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Category: Health

  • MIL-OSI USA: Markey, Hirono, Colleagues Reintroduce Legislation to Guarantee Legal Representation for Unaccompanied Children in Immigration Proceedings

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Massachusetts Ed Markey
    Washington (April 3, 2025) – Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) today joined Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii), and 25 of their colleagues in introducing The Fair Day in Court for Kids Act of 2025, legislation to provide unaccompanied children with legal representation for their court when they appear in proceedings before an immigration judge. This comes after the Trump Administration’s recent termination of a contract that provides legal services for approximately 26,000 unaccompanied children who appear in immigrant court.
    “As the Trump administration continues to generate distress with its immigration actions — including the recent cancellation of a vital contract that provides legal services to unaccompanied migrant children — we must ensure that we protect the safety, welfare, and legal rights of vulnerable minors,” said Senator Markey. “The Fair Day in Court for Kids Act of 2025 would provide unaccompanied children with the critical legal representation they need, ensuring that kids do not have to go to court alone.”
    “Children cannot represent themselves in Court—it’s that simple,” said Senator Hirono. “Legal representation helps ensure unaccompanied minors in our court system get the fair hearing they’re entitled to, and is critical to the function of immigration court proceedings. As the Trump Administration continues its war on immigrants, The Fair Day in Court for Kids Act will safeguard legal representation for unaccompanied children, helping to protect them from heightened risk of mistreatment, exploitation, and trafficking.”
    Nearly half of all unaccompanied children represent themselves during legal proceedings and it is extremely difficult for children to successfully navigate the U.S. immigration system without an attorney—unrepresented children appear alone in immigration court to face a judge and an adversarial government attorney seeking their removal from the United States. Many of these children, potentially as young as 3-years old, are unable to speak English and unable to understand our complicated legal system. Immigration judges are nearly 100 times less likely to grant relief to unaccompanied children without counsel compared to those with counsel. The federal government previously provided legal representation to some unaccompanied minors in accordance with the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008, which created special protections for children who arrive in the U.S. without a parent or a legal guardian. Now, the Trump Administration is working to terminate those services completely.
    “Alongside Senator Hirono, we are leading an effort to ensure that children are treated fairly and humanely with access to legal representation,” said Senator Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.).
    “The Trump Administration’s breathtakingly cruel decision to strip tens of thousands of tiny children of access to a lawyer shows exactly why this legislation is so important,” said Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.). “The right to legal counsel is a central tenet of our justice system. Yet unaccompanied immigrant children as young as 3 and 4 years old are expected to navigate the cold complexities of our legal system with no one to help them through the process. The consequences of sending these children back to the countries they are fleeing can be literally life-and-death and presents grave human-trafficking risks. We have a moral obligation to ensure that that decision is made with due process, including access to an attorney.”
    “Abandoning immigrant children to navigate a complicated legal system alone with their future on the line is beneath who we are as Americans,” said Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.). “I’m proud to cosponsor the Fair Day in Court for Kids Act, which would address this shocking policy in our legal system by giving children the representation they need and ensuring they have a fair day in court.”
    “The idea that small children could represent themselves in a court of law is ridiculous,” said Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.). “The immigration court system is complicated and confusing, and we shouldn’t expect any minor to navigate it on their own. This commonsense bill would fix a glaring flaw in our immigration system.”
    “It is deeply, cruelly unfair that so many unaccompanied children—including some who don’t speak English or are too young to understand what a judge is asking them—are forced to represent themselves in immigration court without a lawyer,” said Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.). “Having attorney representation can make the difference between safely remaining in the United States or being deported back to the same dangerous conditions they fled in the first place. This commonsense bill would help right this wrong and provide these children the legal representation they need to effectively navigate our complex immigration system.”
    “Time and time again, children, as young as three years old, enter the U.S. immigration court system without an attorney present. And now, the Trump Administration is trying to force these children to face an immigration judge alone. Not only do attorneys help these children navigate a complicated system, but they also play a critical role in preventing and stopping trafficking, abuse, and neglect,” said Senator Dick Durbin (D-Ill.). “That is why I am signing on to the Fair Day in Court for Kids Act, which would ensure that no child has to navigate our complex legal process without representation.”
    “President Trump’s inhumane immigration policies are putting kids in danger by forcing unaccompanied children to represent themselves in court,” said Senator Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.). “It’s unimaginably cruel, and we must fight to ensure every child has a fair chance to accurately present their case for legal protection in our country.”
