NewzIntel.com

Category: Economy

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Consultation on the Future System for Monetary Policy Implementation in Australia – Summary of Stakeholder Feedback

    Source: Airservices Australia

    The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) today released a summary of the stakeholder feedback received in response to a consultation paper titled ‘The Future System for Monetary Policy Implementation’. The feedback informed recent changes to the configuration of the RBA’s open market operations (OMO), as discussed in a speech by Assistant Governor (Financial Markets) Christopher Kent.

    The consultation paper presented principles and options regarding the design of the future system and sought feedback from stakeholders on a list of topics. This list focused on the configuration of full allotment repo in the RBA’s OMO, the potential impacts of OMO repo on Australian financial markets, the demand for reserves and the role of non-repo operations.

    Eleven written responses were received, mostly from Australian and global banks. The RBA later met with some respondents to discuss their submissions in more detail. The summary released today is based on information received from these written responses and follow-up meetings.

    The RBA thanks respondents for their engagement with the consultation, and will continue to engage with stakeholders on the design of the monetary policy implementation system.

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Attorney General Bonta: Court Blocks Trump Administration’s Unlawful Attempt to Terminate TPS Designation for Venezuela

    Source: US State of California

    Tuesday, April 1, 2025

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

    OAKLAND – California Attorney General Rob Bonta today issued a statement after the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California granted a motion to postpone in National TPS Alliance v. Noem, blocking the Trump Administration from unlawfully terminating the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation for Venezuela while litigation continues. TPS is a critical humanitarian program that allows nationals of designated countries to remain in the United States due to ongoing armed conflict, environmental disaster, or extraordinary and temporary conditions in their home countries. Last month, Attorney General Bonta co-led a coalition of 18 attorneys general in filing an amicus brief in this case, challenging the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) unprecedented efforts to terminate TPS for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan nationals, many of whom have been in the United States for several years and live with family members who are U.S. citizens.

    “The court rightfully blocked the Trump Administration’s unlawful early termination of the Venezuela TPS designation as litigation continues. This order helps protect vulnerable individuals who are fleeing a humanitarian crisis, in search of safety and a better life for their families,” said Attorney General Bonta. “California recognizes that TPS holders are integral parts of our communities and important contributors to our economy: They are our neighbors, co-workers, caregivers, and job-creators. California is home to more than 72,000 TPS beneficiaries, the fourth most of any state. Our Venezuelan TPS holders are a resounding benefit to our state. In California alone, TPS households earned $2.1 billion in income, paid $291.2 million in federal taxes, and paid $226.5 million in state and local taxes. This court decision is an important win in our fight to protect those with TPS status from the Trump Administration’s heartless and unjustified attacks.”

    A copy of the order is available here.

    # # #

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Myanmar: Inhumane military attacks in earthquake areas hindering relief efforts – Amnesty International

    Source: Amnesty International

    Myanmar’s military must refrain from deliberate air strikes and other forms of attack on civilian targets in areas impacted by last week’s 7.7-magnitude earthquake, Amnesty International said today as it called for aid to more quickly reach people in the epicentre of the disaster.

    Testimony gathered by Amnesty International in the days following the earthquake corroborates reports that the military has continued its campaign of deadly air strikes, adding to the strain of recovery efforts and the fear and anxiety of survivors.

    “Myanmar’s military, along with all other actors involved in earthquake relief efforts, must ensure that human rights principles are fully respected and that the humanitarian needs of survivors are the top priority,” Amnesty International’s Myanmar Researcher Joe Freeman said.

    “You cannot ask for aid with one hand and bomb with the other. Carrying out air strikes and attacking civilians in the same region where the earthquake struck is inhumane and shows a blatant disregard for human rights.” 

    At least 2,065 people have been killed and more than 3,900 injured as a result of the earthquake, according to military-controlled media in Myanmar. The rapid spike in figures from day to day as well as communication challenges have prompted fears of a much larger toll.

    The earthquake epicentre is in Sagaing, a sprawling region in central Myanmar. Significant damage is also being reported in Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-biggest city, the capital Naypyitaw and parts of Shan State and Bago Region.

    The air strikes, which have become a daily fact of life in Myanmar since the 2021 coup, have now hit areas near the focus of earthquake recovery efforts, and in other conflict zones such as Karen and Karenni States.

    The sound is ‘like a chainsaw’

    Since the coup, the military has fought fierce battles with armed resistance groups in Sagaing and in central Myanmar generally, carrying out unlawful air strikes, extrajudicial executions and large-scale burning of homes. In some instances, groups fighting against the military have also been accused of abuses.

    Amnesty International spoke to a Myanmar nurse in Nwe Khwe village, which is in Sagaing Region’s Chaung-U township, and a local rescue worker in the same township.

    The rescue worker described taking cover from attacks after the earthquake, which included several on Tuesday morning (1 April) and one on the day of the earthquake. These were carried out with manned motorized paragliders, referred to locally as “paramotor attacks,” a new tactic of the Myanmar military in central Myanmar that requires fewer resources like jet fuel.

    “I was in an underground shelter. [During attacks] I can hear the sound of the engine crossing over my village. The paramotor attack noise is like a chainsaw,” the rescue worker said. “It becomes like our daily life, surviving the air strikes. I don’t know why it doesn’t stop yet.”

    The nurse, who is affiliated with the Civil Disobedience Movement which opposes the military through protests and boycotts, also said a paramotor attack occurred in the evening after the earthquake, as well as one on 31 March. There were no fatalities from the paramotor attacks this time, largely because of established early warning systems.

    “I am not mentally well, everybody in the village is frightened because of the attacks and the earthquake,” she said.

    The opposition National Unity Government, which oversees armed People’s Defense Forces created in the aftermath of the 2021 coup to fight the military, announced a two-week suspension of hostilities starting on 30 March. On 1 April a separate but aligned armed faction, the Three Brotherhood Alliance, announced a one-month humanitarian pause except in the case of defensive actions.

    ‘The situation is like Covid-19’

    Contrary to previous natural disaster responses that Amnesty has documented, Myanmar’s military has issued a rare appeal for international aid, and Amnesty has received information that aid is getting through to some affected areas. But the picture is mixed, complicated by internet outages and reports of deliveries being blocked or held up.

    In Sagaing town, the capital of the Sagaing Region, Amnesty spoke to three residents. It also reviewed a report on recovery efforts from a coordinating group drawn from Myanmar civil society, which said that in Sagaing town there are rising needs for body bags and quicklime powder, torches, medical supplies and mosquito repellant coils.

    It also said that the military, which largely controls the town, was imposing “strict surveillance” for light vehicles en route to Sagaing from Mandalay. Soldiers are inspecting deliveries, and checks can take longer if they come from other areas in Sagaing that have more connections to resistance groups.

    The residents said most of the town had been damaged and that people do not have regular access to drinking water, food, shelter, medicine, adequate medical treatment or electricity, with some using small solar panels. They said people are sleeping on streets, using mats, tarpaulin and mosquito nets.

    “The Myanmar Red Cross is here, and local civil societies based in Sagaing are active and they are functioning. But I don’t see international groups coming into town,” one resident said on 31 March. “They cannot buy food and drinking water because there is no supplier in the town.”

    Another town resident who was helping deliver aid locally said people need dry rations such as canned food and packaged noodles, and that local groups were using their own equipment to carry out search and rescue work.

    International agencies had reportedly been granted access to deliver aid to Sagaing, but no one Amnesty spoke to at the time had seen them in the town as of 31 March.

    A pregnant woman described scenes of horror in the local hospital after the earthquake.

    “The situation in the hospital [Sagaing General Hospital] was just like Covid-19, there are tons of dead bodies in the hospital, without knowing who they are and who they belong to. The hospital just put them in the crematorium.”

    The woman said she was told she needs a c-section but that it needs to be done in Mandalay, which she can’t reach. As of 31 March, she was staying out in the open area of the hospital compound.

    “Human rights are most in jeopardy in situations of crisis and emergency. The Myanmar military and other parties to the conflict must address the immediate and essential needs of all affected communities and ensure that rescue and relief efforts are carried out without discrimination,” Joe Freeman said.

    “Priority in the provision of international aid – such as safe and potable water, food and medical supplies – and financial aid should be given to the most vulnerable or marginalized groups of the population.”

    MIL OSI – Submitted News –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Tech – The world spent $8.5 trillion on IT devices in a decade, more than Germany and the UK’s economies combined

    Source: Techgaged.com

    Every year, consumers and businesses pour staggering amounts of money into IT devices- desktop PCs, laptops, tablets, mobile phones, and printers. While annual spending has fluctuated since 2021, the past three years have seen steady growth, pushing the market toward a record-breaking $810 billion in 2025. This massive figure will push the total spending over the past decade to shocking highs.  

    According to data presented by Techgaged.com, the world has spent a jaw-dropping $8.5 trillion on IT devices in a decade, surpassing the combined economies of Germany and the United Kingdom.

    If IT device spending were a country, it would be the third-largest economy in the world

    The surging popularity of AI applications, IoT devices, and hybrid work models has fueled the need for high-performance devices, and this trend will only speed up in 2025. According to the new survey, global spending on IT devices hit $735 billion in 2024, or 6% more than the year before that. However, 2025 is set to witness an even bigger growth, with the annual spending surging by 10.3% to a record $810.2 billion. Moreover, this means 2025 will see the second-largest spending increase in a decade, trailing only the COVID-19-driven boom in 2021, when it soared by 15%.

    Even the world’s wealthiest billionaires wouldn’t have enough to cover this bill, as $810 billion is more than the combined net worth of Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg. But this shocking figure is just a fraction of the total amount the world spent on IT devices over the past decade. With a record $810 billion in spending in 2025, the cumulative 10-year figure will hit a jaw-dropping $8.5 trillion.

    To put this into perspective, If IT device spending were a country, it would be the world’s third-largest economy, following China and the United States. Also, the ten-year spending of $8.5 trillion outpaces three years’ worth of global defense budgets, and it is enough money to fund NASA for 85 years, with its annual budget being around $100 billion.

    The world spends 25% more on IT devices annually than a decade ago

    The data also revealed how much annual spending on IT devices has increased over the past ten years. Back in 2014, consumers and companies spent $646 billion on IT devices. The next three years saw similar annual spending before it hit over $700 billion for the first time in 2017. The next major leap came in 2021 when the pandemic fueled a massive surge in tech purchases, reaching over $808 billion that year.

    According to the latest forecast, with a projected $810 billion in 2025, the world is now spending 25% or $164 billion more on PCs, tablets, and smartphones per year than a decade ago. For context, that $164 billion increase is more than the entire GDP of a country like Kuwait and close to that of Ukraine. In other words, in just ten years, global IT device spending has grown larger than the entire GDP of a mid-sized economy.

    MIL OSI – Submitted News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: expert reaction to report on regenerative agricultural practices in the UK

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    A report published by the British Ecological Society looks at regenerative agricultural practices in the UK.

    Prof Neil Ward, Professor of Rural & Regional Development, School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, said:

    “The press release is an accurate reflection of the main findings in the report. This is a good report.  It has been produced by a large group of independent scientific experts and is based on a review of the state of the scientific evidence. It includes insights from interviews with eleven farmers and one independent agronomist.

    “It comes from an ecological perspective.  It has less to say about the economics of farming systems change, and the implications of farming systems change for greenhouse gas emissions and the prospects of the UK achieving net zero (despite the fact that agricultural practices will be important in the net zero transition).

    “Regenerative agriculture is becoming increasingly popular as an idea among farmers and pressure groups.  However, it remains loosely defined. This report provides some welcome new material to help improve the clarity of discussions around regenerative agriculture. One revealing comment is that regenerative agriculture is a direction of travel rather than an end-state.

    “The report suggests that minimising the exposure of bare soil is an important principle in reducing the detrimental environmental impacts of contemporary farming.

    “It also sees increasing diversity in crops grown as a central measure in reducing harmful environmental impacts.

    “What the report does not do is shed light on the scale of the contribution regenerative agriculture could make to reducing net greenhouse gas emissions. Agriculture is currently accounts for about 11% of UK GHG emissions, but as we decarbonise electricity generation and road transport, so the proportion of emissions that come from agriculture is expected to grow significantly in the coming decades.

    “Changes to farming practice through regenerative agriculture, though welcome, will not be enough on their own to bring agriculture into line with the UK’s carbon budget and its net zero goal.  That will require a significant change in what is produced and consumed. For example, the Climate Change Committee’s Seventh Carbon Budget, published in late February, suggested a 38% reduction in the number of sheep and cattle reared in the UK.

    “This report helps sharpen and develop the working definition of regenerative agriculture, which has been open to broad interpretation. The model of farming it espouses is necessary to address UK farming’s biodiversity crisis, but not sufficient to adequately address the climate crisis too.  That would require larger-scale change in the types of crops and animals produced.”

     

    Dr Emma Burnett, Agriculture and Sustainability Researcher, Fielden Whisky and Honorary Research Associate, TABLE, University of Oxford, said:

    “This report provides a good overview of regenerative agriculture, including both academic and practical perspectives. It captures the potential benefits and concerns, including regen ag’s appeal to a wide audience, the appetite from farmers to engage in regen ag, the potential for ‘no harm done’ on-farm changes, and the very real concerns about corporate capture and greenwashing.

    “The report adds to the growing body of literature that treats regen ag as a serious player in sustainable food and farming. It highlights both the beneficial elements of regen ag, as well as areas where more data is required, or where the data conflicts with assumptions. The report takes a nuanced view of regen ag, identifying that although a whole systems approach may deliver the best outcomes, farmers can sometimes only engage in a subset of practices. It identifies objectives that farmers are likely to engage through regen ag, like reducing tillage or incorporating understories and cover cropping, and highlights whether those practices have evidence of payoff over time. It also provides policy recommendations for a range of actors, including national governments, the private sector, and third-party certification schemes.”

    Prof John Quinton, Professor of Soil Science, Lancaster University, said:

    “The report suggests that the evidence for minimising soil disturbance on regenerative outcomes is weak. This seems to have been based largely on its controversial role as a potential tool in sequestering carbon, which has been shown to be soil and climate dependent i.e. success depends on where are you in the world are and what soil you have. However, it is very clear that minimising soil disturbances an excellent way of reducing soil erosion by water and an even better way of stopping the movement on soils on hillslopes caused by tillage, which can lead to damaging thinning of soils, reducing water supply to crops during droughts, the later point being completely missed in the report.  Where they work,  reduced tillage systems are a great way to conserve the soil and the report is perhaps overly pessimistic about their potential.

