Category: Americas

MIL-OSI USA: NASA Science Activation Program Wins Prestigious Award

Source: NASA

The NASA Science Activation (SciAct) Program has been selected to receive the American Geophysical Union (AGU) 2024 Excellence in Earth and Space Science Education Award. This prestigious, annual award, established in 1995, honors a mid-career or senior scientist team, individual, or group that has demonstrated a sustained commitment to broad, positive impact on Earth and space science education at any education level from kindergarten through postgraduate studies.

SciAct engages learners of all ages in all 50 states and 4 US territories with Earth and space science. Through an extensive network of nearly 600 partners, SciAct develops, co-creates, validates, and disseminates effective learning resources and activities to support the needs of learners in their pursuit of knowledge, including specific underrepresented groups such as: Black, blind and low vision, community college, differently abled, Hispanic, immigrant, Indigenous, multilingual, neurodiverse, rural, and other underserved communities. Furthermore, SciAct project teams share lessons-learned and best practices across the SciAct community to facilitate ongoing learning and growth for the entire SciAct community, ensuring the implementation of ever-more effective approaches for reaching all learners.

Since SciAct began in January 2016, its network has grown in strength and capacity. When reach data were collected for the first time in 2019, SciAct reported 15 million learner interactions. Four years later, in 2023, SciAct reported nearly 76 million learner interactions, a 506% increase. With many SciAct resources freely available online, 10 million of those interactions occurred across 170 other countries. In April 2024 alone, as part of a larger NASA-led eclipse mobilization, SciAct reported more than 62 million learner interactions, intentionally bringing the excitement of that celestial event to people in all 50 states, as well as Puerto Rico, Mexico, and Canada, to include learners far beyond the path of totality.

The SciAct model is built on a foundation of NASA science. NASA Earth and space science research content areas, missions, scientists and other technical experts, and data are the building blocks of all SciAct learning resources and activities. Nearly 1,000 subject matter experts support the SciAct program to ensure science content is accurate, up-to-date, and – working with education/learning experts – accessible to diverse learner communities. Through these interactions, SciAct also influences scientists, showing them effective ways to contribute towards learning goals and reach new audiences. An increasing number of activities are specifically focused on giving scientists – especially early career scientists – the skills and knowledge to connect with learners outside the research community.

SciAct began as an experiment for conducting NASA Science education and outreach in a new, more coordinated way. Eight years later, that experiment has given rise to a powerful and effective approach for sharing the wonder of NASA science, content, and experts with the world. It is an honor for the NASA Science Activation program to be recognized by AGU, the world’s largest Earth and space science association, for its role in advancing science, transforming our understanding of the world, impacting our everyday lives, improving our communities, and contributing to solutions for a sustainable future.

MIL OSI USA News –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI USA: Hope and Help in a Times of Need

Source: US GOIAM Union

IAM member Sean Marcil is open about his past struggles with mental illness and substance abuse. But Marcil has used his private pain to help others by obtaining a degree in mental health, helping IAM members in Connecticut, and now, accepting a position with the Grand Lodge as the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) Assistant Coordinator. If you, or a family member, would like to know more about resources that deal with mental health or substance abuse, please view the IAM’s EAP website at: https://iam4.me/eap.

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MIL OSI USA News –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI USA: Dissenting Statement of Commissioner Caroline D. Pham on Off-Channel Communications Enforcement Action

Source: US Commodity Futures Trading Commission

/PressRoom/SpeechesTestimony/phamstatement092324

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September 23, 2024

Washington, DC – Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Commissioner Caroline D. Pham today released the following statement on the CFTC’s settlement order regarding Piper Sandler Hedging Services LLC:

“Once again, the CFTC has no evidence that a violation of CFTC recordkeeping rules for introducing brokers (IBs) actually occurred.

MIL OSI USA News –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI Canada: Additional Support to Estevan and Coronach Regions for Coal Transition

Source: Government of Canada regional news

Released on September 23, 2024

The Government of Saskatchewan is investing $10 million to build new economic opportunities and support coal transition efforts in the Estevan and Coronach regions.

“This investment by the Government of Saskatchewan will develop a strong business environment in the communities that are most impacted by the federal government’s decision to force the closure of coal power facilities by 2030,” Crown Investments Corporation Minister Dustin Duncan said. “The funding will directly contribute to economic development and investment attraction, bringing new projects and ideas to grow local economies and keep these communities strong and vibrant.”

As Saskatchewan continues its own plan to build out grid capacity to support a growing province, retaining and developing our skilled workforce and technical expertise through business opportunities in Estevan, Coronach and area is critical to facilitate the unprecedented energy transition.

The newly announced funding is in addition to the $10 million invested by the provincial government in 2020 to support coal transition in the area. The new investment will be equally distributed to the two community regions: 5 million to the Coronach region and $5 million to the Estevan region.

“Today’s investment shows our government’s commitment to coal reliant communities by building their capacity to rise to the significant economic challenges imposed by the federal government’s decision to close coal power plants by 2030,” Agriculture Minister and MLA for Wood River David Marit said. “I am pleased to see the economic growth that has been created in the Coronach region through the 2020 investment provided by the Government of Saskatchewan, and this additional investment will further boost the positive economic trajectory of Southern Saskatchewan.”

“With the challenges imposed by the federal government’s decision to force the shutdown of Saskatchewan’s coal fired power plants, retaining and reskilling the workforce in this sector through business opportunities in this region is crucial,” Highways Minister and MLA for Estevan Lori Carr said. “Power generation has always been an important part of Estevan’s economy, and with the recent SaskPower announcement that identified two high-potential Small Modular Reactor sites in the Estevan area, our community has many new opportunities to look forward to.”

Government will provide $5 million to South Saskatchewan Ready, an economic partnership of nine rural communities and RMs in the Coronach region, and $5 million to the Municipal Coal Transition Committee, comprised of representatives from the City of Estevan, RM of Estevan, RM of Coalfields, and the Town of Bienfait. Both organizations will administer the new funding in partnership with local municipalities.

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MIL OSI Canada News –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI USA: Dissenting Statement of Commissioner Summer K. Mersinger Regarding Settlement With Piper Sandler Hedging Services, LLC

Source: US Commodity Futures Trading Commission

I respectfully dissent from the Commission’s[1] enforcement action settling charges against Piper Sandler Hedging Services, LLC (“Piper Sandler” or “Respondent”).

Despite the Commodity Futures Trading Commission imposing more than $1.1 billion in offline communication-related civil monetary penalties across more than 20 recent actions[2], I fear this particular case sends the message that everything is a business record, even if such a conclusion has no foundation in the Commodity Exchange Act (“CEA”) or CFTC regulations.

Enforcement is one of many tools available in our regulatory toolbox to promote a culture of compliance with our regulated entities. Our policy divisions can conduct targeted examinations, issue guidance, and work with our self-regulatory organizations on their compliance efforts. Our enforcement authorities should not be our default tool and should only be wielded after ensuring our expectations for compliance with our regulations are clearly communicated to impacted entities. Only after the Commission fulfills that fundamental responsibility should we use our enforcement function to pursue those who either have no interest in complying or who have failed in their attempts to comply.

As I have said before, regulation through enforcement is the antithesis of regulatory clarity and transparency.[3] Unfortunately, without providing additional clarity into how our Division of Enforcement is approaching recordkeeping requirements, including those in Regulation 1.35 which are implicated in today’s settlement, regulated entities and their associated persons are left to determine what constitutes a violation under the looming threat of a visit from our enforcement attorneys.

Transaction-Related Records Should Be Preserved

I do not dispute that business related records identified under the CEA and CFTC regulations must be preserved to facilitate an effective regulatory and enforcement program, and I have approved other offline communication cases when the surrounding circumstances warrant such support. However, the mere existence of business-related communications occurring through unofficial channels is not necessarily a violation. The threshold inquiry is whether an entity failed to preserve a record they were required to preserve.

Conclusory statements in settlement orders that business related communications occurred via unofficial channels offer no explanation on how a particular respondent violated the CEA or CFTC regulations. More importantly, these statements fail to offer any guidance to other similarly situated entities on compliance with these requirements to avoid becoming the next respondent in a CFTC enforcement matter.

Recordkeeping Requirements Are Not One Size Fits All

The CEA and CFTC regulations do not require every record of every business activity to be preserved. Instead, Congress developed a recordkeeping framework which varies based on the category of the entity.[4] Under this umbrella, the Commission and its staff have developed recordkeeping requirements tailored to respective market participants.

For example, Section 4g(a) of the CEA requires introducing brokers (IBs), to “keep books and records pertaining to such transactions and positions … as may be required by the Commission.”[5] Compare that to Section 4n of the CEA, which requires registered commodity pool operators and commodity trading advisors to “maintain books and records and file such reports in such form and manner as may be prescribed by the Commission.” It is significant that Section 4g of the CEA, the section at issue in today’s enforcement action, is limited to records pertaining to transactions and positions, whereas Section 4n of the CEA lacks such limitation.[6]

Regulation 1.35 – Tailored Transactional Records

The Commission has consistently respected these statutory distinctions when adopting numerous modifications to Regulation 1.35, its principal recordkeeping rule for intermediaries, including IBs.

Regulation 1.35 imposes categorical recordkeeping requirements on futures commission merchants, retail foreign exchange dealers, IBs and designated contract market and swap execution facility members.[7] In fact, the basic provisions of Regulation 1.35 have remained in place since as early as 1938.[8] Importantly, Regulation 1.35 requires preservation of records related to transactions and has never, or at least for the past 86 years, contained a general mandate to preserve all records.[9]

Regardless of intermediary, Regulation 1.35 identifies two major types of records required to be maintained: (1) transaction records (consisting of both “commodity interest and related records” and “original source documents”); and, (2) pre-trade communications (both “oral” and “written”).[10] All of the key record types defined in Regulation 1.35 are framed around the statutory construction discussed above and therefore, must be related to transactions—in a commodity interest and any related cash or forward transactions.[11] Furthermore, Regulation 1.35(a) requires the records, except for pre-trade communications, to be “kept in a form and manner that allows for the identification of a particular transaction.”[12] When the Commission first added the “particular transaction” provision to the regulation, it stated the purpose of the rule would be satisfied “when a market participant can identify those records that pertain to a particular transaction,”[13] versus requiring that all records on all transactions be maintained in a specific manner.

The rule has been expanded several times as both new registrants have been added to the Commission’s jurisdiction and as technological changes have necessitated revised requirements.[14] In each case, the Commission has carefully balanced the application of these requirements, not only on different market participants and intermediaries, but also by size and type within certain categories. These revisions were done to acknowledge that for certain intermediaries, particularly IBs, the burden and costs associated with complying with Commission’s recordkeeping requirements may be significant without substantial benefit.[15]

Most importantly in this regard, small IBs – those earning less than $5 million in aggregate gross revenue over a three-year period – have been specifically carved out of certain recordkeeping requirements in Regulation 1.35. Again, this was done citing the Commission’s concerns “regarding costs and the availability of relevant technology,” and further noting such a balancing would, “achieve the Commission’s objectives and the benefits of promoting market integrity and protecting customers albeit at lower cost.”[16] Like many rules in Part 1 of the CFTC’s regulations, Regulation 1.35’s requirements vary by entity size and type, reflect the Commission’s long history of carefully weighing the cost and benefits of recordkeeping requirements, and strategically balance these policy considerations.

Any action by the Commission should respect these important considerations made when adopting our rules around recordkeeping requirements. Recognizing that our rules must evolve as technology and businesses evolve, the Commission’s approach to this evolution should be clear and should only occur in a public and transparent manner. Using enforcement to influence that change is the opposite of clarity and transparency.

The Pitfalls of Interpreting Settlements

Despite statutory and regulatory intricacies, of the more than 20 recent settlements related to violations of both Section 4g of the CEA and Regulation 1.35, most of these settlement orders[17] include essentially the same boilerplate language in the legal discussion section of the order.

The sole application of law to facts in the legal discussion section of these orders is or closely mirrors the following, “[a]s a result of the widespread use of unapproved methods of communication by [firm or their] employees, which communications were not preserved and maintained, [respondent[s]] failed to keep full, complete, and systematic records of all transactions relating to its business of dealing in commodity interests, in violation of Section 4g of the Act and Regulation 1.35.”[18]

Unfortunately, neither the fact nor the summary sections of these orders facilitate a greater understanding of the regulation, the alleged violation, or how the regulation has been applied in the settlement. Furthermore, these orders refer to “business-related communications”, “messages related to [ the respondent’s] business as a Commission registrant”, “unapproved communication methods … to engage in firm business”, and “conducted firm business via unapproved methods.” These generic references, such as “business” and “firm”, fail to describe the substance of the communications at issue or to explain the kind of record that serves as the basis for the alleged violation. Without more information and context, others subject to the same regulations have limited ability to understand potential compliance risks and costs when deciding whether to remain in or to exit a line of business subject to CFTC regulation.

No doubt, the inability to accurately gauge compliance risks and the costs of records management systems could lead to further consolidation in the industry, a trend we are already witnessing.

A Clearer Path Forward

Without additional context or further clarification by the Commission, entities subject to Section 4g of the CEA and Regulation 1.35 are left with little insight into how the Division of Enforcement construes violations when settling these matters.

Unfortunately, I cannot support further settlements with IBs concerning offline communications violations until such time as the Commission as a whole, not just the Division of Enforcement, uses the actual words of the statute and the implementing regulation to clarify how an IB can properly comply with recordkeeping requirements.

For these reasons, I respectfully dissent.

[1] This statement will refer to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission as the “Commission”, “CFTC”, or “Agency.” All web pages cited herein were last visited on September 11, 2024.

[4] See e.g., 7 U.S.C. §§ 6(a), 6g(a), 6i, 6n(3)(A), 6r(c), 6s, 6t, 7b-3(f)(10).

[5] 7 U.S.C. § 6g(a) (emphasis added).

[6] Had Congress intended to impose on introducing brokers broader recordkeeping requirements as it did in Section 4n of the CEA, it could have amended Section 4g to match the preexisting language of Section 4n. Compare, 7 U.S.C. § 6g with 7 U.S.C. § 6n. Congress had such opportunity but declined to do so when both sections of the CEA were last modified by the Futures Trading Act of 1982, which broadened Section 4g’s recordkeeping requirements to include introducing brokers (IBs). Pub. L. 97–444, title II, §209, Jan. 11, 1983, 96 Stat. 2302.

