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Category: Americas

  • MIL-OSI USA: 03.26.2025 Sen. Cruz Introduces Bill to Block Federal Reserve from Issuing Central Bank Digital Currency

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Texas Ted Cruz

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) introduced the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act, legislation that prohibits the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC).
    Upon introduction, Sen. Cruz said, “Cryptocurrency represents financial freedom, innovation, and privacy. A Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) would undermine these core values, erode privacy, and stifle innovation. I am proud to introduce this bill to restrict the implementation of a CBDC, and I call upon my colleagues to expeditiously take it up and advance it.”
    This legislation was cosponsored by Sens. Ted Budd (R-N.C.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.).
    Sen. Cramer said, “A central bank digital currency has the potential for financial monitoring and surveillance and could turn the Federal Reserve into a retail bank. Despite the previous administration’s push for this, Congress should not be circumvented and our bill ensures it!”
    Sen. Tillis said, “This legislation is a crucial step in protecting Americans’ financial privacy and ensuring that the federal government does not have unchecked power over how we spend our money. A central bank digital currency, if misused, could become a surveillance tool that threatens individual freedoms and free market principles. I’m proud to support this bill and stand with my colleagues in defending the American people from government overreach.”
    This bill is endorsed by America First Policy Institute, American Bankers Association, Americans for Tax Reform, America’s Credit Unions, Bank Policy Institute, Blockchain Association, Center for a Free Economy, Center for Freedom and Prosperity, Club for Growth, Consumer Bankers Association, Heritage Action, Independent Community Bankers of America, Project for Privacy & Surveillance Accountability, Restore the Fourth, Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council, Digital Chamber, Association of Mature American Citizens, and Crypto Council for Innovation.
    David McIntosh, President of Club for Growth said, “Allowing the Federal Reserve to issue a digital currency would violate the separation of powers, expose Americans to unconstitutional financial surveillance, crowd out private investment and innovation, increase volatility in financial markets, and threaten persistent inflation. Club for Growth applauds WHIP Emmer and the House of Representatives for their effort to keep President Trump’s promise to protect Americans from the clear and present danger of the big government CBDC scheme.”
    Rob Nichols, President & CEO of American Bankers Association said, “A central bank digital currency would fundamentally change the relationship between citizens and the Federal Reserve, and would undermine the essential role that banks play in extending credit and driving economic growth. The Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act protects our financial system and our economy from these harms, and we applaud Sen. Cruz and his cosponsors for introducing it.”
    Rebeca Romero Rainey, President & CEO of Independent Community Bankers of America said, “A Federal Reserve-issued central bank digital currency would disintermediate community banks, reduce credit availability, and undermine consumer privacy. ICBA and the nation’s community banks thank Senator Ted Cruz for introducing the CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act to avoid the unnecessary risks a CBDC would pose to consumers and the economy.”
    Read the bill text here.
    Sen. Cruz has long been a champion of free markets and cryptocurrency.

    Sen. Cruz passed a joint resolution of disapproval overturning the IRS’s Gross Proceeds Reporting rule for brokers handling digital asset sales. This rule would have harmed the digital asset industry by imposing burdensome reporting requirements on decentralized finance (DeFi) participants.
    Sen. Cruz originally introduced this legislation in 2024 with the intention of halting the Biden administration’s efforts to issue a central bank digital currency.
    Sen. Cruz previously introduced legislation in 2022 and 2023 to prohibit the Federal Reserve from developing a direct-to-consumer central bank digital currency, which could be used as a financial surveillance tool by the federal government.
    Sen. Cruz authored the Adopting Cryptocurrency in Congress as an Exchange of Payment for Transactions Resolution, also known as the ACCEPT Resolution.
    Sen. Cruz introduced an amendment to repeal a provision from the 2021 infrastructure package that created new reporting requirements for many cryptocurrency and blockchain companies in both the 117th and 118th Congresses.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Senator Collins, Colleagues Introduce Bill to Limit Research Theft

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Maine Susan Collins

    Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senators Susan Collins, Tom Cotton (R-AR), Mike Lee (R-UT), John Barrasso (R-WY), and James Lankford (R-OK) introduced the Guarding American Technology from Exploitation (GATE) Act, legislation that would ban foreign scientists from China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, and Cuba from visiting or working in Department of Energy National Laboratories without a waiver granted by the Department of Energy and the intelligence community.

    “Sensitive research conducted at Department of Energy National Laboratories is vital to America’s national security and economic development. Allowing foreign scientists from adversarial nations access to this information poses a serious risk of espionage, sabotage, or theft – actions they may be pressured to undertake by the governments of their home nations,” said Senator Collins. “This legislation is a necessary step to prevent our adversaries from gaining unchecked access to critical taxpayer-funded research.”

    In Fiscal Year 2023, 40,000 foreign scientists visited our national labs and approximately 8,000 of those were Chinese or Russian, meaning 1 out of every 5 scientists visiting our national labs were from our most dangerous foreign adversaries. Last Congress, this legislation passed out of Senate Select Committee on Intelligence by a vote of 17-0, but it was not included in the National Defense Authorization Act.

    The complete text of the bill can be read here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Baldwin Calls Out Trump Undermining Small Business Owners, Demands Admin Release Report on Proposed Cuts to the Bipartisan MBDA

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Wisconsin Tammy Baldwin

    WAHINSGTON, D.C. – As the Trump Administration seeks to dismantle the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA), U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) is demanding that they immediately release their report outlining the proposed cuts and its potential impact on small business owners across America. Senator Baldwin and her Republican colleagues helped make the MBDA permanent and she helped bring home Wisconsin’s first Business Center in 2023, ensuring entrepreneurs and business owners did not need to travel or use Chicago or Detroit’s Business Center. Local Business Centers provide small business owners technical assistance, assisting with access to capital and contracts, and supporting job creation and retention. In Fiscal Year 2024 alone, the MBDA helped the country’s more than 12 million minority businesses access over $1.5 billion in capital and create or retain approximately 23,000 jobs.

    “I fought hard to bring this support to Wisconsin, helping our entrepreneurs and small business owners access capital, contracts, and markets – creating jobs and growing our economy,” said Senator Baldwin. “Right now, behind closed doors, the Trump Administration is weighing what resources they can rip away from our local businesses, workers, and economies – and I’m not going to stand idly by. This is wrong and at the very least, they need to be transparent and let the people of our state see the impacts of these proposed cuts.”

    Senator Baldwin worked to include the bipartisan Minority Business Development Act of 2021 as an amendment to the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, making the MBDA permanent and increasing its funding and reach.  President Trump’s Executive Order seeks to eliminate MBDA’s “non-statutory components and functions…to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law.” The Executive Order required a report from MBDA to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget explaining which of its components or functions are statutorily required and to what extent, to determine what can be restructured or cut. As Ranking Member of the Senate Commerce subcommittee charged with oversight of MBDA, Baldwin is requesting a copy of that report by April 2nd, 2025.

    Senator Baldwin’s full letter can be found here and below:

    Dear Deputy Under Secretary Latif:

    I write regarding the Executive Order issued on March 14, 2025, which seeks to dismantle the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA). This action by the Trump Administration undermines the work of the only federal agency exclusively dedicated to supporting the development and expansion of minority-owned businesses, which contribute trillions to the U.S. economy, employ millions of workers, and support local economies.

    Congress affirmed its bipartisan support for MBDA by expanding its reach and making it permanent in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Our bipartisan amendment made the MBDA more effective by putting into statute the mission and goals of the agency and giving it the proper tools to carry them out successfully. It also created a presidentially appointed and Senate-confirmed Under Secretary of Commerce for Minority Business Development to lead the agency. This allowed MBDA to increase their programs and outreach to minority-owned businesses and allowed for the expansion of MBDA business centers into additional states—including Wisconsin.

    The Executive Order ignores Congress’s bipartisan commitment to MBDA’s reliability and geographic reach and would instead eliminate MBDA’s “non-statutory components and functions…to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law.” Any plans by this Administration to restructure MBDA should include input from Members of Congress who are familiar with its impact. The Executive Order required a report from MBDA to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget explaining which of its components or functions are statutorily required and to what extent. It is critical to include the Senators who represent states with MBDA Business Centers in this evaluation process, and the first step is providing me with a copy of the report to my Senate office to evaluate the scope of these proposed cuts. As Ranking Member of the Senate Commerce subcommittee charged with oversight of MBDA, I am requesting a copy of that report, which you would have already submitted to OMB, by April 2, 2025.

    Sincerely,

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Padilla Blasts Republicans’ Billionaire-First Tax Plans During Rally

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.)

    WATCH: Padilla slams Republican budget bill for prioritizing billionaires over working families

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) criticized Republicans’ billionaire-first tax plans at a rally alongside other lawmakers, labor and grassroots advocates, and hundreds of Americans from across the country who will suffer because of this harmful tax proposal. During the “Welcome Back Congress” rally, Padilla joined the Families Over Billionaires campaign and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.-08), along with Representatives Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.-01), Steven Horsford (D-Nev.-04), and Jamie Raskin (D-Md.-08), in speaking out against the Republicans’ partisan budget bill and President Trump and Elon Musk’s reckless cuts.

    “Just two months in, President Trump and his cabinet of billionaires have taken a wrecking ball to government programs Americans rely on. And they’re trying to rob working families blind with a corrupt, dangerous budget plan in order to afford yet another round of massive tax breaks for the ultra-wealthy,” said Senator Padilla. “With every lie and distraction from the Oval Office, President Trump is betting we won’t see this chaos for what it is, but we can’t lose sight of what’s at stake for Californians working hard every day to make a living and support their families. We need to keep speaking out and keep organizing to protect Americans’ access to essential services like Medicaid, Social Security, education, and nutrition assistance.”

    Senator Padilla has been a vocal critic of the Republican budget bill that lays the groundwork to give massive handouts to billionaires at the expense of working-class Americans. Last month, Padilla outlined Republicans’ misguided budget proposal in a Senate Budget Committee hearing. Padilla continues to raise the alarm about Republican efforts to cut critical services and benefits Californians rely on, including Medicaid, Social Security, and nutrition assistance.

    Video of Senator Padilla’s full remarks is available here.

    Footage of his remarks can be downloaded here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA News: The Staggering Cost of the Illicit Opioid Epidemic in the United States

    Source: The White House

    class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-details”>Summary

    Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid 50 times more potent than heroin, is cheaper to produce and easier to smuggle across borders, fueling the illicit opioid epidemic in the United States with devastating consequences. In 2023 alone, illicit opioids, primarily fentanyl, cost Americans an estimated $2.7 trillion (in December 2024 dollars), equivalent to 9.7 percent of GDP. Of this total cost, 41 percent ($1.1 trillion) is attributed to deaths, 49 percent ($1.34 trillion) to lost quality of life, and 10 percent ($277 billion) to other costs such as healthcare, reduced labor productivity, and crime-related expenses. Alarmingly, 93 percent of opioid deaths are caused by powerful synthetic opioids like fentanyl, which typically originate in China and are trafficked through Mexico.

    This number dwarfs even pessimistic estimates of the effects of tariffs, like that of Goldman Sachs, who estimated losses of 0.4 percent of GDP.

    The CEA previously studied this issue and came up with a smaller number. The primary reasons are because it did not include the cost of reduced quality of life and because the number of deaths in 2015 was 33,000.

