Rachel Kleinfeld in Austin-America Statesman News about how to improve US Immigration policy and create more forward thinking and bipartisan legislation.

America’s immigration system is a frayed patchwork of overregulation and incoherent policies. Polling this spring by the Small Business Majority found that 88 percent of small business owners believe the system is broken — and 84 percent of entrepreneurs (86 percent of them Republicans) support Congress’ bipartisan plan.

The bill, forged by four Republican and four Democratic senators, is a series of smart compromises that favor jobs and security. For instance: current policy ignores economics, instead giving preference (and 75 percent of all visas) to those lucky enough to be family members of immigrants already here. This bill would switch to a merit-based system that privileges job-creators and those who have the skills and education our country needs.

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Mandiant’s chief security officer Richard Bejtlich speaks about Chinese hackers at CNP’s cybersecurity panel

“The group itself went quiet for a while. They changed the nature of their activities [and] they removed some of the tools they had been using inside different companies,” said Mandiant’s chief security officer Richard Bejtlich at a cybersecurity panel held on May 15 at the Center for National Policy. “But over the course of the last several weeks, it seems like they are starting to come back and ramp up.”

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Reports on Richard Bejtlich at Center for National Policy and how the US respond to China Hackers.

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Chinese New site DW News reports on cyber security expert panel hosted by Center for National Policy.

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National Defense Magazine reports on cyber security panel hosted by Center for National Policy.

An infamous hacking group affiliated with China’s military that was exposed in February has quietly returned after laying low for several months, said an expert with the consulting firm that outed it.

Mandiant released a report that pinned numerous cyber-intrusions on Unit 61398 of China’s People Liberation Army. The unit, which is based in Shanghai, curtailed its activities after the report’s initial release, said Richard Bejtlich, the firm’s chief security officer, but it has recently begun to pick up where it left off.

“The group itself went quiet for a while. They changed the nature of their activities [and] they removed some of the tools they had been using inside different companies. But over the course of the last several weeks, it seems like they are starting to come back and ramp up,” Bejtlich said May 15 at the Center for National Policy, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank.

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Foreign Policy promotes CNP Cybersecurity Panel with Richard Bejtlich, chief security officer for Mandiant, and Emilian Papadopoulos, chief of staff for Good Harbor.

Get smart: on cyber. Talk today with cyber experts about how the U.S. government and the private sector can work to protect systems and intellectual property in “The New Spycraft: Cyber Espionage in the 21^st Century.” Where/when: Noon to 1:15 p.m. at the Truman National Security Project and the Center for National Policy at One Massachusetts Ave., NW. On the panel: CNP President Scott Bates; Richard Bejtlich, chief security officer for Mandiant; Emilian Papadopoulos, chief of staff for Good Harbor. @CNPonline.

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Richard Bejtlich, Chief Security Officer of Mandiant Corp., discusses cyber security during an expert panel event at the Center for National Policy.

WASHINGTON — A Chinese military unit that a private U.S. computer security company accused of launching more than 115 cyber attacks against American companies over seven years has resumed hacking after a three-month hiatus, the firm’s chief security officer said Wednesday.

Senator Christopher Murphy discusses short lived climate pollutants at CNP event.

Carbon dioxide emission limits may be a heavy lift domestically and internationally right now, but the United States can still make quick progress on climate change if it focuses on non-CO2 greenhouse gases, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said yesterday.

Speaking at a forum hosted by the Center for National Policy, Murphy noted that Congress is unlikely to approve a bill anytime soon to combat the carbon emissions that are the largest long-term drivers of global warming.

“Within the Beltway, this issue of climate change has become synonymous with partisan gridlock,” said Murphy, who as a House member in 2009 voted for a cap-and-trade bill that cleared the chamber only to die in the Senate.

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The Heritage Foundation included a mention of the Truman Project’s upcoming debate on national security.

Quick Hits:

• “The Justice Department secretly obtained two months of telephone records of reporters and editors for The Associated Press in what the news cooperative’s top executive called a ‘massive and unprecedented intrusion,’” AP reported.
• The IRS scandal keeps growing.
• Guess what country is presiding over a U.N. arms control forum? Iran.
• Join us tomorrow at noon ET for a national security debate co-hosted by Heritage and National Review. Heritage and the American Enterprise Institute will face off against the Truman National Security Project and the Center for American Progress.
• The farm bill is terrible for taxpayers — and Heritage Action for America has teamed up with groups including Americans for Tax Reform, Americans for Prosperity, and the R Street Institute to expose the “terrible 12” farm-related pieces.

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Truman Project Defense Council Member Daniel Hartnett discusses the implications of cutting the defense budget.

Recently, the Department of Defense released its annual report to Congress on China’s military capabilities and activities. Providing valuable information to Congress about China’s military, the report comes at an important time for Congress as it grapples with difficult decisions about defense cuts brought about by the sequester.

The DOD report describes China’s military in stark contrast to the situation currently confronting the U.S. military. China’s military capabilities continue to expand, resulting in increased tensions in the Asia Pacific. Meanwhile, the U.S. military is affected by arbitrarily imposed budget cuts that could weaken its ability to safeguard the stability of the region. While the Asia Pacific is far from the United States, the continued peace and prosperity of this dynamic region is vital to the United States. Congress needs to prioritize U.S. military capabilities necessary to maintain stability in the Asia Pacific.

According to the DOD report, China continues its decadeslong effort to comprehensively modernize its military. This year China’s defense budget grew by more than 10 percent, further strengthening Chinese military capabilities. Of note, the report details China’s development of disruptive capabilities that could be used against U.S. forces in the region in the event of a conflict, such as antisatellite, cyber and conventional ballistic missile capabilities.

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