Federal | Agencies | Legislative
Boston shut down as bombing suspects chased down
Boston bombing
suspects
The greater Boston area is shut down with bus and subway service suspended and local businesses and universities closed, as federal and local authorities chase down two men believed to have carried out the Boston Marathon bombings.
Law enforcement, homeland security, White House vow to find Boston bomber
Copley
Square
explosion
Federal, state and local investigators are in the initial stages of tracking down the person or persons responsible for two bombs detonated near the finish line of the Boston Marathon on April 15 that killed three people and wounded over 100, but said no one has claimed responsibility for the attack.
The latest details to emerge from the afternoon of chaos in the city included news that the bombs -- which were stuffed in trashcans near the race route -- contained ball bearings or BBs meant to cause even more substantial injuries to bystanders.
GSN 2012 Awards announced: White House deputy of homeland security recognized for leadership at annual gala
GSN Awards 2012
Hundreds of the best of the homeland security community’s federal, state and municipal government officials, government contractors, systems integrators, IT vendors and physical security product and solutions providers all came together the night of November 29 in a ballroom of the Washington, D.C. convention center to receive accolades.
The GSN awards dinner, which has become a Washington tradition over the last four years, offered a chance for the excellence and civic-minded spirit of homeland security efforts nationwide to be recognized.
GSN 2012 Homeland Security Awards program open for entries
The Government Security News 2012 Homeland Security Awards Program officially opened for entries on May 1, once again featuring 45 Awards in three broad Categories:Best Vendors of IT Security Products and Solutions, Best Vendors of Physical Security Products and Solutions and the 2011 Government Excellence Awards.
GSN 2011 Awards Program opens for entries on April 26
Government Security News has announced that its 2011 Homeland Security Awards Program will officially open for business and start accepting entries in the program’s 45 awards categories on Tuesday, April 26.
Obama seeks three percent hike in discretionary budget at DHS
Despite official murmurings a few months ago that the fiscal year 2011 budget request for DHS might decline slightly, the budget package unveiled on February 1 actually shows a three percent increase in “discretionary spending” by DHS in 2011, versus the prior year, and modest growth, at approximately the predicted rate of inflation, in the outer years.
GSA collecting investment data for ‘IT Dashboard’ info-gathering initiative
The office of innovative technology services and solutions at the General Services Administration (GSA) is seeking permission from OMB to continue collecting data on more than 7,000 federal Information Technology (IT) investments.
Of these, approximately 800 investments are classified as “major” by the agencies that are implementing them, says a notice published by GSA in the Federal Register on June 17.
GSA refers to this data collection as the “IT Dashboard Feedback Mechanism.”
Thomas Winkowski to offer keynote at upcoming US/Canada Border Conference in Detroit
Thomas Winkowski
The lineup of speakers on September 12 and 13 for the US/Canada Border Conference, including Thomas Winkowski, Acting Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), was released on June 14.
The lineup includes representatives from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Coast Guard, and Department of Homeland Security, joining with Canada’s Privy Council Office, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and Canada Border Services Agency.
Two Senate subcommittees to focus on the role of private contractors in the U.S. intel community
Edward Snowden
Always eager to tackle a topic that has won lots of headlines and television coverage, two subcommittees of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee will look at the “workforce of the U.S. intelligence community and the role of private contractors” (think NSA leaker, Edward Snowden) at a hearing on June 20.
The hearing will be held by the subcommittee on the efficiency and effectiveness of federal programs and the federal workforce and the subcommittee on financial and contracting oversight in room SD-342 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.
Sen. Levin thanks police officers and promotes background checks for gun buyers
Senator Carl Levin
Senator Carl Levin (D-MI), the chairman of the armed services committee and the ranking Democrat on the homeland security and governmental affairs committee, saluted the nation’s law enforcement officers in a statement he issued on June 11, in which he also advocated “commonsense” background checks for gun buyers.
Levin noted that police officers from around the nation gathered lst month at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, DC, to commemorate Peace Officers Memorial Day.