    “For unaccompanied children caught up in our immigration courts, navigating our complex immigration system alone is virtually impossible. The numbers speak for themselves: unaccompanied children without counsel are almost 100 times less likely to receive protection from deportation,” said Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.). “The Trump Administration’s decision to stop funding legal representation for these children is needlessly cruel and severely misguided. At the very least, these children deserve legal representation to help ensure their voices are heard.”
    “Children shouldn’t be forced to navigate the immigration system alone—especially when their future is on the line,” said Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii). “This legislation ensures that unaccompanied kids have legal representation and due process rights, no matter where they come from.”
    “Forcing toddlers to represent themselves in immigration court does not make us safer, yet that’s exactly what’s happening because of this Administration,” said Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.). “Children should worry about growing up and going to school, not about facing a prosecutor and judge alone. This bill would provide some much-needed support for children caught up in our broken immigration system, and make sure their rights are respected and protected.”
    “It’s unacceptable to force unaccompanied children to navigate immigration court by themselves – yet that’s the frightening reality that far too many face. This legislation will help prevent this unjust practice, and ensure they have a lawyer when they come before a court,” said Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.).
    “Forcing toddlers to navigate their immigration hearing without a lawyer is cruel and violates their due process rights,” said Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.). “This bill will provide them with the necessary protections to ensure they are treated with dignity and have a fair shot in court.”
    “There is one word to describe what the Trump Administration is doing to unaccompanied migrant children—cruel,” said Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.). “These children can’t be expected to navigate our complex immigration system and should never be forced to face off against seasoned government attorneys alone, but that’s what President Trump is doing. In response to the administration’s actions, Congress must reaffirm America’s commitment to due process and ensure all unaccompanied children are afforded legal counsel. Justice demands it.”
    “No kid should ever have to represent themself in court – period,” said Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.). “It should go without saying that courts are meant to be navigated by the attorneys who understand America’s complex legal system. The Trump administration’s decision to gut legal representation for unaccompanied kids is not only immoral but also blatantly illegal. Forcing unaccompanied babies, toddlers, and youth to go without representation will leave kids vulnerable to exploitation, abuse, and trafficking. Congress must ensure children have real legal counsel and protect them from harm.”
    Specifically, the Fair Day in Court for Kids Act:
    Requires that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) provide counsel to noncitizen unaccompanied children appearing before the U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) or a state court, unless the child has obtained counsel at their own expense;
    Extends the government’s duty to ensure counsel for unaccompanied children to the end of the immigration proceedings, even if the child turns 18 during proceedings;
    Ensures that children are informed of their right to representation within 72 hours and creates infrastructure to identify, recruit, and train pro bono lawyers to provide representation;
    Allows unaccompanied children to reopen their case if HHS fails to provide counsel;
    Requires the government and stakeholders to create guidelines and duties for counsel representing unaccompanied children, largely based on American Bar Association recommendations;
    Clarifies that the government may, at its choosing, also provide counsel to other individuals in immigration court;
    Requires noncitizens, and their attorneys, to receive a complete copy of the noncitizen’s immigration file at least 10 days before the removal proceedings;
    Guarantees access to counsel for all noncitizens detained in DHS facilities; and
    Requires a report on children’s access to counsel.
    Last month, after the Trump Administration issued the first stop work order in February, Senator Hirono and Senator Jon Ossoff (D-GA) led 30 of their colleagues in sending a letter to Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, demanding that the Trump Administration continue legal services for unaccompanied children caught up in the immigration system as required by law.
    The bill is cosponsored by Senators Michael Bennet (D-CO), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Chris Coons (D-DE), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Dick Durbin (D-IL), John Fetterman (D-PA), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Jon Ossoff (D-GA), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Tina Smith (D-MN), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Peter Welch (D-VT), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Ron Wyden (D-OR). 
    The Fair Day in Court for Kids Act is endorsed by Kids in Need of Defense (KIND); Acacia Center for Justice; Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights; and National Center for Youth Law.
    The full text of the legislation is available here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

    April 4, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: Golden, Fitzpatrick introduce bipartisan bill to repeal President Trump’s order restricting collective bargaining for federal workers

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Jared Golden (ME-02)

    WASHINGTON — Congressmen Jared Golden (ME-02) and Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-01) today introduced the Protect America’s Workforce Act, bipartisan legislation to nullify President Trump’s March 27 executive order seeking to end collective bargaining rights for unionized federal employees across several agencies.