[7] 17 C.F.R. § 1.35.

[8] GENERAL REGULATIONS UNDER THE COMMODITY EXCHANGE ACT, 17 CFR, 1938 ed. [901, 913].

[10] 17 C.F.R. § 1.35(a)(1)(i), (ii) and (iii) (emphasis added).

[11] 17 C.F.R. § 1.35(a)(1)(i) and (iii).

[12] 17 C.F.R. § 1.35(a)(5).

[13] Records of Commodity Interest and Related Cash or Forward Transactions, 80 FR 80247, 80249 (Dec. 24, 2015). When the Commission modified Regulation 1.35(a)(5) to eliminate the form and manner provision, it slightly modified the particular transaction provision; however, the operative language described in the quote above was unaffected.

[14] This includes the addition of IBs in 1982. Supra n.6. As well as the more recent addition of members of swap execution facilities in the 2012 amendments. See Adaption of Regulation to incorporate Swap, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 76 FR 33066, 33072 (June 7, 2011).

[15] Adaptation of Regulations to Incorporate Swaps—Records of Transactions, Final Rule,77 FR 75523, 75528 (Dec. 21, 2012).

[16] Id.

[17] In re JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., CFTC No. 22-07, 2021 WL 6098347 (Dec. 17, 2021) (consent order) ($75 million CMP); In re Bank of Am., N.A., CFTC No. 22-38, 2022 WL 4733591 (Sept. 27, 2022) (consent order) ($100 million CMP); In re Barclays Bank PLC, CFTC No. 22-39, 2022 WL 4733593 (Sept. 27, 2022) (consent order) ($75 million CMP); In re Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, CFTC No. 22-40, 2022 WL 4733598 (Sept. 27, 2022) (consent order) ($75 million CMP); In re Nomura Glob. Fin. Prods. Inc., CFTC No. 22-41, 2022 WL 4733602 (Sept. 27, 2022) (consent order) ($50 million CMP); In re UBS AG, CFTC No. 22-42, 2022 WL 4733603 (Sept. 27, 2022) (consent order) ($75 million CMP); In re Jefferies Fin. Servs., Inc., CFTC No. 22-43, 2022 WL 4733600 (Sept. 27, 2022) (consent order) ($30 million CMP); In re Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, CFTC No. 22-44, 2022 WL 4733603 (Sept. 27, 2022) (consent order) ($75 million CMP); In re Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., CFTC No. 22-45, 2022 WL 4733597 (Sept. 27, 2022) (consent order) ($6 million CMP); In re Citibank, N.A., CFTC No. 22-46, 2022 WL 4733594 (consent order) (Sept. 27, 2022) ($75 million CMP); In re Credit Suisse Int’l, CFTC No. 22-47, 2022 WL 4733595 (Sept. 27, 2022) (consent order) ($75 million CMP); In re Deutsche Bank AG, CFTC No. 22-48, 2022 WL 4733596 (Sept. 27, 2022) (consent order) ($75 million CMP); In re Bank of Nova Scotia, CFTC No. 23-25, 2023 WL 3455084 (May 11, 2023) (consent order) ($15 million CMP); In re HSBC Bank USA, N.A., CFTC No. 23-27, 2023 WL 3496489 (May 12, 2023) (consent order) ($30 million CMP); In re Wedbush Secs. Inc., CFTC No. 23-37, 2023 WL 5089708 (Aug. 8, 2023) (consent order) ($6 million CMP); In re Wells Fargo Bank NA, CFTC No. 23-36, 2023 WL 5089709 (Aug. 8, 2023) (consent order) ($75 million CMP); In re Société Générale, CFTC No. 23-35, 2023 WL 5089710 (Aug. 8, 2023) (consent order) ($75 million CMP); In re BNP Paribas S.A., CFTC No. 23-33, 2023 WL 5089707 (Aug. 8, 2023) (consent order) ($75 million CMP); In re Interactive Brokers Corp., CFTC No. 23-56, 2023 WL 6442571 (Sept. 29, 2023) (consent order) ($20 million CMP); In re Oppenheimer & Co. Inc., CFTC No. 24-04, 2024 WL 1236474 (Mar. 19, 2024) (consent order) ($1 million CMP); In re Cowen & Co., CFTC No. 24-11, 2024 WL 3844670 (Aug. 13, 2024) (consent order) ($3 million CMP).

[18] Id. Both CFTC No. 24-04 and CFTC No. 24-11 omit the word widespread in front of the word use. However, the orders otherwise follow the quotation above.

MIL OSI USA News –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI USA: Statewide Action Following Confirmed Case of EEE
Source: US State of New York

Governor Kathy Hochul today announced statewide actions to protect public health following reports that the first human case of eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) in New York since 2015 has died. The case, which was confirmed in Ulster County on September 20 by the State Health Department’s Wadsworth Center, is being investigated by the Ulster County Department of Health.

State Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald issued a Declaration of an Imminent Threat to Public Health for EEE. The Declaration unlocks State resources to help support EEE prevention response and activities by local health departments – including ongoing mosquito spraying efforts – from September 30 to November 30, 2024.

Immediately after the case of EEE was confirmed the Governor activated multiple State agencies – including the Department of Health, Department of Environmental Conservation, and Parks Department – in a robust, coordinated response to expand access to insect repellent at State parks and campgrounds, increase public outreach and urge New Yorkers to follow recommendations to reduce risk of mosquito-borne illness.

“Keeping New Yorkers safe is my top priority,” Governor Hochul said. “Following the first confirmed human case of EEE, my administration took statewide action to help protect communities – and with today’s declaration we’re making more State resources available to local departments to support their public health response. We’ve been informed this patient has passed away from EEE, we extend our sympathies and our hearts go out to their family.”

The State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation is making mosquito repellent available to park visitors at park offices, visitor centers and campground offices. State Parks is placing signage at Parks and Historic Sites to raise awareness of EEE and consulted with local health departments in affected areas about limiting park hours and camping availability during hours of peak mosquito activity.

Additionally, DEC is posting signage at DEC facilities, campgrounds, popular Hudson Valley trailheads, environmental education centers, and other State lands to raise awareness about EEE. DEC and State Parks are also alerting patrons with campground reservations about preventative measure they can take to avoid mosquito bites. DOH, DEC and State Parks are also launching a social media campaign to raise awareness of EEE and other mosquito-transferred pathogens and steps to avoid mosquito bites, including using repellent, covering exposed areas of skin, and avoiding outdoor activity at dawn and dusk.

State Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald said, “Eastern equine encephalitis is different this year. While we normally see these mosquitoes in two to three counties each year, this year they have been in 15 counties so far, and scattered all over New York State. This life-threatening mosquito-borne disease has no commercially available human vaccine and must be taken seriously. Mosquitoes, once a nuisance, are now a threat. I urge all New Yorkers to prevent mosquito bites by using insect repellents, wearing long-sleeved clothing and removing free-standing water near their homes. Fall is officially here, but mosquitoes will be around until we see multiple nights of below freezing temperatures.”

State Parks Commissioner Pro Tempore Randy Simons said, “We encourage park visitors and outdoor enthusiasts to become familiar with the risks of EEE and to take precautions to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes. We will continue to coordinate with the state Department of Health and local public health agencies on any additional recommended steps to address this issue.”

State Department of Environmental Conservation Interim Commissioner Sean Mahar said, “Eastern equine encephalitis is a serious concern, especially for those spending time outdoors enjoying the fall weather. DEC will continue to closely coordinate with our State and local partners to help ensure New Yorkers are aware of the risks and the precautions they can take to prevent mosquito-borne illnesses.”

The recent human case in New York State was identified by the Wadsworth Center. Other states, including Massachusetts, Vermont, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Wisconsin and New Hampshire, have also reported human EEE cases this year. Eighteen cases of EEE have been in identified in horses across 12 counties in New York State this year.

Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) is a rare but severe viral disease spread by infected mosquitoes that can affect people and horses. People of all ages are susceptible to infection, but people over 50 and younger than 15 are at a high risk of acquiring the virus.

While most people bitten by an infected mosquito will not develop symptoms, severe cases may begin with the sudden onset of headache, high fever, chills and vomiting. The illness may then progress into disorientation, seizures, encephalitis and coma. Approximately a third of patients who develop EEE die, while many patients who survive EEE experience neurologic impairment.

There is no commercially available human vaccine for EEE and the best protection is to prevent mosquito bites.

The following precautions are recommended to reduce the risk of infection from EEE and other mosquito-borne illnesses:
- Consider wearing long sleeves and tucking pants into socks and shirts into pants when outdoors at dusk or dawn, the time of day when mosquitoes are most active.
- Use insect repellents containing DEET. Be sure to follow the insect repellent label directions. Children should not handle repellents directly. Instead, adults should apply repellents to their hands first and then gently spread them on the child’s exposed skin. Avoid applying directly to children’s hands. After returning indoors, wash your child’s treated skin and clothing with soap and water or bathe the child.
- Make sure there are screens in the windows and doors of the home. Make sure the screens are free of rips, tears and holes.
- Eliminate all standing water in yards and around the home and property where mosquitoes can breed, including plastic containers, pool covers, wading pools, ceramic pots, clogged drainpipes and wheelbarrows. Also, change water in bird baths twice a week.
For more information about EEE, go to DOH’s website.

MIL OSI USA News –
September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI USA: Governor issues executive order expanding and investing in climate-ready and infrastructure workforce for New Mexico
Source: US State of New Mexico

SANTA FE – Today, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced an Executive Order to expedite New Mexico’s transition to a clean energy economy and address the critical need for infrastructure development across the state.

The Executive Order reflects pressing needs of New Mexico communities such as Ruidoso and the Mescalero Apache Nation, which suffered extensive fire and flooding damage which the governor discussed with residents during town halls last week.

Gov. Lujan Grisham’s Executive Order will enable the state to leverage billions of federal and state dollars to ensure that New Mexico’s workforce is prepared for the work of modernizing transportation, telecommunications, water, and energy systems. The Executive Order also dovetails with Lujan Grisham’s role as co-chair of the U.S. Climate Alliance and her leadership of the organization’s upcoming Climate-Ready Workforce Initiative.

“Communities that have been devastated by natural disasters are wisely demanding that we sustainably manage the forests, build bridges that withstand flooding, and harden our telecommunications infrastructure against the threat of fire,” said Gov. Lujan Grisham. “In short, they are demanding climate-ready infrastructure.”

Lujan Grisham said record investments in public infrastructure and the clean energy transition have spiked demand for labor, necessitating a coordinated approach to training workers from all backgrounds to fill these high-quality jobs.

“New Mexico is ready to get to work on implementation of the U.S. Climate Alliance Climate-Ready Workforce Initiative, and this Executive Order provides the blueprint for doing so,” the governor said.

So far, New Mexico is investing nearly $2.5 billion through the American Rescue Plan, $5.3 billion from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and over $217 million from the Inflation Reduction Act. These historic investments, combined with $2.5 billion allocated by the state in the 2024 legislative session, will help the state strengthen infrastructure and climate resilience.

Federal initiatives, including the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Inflation Reduction Act, and CHIPS and Science Act, are expected to create nearly 3 million jobs nationwide, with approximately 70% of these jobs accessible to workers without a college degree. In addition, the state’s new Office of Housing is tackling the statewide housing shortage of 40,000 units, while working across sectors to ensure we meet the range of public infrastructure needs associated with new housing.

The increasing risks of heat, fire, floods, and other severe weather also demand investments in infrastructure that is designed, built and maintained to withstand climate impacts and meet the needs of communities for decades to come. For example, the Ruidoso wastewater treatment plant is investing in solar power to provide more resilient services when disaster occurs.

As New Mexico embarks on large-scale infrastructure projects such as roads, bridges, dams, water systems, broadband, and affordable housing, the collaborative work outlined in the Executive Order will help mitigate rising construction costs and address workforce shortages in many high-demand sectors.

“Achieving the ambitious goals that Gov. Lujan Grisham has set out in this Executive Order will require participating agencies to establish innovative new partnerships with industry, trade unions, apprenticeship programs, educational institutions and other partners,” said Department of Workforce Solutions Cabinet Secretary Sarita Nair. “Recent natural disasters in New Mexico demonstrate the need to build an energy sector that can help prevent and mitigate the impacts of climate change. Together, we can overcome gaps in New Mexico’s workforce and fulfill the promise of federal and state climate-ready infrastructure investments.

The Executive Order sets the framework for a strategic and unified approach to enhance infrastructure and clean energy workforce training, including:
- Collaborative Effort Across 11 State Agencies and Offices: Key state agencies—including the Departments of Workforce Solutions, Transportation, Environment, Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources, Public Education, and Higher Education—will coordinate efforts to plan, develop, and track infrastructure and climate-ready workforce training.
- Equity and Inclusion: Workforce policies and programs will prioritize equity and expand opportunities for workers from rural, underrepresented, and underserved communities.
- Infrastructure and Climate-Ready Workforce Goals: New Mexico will train 2,000 workers in climate-ready professions by 2026.
- Support for Workers and Communities: Innovative strategies, including wraparound services such as childcare and transportation, will help ensure that workers can successfully enter and advance in clean energy careers. The order also calls for strong collaboration with Tribes, pueblos, nations, and other local communities.
In coordination with federal, state, and private entities, the state has already embarked on the following climate-ready and infrastructure workforce development initiatives:
- Industry Credential Pipeline Program: Led by the New Mexico Department of Transportation in coordination with the Department of Workforce Solutions, this program addresses worker shortages in the transportation sector through targeted credentialing.
- Workforce Training & Apprenticeship Fund: A $30 million state investment to support registered apprenticeship programs in key sectors, ensuring pathways to high-paying jobs.
- Higher Education Programs: The New Mexico Higher Education Department has secured $20 million per year for the next three years to fund students pursuing non-credit certifications and industry-recognized credentials, with additional funding for expanding Integrated Education & Training programs.
- Residential and Commercial Electrification and Energy Efficiency: The Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department is managing over $2 million across three grant programs to train workers on the newest building codes, train and certify contractors for residential energy projects, and train workers to conduct energy audits of commercial and residential buildings.
- Technical Assistance: The Department of Workforce Solutions recently received a $1.5 million technical assistance grant from the Families and Workers Fund to develop plans and convene key partners to expand the state’s qualified infrastructure and clean energy workforce capacity.
The Executive Order connects to several Lujan Grisham administration initiatives that direct climate readiness into all aspects of infrastructure development. For example, the 2024-2027 Statewide Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act Plan identified infrastructure, climate resilience, and clean energy as priority sectors for the state.