    Details

    Our cost estimates are based on a 2017 CDC study which we have updated to account for inflation and the sharp rise in opioid deaths and opioid use disorder (OUD) since then. According to the DEA, an estimated 74,702 Americans died in 2023, a staggering 1.6 times more than in 2017. Additionally, the number of Americans living with OUD increased by 2.7 times to 5.7 million during the same period. We have adjusted the calculations to reflect current prices as well as the alarming rise in opioid addiction and deaths. We scale up the loss of life estimates based on the increase in fatalities, while we scale up the other estimates to reflect the increase in the prevalence of those living with OUD. The breakdown of the cost estimates, all expressed in December 2024 dollars, is as follows:

    • Loss of life: $1.11 trillion. This estimate is calculated by multiplying the number of lives lost (74,702) by the value of statistical life in the United States and then adding productivity and healthcare costs that arise due to opioid fatalities. We inflation adjusted the $10.1 million value of a statistical life number provided by NIH (2017) to 2025 dollars ($13.0 million per life). The value of a loss of life is based on market and survey based evidence on what amount of money people are willing to forgo to change the probability of death. For example, many estimates rely on the value of life implied by the increase in wages required for people to take jobs with higher mortality risk.
    • Loss of quality of life: $1.34 trillion. This estimate is the product of three factors. First is a survey-based measure for the loss in quality of life for individuals with opioid use disorder (OUD) compared to those in full health. The measure shows that life with OUD has about 60 percent (0.626) of the quality of life of those in full health. Second is a measure of how much Americans value a year of life in full health. Adjusted for inflation, this value is estimated at $624,410 per person per year. Together these values imply that the lost quality of life costs $234,478 per year for each person living with OUD. We then multiply this value by the prevalence of OUD, estimated to be 5.7 million in 2023.
    • Healthcare system: $107 billion. This estimate represents the additional annual costs incurred by the healthcare system for treating individuals with opioid use disorder (OUD) relative to the average annual costs of treating those without OUD. This amounts to $19,000 additional dollars per year per person with OUD. These costs were primarily borne by private insurers, Medicaid, and hospitals providing uncompensated care. Ultimately, these costs are passed on to all Americans through higher insurance premiums, taxes, and healthcare expenses.
    • Loss of labor force productivity: $107 billion. This estimate is calculated by multiplying the number of productive work hours lost due to opioid-related deaths, OUD, and incarceration by the average hourly total compensation (wages and benefits) for American workers.
    • Crime-related: $63 billion. This figure represents the sum of costs incurred for additional police protection, judicial activities, correctional facilities, and property loss resulting from opioid-related crime.

    Conclusion

    The enormous economic cost of the illicit opioid epidemic to Americans, estimated at $2.7 trillion in 2023 alone, underscores the urgent need to control the flow of lethal drugs pouring in from foreign countries. The human suffering and financial burden inflicted by this epidemic are unsustainable.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Attorney General Bonta Celebrates U.S. Supreme Court’s Decision Upholding the Regulation of Ghost Guns

    Source: US State of California

    Wednesday, March 26, 2025

    Contact: (916) 210-6000, agpressoffice@doj.ca.gov

     
    OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta today issued a statement after the U.S. Supreme Court delivered a 7-2 decision, upholding the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) ghost gun rule. ATF’s rule first took effect in August 2022 and recognizes that weapon parts kits and certain partially complete frames and receivers are “firearms” under the Gun Control Act of 1968. Under federal law, manufacturers and dealers must keep records of, conduct background checks on, and serialize “firearms” to prevent them from falling into the hands of criminals and other individuals who are prohibited from possessing firearms—and to enable law enforcement to trace firearms used to commit crimes. ATF issued the rule to impose those requirements on weapon parts kits and partially complete frames and receivers that are used to make ghost guns. 
     
    “This decision is not only a victory for California but for the entire nation,” said Attorney General Bonta. “I was proud to support the Biden Administration’s efforts to protect Americans from deadly ghost guns and am glad to see this SCOTUS ruling today. In the state of California, we have seen firsthand the effectiveness of our commonsense gun-safety laws, and I am hopeful that similar laws are going to be implemented nationwide. Ghost guns not only leave law enforcement in the dark but also put our communities at risk. This federal rule is crucial to keeping ghost guns out of the hands of dangerous individuals and critical to preventing and solving violent, firearm-related crimes.”
     
    A copy of the court order and opinion can be found here.

    # # #

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Boozman Leads Bipartisan Bills to Address Doctor Shortage in Rural Areas

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Arkansas – John Boozman

    WASHINGTON––U.S. Senator John Boozman (R-AR) is continuing his efforts to increase access to reliable, quality health care for Arkansans by championing legislation that supports and attracts the next generation of doctors and medical professionals to The Natural State.

    Boozman and Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV) recently introduced the Resident Education Deferred Interest (REDI) Act to ease financial burdens on medical professionals completing their medical training, and the Physicians for Underserved Areas Act to increase available medical residency spots and prioritize placement in rural and underserved areas. 

    Nationwide, the U.S. faces a projected shortage between 37,800 and 124,000 physicians by 2034 according to the Association of American Medical Colleges. More than 500,000 Arkansans live in an area defined by the federal government as lacking the adequate number of health professionals to serve the population. 

    “Addressing the shortage of medical professionals is a necessary step in ensuring Arkansans are able to access affordable and reliable health care no matter where they live,” said Boozman. “These bipartisan bills are practical efforts to encourage students to pursue careers in medicine by helping mitigate some of the financial barriers and burdens associated with internship and residency requirements while also ensuring more medical school graduates train and go on to practice in the communities that desperately need them.”

    Boozman and Rosen’s Resident Education Deferred Interest (REDI) Act would help alleviate the health care provider shortage by allowing medical professionals to defer their student loan payments without accruing interest until the completion of their respective residency or internship programs. This deferment will decrease the financial burden for future doctors, dentists and other medical providers who face a median medical debt of over $200,000 upon graduation.

    The senators also introduced the Physicians for Underserved Areas Act to redistribute available residency slots in a manner that prioritizes areas experiencing physician shortages. Medical professionals are more likely to practice medicine where they completed their residencies, and opening more opportunities in rural communities is a strong step forward to ensure Arkansans have access to reliable health care.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Boozman, Luján Work to Remove Hurdles to Organ Donation

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Arkansas – John Boozman

    WASHINGTON—U.S. Senators John Boozman (R-AR) and Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) introduced legislation to make it easier for living donors to give the gift of life by expanding eligibility for donor compensation to cover wages, travel, childcare and caregiver expenses associated with donation. The Honor Our Living Donors (HOLD) Act will help Americans graduate from the transplant waitlist and return to living healthy lives by facilitating more donations from people who may be unable to donate due to cost barriers.

    Currently, the Living Organ Donation Reimbursement Program assists low-income donors with limited reimbursements, preventing potential donors from qualifying. In the U.S., the kidney transplant waiting list exceeds 92,000 people, though only about 6,000 living donations take place each year. By decreasing the financial strain imposed on donors, the HOLD Act can increase living donation and save lives.  

    “Thousands of lives are saved each year through organ donation,” said Boozman. “I am proud to join Senator Luján on this bipartisan initiative that reduces financial barriers to donation, ensuring Americans have the resources necessary to increase the potential donor pool and ultimately save lives.”

    “Every day, families lose their loved ones while waiting for an organ transplant while generous living donors are unable to step forward because of the financial burden,” said Luján. “The HOLD Act will help remove those barriers, you will not have to choose between your livelihood and the opportunity to save a life. I’m proud to partner with Senator Boozman on this bipartisan effort to support our living organ donors. By providing living organ donors with the resources they need, we can increase the number of donors, reduce the transplant waitlist, and save lives.”

    “No American should face out of pocket costs for giving the gift of life as a living kidney donor,” said ASN President Prabir Roy-Chaudhury, MD, PhD, FASN. “The HOLD Act advances that goal by simplifying the process by which living donors can offset the costs associated with donating a kidney. I commend Senator Luján and Senator Boozman for their leadership, which will allow more of the nearly 100,000 Americans on the waitlist to benefit from a lifesaving kidney transplant.”

    Full text of the bill can be found here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: RELEASE: Mullin, Bennet Introduce the Give Kids a Chance Act

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator MarkWayne Mullin (R-Oklahoma)

    Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) and Michael Bennet (D-CO) introduced the Give Kids a Chance Act, legislation that will improve outcomes for children with cancer by ensuring they have access to essential treatments and can participate in critical trials.

    “No child should have to endure the pain and suffering that many with cancer have unfortunately faced,” said Sen. Mullin. “The extension of the Pediatric Priority Review Voucher Program incentivizes companies to develop treatments and therapies for pediatric diseases. Additionally, this bill will allow kids to participate in combination trials that include targeted medicines to ensure that they are able to fight cancer with every possible option out there. Our kids deserve a fighting chance and that is exactly what this bill gives them.”

    “Children with cancer deserve access to the most advanced medicines possible, and we must ensure our medical professionals have every tool at their disposal to treat them,” said Sen. Bennet. “Our bill will help child cancer patients access lifesaving trials and therapies to battle this disease. I will work across the aisle to get this done and keep fighting to end children’s cancer.”

    “The Rare Pediatric Disease Priority Review Voucher program offers hope to the estimated 15 million children in the U.S. living with a rare disease, most of whom currently have no FDA-approved treatments for their conditions. Every day without action is a lost opportunity to drive forward treatments for these children. The hope generated by the program’s successes is now at risk. We urge elected officials to act quickly and come together in a bipartisan manner to reauthorize this crucial program. Time is of the essence for these families—there’s no time to wait,” Pamela Gavin, Chief Executive Officer, National Organization for Rare Disorders.

    “Every child deserves the opportunity to live a long, healthy and productive life. Sadly, there are children living with rare diseases who will never get that chance. This bipartisan legislation can help. It renews the Rare Pediatric Disease Priority Review Voucher Program, which for more than a decade has helped incentivize the development of treatments for rare pediatric diseases, at no cost to taxpayers. I’d like to thank Sens. Mullin and Bennet for sponsoring this bipartisan legislation and supporting the reauthorization of this vital program, and for keeping hope alive for countless families and children living with a rare disease,” John F. Crowley, President & CEO of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO).

    “Nearly 3 out of 4 rare diseases originate in childhood, yet the vast majority of affected children have no FDA-approved treatment. The Give Kids a Chance Act takes vital steps to accelerate the development and availability of therapies for these devastating conditions. The creation of the Rare Pediatric Disease Priority Review Voucher injected hope and incentives for innovation into the pediatric drug development pipeline. The EveryLife Foundation for Rare Diseases extends our profound appreciation to Senators Mullin and Bennet for championing the Give Kids a Chance Act. This legislation safeguards a critical incentive that has driven progress in rare disease drug development without imposing any burden on taxpayers. With the temporary lapse of the PRV Program causing uncertainty and delays in therapy development decisions, it is essential to restore its authorization in a timely manner and ensure continued innovation for those who need it most,” Jamie Sullivan, Vice President of Policy at the EveryLife Foundation for Rare Diseases. 

    “Rare Pediatric Disease Priority Review Vouchers provide crucial incentives for pharmaceutical and biotech companies to develop new therapies for rare conditions. PRVs make it possible for companies to invest in products that address high unmet medical needs— including potentially curative cell and gene therapies— and without which such products could be dropped from their pipeline. It’s imperative that Congress reauthorize this essential, commonsense program to support continued innovation to give rare disease patients hope for cures,”  Erica Cischke, Vice President U.S. Government Affairs, Alliance for Regenerative Medicine   

    Full text of the Give Kids a Chance Act can be found here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Fire Alerts issued for Georgia, North and South Carolina

    Source: US Geological Survey

    Fire Alerts issued for Georgia, North and South Carolina

    Gages affected by Table Rock Reservoir Fire

    Dry conditions persist throughout Western Carolinas and North Georgia where downed trees from Hurricane Helene has increased fuel for wildfires. 

    Wildfires continue to burn in Georgia, North and South Carolina, with most occurring in the mountainous area of the three states. Two stream gages were damaged in the Table Rock Fire. Gage 021622847 and 021622845 are no longer recording data.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: IAM Urges U.S. Senate to Support End to Harmful, Misguided Tariffs on Canada

    Source: US GOIAM Union

    Brian Bryant, International President of the 600,000-member International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) is urging members of the U.S. Senate to pass a resolution (S.J. Res. 37) introduced by U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine that would terminate the unjustified Trump tariffs imposed on Canadian imports.

    “The IAM firmly stands in support of fair-trade policy and the use of measures such as tariffs when used properly to help level the playing field for the workers we represent,” wrote Bryant in the letter to U.S. Senators. “The use of tariffs can be an effective enforcement measure to punish bad trade actors such as countries that do not respect the rights of workers. These new tariffs on Canada, one of our closest allies and largest trading partners, are unjust and will have lasting negative impacts on American and Canadian workers.”

    The letter from IAM International President Brian Bryant to U.S. Senators continues:

    “The IAM believes in fair trade and understands the necessity of tariffs when strategically deployed to protect workers and ensure equitable competition. However, the current tariffs on Canada—a vital ally and major trading partner—are not only misplaced but actively damaging to workers on both sides of the border.

