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Congress Pressures DHS To Expedite Safety Act Approvals

Client Alert | 1 min read | 10.06.06

During House Homeland Security Subcommittee hearings on DHS implementation of the SAFETY Act, C&M's David Bodenheimer testified that the new regulations (71 Fed. Reg. 33147) and application kit (available at https://www.safetyact.gov/) have simplified the process, but further improvements are needed to (1) assure confidentiality of SAFETY application data, (2) encourage breakthrough technologies, (3) synchronize procurements and SAFETY Act approvals, (4) extend the duration of protection, and (5) establish an appeals process. In these same hearings, the new DHS Under Secretary (Science & Technology) identified additional initiatives to encourage new anti-terrorism technologies by reducing the application cycle to 120 days and identifying more technologies suitable for block approvals.

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Client Alert | 3 min read | 11.21.25

A Sign of What’s to Come? Court Dismisses FCA Retaliation Complaint Based on Alleged Discriminatory Use of Federal Funding

On November 7, 2025, in Thornton v. National Academy of Sciences, No. 25-cv-2155, 2025 WL 3123732 (D.D.C. Nov. 7, 2025), the District Court for the District of Columbia dismissed a False Claims Act (FCA) retaliation complaint on the basis that the plaintiff’s allegations that he was fired after blowing the whistle on purported illegally discriminatory use of federal funding was not sufficient to support his FCA claim. This case appears to be one of the first filed, and subsequently dismissed, following Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche’s announcement of the creation of the Civil Rights Fraud Initiative on May 19, 2025, which “strongly encourages” private individuals to file lawsuits under the FCA relating to purportedly discriminatory and illegal use of federal funding for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in violation of Executive Order 14173, Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity (Jan. 21, 2025). In this case, the court dismissed the FCA retaliation claim and rejected the argument that an organization could violate the FCA merely by “engaging in discriminatory conduct while conducting a federally funded study.” The analysis in Thornton could be a sign of how forthcoming arguments of retaliation based on reporting allegedly fraudulent DEI activity will be analyzed in the future....

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