The order also directs state agencies to appoint a liaison to work with the Department of Workforce Solutions to track progress and ensure alignment with the state’s broader workforce, infrastructure, and climate goals. Additionally, the order encourages collaboration across sectors to foster climate-ready skills and credentials that support economic mobility.

The Department of Workforce Solutions will publish an annual Infrastructure and Climate-Ready Workforce Report starting in 2025, providing comprehensive data on workforce outcomes, investments, and areas for improvement.

The Governor’s Executive Order is available here.

MIL OSI USA News –
September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI USA: Misclassification of Drugs, Program Administration and Program Integrity Updates Under the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program Final Rule

Source: US Department of Health and Human Services

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS’) final rule advances policies to promote the efficient operation of the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program (MDRP). This includes policies to implement new statutory authorities included in the Medicaid Services Investment and Accountability Act of 2019 (MSIAA) to address situations in which manufacturers incorrectly report or misclassify their drugs in the MDRP. The final rule also enhances MDRP integrity and strengthens policies that will ensure greater consistency and accuracy of drug information reporting, timely data collection, and efficient operation of the MDRP.

Identifying and Correcting Misclassified Drug Information and Addressing Late Reporting

MIL OSI USA News –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI USA: FEMA Offers Free Rebuilding Tips in Lake City

Source: US Federal Emergency Management Agency

Headline: FEMA Offers Free Rebuilding Tips in Lake City

FEMA Offers Free Rebuilding Tips in Lake City

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Repairing or rebuilding your home after Hurricane Debby? FEMA specialists offer tips on rebuilding safer and stronger.

Location:
The Home Depot
215 SW Home Depot Drive
Lake City, FL 32025

Hours:
Monday, Sept. 23: 7:30 a.m.-5 p.m.
Tuesday, Sept. 24: 7:30 a.m.-5 p.m.
Wednesday, Sept. 25: 7:30 a.m.-4 p.m.
Thursday, Sept. 26: 7:30 a.m.-5 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 27: 7:30 a.m.-5 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 28: 7:30 a.m.-1 p.m.

Specialists also are available on the Mitigation Helpline, 833-336-2487 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday. You may leave a voicemail at any time, or you may email FEMA-R4-HMHELP@FEMA.DHS.GOV.

For the latest information about Florida’s recovery, visit fema.gov/disaster/4806. Follow FEMA on X at x.com/femaregion4 or on Facebook at facebook.com/fema.

kirsten.chambers
Mon, 09/23/2024 – 18:39

MIL OSI USA News –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI USA: Mobile Disaster Recovery Center Open in Baker County

Source: US Federal Emergency Management Agency

Headline: Mobile Disaster Recovery Center Open in Baker County

Mobile Disaster Recovery Center Open in Baker County

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — FEMA has opened Mobile Disaster Recovery Center in Baker County to provide one-on-one help to Floridians affected by Hurricane Debby.

Center location:

Baker County
Baker County Fairgrounds
5567 Lauramore Road
Macclenny, FL 32063
Open 10 a.m.–8 p.m. Monday-Thursday

When this center moves to a new location, details will be provided to the public.

To find other center locations for Hurricane Debby go to fema.gov/drc or text “DRC” and a Zip Code to 43362. All centers are accessible to people with disabilities or access and functional needs and are equipped with assistive technology.

Homeowners and renters in Alachua, Baker, Citrus, Columbia, Dixie, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Hillsborough, Jefferson, Lafayette, Levy, Madison, Manatee, Pinellas, Sarasota, Suwannee and Taylor counties can visit any open center to meet with representatives of FEMA, the State of Florida and the U.S. Small Business Administration. No appointment is needed.

The quickest way to apply for FEMA assistance is to go online to DisasterAssistance.gov. You can also apply using the FEMA App for mobile devices or calling toll-free 800-621-3362. The telephone line is open every day and help is available in most languages. If you use a relay service, such as Video Relay Service (VRS), captioned telephone or other service, give FEMA your number for that service. To view an accessible video on how to apply visit Three Ways to Apply for FEMA Disaster Assistance – YouTube.

For the latest information about Florida’s recovery, visit fema.gov/disaster/4806. Follow FEMA on X at x.com/femaregion4 or on Facebook at facebook.com/fema.

kirsten.chambers
Mon, 09/23/2024 – 18:33

MIL OSI USA News –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI USA: Governor Polis Congratulates Four Colorado Schools on Receiving National Blue Ribbon Award for Achievement
Source: US State of Colorado

DENVER – Today, four Colorado schools were awarded the National Blue Ribbon School Award for stellar academic performance and closing achievement gaps. Recognized as members of the 2024 cohort, these Colorado schools are national examples and emphasize Colorado’s focus on ensuring all students get a high-quality education.

“This is a high honor — Colorado is a leader in providing a high-quality education that helps students succeed and learn the skills needed to thrive. I am thrilled that four Colorado schools have been recognized with this prestigious award for performance and I look forward to celebrating this achievement, sharing the magic of what works, and helping even more Colorado schools excel,” said Governor Polis.

The following Colorado schools were awarded the 2024 National Blue Ribbon Award:
- DSST Cedar High School (Denver)
- Zach Elementary School (Fort Collins)
- Mesa View Elementary School (Grand Junction)
- Skyview Middle School (Pueblo)
Providing Colorado students with a high-quality education remains a priority for Governor Polis. As Chair of the National Governors Association, Governor Polis’s Chairman Initiative “Let’s Get Ready” focuses on ensuring that students learn the skills to succeed.

Earlier this year Governor Polis signed a bipartisan budget that fully funded schools for the first time since 2009. This historic budget invested $141.2 million to eliminate the Budget Stabilization Factor, increased per-classroom funding by $16,000, and increased investment in Colorado’s popular Universal Preschool Initiative by $22.1 million.

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MIL OSI USA News –
September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI USA: In NYC, Gillibrand Touts Lower Costs For 10 Prescription Drugs And Announces Additional Legislation To Cap Prescription Drug Costs At $2k Annually

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator for New York Kirsten Gillibrand

Today, at a press conference in NYC, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand announced historic Medicare savings and lower costs for 10 commonly used prescription drugs. These drugs are some of the most expensive and most frequently prescribed in the Medicare program and are used to treat conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. The new prices will go into effect for people with Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage beginning January 1, 2026. Gillibrand also announced the Capping Prescription Costs Act, which would extend the cap on annual out-of-pocket prescription drug costs to people with private health insurance, with a cap of $2,000 for individuals and $4,000 for families.

“No one should have to risk their health by skipping refills or rationing life-saving medication because they can’t afford the cost of their prescriptions. In 2022, the Biden-Harris administration delivered historic savings by passing the Inflation Reduction Act, which allowed Medicare to negotiate drug prices and capped the price of insulin at $35 a month for seniors. The $6 billion in predicted savings for the Medicare program following these drug price negotiations is proof that the Inflation Reduction Act is working for the American people,” said Senator Gillibrand. “Now, I’m fighting to get prices down on all drugs for all Americans. The Capping Prescription Costs Act imposes caps on out-of-pocket prescription drug costs for people with private insurance: a maximum of $2,000 a year for an individual and $4,000 a year for a family. Democrats are fighting to expand Medicare benefits and reduce prescription drug prices because access to high-quality, affordable health care is a human right, not a privilege.”

“Every New Yorker deserves access to affordable life-saving medications without the fear of financial ruin. Senator Gillibrand’s legislation would be a critical step to ensure no one has to choose between their health and their financial well-being. By capping out-of-pocket drug costs for individuals and families, we can bring real relief to those struggling with chronic conditions. We must recognize that healthcare is a human right,” said New York State Senator Gustavo Rivera.

“The Inflation Reduction Act took vital steps to lower beneficiary and Medicare costs, including by establishing a $2,000 cap on annual out-of-pocket prescription drug spending. As a result, for the first time in Medicare’s history, all Part D enrollees will have certainty about their cost obligations and protection against limitless expenses. The Medicare Rights Center is pleased to support Senator Gillibrand’s Capping Prescription Costs Act, which would create similar safeguards for people with other types of coverage, ensuring they too can plan more and worry less. We applaud Senator Gillibrand and her co-sponsors for championing this legislation and look forward to working together to ensure all Americans can get the care they need, when they need it,” said Fred Riccardi, President, Medicare Rights Center.

“With this policy New York’s elders, who largely live on fixed incomes, will be able to concentrate on their health rather than the anxiety of how they can or cannot afford their prescription drugs. On a larger scale, this policy is timely as New Yorkers 65 years of age and older, as a cohort, are approaching 20 percent of the population. Implementing this policy addresses the infrastructural shift not only in New York State, but in the entire country,” said María Alvarez, Executive Director, New York StateWide Senior Action Council.

“As Chair of the NYC Council Health Committee, I applaud Senator Gillibrand’s leadership in lowering prescription drug costs and her commitment to making life-saving medications more affordable,” said Council Member Lynn Schulman. “This new legislation is a critical step toward ensuring that no New Yorker has to choose between their health and financial stability.”

The Capping Prescription Costs Act builds on transformational drug pricing reforms included in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, which capped the price of insulin at $35 a month and out-of-pocket drug costs at $2,000 a year for Medicare Part D beneficiaries. The bill is cosponsored by Senators Bob Casey (D-PA), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), John Fetterman (D-PA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Peter Welch (D-VT), and Patty Murray (D-WA). Representative Kathy Manning (D-NC) leads companion legislation in the House.

For more information on the Biden-Harris administration agreements for new, lower prices for the first 10 drugs selected for Medicare price negotiations, please click here. Gillibrand was joined in NYC by New York State Senator Gustavo Rivera, President of the Medicare Rights Center Frederic Riccardi, and Executive Director of New York StateWide Senior Action Council María Alvarez.

MIL OSI USA News –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI USA: ICYMI: U.S. Climate Alliance launches Governors’ Climate-Ready Workforce Initiative, aims to train 1 million new registered apprentices by 2035
Source: Washington State News

Gov. Jay Inslee, who co-founded the bipartisan U.S. Climate Alliance in 2017, joined his co-chairs and national climate advisor Ali Zaidi at Climate Week NYC to announce a new workforce initiative. This initiative complements programs already underway in Washington state to help more people train for jobs and careers in clean energy, climate resiliency and restoration.

Full press release below. A livestream of the press event is available at USCA’s Climate Week NYC webpage.

U.S. Climate Alliance launches Governors’ Climate-Ready Workforce Initiative, aims to train 1 million new registered apprentices by 2035

NEW YORK, NY — The U.S. Climate Alliance, a bipartisan coalition of 24 governors representing approximately 60 percent of the U.S. economy and 55 percent of the U.S. population, today launched the Governors’ Climate-Ready Workforce Initiative to grow career pathways in climate and clean energy fields, strengthen workforce diversity, and jointly train 1 million new registered apprentices by 2035 across the Alliance’s states and territories.

Today’s announcement was made at a Climate Week NYC event featuring Alliance co-chairs New York Governor Kathy Hochul and New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, founding member Washington Governor Jay Inslee, and White House National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi.

“In New York, we’re showing how climate action and economic growth go hand-in-hand,” said New York Gov. Kathy Hochul. “As a co-chair of the U.S. Climate Alliance, I’m proud to be collaborating with states, industry leaders, labor unions, higher education and community organizations to create the jobs of the future required to build a clean, equitable, and resilient economy. A skilled and well-prepared workforce will drive innovation, create new businesses, and ensure a sustainable, resilient future for our country.”

“We need a climate-ready workforce — from EV technicians and heat pump installers to solar panel manufacturers — to meet our carbon reduction goals,” said New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. “The Executive Order I’m issuing today in conjunction with the Alliance’s new Workforce Initiative will help ensure that workers from all backgrounds have access to the skills and training needed for high-quality, climate-ready jobs across New Mexico.”

“We’re aligning our ambitious climate policies with workforce development to have 1 million more workers poised to take these good-paying, union jobs that serve our communities and strengthen our economies,” said Washington Gov. Jay Gov. Inslee. “These are economy-wide jobs, not just in clean energy but building trades, land management, clean technology and more. Climate Alliance states have a track record of meeting our ambitious goals and that momentum continues today.”

“Under President Biden and Vice President Harris’s leadership, we are bringing down the barriers to economic opportunity, lowering costs for American families, and catalyzing a renaissance of American-made manufacturing that is creating jobs across America. In fact, just last year, we added over 250,000 new American energy jobs — with clean energy jobs growing twice as fast as the rest of the sector,” said White House National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi. “Governors across America are at the forefront of our efforts to spur growth in union jobs, expand American energy production, and invest in the economic success of our communities. Today’s announcement will help capitalize on our momentum to create a climate-ready workforce that is rebuilding our nation’s infrastructure, communities, and industrial strength.”

The Initiative’s launch comes as historic federal investments, combined with ambitious state climate action, have unleashed a significant expansion of good-paying and union jobs in climate-ready fields — with millions more anticipated in the coming years under the Biden-Harris administration’s Inflation Reduction Act and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. This includes high-quality jobs not only in clean energy and clean technology sectors — such as wind, solar, electric vehicles, energy efficiency, and batteries — but also in fields associated with climate resilience and natural climate solutions.

Under this Initiative, Alliance states and territories will collaborate to collectively support 1 million new workers in completing Registered Apprenticeship programs across the coalition by 2035. These programs, registered with the U.S. Department of Labor or federally approved State Apprenticeship Agencies, provide an especially valuable and proven career pathway, empowering workers to earn while they learn in key climate-ready occupations and industries.

Alliance members will also advance a series of collective goals aimed at strengthening and expanding pathways into a wide variety of climate-ready professions critical to building a clean, equitable, and resilient net-zero future. The Initiative’s goals include boosting job quality and ensuring climate-ready employment pathways lead to good-paying, high-quality jobs; expanding opportunities for workers from underrepresented and underserved communities; and promoting the use of stackable and portable credentials in climate-ready fields to build transferable skills, support reskilling and upskilling, and strengthen workers’ economic mobility. A full list of the Initiative’s goals can be found here.