    “The justification for these tariffs, citing fentanyl concerns, is demonstrably false. U.S. Customs and Border Protection data reveals that less than 1% of fentanyl seizures originate from the U.S.-Canada border, while over 96% stem from the southern border with Mexico. This stark discrepancy exposes the fallacy of targeting Canada and underscores the urgent need to reverse this detrimental policy.

    “The IAM represents workers in critical sectors such as aerospace, defense, and manufacturing, all of which rely heavily on seamless U.S.-Canada collaboration. These tariffs disrupt vital supply chains, destabilize economies, and threaten the livelihoods of tens of thousands of workers, including over 100,000 aerospace workers across both nations.

    “Based on a flawed premise, these tariffs inflict unnecessary harm on working families in both the United States and Canada.”

    Read the complete letter here.  

    The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers is one of North America’s largest and most diverse industrial trade unions, representing approximately 600,000 active and retired members in the aerospace, defense, airlines, railroad, transit, healthcare, automotive, and other industries. 

    goIAM.org | @MachinistsUnion

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    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: News Briefs: February-March 2025

    Source: US Geological Survey

    News Briefs: February-March 2025

    News Briefs – featuring coastal and ocean science from across the USGS.

    Check out recent news highlights below!

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  • MIL-OSI USA: AG Brown urges legal professionals to stand strong in the face of bullying and political retribution

    Source: Washington State News

    OLYMPIA — Attorney General Nick Brown, as part of a coalition of 21 attorneys general, issued an open letter to the legal community warning of illegal attempts by the Trump administration to deter lawyers from challenging the administration’s actions or representing clients disfavored by the administration. The attorneys general call on the legal community to resist attempts at bullying or retribution and uphold the values of their profession.

    “The legal community is a key pillar in our system of checks and balances, and helps protect people from tyranny,” Brown said. “The president attacking some law firms and demanding loyalty from others is clearly meant to bend the justice system to his will. I urge attorneys across Washington state to resist this attack on the rule of law.”

    Brown and the other attorneys general argue that the administration’s unconstitutional actions are a gross abuse of authority and an attack on the practice of law. The attorneys general note in their letter that President Trump issued executive orders against five law firms, seeking retribution over ideological differences and punishing firms for the actions of individual attorneys representing clients adverse to the president or his supporters. The president also issued a memorandum last week threatening all law firms and lawyers that engage in litigation against the federal government.

    Trump’s actions cancel all government contracts with the targeted firms, strip all of the firms’ attorneys of their security clearances and threaten the same against any firm that dares to step out of line. The orders bar lawyers from the firms from public buildings and violate client privacy, including mandating that clients disclose their contracts with the targeted firms. President Trump also singled out individual attorneys for condemnation because the attorney represented clients who challenged his administration’s actions.

    In addition, one of the orders calls on the U.S. attorney general, in consultation with state attorneys general, to “investigate” law firms that have programs or policies focused on diversity, equity and inclusion.

    The chilling effect of these actions was quickly demonstrated as one targeted firm has already given into the administration’s demands by agreeing to, among other things, abandon diversity, equity and inclusion practices, and provide $40 million in pro bono work on causes supported by President Trump.

    In their letter, the attorneys general note that lawyers have an obligation to uphold the rule of law and should not give in to intimidation by dropping clients or refusing to take on certain cases due to fear of retribution. They encourage firms to stand strong and support their colleagues. The coalition also makes clear that they will not allow their offices to be used for political attacks against law firms that hold viewpoints unfavored by the administration.

    Finally, Brown and the attorneys general condemn the administration’s baseless attacks on federal judges who have ruled against President Trump and his allies. The coalition urges the entire legal community to speak out against such attacks, including calls for the impeachment of judges who rule against the administration’s actions.

    Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings and Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul led the coalition. Joining them in sending the letter are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island and Vermont.

    The letter can be found here.

    -30-

    Washington’s Attorney General serves the people and the state of Washington. As the state’s largest law firm, the Attorney General’s Office provides legal representation to every state agency, board, and commission in Washington. Additionally, the Office serves the people directly by enforcing consumer protection, civil rights, and environmental protection laws. The Office also prosecutes elder abuse, Medicaid fraud, and handles sexually violent predator cases in 38 of Washington’s 39 counties. Visit www.atg.wa.gov to learn more.

    Media Contact:

    Email: press@atg.wa.gov

    Phone: (360) 753-2727

    General contacts: Click here

    Media Resource Guide & Attorney General’s Office FAQ

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Disaster Declaration Requested for Farms Impacted by Storms

    Source: US State of New York

    overnor Kathy Hochul today announced that New York State is requesting a United States Department of Agriculture Secretarial Disaster Designation for Oneida County and the contiguous counties of Lewis, Herkimer, Oswego and Madison. Many farms in these counties sustained loss of livestock and structural barn and equipment damage when extreme winter weather impacted the area in January and February 2025. A Disaster Designation would allow for affected farms to apply for United States Department of Agriculture low-interest emergency loans.

    “Severe weather earlier this year wreaked nearly unprecedented damage on farms across Northern and Central New York, and I’m requesting a USDA disaster declaration to help bring relief to our agricultural communities,” Governor Hochul said. “This damage has upended the futures of farms as they face tens of millions of dollars in economic impact. I urge the USDA to take swift action to declare these counties a disaster area and help our farmers get the assistance they need to move forward.”

    According to the National Weather Service, from January 6 to February 25, 2025, northern and central New York State experienced extreme winter weather events that brought heavy winds, ice and more than 180 inches of snow to both regions. In addition, temperatures remained below freezing and there was no thaw to reduce snow accumulation, resulting in sustained heavy snow and ice loads on agricultural buildings. These heavy loads caused structural damage and collapse, loss of livestock, damage to feedstocks and equipment and the destruction of agricultural equipment storage facilities. Based on consultation with the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Oneida County’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) and Cornell Cooperative Extension offices, more than 60 agricultural locations sustained an estimated $15 to $20 million in damage.

    New York State Agriculture Commissioner Richard A. Ball said, “Shortly after the last round of heavy snow and ice, I was able to visit a number of farms in Oneida County and see firsthand the damage that these farms sustained. Typically, we are concerned about crop loss when we face severe weather, but this winter storm impacted infrastructure and livestock that will make it extremely difficult to look toward this year’s planting season. I am thankful to the Governor for this request and appreciate the USDA’s consideration to move ahead with a disaster declaration to provide some financial relief to area farmers.”

    Commissioner Ball visited several farms impacted by the extreme weather in Oneida County on March 7. Many diverse agricultural operations were impacted by these extreme weather events, including dairy farms, beef farms, hay operations, nursery and greenhouse businesses and crop farms. These events and the resulting damage have had a significant impact on the local farm economy.

    A disaster designation makes farm operators in primary counties and those counties contiguous eligible to be considered for emergency loans from the FSA, provided eligibility requirements are met. Farmers in eligible counties have eight months from the date of the disaster declaration to apply for relief programs.

    In addition, the Governor is requesting any disaster assistance appropriated by Congress be made available to assist the impacted farmers and encourages USDA to highlight additional assistance programs that these farmers may opt to use.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Protecting Workers Who Maintain New York Highways

    Source: US State of New York

    overnor Kathy Hochul today highlighted New York State’s ongoing efforts to enhance safety on New York State’s highways and her proposal to further protect the workers who build and maintain roads and bridges. Included in her FY 2026 Budget, the Governor’s plan would make the Automated Work Zone Speed Enforcement pilot program permanent, expand it to include MTA Bridges and Tunnels and NYS Bridge Authority properties, and enhance penalties for assaults against transportation workers. A group of construction industry officials, labor leaders and safety advocates came together today to advocate for these safety enhancements on the one-year anniversary of the expansion of New York’s “Move Over Law” — a lifesaving piece of legislation requiring all drivers to move over when hazard vehicles, highway worker vehicles and tow trucks are stopped on the roadway.

    “The men and women in labor who have dedicated themselves to improving our roads and bridges risk their lives every day to ensure the safety of all drivers,” Governor Hochul said. “By permanently driving down speeds in work zones and enhancing penalties for assaults against them, I am working to strengthen our laws to ensure these dedicated workers can make it home safe themselves.”

    The Automated Work Zone Speed Enforcement (AWZSE) program is the result of legislation signed into law by Governor Hochul in September 2021. The legislation authorized a 5-year pilot program run as a joint effort by the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) and the New York State Thruway Authority (NYSTA) to enhance the State’s ongoing efforts to slow motorists down in work zones to make New York’s highways safer. More than 420,000 Notices of Liability have been issued statewide, with close to 78,400 repeat offenders since the AWZSE program launched in May 2023. And in locations where the cameras have been present more than once, fewer Notices of Liability are being issued, meaning that people are slowing down when cameras are present.

    In addition to her proposal to make the AWSZE permanent, the Governor’s Budget also includes language to enhance penalties for assaults against transportation workers, extending protections similar to those provided to many MTA and retail workers. These actions will improve safety for both workers and drivers. Just last year, while setting up a work zone on a Long Island Expressway ramp in Syosset, a car veered around Department of Transportation trucks, which were carrying attenuators. The driver got out of his car and accosted the highway maintenance crew for obstructing his trip up the ramp. Video of the beginning of the incident can be found here. The Governor’s proposal would hold bad actors accountable and deter actions like this in the future.

    State Department of Transportation Commissioner Marie Therese Dominguez said, “This commonsense legislative package put forward by Governor Hochul will provide much needed worker safety protection and peace of mind for thousands of State Department of Transportation highway forces by making the work zone camera program permanent, and increasing punishment against those who threaten to do them harm. Our highway workers deserve the respect of the traveling public every second they are out there doing their jobs in the name of safety. I strongly believe that both pieces of legislation will prompt more New Yorkers to slow down, pay attention and think twice before threatening or physically hitting one of our workers.”

    New York State DMV Commissioner Mark J.F. Schroeder said. “As someone who spends a lot of time in a car driving across the State, I drive past road work zones all the time, and I unfortunately see too many people driving in ways that put road maintenance crews and other drivers at risk. Taking the time to slow down and move over can prevent a tragedy and make sure we all get to our destinations safely.”

    New York State Thruway Authority Executive Director Frank G. Hoare said, “The Automated Work Zone Speed Enforcement program is a critical tool to enhance safety in work zones across the State. We are committed to enhancing safety for all highway workers and strongly support Governor Hochul’s proposal to make this effective program permanent.”

    New York State Bridge Authority Executive Director Dr. Minosca Alcantara said, “There is no excuse for speeding and reckless driving in work zones. All of our fellow New Yorkers who are out working on the roads need to get home safe to their families. Expanding AWZSE to the Bridge Authority and making it permanent across the State is imperative to ensure crews are safe while doing their jobs.”

    MTA Bridges and Tunnels President Catherine Sheridan said, “AWZSE is changing motorist behavior for the better: drivers are slowing down, resulting in fewer work zone accidents and injuries. This successful pilot program has made our roadways safer for both drivers and workers in construction zones. I look forward to this initiative becoming permanent and being expanded for widespread use.”

    State Senator Jeremy Cooney said, “Our highway employees work day in and day out to maintain our roads and keep New Yorkers safe, it’s only right that we prioritize their safety while on the job. In my role as Chair of The Senate Transportation Committee, I am always committed to protecting these vital workers, which is why I carry the Senate legislation expanding the automated work zone camera program while making it permanent. I thank Governor Hochul for her leadership on worker safety across New York.”

    Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli said, “Protecting our workers is of utmost importance. The investments are critical and will help reduce fatalities and injuries on New York’s highways.”

    New York State AFL-CIO President Mario Cilento said, “Keeping highway workers safe is a priority for the Union Movement. These workers endure hazardous conditions while performing their jobs for our safety; we must protect them. We thank Governor Hochul for her commitment to addressing enforcement and more aggressive repercussions for repeat violators who endanger the workforce that keeps our roads safe and our infrastructure running smoothly.”

    New York State Building and Construction Trades Council President Gary LaBarbera said, “It is well-known that construction sites are inherently dangerous and the added hazards and less-controllable variants of roadways and highspeed traffic only increase the risks for highway workers. This is why we must continue to push forward key legislation that encourages drivers to proceed with more caution and mindfulness around highway work areas and holds them accountable when they act recklessly. We applaud Governor Hochul for her ongoing leadership and action on this important issue. Every hard-working New Yorker, including our brave tradesmen and tradeswomen working on our roadways, deserve to return home safely to their families at the end of each shift.”