    “Residue management does not get mentioned in the report at all, which is an oversight given the important role that residue can play in protecting the soil surface, enhancing soil structure and reducing erosion. It also reduces water losses in times of drought which has been shown to help reduce air temperatures.  There is also evidence showing benefits for carbon sequestration and soil biology.

    “It is good to see the prominence given to maintaining a live vegetation cover through the winter. We have known for many years that vegetation protects the soil surface from rainfall, and the roughness it produces slows runoff controlling erosion and lowering the risk of muddy floods. We need to learn more about the relative benefits to soil functioning of returning more organic matter from both the above and belowground plant biomass to the soil,  and how plant diversity impacts on this in different environments.”

    ‘Regenerative Agriculture in the UK – An ecological perspecitve’ was published by the British Ecological Society at 00:01 Wednesday April 2 2025.

    Declared interests:

    Prof Neil Ward “I am funded by UKRI to co-lead a large network of 3,000 researchers and practitioners working on the UK agri-food system and net zero (https://www.agrifood4netzero.net/).   I do not have any conflicts of interest and have not worked with any of the authors of the report.”

    Prof John Quinton “I have worked and published on soil erosion and its control for the last 30 years.  In the 1990s directly on the impact of reduced tillage on carbon, nutrient losses, and soil erosion.  I have worked on the impact of tillage on soil redistribution, water availability and crop yield and have had a series of PhD students working on plant diversity on cover crops. My work has been funded by the EU, Defra, NERC, BBSRC, EPSRC.  In the late 90s early 00s I did some research on cover crops for Syngenta.”

    For all other experts, no reply to our request for DOIs was received.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Leaders of the House, Senate VA Committee & VA Appropriations Request Cost Estimate for VA Electronic Health Record

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Kansas – Jerry Moran

    WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) – chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs – led a bipartisan, bicameral group of leaders from the Senate and House Veterans’ Affairs and Appropriations Committees in requesting the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) submit an updated schedule and cost estimate to Congress for the Electronic Health Record Modernization (EHRM) program.

    Sen. Moran was joined by Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Ranking Member Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Chairman and Ranking Member – Rep. Mike Bost (R-Ill.) and Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.) – House and Senate Appropriations Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Subcommittee leadership – Sen. John Boozman (R-Ark.), Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), Rep. John Carter (R-Texas) and Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.).

    VA recently announced an accelerated deployment schedule of the EHRM program that includes nine additional VA medical centers in 2026 as part of its effort to restart the stalled modernization program. The members’ request follows a Government Accountability Office (GAO) recommendation to produce an updated cost estimate for EHRM before moving forward with the accelerated deployment schedule.

    “The need for a cost estimate is further underscored by practical necessity,” wrote the members. “Without a reliable cost estimate, VA risks budget overruns, schedule delays, and diminished congressional trust. Compliance with these laws, directives, and GAO recommendations is a critical step to ensuring EHRM’s success and accountability.”

    In 2019, the program was initially estimated to cost $16.1 billion over a decade. An independent cost estimate conducted by the Institute for Defense Analysis in October 2021 estimated the project to cost up to $50 billion. After lifting a pause that was put in place on the program in April 2023, VA has not yet provided Congress with an updated cost estimate for EHRM as anticipated by a framework of federal laws and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) directives governing major acquisition programs.

    The full letter can be found HERE and below.

    Dear Secretary Collins,

    I write to follow up on the recent news regarding the accelerated fielding plan for the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Electronic Health Record Modernization (EHRM) program and request an updated schedule and cost estimate for EHRM by September 30, 2025, before fielding resumes.

    VA is legally and administratively required to provide a cost estimate for EHRM due to a framework of federal laws and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) directives governing major acquisition programs. The Clinger-Cohen Act of 1996 (P.L. 104-106) requires that executive agencies, including VA, adhere to OMB processes to evaluate the risks and results of all major capital investments for information systems, to include the projected and actual costs, benefits, and risks associated with the investments. OMB Circular A-11 explicitly requires life cycle cost estimates for major systems like EHRM to support planning, budgeting, oversight, and transparency. Additional OMB directives, such as Circular A-130 and Memorandum M-15-14 under the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act (P.L. 113-291), reinforce that major IT programs must have validated cost estimates to secure budget approval and Chief Information Officer oversight. The Federal Acquisition Regulation operationalizes these mandates by requiring cost analysis for acquisition planning. These requirements ensure that the VA can manage taxpayer funds responsibly and that EHRM is aligned with its mission to improve veteran health care.

    The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has repeatedly recommended that VA develop and update cost estimates for EHRM before proceeding further, highlighting deficiencies in the Department’s financial planning related to this program. In a March 2025 GAO report entitled, Electronic Health Records: VA Making Incremental Improvements in New System but Needs Updated Cost Estimate and Schedule, GAO explicitly recommended that VA “update the EHRM’s modernization life cycle cost estimate to reflect the pause and subsequent changes,” citing a 20-month deployment halt that rendered prior estimates obsolete. Additionally, numerous VA Inspector General reports have implicitly criticized the lack of dependable cost data for EHRM, urging better oversight that presupposes updated estimates. These recommendations collectively emphasize that, without a current cost estimate, VA cannot justify – and Congress cannot have confidence in – continued EHRM investment or viability.

    The need for a cost estimate is further underscored by practical necessity. Without a reliable cost estimate, VA risks budget overruns, schedule delays, and diminished congressional trust. Compliance with these laws, directives, and GAO recommendations is a critical step to ensuring EHRM’s success and accountability.

    To that end, please provide a detailed schedule and a cost estimate for EHRM before September 30th, 2025. GAO’s Cost Estimating Guide provides a best-practice benchmark. This request aligns with persistent calls for transparency and accountability, ensuring that Congress can fully assess EHRM’s financial and operational readiness to safeguard veterans’ and taxpayers’ interests before further rollouts begin.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Homes England and Octopus Real Estate launch £150m Greener Homes Alliance phase 2

    Source: United Kingdom – Government Statements

    Press release

    Homes England and Octopus Real Estate launch £150m Greener Homes Alliance phase 2

    The renewed alliance will reinforce a responsibility to support small and medium-sized (SME) housebuilders, while encouraging greener building practices.

    Octopus Real Estate supported by Homes England

    Homes England has joined with Octopus Real Estate, part of Octopus Investments and a leading specialist real estate investor and lender, to create the Greener Homes Alliance 2.

    The alliance will commit £150 million of funding, £42 million of which will be provided by the Agency’s Home Building Fund. This will provide small and medium-sized (SME) housebuilders with further loan finance enabling even more high-quality, energy efficient homes to be built across England.

    The first phase of the alliance launched in 2021, as part of broader efforts to expand the supply of finance available to SMEs, and funded over 550 much needed, new sustainable homes across the country. More than 40% of the homes built during phase one achieved an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of A, and 100% secured a Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP) score higher than 86, significantly higher than the UK average EPC rating of D and SAP score of 67.

    Phase one of the Greener Homes Alliance made a significant impact, with 20 loans completed totalling £150million – an average loan size to SME developers of £7.5 million.

    Phase two of the Greener Homes Alliance will seek to support the creation of more sustainable homes by introducing ten new criteria, four of which must be met for developers to benefit from a 1.25% discount on their interest rate. If six or more criteria are met, developers will be eligible for a 2% discount.

    The new criteria for phase two will include the use of mixed methods of construction (MMC) in the fabric of buildings and a real living wage paid to workers on site. It will also encourage borrowers to support the Lighthouse Charity, a leader in mental health within the construction industry.

    To qualify for funding from the alliance in the first place, all schemes must deliver specific key performance indicators as a minimum. Developers must ensure that all homes built are fossil fuel free and have an average SAP score of 85 or above.

    Marcus Ralling, Chief Investment Officer at Homes England said:

    Small and medium housebuilders play a vital and essential role in driving the delivery of much needed, new and sustainable homes.

    This extended Alliance is an excellent example of how we are working with partners like Octopus Real Estate to support the SME housebuilders that are crucial to building a diverse and resilient housing sector.

    Andy Scott, Co-Head of Debt, Octopus Real Estate, added:

    We are extremely proud of the impact our Greener Homes Alliance initiative has had when it comes to supporting developers looking to make greener decisions for their projects, and we’ve spent a lot of time working out the new criteria with Homes England to make sure the next phase is as impactful as possible.

    At Octopus, our mission is to reimagine real estate through the delivery of high-quality, sustainable places for people to live that are fit for the future and address societal needs such as fuel poverty. Working with esteemed government agencies to enact real change for the developers who have the expertise and capability to deliver such homes is a huge part of this.

    ENDS

    Notes to editors:

    An Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) tells you how energy efficient a property is, giving a property an energy efficiency rating from A (best) to G (worst) that is valid for 10 years. An EPC contains information about a property’s energy use and typical energy costs and steps to improve a property’s energy efficiency.

    The Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP) for the energy rating of dwellings) is the methodology currently used by the government to estimate the energy performance of homes. A SAP score provides a rating between 1 and 100, this range is then divided into categories A (best) to G (worst).

    The new criteria introduced for phase two will include:

    • An average SAP score of 92+ (EPC A)

    • More than 90% of waste from the site avoids landfill

    • Biodiversity Net Gain of over 20%

    • More than 50% of new homes will be Zero Bills ready

    • Regeneration of a brownfield site

    • Potable water usage reduced to less than 110L per person per day

    • Use of Mixed Methods of Construction (MMC) in the fabric of the building

    • The Real Living Wage must be paid to all workers on site

    • The borrower to support Lighthouse Charity, a leader in mental health within the construction industry

    • More than 25% of units to be affordable built on-site, or in line with local social housing plans

    All schemes must also deliver the following KPIs as a minimum:

    • All homes to be fossil fuel free

    • Every scheme to have average SAP score of 85+

    About Homes England 

    We are the government’s housing and regeneration Agency, and we’re here to drive the creation of more affordable, quality homes and thriving places so that everyone has a place to live and grow.  

    We make this happen by working in partnership with thousands of organisations of all sizes, using our powers, expertise, land, capital and influence to bring investment to communities and get more quality homes built. 

    Learn more about us: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/homes-england/about

    Press Office Contact Details 

    Email: media@homesengland.gov.uk 

    Phone: 0207 874 8262 

    About Octopus Real Estate

    Octopus Real Estate, part of Octopus Investments, is a specialist real estate investor and lender delivering quality, sustainable places to live for every stage of life. Through our role as an investor, lender, and landlord, we fund the entire lifecycle of real estate ─ reimagining its future.

    We have more than £3.7bn in real estate assets and secured lending, working with our partners to deliver greener homes for people to buy or rent, increase the supply of genuinely affordable housing, and build communities that meet the aspirations of elderly people. We also transform underused land and properties that require regeneration and redevelopment.

    We believe that real, lasting change can only be achieved if businesses invest in the right way. We work with people who share our values and take our responsibilities to the communities we serve seriously. Together, we’re harnessing change to build a better tomorrow.

    About Lighthouse

    The Lighthouse Construction Industry Charity is the only charity that provides emotional, physical and financial wellbeing support to the construction community and their families.

    Our mission is to ensure that our construction community can easily access the emotional, physical and financial wellbeing support they need and to develop healthy and sustainable futures for this generation and the next.

    Updates to this page

    Published 2 April 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: UK to tackle Western Balkan migrant transit routes and serious organised crime with closer ties in the region

    Source: United Kingdom – Government Statements

    Press release

    UK to tackle Western Balkan migrant transit routes and serious organised crime with closer ties in the region

    Foreign Secretary David Lammy travels to Kosovo and Serbia to strengthen cooperation on tackling irregular migration and serious organised crime

    • New cooperation agreement with Serbia to smash the gangs at the heart of irregular migration crisis and secure UK borders ahead of hosting major Western Balkans diplomatic summit this Autumn
    • UK-supplied tech used in Kosovo to stop illicit goods and vulnerable people from reaching British shores and break the model of the criminal gangs
    • UK and European security also top of agenda with a visit to British troops part of NATO’s Peacekeeping mission at a time of increased volatility 

    Britain is taking the fight directly to people smugglers and criminal gangs who have turned the Western Balkans into a major transit route for irregular migration and serious organised crime, the Foreign Secretary will tell partners on a visit to the region this week. 

    With almost 22,000 people recorded using the Western Balkans to transit into Europe last year, the Foreign Secretary will meet with counterparts to strengthen UK-Serbian cooperation by signing an Organised Immigration Crime agreement, first agreed by Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the European Political Community. This will mean both countries can share information more quickly and directly to combat and disrupt organised immigration crime. David Lammy will also hear directly from female survivors of human trafficking. 

    This forms part of the government’s approach to tackle the problem at every step of the people smuggling journey, working with neighbouring countries to combine resources and share intelligence and tactics.

    Ahead of the Berlin Process Summit, a diplomatic meeting to deliver on the government’s plan for change through closer security ties and greater migration cooperation, David Lammy will see UK technology being used to detect drugs and weapons concealed in vehicles – alongside drones and cameras used to track popular smuggling routes and prevent people dangerously and illegally crossing borders.  

    The Foreign Secretary’s visit is the latest step to drive further action upstream and builds on the announcement of the world’s first sanction regime to target Organised Immigration Crime.

    It comes after the Prime Minister and Home Secretary hosted the Organised Immigration Crime Summit in London this week as part of the toughest-ever international crackdown on people smuggling gangs and to deliver on working people’s priorities for secure borders. The Summit announced £30 million of funding to tackle supply chains, illicit finances and trafficking routes and an additional £3 million to enable the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to increase its capacity to prosecute organised international smugglers.

    The Summit also saw the Prime Minister announce that more than 24,000 people with no right to be here in the UK have been removed since July – the highest rate of returns for eight years as the government begins to restore order to the immigration system.

    Foreign Secretary David Lammy said:

    Criminal gangs have long exploited instability in the Western Balkans, parts of which have become a major transit route for irregular migration and serious organised crime. They are risking lives for profit and becoming increasingly violent in their determination to make as much money as possible.  

    This diabolical, lawless trade of smuggling vulnerable people is completely unacceptable and we are determined to end it as we secure the UK’s borders under our Plan for Change.  

    With the world becoming more dangerous and unpredictable, the Western Balkans is of critical importance to the UK and Europe’s collective security, and the UK remains committed to building resilience and stability in the region. 

    Across the region, external actors – including Russia – seek to exploit this fragility by fanning ethnic tensions, destabilising democracies and threatening the hard-won peace and stability.