    “In his order, President Trump said that federal workers’ rights are incompatible with national security. He is wrong. Union workers make America stronger every single day, including the more than 6,000 federal workers in Maine,” Rep. Golden said. “Throughout our history, unions have ensured workers got a fair shake in the workplace. Unions built our middle class and are key to strengthening its future. We cannot have a government that undermines workers’ rights.”

    “Improving government efficiency is essential — but sweeping exclusions from collective bargaining are a blunt instrument that risk weakening the very stability and performance we aim to strengthen,” Rep. Fitzpatrick said. “The Protect America’s Workforce Actrestores a balanced, targeted approach — protecting bargaining rights where they pose no threat to national security and reinforcing their proven role in supporting morale, accountability and effective governance. We can defend our national security without silencing those who serve it. Efficiency and fairness are not mutually exclusive — and this legislation ensures we uphold both.”

    In addition to Golden, a Democrat, and Fitzpatrick, a Republican, the bill was sponsored by Democratic Reps. Donald Norcross (NJ-01), Mark Pocan (WI-02) and Debbie Dingell (MI-06), and Republican Reps. Nick LaLota (NY-01), Mike Turner (OH-10) and Mike Lawler (NY-17).

    “Donald Trump is trying to end collective bargaining for hundreds of thousands of federal workers, silencing their voices and ripping up their contracts. This order would strike a blow to every American’s fundamental right of freedom of speech and association,” said AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler. “More than 70 percent of Americans and nearly 9 in 10 young people support unions — no one voted to attack the freedom to organize with our co-workers for a better life. We commend the leadership of Reps. Jared Golden and Brian Fitzpatrick for using Congress’ power to reverse this executive order. The labor movement is 100 percent behind this bill, and we call on every member of Congress, Democrat and Republican, to take a stand in support of our fundamental rights by backing this critical legislation.”

    In addition to the AFL-CIO, the bill has the support of unions representing federal employees, including the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE), National Postal Mail Handlers Union (NPMHU), National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU), Professional Aviation Safety Specialists (PASS), and Service Employees International Union (SEIU). 

    The bill nullifies President Trump’s March 27 executive order, “Exclusions from Federal Labor-Management Relations Programs,” which sought to end collective bargaining with unions at the departments of Defense, State, Veterans Affairs, Justice and Energy, and some workers at the departments of Homeland Security, Treasury, Health and Human Services, Interior and Agriculture. The employees covered by the order account for 67 percent of the federal workforce, according to independent news reports. 

    Federal workers’ bargaining rights are already limited. Unlike private-sector unions, federal employees cannot bargain collectively over wages, benefits or classifications, nor can they strike under existing law. Their bargaining rights are limited to conditions of employment. Roughly one-third of all federal workers in unions are veterans.

    Full text of the bill is available here. 

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

    April 4, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: Golden decries Trump order restricting collective bargaining, will introduce legislation to reverse it

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Jared Golden (ME-02)

    WASHINGTON — Congressman Jared Golden (ME-02) released the following statement today regarding President Trump’s executive order seeking to end collective bargaining rights for unionized federal employees across several agencies:  

    “The right for workers to collectively bargain is sacrosanct and any claim that it is incompatible with national security is bogus,” Golden said. “I oppose the president’s order and stand in solidarity with the workers affected — including a state workforce of likely more than 6,000 hardworking Mainers at places like VA Togus Medical Center, Bath Iron Works, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard and other worksites across our state. This order cannot stand, and I will introduce legislation to repeal it.”