    LiUNA Vice President and New England Regional Manager Donato A. Bianco, Jr. said, “The Automated Work Zone Speed Enforcement pilot program has effectively caused drivers to slow down and pay attention, helping to protect the men and women working tirelessly to keep our highway system operational and properly maintained. LIUNA has proudly and staunchly advocated for this program since its inception, and its inclusion by Governor Hochul and the Senate in their respective proposed budgets demonstrates a strong commitment to prioritizing workers’ safety. We all owe it to the workers that skillfully do this dangerous job to take every possible action to ensure they go home safely at the end of the day, and we look forward to seeing the program included in the final enacted Budget.”

    CSEA President Mary E. Sullivan said, “CSEA applauds Governor Hochul’s leadership on this issue and calls on the New York State Legislature to make the Automated Work Zone Speed Enforcement program permanent.”

    CSEA Thruway Local President Sean Kennedy said, “We must explore all avenues to protecting road and highway workers risking their lives every day. The AWZSE program serves as a deterrent to distracted and reckless driving while boosting safety for workers as well as the traveling public.”

    New York State Public Employees Federation President Wayne Spence said, “PEF believes that all public employees should be able to go to their jobs, perform their duties professionally and return home safely to their families after work. Too often, PEF members are harassed or assaulted on the job or injured unnecessarily at work. PEF supports Governor Hochul’s Budget proposal to expand the use of automated work zone cameras to ensure drivers are alert and maintaining an appropriate speed in work zones. PEF also supports the Governor’s proposal to increase the penalties for assaults and harassment of department of transportation workers and urges the Governor and both houses of the Legislature to expand these increased penalties for assaults against any public employee in the performance of their duties. The time has come to address these issues on behalf of New York’s dedicated public employees.”

    New York Construction Materials Association President and CEO Ron Epstein said, “We wholeheartedly support Governor Hochul’s steadfast commitment to enhancing work zone safety and strengthening protections for transportation workers. The critical safety measures outlined in the Governor’s Budget proposal are essential for safeguarding the lives of the dedicated professionals who work tirelessly on our roads, ensuring they return home safely to their families at the end of each shift. We commend the Governor for her leadership in prioritizing these vital efforts and we stand ready to collaborate to make our work zones safer for everyone.”

    Associated General Contractors of New York State President and CEO Mike Elmendorf said, “Working in a work zone on a road or highway is inherently dangerous, but it is made needlessly so by all too frequent excessive speed and distracted driving. That’s why the construction industry and our partners in government, and labor worked hard to enact New York’s automated work zone speed enforcement program — and it is working. While it has documented shockingly high speeds in work zones, it is succeeding in getting drivers to use caution and slow down in work zones. That keeps both drivers and the men and women working there safer. We commend Governor Hochul for her efforts to make sure construction workers and drivers alike can return safely to their homes and families by creating this important program — and this year proposing to make it permanent and increase penalties for those who are still speeding in work zones. Let’s stick with what works and make this critical program permanent this year.”

    American Automobile Association New York State Safety Committee Chairman John Corlett said, “With the construction season about to get fully underway, work zones and construction zones will be popping up on roads across the Empire State. AAA is supporting the Governor’s plan to make work zone speed cameras permanent. April 21 will mark the beginning of National Work Zone Awareness Week. As the weather gets better, speeds will start picking up, which makes the roads riskier for everyone and we need responsible drivers who will safely navigate work zones to ensure that everyone makes it home to their families at the end of the day.”

    New York State Association of Town Superintendents of Highways President and Town of Elmira Highway Superintendent Matt Mustico said, “The people working on our roads deserve to go home safe at the end of the day. It’s that simple. The Automated Work Zone Speed Enforcement program is already making a difference — drivers are slowing down and paying more attention. That’s exactly what’s needed. Making this program permanent is common sense. On behalf of town highway superintendents and our association stakeholder members across New York State, we urge the Legislature to include this critical safety measure in the final State Budget. Protecting our highway workers while keeping our roads safe for New Yorkers should be something we can all agree on.”

    Greater Capital Region Building and Construction Trades Council President Michael Lyons said, “The expansion of work zone camera systems in New York reflects the commitment of the State to protecting transportation workers and ensuring their rights and safety on the job. The Greater Capital Region Building and Construction Trades Council represents over 22,000 Union construction workers in the area and the State’s focus on improving working conditions, reducing accidents and ensuring workers are equipped with the necessary safety training and resources is an initiative that we can back unequivocally.”

    New York State Association of Towns Executive Director Christopher A. Koetzle said, “The New York Association of Towns is committed to protecting the dedicated professionals who ensure the safety and maintenance of our roads. We strongly urge state legislative leaders to include transportation worker safety initiatives as part of the State Budget, ensuring a safer work environment for those who keep our infrastructure running smoothly.”

    New York State Conference of Mayors Executive Director Barbara Van Epps said, “NYCOM commends Governor Hochul and Department of Transportation Commissioner Dominguez, for their commitment to prioritizing the safety of our state and local transportation workers. Ensuring a secure work environment is a fundamental responsibility of the State, and no employee should face threats, harassment or physical harm while performing their duties. These proposals are critical to safeguarding the men and women who maintain our roadways and send a strong message that any form of violence against them is unacceptable.”

    Long Island Contractors’ Association Executive Director Marc Herbst said, “Protecting our workers is foundational to every issue we advocate for as an industry. There is no question that we need to do all we can to ensure that the workers who go out to build, repair and maintain our vital infrastructure have every protection we can provide. Both the expansion of the work zone safety camera program and transportation worker protection from harassment and assault are vital to ensure our workers know we have their backs and truly appreciate their contributions to our roadways.”

    Construction Industry Council Executive Director John Cooney, Jr. said, “The Construction Industry Council of Westchester and Hudson Valley Inc. thanks Governor Kathy Hochul for including in her Executive Budget the inclusion of both the expansion of automated work zone camera program and transportation worker protection from harassment and assault. We thank NYSDOT Commissioner Marie Theresa Dominguez and New York State Thruway Authority Executive Director Frank Hoare for standing up for transportation worker safety and highlighting the need for these two important budget worker safety items. The construction and transportation industries deserve to have all workers involved to have a safe and protected work environment. The proposals for the expanded work zone camera program and expanded transportation worker harassment and assault protections deserve to be a final product of this year’s New York State Budget.”

    New York State Association of Counties Executive Director Stephen J. Acquario said, “Our dedicated county highway crews work all hours of the day and night to maintain and improve our local roads and bridges, ensuring the safety of all who travel them. It is imperative that we take every measure possible to protect these essential workers from harassment, assault and reckless drivers. The New York State Association of Counties stands firmly in support of initiatives aimed at safeguarding our transportation workers and enhancing their well-being.”

    Verra Mobility Executive Vice President Jon Baldwin said, “New York State has demonstrated tremendous leadership with the Automated Work Zone Speed Enforcement pilot program, and the results speak for themselves. Drivers are slowing down, paying attention and prioritizing safety in work zones. New York’s continued investment in this initiative reflects a dedication to fostering safer work environments and safer roads for all. As leaders in smart transportation solutions, we applaud the State’s commitment to safety and support a permanent solution for protecting lives.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Attorney General Bonta: Otay Ranch Village 13 Project Settlement Will Reduce Wildfire Risk While Increasing Opportunity for New Housing

    Source: US State of California

    Wednesday, March 26, 2025

    Contact: (916) 210-6000, agpressoffice@doj.ca.gov

    OAKLAND – California Attorney General Rob Bonta today announced a final settlement agreement regarding the Otay Ranch Village 13 project, which resolves concerns pertaining to the project’s wildfire and greenhouse gas impacts and benefits the people and environment of California. Specifically, under the agreement, the proposed housing development will include the same number of units on a more compact footprint, reducing wildfire ignition risk and protecting approximately 300 additional acres of open space compared to the original plan. While decreasing the development footprint, the settlement also increases the opportunity for new housing by allowing the developer to apply to the County of San Diego to build up to 2,750 housing units (increased from 1,938) within the more compact building area. This will allow for additional housing supply while reducing the project’s environmental impacts, including wildfire risk. The agreement also includes payment of nearly $2 million in attorneys’ fees to the California Department of Justice and the environmental groups that filed litigation challenging the County’s approval of the project for violating the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Attorney General Bonta is joined by the Sierra Club, Center for Biological Diversity, Endangered Habitats League, California Native Plant Society, Preserve Wild Santee, and California Chaparral Institute in today’s settlement with the project applicant.

    “From Los Angeles to San Diego, we are seeing devastating wildfires ravaging our communities right before our eyes. We can no longer ignore the realities of climate change,” said Attorney General Bonta. “Today’s settlement recognizes that environmental protection and housing go hand in hand, aiming to create more resilient, sustainable homes while reducing wildfire risk and protecting our environment.”

    Today’s settlement requires measures to reduce wildfire risk and greenhouse gas emissions, including:

    • Providing a continuous program of surveillance for wildfire ignitions.
    • Ensuring an educational program on wildfire ignition prevention for project residents.
    • Installing sprinkler systems on multi-family residential buildings that meet National Fire Protection Association Standard 13.
    • Achieving net-zero energy design for all single-family residential and commercial buildings.
    • Requiring all buildings to be fully electric.
    • Prohibiting installation of natural gas infrastructure.
    • Creating a Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Fund of at least $15 million, which will fund greenhouse gas emissions reductions projects in San Diego County.

    The Otay Ranch Village 13 project site is located in southwestern San Diego County in an area that has in the past been affected by wildfires. The County approved and certified a Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) for the Otay Ranch Village 13 project on November 18, 2020. The Attorney General’s lawsuit challenged the FEIR’s failure, in violation of CEQA, to adequately address the risk of wildfire despite acknowledging the very high potential for wildfire hazards in and around the project site as well as the FEIR’s failure to adequately analyze or mitigate the impact of substantial vehicle trips and increased greenhouse gas emissions generated by the project. Under the settlement, the parties will request that the Court stay the litigation until the County approves a revised project that complies with the terms of the settlement.

    A copy of the settlement can be found here.

    # # #

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Donald Trump’s ‘chilling effect’ on free speech and dissent is threatening US democracy

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Dafydd Townley, Teaching Fellow in US politics and international security, University of Portsmouth

    The second Donald Trump administration has already sent shockwaves through the political establishment on both sides of the Atlantic. Overseas, the focus has been on the administration’s apparent dismantling of the post-war international order and Trump’s apparent pivot away from America’s traditional allies towards a warmer relationship with Russia and Vladimir Putin. But within the United States itself, the greatest concerns are associated with administration actions that, for many, suggest a deliberate destruction of American democracy.

    Such fears in the US are not isolated to the political elites, but are shared by citizens across the entire nation. But what is also emerging is a concerted assault on people’s ability to push back – or even complain – about some of the measures being introduced by Trump 2.0. This will inevitably result in what is often called a “chilling effect”, where it becomes too hard – or too dangerous – to voice dissent.

    Many of Trump’s policies – the mass deportations, the wholesale sacking of public servants by Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (Doge), the decision to revoke birthright citizenship for the children of undocumented immigrants – have been challenged in the courts. The Trump administration is now embroiled in a range of legal challenges. It is here that Trump’s disdain for a legal system that has temporarily blocked the wishes of the president has emerged.

    Chilling effect

    Judicial decisions calling for the administration to reverse or pause some of these policies have been greeted by Trump and some of his senior colleagues (including Musk and the vice-president J.D.Vance), with noisy complaints at judicial interference in government. Even, in some cases, calls for the impeachment of judges who rule against the government.

    Not only did the administration ignore the court’s ruling that suspended the forced expulsion of Venezuelans to El Salvador, some of whom were in the US legally, but Trump attacked the judge on social media calling him a corrupt “radical left lunatic” and called for his impeachment.

    This stirred the chief justice of the Supreme Court, John Glover Roberts Jr., to intervene. He reminded the president that America doesn’t settle its disputes, saying that the “normal appellate review process exists for that purpose”. Later, Tom Homan, Trump’s chief adviser on immigration issues, told ABC News that the administration would abide by court rulings on the matter.