    UK expertise is set to strengthen the resilience of institutions against Russian and other malign influence – countering the threats of cyber-attacks, disinformation and interference in elections to stand up for freedom and democracy. On the visit, the Foreign Secretary will sign an agreement between the UK and Serbia which underlines the shared goal of a free, open, peaceful and secure cyberspace and countering malicious cyber actors.  

    The UK has a longstanding role and an important legacy in promoting security in the region including in Kosovo, where it has maintained a presence through NATO’s KFOR mission since 1999. The Foreign Secretary will meet with British troops on the ground who serve in KFOR, NATO’s largest overseas mission, which contributes to maintaining a safe and secure environment and freedom of movement for all communities in Kosovo.  

    The UK will host a meeting of Western Balkans leaders at the Berlin Process Summit in London in Autumn 2025 to support stability, security and economic co-operation, tackle gender inequality and violence against women and girls, and focus work to combat irregular migration transiting the region.

    Updates to this page

    Published 2 April 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Major reforms to environmental regulation to boost growth and protect nature

    Source: United Kingdom – Government Statements

    Press release

    Major reforms to environmental regulation to boost growth and protect nature

    Government reforms will streamline and modernise regulation to unlock growth, deliver 1.5 million homes and do more for nature under the Plan for Change

    A more dynamic, streamlined approach to environmental regulation will drive economic growth and safeguard nature under the Plan for Change, with reforms announced today (Wednesday 2 April) by the Environment Secretary Steve Reed.

    It comes as a new review, commissioned by Steve Reed and led by Dan Corry, finds the current system of environmental regulation is outdated, inconsistent and highly complex – delivering for neither nature nor growth. The review concludes that a “bonfire” of regulations is not the solution; rather, it makes 29 recommendations for streamlining regulation, all of which the government is actively considering.

    Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Steve Reed said:

    “Nature and the economy have both been in decline for too long. That changes today.

    “As part of the Plan for Change, I am rewiring Defra and its arms-length bodies to boost economic growth and unleash an era of building while also supporting nature to recover.

    “Dan Corry’s essential report gives us a strong set of common-sense recommendations for better regulation that will get Britain building.”

    Nine key measures with the greatest impact for growth and nature recovery will be fast-tracked. Work has already begun on:

    • Lead regulator: A single, lead regulator for major infrastructure projects will end the merry-go-round of developers seeking planning approvals from multiple authorities who often disagree with each other – speeding up approvals and saving businesses millions in time and resource. This could include the recently approved Lower Thames Crossing, as well as future schemes like Heathrow expansion. Pilot projects trialling the approach will begin this year.

    • Revamping environmental guidance: Rapidly reviewing the existing catalogue of compliance guidance, including on protecting bats, will identify opportunities to remove duplication, ambiguity, or inconsistency.

    • Streamlined permits and guidance: Speeding up work to update the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016 will allow regulators to make more sensible, risk-based decisions on which activities should be exempt from environmental permits, in some cases removing them altogether for low-risk and temporary projects. This will slash red tape for businesses, putting an end to delays that can slow down the decisions needed to get spades in the ground.

    • Planning permit portal: Defra will convene the environmental regulators to set out the work required to upgrade their digital systems for planning advice, including a single planning portal for all agencies. This will speed up planning applications, while building trust and transparency into the process.

    • New Defra Infrastructure Board: This will accelerate the delivery of major infrastructure projects by facilitating greater collaboration and stronger oversight within Defra and its arm’s-length bodies – unblocking barriers to development at an early stage.

    • More autonomy: Trusted nature groups will benefit from new freedoms to carry out conservation and restoration work without needing to apply for multiple permissions at every step of a project. A pilot collaboration between Natural England and the National Trust will allow Europe’s largest conservation charity to cut down on the high volume of applications for consents, permits and licences they must currently submit. This will eliminate bureaucratic hurdles, bringing their ambitious nature recovery programmes to life at scale, more quickly and easily than ever before.

    • Green finance boost: A new industry-funded Nature Market Accelerator will bring much needed coherence to nature markets, boosting investment into our natural habitats and driving growth. This will give businesses greater confidence to invest, unlocking a range of environmental benefits – from improved biodiversity to better water quality.

    • Strategic policy statements for regulators: Clearer guidance and measurable objectives for all Defra’s regulators, starting with Natural England and the Environment Agency, will drive performance improvements and focus delivery on government priorities. Progress will be closely monitored and reported on publicly – increasing transparency and accountability so the public can be confident that regulators are supporting, not blocking, development and nature restoration.

    • Rolling regulatory reform: A continuous programme of reform will be established to pinpoint rapid actions, quick wins, and longer-term areas for improvements to regulation.

    Economist and former charity leader Dan Corry, who led the review, said:

    “Our current system for environmental regulation lets down both nature and growth; we must focus on good outcomes and nature enhancement, not on rigidly preserving everything at any cost.

    “This review clearly shows that simply scrapping regulations isn’t the answer – instead, we need modern, streamlined regulation that is easier for everyone to use. While short-term trade-offs may be needed, these reforms will ultimately deliver a win-win for both nature and economic growth in the longer run.”

    Currently, nature groups, developers and farmers are forced to navigate and comply with a complex patchwork of over 3,500 regulations – many of which are out of date and duplicative – as well as multiple overlapping regulators, all while shelling out vast sums in legal costs. This rigid and archaic approach not only stunts growth but impedes large-scale nature recovery, holds up the delivery of homes and infrastructure and creates an unnecessary financial and administrative burden.

    This government will no longer accept this as the status quo; regulators and regulation must work for the people of Britain, not get in the way of progress. Reforms will streamline and modernise the regulatory process to reduce bureaucracy and focus on outcomes at scale, rather than delays and paperwork. Measures which require spend will be considered in the context of the Spending Review; those requiring legislative changes will be reviewed in the round as part of the government’s wider legislative priorities. Further engagement with environmental groups, homebuilders, and a range of organisations across society where necessary will take place to ensure that any changes ensure development, growth, and nature restoration work hand-in-hand.

    Today’s announcement is the latest step in Environment Secretary Steve Reed’s drive, under the Plan for Change, to reform and rewire Defra and its arm’s-length bodies to unleash economic growth and protect the environment.

    Planning reforms and a new Nature Restoration Fund will unlock much needed housing delivery and infrastructure whilst supporting nature recovery at scale. It will help developers meet their environmental obligations more efficiently, making it easier to build vital infrastructure like wind farms, railways, and roads, gigafactories and data centres.

    More widely, in recognition of nature’s decline in Britain, this Government has launched a rapid review to deliver on our legally binding environment targets, including halting the decline of species by 2030.

    Updates to this page

    Published 2 April 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Export Sector – Entries open for 2025 Hawke’s Bay Export Awards

    Source: Business Central

    The ExportNZ ASB Hawke’s Bay Export Awards are returning in 2025 to recognise the successes of local businesses on the world stage. Now in its 11 th year, the Export Awards is a celebration of outstanding exporters in the Hawke’s Bay and Gisborne region and their contribution to the wider economy.
    Details of the ExportNZ ASB Export Awards were announced today by ExportNZ Hawke’s Bay Executive Officer, Amanda Liddle:
    “These awards are a recognition of the incredible mahi of exporters across the Gisborne and Hawke’s Bay region, who continue to deliver excellence in spite of several challenging years,” Liddle says.
    “The Government has a goal of doubling the value of New Zealand exports in a decade. These awards showcase the outstanding efforts of businesses who are well on the way.
    “A new category has been added this year, the NZME Service to Export Award, which is nominations based. It recognises individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to the export industry.
    “The awards are a great way to not only celebrate businesses making their way on the world stage but to also acknowledge the people who make a real difference to the export community,” Liddle says. 
    Continuing awards include the ContainerCo Best Emerging Business Award (turnover under $5 million a year) and T&G Global Best Established Business Award (turnover of more than $5 million a year).
    Also back for another year is the popular Napier Port Unsung Heroes Award, which recognises individuals who go above and beyond in their role to support the business and the export community. Anyone can nominate a person for this category.
    ExportNZ is also pleased to welcome ZIWI as sponsors of the ZIWI Excellence in Innovation Award, just months after the company was crowned ExportNZ ASB Hawke’s Bay Exporter of the Year in 2024.
    Hannah Christensen, Chief People, Sustainability and External Relations Officer at ZIWI, says the company is delighted to continue its relationship with ExportNZ as sponsors in 2025:
    “ZIWI is proud to stand alongside our industry peers within the vibrant Hawke’s Bay export community,” says Christensen.
    “The hard-working manufacturers and producers of this region thrive due to their passion and commitment for innovation. We could not be better placed to sponsor the ZIWI Excellence in Innovation Award, as pioneers of our own world-leading Air-dried technology, ensuring ZIWI stands head-and-shoulders above our international competitors.
    “We can’t wait to celebrate with this year’s winners and once again be part of this special event for the region,” Christensen said.
    Any exporter located from Gisborne to Pahiatua is eligible to enter the ExportNZ ASB Hawke’s Bay Export Awards. Judging criteria includes core operations and achievements related to export activities, and award entrants will also receive site visits by the judging panel.
    All category winners will be eligible to win the supreme award,  ASB Exporter of the Year. The winner, along with the other category winners, will go on to the New Zealand International Business Awards in November.
    Entries for the awards close on the 5 th of June, with site visits taking place late June and early July. Finalists will be announced on the 7 th of July, with the Awards Gala Dinner on the 31 st July at Toitoi Hawke’s Bay Arts and Events Centre.
    The Awards’ judging panel this year comprises of Wayne Norrie ONZM; ASB Head of International Trade; Mike Atkins; and New Zealand Trade and Enterprise’s Head of Focus Customers Dan Taylor. The team are excited to welcome back Dash Group’s Sarah Sherriff, from Icebreaker, Fix and Fogg and Whitakers fame.
    Principal sponsor and judge Mike Atkins, ASB Head of International Trade, said he’s looking forward to this year’s awards:
    “We are delighted to support the Export Awards again this year,” said Atkins.
    “It is an opportunity to celebrate the people and businesses taking Hawke’s Bay and Gisborne to the world. This year’s judges will have a difficult job on their hands as the region’s export sector is recovering strongly.”
    ExportNZ Hawke’s Bay’s Amanda Liddle said exporters are achieving success in spite of challenging times:
    “Geo-political tensions are the highest they’ve been in a long time, and exporters have to navigate their way through the frequently changing trade policies in offshore markets.
    “The region is however in full production mode, with reports that it is going to be a fantastic harvest for our pip fruit sector, farmers fetching better meat prices, timber mills in production, and our businesses affected by Gabrielle starting to get back on their feet.
    “If businesses are looking for a way to celebrate the hard work of their team, then this is it. It’s quick and easy to enter and always a rewarding experience.
    “With so many developments shaping the trade landscape, it is more important than ever for exporters to stay engaged and prepared for the opportunities and challenges ahead,” Liddle said.
    ExportNZ would like to thank Hawke’s Bay Airport for sponsoring the gala dinner. It would also like to acknowledge fellow sponsors New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, Heretaunga Hastings District Council, Napier City Council and Craggy Range Winery for their support of the awards.
    Entry forms, criteria requirements and registration forms for the Awards dinner are available on the ExportNZ website, www.exportnz.org.nz
    ExportNZ Hawke’s Bay is overseen by Business Central, which represents 3,500 employers across the lower North Island and Nelson. Business Central provides employer, health and safety, and human resources advice, and advocates for policies that reflect the interests of the business community. 

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: The consumer carbon tax is gone: Minister Nally

    Source: Government of Canada regional news (2)

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Investing in injury prevention in the manufacturing sector

    Source: New Zealand Government

    ACC’s investment in New Zealand’s crucial manufacturing sector is a significant step to help reduce injuries, keep workers safe, and support economic growth, say ACC Minister Scott Simpson and Small Business and Manufacturing Minister Chris Penk.
    “My top priority with ACC is to address its declining performance and ensure the scheme remains financially sustainable for current and future generations. One of the best ways to both enhance the health and wellbeing of Kiwis and keep costs down is to prevent injuries from happening in the first place,” says Mr Simpson.
    “That’s why I welcome the steps ACC is taking to drive better health outcomes for workers and businesses in manufacturing.”
    In 2024, ACC worked with the Employers and Manufacturers Association to co-design a Harm Reduction Action Plan for Manufacturing, which proposed a series of solutions. ACC is now seeking a supplier who can combine their own insights with those from the industry, to develop and implement evidence-based initiatives that will reduce the incidence and severity of injuries and their associated costs.
    “Manufacturing is a powerful driver for economic growth in New Zealand, contributing more than 60 per cent of our exports and employing nearly 230,000 people across 23,000 business,” Mr Penk says. 
    “However, it stands out as the only major industry where work-related injury rates have not declined over the past decade. As a high-risk sector, manufacturing is prioritised by ACC to address the growing cost of claims in the working-age population.
    “Now is the time to implement some long-term initiatives to reduce the high rate of injuries in manufacturing. By reducing workplace harm, we can lower costs for businesses and ensure our manufacturers continue driving economic growth.”
    “The total annual ACC claims costs for the manufacturing sector are more than $165 million and growing. I am pleased that ACC is committed to working with the industry to make a difference, preventing harm and helping address rapidly rising costs,” says Mr Simpson.
    “I expect ACC to conduct a robust procurement process and I look forward to seeing the visions for the sector turn into reality.”
    Responses to the tender must be submitted via the New Zealand Government Electronic Tender Service (GETS) or procurement@acc.co.nz by 12pm, Tuesday 13 May 2025.

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI: Tenaris Files 2024 Annual Report / Annual Report on Form 20-F, and Convenes the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders and an Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    LUXEMBOURG, April 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Tenaris S.A. (NYSE and Mexico: TS and EXM Italy: TEN) filed today its 2024 Annual Report / Annual Report on Form 20-F, with the Luxembourg Stock Exchange, with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and with the other securities regulators of the markets where its securities are listed. The 2024 Annual Report (which includes the consolidated management report containing the financial and non-financial information (or sustainability statement) required by applicable law; the related management certifications on the consolidated financial statements as of and for the year ended 31st December 2024, and on the annual accounts as at 31st December 2024; and the external auditors’ reports on such consolidated financial statements, annual accounts and sustainability statement) may be downloaded from the Luxembourg Stock Exchange’s website at www.bourse.lu/regulated-information-oam, and the Annual Report on Form 20-F may be downloaded from the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov; and are available on Tenaris’s website at ir.tenaris.com.