Finally, to advance sector-specific strategies, Alliance members will work together through new multi-state cohorts focused on in-demand, climate-ready fields. These cohorts will provide a platform for states and territories to increase collaboration, share evidence-based practices, engage experts and stakeholders, and develop sectoral workforce solutions that can be scaled across the country. Cohorts to be launched in the Initiative’s first year will focus on careers in the following areas:
- Clean Energy, Fuels, and Technologies: Led by Michigan and New Jersey, this cohort will focus on careers in the design, construction, and maintenance of a clean, affordable, and resilient power system; the manufacturing and deployment of zero-emission vehicles and technologies; and the development and distribution of alternative, low-carbon fuels.
- Clean Buildings and Industry: Led by Maine and Massachusetts, this cohort will focus on careers in the engineering, design, construction, retrofitting, maintenance, and operation of buildings and industrial processes that are clean, energy-efficient, healthy, and resilient.
- Resilient Communities and Lands: Led by Arizona and Vermont, this cohort will focus on careers in the development and maintenance of safe, livable, and resilient communities; preparedness for and response to climate impacts such as extreme heat, wildfires, severe storms, flooding, and drought; and the deployment of natural climate solutions and climate-smart stewardship of our lands and waters.
The Initiative will be led by Alliance states and territories with support from the Alliance’s Secretariat. In implementing the Initiative, Alliance members will customize efforts to meet their individual needs and challenges, while working together to achieve the collective goals. States and territories will also collaborate directly with their workforce development system partners, labor unions, higher education institutions, industry, and other key partners that bring substantial expertise and experience in this work.

This Initiative builds on a number of federal-state collaborations between the Alliance’s members and the Biden-Harris Administration, including a White House convening with Alliance governors’ offices in May focused on creating good-paying jobs and mobilizing a diverse workforce in climate and clean energy.

Additional information on the Governors’ Climate-Ready Workforce Initiative can be found here.

MIL OSI USA News –
September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI USA: In Rome, Gillibrand Announces Legislation To Address Epidemic Of Traumatic Brain Injuries In Service Members And Veterans
US Senate News:
Source: United States Senator for New York Kirsten Gillibrand

Following a disturbing report showing that service members are sustaining crippling traumatic brain injuries as a result of firing their own weapons, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand visited Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2246 in Rome to announce legislation to address traumatic brain injuries among service members and veterans.

Service members who regularly fire heavy weapons are at increased risk of brain injury as a result of repeated exposure to explosions or blasts from their own weapons and explosives – otherwise known as blast overpressure. These brain injuries can cause depression, anxiety, cognitive problems, hallucinations, panic attacks, violent outbursts, suicidal tendencies, psychiatric disorders, dementia, and a variety of other serious health problems. At least a dozen Navy SEALs who have died by suicide over the past decade were later found to have suffered blast injuries, and many more service members have complained of health issues after blast exposure. Despite this, the Pentagon has struggled to properly investigate the impact of blast overpressure, effectively track the prevalence of blast overpressure-related injuries, or offer appropriate care to service members and veterans. Gillibrand is calling for more research and better treatment for those affected.

Gillibrand was joined by VFW Post 2246 Post Commander Will Ginter; VFW Department of NY Legislative Chair Ann Marie Hogancamp; VFW Department of NY District 4 Commander Matthew VanEtten; and Mayor of Rome Jeff Lanigan.

“After repeatedly being exposed to blasts from their own weapons during both training and combat, our service members are sustaining severe and crippling brain trauma,” said Senator Gillibrand. “This bill will require the DoD to investigate the prevalence and causes of these brain injuries; to track each service member’s exposure to blasts; and to help service members access care. This is a critical bill and I look forward to getting it passed in the NDAA.”

Specifically, the Blast Overpressure Safety Act would:
1. Mandate regular neurocognitive assessments over a service member’s career, including a baseline neurocognitive assessment before training.
2. Create blast overpressure exposure and TBI logs for all service members.
3. Increase transparency regarding blast overpressure safety in the weapons acquisition process. DoD must consider the minimization of blast overpressure during the acquisition process, require contracting entities to provide blast overpressure safety data, and publish blast overpressure safety data for weapons systems and its plans to better protect service members from in-use weapons systems.
4. Improve data on concussive and subconcussive brain injuries service members sustain. This includes information on discharges related to and medical providers trained in these injuries, as well as efforts with allies and partners to better address these injuries.
5. Enhance efforts to mitigate exposure and help service members access care. This includes retaliation protections for those who seek care; modifying existing weapons system to reduce blast exposure; updating and making publicly available blast overpressure thresholds and creating a waiver system for exceeding these thresholds; training high-risk service members to help them recognize exposure symptoms and creating strategies to mitigate their risk; and expanding the types of technologies in the Warfighter Brain Health Initiative pilot blast monitoring program.
6. Support service member treatment by establishing a Special Operations Comprehensive Brain Health and Trauma program, making the National Intrepid Center of Excellence (NICoE) a program of record and requiring DoD to provide child care services to those seeking treatment there, and mandating training for medical and training personnel on blast overpressure and exposure and TBI.
MIL OSI USA News –
September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI USA: Gillibrand Announces 3,000 Illegal Guns Off Our Streets – A Direct Result Of Her Anti-Gun Trafficking Provision In The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act
US Senate News:
Source: United States Senator for New York Kirsten Gillibrand

In Just Over Two Years, Gillibrand’s Statute Has Allowed Law Enforcement To Seize More Than 3K Guns Nationwide And 250 In New York

Today, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand held a video press conference to announce a major new milestone in the seizure of illegal guns under the anti-gun trafficking statute in the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which was shaped by Gillibrand’s Hadiya Pendleton and Nyasia Pryear-Yard Gun Trafficking and Crime Prevention Act. As of this month, the anti-gun trafficking statute has gotten more than 3,000 illegal guns off our streets, including 1,000 confirmed within the last 6 months alone.

The seized weapons included:
- 317 AR-15s and AR-style weapons;
- 478 machine gun conversion devices, which can convert semi-automatic pistols and rifles into fully automatic weapons in under a minute;
- 206 ghost guns, homemade firearms that are completely untraceable – and a favorite of criminals.
The statute has also been used to charge 423 defendants in 33 states, plus D.C. and Puerto Rico, and to secure at least 118 convictions nationwide.

“While we still have a lot of work to do to fight the scourge of gun violence, we’ve made incredible progress prosecuting criminals and getting dangerous and deadly weapons off our streets in the two years my anti-gun trafficking statute has been in effect,” said Senator Gillibrand. “I anticipate many more gun seizures, arrests, and convictions as a result of this statute in the years to come, and I will continue to work with my colleagues across the aisle to pass commonsense gun safety legislation.”

Senator Gillibrand’s Hadiya Pendleton and Nyasia Pryear-Yard Gun Trafficking and Crime Prevention Act formed the centerpiece of BSCA’s anti-gun trafficking provision. Gillibrand first introduced the bill in 2009 after meeting with the family of Nyasia Pryear-Yard, who tragically lost her life at 17 years old when she was shot by a perpetrator using an illegally trafficked gun. Gillibrand worked with Nyasia’s mother, Jennifer Pryear, to pass the bill into law, and they attended the bill signing together in 2022.
MIL OSI USA News –
September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI Europe: Answer to a written question – Cuba’s inclusion in the list of ‘state sponsors of terrorism’ – E-001475/2024(ASW)
Source: European Parliament
The EU considers that the United States (US) embargo and connected measures such as the inclusion of Cuba in the US list of countries sponsoring terrorism (SST) have a negative impact on the Cuban population and are an important factor — even if not the only one — in the serious economic crisis the country is undergoing.

The EU and Member States have consistently supported the United Nations (UN) Declaration against the US embargo on Cuba, which is voted yearly (last time in November 2023)[1].

The US removal of Cuba from its list of countries not fully cooperating on counterterrorism efforts (in May 2024) is a positive step and it is hoped that the US will also be able to complete the process by removing Cuba from the SST list.

On every pertinent occasion, the High Representative/Vice-President (HR/VP) and/or his services pass clear messages to its US interlocutors in line with the UN Declaration, reiterating the need to end the embargo and the importance of removing Cuba from the SST list.

The HR/VP and/or his services also take these opportunities to recall that external trade and foreign investment can play a crucial role in setting the island on a path towards modernisation and reform.

[1] https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/11/1143112
Last updated: 23 September 2024
MIL OSI Europe News –
September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI Economics: Dispute panel established to review certain tax credits under US Inflation Reduction Act

Source: World Trade Organization

DS623: United States — Certain Tax Credits Under the Inflation Reduction Act

China submitted its second request to establish a panel to determine whether certain tax credits under the United States Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) are in line with WTO rules. The United States said it was not in a position to agree to China’s first request in July, justifying its actions as necessary to combat climate change. China stated that the IRA’s subsidies favour US goods over imports, violating WTO rules prohibiting such discrimination.

The United States expressed disappointment over China’s decision to pursue a panel request and reiterated that the IRA is its most significant step toward clean energy, aimed at ensuring secure and sustainable supply chains for a global clean energy future.

The DSB agreed to the establishment of the panel. Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, the European Union, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Korea, Norway, the Russian Federation, Singapore, Switzerland, Thailand, Türkiye, the United Kingdom and Venezuela reserved their third party rights to participate in the panel proceedings.

DS597: United States – Origin Marking Requirement (Hong Kong, China)

For the 12th time, the United States raised the matter of the panel ruling in DS597 at a DSB meeting. The US said it was raising the matter again as a result of recent developments in Hong Kong, China regarding free speech and human rights. The US referred back to its previous statements regarding its position on essential security and its reasons for placing this item on the DSB agenda.

Hong Kong, China criticized the US for once again raising this matter at the DSB. It referred to previous WTO panels that dismissed US claims that invoking national security in defense of a trade-restrictive measure is entirely self-judging. Any objections should be heard by the WTO’s Appellate Body, which remains blocked due to the US refusal to allow appointment of new Appellate Body members, said Hong Kong, China.

China reiterated its firm belief that a restored appeal mechanism is the proper place to address claims of panel error made by the US and rejected in the strongest terms what it said was US interference in the internal affairs of another WTO member.

Appellate Body appointments

Speaking on behalf of 130 members, Colombia introduced for the 79th time the group’s proposal to start the selection processes for filling vacancies on the Appellate Body. The extensive number of members submitting the proposal reflects a common interest in the functioning of the Appellate Body and, more generally, in the functioning of the WTO’s dispute settlement system, Colombia said.

The United States repeated that it does not support the proposed decision to commence the appointment of Appellate Body members as its longstanding concerns with WTO dispute settlement remain unaddressed.

Twenty members then took the floor to comment. Many of these members referred to their previous statements made on this matter at earlier DSB meetings and underlined the urgent need to meet the mandates set out at the 12th and 13th Ministerial Conferences in 2022 and early 2024 respectively to conduct discussions with the view to having a fully and well-functioning dispute settlement system accessible to all members by 2024.

Several members welcomed the progress being made in the formal dispute settlement reform process now underway and the need to accelerate discussions to achieve the 2024 goal.

Colombia, speaking on behalf of the 130 members, said it regretted that for the 79th occasion members have not been able to launch the selection processes. Ongoing conversations about reform of the dispute settlement system should not prevent the Appellate Body from continuing to operate fully, and members shall comply with their obligation under the DSU to fill the vacancies as they arise, Colombia said for the group.

The DSB chair, Ambassador Saqer Abdullah Almoqbel (Saudi Arabia), concluded by expressing his full support for the facilitator in the dispute settlement reform discussions, Ambassador Usha Dwarka-Canabady of Mauritius, in her efforts towards achieving a positive outcome within the mandated time frame.

Other business

Surveillance of implementation

The United States presented status reports with regard to DS184, “US — Anti-Dumping Measures on Certain Hot-Rolled Steel Products from Japan”, DS160, “United States — Section 110(5) of US Copyright Act”, DS464, “United States — Anti-Dumping and Countervailing Measures on Large Residential Washers from Korea”, and DS471, “United States — Certain Methodologies and their Application to Anti-Dumping Proceedings Involving China.”

The European Union presented a status report with regard to DS291, “EC — Measures Affecting the Approval and Marketing of Biotech Products.”

Indonesia presented its status reports in DS477 and DS478, “Indonesia — Importation of Horticultural Products, Animals and Animal Products.”

Next meeting

The next regular DSB meeting will take place on 28 October.

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MIL OSI Economics –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI Translation: Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada announces appointments to the Quebec judiciary

MIL OSI Translation. Canadian French to English –

Source: Government of Canada – in French

September 23, 2024– Ottawa (Ontario) – Department of Justice Canada

The Honourable Arif Virani, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, today announced the following appointments under the judicial application process established in 2016. This process emphasizes transparency, merit and the diversity of the Canadian population, and will continue to ensure the appointment of jurists who meet the highest standards of excellence and integrity.

Mathieu Piché-Messier, partner and national leader in commercial litigation at Borden Ladner Gervais LLP in Montreal, is appointed a judge of the Superior Court of Quebec for the district of Montreal. Justice Piché-Messier replaces Justice PH Bélanger (Montreal), who resigned effective May 24, 2024.

Lysane Cree, an administrative judge at the Tribunal administratif de déontologie policière in Montreal, is appointed a judge of the Superior Court of Quebec for the district of Montreal. Justice Cree replaces Justice M. Lachance (Montreal), who was appointed to the Court of Appeal effective June 17, 2024.

Horia Bundaru, a partner at Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP in Montreal, is appointed a judge of the Superior Court of Quebec for the district of Montreal. Justice Bundaru replaces Justice K. Kear-Jodoin (Montreal), who elected to become a supernumerary judge effective July 16, 2024.

Quote

“I wish Judges Piché-Messier, Cree and Bundaru every success in their new roles. I am confident that they will serve the people of Quebec well as members of the Superior Court of Quebec.”

– The Honourable Arif Virani, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada

Biographies

Judge Mathieu Piché-Messier was born and raised in Montreal. He received his Bachelor of Civil Law from the Faculty of Law of the University of Sherbrooke in 1997. He was admitted to the Quebec Bar in 1998.

Since 2000, Justice Piché-Messier has practiced commercial litigation at Borden Ladner Gervais where, after being named partner in 2006, he held the position of Head of the Commercial Litigation Group in Montreal for seven years and was then appointed National Business Leader – Commercial Litigation. His practice focused on the areas of extraordinary remedies and commercial litigation in the areas of anti-fraud, high technology, industrial espionage, privacy and identity theft, international arbitration, aeronautics, defamation and intellectual property. A litigator, author and speaker, he was inducted as a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers in 2018, a Fellow of Litigation Counsels of America in 2021, and was named Advocatus Emeritus (Ad. E.) of the Barreau du Québec in 2022. He has also been recognized by his peers to appear in the editions of Chambers, The Best Lawyers and Benchmark Litigation as one of the 50 best litigators in Canada.