    The pressure being brought to bear on America’s legal system has not stopped at the judiciary. Trump has recently targeted some of America’s biggest and most powerful law firms, seemingly for no other reason than their acting for clients who have opposed his administration.

    On March 25, Trump signed an executive order targeting Jenner & Block, one of whose partners, Andrew Weissmann, worked with special prosecutor Robert Mueller on the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election. The executive order calls for the firms to be blacklisted from government work and for their employees to have any security clearances removed, for them to be barred from any federal government contracts and refused access to federal government buildings. A death warrant for the firm in other words.

    Sign up to receive our weekly World Affairs Briefing newsletter from The Conversation UK. Every Thursday we’ll bring you expert analysis of the big stories in international relations.

    This follows the news that the head of the prestigious law firm Paul Weiss, Brad Karp, had signed a deal with the White House committing to providing millions of dollars worth of pro-bono legal work for causes nominated by the president. He’s also agreed to stop using diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies, which had been faced with a similar fate.

    Silencing dissent

    This administration’s chilling effect has also extended to an attack on press freedom. Trump has expelled established news organisations from the Pentagon, curtailed access to press events for the esteemed Associated Press, and taken control of the White House press pool, sidelining major media outlets.

    These actions mark a significant downgrading of press freedom in America. They are undermining the role of independent journalism in their key function of holding power to account. By restricting access and silencing critical voices, his administration has raised concerns over transparency and the free flow of information in the domestic media landscapes.

    Universities have traditionally been bastions of independent thought. We saw that with the massive protests against US policy towards Israel and Palestine which have roiled campuses during the conflict in Gaza. But universities are also seen by many in the administration as a hotbed of “woke” activism. Accordingly Trump 2.0 has fixed its sights on one of the most prominent US universities: Columbia.

    Citing what it says is a repeated failure to protect students from antisemitic harassment, the administration cancelled US$400m (£310 million) of federal contracts with the university. Columbia caved in to the pressure moments before the administration’s deadline passed. It agreed to overhaul its disciplinary procedures and “review” its regional studies programmes, starting with those covering the Middle East.

    Columbia’s academic staff are horrified. They are launching legal action against the government, alleging that “the Trump administration is coercing Columbia University to do its bidding and regulate speech and expression on campus”.

    Democracy in peril

    Why is this all so worrying? The legal system, the media and universities are the pillars of US democratic freedoms. The Trump administration’s undermining of these institutions is a blatant attempt to impose an authoritarian rule by bypassing any counterbalance to executive power. And the US Supreme Court has ruled that he is almost entirely immune from prosecution while doing it.

    The checks and balances system of government in the US was designed to ensure that no single branch could dominate the political process. But partisan loyalty, and loyalty to Trump over the party, now outweighs constitutional responsibility for the majority of those within the Republican Party.

    American democracy is under threat. Not from the external existential threats it faced over the past century such as communism and Islamic fundamentalism, but from within its own system. Those Americans who are terrified about this threat are trying to fight back, but Trump’s assault on dissent is so chilling that this is becoming increasingly dangerous.

    Dafydd Townley does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Donald Trump’s ‘chilling effect’ on free speech and dissent is threatening US democracy – https://theconversation.com/donald-trumps-chilling-effect-on-free-speech-and-dissent-is-threatening-us-democracy-253139

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Kennedy statement on Sen. J. Bennett Johnston

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator John Kennedy (Louisiana)

    WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) released the following statement on the passing of former U.S. Senator for Louisiana J. Bennett Johnston:

    “Senator J. Bennett Johnston was a Louisiana champion and a champion for Louisiana. He played big but spoke softly. Composure was his superpower. Bennett loved Louisiana, loved America and loved his family. He was a great senator. Louisiana weeps.

    “Becky and I send our condolences to the Johnston family and our everlasting thanks to Bennett.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Senators Budd, Luján Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Provide Support for Families of Substance Abuse Victims

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Ted Budd (R-North Carolina)

    Washington, D.C.—U.S. Senators Ted Budd (R-N.C.) and Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) introduced the bipartisan Families Care Act today, directing the Administration for Community Living (ACL), under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, to provide peer support services for children, grandparents, and caregivers impacted by the opioid crisis.

    “The opioid crisis claims tens of thousands of lives every year, leaving families and caregivers to bear the heavy emotional and practical burdens of supporting children hurt by addiction. No family should be forced to walk this difficult path alone. That’s why Senator Luján and I introduced the Families Care Act, to guarantee that families have the support and resources they need to care for children while providing an opportunity for those who have faced similar life circumstances to share their experiences with others,” said Senator Budd.

    “I’m proud to reintroduce the Families Care Act with Senator Budd to support all of the caregivers who step in when substance use disorder tears families apart. Far too many grandparents and relatives become the primary caregiver when a substance use disorder overtakes their loved one. This legislation will help provide increased support through peer assistance and education, helping reduce caregiver stress and loneliness. By providing essential resources and fostering a supportive community, we can improve caregivers’ well-being and help them show up every day to care for the people they love,” said Senator Luján.

    Read the full bill text HERE.

    Background

    The legislation would require the ACL to provide peer support services through the National Family Caregiver Support Program (NFCSP).

    Senators Budd and Luján previously introduced this legislation in 2024, which was passed out of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee as part of the Older Americans Act.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Luján, Cornyn Reintroduce Bipartisan Bills to Strengthen Substance Use Disorder Recovery and Expand Workforce

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-New Mexico)

    Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas) have reintroduced two critical pieces of legislation to strengthen recovery services for people struggling with substance use disorders, as well as expand the addiction medicine workforce.

    “I’m proud to reintroduce bipartisan legislation with Senator Cornyn to expand substance use disorder recovery services and strengthen the treatment workforce,” said Senator Luján. “Substance use disorder remains a serious issue in New Mexico, and this legislation will help by training more professionals, investing in peer recovery services, and expanding training opportunities. These are essential steps for delivering effective, long-term solutions and supporting the well-being of our community.”

    The Strengthening Communities of Recovery Act: This legislation supports peer support services by reauthorizing grant programs that allow organizations to develop and enhance peer recovery and general recovery support while fostering collaboration with other harm reduction entities. As the U.S. faces a severe behavioral health crisis, exacerbated by an epidemic of substance use disorders (SUD), this legislation aims to address recovery and rehabilitation efforts. 

    Full text of the bill is available HERE.

    Improving Access to Addiction Medicine Providers Act: This legislation will amend the Public Health Service Act to expand the Minority Fellowship Program (MFP), allowing fellowships to be awarded for training professionals in the addiction medicine field. This bill will help address workforce shortages and ensure culturally competent care for diverse communities affected by substance use disorders.

    Full text of the bill is available HERE.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Ernst Remembers Root Family as Sarah Root’s Killer is Now in U.S. Custody

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA)

    RED OAK, Iowa – After nine years working on behalf of Iowan Sarah Root, Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) was able to bring closure for the Root family when their daughter’s killer, an illegal immigrant who ICE failed to detain and escaped by skipping bail, was delivered into U.S. custody to face justice on Friday.
    Most recently, Ernst’s position on the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee gave her a platform to advocate for action on behalf of Sarah and the Roots during Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s confirmation process. Since then, she has continued working with the Trump administration, including Noem and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, to extradite Mejia, so he faces justice in the United States.

    Senator Ernst has been working with Sarah’s parents, Michelle and Scott Root, since 2016.
    “For nine years, I have fought for justice for Sarah Root. All this time, I have been telling Sarah’s story alongside her parents – Michelle and Scott – so this illegal immigrant could face consequences, and her family could finally have some closure,” said Senator Ernst. “I will always stand up for Iowans, and it has been an honor to work alongside the Roots. While this tragedy should never have happened in the first place, I’ve been grateful to work with the Trump administration to get this done. This work, coupled with my Sarah’s Law, will help ensure no family has to face what the Roots faced ever again.”
    “For nearly a decade, my family and I never received closure about what happened that fateful night my daughter was killed by an illegal immigrant, until Senator Ernst got involved,” said Michelle Root. “Senator Ernst has been there from the beginning, and our family is very grateful for her willingness to push for Sarah’s Law and the extradition of Sarah’s killer, so he faces justice. She has always done an amazing job honoring Sarah through every floor speech and each call to action. I truly appreciate the fight, passion, and the love she shows. While we can’t get our Sarah back, we can make sure another family doesn’t have to endure the heartbreak we have experienced. It’s unconscionable it took over nine years after our beautiful Sarah was taken from us to get this done, but Senator Ernst never flinched and consistently fought to make this a reality.”
    “Senator Ernst and President Trump have been working on this since the very beginning in 2016, and it means so much to me that, thanks in part to their work, Sarah’s life has not been forgotten. I would also like to thank Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley, Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the U.S. Marshals Service, officials in Honduras, and all the unseen people who have been instrumental in making this happen,” said Scott Root. “While nothing can bring my daughter back, ensuring her killer faces justice combined with the passage of Sarah’s Law, my hope is that no family has to endure what mine did ever again.”
    Background:
    On January 31, 2016, Mejia was driving drunk when he struck and killed 21-year-old Sarah Root on the night of her college graduation. Before her family could even lay her to rest, a loophole in the law allowed her killer to be released and escape the consequences of his crimes. Since then, Ernst has fought on behalf of the Root family and the safety of Iowans.
    Since the tragedy, Senator Ernst worked tirelessly to pass Sarah’s Law to bring closure to the Root family and ensure this never happens again. This year, she shepherded the legislation through the Senate and the House, and President Trump made this legislation the law of the land.
    Earlier this month, Senator Ernst hosted Scott Root, Sarah’s father, as her guest for President Trump’s joint address and praised this administration for taking action on behalf of Iowans and prioritizing them over illegal immigrants.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Burns library tax event will assist eligible taxpayers who may be able to claim thousands in valuable federal and state income tax credits

    Source: US State of Oregon

    ow-income Harney County taxpayers eligible to claim valuable federal and state tax credits can get assistance filing their tax returns when Oregon Department of Revenue volunteers visit Burns April 2.

    Help using the combination of IRS Direct File and Direct File Oregon to file electronically for free will be available at the Harney County Library, located at 80 West D Street in Burns, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., April 2.

    According to IRS and state statistics, the federal Earned Income Tax Credit and the Oregon Earned Income Credit were claimed on more than 17 percent of returns in Harney County for tax year 2022. It’s likely, however, that more area families could claim the credits. The IRS estimates that, overall, 25 percent of Oregon taxpayers eligible don’t claim the credits.

    The Department of Revenue believes that helping taxpayers file their own returns using direct file will help maximize the number of Oregonians who choose to use the new free option and make it possible for many who don’t have a filing requirement to file and claim significant federal and state tax credits for low-income families.

    The Earned Income Tax Credit is a federal tax credit for people for making up to $66,819 in 2024. Families may be eligible for a maximum refundable credit of $7,830 on their federal tax return, and a maximum Oregon Earned Income Credit of $940 on their state tax return. Certain taxpayers without children may also be eligible for these credits.

    Some taxpayers eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Oregon Earned Income Credit may also be able to claim the Oregon Kids Credit, which could total as much as $5,000.

    All three are refundable credits meaning that eligible taxpayers can receive the Earned Income Tax Credit, the Oregon EIC, and Oregon Kids Credit, even if they are not otherwise required to file. To receive the refundable credits, however, they must file a federal and state tax return.

    The IRS estimates that 1,000, or one out of every seven people in Harney County are eligible to use IRS Direct File and Direct File Oregon. Filing with both IRS Direct File and Direct File Oregon is free and available as a combination for filing both federal and state taxes for the first time this year.

    Before arriving at the library, taxpayers should:

    Videos are also available to show how to use IRS Direct File and Direct File Oregon and taxpayers can find more information on the department’s Free Direct File assistance at local libraries webpage.

    Taxpayers should bring the following information with them to the library.

    Identification documents

    • Social security card or ITIN for everyone on your tax return
    • Government picture ID for taxpayer and spouse if filing jointly (such as driver’s license or passport)

    Common income and tax documents

    • Forms W2 (wages from a job)
    • Forms 1099 (other kinds of income)
    • Forms SSA-1099 (Social security benefits)

    Optional documents

    • Canceled check or bank routing and account numbers for direct deposit
    • Last year’s tax return

    IRS Direct File does not support all return types. Specifically, taxpayers with dividends reported on Form 1099-DIV and capital gains or losses are not eligible to use IRS Direct File.