    Holders of Tenaris’s shares and ADSs, and any other interested parties, may request a hard copy of any of these reports, free of charge, through our website at ir.tenaris.com/tools/printed-materials.  

    In addition, on April 4, 2025, Tenaris will convene its Annual General Meeting of Shareholders to be held on May 6, 2025, at 10:00 (Central European time), and an Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders to be held immediately after the adjournment of the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders. The convening notice (which includes the agendas for the meetings and the procedures for attending and/or voting at the meetings) will be published in such newspapers and filed with the regulators, as required by applicable law, and will be available on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange’s website at www.bourse.lu/regulated-information-oam, the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov, and Tenaris’s website at ir.tenaris.com.

    The following documents will also be available on Tenaris’s website at ir.tenaris.com upon publication of the convening notice:

    • information on Tenaris’s total number of shares and voting rights as of the date of the convening notice;
    • the Shareholder Meeting Brochure and Proxy Statement (which contains procedures for attending and/or voting at the meetings, and reports on each item of the meeting agendas and draft resolutions proposed to be adopted at the meetings);
    • the 2024 Annual Report;
    • the 2024 Compensation Report;
    • the board of directors report in connection with the proposed waiver of, suppression of, and authorization to suppress or limit, pre-emptive subscription rights by the existing shareholders;
    • the proposed amendments to the articles of association, and
    • the forms required for purposes of attending and/or voting at the meetings.

    Copies of these documents will also be available, free of charge, at Tenaris’s registered office in Luxembourg, between 10:00 and 17:00 (Central European time). In addition, shareholders registered in the share register may request electronic copies of such documents, free of charge, to investors@tenaris.com.

    Tenaris is a leading global supplier of steel tubes and related services for the world’s energy industry and certain other industrial applications.

    Giovanni Sardagna
    Tenaris
    1-888-300-5432
    www.tenaris.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Ahead of Dr. Oz’s Confirmation, Senators Urge Crackdown on Private Medicare Insurers that Scam Patients, Price Gouge Taxpayers

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Massachusetts – Elizabeth Warren

    April 01, 2025

    Senators call for ending contracts, limiting enrollment for Medicare Advantage insurers that defraud seniors and taxpayers

    “The most effective step the Administration can take in cutting waste, fraud, and abuse in federal health care programs is by reining in the wasteful practices of corporate health insurers in the MA program.” 

    Text of Letter (PDF)

    Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) led a group of Senate Democrats in writing to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Secretary of Health and Human Services, and Stephanie Carlton, Acting Administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), urging them to crackdown on abuses by private insurers in Medicare Advantage (MA) that overcharge taxpayers, raise costs for patients, and create barriers to access care. 

    Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Richard Durbin (D-Ill.), Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and Tina Smith (D-Minn.) joined in signing the letter. 

    While the MA program was founded on the premise that private insurers could administer Medicare more cost-efficiently than the federal government, the program has failed to deliver savings in any year since its inception. In fact, in 2024 alone, private insurers in the program overcharged taxpayers by $83 billion relative to Traditional Medicare, while overpayments to private insurers in MA are expected to total $1.2 trillion dollars over the next decade.

    Despite these massive taxpayer overpayments, private insurers in MA routinely slow down and deny medically necessary care for patients that otherwise would be approved under Traditional Medicare. MA patients are also more likely to be given inadequate care due to profit-padding insurance tactics, including early hospital discharges and shorter lengths of stay in care settings like nursing homes. 

    “At a time when Americans are paying nearly $26,000 per family in premiums per year, while the largest US insurer made $23 billion in annual profits, reining in profiteering could not be more important,” wrote the senators. 

    Ahead of CMS finalizing the 2026 Medicare Advantage Rate Notice (2026 Rate Notice), which sets payment rates for insurers in the program, the senators asked CMS to make four key reforms to the Medicare Advantage rules:  

    1. Eliminate waste and abuse from overpayments: CMS should finalize and adopt new rules for how risk adjustment is calculated, which will limit insurers’ misuse of diagnosis codes and save taxpayers $3.4 billion. Additionally, CMS should take the necessary enforcement actions, including restricting future enrollment in plans that engage in fraud and terminating MA plan contracts, to ensure MA organizations report and return overpayments in a timely manner.
    2. Strengthen enforcement against MA insurers that illegally deny care: CMS should conduct strong oversight and enforcement when reviewing and approving MA benefits to ensure they adequately cover patients and do not subject enrollees to inappropriate and unnecessary barriers to care, like incorrect prior authorization determinations. About 50 million prior authorization requests were required by MA insurers in 2023, most commonly for higher cost, urgent services such as chemotherapy, inpatient hospital stays, and skilled nursing facility stays. 
    3. Address additional barriers to care: CMS should develop new regulations to crack down on MA insurer’s use of artificial intelligence programs, which have been used to incorrectly deny life-saving care and dangerously discharge patients early. The senators also pressed CMS to hold MA insurers accountable for using “ghost” networks to restrict care for seniors and people with disabilities. 
    4. Enact reforms to reduce disparities in care: The lawmakers urged lawmakers to take steps to improve disparities in care across race, ethnicity, and ability.

    “These actions are crucial to improve health outcomes and ensure Medicare’s sustainability for future generations,” concluded the senators.

    Senator Warren is a leading voice on reining in abuses in Medicare Advantage and protecting patients:

    • In March 2025, at a hearing of the Senate Finance Committee, Senator Elizabeth Warren pressed Dr. Oz on taxpayer fraud committed by private, for-profit insurers in the Medicare Advantage program. Dr. Oz agreed with Senator Warren that cracking down on private health insurers in Medicare Advantage will “improve the health care of the American people.”
    • In March 2025, Senator Elizabeth Warren wrote to Dr. Mehmet Oz, Trump’s nominee for Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), pressing him on his serious conflicts of interest. Dr. Oz has long been tied to Medicare Advantage insurers, which would benefit if he successfully privatizes Medicare, and which have paid him to encourage his show’s viewers to enroll in private Medicare plans. 
    • In January 2025, in a Fox News Digital op-ed, Senator Elizabeth Warren outlined her recommendations for cutting government waste to make government more efficient and save taxpayers money, including by rooting out corruption by Medicare Advantage insurers. 
    • In January 2025, Senator Elizabeth Warren sent Elon Musk, Chair of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a letter detailing over 30 proposals that would cut at least $2 trillion of wasteful government spending over the next decade, including by curbing abuse by Medicare Advantage insurers that overcharge taxpayers.
    • In December, 2024, Senator Elizabeth Warren and Representative Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas) urged the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to finalize rules to curb overpayments to private insurers in Medicare Advantage.
    • In December 2024, Senators Elizabeth Warren led a group of Congressional Democrats in a letter to Dr. Mehmet Oz, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, raising stark concerns about his advocacy to eliminate Traditional Medicare and his deep financial ties to the private health insurers that would benefit from that move.
    • In June 2024, Senator Elizabeth Warren wrote to the Department of Justice, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Federal Trade Commission, calling out high health care costs due to vertically-integrated insurers, private equity companies, and pharmaceutical companies that are driving health care consolidation. The letter came in response to the three agencies’ March 2024 cross-government inquiry into the impacts of corporate greed in health care, and highlights examples of abusive and anticompetitive behavior by companies in the health care industry.
    • In May 2024, at a hearing of the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance, Senator Warren called out private insurers in Medicare Advantage for accelerating the rural hospital crisis.
    • In March 2024, Senators Warren and Brown led their colleagues in a letter to HHS and CMS that urged the agencies to protect seniors by holding insurance companies accountable for abuses in Medicare Advantage.
    • In January 2024, Senator Warren and Representative Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) sent a letter to CMS, urging the agency to take administrative action to curb billions in overpayments to MA insurers.
    • In December 2023, Senators Warren, Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) sent a letter to the CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, raising concerns about shortfalls in CMS’s data collection and reporting practices for MA plans, and urging CMS to close data gaps to strengthen oversight of MA plans and improve care for Medicare beneficiaries. 
    • In November 2023, Senators Warren, Cortez Masto, Cassidy, and Blackburn introduced bipartisan legislation to improve transparency of MA plans and ensure these plans are best serving the health care needs of America’s seniors. The Encounter Data Enhancement Act would require Medicare Advantage plans to report important information about how much they are actually paying for patient services and how much patients are responsible for paying out-of-pocket. 
    • In November 2023, at a Senate Finance Committee markup of the Better Mental Health Care, Lower-Cost Drugs, and Extenders Act, Senator Warren highlighted the need to do more to prioritize hearing health for seniors and strengthen transparency in Medicare Advantage, and secured commitments from Senate Finance Committee leadership to prioritize these proposals in future packages. 
    • In October 2023, at a hearing of the Senate Finance Committee, Senator Warren called out giant MA insurers for using deceptive marketing tactics to lure seniors into the wrong plans and drown out competition from smaller insurers that may offer better coverage. Senator Warren called on CMS to act within the fullest extent of its authority to crack down on MA insurers that game the system to overcharge the government and to ensure insurers publish accurate data on patient care and out-of-pocket costs. 
    • In May 2023, at a hearing of the Senate Finance Committee, Senator Warren highlighted the prevalence of ghost networks in Medicare Advantage plans and called for stronger oversight of the program.
    • In March 2023, Senator Warren sounded the alarm on a new analysis by policy experts showing that all Medicare beneficiaries – including those enrolled in Traditional Medicare – are paying higher premiums due to overpayments in MA. She sent a letter to CMS and called on the agency to finalize its proposed rule to ensure payments to MA plans accurately reflect the cost of care. 
    • In March 2023, U.S. Senators Warren and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) sent letters to the top seven MA insurers – Humana, Centene, UnitedHealthcare, CVS/Aetna, Molina, Elevance Health, and Cigna – regarding their questionable claims that CMS’s 2024 proposed Medicare Advantage payment rules would hurt beneficiaries.
    • In March 2023, at a hearing of the Senate Finance Committee, Senator Warren defended CMS’s proposed adjustments to the Calendar Year 2024 MA payment rates, pushing back against giant insurance companies and their lobbyists who are peddling misinformation to protect their billions in profits and scare beneficiaries into opposing the rule. 
    • In April 2022, Senator Warren and Representatives Katie Porter (D-Calif.), Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), and Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) led their colleagues in sending a letter to CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure highlighting concerns about overpayments to Medicare Advantage plans that line the pockets of big insurance companies.
    • In February 2022, chairing a hearing of the Senate Finance Subcommittee on Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Growth, Senator Warren delivered remarks about strengthening Medicare and cracking down on pharmaceutical and insurance companies’ corporate greed to pay for expanded coverage.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Middle East and North Africa Subcommittee Chairman Lawler Delivers Opening Remarks at Hearing on Iran

    Source: US House Committee on Foreign Affairs

    Media Contact 202-321-9747

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, House Foreign Affairs Middle East and North Africa Subcommittee Chairman Michael Lawler delivered opening remarks at a full committee hearing titled, “A Return to Maximum Pressure: Comprehensively Countering the Iranian Regime’s Malign Activities.”

    Watch Here

    -Remarks- 

    Good afternoon, and again, thank you, Chairman Mass, for putting on this hearing and to Ranking Member Meeks for presiding today. I also want to thank our witnesses for their expertise and their attention to this pressing matter. When President Trump left office over 4 years ago, the Iranian regime and its terror proxies were on their heels. The Trump administration’s maximum pressure policy had devastated Iran’s economy and denied the regime access to critical resources. Mathematically, Iran was cornered and isolated like never before. The Abraham Accord saw Israel normalize relations with three Arab nations. It was a direct blow to Iran’s influence and put the Middle East on a path towards unity against Tehran’s aggression. Militarily, the message was unmistakable. The United States would not flinch. The decisive strike that took out Soleimani, Iran’s mastermind of its terror proxies, crushed Iran’s confidence and deterred provocations. By 2021, the Middle East stood on the brink of a new era of peace and stability. Iran was contained, its proxies weakened, and the region almost freed from the looming threat of Iranian terror.

    Enter Joe Biden. President Biden desperately tried to revive a dead nuclear deal with Iran, even as the regime continued to expand its nuclear program in violation of its Nonproliferation Treaty-related obligations. The Biden administration pursued deals that would have provided the regime with sanctions relief while also allowing it to continue to expand its enrichment capabilities, including with support from Russia. And when the Biden administration came up short on a nuclear deal, it pursued a misguided $6 billion giveaway to Iran, and less than 2 months later, Hamas, with support from Iran, launched the heinous October 7th terrorist attack on Israel. Under the last administration, we occasionally heard tough language, but that was rarely backed up with concrete action. This lack of resolve emboldened Iran and its proxies, offering them a free hand to escalate attacks against the US and its partners and allies with few, if any, consequences. Under the Biden administration, Iran, China, and Russia joined forces to form an unholy alliance aimed at destabilizing the free world. Yet even as Iranian missiles and drones targeted Israel, fueled Putin’s illegal war of aggression against Ukraine, and were used to threaten US service members, the Biden administration did little to prevent the lapse of the UN’s missile embargo on Iran in October 2023. As a result, Iran now has a free hand to proliferate its missiles and long-range drones unchecked. Joe Biden’s foreign policy decisions in the Middle East were ill conceived, disorganized, and at times fatal, including for US service members as we tragically saw at Tower 22 in Jordan. And in the end, he left the world more volatile and less safe than he found it.

    It’s clear that the Biden administration’s blatant refusal to enforce sanctions against Iran contributed to instability across the region and the globe. Under his administration, we witnessed an unprecedented trade in illicit oil between Iran and China, opening a lifeline for the IRGC to fund its malign activities, and it didn’t work. Appeasing terrorists does not work. And that is why I’m pleased that President Trump has since put US policy towards Iran back on track, restoring the much-needed and most effective maximum pressure campaign. Since taking office just over 2 months ago, the Trump administration has made great strides to implement an aggressive and comprehensive Iran policy that restores much-needed deterrents. This is a welcome change from the days of hand-wringing we saw under President Biden, whose policy towards Iran was all carrots and no sticks. The strategy now is to execute the maximum pressure campaign and deny the regime every ounce of grace given to them by the Biden administration.

