National security is a fundamental responsibility of any government, and the United States is no exception. It encompasses the protection of the nation’s citizens, territory, and institutions from external threats. This includes, but is not limited to, military defense, intelligence gathering, diplomacy, and economic security.

• There are many issues related to National Security that Congress is looking to address with legislation. In the ‘About’ section of this post is an overview of the issues and potential solutions, party positions, and web links. Other sections have information on relevant committees, chairs, & caucuses; departments & agencies; and the judiciary, nonpartisan & partisan organizations, and a wikipedia entry.
• To participate in ongoing forums, ask the post’s curators questions, and make suggestions, scroll to the ‘Discuss’ section at the bottom of each post or select the “comment” icon.

The National Security category has related posts and three posts on issues of particular focus: Cybersecurity, NATO, Robotic Warfare.

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is a component of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) responsible for cybersecurity and infrastructure protection across all levels of government, coordinating cybersecurity programs with U.S. states, and improving the government’s cybersecurity protections against private and nation-state hackers.

• In the ‘About’ section of this post is an overview of the issues or challenges, potential solutions, and web links. Other sections have information on relevant legislation, committees, agencies, programs in addition to information on the judiciary, nonpartisan & partisan organizations, and a wikipedia entry
• To participate in ongoing forums, ask the post’s curators questions, and make suggestions, scroll to the ‘Discuss’ section at the bottom of each post or select the “comment” icon.

The Cybersecurity category has related posts on government agencies and departments and  committees and their Chairs.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)  also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance of 31 member states – 29 European and two North American. Established in the aftermath of World War II, the organization implemented the North Atlantic Treaty, signed in Washington, D.C., on 4 April 1949.

• In the ‘About’ section of this post is an overview of the issues or challenges, potential solutions, and web links. Other sections have information on relevant legislation, committees, agencies, programs in addition to information on the judiciary, nonpartisan & partisan organizations, and a wikipedia entry.
• To participate in ongoing forums, ask the post’s curators questions, and make suggestions, scroll to the ‘Discuss’ section at the bottom of each post or select the “comment” icon.

The NATO category has related posts on government agencies and departments and  committees and their Chairs.

Military robots are autonomous robots or remote-controlled mobile robots designed for military applications, from transport to search & rescue and attack.

• In the ‘About’ section of this post is an overview of the issues or challenges, potential solutions, and web links. Other sections have information on relevant legislation, committees, agencies, programs in addition to information on the judiciary, nonpartisan & partisan organizations, and a wikipedia entry.
• To participate in ongoing forums, ask the post’s curators questions, and make suggestions, scroll to the ‘Discuss’ section at the bottom of each post or select the “comment” icon.

The Robotic Warfare category has related posts on government agencies and departments and  committees and their Chairs.

The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national security and the United States Armed Forces.

The DOD is the largest employer in the world, with over 1.4 million active-duty service members (soldiers, Marines, sailors, airmen, and Guardians) as of 2021. More employees include over 826,000 National Guard and reservists from the armed forces, and over 732,000 civilians bringing the total to over 2.8 million employees. Headquartered at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, just outside Washington, D.C., the DoD’s stated mission is to provide “the military forces needed to deter war and ensure our nation’s security”.

The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior or home ministries of other countries.

Its stated missions involve anti-terrorism, border security, immigration and customs, cyber security, and disaster prevention and management.

Mission:  
The Committee was created by the Senate in 1976 to “oversee and make continuing studies of the intelligence activities and programs of the United States Government,” to “submit to the Senate appropriate proposals for legislation and report to the Senate concerning such intelligence activities and programs,” and to “provide vigilant legislative oversight over the intelligence activities of the United States to assure that such activities are in conformity with the Constitution and laws of the United States.”

House counterpart: Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence

Democratic Members (Minority):
Mark Warner, Virginia (Vice Chair)
Ron Wyden, Oregon
Martin Heinrich, New Mexico
Angus King, Maine[20]
Michael Bennet, Colorado
Kirsten Gillibrand, New York

Republican Members (Majority):
Tom Cotton, Arkansas (Chair)
Jim Risch, Idaho
Susan Collins, Maine
Tom Cotton, Arkansas
John Cornyn, Texas

Featured Video: 
Senate intelligence committee holds hearing on threats worldwide

Current Position: US Senator since 2009
Affiliation: Democrat
Former Positions: Governor from 2002 – 2006; Venture Capital from 1989 – 2001

Other Positions:
Vice Chair, Senate Intelligence Committee
Vice Conference Chair, Senate Democrats

Featured Quotes:
“Senator Warner is committed to strengthening our national security both at home and abroad, and he believes a strong and engaged United States is fundamental to securing our national interests around the world.”

When he left the Governorship in 2006, Virginia was ranked as the best state for business, the best managed state, and the best state in which to receive a public education.