    Taxpayers who aren’t eligible to use IRS Direct File can find other free options and free assistances sites on the agency’s website. Those who can’t use IRS Direct File to file their federal return can still use Direct File Oregon to file their state return.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI: PIMCO Names Janet Yellen and Raghuram Rajan to its Global Advisory Board (GAB); Gordon Brown Becomes Chair

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    • Janet Yellen served as Treasury Secretary in the Biden Administration and Chair of the Federal Reserve from 2014 to 2018
    • Raghuram Rajan served as the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India and as Chief Economist at the International Monetary Fund
    • Gordon Brown, former UK Prime Minister, becomes Chair of the GAB
    • Ben Bernanke, former Chair of the Federal Reserve, retiring from role as Chair of PIMCO’s GAB after 10 years service
    • Mark Carney, Canadian Prime Minister, also recently stepped down from GAB

    NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., March 26, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — PIMCO, one of the world’s premier fixed income investment managers, announces the addition of Janet Yellen, former U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and Chair of the Federal Reserve, and Raghuram Rajan, former Governor of the Reserve Bank of India and Chief Economist at the International Monetary Fund, to its Global Advisory Board. The Board provides PIMCO with insights on global economic, political, and strategic developments and their relevance for financial markets.

    In addition, Gordon Brown, former UK Prime Minister (2007-2010) and Chancellor of the Exchequer (1997-2007), becomes Chair of the Board. Mr. Brown, who has been a member of PIMCO’s GAB since its founding in 2015, replaces Ben Bernanke, who is retiring after serving 10 years as Chair of the GAB. Mark Carney, Prime Minister of Canada, previously announced his resignation from PIMCO’s GAB in January, when he announced his candidacy for political office. He had served on the Board since 2020.

    Before serving as the 78th U.S. Secretary of the Treasury from 2021-2025, Secretary Yellen was Chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve from 2014 to 2018 and Vice Chair 2010 to 2014. Secretary Yellen has also held positions at Harvard University, the London School of Economics, and the University of California, Berkeley, where she is now professor emeritus. Her extensive contributions to economic policy and research have established her as a leading figure in the field.

    Dr. Raghuram Rajan’s career is distinguished by his influential roles in global economic institutions. He was the 23rd Governor of the Reserve Bank of India from 2013 to 2016 – where he implemented key reforms to stabilize the Indian economy – and was Chief Economist and Director of Research at the International Monetary Fund from 2003 to 2006. He is also a Professor of Finance at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

    “Secretary Yellen and Dr. Rajan’s deep expertise in economic policy make them remarkable additions to our Global Advisory Board,” said Emmanuel Roman, PIMCO’s Chief Executive Officer. “Their insights will be crucial for us as we continue to navigate the complexities of the global economy and assess their potential impact on markets for our clients.”

    “Understanding the complexities and impact of central bank policymaking, international governance and economic conditions on fast-moving markets are critical components of our investment strategy. Secretary Yellen and Dr. Rajan’s invaluable insights and experience, and Prime Minister Brown’s leadership as chair, will provide PIMCO clients with deep expertise and knowledge in assessing investment risk and opportunity,” said Dan Ivascyn, PIMCO’s Group Chief Investment Officer.

    “We also want to thank Chair Ben Bernanke and Prime Minister Carney for their leadership and valued perspectives over many years on the Global Advisory Board during their constant presence at our investment forums and in guidance to our Investment Committee. We will miss their thoughtful insights and wish them well,” said Mr. Roman.

    The Global Advisory Board consists of a diverse group of experts who provide strategic insights into global economic, political, and strategic developments. Secretary Yellen and Dr. Rajan will join Gordon Brown, Joshua Bolten, former White House Chief of Staff, and Michele Flournoy, U.S. defense policy advisor in two U.S. presidential administrations.

    Janet Yellen
    Janet L. Yellen served as 78th Secretary of the Treasury from 2021 through 2025. Previously, she was a Distinguished Fellow in Residence at the Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy at the Brookings Institution. She also served as Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System from 2014 through February 2018, Vice Chair of the Board of Governors from 2010 to 2014 and president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco from 2004 to 2010. Dr. Yellen previously served as a member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System from August 1994 through February 1997, whereupon she was appointed by President Bill Clinton to serve as chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, a post she held until August 1999. Dr. Yellen has written on a wide variety of macroeconomic issues, specializing in the causes, mechanisms, and implications of unemployment. She began her career as an assistant professor at Harvard University and then served as an economist with the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors before joining the faculty of the London School of Economics in 1978. In 1980 she joined the faculty of the University of California at Berkeley, where she was named the Eugene E. and Catherine M. Trefethen Professor of Business and Professor of Economics, and where she is currently a professor emeritus. Dr. Yellen graduated from Brown University in 1967 and received her PhD in economics from Yale University in 1971. She received the Wilbur Cross Medal from Yale in 1997, honorary degrees from Brown, Bard College, NYU, the London School of Economics and Political Science, the University of Warwick, Yale, the University of Michigan and the University of Pennsylvania. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and has served as President of the American Economic Association and the Western Economic Association and a fellow of the Yale Corporation. She is a Distinguished Fellow of the American Economic Association.

    Raghuram Rajan

    Raghuram Rajan is the Katherine Dusak Miller Distinguished Service Professor of Finance at Chicago Booth. He was the 23rd Governor of the Reserve Bank of India between September 2013 and September 2016. Between 2003 and 2006, Dr. Rajan was the Chief Economist and Director of Research at the International Monetary Fund. Dr. Rajan’s research interests are in banking, corporate finance, and economic development. The books he has written include Breaking the Mold: Reimagining India’s Economic Future with Rohit Lamba, The Third Pillar: How the State and Markets hold the Community Behind 2019 which was a finalist for the Financial Times Business Book of the Year prize and Fault Lines: How Hidden Fractures Still Threaten the World Economy, for which he was awarded the Financial Times prize for Business Book of the Year in 2010. Dr. Rajan is a member of the Group of Thirty. He was the President of the American Finance Association in 2011 and is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In January 2003, the American Finance Association awarded Dr. Rajan the inaugural Fischer Black Prize for the best finance researcher under the age of 40. The other awards he has received include the Infosys prize for the Economic Sciences in 2012, the Deutsche Bank Prize for Financial Economics in 2013, Euromoney Central Banker Governor of the Year 2014, and Banker Magazine (FT Group) Central Bank Governor of the Year 2016. Dr. Rajan is the Chairman of the Per Jacobsson Foundation, the senior economic advisor to BDT Capital, and a managing director at Andersen Tax.

    About PIMCO
    PIMCO is a global leader in active fixed income with deep expertise across public and private markets. We invest our clients’ capital across a range of fixed income and credit opportunities, drawing upon our decades of experience navigating complex debt markets. Our flexible capital base and deep relationships with issuers have helped us become one of the world’s largest providers of traditional and nontraditional solutions for companies that need financing and investors who seek strong risk-adjusted returns.

    Except for the historical information and discussions contained herein, statements contained in this news release constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements may involve a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, including the performance of financial markets, the investment performance of PIMCO’s sponsored investment products and separately managed accounts, general economic conditions, future acquisitions, competitive conditions and government regulations, including changes in tax laws. Readers should carefully consider such factors. Further, such forward-looking statements speak only on the date at which such statements are made. PIMCO undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of such statements.

    Contact:
    Michael Reid
    PIMCO – Media Relations
    Ph. 212-597-1301
    Email: Michael.Reid@pimco.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI USA: King: Top Three Shipbuilding Challenges: “Workforce, Workforce, Workforce”

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Maine Angus King
    WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a Senate Armed Services subcommittee (SASC) hearing on sea power, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-ME) discussed the importance of supporting our nation’s shipbuilding capacity with senior U.S. Navy and government personnel. In a conversation with witnesses Dr. Brett A. Seidle, Acting Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development, and Acquisition, and Shelby S. Oakley, Director of Contracting and National Security Acquisitions at the Government Accountability Office (GAO), King confirmed the Navy’s willingness to support the shipbuilding workforce through investments in childcare, housing, and professional development.
    “If I were to list the three biggest problems right now in developing shipyard capacity, the first would be workforce, the second would be workforce, the third would be workforce. The Navy has to be thinking in unconventional ways. For example, one of the most important things to develop workforce is to have childcare facilities, parking, housing in the area. We’ve had people recruited to Bath who get there and cannot find a place to live. I believe that has to be part of the mentality of developing the workforce. And then of course training and all those details that go to attracting people in this economy. Finally, on the development of the infrastructure, it is the infrastructure itself. There has to be a joint investment in the private shipyards and the Navy in terms of infrastructure buildings, more efficient layout of the facility, and those kind of steps are very important. I’m giving you advice, but this is based on my experiences working with the shipyards…My final question is to GAO. You mentioned 60 or so recommendations that have not been followed. What are the top three recommendations that if you were pressed you think would make a difference?,” Senator King asked.
    “You’re really pressing my memory on 60 recommendations, but I think most pressing in the front of my mind are our recommendations related to design and the changes we would like to see the Navy make with regard to like you said, ensuring the design is finalized before we are awarding a contract for construction and before we are starting to bend metal. Because the problems arise when those design changes creep in as the pressures of a fixed price contract begin to mount. That leads to challenges overall. It is exactly what we are seeing with the frigate program. We made adjustments to the Navy that they ensure that they have matured their basic and functional design before awarding the contract for detailed design and construction. Another recommendation we made was related to ensuring that detailed design on each individual block is finished before you begin construction on that block. Most of those recommendations are aimed at ensuring that there is less of a likelihood these surprises will pop up at a time where the pressure will be high to continue to proceed because of schedule or money challenges,” responded Director Oakley.
    Senator King also asked Acting Assistant Secretary Seidle about his support for a smooth transition between ship designs to ensure workforce and production sustainability.
    “A couple of technical observations before I get to the broader questions. One is, as you know, DDX is in the design stage and the concern from the point of view of the shipyards, both in Bath and Mississippi, is there would be a smooth transition between DDG 51 and DDX. What concerns us is a timing trough because you cannot turn on and turn off welders. I hope as you plan out the transition process, that it is top of mind. It would be disastrous for the yards if there was a lag in demand between the two ships. Are you with me on that?” asked Senator King.
    “Yes. We saw the lessons from DDG 51, to DDG 1000 back in the day, and how some of that worked out. We will clearly be intentional about the transition of DDG 51 to DDGX to keep the production line to feather in DDG X and then only taper out DDG 51 when it is ready,” replied Acting Assistant Secretary Seidle.
    As a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senator King has championed funding for both Bath Iron Works (BIW) and Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (PNSY). Recently, Senator King and Secretary of the Navy John Phelan, discussed the importance of utilizing lessons from the private sector to maintain best practices for ship designing, building, and maintenance. Last year, he strongly urged Mr. Frederick J. Stefany, Acting Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition to prioritize long-term investments in the defense industrial base – including Bath Iron Works—to avoid a ‘trough’ between contracted work, resulting in a likely loss of workers and threatening American national security. In the enacted FY2025 National Defense Authorization Act, Senator King secured authorization for the procurement of an addition DDG-51 Arleigh Burke-class destroyer that Bath Iron Works will build.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Reed Praises U.S. Supreme Court Decision Upholding ‘Ghost Gun’ Regulations

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Rhode Island Jack Reed
    WASHINGTON, DC – Today, after the U.S. Supreme Court issued a 7-2 opinion upholding Biden-era federal regulations on “ghost guns,” mail-order kits that allow people to build untraceable weapons at home, U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), who supported the rule to crack down on the irresponsible proliferation of ghost gun kits, called the court’s decision a victory for public safety and commonsense that must be followed up with further action.
    Senator Reed stated: “Ghost guns are custom made for criminals because they are untraceable.  The court’s ruling is a big win for public safety and commonsense.  These weapon kits must be regulated like other firearms.  That includes thorough background checks before being sold and accountability for the manufacturers. It’s past time to close federal loopholes and this 7-2 ruling provides bipartisan momentum to do just that.  We’ve seen too many innocent lives taken by ghost guns.  I will continue working to get ghost guns off the streets and to preserve these critical tools for law enforcement to keep officers and the public safe from crime.”
    Traditional firearms sold by licensed dealers require serial numbers, and buyers must complete a background check before obtaining a gun.  But ghost gun kits and components, which are often sold online, lack serial numbers or an identifying mark to indicate its manufacturer, and are difficult for law enforcement to trace but easy for criminals to acquire without a background check.
    Ghost guns can come in a variety of forms, from handguns to semi-automatic versions of assault rifles like AR-15s.  They are a growing street weapon of choice for those who would fail background checks, such as felons convicted of domestic violence or subject to court orders, violent extremists, and teenagers too young to legally own a gun.
    Unregistered, untraceable guns were used in about 19,000 crimes in 2021, according to the federal government.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Reed & Young Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Promote Service & Boost Civic Engagement

