Posts by Jake Parker
SIA Calls for Senate Action on PASS Act
An industry coalition led by the Security Industry Association (SIA) yesterday strongly urged U.S. Senate leaders to ensure swift passage of H.511/S. 190, the Power and Security Systems (PASS) Act, before an important regulatory exemption for external power supplies expires July 1. Click here to read the industry letter. Power supplies used in security and…
Keep Reading »SIA Calls for Senate Action on PASS Act
An industry coalition led by the Security Industry Association (SIA) yesterday strongly urged U.S. Senate leaders to ensure swift passage of H.511/S. 190, the Power and Security Systems (PASS) Act, before an important regulatory exemption for external power supplies expires July 1. Click here to read the industry letter. Power supplies used in security and…
Keep Reading »Fact Sheet: FTA Waiver and Security Cameras
The Security Industry Association (SIA) shares this information in response to recent member inquiries on the topic. In response to a request from SIA on behalf of its members last year, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) issued a clarification concerning whether IP security cameras qualify for a waiver of FTA-specific Buy America requirements. This general…
Keep Reading »Holding South Africa Responsible for Potential Trade Violations
The Security Industry Association (SIA) recently had the opportunity to participate in an out-of-cycle review process for South Africa’s participation in the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) in response to concerns about the country’s compliance with provisions of the law. SIA believes that a pending South African law which will restrict foreign ownership of…
Keep Reading »SIA Reacts to GSA Transactional Data Rule Proposal
On June 25, the House Small Business Subcommittee on Contracting and Workforce held a hearing on a proposed rule by the General Services Administration (GSA) on transactional data and its effect on small businesses. In response to this hearing, the Security Industry Association (SIA) submitted a statement protesting the GSA proposal, which has been described…
Keep Reading »Changes Afoot for GSA Schedule 84
The SIA Government Summit held a special “preconference” session with the General Services Administration this past month on Monday, June 8, at the W Hotel in Washington, D.C. The very popular “industry day” featured a presentation by Christopher Redmond, chief of the GSA Law Enforcement and Security Branch, which manages GSA Schedule 84. In an…
Keep Reading »Strengthening the Relationship Between the Security Industry and DHS Researchers
Today, I testified before a House Homeland Security subcommittee on the relationship between the security industry and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology (S&T) Directorate. Some of my remarks were in reaction to the new DHS S&T 2015-2019 strategic plan, which was released last month. (The strategic plan is available online for…
Keep Reading »A Trade Mission to Africa for the Security Industry
The International Trade Administration at the U.S. Department of Commerce offers a unique opportunity to the security industry through its business development missions. The next mission is coming up March 4-12, 2015, and the application deadline is Jan. 15, 2015. So what is a business trade mission? In this case, the International Trade Administration will…
Keep Reading »Crippling Import Duties on Security Manufacturers
The Information Technology Agreement (ITA) has been one of the most successful multilateral tariff-reduction agreements in history, helping increase global trade in information and communications technology (ICT) products by more than 400 percent since the treaty went into effect in 1997. Negotiated through the World Trade Organization (WTO), 70 countries generating 95 percent of the…
Keep Reading »Highlights from the 2014 SIA Government Summit
If you attended last week’s SIA Government Summit, you know that it was a great opportunity to network with industry leaders and hear from top officials in Washington working on security issues. If you were not able to attend, here are some of the highlights from last week: Newly confirmed Department of Homeland Security (DHS)…
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