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Daniel Akaka (D-HI) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) have introduced legislation to fix problems with surveillance laws that threaten the rights and liberties of American citizens.

The Judicious Use of Surveillance Tools In Counterterrorism Efforts (JUSTICE) Act would reform the USA PATRIOT Act, the FISA Amendments Act and other surveillance authorities to protect Americans' constitutional rights, while preserving the powers of our government to fight terrorism.    » read more »

WASHINGTON (September 16, 2009) – The Natural Resources Defense Council has announced its support of a bill introduced today by Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii) that would assist developing countries with meeting their energy needs with alternatives to both proliferation-prone nuclear energy and costly and polluting imported petroleum-based fuels.

Akaka’s bill, the Energy Development Program Implementation Act of 2009, directs the Secretary of Energy, the Secretary of State and the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development to present Congress with a plan for working with developing countries to develop sustainable energy policies.    » read more »

Statement by David Wright, co-director of UCS's Global Security Program

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (September 17, 2009) — President Obama's announcement today that his administration is scrapping plans to deploy a missile defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic was seen as a "victory for common sense" by experts at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS). As noted by leading scientists in a letter to the president in July, the missile defense system slated for Eastern Europe "has not been proven and does not merit deployment. It would offer little or no defensive capability, even in principle."

Below is a statement by Dr. David Wright, a physicist and co-director of UCS's Global Security Program:    » read more »