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Rhode Island Jack Reed
    WASHINGTON, D.C. – In an effort to bring Americans together through service to the nation and their fellow citizens, U.S. Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Todd Young (R-IN) reintroduced legislation that would create a whole of government approach to addressing military, national, and public service needs.
    This legislation is based on recommendations published by the bipartisan National Commission on Military, National and Public Service that Senator Reed and the late Senator John McCain established to review the military selective service process and consider methods to increase participation in military, national, and other public service to address the needs of the nation. 
    The Commission published its final report and recommendations five years ago, just as the pandemic began to grip the nation, setting off a decline in the rates of volunteerism from 30 percent to 23.2 percent according to data from AmeriCorps.  The Commission called for a ten-year goal for five million Americans to begin participating in military, national, or public service each year.
    Additionally, the Commission set targets for ensuring there are more than enough qualified individuals seeking to serve in the Armed Forces and for modernizing government personnel systems to attract and enable Americans with critical skills to enter public service. The Unity through Service Act would provide the architecture and focus to mobilize a collaborative approach across government to achieving these goals.
    According to the latest research compiled by AmeriCorps, volunteerism has begun to rebound following the pandemic with 28.3 percent of Americans formally volunteering in 2023, giving nearly five billion hours of service with an economic value of $167.2 billion.
    “Recent growth in volunteerism and service show that Americans are ready and willing to answer the call to serve, to come together and meet the challenges we are facing. We must create the conditions to mobilize them and strengthen opportunities to serve,” said Senator Reed. “That is why I am proud to join Senator Young in introducing the Unity through Service Act, reaffirming our national culture of service and elevating all forms of service by leveraging the strengths of our existing programs.”
    “Civic engagement and giving back to the community are woven into the fabric of the American spirit. Our bill would increase Americans’ awareness of service opportunities that target community-specific needs, while also appropriately stewarding taxpayer dollars,” said Senator Young.
    In addition to Senators Reed and Young, the legislation is cosponsored by U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-DE) and was introduced in the House of Representatives by U.S. Representatives Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA-6), Jimmy Panetta (D-CA-19), Jack Bergman (R-MI-1), and Don Bacon (R-NE-2).
    The Unity through Service Act would elevate all forms of service, making it easier for Americans to identify service opportunities that align with their skills and goals.
    This bill would establish an Interagency Council on Service to coordinate and lead initiatives that extend across military, national, and public service. The Council will be tasked with preparing and submitting to the President a national strategy on service, including a review of current programs, initiatives and online content.
    Furthermore, the Unity through Service Act would authorize a joint advertising, market research, and recruiting program with the Department of Defense (DOD), the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), and the Peace Corps to identify successful strategies and efficiently share this information across agencies. The bill would require a quadrennial report to Congress on initiatives to integrate military, national, and public service programs.
    This legislation is endorsed by the Service Year Alliance, America’s Service Commissions, Voices for National Service, and With Honor Action.
    “Service Year Alliance was proud to support the Unity Through Service Act when it was introduced, and we remain champions for the passage of this legislation today,” said Kristen Bennett, Chief Executive Officer of Service Year Alliance. “Americans want to serve, and it’s paramount that we bridge our efforts on military, national, and public service, as the Unity Through Service Act calls for, to best harness this goodwill for our shared future. As advocates for national service, we know that service years develop leaders, build skills for success in a changing economy, and offer solutions for creating more resilient communities — and we should be doing everything in our power to make it an opportunity for all. The Unity Through Service Act is a vital next step that brings us closer to achieving this vision.”
    “On behalf of our nation’s State and Territorial Service Commissions, we thank Sen. Reed (D-RI) and Sen. Young (R-IN) for their support of the bipartisan Unity Through National Service Act. National service enables Americans to address critical issues in our communities and instills a sense of mission and purpose in those that serve. We look forward to engaging with the Interagency Council on Service to advise the President on ways that national, military, and public service partners – and importantly our states – can work together to promote and expand opportunities to serve our country and improve those experiences,” said Kaira Esgate, CEO of America’s Service Commissions. “Critically, the Council would also develop new interagency partnerships to address national challenges and support the transition between branches of service and into careers. We urge Congress to advance this bipartisan legislation as soon as possible.”
    “National service is a powerful force for uniting Americans in common purpose, and the Unity through Service Act represents an important step forward in ensuring more people can serve,” said AnnMaura Connolly, President of Voices for National Service. “By elevating service and fostering greater collaboration across agencies, this bill will help strengthen national service programs, open new pathways to service, and enable more Americans to contribute to their communities and country. The Voices for National Service community is grateful to Senators Reed and Young for their leadership and their continued commitment to expanding opportunities for service.”
    “As we celebrate the fifth anniversary National Commission on Military, National, and Public Service’s Inspired to Serve report, With Honor Action is proud to endorse the Unity Through Service Act. As a veteran-founded and veteran-led organization, we strongly believe in the critical role that service, both in and out of uniform, plays in our democracy. By creating an Interagency Council on Service and coordinating efforts across federal agencies, this bill strengthens civic engagement and promotes service opportunities for all Americans,” said Rye Barcott, CEO of With Honor Action. “We applaud the leadership of Senator Reed for his continued service to our nation.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Cassidy, Padilla Reintroduce Bill to Modernize Health Care System, Improve Access to Digital Health Services

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Louisiana Bill Cassidy
    WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) and Alex Padilla (D-CA) reintroduced the Health Accelerating Consumers’ Care by Expediting Self-Scheduling (ACCESS) Act to improve patients’ access to modernized health care, provide certainty for patients seeking digital health services, and protect patients’ personal health information.
    “It’s enough to struggle with an illness. Patients should have easy access to the care they need,” said Dr. Cassidy. “There are plenty of tools to provide affordable, quality care. As a doctor, I’m focused on using them.”
    “Every American deserves easy access to physical and mental health care,” said Senator Padilla. “As provider wait times increase, integrating digital health programs into our health care system is essential to efficiently administering care. We cannot let scheduling obstacles prevent Americans in crisis from receiving care when they need it most.”
    The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the demand for digital health services and other innovative practices. Under current law, however, there is no distinction between illegal referral practices and scheduling services that reduce the barriers associated with accessing necessary and appropriate care. The Health ACCESS Act would adjust the Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) to remove the regulatory ambiguity allowing digital health and appointment booking platforms to work together to better serve patients. Doing so ultimately improves access to care via user-friendly services, expands provider choice and scheduling availability, and enhances the overall health care experience and ecosystem.
    The Health ACCESS Act is supported by Advanced Dermatology and Cosmetic Surgery, Boston Medical Center, Brownsville Community Health Center (FQHC), California Children’s Hospital Association, California Hospital Association, Circle Medical, Chronic Care Policy Alliance, Corewell Health, Digital Health New York (DHNY), GoHealth Urgent Care, Grow Therapy, HANYS (Health Assoc of NYS), Healthcare Leadership Council (HLC), Housing Works Community Healthcare (FQHC), Illinois Hospital Association, Indiana University Health, Intermountain Health, LabFinder, Main Line Health, Manhattan Cardiology, Medical Offices of Manhattan, Memorial Hermann Health System, Octave, SohoMD, Spring Branch Community Health Center (FQHC), Stanford Children’s Hospital, and The Dermatology Specialists.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Global population data is in crisis – here’s why that matters

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Andrew J Tatem, WorldPop Director, Professor of Spatial Demography and Epidemiology, University of Southampton

    Arthimedes/Shutterstock

    Every day, decisions that affect our lives depend on knowing how many people live where. For example, how many vaccines are needed in a community, where polling stations should be placed for elections or who might be in danger as a hurricane approaches. The answers rely on population data.

    But counting people is getting harder.

    For centuries, census and household surveys have been the backbone of population knowledge. But we’ve just returned from the UN’s statistical commission meetings in New York, where experts reported that something alarming is happening to population data systems globally.

    Census response rates are declining in many countries, resulting in large margins of error. The 2020 US census undercounted America’s Latino population by more than three times the rate of the 2010 census. In Paraguay, the latest census revealed a population one-fifth smaller than previously thought.

    South Africa’s 2022 census post-enumeration survey revealed a likely undercount of more than 30%. According to the UN Economic Commission for Africa, undercounts and census delays due to COVID-19, conflict or financial limitations have resulted in an estimated one in three Africans not being counted in the 2020 census round.

    When people vanish from data, they vanish from policy. When certain groups are systematically undercounted – often minorities, rural communities or poorer people – they become invisible to policymakers. This translates directly into political underrepresentation and inadequate resource allocation.

    As the Brookings Institution, a US research organisation, has highlighted, undercounts have “cost communities of colour political representation over the next decade”.

    This is happening because several factors have converged. Trust in government institutions is eroding worldwide, with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) reporting that by late 2023, 44% of people across member countries had low or no trust in their national governments. Research shows a clear trend of declining trust specifically in representative institutions like parliaments and governments. This makes people less likely to respond to government-issued census requests.

    The COVID-19 pandemic created logistical nightmares for census takers. Many countries had to postpone their censuses. Budget cuts to statistical offices reduced capacity, while countries struggled with recruiting field staff.

    International funding for population data is also disappearing. The US-funded Demographic and Health Surveys program, which provided vital survey data across 90 countries for four decades, was terminated in February 2025. Unicef’s Multi-Indicator Cluster program, which carries out household surveys, faces an uncertain future amid shrinking global aid budgets. US government cuts to support for UN agencies and development banks undertaking census support will likely have further impacts.

    This is incredibly worrying to us as geography academics, because gathering accurate population data is fundamentally about making everyone visible. As population scientists Sabrina Juran and Arona Pistiner wrote, this information allows governments to plan for the future of a country and its people.

    The US census directly impacts the allocation of more than US$1.5 trillion (£1.2 trillion) in public resources each year. How can governments distribute healthcare funding without knowing who lives where? How can disaster response be effective if vulnerable populations are invisible in official population counts?

    Solutions that count

    Countries are adapting. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the transition to alternative census methodologies. Many countries turned to online questionnaires, telephone interviews and administrative data sources to reduce face-to-face interactions.

    The UN Economic Commission for Africa recommends that countries move from using paper forms for census data collection and embrace new digital technologies that can be cheaper and more reliable. Turkey’s switch in 2011 reduced census costs from US$48.3 million to US$13.9 million while improving data quality and timeliness, and nearly 80% of countries used tablets or smartphones for data collection in the 2020 round of censuses.

    Collecting census data digitally in Pakistan in 2023.
    Abdul Rauf Khan/Shutterstock

    At WorldPop, our research group at the University of Southampton, we’re also helping governments to develop solutions using new technologies. Buildings mapped from satellite imagery using AI, together with counts of populations from small areas, can help create detailed population estimates to support census implementation or provide estimates for undersurveyed areas.

    As we face growing challenges, from climate change to economic inequality, having accurate, reliable and robust population data isn’t a luxury. It’s essential for a functioning society. National statistical offices, UN agencies, academics, the private sector and donors must urgently focus on how to build cost-effective solutions to provide reliable and robust population data, especially in resource-poor settings where recent cuts will be felt hardest.

    When people disappear from the data, they risk disappearing from public policy too. Making everyone count starts with counting everyone.

    Don’t have time to read about climate change as much as you’d like?

    Get a weekly roundup in your inbox instead. Every Wednesday, The Conversation’s environment editor writes Imagine, a short email that goes a little deeper into just one climate issue. Join the 40,000+ readers who’ve subscribed so far.

    Andrew J Tatem works for the University of Southampton, and is Director of WorldPop. His research on mapping populations has been funded by donors such as the Gates Foundation, Wellcome Trust, GAVI.