Justice Piché-Messier has been a member of the boards of the Barreau du Québec, the Barreau de Montréal and the Canadian Bar, Québec Division. He has also been president of the Centre d’accès à l’Information juridique du Québec (CAIJ) and the Young Bar Association of Montreal. Involved in the Montreal community, he has sat on the boards of Cirque Éloize, Ballets Jazz de Montréal, Enfants-retour and Make-a-Wish.

Judge Piché-Messier and his partner, Me Natacha Lavoie, are the happy parents of Vincent and Victoria.

Justice Lysane Cree is originally from the Kanien’kéhaka (Mohawk) Nation and received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with a minor in Northern Studies from McGill University in 1996, before earning a Bachelor of Civil Law and a Bachelor of Common Law from McGill University in 2000. She was called to the Quebec Bar in 2003, the New York State Bar in 2012 and the Ontario Bar in 2020.

Justice Cree began her practice with Hutchins Legal Inc. and focused on Indigenous law issues and working with First Nations governments in several provinces and occasionally in New York State for sixteen years. While still in private practice, she began working part-time in the area of police ethics with the Police Ethics Committee (now the Tribunal), hearing cases involving Indigenous police services in the province of Quebec. She then worked as a decision-maker with the Discipline Committee of the Chambre de la sécurité financière from 2019 to 2021 before becoming a full-time administrative judge with the Tribunal administratif de déontologie policière. During this time, she was involved with the Council of Canadian Administrative Tribunals, serving as a member of the Tribunal’s Excellence Committee and the Truth and Reconciliation Committee.

Judge Cree is an avid equestrian and enjoys spending time with her horses.

Justice Horia Bundaru immigrated to Canada at the age of eleven with his parents and younger sister. He received a BCL/LL.B. from McGill University’s Faculty of Law in 2005 and was called to the Quebec Bar in 2006.

Justice Bundaru spent his entire career at Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP, where he became a partner in 2016 and where, at the time of his appointment, he was a director of the Litigation Group in Montreal. A well-known litigator, his practice focused on commercial litigation, construction law and energy law. Since 2016, he has taught civil procedure and drafting at the École du Barreau.

Justice Bundaru has chaired the Quebec Branch of the Canadian Bar Association, the Liaison Committee of the Montreal Bar with the Superior Court (Civil Division) and the Salon VISEZ DROIT. At the time of his appointment, he was chair of the Liaison Committee with the Court of Appeal and a member of the Conseil de la magistrature du Québec. He is listed in the Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory, Benchmark Litigation Canada as a “litigation star”, Thomson Reuters Stand-out Lawyers, The Legal 500 Canada and Best Lawyers in Canada. In 2022, he was inducted as a Fellow of the Canadian College of Construction Lawyers.

Judge Bundaru is passionate about literature and is an avid cross-country skier and tennis player. With his partner Maya, also a lawyer, he has two daughters, Ariane and Éloïse.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This article is a translation. Apologies should the grammar and/or sentence structure not be perfect.

MIL Translation OSI

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI USA News: Remarks as Prepared for Delivery by First Lady Jill Biden to the United Nations LGBTI Core Group

Source: The White House

New York City, New York

Thank you, Special Envoy Stern.

Your Excellencies and distinguished guests, it’s an honor to join you, along with THE courageous human rights activists who are speaking here today.

Each year, we come together in New York to “reaffirm the dignity and worth of the human person.” Those words, written in the United Nations Charter, ring in our hearts today.

Our humanity—that simple fact—guarantees us certain rights. It doesn’t matter who you are, where you were born, or who your parents are: being human is enough.

To deserve safety.

To deserve freedom.

To deserve love.

To deserve a future.

That should be true for LGBTQI people.

But it wasn’t enough for a woman whose family sent men to rape her in an effort to “correct” her sexual orientation.

Or for two men who were targeted and shot outside a gay bar.

Not for a young man, right here in New York, stabbed to death at a gas station for voguing.

In 2023, the Human Rights Campaign declared a “state of emergency” for LGBTQI people in America, because states across our country passed an unprecedented number of discriminatory laws.

And in more than 60 countries around the world, LGBTQI people are criminalized for who they are.

But we’re not going to stand for hate, discrimination, and violence in our own country. We won’t stand for it anywhere in the world.

Because, yes, being human is enough.

It’s what we share across time and place, across borders and oceans.

At our core, we are all just people, filled with love and hope, reaching toward a better future.

And, as poets and civil rights leaders have said over the centuries, until all of us are free, no one is.

Right now, it feels like we are caught in the push and pull of progress.

By gathering here today, we are saying loud and clear: you are enough. And this community is never alone. Joe and I are with you.

In just the last few years, we’ve seen more countries legalize same-sex relationships, and recognize marriage equality.

These are big victories—ones that bloom across history.

But our triumphs live in the small moments too—moments that would have been unimaginable just a few decades ago: Walking down the street without fear. Co-workers who use your chosen name and pronouns. Kids with two moms or two dads at the playground. Coming together for LGBTQI rights during the United Nations General Assembly!

That progress, in moments small and large, may almost feel inevitable now.

But it took tens of thousands of people fighting for decades to have their humanity recognized. People who kept shouting, even when they were tired, even when they were censored, even when they were jailed.

Because change never happens on its own.

It takes people—just like the ones in this room—speaking with one voice and declaring what is right. To say, change is coming. Let us lead the way.

That’s the power of this community. To hold each other up, in all of our humanity. To heal one another. To share our inner strength. To create lasting change.

To leave no one behind.

Thank you.

###

MIL OSI USA News –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI Translation: Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada announces appointment to the Federal Court

MIL OSI Translation. Canadian French to English –

Source: Government of Canada – in French

September 23, 2024 – Ottawa (Ontario) – Department of Justice Canada

The Honourable Arif Virani, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, today announced the following appointment under the judicial application process established in 2016. This process emphasizes transparency, merit and the diversity of the Canadian population, and will continue to ensure the appointment of jurists who meet the highest standards of excellence and integrity.

Benoit Duchesne, an associate judge of the Federal Court in Ottawa, is appointed a judge of the Federal Court. Justice Duchesne replaces Justice P. Pamel, who was appointed a judge of the Federal Court of Appeal effective September 20, 2024.

Quote

“I wish Justice Duchesne every success in his new role. I am confident that he will serve the people of Canada well as a member of the Federal Court.”

– The Honourable Arif Virani, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada

Biography

Justice Benoit Duchesne was born in Montreal and raised in Ottawa. He received a Bachelor of Social Sciences (with minors in Economics and Music) in 1993, a Licence in Civil Law and a Bachelor of Laws in 2000, all from the University of Ottawa. He was called to the Quebec Bar in 1998 and to the Ontario Bar in 2001.

Justice Duchesne is fully bilingual. He was appointed a Deputy Justice of the Federal Court in 2022. He has presided over case management conferences, motions, mediations, pre-trial conferences and trial management conferences, as well as trials in proceedings within the jurisdiction of the Court. Prior to his appointment as a Deputy Justice, he was a partner at the law firm of Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP in Ottawa. Justice Duchesne has had an extensive bilingual and bijural practice in the areas of civil, corporate and commercial, administrative and municipal litigation. He has also appeared before all levels of court in Ontario, Quebec, and the federal courts, including the Supreme Court of Canada. His expertise in corporate and commercial litigation has been recognized by the publications Best Lawyers in Canada and Lexpert. He was a part-time professor of civil procedure at the University of Ottawa from 2012 to 2022.

Judge Duchesne is grateful for the love and support of his wife Jennifer and his daughter, Alexandra.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This article is a translation. Apologies should the grammar and/or sentence structure not be perfect.

MIL Translation OSI

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI USA News: Remarks by President Biden and President Mohamed bin Zayed al Nahyan of the United Arab Emirates Before Bilateral Meeting

Source: The White House

Oval Office

12:30 P.M. EDT

PRESIDENT BIDEN: Well, Sheikh Mohamed, welcome back to Washington.

PRESIDENT BIN ZAYED AL NAHYAN: Thank you, sir.

PRESIDENT BIDEN: You’ve been a good friend. Our countries have — our strategic partners have rooted in decades — literally decades of close cooperation and friendship. And I welcome the chance to open a new chapter.

We — UAE is a nation of trailblazers, always looking — always looking to the future, always making big bets. And that’s something our countries have in common and our people have in common.

In fact, it’s a cornerstone of our growing cooperation in AI, in clean energy, in space, and investing in infrastructure to connect regions. And for many years, our forces also stood shoulder to shoulder in the same most difficult places.

Today, we honor that legacy and carry our relationship forward, as UAB — UAE is going to become a major defense partner of the United States, joining only one other country: India.

We also will discuss our efforts to end the war in Gaza and a number of regional issues. I’ve been briefed on the latest developments in Israel and Lebanon. My team is in constant contact with their counterparts, and we’re working to de-escalate in a way that allows people to return to their home safely.

Mr. President, I want you to know that I remain committed to the UAE’s security. And I look forward to our discussion; it’s going to cover a lot of areas.

So, again, welcome.

PRESIDENT BIN ZAYED AL NAHYAN: Thank you, Mr. President.

(As interpreted.) Your Excellency, Mr. President, I am pleased to meet with you once again, and I would like to thank you for the warm reception. And I look forward to continuously discussing our relationship between the two nations.

And I would like to reaffirm that the United Arab Emirates has a firm and unwavering commitment to work with the United States of America for the sake of deepening the strategic partnership between our two nations.

Once again, Your Excellency, Mr. President, I am pleased to meet you, and I would like to extend to you and the American people the best of wishes.

PRESIDENT BIDEN: Thank you.

Thank you, everyone.

12:34 P.M. EDT

MIL OSI USA News –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI USA News: Remarks as Prepared for Delivery by First Lady Jill Biden at an Event to Launch Partnership for a Lead-Free Future

Source: The White House

New York City, New York

Thank you.

It’s great to be with so many world leaders, your Excellencies from Malawi, the Dominican Republic, and Nepal.

Director General of the World Health Organization and President Banga of the World Bank, I’m glad to see you both again. And I appreciate your support of this new coalition.

I’m also grateful to Open Philanthropy, which has been at the forefront of the fight against lead poisoning in children for many years.

To Cathy Russell and Administrator Power: thank you for inviting me to join you today.

Cathy and I have known each other for decades. Beyond the causes we both care so deeply about—from expanding opportunities for women to protecting and lifting up children—I’m grateful for our friendship. You and the team at UNICEF take on some of the world’s toughest challenges and you make a difference in every life you touch. Thank you.

And Samantha Power, Joe’s intrepid Administrator of USAID, I am inspired by all that you do. The only thing greater than your determination to tackle humanitarian challenges around the world is your optimism for creating a healthier, safer, brighter future for people everywhere.

Several years ago, I traveled to Jordan.

There, I met Ms. Maha, a principal of an all-girls’ school.

More and more families were arriving to her community from Syria after fleeing violence. And Ms. Maha’s school was already at capacity.

One day, a mother showed up, desperate to enroll her daughter.

The mother had tried and been turned away at so many other schools.

So, with tears in her eyes, she pleaded with Ms. Maha to find a place for her daughter.

Ms. Maha loves her students. And she said, “I think love is giving as much as you can.”

So she made a promise.

Send your daughter to class with a chair, and she can enroll.

In the days that followed, more and more young girls showed up—carrying any chair they could find—so they could go to school and learn.

As educators, we don’t sit with problems.

We solve them.

I saw this in the classrooms I visited in rural Malawi.

The teachers found inventive ways for their students to learn through songs, rhythm, and repetition.

Even from my own experience, like four years ago, when the pandemic hit and schools in the United States went silent.

Overnight, educators had to learn how to use Zoom and reimagine lesson plans so we could reach our students.

Our world is full of complexities and conflicts.

But for the problems we can solve we can’t hesitate.

In Principal Maha’s words: We must give as much as we can.

Every year, the United Nations General Assembly meets to recognize our shared challenges and to find ways to overcome them.

Right now, around the world, parents give their children toys so they can learn and play.

They prepare meals with everyday cookware to keep their family fed.

All the while, dangerous amounts of lead seep into their lives.

And the consequences are irreversible.

These children will never reach the full potential they were born with because lead poisoning is so pervasive.

But it’s a problem we can solve.

I’m proud that this new partnership is committing more than $150 million, which will jumpstart efforts to end childhood lead exposure in developing countries.

This funding is 10 times more than what’s been spent annually on this problem to date.

And it has a coalition behind it: Partners—from governments to industry to advocates—who will phase out lead from everyday products, enforce safe standards, and create a lead-free future for every child.

Through the Partnership for a Lead-Free Future, UNICEF and USAID believe we can end childhood lead poisoning by 2040.

Education is my life’s work.

And I often think of what leaders might learn from teachers, who know that the future isn’t some far off place.

It’s right before them, in their students who are striving to learn and grow.

Teachers who don’t stop at problems, they push through.

Teachers who love what they do. And love is giving as much as you can.

Children will reach for the promise that resides within them—if we do our part, everything we can, to break down the barriers in their way.

It’s going to take all of us, pulling up chairs and joining this coalition to end lead poisoning.

That future is within our grasp.

Let’s reach for it, together.

###

MIL OSI USA News –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI USA News: U.S.-UAE Joint Leaders’ Statement Dynamic Strategic Partners

Source: The White House

His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates, and President Joseph R. Biden Jr. met today at the White House during an official visit of His Highness President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed to the United States. The visit is the first-ever by a President of the United Arab Emirates to Washington and marks the leaders’ fourth bilateral meeting in the Biden-Harris Administration. The leaders affirmed the enduring U.S.-UAE strategic and defense partnership, bolstered areas of deepening cooperation in advanced technology and investments, and discussed global and regional matters. The leaders pledged to pursue new opportunities to strengthen their economic and defense partnership; promote peace and stability across the Middle East and wider region; and deliver global leadership on issues of shared importance. The five decades of U.S.-UAE ties and friendship are rooted in a strong foundation of close collaboration that has underpinned our countries’ prosperity and security.