    As part of this strategy, we must clamp down on the Iranian oil trade. Last year, Iran made over $50 billion from its illicit oil trade, much of which is controlled by its Revolutionary Guard Corps. As part of the maximum pressure, we must fully enforce existing sanctions to stop this illicit oil trade, specifically cutting off Iran’s oil trade with China, which accounts for roughly 90% of oil exports. We must also take all available steps to stop Iran ever obtaining a nuclear weapon. A nuclear Iran is not an option, and the safety of the American people and everything we love is dependent on our success here. One way or another, Iran’s nuclear ambitions are finished. And once Iran loses hope for nuclear capacity and we’ve decimated their bank accounts with the halt to the oil trade, they won’t be able to fund terror proxies any longer. President Trump’s support for Israel in the war against Iran-backed terror is absolute, and I hope to see other partners in the region step up their commitment to working with the US and Israel to address this shared threat to ensure Iran no longer threatens our security or that of the free world. As this hearing will demonstrate, there are a number of measures that can and should be taken, and I look forward to exploring that with our witnesses today and seeing the path forward.

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Rep. Houchin Introduces Four Bills to Protect Students, Support Families, and Uphold American Values

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Erin Houchin (Indiana 09)

    Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Erin Houchin (IN-09) introduced four major legislative proposals aimed at strengthening education, defending American institutions from foreign influence, supporting families in crisis, and improving outcomes for children in foster care. Each bill reflects Houchin’s commitment to promoting transparency, protecting vulnerable populations, and putting American families first.

    “These bills are focused on doing what’s right for the American people—protecting students, supporting families, and strengthening systems we rely on,” said Rep. Houchin. “Whether it’s ensuring taxpayer dollars aren’t funding institutions that break immigration laws or expanding access to end-of-life care for families, these bills are about accountability and common sense.”

    The four bills introduced include:

    • College Employment Accountability Act: Prohibits colleges and universities that hire illegal immigrants from receiving federal student aid or institutional funding. The bill also mandates participation in the E-Verify program and strengthens coordination between federal departments to enforce immigration laws.
    • Safeguarding American Education From Foreign Control Act: Protects American educational institutions by increasing transparency and restrictions on foreign funding. The bill prevents adversarial nations from using financial influence to shape curriculum or policy at U.S. schools and universities.
    • End-of-life Access to Supportive and Essential Care (E.A.S.E.) Act: Improves access to care for patients with terminal illnesses, ensuring families have options and support during end-of-life care.
    • Foster Care Tax Credit: Provides a federal tax credit to families who open their homes to foster children, helping reduce the financial burden and encouraging more Americans to consider becoming foster parents. 

    “These are practical, targeted bills that can make a meaningful difference in people’s lives,” Houchin added. “I’m proud to lead on these issues and will keep fighting to make Washington work for families in Indiana and across the country.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: U.S. Representative Gabe Vasquez Appointed to U.S. Air Force Academy Board of Visitors

    Source: US Representative Gabe Vasquez’s (NM-02)

    Vasquez to help shape the next generation of Air Force leaders, strengthening national security and New Mexico’s military communities

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Representative Gabe Vasquez (NM-02) has been appointed to the U.S. Air Force Academy Board of Visitors, where he will play a key role in advising and overseeing the Academy’s operations, curriculum, and policies. Vasquez was recommended for the position by House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries and House Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Adam Smith.

    “I am honored to serve on the U.S. Air Force Academy Board of Visitors,” said Vasquez. “New Mexico is home to critical Air Force installations like Holloman Air Force Base, where we train the next generation of pilots and military leaders. I look forward to ensuring that the Academy provides the best education and training to our future Air Force officers so they are ready to meet the challenges of tomorrow.”

    In his role on the Board, Vasquez will provide oversight on matters related to morale, discipline, curriculum, instruction, facilities, and financial affairs at the Academy. His appointment comes at a critical time as the U.S. Air Force continues to adapt to evolving security challenges and new technological advancements in defense.

    New Mexico’s Holloman Air Force Base, Kirtland Air Force Base, and Cannon Air Force Base play vital roles in national security and the state’s economy. Vasquez’s appointment to the Board reinforces his commitment to supporting military families, expanding career opportunities for service members, and ensuring that bases like Holloman continue to thrive.

    “Our military installations are home to thousands of service members and their families,” said Vasquez. “I will make sure that their needs are prioritized and that we continue to invest in the infrastructure, education, and training that make our Air Force the best in the world.”

    The U.S. Air Force Academy Board of Visitors is composed of bipartisan members from Congress, presidential appointees, and military leaders who oversee and advise the Academy’s leadership on key institutional matters.

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Attorney General Bonta Joins Coalition Opposing Federal Legislation That Would Create Substantial Barriers to Voting

    Source: US State of California Department of Justice

    OAKLAND — As part of a coalition of 18 attorneys general, California Attorney General Rob Bonta today announced sending a letter to congressional leadership in opposition to H.R. 22, known as the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act. The coalition argues that the proposed legislation would create unnecessary and burdensome proof of citizenship requirements that would effectively disenfranchise millions of eligible voters across the country. 

    Reintroduced by Republican Congressman Chip Roy (TX-21), the SAVE Act would amend the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) to require voters to provide documentary proof of citizenship before registering to vote or updating their voting registration. The coalition emphasizes that this requirement would reverse three decades of progress made under the NVRA, which was designed to remove barriers to voter registration and promote greater participation in the democratic process. 

    “The so-called SAVE Act would be bad for blue and red states alike. I strongly urge members of Congress to oppose it,” said Attorney General Bonta. “The fact of the matter is this: federal law already prohibits non-citizens from voting in federal elections, and voting by non-citizens is exceedingly rare. Those who say otherwise are being dishonest. To make matters worse, should this bill become law, millions of Americans would be disenfranchised because they lack ready access to a passport or a valid birth certificate, or because they might struggle to take time off from work to present in-person their proof of citizenship. Forty-two states across the country, including California, have online voter registration systems in place that already allow us to verify whether someone is or is not a U.S. citizen. Put another way, we do not need the SAVE Act in any way, shape, or form. With consumer confidence in our economy plummeting, it is my sincere hope that elected representatives in Washington D.C. will instead focus on tackling the true crisis — the affordability crisis — that is rightly concerning most people.” 

    In the letter to House Speaker Michael Johnson and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, the coalition emphasizes that non-citizen voting is extremely rare. Studies show that in jurisdictions with high immigration populations, only 0.0001% of votes cast were by non-citizens. Despite this negligible risk, the SAVE Act would impose substantial burdens on eligible voters, particularly affecting poor and minority communities. 

    The attorneys general warn that the legislation would create significant obstacles for eligible voters, including:

    • Requiring documentation, such as passports or birth certificates, that can be cost-prohibitive and must perfectly match current names.
    • Mandating in-person presentation of citizenship documents, effectively eliminating online voter registration systems currently available in 42 states.
    • Creating barriers for married women whose birth certificates don’t match their current names.
    • Jeopardizing the franchise for active-duty service members who cannot return to their local election offices.

    “Over 21 million voting-age citizens do not have ready access to a passport, birth record, or naturalization record,” the coalition notes in their letter. “And 80% of married women would not have a valid birth certificate under the SAVE Act because those women chose to adopt their partner’s last name.”

    The attorneys general also highlight concerns about the substantial administrative and financial burdens the Act would place on state election systems. The legislation would require states to fundamentally restructure their voter registration procedures and create new systems for document verification, while criminalizing mistakes made by election officials with penalties of up to five years in prison.

    The coalition urges congressional leadership to oppose the SAVE Act and maintain accessible voting rights for all eligible Americans. Protecting election integrity should not come at the cost of disenfranchising legitimate voters.

    Joining Attorney General Bonta in sending this letter are the attorneys general of Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawai’i, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington. 

    A copy of the letter can be found here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: NORTHAMPTON COUNTY – Governor Shapiro to Highlight Efforts to Support Pennsylvania Brewers and Small Businesses in the Face of Tariffs and Economic Uncertainty

    Source: US State of Pennsylvania

    April 02, 2025 – Bethlehem, PA

    ADVISORY – NORTHAMPTON COUNTY – Governor Shapiro to Highlight Efforts to Support Pennsylvania Brewers and Small Businesses in the Face of Tariffs and Economic Uncertainty

    Governor Josh Shapiro will visit Fegley’s Bethlehem Brew Works to highlight his Administration’s actions to grow Pennsylvania’s economy, support small businesses, and invest in our Main Streets as the federal government enacts tariffs on a wide range of products which drive up costs for consumers and businesses.

    Earlier today, Governor Shapiro and Secretary Redding visited Metzler Forest Products in Mifflin County to announce a new agricultural innovation grant that is helping Pennsylvania hardwood companies expand their operations. Pennsylvania is the top exporter of hardwood lumber and forest products in the country.

    WHO:
    Governor Josh Shapiro
    Mayor Willie Reynolds
    Representative Steve Samuelson
    Representative Jeanne McNeill
    Jeff Fegley, Owner of Fegley’s Brew Works

    WHEN:
    TOMORROW, Wednesday, April 2, 2025 at 1:15 PM

    WHERE:
    Fegley’s Bethlehem Brew Works 559 Main Street #101 Bethlehem PA, 18018

    LIVE STREAM:
    pacast.com/live/gov
    governor.pa.gov/live/

    RSVP:
    Press who are interested in attending must RSVP with the names and phone numbers for each member of their team to ra-gvgovpress@pa.gov.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Cassidy Pushes for Long-Needed Update to Social Security Income Program for Disabled, Elderly Americans

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Louisiana Bill Cassidy
    WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) introduced the SSI Savings Penalty Elimination Act to reform the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program, which has not been updated in nearly 40 years and currently punishes older and disabled Americans for saving for emergencies and their futures. Cassidy’s legislation would update SSI’s asset limits to ensure disabled and elderly Americans are able to prepare themselves for a financial emergency without putting the benefits they rely on to live at risk. 
    “Outdated rules are making disabled Americans pick between a better job and losing their safety net. That’s wrong,” said Dr. Cassidy. “Instead, let’s encourage work, help people save, and lift them out of poverty.”
    Cassidy was joined by U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) in introducing the legislation.
    “A $2,000 rainy-day fund doesn’t go as far as it did in 1989, but that’s all the savings that people who rely on SSI benefits are allowed,” said Senator Cortez Masto. “We shouldn’t punish people who are working hard, saving their money, and planning for the future. Congress must raise the SSI asset limit to help our seniors and Americans with disabilities.”
    Right now, individuals with a disability or those aged 65 and older are only eligible for Supplemental Security Income if they have under $2,000 in assets. SSI’s marriage penalty restricts married couples to a total of $3,000 in financial resources to remain eligible. A study by JPMorganChase suggests that current asset and income limits on federal benefits for people with disabilities make it harder for them to work a part-time job or save money for an emergency. TheSSI Savings Penalty Elimination Actwould raise the SSI asset limits to $10,000 for individuals and $20,000 for married couples, and index them to inflation moving forward. The last update to SSI asset limits was passed by Congress in 1984 and went into effect in 1989.
    The SSI Savings Penalty Elimination Act is supported of more than 200 businesses, faith-based groups, and organizations dedicated to improving the lives of older adults and people with disabilities.
    Cassidy and Cortez Masto were joined by U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-ME), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), James Lankford (R-OK), Patty Murray (D-WA.), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Rick Scott (R-FL) in cosponsoring the legislation. 
    Companion legislation was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by U.S. Representatives Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA-01) and Danny K. Davis (D-IL-07).

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: News 04/1/2025 Blackburn, Scott, Cruz Introduce BOLIVAR Act to Hold Illegitimate Maduro Regime Accountable

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn)
    WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), and Ted Cruz (R-Texas) introduced the Banning Operations and Leases with the Illegitimate Venezuelan Authoritarian Regime (BOLIVAR) Act. This legislation holds Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro accountable by prohibiting federal agencies from doing business with anyone that supports the oppressive Maduro regime.
    This builds on the efforts of President Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio to hold the illegitimate Maduro regime accountable by reversing Biden’s appeasement policies and tightening economic pressure on the Maduro regime and its criminal enterprises.
    “The Maduro regime is a fraudulent and oppressive dictatorship, and U.S. business dealings with Venezuela should not lend legitimacy to this government, which contradicts our democratic values,” said Senator Blackburn. “The BOLIVAR Act would prevent U.S. federal agencies from contracting with entities linked to the Maduro regime, severing financial support and weakening Nicolás Maduro’s authoritarian hold on Venezuela.”
    “Nicolás Maduro is an illegitimate, murderous dictator who oppresses the people of Venezuela, deprives them of freedoms, and steals elections from the rightful president, Edmundo González, and leader María Corina Machado. Maduro stands against everything the United States stands for, and he cannot remain in power. President Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are moving quickly to reverse the appeasement and dangerous policies of the Biden administration, which have emboldened and enriched the regime for years now, and are taking significant action to hold the regime accountable and to stop Maduro from benefitting off Venezuela’s natural resources while the nation’s people suffer. We must keep up the pressure on the regime to FINALLY get Maduro out of power and bring freedom to the Venezuelan people by passing my BOLIVAR Act. This will build on our actions by preventing any federal agencies from doing business with anyone who chooses to do businesses with the murderous Maduro regime. It’s time to finally get this bill passed and signed into law to cut Maduro off from every last resource, get him and his thugs out of power, and bring a new day of freedom to Venezuela,” said Senator Scott.
    “Maduro is a tyrant and despot, and his regime poses acute risks to American national security and to the freedoms of the people of Venezuela. The regime is enabled and enriched through international contracts with global companies, and it is squarely in the interests of the United States to limit those contracts and hold those companies accountable. I urge my colleagues to take swift action to advance this bill,” said Senator Cruz.
    The BOLIVAR Act:
    Prohibits federal agencies from awarding U.S. government contracts with companies that are engaged in business with the Maduro regime.
    The prohibition would only apply to contracts entered into on or after the bill’s enactment.
    Provides for necessary exceptions, including for rendering humanitarian aid and disaster relief.
    Allows the Secretary of State to waive the restriction when in the national interest of the U.S.
    Read the bill text HERE.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI: NowVertical Reports Record 2024 Financial Results

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Company Hosting Investor Webinar on April 2, 2025, at 10:00 AM EST

    • Q4 2024 revenue was $10.9 million, up 94% Y/Y excluding recent divestitures
    • On a reported basis, Q4 2024 revenue increased 8% Y/Y
    • Q4 2024 Net Income was $0.6 million, up 115% Y/Y excluding recent divestitures
    • On a reported basis, Q4 2024 Net Income increased by 116% Y/Y
    • Q4 2024 Adjusted EBITDA was $2.6 million, up 225% Y/Y
    • 2024 FY Cash flows from operations were $2.8 million

    TORONTO, April 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — NowVertical Group Inc. (TSX-V: NOW) (“NOW” or the “Company”), a leader in AI-driven data solutions, announces audited financial results for its fourth fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2024. Unless otherwise specified, all dollar amounts are expressed in U.S. dollars. Management will host an investor webinar at 10:00 AM EST (7:00 AM PST) on Wednesday April 2, 2025, to discuss the Company’s financial and business results.

