December 11, 2018

NEWS
Nearly 30 National Organizations Urge Immediate Federal Action on All-Hazards, Pandemic Reauthorization. A coalition of national organizations representing public health, healthcare providers, biotechnology companies, and researchers this week urged congressional leaders to swiftly approve the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness and Advancing Innovation (PAHPAI) Act of 2018 before Congress adjourns for the year.  (Homeland Preparedness News, 12/7/18)

FUNDING OPPORTUNITY
CDC's Collaboration with Academia to Strengthen Public Health Workforce Capacity. CDC will partner to build the capacity of immunization providers by providing educational programs that offer continuing education credit to meet licensing or credentialing requirements. Health care professionals will be able to efficiently and effectively handle, store and administer vaccines while addressing patient concerns.  (GAO, 12/6/18)

PRESS RELEASE
FDA Proposes New Steps to Advance Clinical Testing to Deliver New Cures.  As researchers unlock the molecular basis of disease, they are creating new opportunities to treat patients in more precise ways, and at different points in the trajectory of an illness. It's critical that we continue to advance a modern framework for the development of advanced diagnostics - one that helps harness the full potential of new diagnostics to drive better treatment decisions with both current and future therapies, while also ensuring that such diagnostic tests are safe and effective.  (FDA, 12/6/18)

RESEARCH
DNA Screening System Helps Companies Detect and Characterize Biosecurity Threats. The ThreatSEQ™ DNA screening web service, developed by researchers at Battelle, is a first-in-kind database built on more than a decade of research into the factors that make pathogens dangerous. It compiles more than 10,000 sequences of concern comprising 850 sequence types of concern from 75 species of bacteria, 96 viruses, 12 eukaryotic pathogens and other contributors to pathogenesis.  (Global Biodefense, 12/3/18)

BLOG
Sampling Program Provides Scientific Foundation to Better Protect Consumers from Foodborne Pathogens. The FDA is charged with the critical responsibility of protecting major portions of the nation's food supply from hazards that could endanger public health. One of the ways in which the FDA works to keep the food supply safe is to conduct surveillance sampling of produce and processed foods. Collecting data on the prevalence of pathogen contamination helps the FDA focus its response and regulatory actions and helps prevent contaminated products from reaching consumers.  (FDA, 12/7/18)

NEWS
Bipartisan Legislation Would Fund Cybersecurity Education. US Reps Jim Langevin (D-RI) and Glenn Thompson (R-PA), introduced legislation Monday that provides resources to develop cybersecurity education programs at technical schools. The Cybersecurity Education Integration Act would establish a competitive grant program to add cybersecurity into new or existing Career and Technical Education (CTE) curricula.  (Homeland Preparedness News, 12/7/18)

PRESS RELEASE
CMS Strengthens Federal Support to Alaska Residents Affected by Earthquake. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Seema Verma today announced that the agency has taken steps and is monitoring conditions in support of Alaska residents recovering from damage of the recent 7.0 earthquake that struck north of the city of Anchorage on Friday, November 30. On Dec. 3, 2018, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar declared a public health emergency (PHE) in areas of Alaska retroactive to Nov. 30, 2018. The PHE allows CMS to waive or modify certain Medicare, Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) requirements if necessary to provide health services.  (CMS, 12/6/18)

REPORT
2017 Disaster Contracting: Action Needed to Better Ensure More Effective Use and Management of Advance Contracts. Following Hurricane Katrina, Congress required FEMA to establish advance contracts for goods and services to enable the government to quickly and effectively mobilize resources in the aftermath of a disaster, like those that affected the United States in 2017. GAO was asked to review the federal government's response to the three 2017 hurricanes and California wildfires. This report assesses, among other things, (1) FEMA and USACE's use of advance contracts, (2) FEMA's planning and reporting of selected advance contracts, and (3) challenges, if any, with FEMA's use of these contracts.  (GAO, 12/6/18)

NEWS
NATO Agrees: Russia in Material Breach of INF Treaty. NATO allies agree that Russia is in material breach of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, and have decided to start planning for a post-INF Treaty world, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said in Brussels yesterday. The NATO allies call on Russia once again to comply with the treaty.  (DOD, 12/5/18)

PRESS RELEASE
NNSA Removes All Highly Enriched Uranium from Nigeria. In cooperation with Nigeria, China, and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the US Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration (DOE/NNSA) successfully repatriated more than 1 kilogram of Chinese-origin highly enriched uranium (HEU) from a research reactor in Nigeria.  (DOE, 12/7/18)

NEWS
Report that NIH will cancel fetal tissue research contract fuels controversy. The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in Washington, DC, is vigorously contesting a report, published by The Washington Post, that it has decided to cancel a $2-million-a-year contract that funds work using human fetal tissue to develop mice with humanlike immune systems for testing drugs against HIV.  (Science, 12/5/18)

See also:  Statement from the Department of Health and Human Services. (HHS, 12/5/18)

PRESS RELEASE
NSF, NASA announce commitments to support White House strategic plan on STEM education. The National Science Foundation (NSF) is partnering with other federal agencies in support of NSF INCLUDES National Network, a program dedicated to making a lasting impact on diversifying the STEM workforce of the future. Partners include the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). (NSF, 12/4/18)

This Week's Hearings

Department of Defense's Artifical Intelligence Structure, Investments, and Applications. Committee on Armed Forces, Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities.12/11/2018, 3:30 pm. Rayburn Building, 2118. More