The leaders welcomed the significant progress between the United Arab Emirates and the United States during their tenure through cooperation in building trusted technology ecosystems, the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGI), the U.S.-UAE Partnership for Accelerating Clean Energy (PACE) initiative, and the Economic Policy Dialogue (EPD), all of which serve to uplift economic and trade ties between the two countries.

On particular issues of discussion:

Dynamic Strategic Partnership: Trade and Advanced Technology

Our countries’ strong foundation of partnership is reflected in our close alignment on key economic objectives and in the excellence of our private sectors that generate more than $40 billion of bilateral trade annually and an access of $26 billion of U.S. exports to the UAE. The Leaders charted an ambitious course for the United Arab Emirates and the United States to lead global efforts to develop and expand new fields central to the global economy, particularly in advanced technologies and the clean energy required to power Artificial Intelligence.

They welcomed the partnership between Microsoft and UAE’s Group 42 (G42) through Microsoft’s $1.5 billion investment in April 2024. This investment is accelerating joint AI development to bring advanced AI and digital infrastructure to countries in the Middle East, Central Asia, and Africa.

The leaders further welcomed Microsoft and G42’s ongoing digital transformation in Kenya, which will leverage 1GW of geothermal energy to power data-centers to enable the deployment of cloud infrastructure and AI services for the public sector and regulated industries as well as enterprises. Further, the partnership will support the development of local Large Language Models and the establishment of an East African Innovation Lab. Additionally, the partnership hopes to encourage international and local connectivity investments, and collaboration with the government of Kenya to enable digital transformation programs across East Africa.

These initiatives mark the beginning of our partnership and investments in the responsible deployment of advanced technologies, clean energy, and frontier technologies that will be the engine that powers our interconnected world.

To meet the promise of this transformational moment and harness the potential of leading-edge technologies to improve human welfare globally, President Biden and His Highness President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed welcomed the Common Principles for Cooperation on AI, endorsed today by National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and UAE National Security Advisor Tahnoon bin Zayed, and through which the United States and the United Arab Emirates aim to further strengthen cooperation, develop regulatory frameworks, promote the safe and trusted deployment of critical and emerging technologies, and enable enhanced support for joint private-public sector research and academic exchanges.

Building on our collaboration in the field of advanced technology, this partnership incorporates safeguards to protect the national security of both countries, enable trusted investments and entrepreneurship, and facilitate cross-border innovation, while creating jobs and facilitating the protection of advanced U.S. technologies and respect for international principles, best practices, and human rights. Moving forward, the leaders decided to promote the expansion of relationships among scientific, academic, and research and development communities.

Strengthening Critical Infrastructure and Supply Chain Resiliencies

The leaders reviewed progress on efforts to build a more interconnected, integrated world in committing to secure and resilient supply chains through the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGI).

His Highness President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed and President Biden discussed progress on the landmark India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) launched at the 2023 G20 Leaders’ Summit in New Delhi together with the leaders of India, Saudi Arabia, France, Germany, Italy, and the European Union. The leaders reaffirmed that the corridor – connecting India to Europe by ship-to-rail connections through the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Israel, and Europe through Greece – will generate economic growth, incentivize new investments, increase efficiencies and reduce costs, enhance economic unity, generate jobs, lower greenhouse gas emissions, and enable the transformative integration of Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.

They underscored that this transformative partnership has the potential to usher in a new era of international connectivity to facilitate global trade, expand reliable access to electricity, facilitate clean energy distribution, and strengthen telecommunication. The two leaders emphasized the importance of joint initiatives to promote a circular economy, reduce waste, facilitate recycling, and advance sustainable practices, underscoring their commitment to innovation for resource efficiency and environmentally responsible growth.

The leaders also reaffirmed their commitment to continue their efforts with international partners and the private sector to connect the continents to commercial hubs and facilitate the development and export of clean energy; support existing trade and manufacturing synergies; strengthen food security and supply chains; and link energy grids and tele-communication lines through undersea cables to expand access to electricity, enable innovation of advanced clean energy technology, and connect communities to secure and stable internet.

The leaders additionally discussed the importance of ongoing efforts to cooperate on strategic investments in hard infrastructure and critical minerals-supply chains in Africa and emerging markets globally. These investments aim to diversify sourcing of critical minerals that are essential components to clean energy and advanced technologies, including batteries, wind turbines, semiconductors, and electric vehicles. President Biden recognized the United Arab Emirates’ leadership in strategic investments globally to ensure reliable access to critical infrastructure including, ports, mines, and logistics hubs through the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, the Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding Company, Abu Dhabi Ports, and DP World.

Both leaders committed to remain in close touch on future investment opportunities and maintain cooperation on strategic investments.

The leaders additionally highlighted that the U.S.–UAE 123 Agreement, which provides a comprehensive framework for peaceful nuclear cooperation based on a mutual commitment to nuclear nonproliferation, is the “gold standard” for securing and propelling the next generation of technologies.

Partnering to Protect our Planet Through the Clean Energy Transition

The leaders underscored the importance of U.S.-UAE leadership at COP28, which galvanized world leaders to take action and address the climate crisis. President Biden thanked His Highness President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed for his extraordinary commitment that was central to the groundbreaking outcomes at COP28 in Dubai resulting in the UAE Consensus.

The two leaders recognized that this moment represents a unique opportunity to create sustainable and clean energy jobs, revitalize communities, improve quality of life, and power digital infrastructure with renewable energy across both countries and around the globe. In this context, the two leaders affirmed their shared commitment to protecting our precious planet and securing a sustainable future for humanity through united leadership across various platforms, including the upcoming COP29 and beyond, which will serve to advance climate action and strengthen global partnerships.

The two leaders expressed their determination to leverage visionary initiatives, including the Partnership for Accelerating Clean Energy (PACE), the Agricultural Innovation Mission for Climate (AIM4C), the First Movers Coalition, the Net Zero Producers Forum, the Global Methane Pledge, Carbon Management Challenge, the Oil and Gas Decarbonization Charter (OGDC), the Industrial Transition Accelerator (ITA), the Global Biofuels Alliance, and Global Flaring and Methane Reduction (GFMR) Trust Fund; and encourage commercial partnerships to decarbonize our energy systems, reduce emissions in pursuit of a net zero economy, and deliver prosperity to future generations.

President Biden and His Highness President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed reaffirmed their strong commitment to collaborate on sustainability and climate resilience, emphasizing their commitment to addressing global challenges through innovative solutions. The two leaders underscored their joint efforts in advancing agri-tech and vertical farming innovations, key drivers in enhancing food security for future generations. They highlighted ongoing cooperation in humanitarian initiatives aimed at addressing food insecurity in vulnerable regions, particularly through agricultural development and capacity building in climate affected areas. Recognizing the impact of climate change on public health, the leaders emphasized the need to integrate health resilience into comprehensive climate action strategies.

President Biden also congratulated the United Arab Emirates on its many successes in its two Years of Sustainability (2023-2024), including the recent announcement on co-hosting the next UN Water Conference in 2026 with Senegal, noting the critical importance of accessible and affordable clean water to all; and its significance within various sectors in the clean energy transition, addressing climate change, and the sustainable development agenda.

Partnership to Accelerate Clean Energy (PACE)

Under the U.S.-UAE Partnership to Accelerate Clean Energy (PACE) initiative, the United States and the UAE are announcing several initiatives that will continue our efforts to ensure a swift and smooth transition towards clean energy. The United States and United Arab Emirates remain committed to investing together in Africa and working to end energy poverty across sub-Saharan Africa. Today, the UAE-based Averi Finance and AMEA Power are both private sector partners under the U.S.-led Power Africa Initiative, joining an existing partnership with UAE-based company Phanes. As private sector partners, these firms will be offered tailored assistance from transaction advisors and technical experts and can benefit from services offered by participating U.S. government departments and agencies.

To support the Power Africa initiative, Averi Finance intends to facilitate $5 billion in investments, build 3GW of power generation projects, construct over 3,000 kilometers of transmission or distribution lines, establish over 500,000 new home and business connections, and aim for a CO2 equivalent reduction or avoidance of 90 million tons. AMEA Power and Power Africa have recently entered into a partnership to accelerate power projects. AMEA Power is targeting 5GW of renewable energy capacity in Africa by 2030, and to realize this target, intends to mobilize $5 billion in capital.

Additionally, under PACE, ADNOC has announced a 35 percent stake in ExxonMobil’s proposed low-carbon hydrogen and ammonia production facility in Baytown, Texas. This facility aims to produce up to approximately 900,000 tons of low-carbon ammonia per year, enabling the transition to cleaner fuels in hard-to-abate sectors. Plynth Energy – a recently established Abu Dhabi government-owned early-stage fund focused on fusion technologies and supply chains – invested in the U.S. company Zap Energy, which plans to build scalable and commercially-viable fusion energy. This investment will help fund the further development of Zap Energy’s small-format commercial fusion technology. Zap Energy is a participant in the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Milestone-Based Fusion Development Program, and will receive DOE funding based on reaching development milestones to support the design of a fusion pilot plant.

Lastly, as two of over 155 participants in the Global Methane Pledge, the U.S. and the UAE will accelerate their respective domestic methane reductions, work together to support countries undertaking methane abatement, and call on others to do the same by advancing methane reduction projects, strengthening methane standards and regulations, addressing methane super emitter events, and identifying appropriate financing for methane reduction.

Partners in Space Exploration

As founding nation members of the Artemis Accords, His Highness President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed and President Biden reinforced the U.S. and UAE’s groundbreaking cooperation in space, the future of human exploration, and our shared interest in deepening our understanding of the universe.

The leaders recalled the role of this partnership in the historic launch of the first Arab probe to Mars, the Hope Probe in 2021, and the resulting and ongoing global scientific collaboration and contribution to the study of Mars’ atmosphere. This strategic partnership in deep space missions is further exemplified by the UAE Space Agency’s announcement of the Emirates Mission to the Asteroid Belt, the first multi-asteroid tour and landing mission to the main belt, with the partner, Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado Boulder.

The leaders highlighted the January 2024 Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center agreement with NASA for the Center to provide an airlock for Gateway, humanity’s first space station to orbit the Moon supported by NASA’s missions for long-term Moon exploration under the Artemis Program. The airlock will allow crew and equipment transfers to-and-from the habitable environment of Gateway’s pressurized modules to the vacuum of space. This agreement will also enable the first Emirati astronaut to fly to the Gateway for joint exploration of the Moon.

This cooperation builds on NASA and the UAE’s previous human spaceflight collaboration. In 2019, Hazaa Al Mansouri became the first Emirati astronaut to fly to space during a visit to the International Space Station (ISS), where he worked with NASA to perform experiments and educational outreach. A second Emirati astronaut, Sultan Al Neyadi, launched to the ISS in 2023, where he participated in the floating laboratory’s scientific research to advance human knowledge and improve life on Earth. The leaders welcomed continued training of astronauts, including two Emirati astronaut candidates in training at the Johnson Space Center, as well as ongoing work on Mars research and scientific studies to support mutual exploration goals.

Sharing the common spirit and ambition of humanity’s journey in space, the leaders reaffirmed the principles of the Artemis Accords to explore and use outer space for peaceful purposes and usher in a new era of exploration, as well as obligations under the Outer Space Treaty, including the requirement that countries not place in orbit around the Earth any objects carrying nuclear weapons or any other kind of weapons of mass destruction.

Partners in Security and Defense

His Highness President Sheikh Mohamed and President Biden praised the strong security and defense partnership with the UAE. President Biden strongly affirmed the United States’ commitment to the United Arab Emirates’ security and territorial defense, and to facilitating its ability to obtain necessary capabilities to defend its people and territory against external threats. The leaders reaffirmed their commitment to a strong bilateral security and defense relationship and to expanding defense and security cooperation to bolster joint defense capabilities against external threats, including through the Department of Defense’s State Partnership Program.

The leaders affirmed a shared vision of an interconnected, peaceful, tolerant, and prosperous region as outlined by President Biden during the GCC+3 Summit Meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on July 16, 2022. They reviewed the proud legacy of standing shoulder-to-shoulder, in peace and in conflict, including the UAE’s support for American-led counterterrorism missions since the attacks in New York, Pennsylvania, and Washington on September 11, 2001, to deter threats, de-escalate conflicts, and reduce tensions globally. Specifically, the leaders recalled the United States and the United Arab Emirates standing alongside each other in the global coalition against Da’esh, and prior conflicts: Somalia, the Balkans, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya.

The leaders reviewed ongoing initiatives and investments in advanced systems that have made the United Arab Emirates one of the most capable U.S. military partners in the region, in addition to a robust schedule of bilateral and multilateral exercises. They underscored the importance of strengthening efforts to combat regional threats, advance counterterrorism initiatives, reinforce maritime security and counter-piracy efforts, increase security cooperation, and intercept illicit shipments of weaponry and technology.

The leaders discussed deepening investment in U.S. defense systems and acknowledged that military-to-military cooperation with the United Arab Emirates’ armed services helps ensure interoperability with the United States through the provision of advanced defense articles and services. They further decided to explore potential investment in our most advanced defense systems and to maintain regular exchanges to deepen partnership in research and development.

The leaders reaffirmed the 2017 Defense Cooperation Agreement, an important step for both countries that underscored their vital and longstanding collaboration in defeating terrorist groups, such as Da’esh and al-Qaida, securing regional stability, and combatting threats against their common interests including terrorist financing. They underscored the importance of the annual Joint Military Dialogue as the foremost bilateral defense forum for advancing the U.S.-UAE defense partnership, including reviewing shared security interests, as well as discussing strategic objectives for the relationship and challenges in the region, such as maritime security, counter-piracy, counterterrorism cooperation, and domain awareness in the Middle East, the Indian Ocean, and East Africa. They further noted the recognition by the Security Council in Resolution 2686 that hate speech, racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, related forms of intolerance, gender discrimination and acts of extremism can contribute to driving the outbreak, escalation and recurrence of conflict.

Designation as a Major Defense Partner of the United States

Acknowledging the U.S. and UAE’s deepening security partnership and cooperation in advanced technology and acquisition, shared interest in preventing conflict and de-escalation, President Biden today recognized the United Arab Emirates as a Major Defense Partner of the United States, joined by only India, to further enhance defense cooperation and security in the Middle East, East Africa, and the Indian Ocean regions. This unique designation as a Major Defense Partner will allow for unprecedented cooperation through joint training, exercises, and military-to-military collaboration, between the military forces of the United States, the UAE, and India, as well as other common military partners, in furtherance of regional stability.