    Jessica Espey works for the University of Southampton. Her research on data, statistics and evidence use has previously been funded by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Gates Foundation and others.

    – ref. Global population data is in crisis – here’s why that matters – https://theconversation.com/global-population-data-is-in-crisis-heres-why-that-matters-251751

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Trump’s America is facing an Andrew Jackson moment – and it’s bad news for the constitution

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Sean Lang, Visiting Fellow in History, Anglia Ruskin University

    Statue of Andrew Jackson in Layfayette Square, Washington DC. Flickr

    How do you deal with an American president who does not obey the US constitution? The question has arisen because the recent episode where deportation flights carrying Venezuelans were dispatched to El Salvador, despite a court ruling that those flights must not proceed, suggests Donald Trump’s administration has a limited understanding of the separation of powers in the US. A president has no power to defy a court order.

    Similarly, a Brown University medical professor, Rasha Alawieh, was deported to Lebanon because of a perceived sympathy for Hezbollah, despite the fact she had a valid US work visa and despite a judge’s order blocking her removal from the US.

    This administration’s seemingly blatant disregarding of constitutional procedure is not the first time such a problem has arisen. Early in the life of the new republic it was posed by the election to the presidency in 1828 of Andrew Jackson. Jackson, an unashamed populist, harboured deep suspicion of all federal institutions. His belief in states’ rights sometimes trumped his commitment to the union.

    Trump echoes Jackson in many ways. Just as Trump reviles Joe Biden, so Jackson scorned his predecessor, John Quincy Adams. Trump’s attacks on institutions such as USAid and the Department of Education, is echoed by Jackson’s extraordinary war on the Bank of the United States, which he thought too big and grand for a democratic people.

    But the parallels come closest in relation to forced expulsion, whether of individuals in Trump’s case, or of whole peoples in Jackson’s.

    When Europeans established their colonies in the Americas, they justified their presence by asserting the philosopher John Locke’s principle that legal title to land belonged to those who farmed it. Since the native peoples were mostly nomadic hunters, this legal fiction enabled the Europeans and their American successors to seize land while claiming it was theirs “by right”.

    But the peoples of the American southeast – the Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, Seminole and Cherokee – took the Europeans at their word. They adopted a much more European lifestyle, establishing towns, wearing European clothing, even converting to Christianity. But above all, they started farming the land, even to the point of owning slaves to work on it. They were known, rather patronisingly, as the “five civilised tribes”.

    None of this adoption of western culture would save them, however, when Georgian cotton planters realised, first, that the tribes were sitting on prime cotton-growing land and, subsequently, that there was gold in Cherokee territory. In 1828 the state of Georgia claimed jurisdiction over all the land of the five tribes. Jackson, an old “Indian fighter” and a staunch states-rights southerner who was about to begin his stint as seventh US president, clearly sympathised.

    Jackson’s first State of the Union address made it clear that he intended to remove all the “Indian” tribes to the desert lands west of the Mississippi. In Congress, Jackson’s opponents accused him of betraying the very principles on which the republic had been founded. What had these people done that required their removal – and since they were indeed farmers, why was their right to their own land not to be respected in law?

    Despite these good reasons for these people to be allowed to stay, the 1830 Removal Act passed and the Chickasaw, Choctaw and Creek peoples packed up and left. The Seminole attempted armed resistance but were defeated.

    Supreme Court versus the US president

    The Cherokee took their case to the Supreme Court. The US Supreme Court had originally been intended merely as a final court of appeal, but under its long-sitting chief justice, John Marshall, it had established itself as the ultimate arbiter of what was and was not lawful according to the constitution. And this included acts of the president.

    The court’s new-found constitutional role was deeply resented in the White House as an unacceptable incursion on the rights of the president, even when it ruled in the president’s favour. Now Marshall was being asked to rule on the constitutional legality of Georgia’s claim to the land of the Cherokee people.

    The Cherokee had tried to declare they were a fully independent state, but the court ruled against that. It did, however, find that they constituted a dependent nation within the United States and that, therefore, the State of Georgia had no jurisdiction over them.

    ‘Trail of Tears’: a dark moment in US history.
    Wolfgang Sauber/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA

    Georgia, however, simply ignored the Supreme Court and in 1838 sent in troops to round up and expel the Cherokee people. Some 13,000 people set off on what became known as the “Trail of Tears” – about one-third of them died of weakness, disease and hunger.

    One American officer commented later that: “I fought through the civil war and have seen men shot to pieces and slaughtered by thousands, but the Cherokee removal was the cruellest I ever knew.”

    Jackson was exultant, taunting Marshall that his judgement “has fell still born” and sneering that Marshall had no means of enforcing it. The Cherokee chief, the half-Scottish John Ross, summed up the situation: “We have a country which others covet. This is the only offence we have ever yet been charged with.”

    The Cherokee had found that, if the president chose to ignore it, the US constitution offered no protection to the innocent. It’s a history lesson Greenlanders, Mexicans and Canadians – and indeed many Americans who may fall foul of this administration and seek recourse to the law – would do well to study.

    Sean Lang does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Trump’s America is facing an Andrew Jackson moment – and it’s bad news for the constitution – https://theconversation.com/trumps-america-is-facing-an-andrew-jackson-moment-and-its-bad-news-for-the-constitution-253047

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Secretary-General Outlines Four Areas of Focus in Implementing Pact for Future

    Source: United Nations General Assembly and Security Council

    Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks to the informal interactive dialogue on the implementation of the Pact for the Future, in New York today:

    I thank the President of the General Assembly for convening this important dialogue — the first of three in the coming months.  From day one of the Pact for the Future’s adoption, the President has been its active champion.  I deeply appreciate your efforts, Mr. President, and your leadership.

    Adopting the Pact was the beginning of the process, not the end.  Today, I want to focus on what we have done over the last six months — and what we need to do.

    We face a long list of challenges.  Conflicts and climate disasters are intensifying.  The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are far off-track — as is the funding required to achieve them.  Geopolitical divisions and mistrust are blocking effective action, with some actively questioning the value of international cooperation and the multilateral system itself.

    But, let me be very clear.  It is exactly because of these divides and these mistrusts that the Pact for the Future and the two parallel documents are more important than ever.  And the bigger the obstacle, the bigger will be my determination to make things move forward in line with the will expressed by Member States in the Summit of the Future.

    Meanwhile, critical funding is being drastically cut for people in desperate need — with more reductions to come.  Resources are shrinking across the board — and they have been for a long time.

    From day one of my mandate, we embarked on an ambitious agenda to become more effective and cost-effective across our Organization.  Earlier this month, I announced the “UN80” initiative to continue this work and intensify it.

    We’re reviewing efficiencies and improvements to current arrangements, the implementation of mandates handed down by Member States, and structural changes and programme realignment.  All these will contribute for a more effective implementation of the Pact for the Future.

    We’ve wasted no time moving into the implementation phase of the Pact.  From an operational perspective, we established a principal-level steering committee — which I chair — overseeing six working groups focused on action and reforms in key areas:  Sustainable Development Goals acceleration; peace and security; international financial architecture; digital technologies; UN governance; and youth.

    We’ve created two task teams focusing on future generations and the need to look beyond GDP [gross domestic product] as a measure of progress and guide to policymaking.

    And we’re establishing an internal tracking system to monitor our progress on Pact implementation.  Today, I’d like to report on our efforts since the Pact was adopted and outline the work ahead in four areas.

    First, peace and security.  United Nations peace operations help safeguard people and communities in some of the most desperate corners of the world.  The Pact represents a commitment to strengthen tools to prevent and address conflict, to ensure that our peace efforts respond to new and emerging threats.

    In November, I issued a report on peacebuilding which included concrete suggestions to strengthen the Peacebuilding Commission and Fund.  We’re actively working on the second independent progress study on the positive contribution of young people to peace processes.

    And we’re progressing on a review of all forms of peace operations, as requested in the Pact.  Our recent proposals to the Security Council regarding Haiti are a case in point where new approaches can be developed to complex security challenges.

    The review will be an opportunity to help adapt peace operations to today’s realities, and ensure they’re guided by clear and sequenced mandates that are realistic and achievable — with viable exit strategies and transition plans.

    It will also recognize the limitations of our operations where there is little or no peace to keep.  We will also continue pushing forward on other peace-related priorities of the Pact — including disarmament commitments around nuclear, biological and chemical weapons, lethal autonomous weapons and the growing weaponization of outer space.

    And we will continue advocating — including through the intergovernmental negotiations process — for the Pact’s call to make the Security Council more representative of today’s world and more effective in the capacity to promote peace in the world.

    Second, finance for development.  Since the Pact’s adoption, we’ve taken action on several fronts. For example, our resident coordinators and country teams are now mapping out how we can accelerate progress at the national levels in close cooperation with the Governments.

    We’ve begun analysing the impact of military expenditure on the achievement of the SDGs and on our own work at the UN — with a final report out by September.  The Expert Group called for in the Pact to develop measures of progress that go beyond gross domestic product will soon be announced and will work throughout the year before an intergovernmental process takes over in 2026.

    And we’ve been working closely with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to follow-up on the Pact’s action points addressing improvements to the international financial system.

    Developing countries must be represented fairly in the governance of the very institutions they depend on.  We know the environment is not favourable.  But we must not give up.

    Since the Pact’s adoption, I have also established an expert group to identify practical steps for action on debt.  In the coming weeks, they will propose a list of achievable outcomes — and release a full report in June in advance of the Financing for Development Conference in Spain.

    Debt relief is a central issue if we want the implementation and the Pact for the Future a reality.  At the same time, we will continue advocating to increase the lending capacity of multilateral development banks, to make them bigger and bolder.  This includes both stretching their balance sheets and recapitalization.

    And we must ensure that concessional finance is deployed where it is most needed.  Many of these actions depend on decisions of other multilateral institutions and of Member States, but we will not relent in our constant advocacy for what the Pact for the Future has clearly indicated as the way to pursue.

    Three, youth and future generations. Our efforts must deliver for young people and the generations to come.  The Pact’s central promise to young people is to listen to their concerns and ideas and including them at the decision-making table.

    Following the establishment of a UN Youth Office in 2022, young people played a key role in shaping the Pact’s priorities.  With the Pact’s adoption, we’re now progressing towards establishing a Youth Investment Platform to ensure that national funding mechanisms and investment platforms are focused on the needs of young people.

    And we’re developing core principles to strengthen youth engagement across our work at the United Nations — including by broadening the representation of younger colleagues within our organizational structures.

    Through the Declaration on Future Generations, we’re also looking to the generations yet to be born.  We’ve established a Strategic Foresight Network and Community of Practice to ensure our policies, programmes and field operations are based on long-term thinking.  And later this year, I will appoint a Special Envoy for Future Generations to scale up these efforts.

    Fourth, technology.  We’re implementing the Global Digital Compact’s calls to close all digital divides and ensure all people benefit from a safe and secure digital space.  Artificial intelligence (AI) is a particular focus.

    We’re developing a report on innovative voluntary financing options for AI capacity-building to help the global South harness AI for the greater good, taking into account the recommendations of my High-Level Advisory Body.

    The zero-draft resolution to establish the International Independent Scientific Panel on AI and convene a Global Dialogue on AI Governance was also circulated last week — thanks to the work of the co-facilitators, Spain and Costa Rica.

    I urge the General Assembly to act swiftly to establish this Panel and ensure that AI expertise and knowledge are available to all countries, while supporting the Global Dialogue.  The UN system stands ready to support this work.

    As we push for these priorities, we’re also improving the efficiency and effectiveness of our operations, as called for by the Pact.

    Last fall, we undertook a comprehensive assessment across UN entities to harness the potential of innovation, data analytics, digital transformation and foresight across our work — as called for in the UN 2.0 initiative.

    We’re already seeing results:  from speeding up disaster assessments in the Asia-Pacific [region], to strengthening social security programmes in Malawi, to consolidating information technology functions across the UN system.  This work must continue, especially in light of the funding challenges we face.  We’re counting on your support as we move forward.

    The Pact for the Future is an essential part of this process of constant renewal, as we reshape the multilateral system for the challenges of today’s world.  We cannot dilute our efforts.

    We need to sustain the same spirit and determination in which the Pact was forged and adopted.  We count on you to inform, inspire and guide the implementation work ahead.  Once again, thank you for your ideas and commitment.

    MIL OSI United Nations News –