What is the Cybersecurity Caucus? 1:23 5/10/2021

Mission:
Empowered with legislative oversight of the nation’s military, including the Department of Defense, military research and development, nuclear energy (as pertaining to national security), benefits for members of the military, the Selective Service System and other matters related to defense policy.

House counterpart: Armed Services Committee

Democratic Members (Minority):
Jack Reed, Rhode Island, Ranking Member
Jeanne Shaheen, New Hampshire
Kirsten Gillibrand, New York
Richard Blumenthal, Connecticut
Mazie Hirono, Hawaii
Tim Kaine, Virginia
Angus King, Maine
Elizabeth Warren, Massachusetts
Gary Peters, Michigan
Joe Manchin, West Virginia
Tammy Duckworth, Illinois
Jacky Rosen, Nevada
Mark Kelly, Arizona

Republican Members (Majority):
Roger Wicker, Mississippi, Chairman
Deb Fischer, Nebraska
Tom Cotton, Arkansas
Mike Rounds, South Dakota
Joni Ernst, Iowa
Dan Sullivan, Alaska
Kevin Cramer, North Dakota
Rick Scott, Florida
Marsha Blackburn, Tennessee
Tommy Tuberville, Alabama
Markwayne Mullin, Oklahoma
Ted Budd, North Carolina
Eric Schmitt, Missouri

Featured Video:
Senate Armed Services Committee holds hearing on recent cyber attacks

The U.S. House Committee on Armed Services, commonly known as the House Armed Services Committee or HASC, is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. It is responsible for funding and oversight of the Department of Defense (DoD) and the United States Armed Forces, as well as substantial portions of the Department of Energy. Its regular legislative product is the National Defense Authorization Act, which has been passed by Congress and signed into law each year since 1962

Senate counterparts:   Committee on Armed Services (Senate)

Subcommittees:

• Cyber, Innovative Technologies and Information Systems
• Intelligence and Special Operations
• Military Personnel
• Readiness
• Seapower and Projection Forces
• Strategic Forces
• Tactical Air and Land Forces

Chair: Mac Thornberry, Texas
Ranking Member: Adam Smith, Washington

Majority Staff Director: Christopher Vieson
Minority Staff Director:  Brian Garrett
Meeting Location: 2216 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, DC 20515-6035. (202) 225-4151

Featured Video: Full Committee Hearing: “Department of the Air Force Fiscal Year 2022 Budget Request” – June 16, 2021
Web Links

The Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence oversees the United States Intelligence Community, though it does share some jurisdiction with other committees in the House, including the Armed Services Committee for some matters dealing with the Department of Defense and the various branches of the U.S. military.

Senate Counterpart: Select Committee on Intelligence

Subcommittees:

• Central Intelligence Agency Subcommittee
• National Intelligence Enterprise Subcommittee
• Defense Intelligence & Overhead Architecture Subcommittee
• National Security Agency & Cyber Subcommittee
• Oversight & Investigations Subcommittee

Chair: Mike Turner, OH-10 (R)
Ranking Member: Jim Himes, CT-04 (D)

Deputy Staff Director: Michael Calcagni
Minority Staff Director: Jeffrey Lowenstein
Meeting Location: Capitol Visitor Center HVC-304 US Capitol Building Washington, DC 20515-6415;  (202) 225-4121- Majority and (202) 225-7690 Minority

Featured Video: Open Hearing on World Wide Threats – April 15, 2021
Web Links

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health. With an annual budget of about $8.3 billion (fiscal year 2020), the

NSF funds approximately 25% of all federally supported basic research conducted by the United States’ colleges and universities. In some fields, such as mathematics, computer science, economics, and the social sciences, the NSF is the major source of federal backing.

Source: Wikipedia

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. Established in 1958, it succeeded the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) to give the U.S. space development effort a distinctly civilian orientation, emphasizing peaceful applications in space science.

It has since led most American space exploration, including Project Mercury, Project Gemini, the 1968–1972 Apollo Moon landing missions, the Skylab space station, and the Space Shuttle. It currently supports the International Space Station and oversees the development of the Orion spacecraft and the Space Launch System for the crewed lunar Artemis program, the Commercial Crew spacecraft, and the planned Lunar Gateway space station.

From Wikipedia Entry

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, and analyzing national security information from around the world, primarily through the use of human intelligence (HUMINT) and conducting covert action through its Directorate of Operations.

As a principal member of the United States Intelligence Community (IC), the CIA reports to the Director of National Intelligence and is primarily focused on providing intelligence for the President and Cabinet of the United States. Following the dissolution of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) at the end of World War II, President Harry S. Truman created the Central Intelligence Group under the direction of a Director of Central Intelligence by presidential directive on January 22, 1946, and this group was transformed into the Central Intelligence Agency by implementation of the National Security Act of 1947.

Source: Wikipedia