• 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”

  • 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

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  • Is the threat of bioterrorism exaggerated?

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

  • 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

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  • 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

  • Budget, staff cuts hamper FPS

    Since being absorbed into DHS in 2003, the Federal Protective Service’s budget and staff have been steadily cut, with DHS transferring many of the service’s assignments to outside contractors; critics say this has gone too far

  • FDA criticized for ignoring health problems in spinach packing

    You may want to think twice before ordering spinach next time: Inspections of sixty-seven facilities found inadequate restroom sanitation, litter piles, and indoor condensation posing a risk of food contamination by microorganisms; the bad thing is that the FDA has taken no action to correct these breaches