    President Trump’s order seeks to end collective bargaining with unions at the departments of Defense, State, Veterans Affairs, Justice and Energy, and some workers at the departments of Homeland Security, Treasury, Health and Human Services, Interior and Agriculture. The employees covered by the order account for 67 percent of the federal workforce, according to independent news reports. 

    Federal workers’ bargaining rights are already limited. Unlike private-sector unions, federal employees cannot bargain collectively over wages, benefits or classifications, nor can they strike under existing law. Their bargaining rights are limited to conditions of employment. Roughly one-third of all federal workers in unions are veterans.

    Golden is a longtime proponent of unions and their role in creating a strong middle class. He has been vocal in opposing President Trump’s anti-worker actions, such as the firing earlier this year of NLRB member Gwynne Wilcox, who was later reinstated by a court order.

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

    April 4, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: ICYMI: Kansan Highlights Trump’s Threat to KanCare in New KC Star Essay

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Sharice Davids (KS-3)

    Today, in a Kansas City Star essay, a health care policy expert and Prairie Village mother shines a light on the dangerous cuts to Medicaid, known as KanCare in Kansas, being pushed by President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress — and the work Representative Sharice Davids is doing to stop them.

    Today’s piece highlights that, despite President Trump’s promises to protect Medicaid, nonpartisan experts confirm his and U.S. House Republicans’ budget would make cuts to the program. Their plan risks the health care of over 350,000 Kansans — including children, seniors, and people with disabilities — all while funding tax giveaways for billionaires and large corporations.

    Davids is a strong advocate for protecting and expanding Medicaid, fighting against recent extreme budget cuts to the program. She is working to expand Medicaid to cover 150,000 more Kansans, strengthen rural hospitals, and boost the state’s economy. She also supports extending postpartum Medicaid coverage to 12 months to improve maternal health and is pushing for bipartisan solutions that lower costs without jeopardizing care.

    Read the full essay here or below:

    “As a parent, lifelong Kansan, and longtime health care policy analyst, I’ve seen firsthand how essential Medicaid is to families across our state. Medicaid — known as KanCare in Kansas — provides health care to more than 350,000 of our neighbors, from children to older adults. But now, KanCare is under direct threat from President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress, and the consequences for Kansas families could be devastating.

    “Despite repeated promises that they wouldn’t cut Medicaid, Trump and Republicans are pushing forward with plans to do just that. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has confirmed that their budget proposal can’t be achieved without slashing Medicaid and Medicare benefits. This is heartbreaking and terrifying.

    “Cuts to Medicaid would directly harm children, who represent the vast majority of Medicaid recipients in our state. They would also directly impact older Kansas and our friends and neighbors with intellectual and developmental disabilities, traumatic brain injuries and severe mental illness. These are people who depend on Medicaid for health care services and support to help them live independently.

    “Worse, our KanCare benefits would be cut in order to fund Trump’s tax giveaways for billionaires and large corporations. Republicans need these cuts to meet their budget goals, but cutting Medicaid would put thousands of Kansans at risk of losing their health insurance.

    “This isn’t just a Washington issue — it’s a Kansas problem. In communities where I’ve lived here, I’ve seen firsthand how vital KanCare is to families. Children like those I worked with at Children’s Mercy Hospital need KanCare for everything from well-child visits to allergy tests. I heard directly from families about their struggles with food insecurity, housing instability and chronic health conditions. Without KanCare, they would face the impossible decision of choosing between food and necessary medical care. 

    “KanCare isn’t just vital for health — it’s a smart financial investment. During President George W. Bush’s administration, I had the opportunity to work with the federal Office of Inspector General’s Kansas City office. Through that experience and later working as a health policy analyst in Topeka, I saw how KanCare reduces costs and produces better outcomes by providing home and community-based services instead of forcing people to pay more for care at a hospital or nursing home.

    “Slashing KanCare would also lead to hospital closures, particularly for small rural hospitals, such as the one in which my husband was born. The closing of rural hospitals and safety net clinics across our state would further strain our health care system, forcing many Kansans to travel farther for essential care. The real waste would be the health and well-being of our community.