    Selected Financial Highlights for the Three Months Ended December 31, 2024:

    • Revenue was $10.9 million in the three months ended December 31, 2024 (“Q4 2024”), an 8% increase from $10.1 million for the three months ending December 31, 2023 (“Q4 2023”). Excluding the disposition of Allegient Defense, Inc. (“Allegient”) on May 24, 2024, and Seafront Analytics, LLC (“Seafront”) on December 31, 2023, Q4 2023 revenue was $5.6 million, translating to a year-over-year growth of 94%.
    • Gross Profit was $5.7 million in Q4 2024, consistent with $5.7 million in Q4 2023. Excluding the Allegient and Seafront businesses, Q4 2023 gross profit was $4.1 million, translating to a year-over year increase of 37%.
    • Administrative Expenses were $3.0 million in Q4 2024, a 52% decrease from $6.1 million in Q4 2023. Excluding the Allegient and Seafront businesses, Q4 2023 administrative expenses were $5.0 million, translating to a year-over-year decrease of 40%.
    • Adjusted EBITDA was $2.6 million in Q4 2024, a 225% increase from $0.8 million in Q4 2023. Excluding the Allegient and Seafront businesses, Adjusted EBITDA was $0.5 million in Q4 2023, translating to a year-over-year increase of 420%.
    • Net Income was $0.6 million in Q4 2024, an 116% increase from a $3.6 million net loss in Q4 2023. Excluding the Allegient and Seafront businesses, Q4 2023 had a Net Loss of $3.9 million, translating to a year-over-year net income growth of $4.5 million. Net income per basic and diluted share of $0.01 in Q4 2024, compared to a net loss per share of $0.05 in Q4 2023.

    Select results for the year ended December 31, 2024:

    • Revenue was $46.9 million in the year ended December 31, 2024, (“FY 2024”), a 9% decrease from $51.7 million in the year ended December 31, 2023 (“FY 2023”). Excluding the dispositions of Allegient, Seafront and the Affinio Social (“Affinio Social”) business which was divested on May 10, 2023, revenue was $39.4 million in FY 2024 and $32.5 million in FY 2023, translating to a year-over-year growth of 21%.
    • Gross Profit was $23.1 million in FY 2024, a 10% decrease from $25.7 million in FY 2023. Excluding the Allegient, Seafront and Affinio Social businesses, gross profit was $20.5 million in FY 2024 and $18.9 million in FY 2023, translating to a year-over year increase of 9%.
    • Administrative Expenses were $18.1 million in FY 2024, a 30% decrease from $25.8 million in FY 2023. Excluding the Allegient, Seafront and Affinio Social businesses, administrative expenses were $16.2 million in FY 2024 and $20.2 million in FY 2023, translating to a year-over-year decrease of 20%.
    • Adjusted EBITDA was $7.8 million in FY 2024, a 46% increase from $5.4 million in FY 2023. Excluding the Allegient, Seafront and Affinio Social businesses, Adjusted EBITDA was $7.2 million in FY 2024 and $4.0 million in FY 2023, translating to a year-over-year increase of 77%.
    • Net Income was $1.6 million in FY 2024, an 116% increase from a $5.9 million Net Loss in FY 2023. Excluding the Allegient, Seafront and Affinio Social businesses, Net Income was $1.0 million in FY 20024 and a $4.9 million Net Loss in FY 2023, translating to a year-over-year increase of 115%. Net income per basic and diluted share of $0.02 in FY 2024, compared to a net loss per share of $0.08 in FY 2023.
    • Cash flows from operations were $2.8 million in FY 2024, an $8.2 million increase from cash flows used in operations of $5.4 million in FY 2023.

    “NOW has delivered its strongest quarter to date, demonstrating the power of our focused strategy and disciplined execution. Q4 2024 Adjusted EBITDA of $2.6 million, up from $2.0 million in Q3 2024, indicates our integration strategy and efficiency-focused measures are yielding results. Outstanding credit goes to our operator-first leadership team, who have executed this at a faster pace than anticipated,” said Sandeep Mendiratta, CEO of NOW. “We have renegotiated acquisition liabilities, leading to meaningful cash savings and a more favorable payment schedule, reducing total acquisition-related liabilities by an estimated $5.4 million. Most importantly, this business has been completely turned around—we are now profitable, generating credible EBITDA, and have demonstrated robust organic growth despite a year of transformation. With a strong, ambitious, and deeply invested management team in place, we are confident in steering NOW toward meaningful and sustained growth in the coming quarters and years. Our fourth quarter has demonstrably put us on the path to achieving our objective of $10 million in annual EBITDA on $50 million in revenue, with a best-in-class 20% EBITDA margin. We believe we now have a platform for sustained organic revenue growth, with strong margins across our core markets. We look forward to discussing these points and more on our third-quarter investor call.”

    Q4 2024 and Subsequent Business Highlights:

    • March 03, 2025: The Company announced its participation in the exclusive, invite-only ROTH Conference, which convenes leading institutional investors and high-growth companies across a range of sectors
    • February 20, 2025: Converted CAD$3.025 million in historical obligations from debt to equity through the issuance of 9,168,418 Class A subordinate voting shares.
    • February 3, 2025: The sellers of Affinio Inc. agreed to defer the payment of $998,000 in outstanding liabilities previously due in the first half of 2025. The amount will now be payable in late Q4 2025.
    • January 16, 2025: Achieves prestigious Google Premier Partner Status in LATAM, solidifying Its leadership in Data and AI Solutions.
    • January 14, 2025: Executive management team have acquired approximately 1.06 million Class A subordinate voting shares in the open market. Following these purchases, management’s pro forma ownership is expected to increase to approximately 27%.
    • January 13, 2025: The Chief Executive Officer and Director of the Company opted to receive his annual bonus in the form of restricted share units in the Company.
    • January 02, 2025: The Company announced that it has entered into a debt settlement agreement with the former owners of Acrotrend Solutions Ltd., including NOW’s CEO, Sandeep Mendiratta, who agreed to settle $815,000 of the $1,055,000 owed to them as of December 31, 2024, through the issuance of Class A subordinate voting shares of the Company.
    • December 23, 2024: The Company announced that is has entered into a debt settlement with the former owners of CoreBI S.A. and CoreBI S.A.S., who agreed to settle an aggregate entitlement of $1,250,000 owed to them through the issuance of 5,432,954 Class A subordinate voting shares of the Company.
    • December 17, 2024: Announced the launch of its AI Financial Agent as part of the latest update to NowHub-Finance, an end-to-end analytics platform for finance teams. This AI-driven upgrade enhances NOW’s commitment to rapidly transforming data into business value.
    • November 26, 2024:   Announced the formation of a Strategic Partnership with Microsoft and the launch of a Global Center of Excellence, aimed at fostering innovation and accelerating growth.
    • October 29, 2024: Introduced a Data Risk Mitigation solution and unique risk guarantee, empowering enterprises to uncover, mitigate, and control hidden data risks across complex data environments.
    • October 8, 2024: Unveiled an evolved Partner Marketing Solution tailored to help clients navigate the growing complexities of managing partner ecosystems.

    Q4 2024 Financial Results Investor Webinar:

    The Company invites shareholders, analysts, investors, media representatives, and other stakeholders to attend our upcoming webinar. Management will discuss Q4 2024 results, followed by a question-and-answer session.

    Investor Webinar Registration:

    Time: Wednesday, April 2, 2025, 10:00 AM in Eastern Time (US and Canada) 

    RegistrationLink: 
    https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_cEmYLTHBTLqtoK_qDtxqsw 

    A recording of the webinar and supporting materials will be made available in the investor’s section of the Company’s website at https://www.nowvertical.com/news-and-media.

    Additional Information:

    The Company’s audited annual 2024 consolidated financial statements, notes to financial statements, and management’s discussion and analysis for the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2024, are available on the Company’s SEDAR+ profile at www.sedarplus.com. Unless otherwise indicated, all references to “$” in this press release refer to US dollars, and all references to “CAD$” in this press release refer to Canadian dollars.

    About NowVertical Group Inc.

    The Company is a data analytics and AI solutions company offering comprehensive solutions, software and services. As a global provider, we deliver cutting-edge data, technology, and artificial intelligence (AI) applications to private and public enterprises. Our solutions form the bedrock of modern enterprises, converting data investments into business solutions. NOW is growing organically and through strategic acquisitions. For further details about NOW, please visit www.nowvertical.com.

    Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

    For further information, please contact:

    Andre Garber, CDO 
     IR@nowvertical.com 
    +1(647)947-0223 

    Cautionary Note Regarding Non-IFRS Measures:

    This news release refers to certain non-IFRS measures. These measures are not recognized measures under IFRS, do not have a standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS and are therefore unlikely to be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies. Rather, these measures are provided as additional information to complement those IFRS measures by providing further understanding of the Company’s results of operations from management’s perspective. The Company’s definitions of non-IFRS measures used in this news release may not be the same as the definitions for such measures used by other companies in their reporting. Non-IFRS measures have limitations as analytical tools and should not be considered in isolation nor as a substitute for analysis of the Company’s financial information reported under IFRS. The Company uses non IFRS financial measures including “EBITDA”, and “Adjusted EBITDA”. These non-IFRS measures are used to provide investors with supplemental measures of our operating performance and to eliminate items that have less bearing on our operational performance or operating conditions and thus highlight trends in our core business that may not otherwise be apparent when relying solely on IFRS measures. The Company believes that securities analysts, investors and other interested parties frequently use non-IFRS financial measures in the evaluation of issuers. The Company’s management also uses non-IFRS financial measures to facilitate operating performance comparisons from period to period and prepare annual budgets and forecasts.

    Non-IFRS Measures:

    The non-IFRS financial measures referred to in this news release are defined below. The management discussion and analysis for the year ended December 31, 2024, available at nowvertical.com and on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.com contains supporting calculations for Adjusted Revenue, EBITDA % and Adjusted EBITDA

    “Adjusted EBITDA” adjusts net income (loss) before depreciation and amortization expenses, net interest costs, and provision for income taxes for revenue adjustments in “Adjusted Revenue” and items such as acquisition accounting adjustments, transaction expenses related to acquisitions, transactional gains or losses on assets, asset impairment charges, non-recurring expense items, non-cash stock compensation costs, and the full year impact of cost synergies related to restructuring activities, such as a reduction of employees.

    “EBITDA %” is defined as Adjusted EBITDA as a percentage of Adjusted Revenue.

    “Adjusted Revenue” adjusts revenue to eliminate the effects of acquisition accounting on the Company’s revenues, which predominantly pertain to fair market value adjustments to the opening deferred revenue balances of acquired companies.

    Cautionary note regarding Forward-Looking Statements

    This news release may contain forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (within the meaning of applicable securities laws) which reflect the Company’s current expectations regarding future events. All statements in this news release that are not purely historical statements of fact are forward-looking statements and include statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations, future, strategy, objectives, goals and targets. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable and reflect expectations of future developments and other factors which management believes to be reasonable and relevant, the Company can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements can generally be identified by the use of forward-looking words such as “may”, “should”, “will”, “could”, “intend”, “estimate”, “plan”, “anticipate”, “expect”, “believe” or “continue”, or the negative thereof or similar variations. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause future results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from the estimated future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and undue reliance should not be placed thereon, as unknown or unpredictable factors could have material adverse effects on future results, performance or achievements of the Company. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as intended, planned, anticipated, believed, estimated or expected.

    All of the forward-looking statement contained in this press release are qualified by the foregoing cautionary statements, and there can be no guarantee that the results or developments that we anticipate will be realized or, even if substantially realized, that they will have the expected consequences or effects on our business, financial condition or results of operation. Unless otherwise noted or the context otherwise indicates, the forward -looking statements contained herein are provided as of the date hereof, and the Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update the forward-looking statements except as otherwise required by applicable law.

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Barry Lyndon at 50: why Kubrick’s most overlooked masterpiece deserves another viewing

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Nathan Abrams, Professor of Film Studies, Bangor University

    Stanley Kubrick’s Barry Lyndon, which marks its 50th anniversary this year, struggled at the box office when it was released. It remains one of the director’s most under-appreciated films. Unlike 2001: A Space Odyssey or The Shining, which have been endlessly dissected in books and essays, Barry Lyndon has received relatively little scholarly attention – just a single book.

    Perhaps its cool reception can be traced to its slow, contemplative pacing, its meticulously crafted but emotionally restrained storytelling, or its three-hour runtime. It also arrived at an inopportune moment, in the same year as Jaws, a film that would reshape Hollywood forever.

    Yet, Barry Lyndon deserves a second look, not only as one of Kubrick’s most visually striking films but also as an intensely personal project that offers rare insight into the director himself.

    The film follows the rise and fall of Redmond Barry, an ambitious Irishman who reinvents himself as Barry Lyndon in his pursuit of wealth and status. After fleeing his homeland following a duel, Barry navigates the treacherous world of 18th-century Europe.

    He serves as a soldier, a gambler and ultimately marries into aristocracy. However, his social ascent is marred by personal missteps, betrayals and the cold realities of high society.

    The project was born out of failure. Kubrick had spent years preparing for a grand epic about Napoleon, amassing an enormous archive of research and developing meticulous pre-production plans.

    But no studio was willing to finance the project. Unwilling to abandon his obsession with the late 18th century, he turned instead to The Luck of Barry Lyndon, a lesser-known 1844 novel by William Makepeace Thackeray.

    The Barry Lyndon trailer.

    The choice of Thackeray was in keeping with his taste for English writers like Arthur C. Clarke (2001) and Anthony Burgess (A Clockwork Orange). But this was a leap.

    Those previous writers were contemporaries and, Paths of Glory and Spartacus apart, nearly all of Kubrick’s previous films took place in the recent past, near present, or the future. Now he would try his hand at what would essentially be a costume drama. He would be recreating the past rather than creating the future.

    Some saw Barry Lyndon as a mere consolation prize. The film critic Alexander Walker called it a project “born on the rebound,” while production designer Ken Adam described it as a “dress rehearsal” for Napoleon. But Kubrick’s fascination with the Napoleonic era was evident in the film’s DNA.

    Thackeray himself had been fascinated by the French emperor, incorporating him into his novel, Vanity Fair, and writing The Second Funeral of Napoleon in 1841. Barry Lyndon draws heavily from the same historical themes, exploring the illusions and brutal realities of social ambition.