Both leaders committed to close and sustained cooperation among our militaries.

Partners in a Stable, Integrated, and Prosperous Middle East and Wider Region

The leaders stressed the importance of reaching a peaceful solution to the dispute over the three islands, Greater Tunb, Lesser Tunb, and Abu Musa, through bilateral negotiations or the International Court of Justice, in accordance with the rules of international law including the UN Charter.

The leaders discussed persisting and emerging threats to peace and stability in the Middle East and the wider region. They renewed their commitment to upholding international law, particularly international humanitarian law, work with parties to resolve conflicts and protect civilians, and to provide urgently needed aid to alleviate human suffering. They reiterated the importance of sustainable and enduring solutions to the security threats in the region, including those posed by non-state terrorist actors. They discussed the enduring importance of the Abraham Accords and continuing on the path of peace, integration, and prosperity in the region.

The leaders discussed the war in Gaza. They underscored their commitment to continue working together towards ending the conflict, calling for a lasting and sustainable ceasefire and the release of hostages and detainees in accordance with the United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 2735, and affirmed that all sides to the conflict must adhere to their obligations under international humanitarian law. President Biden commended the UAE’s extraordinary humanitarian efforts in Gaza, which have been critical in addressing the humanitarian crisis, including through the launch of a maritime corridor for movement of aid, opening a field hospital in Gaza, and supporting evacuations of wounded civilians and cancer patients.

The two leaders emphasized the ongoing need for the urgent, unhindered, and sustained delivery of life-saving humanitarian assistance, at a scale commensurate with the growing needs among the civilian population throughout Gaza. They called on all parties to ensure the safety, security, and sustained access of aid workers to all those in need, and to create the conditions needed to facilitate an effective humanitarian response in Gaza.

His Highness President Sheikh Mohamed commended the mediation efforts by the United States, along with Egypt and Qatar, to reach a lasting and sustainable ceasefire and hostage release deal to help end the war in Gaza. His Highness also echoed the principles laid out by President Biden on May 31, 2024, and stressed the importance of building on this proposal in order to create a serious political horizon for negotiation. To that end, the leaders discussed a path to stabilization and recovery that responds to the humanitarian crisis, establishes law and order, and lays the groundwork for responsible governance. The leaders expressed their commitment to the two-State solution, wherein a sovereign and contiguous Palestinian state lives side-by-side in peace and security with Israel, as the only way to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in accordance with the internationally-recognized parameters and the Arab Peace Initiative. They stressed the need to refrain from all unilateral measures that undermine the two-State solution, and to preserve the historic status quo of Jerusalem’s holy sites, recognizing the special role of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in this regard.

On the conflict in Sudan, the leaders expressed their deep concern over the tragic impact the violence has had on the Sudanese people and on neighboring countries. Both leaders expressed alarm at the millions of individuals who have been displaced by the war, the hundreds of thousands experiencing famine, and the atrocities committed by the belligerents against the civilian population. They stressed that there can be no military solution to the conflict in Sudan and underscored their firm and unwavering position on the imperative for concrete and immediate action to achieve a lasting cessation of hostilities, the return to the political process, and transition to civilian-led governance.

Both leaders reaffirmed their shared commitment to de-escalate the conflict, alleviate the suffering of the people of Sudan, ensure humanitarian assistance reaches the Sudanese people, and prevent Sudan from attracting transnational terrorist networks once again. Noting their shared concern about the risk of imminent atrocities, particularly as fighting continues in Darfur, they underscored that all parties to the conflict must comply with their obligations under international humanitarian law, and all individuals and groups that commit war crimes must be held accountable. The leaders emphasized that the priority right now must be the protection of civilians, particularly women, children and the elderly, securing humanitarian pauses in order to scale up and facilitate the movement of humanitarian assistance into the country and across conflict lines, and ensuring the delivery of aid to those in need, especially to the most vulnerable.

Partners in Cyberspace

The leaders emphasized that safety and stability in cyberspace is critical for digital economic growth and development, and reaffirmed their commitment to an open, interoperable, secure, and reliable internet, underpinned by the multistakeholder model of internet governance.

They committed to deepen cooperation on cybersecurity and to enhance cyber collaboration to protect critical infrastructure, counter malicious cyber activity by state and non-state actors, and noted that the UAE’s significant contributions to the International Counter Ransomware Initiative reflects the strength of our cooperation. The leaders committed to promote stability in cyberspace based on the applicability of international law including the United Nations Charter, the promotion of voluntary norms of responsible state behavior during peacetime, and the development and implementation of confidence building measures between states.

Looking Forward

The United States and the United Arab Emirates are both entrepreneurial nations, joined together by a relentless focus on the future. Our aspirations are rooted in a common resolve to pursue innovative partnerships in new fields, including AI, food security, infrastructure investment, and supply chain resilience, even as we continue to strengthen the foundational element of our partnership: our longstanding people-to-people ties. These connections between our countries drive progress and expand horizons, from clean energy technologies, to AI, defense cooperation, space exploration, and ongoing coordination across priority areas of science, education, and culture. This first-ever official visit by a President of the United Arab Emirates to the United States sets a new foundation for our countries’ cooperation for decades to come

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MIL OSI USA News –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI USA: ICYMI: Sullivan Urges Biden to Stand Up to Iran at UNGA

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator for Alaska Dan Sullivan
09.23.24
WASHINGTON—In an opinion published in the Wall Street Journal over the weekend, U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), condemned the Biden-Harris administration for abandoning the Trump administration’s policies towards Iran, resulting in a more powerful Iran and a more dangerous world. Senator Sullivan urged President Biden to course correct this week during what will likely be the President’s last major foreign policy speech. Tomorrow, President Biden is set to address the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
“It’s hard to deny that the world is more dangerous today than when he [Biden] became president,” Sen. Sullivan writes in the Wall Street Journal. “There are many reasons for this, but the single most important course correction Mr. Biden could make is on his Middle East policy. In his speech he should call on the U.N. to condemn and impose sanctions on the Iranian terrorist regime for acting as the architect of chaos throughout the Middle East and Ukraine. Mr. Biden should also denounce the antisemitism that has pervaded the U.N. for decades and call out the organization for insufficiently condemning Hamas’s massacre of 1,200 Israelis. He should demand that the U.N. declare Iran-backed Hamas a terrorist organization. He also needs to denounce the U.N. Relief and Works Agency, some of whose employees participated in Hamas’s Oct. 7 attacks. Unfortunately, none of this is likely to happen. Appeasing Iran has been a hallmark of the Biden-Harris administration, and as a result the terrorist leadership has become richer, more powerful and more menacing.”
Senator Sullivan has frequently warned of the Biden-Harris administration’s weakness on Middle East policy and pushed for a return to Trump-era sanctions aimed at re-establishing deterrence against Iran and its terrorist proxies. His latest op-ed in the Wall Street Journal details many of those efforts. Click here or below to read the full opinion.

Opinion: Biden’s Last Opportunity to Stand Up to Iran
By: U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan
September 20, 2024
On Monday I will go to New York with a group of senators to meet with foreign leaders at the United Nations General Assembly. President Biden will likely give his last major foreign-policy speech on Tuesday, a final opportunity to correct course. It’s hard to deny that the world is more dangerous today than when he became president. There are many reasons for this, but the single most important course correction Mr. Biden could make is on his Middle East policy.
In his speech he should call on the U.N. to condemn and impose sanctions on the Iranian terrorist regime for acting as the architect of chaos throughout the Middle East and Ukraine.
. . .
Before Mr. Biden took office, under the Trump administration’s sanctions, Iran’s oil exports in 2020 were reduced to about 200,000 barrels a day from 2.7 million and its foreign reserves to roughly $4 billion from $122.5 billion. The Trump administration negotiated the Abraham Accords, the Middle East’s first peace agreement in 26 years, which could put the region on a path to widespread peace.
The Biden-Harris administration chose not to enforce the Trump-era sanctions. As a result, Iran has been enriched with about $100 billion in oil revenue, with which Tehran funds, trains and equips the Houthis, Hamas and Hezbollah.
In a meeting with Mr. Biden last year, I raised the issue of reinstating Trump-era sanctions against Iran. He supported the idea and told me to work with Jake Sullivan, his national security adviser. It hasn’t happened.
…
The Houthis, with intelligence from Iranian navy spy ships, have launched dozens of drones and missiles to sink U.S. Navy and commercial ships in the Red Sea. Senior military officials operating in the Middle East requested permission to sink these Iranian spy ships but were denied by senior administration officials. They argued that such actions would be “escalatory.” This is a case study in self-deterrence.
There is a precedent for the U.S. to sink Iranian warships that target our Navy. In 1988, President Ronald Reagan authorized Operation Praying Mantis in retaliation after Iran nearly sank a U.S. Navy ship in the Persian Gulf. By the end of the operation, our military sank several Iranian ships and destroyed two Iranian oil platforms. Tehran got the message.
The most outrageous example of appeasement has been the Biden-Harris administration’s relative silence on the Iranian regime’s atrocious human-rights record, particularly against women. When Iran’s “morality police” murdered 22-year-old Mahsa Amini two years ago for not properly wearing her hijab, tens of thousands of Iranians, mostly women, took to the streets. More than 22,000 people have been arrested and more than 530 put to death. I wrote Secretary of State Antony Blinken, urging him to meet with Masih Alinejad, one of the courageous leaders of the Woman, Life, Freedom movement. He refuses to do so.
. . .
The administration’s policy toward Iran has dangerous repercussions across the globe. When U.N. member nations refused to reinstate the multilateral sanctions on Iran’s ballistic missiles, the White House didn’t protest. Now Iran is sending missiles to Russia to use against Ukraine.
The Biden-Harris administration’s appeasement has squandered America’s progress against Iran. The Trump administration punished the regime with maximum sanctions, killed Quds Force Commander Qassem Soleimani, and spearheaded the Abraham Accords. History has shown time and again that appeasement doesn’t work and invites more aggression. We should learn from history.

MIL OSI USA News –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI Video: President Biden Hosts a Bilateral Meeting with His Highness President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed

Source: United States of America – The White House (video statements)

President Biden hosts a bilateral meeting with His Highness President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan of the United Arab Emirates.

The White House

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pg6n3b_b36E

MIL OSI Video –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI USA: Van Hollen, Shaheen, Colleagues Urge FHFA to Implement Stronger Energy Efficiency Standards for New Federally-Backed Homes

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator for Maryland Chris Van Hollen
September 23, 2024
Today, U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) were joined by Senators Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and Peter Welch (D-Vt.) in writing to Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Sandra Thompson urging the Agency to set a minimum energy efficiency standard for new homes built using loans backed by government-sponsored enterprises, such as Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Ginnie Mae. In response to a question from Senator Van Hollen during a Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee hearing earlier this spring, Director Thompson suggested that FHFA would do so this summer – but it has not yet taken such action. In their letter, the Senators ask Director Thompson for an updated timeline for a decision, while calling on FHFA to act swiftly in order to improve home energy efficiency and ultimately save money for American homeowners and renters.
“We are writing to urge the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) to phase in a minimum energy efficiency standard for Enterprise-backed mortgages on new homes. Such a standard would save homeowners and renters money and make the housing market more consistent and stable,” the Senators began. “When asked at a hearing of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs last April, you indicated an intention to make a decision about this potential action on or about the end of the second quarter. As we are now rapidly approaching the end of the third quarter, we respectfully request an update on your intended timeline for a decision and for the Enterprises to begin implementation.”
Outlining the benefits of a minimum energy standard, they wrote, “Aligning new home energy standards with updated model codes will save money for homeowners and renters across the country. HUD and USDA found that the increased initial costs of construction are more than made up for by lower monthly energy costs. […] Beyond these financial benefits, updated codes help save lives by protecting families from the impacts of extreme weather events, particularly utility outages during heat waves and cold snaps. Updated energy codes can also yield better indoor air quality and reduce exposure to pollutants that can have negative health impacts including asthma, heart disease and lung cancer.”
“This year is an ideal time for FHFA to make these changes. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act provided over $1.2 billion of federal funding to help states and localities update their building codes. Already, multiple state and local governments, as well as HUD and USDA have adopted the updated building codes,” they Senators continued.
They concluded, “We urge you to move quickly to adopt modern energy standards for new homes utilizing Enterprise-backed mortgages to align with other federally backed housing construction, and ask you for an update on your timeline for taking this action. These standards will support a stable, efficient housing market by reducing wasted energy, improving health outcomes, and lowering costs for both renters and homeowners across the country.”
This letter is supported by Americans for Financial Reform, Rocky Mountain Institute, and the National Electrical Manufacturers Association.
The full text of the letter is available here and below.
Dear Director Thompson:
We are writing to urge the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) to phase in a minimum energy efficiency standard for Enterprise-backed mortgages on new homes. Such a standard would save homeowners and renters money and make the housing market more consistent and stable. When asked at a hearing of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs last April, you indicated an intention to make a decision about this potential action on or about the end of the second quarter. As we are now rapidly approaching the end of the third quarter, we respectfully request an update on your intended timeline for a decision and for the Enterprises to begin implementation.
FHFA has the opportunity to match or exceed the standards recently adopted by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for their residential mortgage programs. This action would support consistency and further the expansion of resilient, energy-saving construction practices across the housing market.
Your authority to take this action is clear from Public Law 110-289, the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, as well as from other actions FHFA and the government-sponsored enterprises have undertaken in alignment with their missions and obligations. Freddie Mac’s research has found that energy efficiency improvements can reduce risks associated with mortgage-backed securities, in part due to better resale values. Research also suggests that during major economic disruptions, energy efficiency may reduce mortgage defaults.
Aligning new home energy standards with updated model codes will save money for homeowners and renters across the country. HUD and USDA found that the increased initial costs of construction are more than made up for by lower monthly energy costs. For a typical home purchased with a 30-year mortgage, energy bill savings more than make up for small increases to down payments and monthly mortgage payments. High-performance homebuilders and multifamily property developers in diverse markets have found the incremental up-front costs of at- or above-code performance to be closer to 1% or, in some cases, negative.
Beyond these financial benefits, updated codes help save lives by protecting families from the impacts of extreme weather events, particularly utility outages during heat waves and cold snaps. Updated energy codes can also yield better indoor air quality and reduce exposure to pollutants that can have negative health impacts including asthma, heart disease and lung cancer.
This year is an ideal time for FHFA to make these changes. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act provided over $1.2 billion of federal funding to help states and localities update their building codes. Already, multiple state and local governments, as well as HUD and USDA have adopted the updated building codes.
When energy codes raise the floor on building performance, 45L tax incentives for builders to achieve certifications – such as ENERGY STAR® for Residential New Construction and Zero-Energy Ready Homes (ZERH) – frequently mean that the smartest path for developers is to build to these higher standards. ZERH homes use about 40% less energy than a typical home, opening the door to Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund financing, green MBS opportunities, and – most importantly – even cleaner air, lower bills, and more secure housing for households nationwide. If FHFA also requires updated building codes, it will reduce or eliminate the need for developers to understand numerous different codes.
In summary, we urge you to move quickly to adopt modern energy standards for new homes utilizing Enterprise-backed mortgages to align with other federally backed housing construction, and ask you for an update on your timeline for taking this action. These standards will support a stable, efficient housing market by reducing wasted energy, improving health outcomes, and lowering costs for both renters and homeowners across the country.
Sincerely,

MIL OSI USA News –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI USA: United States and United Arab Emirates Cooperation on Artificial Intelligence

US Senate News:

Source: The White House
Building on the common vision of President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. and President H.H. Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to advance safe, secure, and trustworthy artificial intelligence (AI), U.S. Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs Jake Sullivan and UAE National Security Advisor H.H. Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan reaffirmed the shared intention of the United States (U.S.) and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to promote cooperation in AI and related technologies. This statement also signals our shared commitment to develop a government-to-government memorandum of understanding on AI between the U.S. and the UAE.
Common Principles for Cooperation
We recognize the tremendous potential of AI for good, including to accelerate economic growth, transform education and healthcare, create jobs, and drive environmental sustainability. At the same time, we acknowledge the challenges and risks of this emerging technology and the vital importance of safeguards and protections with respect to the most advanced technologies.
Recognizing the importance for each of our nations to pursue their own national AI and advanced technologies strategies, and in order to fully realize the benefits of AI and technology, the U.S. and the UAE affirm the importance of deepening bilateral ties and strengthening cooperation between our governments, companies, and workforces.
In particular, we intend to closely collaborate to:
Advance Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy AI: Foster acceptance of international AI frameworks, principles, and standards to help ensure the responsible and reliable development and use of AI technologies that are explainable and equitable, that safeguard human rights and fundamental freedoms, that promote international norms, best practices, and the interoperability in AI governance.
Align Regulatory Frameworks to Strengthen Innovation Ecosystems: Further the alignment of regulatory frameworks and rules for AI and related technologies to safeguard national security interests, enable trusted investments and entrepreneurship, and facilitate cross-border innovation, while facilitating protection of advanced technologies and respect for international principles and best practices
Promote Ethical AI Research and Development: Conduct ethical AI research and development by prioritizing research addressing bias, discrimination, and ensuring fairness in AI algorithms.
Broadening and Deepening Cooperation in AI Protection and Cybersecurity: Promote an open, interoperable, secure, and reliable cybersecurity environment and cyber incident response strategies that foster efficiency and resilience of critical infrastructure, whilst managing related emerging technology risks.
Facilitate Opportunities for Trusted Trade and Investment: Support and facilitate bilateral investment and efficient licensing to seize opportunities for developing robust and secure AI infrastructure.
Talent Development and Exchange: Foster talent development to facilitate knowledge exchange and development between the nations through joint training programs and workshops for AI researchers, engineers and policymakers.
Promote Clean Energy for the AI Future: Build on our ongoing bilateral cooperation through the U.S.-UAE Partnership for Accelerating Clean Energy (PACE) to meet the energy demands of AI systems with clean energy sources, consistent with our shared commitment to combatting climate change.
Support AI for Sustainable Development in Developing Countries: Foster inclusive, responsible, and sustainable capacity building with respect to AI and AI infrastructure to address the world’s greatest challenges, and close digital divides, globally, and in particular across the Middle East and North Africa.
Conclusion
President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. and President H.H. Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan directed relevant officials to develop a U.S.-UAE government-to-government memorandum of understanding to build upon this shared vision overseen by a High-Level Mechanism which includes the appropriate talents and experience to accomplish the task.
The U.S. and the UAE look forward to deepening collaboration across AI and related technologies to propel their strategic partnership forward, delivering a more prosperous, secure future for their peoples, underpinned by a shared commitment to safe, secure, and trustworthy AI.
Jake Sullivan U.S. Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs
Tahnoon bin Zayed Al NahyanUAE National Security Advisor

MIL OSI USA News –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI USA: Booker, Merkley, Grassley, Hinson, and Adams Shine Light on Stillbirth Prevention

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator for New Jersey Cory Booker
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) teamed up with U.S. Representatives Ashley Hinson (R-IA-01) and Alma S. Adams, Ph.D. (D-NC-12) to introduce a bipartisan, bicameral resolution recognizing September 19th as National Stillbirth Prevention Day.
Earlier this year, the bipartisan Maternal and Child Health Stillbirth Prevention Act—led by Merkley in the Senate and Hinson and Adams in the House—was signed into law by President Biden to help save the lives of mothers and babies across America. With at least 25 percent of stillbirths being potentially preventable, this resolution stresses the need for continued stillbirth prevention activities in the United States.
“Thousands of families grapple with the unimaginable pain of stillbirths, and, devastatingly, Black women and underserved communities are disproportionately impacted by these tragedies,” Booker said. “By designating September 19 as National Stillbirth Prevention Day, we will help raise awareness, promote research and develop solutions so all mothers and babies, regardless of their background or circumstances, have access to the care and support they deserve.”
“A single family affected by stillbirth is one too many. Yet this tragedy impacts thousands across America, upending the lives of individuals and families from all walks of life,” Merkley said. “Getting my Maternal and Child Health Stillbirth Prevention Act signed into law was an important first step, but we must do more to reduce the alarming rate of stillbirth, which disproportionately impacts Black, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, and American Indian or Alaska Native women. This National Stillbirth Prevention Day we recommit to doing everything we can to end this public health crisis, so no one again ever has to experience the trauma of stillbirth.”
“Iowa has made strides towards reducing stillbirths in our state. This bipartisan resolution recognizes researchers like we have in Iowa, as well as care providers and advocates. It also reaffirms our goal to improve maternal care resources, particularly in rural areas,” Grassley said. “No mom should know the heartbreak of a stillbirth. I’m glad to be partnering on a number of federal legislative efforts to help target contributing factors and save babies’ lives.”
“Over 21,000 babies are stillborn in the U.S. each year. This rate is unacceptably high, and we must do more to ensure more women experience healthy pregnancies and have healthy babies. I am proud to lead this bipartisan, bicameral effort to recognize September 19th as National Stillbirth Prevention Day to raise awareness about stillbirth prevention so we can help save more moms and babies,” Hinson said.
“I was proud to co-lead the Maternal and Child Health Stillbirth Prevention Act and see it pass into law this year, which will increase awareness for families on how to prevent this painful, yet common experience. Today we recommit to ending stillbirth and to giving more families a chance to be whole. This is just the beginning, and I am committed to doing my part on behalf of all of America’s families,” Adams said.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one out of every 175 U.S. births tragically result in stillbirth—accounting for nearly 21,000 stillbirths a year—more stillbirths annually than the number of babies who pass away during their first year of life. In the last two decades, the stillbirth rate in the United States declined by a negligible 0.4 percent. In a report published by the World Health Organization comparing progress in improving stillbirth rates, the United States ranked 183 out of 195 countries.
“For the third year in a row, and under Senator Merkley’s leadership, we pause to recognize the crisis of stillbirth in this country and celebrate progress on stillbirth prevention efforts. When Congress recognizes this important day, when buildings and bridges are lit up across the country, and moms and dads make their voices heard through OpEds and sharing their personal stories of loss — progress happens and lives are saved. We mourn the tens of thousands of babies who should be with their families right now and accelerate progress so no other family has to endure the tragedy of stillbirth,” said Emily Price, Healthy Birth Day Inc. CEO.
In the Senate, the resolution is cosponsored by Senators Angus King (I-ME) and Martin Heinrich (D-NM). Healthy Birth Day Inc., Charles Martin Corvi Fund, Birth and Breastfeeding in Color Inc, American College of Nurse-Midwives, Aaliyah in Action, Yale University Reproductive and Placental Research Unit, Yale University, The Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood Foundation, Nitamising Gimashkikinaan Our First Medicine Indigenous Perinatal and Lactation Support Circle, Division of Indian Work, Maternal Mental Health Leadership Alliance, 1st Breath, 2 Degrees, Dieudonne Foundation, Jace’s Journey, Start Healing Together, In the Arms Of Jesus Grief Support, Healing Our Hearts Foundation, Matties Memory, Society for Reproductive Investigation, March of Dimes, Measure the Placenta, Nurturing Babyhood N’ Beyond LLC, PUSH for Empowered Pregnancy, March for Moms, Policy Center for Maternal Mental Health, Gifts from Liam, Mera’s Mission, and Kansas Birth Justice Society also endorsed the resolution.
Previous Efforts
Last year, Booker reintroduced the Stillbirth Health Improvement and Education (SHINE) for Autumn Act, legislation that aims to reduce the alarmingly high U.S. stillbirth rate. Named after Autumn Joy, a New Jersey baby who was stillborn in 2011, the bill would provide critical resources to states, local public health departments, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and other related federal agencies to improve data collection and increase education and awareness of stillbirth in the United States.
The full text of the resolution can be found by clicking here.

MIL OSI USA News –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI USA: Booker, Frost Introduce the Fair Future Act to Support Successful Reentry by Ending Housing Exclusion for People With Prior Drug Convictions

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator for New Jersey Cory Booker
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Congressman Maxwell Alejandro Frost (D-FL-10) introduced the Fair Future Act, legislation to repeal an amendment to the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988 that has led to permanent denial of rental housing to people with prior drug convictions regardless of the severity of their offenses or the length of time that has passed since their conviction.
The current law has meant that the over 9 million people who have been previously convicted of drug offenses in the United States can be denied rental housing.
“No one should be permanently denied a place to live because of a prior drug conviction,” said Senator Booker. “Right now, housing laws have denied people with prior drug convictions the ability to live in rental housing and in turn, denied them a fair chance at reentering society. The Fair Future Act will eliminate this discriminatory barrier to housing and help us put an end to our nation’s cycle of poverty and recidivism.”
“People who have served their time, repaid their debt to society, and are looking to re-enter our communities cannot do so when the deck is stacked against them,” said Congressman Frost. “Housing is the foundation of a safe and secure life – yet outdated housing laws and conflicting state laws on marijuana mean that someone could go to jail, serve time, and be denied housing in one state, while someone carrying the same amount of marijuana in another state is abiding by the law. It’s time we allow folks a fresh start and put an end to housing exclusion for folks who have paid for their crimes and are rebuilding their lives.”
The Fair Future Act was inspired in part by the personal testimony of people impacted by this flawed policy, like Yusuf Dahl, a Milwaukee native who served a five-and-a-half-year sentence and went on to become an outstanding member of society, receiving an Ivy League education and leading a center for entrepreneurship, only to be denied housing while attempting to rent a home for him and his family in Pennsylvania.
“The Fair Future Act is a common-sense reform that ensures housing applicants are judged by their income, credit history, and rental record—not automatically denied by an algorithm based solely on a decades-old drug conviction,” said Yusuf Dahl. “Given housing’s crucial role in economic mobility and stability in today’s competitive rental market, the Fair Future Act offers a necessary fix to a federal policy that unfairly punishes formerly incarcerated individuals who have already paid their debt to society. When people have turned their lives around, we shouldn’t keep them tethered to their past by denying them one of the most fundamental rights: the right to live where they choose.”
The Fair Future Act has been endorsed by the National Housing Law Project.
“Everyone, no matter their race, place, or party deserves safe, stable, and healthy housing. But for almost 30 years, a racist and discriminatory provision has robbed people who had been convicted of drug distribution of their fair housing protections. Today, we’re proud to support Representative Frost and Senator Booker’s legislation to repeal the Thurmond amendment and affirm that all Americans deserve Fair Housing. NHLP will continue fighting for a more fair future for all,” said National Housing Law Project Executive Director Shamus Roller.
To read the full text of the bill, click here.

MIL OSI USA News –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI USA: Advisory Firm Atom Investors, Charged with Recordkeeping Violations, Avoids Civil Penalty Because of Self-Reporting, Substantial Cooperation, and Prompt Remediation

Source: Securities and Exchange Commission

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced charges against Texas-based registered investment adviser Atom Investors LP for its failure to maintain and preserve off-channel communications in violation of the recordkeeping provisions of the federal securities laws. The Commission did not impose a penalty because Atom Investors self-reported the conduct, promptly remediated the violations, and provided substantial cooperation to Commission staff in an investigation of another entity.

According to the order, in 2021, the Commission staff issued a subpoena to Atom Investors for documents in connection with an investigation into a third party. In responding to the subpoena, Atom Investors discovered that, over a more than three-year period, it had failed to preserve records subject to the recordkeeping requirements of the federal securities laws, including records that were responsive to the Commission staff’s subpoena. This included communications by personnel at senior levels of the firm. Some of these records related to recommendations and advice to purchase or sell securities.

“This enforcement matter highlights the risk to investors when firms don’t comply with their recordkeeping obligations: because of Atom Investors’s longstanding failures to preserve required communications, including communications by Atom Investors’s senior personnel, we were hampered in our investigation into a third party,” said Gurbir S. Grewal, Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement. “At the same time, this resolution shows that the full benefits of cooperation are available in recordkeeping matters. Atom Investors’s self-reporting and prompt remedial efforts weighed heavily in the Enforcement Division’s decision to recommend that the Commission not impose a penalty, which the Commission accepted. This resolution should serve as a model for other investment advisors that are not currently in compliance with federal recordkeeping requirements.”

The SEC’s order finds that Atom Investors violated the recordkeeping provisions of the federal securities laws. Without admitting or denying the SEC’s findings, Atom agreed to cease and desist from further violations of the securities laws and to a censure.

The SEC’s investigation was conducted by Wendy E. Pearson and Sarah S. Nilson, assisted by Stephen Kam, and supervised by Finola H. Manvelian, all of the Los Angeles Regional Office.

MIL OSI USA News –

September 29, 2024