    What captivated Kubrick about Thackeray was his ability to expose the cruelty beneath the polished facade of aristocratic life. The rigid etiquette of the 18th century – a period described variously as an age of gentility, sensibility and enlightenment – demanded an emotional detachment that fascinated the director.

    Thackeray was, in many ways, a 19th-century sociologist, dissecting the class system, conspicuous consumption and the mercenary nature of marriage. These themes resonated deeply with Kubrick, whose films often explored power structures, status and manipulation.

    An outsider’s perspective

    Some critics have noticed a similarity between Kubrick and his lead character. As an American Jew living in north London, married to a German woman, Kubrick felt one step removed from the society around him, perhaps even somewhat of a social pariah. Ryan O’Neal’s casting as Barry was largely a commercial necessity – Kubrick needed a bankable star – but it also added a personal layer.

    Like Kubrick, O’Neal’s Barry is an outsider, the lone American in a European cast, a social climber forever out of place. The novel’s narrator observes that “those who’ve never been out of their country…” lack a certain perspective. It was something that Kubrick, a Bronx-born autodidact who had taught himself everything from chess to classical music, could surely relate to.

    The battle scene from Barry Lyndon.

    This theme of the outsider striving for greatness runs through much of Kubrick’s work. In 1960, he spoke admiringly of “the outsider who is passionately committed to action against the social order,” whether criminals, maniacs, revolutionaries, or dreamers.

    From Johnny Clay in The Killing, to Colonel Dax in Paths of Glory, and from Spartacus to Alex DeLarge in A Clockwork Orange, Kubrick’s protagonists are often men on the fringes of society. Barry Lyndon fits this mould perfectly, though his ambitions ultimately lead to his downfall.



    Read more:
    Stanley Kubrick redefined: recent research challenges myths to reveal the man behind the legend

    But Barry Lyndon is also, unexpectedly, one of Kubrick’s most emotional films. For all its detachment, it contains what might be his most heartbreaking scene, namely Barry’s devastation at the death of his son. In this moment, the film’s rigid, painterly compositions soften, revealing a rare vulnerability in Kubrick’s work.

    Ultimately, Barry Lyndon was more than a historical exercise. It was a deeply personal film, pursued at great financial and artistic risk. Kubrick created a film that is as much about social mobility and exile as it is about 18th-century Europe. If 2001 is a space odyssey, Barry Lyndon is a spatial odyssey, a film that turns the past into something mesmerising yet achingly real.

    Nathan Abrams receives and has previously received external funding, including government funding, foundation, charity and research council grants for this and similar work.

    – ref. Barry Lyndon at 50: why Kubrick’s most overlooked masterpiece deserves another viewing – https://theconversation.com/barry-lyndon-at-50-why-kubricks-most-overlooked-masterpiece-deserves-another-viewing-248484

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Kean Introduces Legislation to Secure America’s Leadership in Undersea Cable Infrastructure

    Source: US Representative Tom Kean, Jr. (NJ-07)

    (April 1, 2025) WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, Congressman Tom Kean, Jr. (NJ-07) introduced the Undersea Cable Control Act, a bill designed to secure America’s leadership in undersea cable infrastructure. This legislation aims to prevent China and other foreign adversaries from acquiring goods and technologies that support the construction, maintenance, and operation of undersea cables. 

    “Undersea cables are critical infrastructure for the fast and secure transmission of global data and communications,” said Congressman Kean. “We cannot stand by as China seeks to expand its influence over one of the world’s most powerful communications networks. It is essential that we take steps to protect undersea cables from foreign interference, sabotage, or control.”

    Background: 

    Undersea cables are a vital part of global communication infrastructures, with 99 percent of all transoceanic digital communications transporting data like the internet through these fiber optics cables. This technology has added $649 billion to the U.S. economy in 2019 alone and enables transactions worth more than $10 trillion every day within the American financial sector.

    In the past few years, as China continues to finance its state-run companies and their infrastructure projects globally as a part of the Belt and Road Initiatives, Chinese companies like Huawei and China Telecom have built undersea cables on every continent except for Antarctica. While the United States still has fiber optic technology that’s more advanced than China does, the prolific installments of undersea cables by the Chinese companies have raised economic and security concerns globally. 

    During the 118th Congress, the Undersea Cable Control Act, originally led by Rep. Brian Mast (FL-21), successfully passed the House of Representatives. 

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: SCHUMER REVEALS: WITH TRUMP’S DESTRUCTIVE TARIFFS SET TO START TOMORROW, THE COST TO UPSTATE NY IS A $7 BILLION GUT PUNCH, WITH $6,000+ IN HIGHER PRICES FOR FAMILIES PER YEAR; SENATOR SAYS WE MUST…

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for New York Charles E Schumer
    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
    Tuesday, April 1, 2025
    Contact: Ryan Martin, 202-680-0427
    SCHUMER REVEALS: WITH TRUMP’S DESTRUCTIVE TARIFFS SET TO START TOMORROW, REVEALS THE COST TO UPSTATE NY IS A $7 BILLION GUT PUNCH , WITH $6,000+ IN HIGHER PRICES FOR FAMILIES PER YEAR; SENATOR SAYS WE MUST STOP DAMAGING TRADE WAR WITH ALLIES LIKE CANADA AND PROTECT NY FAMILIES, BUSINESSES & JOBS
    Trump’s Tariffs – Set To Start Tomorrow – Could Raise Prices On New Yorkers As Much As $6,500 For Gas, Groceries, Cars And Everyday Goods – All While Decimating Small Businesses, Killing Good-Paying Jobs, Shrinking 401K’s And Damaging Upstate NY’s Vital Tourism Industry
    Schumer Says Stock Market Is Already Hitting Lowest Point In Years Due To Trump Tariff Chaos, Hurting Upstate Seniors’ Retirements – And Leading To Fears Of A Recession
    Schumer: Trump’s Tariffs Mean Higher Prices, Lower Life Savings And Lost Jobs For Upstate Families
    With President Trump’s “Liberation Day” for his destructive tariffs set to start tomorrow, U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer today revealed data on the devastating impacts of this unstrategic and damaging tariff war on Upstate New York’s families, small businesses, and jobs – increasing costs for families by up to $6,500 for gas, groceries, cars, and common goods and potentially impacting 150,000+ jobs in directly targeted industries across Upstate New York. The senator said he has gotten calls from farmers, worried workers, and factory owners scrambling in the face of coming tariffs, and said it will be NY businesses, seniors and working- and middle-class class families who will be footing the bill for this tariff war  – in the form of higher prices, a slower economy and shrinking life savings.
    “Tomorrow Trump says he will begin imposing his destructive sweeping tariffs, and if that happens it will be a gut punch to Upstate NY’s economy. Plain and simple, Trump’s tariffs are a tax increase on Upstate New York, a massive new destructive national sales tax for all of America,” said Senator Schumer. “Trump’s tariff war has already created chaos, and the economic uncertainty is causing the stock market to fall, hurting seniors’ retirements, cratering consumer confidence, and jeopardizing the jobs of thousands of New Yorkers. If this tariff war continues, it could devastate Upstate NY’s economy in ways we haven’t seen since the height of the pandemic. President Trump has said straight up that he doesn’t care if prices go up – Well, I do. I am all for addressing trade imbalances. In fact, Trump should be spending far more time going after China’s long-standing trade cheating that has robbed upstate NY of jobs for far too long, rather than picking a trade war with Canada that will only cost more NY jobs and drive up prices for everyone.”
    Schumer explained that consumers bear the cost of tariffs, and Trump’s tariff war is expected to increase costs for American families by up to $6,500 according to the latest analysis of his sweeping plans. According to the Yale Budget Lab, this would increase costs for the average American family by up to:
    Schumer added, “Trump’s tariffs are already slowing sales, and tourism from Canada is down, hurting Upstate’s restaurants and Main Streets. No matter which way you slice it, costs are going to sky rocket for consumers. If you’re in Upstate New York, you’ll feel it first, and worse than just about anywhere in the country. We need everyone, especially NY Republicans, to stand up against Trump’s senseless, job-killing, cost-increasing tax on Upstate New Yorkers.”
    Rising costs will force families to reconsider how they spend their money, which is already causing consumer confidence to plummet said Schumer, and NY families and businesses are expected to pay approximately $7.17 billion total due to Trump’s tariffs, including and $568 million on steel and aluminum.
    According to the New York Times, nearly 8 million Americans work in industries targeted by Trump’s tariffs, including approximately 159,400 in Upstate New York. A regional breakdown of jobs in industries directly impacted by tariffs based on the New York Times analysis can be found below, which does not even account for all the related jobs such as the tourism industry that are also being impacted by the damage of this trade war:

    NY Region

    Jobs In Industries Directly Targeted by Tariffs Most At Risk

    Capital Region

    14,400

    Western New York

    30,100

    Rochester-Finger Lakes

    33,200

    Central New York

    16,100

    Hudson Valley

    27,800

    Southern Tier

    17,300

    Mohawk Valley

    10,000

    North Country

    6,100

    UPSTATE NY TOTAL

    155,000

    Canada is New York State’s top importer and exporter, last year importing $20.5 billion of goods from Canada and exporting $17.4 billion. 70% of Canadian imports are used to manufacture American-made products. Every day, $2.5 billion worth of goods cross the United States-Canada border. People across Upstate New York will especially feel the impact of Trump’s tariffs on Canada given the interconnection of Upstate NY’s economy and trade with Canada.

    What Upstate NY Will See

    Impacts

    Increasing costs for businesses in every industry

    $6 billion in lumber and wood products for the U.S. homebuilding industry came from Canada in 2024, exacerbating costs for affordable housing.

    Canadian tourism slowing down, hurting local businesses

    The Canadian government is encouraging Canadians to boycott travel to the United States, according to the New York Times. Maine has been seeing significant cancellations and Upstate New York could be next on the chopping block, which would have devastating impacts especially with the summer tourist season rapidly approaching.
    45% of Quebecois who had planned vacations in the U.S. this year were now canceling those plans, leading to $3 billion in lost revenue for U.S. businesses, according to the Quebec Tourism Industry Alliance.
    Car crossings from Canada through Plattsburgh in the North Country were down 16% from February 2024, according to the Albany Times Union. There is a projected overall 21% reduction in American travel from Canada.

    Higher costs at the grocery store for families and local restaurants

    Canada leads in exports of grain, livestock and meats, poultry, and more, according to CNN. In 2023, the United States imported about $40 billion in agricultural food products from Canada, ranging from baked goods to canola oil, according to Eater.
    70% of maple syrup globally comes from Canada, and more than 60% of maple exports went to the United States which would get more expensive, according to the New York Times.
    The price of beef could rise because Canadian ranchers are afraid of Trump’s tariffs and shrinking cattle herds, according to Reuters. Beef and pork account for nearly $4 billion in Canadian imports, according to Eater.
    The price of groceries could increase by $185 – or approximately 3% – every year, according to Eater.

    Nearly 160,000 Upstate New York jobs in industries targeted by tariffs at risk, plus many more in related industries like tourism

    Over 680,000 New York jobs depend on trade with Canada. Nearly 160,000 jobs in Upstate New York are in industries directly targeted by Trump’s tariffs and at risk, according to the New York Times.
    The U.S. Travel Association warned that even a 10% reduction in Canadian travelers would translate to $2.1 billion in lost spending and jeopardize 140,000 hospitality jobs nationwide, according to Forbes, many of which would be in Upstate NY as one of the most popular close by destinations.

    Higher electricity, heating, and gas bills for our families, small businesses, and manufacturers

    Electricity is a $7 billion commodity market in New York, and the state imports hundreds of millions of dollars of Canadian electricity annually.
    While the amount varies by month and year, the reliable clean power imported from Canadian dams is critical, and a tariff on Canadian electricity imports would likely raise rates for New Yorkers.
    In response to the Schumer-Hochul letter to New York energy regulators on the tariffs, agency staff assert that electricity costs could increase by $42 to $105 million per year, and that:
    Gasoline prices could increase by $26 million per year
    Heating oil costs could increase by $57 million per year
    Diesel costs could increase by $48 million per year
    Propane costs could increase by $16 million per year; and
    Natural gas costs could increase by $4.4 million per year

    Trump has already delayed the start of his tariffs twice, creating uncertainty for families and small businesses and triggering volatility for the American economy. Trump’s tariff uncertainty is causing the stock market to fall, hurting Upstate New York seniors’ retirements. According to Bloomberg, the stock market rout has intensified in anticipation of Trump’s next tariff rollout, with concerns about recessions leaving the S&P 500 Index on track for its worst quarter compared to the rest of the world since the 1980s.
    Trump in February declared an emergency on fentanyl, which is how he is justifying tariffs on goods from Canada. Schumer explained that less than 0.2% of fentanyl entering the United States comes from Canada, and instead of helping combat the fentanyl crisis, these tariffs will only harm American families, small businesses, and jobs. Schumer said the Senate will vote on a resolution later today terminating Trump’s national emergency that is justifying his destructive tariffs that would require Republican support.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Crapo Announces New Hires, Staff Changes

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Idaho Mike Crapo
    Washington, D.C.–U.S. Senator Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) announced new hires and staff changes in his Washington, D.C., and Idaho Falls offices.
    David Pace joined Crapo’s Idaho Falls office as Press Secretary.  David was a reporter with East Idaho News and has previously worked at the Standard Journal and Post Register.  He is a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves.  David graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in communications and public relations and minors in Middle Eastern studies and business management.
    Casey Jones, a native of Boise, joined Crapo’s Washington, D.C., office as Staff Assistant and IT Assistant.  She graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in elementary education.
    Jameson Parker joined the Washington, D.C., office as Legislative Correspondent.  Jameson holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Arizona.  He previously worked for Representative Michael Burgess (R-Texas).  He will cover education, pro-life, veterans, small business and health care issues.
    Kennedy Cummins, a Murtaugh native, has been promoted to Staff Assistant and D.C. Office Manager.  Kennedy first joined Crapo’s Boise office as an intern last fall and was serving a second internship in the D.C. office.  She is a senior at Boise State University studying political science.
    Matthew Mondello has been promoted to Legislative Assistant.  Matthew previously served the Crapo office as a Legislative Aide.  He graduated from Wake Forest University with a degree in politics.  As a Legislative Assistant, Matthew is responsible for health care, labor, veterans, small business and education issues.
    Matthew Favero has been promoted to Legislative Correspondent.  He previously served as Staff Assistant and intern.  Matthew holds a degree in American studies from Brigham Young University.  As Legislative Correspondent, Matthew is responsible for semiconductor, energy, public lands and agriculture issues.
    Grant Auman has been promoted to Legislative Correspondent.  He previously served as Staff Assistant and intern.  Grant holds degrees in political science, economics and Spanish from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.  As Legislative Correspondent, he is responsible for banking, tax, budget, telecommunications and judiciary issues.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: US files civil forfeiture complaint for $47 million in proceeds from Iranian oil sale following ICE investigation

    Source: US Immigration and Customs Enforcement

    WASHINGTON – An investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has resulted in a civil forfeiture complaint alleging that $47 million in proceeds from the sale of nearly one million barrels of Iranian petroleum is forfeitable as property of, or affording a person a source of influence over, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps or its Qods Force, designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations.

    The forfeiture was announced by ICE Homeland Security Investigations New York acting Special Agent in Charge Michael Alfonso; Sue J. Bai, head of the Justice Department’s National Security Division; U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr., for the District of Columbia; and FBI Special Agent in Charge Alvin M. Winston, Sr. of the Minneapolis Field Office.

    “Through the work of HSI’s Counterproliferation Investigations group, alongside the FBI, the U.S. government has seized $47 million worth of funds allegedly meant for terrorist groups intent on causing catastrophic harm,” said ICE HSI New York acting Special Agent in Charge Alfonso. “The expertise of HSI personnel, coupled with federal law enforcement’s whole-of-government approach, ensures the wellbeing of the United States and our innocent foreign counterparts, alike. We are relentlessly utilizing every tool at our disposal in pursuit of any and all security threats.”

    The forfeiture complaint alleges a scheme between 2022 and 2024 to facilitate the shipment, storage, and sale of Iranian petroleum product for the benefit of the IRGC and IRGC-QF. The facilitators used deceptive practices to masquerade the Iranian oil as Malaysian, including by manipulating the tanker’s automatic identification system to conceal that it onboarded the oil from a port in Iran. The facilitators presented falsified documents to the Croatian storage facility and port authority, claiming that the oil was Malaysian. The facilitators paid for storage fees associated with the oil’s storage at the Croatian facility in U.S. dollars, transactions that were conducted through U.S. financial institutions that would have refused the transactions had they known they were associated with Iranian oil. The petroleum product was sold in 2024, and the United States seized $47 million in proceeds from that sale.

    The civil forfeiture complaint further alleges that the petroleum product constitutes the property of the National Iranian Oil Company, which has perpetuated a federal crime of terrorism by providing material support to the IRGC and IRGC-QF. As alleged, profits from petroleum product sales support the IRGC’s full range of malign activities, including the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery, support for terrorism, and both domestic and international human rights abuses.

    “We will aggressively enforce U.S. sanctions against Iran, in furtherance of President Trump’s maximum pressure campaign,” said U.S. Attorney Martin. “With the continued seizures of Iranian oil and U.S. dollar profits, we are sending a clear message to Iran that bypassing the sanctions put in place by the U.S. Government is not as easy as playing a shell game with tankers filled with oil. We remain committed to thwarting Iran’s devious attempts, and to deprive its terrorists of the funding they desire.”

    “The FBI will not allow hostile regimes to evade U.S. sanctions or exploit our financial systems to fund designated terrorist organizations,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Winston. “The FBI, alongside our partners, will relentlessly enforce U.S. sanctions against Iran and safeguard U.S. national security by disrupting illicit networks that seek to profit from sanctioned oil sales.”

    Funds successfully forfeited with a connection to a state sponsor of terrorism may in whole or in part be directed to the U.S. Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund.

    ICE HSI New York and FBI Minneapolis Field Office are investigating the case.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Attorney General Pam Bondi Appoints Gregory W. Kehoe As Interim United States Attorney

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Tampa, FL – Attorney General Pam Bondi has appointed Gregory W. Kehoe as Interim United States Attorney for the Middle District of Florida pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 546, which provides that “the Attorney General may appoint a United States Attorney for the district in which the office of United States Attorney is vacant.” This appointment took effect on March 31, 2025.

    Mr. Kehoe worked for the U.S. Department of Justice as a prosecutor for over 20 years with postings in the United States, Europe, Asia and South America. While serving as an Assistant U.S. Attorney, he was responsible for prosecuting a number of high-profile cases involving financial institutions and corporate fraud allegations, as well as racketeering charges.

    Mr. Kehoe also led the team of lawyers and investigators which advised the Iraqi Special Tribunal, an ad hoc court formed to prosecute Saddam Hussein and members of his former regime.

    Most recently, Mr. Kehoe was a shareholder at the law firm of Greenberg Traurig.

    Mr. Kehoe received his bachelor’s degree from Boston College, summa cum laude, and his Juris Doctorate from St. John’s University.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Tuberville Continues to Champion Cryptocurrency, Calls President Trump the “Crypto President”

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Alabama Tommy Tuberville
    WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) reintroduced two pieces of legislation related to protecting American cryptocurrency.
    Senator Tuberville’s first bill, the Financial Freedom Act, would reverse a Biden-era memo from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) that limits options for where Americans can invest their retirement earnings. The Financial Freedom Act would allow Americans to choose how they want to invest their money, including in crypto.
    “The Biden administration was hellbent on controlling every aspect of Americans’ lives,” said Senator Tuberville. “Meddling in 401(k) investments through overregulation restrains financial growth and restricts personal liberty. The federal government, which is $36 trillion debt, shouldn’t be telling anyone how to invest their money. My bill ensures that hardworking Americans have the financial freedom to make decisions about how to invest their retirement savings.”
    Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) is a cosponsor of this legislation.
    Senator Tuberville’s second bill, the Prohibiting Foreign Adversary Interference in Cryptocurrency Markets Act, would prohibit the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) from registering a digital commodity platform that is owned in whole or in part by an entity organized or established in China. It also requires the CFTC to revoke the registration of any digital commodity platform in the event an entity with ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) acquires all or any part of the ownership of the entity.
    Digital commodity platforms collect and store personally identifiable information — including Social Security numbers, mailing addresses, and sensitive financial account data — of their users. Allowing entities based in the PRC to access this information raises serious concerns related to investor protection, data privacy, national security, sanctions compliance, and anti-money laundering efforts. Companies based in the PRC all ultimately answer to the CCP.
    “For four years, the Biden administration put America last – bowing to China at every turn and allowing our adversaries to get ahead,” said Senator Tuberville. “Thanks to President Trump, those days are over. Crypto is the future and we have to make sure our markets are protected from bad actors like China who want to destroy us. This critical bill will protect our markets and make Americans safer.”
    Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS) is a cosponsor of this legislation.
    Senator Tuberville discussed his legislation on Fox Business with Larry Kudlow.
    BACKGROUND:
    FINANCIAL FREEDOM ACT
    The Financial Freedom Act would reverse regulatory guidance released by the Employee Benefits Security Administration, an agency inside of U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). The guidance attempts to bar 401(k) investors from investing in cryptocurrency and undermines the ability of 401(k) plans to offer brokerage windows, which give retirement plan participants the ability to personally control how their assets are invested.
    The DOL guidance threatens that employers and investment firms could be subject to investigation and enforcement actions should they allow individuals using brokerage windows to invest in cryptocurrency. Senator Tuberville’s bill would bar such investigations and enforcement actions, opening the door for Americans to invest their savings in investments of their choice. 
    Senator Tuberville has consistently been an outspoken advocate in Congress for personal financial freedom. 
    Senator Tuberville previously introduced the Financial Freedom Act in the 117th Congress and penned an op-ed warning against government infringement on personal investment decisions.
    Senator Tuberville spoke on the Senate floor in support of the Financial Freedom Act.
    Senator Tuberville joined 36 of his U.S. Senate colleagues in introducing the Fair Access to Banking Act, a bill to protect fair access to financial services by preventing banks and financial institutions from discriminating against law-abiding businesses.
    Senator Tuberville added his support to a resolution that would challenge the Biden administration’s rule to allow retirement fund managers to consider and prioritize Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) factors while making retirement investment decisions.
    Senator Tuberville introduced legislation to protect Americans’ financial privacy against government surveillance.
    Prohibiting Foreign Adversary Interference in Cryptocurrency Markets Act
    The CCP’s efforts to mine data and surveil the public are well known, and decisive action is needed to safeguard the American people. Under current law, U.S. regulators have limited tools to block the purchase of a U.S. digital commodity platform by a CCP-tied entity. The Prohibiting Foreign Adversary Interference in Cryptocurrency Markets Act will help to wall off the burgeoning U.S. digital asset industry from Chinese interference and help to ensure continued American leadership in financial innovation. 
    Senator Tuberville believes the CCP seeks to overtake the United States as the top global superpower and that America must face China’s growing military and non-military threats with clear-eyed resolve.
    Since assuming office in the U.S. Senate in 2021, Senator Tuberville has led and supported numerous efforts to protect American investments, intellectual property, and national security from China.
    Senator Tuberville led the call for an investigation into Webull Financial, LLC and Moomoo, Inc. – two Chinese-owned stock trading apps operating in the United States that are registered with the SEC and FINRA.
    Both apps are widely used by American investors and freely collect and store sensitive information about users, including Social Security numbers, mailing addresses, and financial account data.
    In May 2023, Senator Tuberville sent a letter to SEC Chair Gary Gensler and FINRA President and CEO Robert Cook calling for oversight of the trading platforms due to the potential CCP access of American user data. In the letter, Senator Tuberville asked for answers to critical questions about the ability of the SEC and FINRA to examine the Chinese companies’ compliance with U.S. law.
    In March 2023, Senator Tuberville led a congressional delegation to Panama to discuss countering China’s growing influence in the region.
    On the trip, Senator Tuberville met with American and Panamanian officials to strategize ways to combat Chinese attempts to control the Panama Canal, which would give China enormous influence over global supply chains.
    To curb Chinese influence in the economy, Senator Tuberville introduced legislation to ban members of the CCP from receiving B-1 and B-2 visas to the United States for vacation and non-official government business.
    The CCP is responsible for trillions of dollars of intellectual property theft each year. To curb growing foreign influence and crime and discourage other Chinese nationals from joining the CCP, the bill cosponsored by Senator Tuberville would bar all 93 million CCP members from entering the United States using nonimmigrant B-1 and B-2 visas.
    Senator Tuberville believes the retirement savings of our military and federal government employees, known as the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP), should not be invested in the economies of our adversaries, such as China.
    Senator Tuberville wrote about this issue in the Wall Street Journal in a column entitled, “I’ll Keep Veterans’ Pensions Safe From Communism” and discussed the issue on Fox Business.
    Senator Tuberville continued the push for accountability from the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board (FRTIB) surrounding the board’s policy on foreign investments. 
    Senator Tuberville placed a hold on nominees to the FRTIB until the nominees provided clarification regarding foreign investment policies, which forced the nominees to commit to opposing TSP investment in China.
    MORE:
    Tuberville Questions CFTC Chairman on Taxation of Cryptocurrency and the Need for a Regulatory Framework for Cryptocurrency
    Tuberville Leads Letter Calling for DOJ, SEC Investigation into China-Tied Crypto Firm Prometheum, Inc.
    Tuberville Leads Bipartisan Bill to Block CCP Ownership of American Crypto Companies
    Tuberville, Lummis Work to Establish Strategic Bitcoin Reserve
    Tuberville Takes Action to Protect Conservatives, Taxpayers from Political Discrimination by Banks
    ICYMI: Tuberville in Daily Caller: A Fed-Controlled Digital Dollar Could Mean The End Of Freedom In America
    Tuberville Reintroduces Bill to Keep the Government Out of Americans’ Investment Decisions 
    WHAT THEY ARE SAYING: Support Grows for Tuberville’s Legislation to Protect 401(k) Investment Freedom
    Tuberville Continues Push to Protect Retirement Savers’ Financial Freedom
    New Tuberville Legislation Promotes Financial Freedom for 401(k) Investors
    Senator Tommy Tuberville represents Alabama in the United States Senate and is a member of the Senate Armed Services, Agriculture, Veterans’ Affairs, HELP and Aging Committees.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Cotton, Colleagues Reintroduce Bill to Repeal Tax on Certain Firearm Purchases

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Arkansas Tom Cotton
    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEContact: Caroline Tabler or Patrick McCann (202) 224-2353April 1, 2025
    Cotton, Colleagues Reintroduce Bill to Repeal Tax on Certain Firearm Purchases
    Washington, D.C. — Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) today reintroduced the Repealing Illegal Freedom and Liberty Excises (RIFLE) Act, legislation that would remove a burdensome tax imposed on firearms regulated under the National Firearms Act.
    Senators John Boozman (R-Arkansas), Ted Budd (R-North Carolina), Kevin Cramer (R-North Dakota), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Steve Daines (R-Montana), Deb Fischer (R-Nebraska), John Hoeven (R-North Dakota), Jim Justice (R-West Virginia), Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio), Pete Ricketts (R-Nebraska), Rick Scott (R-Florida), and Tim Sheehy (R-Montana) are co-sponsors of the legislation. Congresswoman Ashley Hinson (Iowa-02) introduced companion legislation in the House.
    “Law-abiding Americans who exercise their Second Amendment rights should not be subject to unnecessary taxes and restrictions preventing them from doing so. Passed into law in 1934, the National Firearms Act needs to be amended. Our legislation will remove the red tape that places an undue financial burden on would-be gun owners,” said Senator Cotton.
    “The Second Amendment is a Constitutional right that is not to be infringed. Law-abiding gun owners should not be forced to pay an unconstitutional firearm tax. This bill will remove unnecessary financial barriers on lawful gun owners from the antiquated 1934 National Firearms Act and protect the Second Amendment rights of Iowans and Americans,” said Congresswoman Ashley Hinson.
    Text of the legislation may be found here.
    Background:
    The 1934 National Firearms Act (NFA) regulates short-barreled shotguns and rifles, automatic firearms and suppressors. In addition to background checks and registration, NFA regulated items have a $200 tax.
    The ATF has acknowledged the tax was intended “to curtail, if not prohibit, transactions” of firearms. The $200 tax, unchanged since 1934, is equivalent to $4,741 in today’s dollars.
    From 2018 to 2023, ownership of NFA regulated items have grown by more than 230% as more sportsmen, shooters and firearm enthusiasts exercise their Second Amendment right.
    The RIFLE Act does not modify the current checks and registration; it solely removes the federally mandated financial burden on law-abiding gun owners.
    The legislation is endorsed by the National Rifle Association and the National Shooting Sports Foundation.

    MIL OSI USA News –