    “That’s why we need leaders like Rep. Sharice Davids, who is fighting to protect KanCare and ensure Kansas families aren’t left behind as Trump and Republicans push extreme cuts. But Davids can’t do this alone.

    “I’ve been calling our U.S. Senators Jerry Moran and Roger Marshall and demanding they stand with us — not with Trump’s plan that puts tax breaks for the ultrawealthy over the health of our friends, family and communities. I invite you to do the same. It’s time for all congressional Republicans to stop siding with special interests and start listening to Kansans who rely on KanCare for their health and well-being.

    “We can’t afford to let reckless decisions in Washington harm Kansas families. I’m committed to fighting to ensure KanCare remains a program that supports every Kansan. The stakes are too high, and the time to act is now.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

    April 4, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: Trahan Reintroduces Bipartisan, Bicameral Legislation to Improve Access to Diagnostic Services at Home

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Lori Trahan (D-MA-03)

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, Congresswoman Lori Trahan (D-MA-03), a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Health Subcommittee, was joined by
    Congresswoman Beth Van Duyne (R-TX-24), Congressman Brad Schneider (D-IL-10) and Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA-01) in reintroducing the Portable Ultrasound Reimbursement Equity (PURE) Act, a bill that aims to provide Medicare beneficiaries with more flexibility for care through an update to Medicare reimbursement for portable diagnostic services to include ultrasound procedures. The lawmakers were joined by Senators Maggie Hassan (D-NH) and John Cornyn (R-TX) in introducing the bicameral legislation. 
    “When patients need lifesaving ultrasound services but can’t reach a hospital, they’re often left without other options. The Portable Ultrasound Reimbursement Equity Act closes that gap by enabling portable ultrasounds to reach patients directly at their bedsides, allowing for rapid diagnosis of serious conditions like blood clots, heart failure, and abdominal disease,” said Congresswoman Trahan. “This bipartisan, bicameral legislation leverages cutting-edge portable ultrasound technology to make health care more accessible and affordable for those in our communities who need it most.”
    The legislation aims to recognize portable ultrasound procedures and provide the same transportation reimbursement that Medicare currently allows for portable x-ray services. Advances in technology have made portable ultrasound machines more compact and lightweight with improved imaging capabilities. This has led to an increased demand for these high-quality imaging services to be administered at the bedside enabling the rapid diagnosis of patients for a range of acute and chronic conditions, including blood clots, heart failure, or abdominal disease. Yet, outdated Medicare policy has not kept pace to allow providers of portable diagnostic services to receive reimbursement for ultrasound procedures.
     “Our bill offers an important step to modernize our health care system and ensure seniors receive the high-quality care they deserve,” said Congresswoman Van Duyne. “The Portable Ultrasound Reimbursement Equity Act (PURE Act) will expand access to lifesaving portable ultrasound services and remove the burdensome red tape facing North Texas medical providers, allowing them to provide better, more flexible care. By recognizing portable ultrasounds under Medicare’s reimbursement structure, we will improve care for vulnerable populations and prevent unnecessary hospital visits, lowering costs for patients and taxpayers.”
    “Our seniors need access to timely and medically appropriate services, regardless of where they reside,” said Congressman Schneider. “I am proud to help introduce the PURE Act to promote greater access to diagnostic services for individuals who require an ultrasound at home and help reduce unnecessary, avoidable hospitalizations.”
    “I am proud to support the Portable Ultrasound Reimbursement Equity Act of 2024, which ensures that seniors, especially those in rural areas, have access to critical healthcare services like ultrasound technology,” said Congresswoman Miller-Meeks. “This bill levels the playing field for Medicare patients and increases access to x-ray, ultrasound, and EKG screenings to make sure beneficiaries get the at-home care they need, no matter where they live. I thank Rep. Van Duyne for her leadership.”
    “Portable ultrasounds play a critical role in diagnosing potentially life-threatening conditions,” said Senator Cornyn. “By ensuring providers can be reimbursed for the transportation and set up of these exams, our legislation will help Medicare beneficiaries receive more efficient and effective care.”
    “APDA applauds Sen. Cornyn, Sen. Hassan, Rep. Van Duyne, Rep. Schneider, Rep. Miller-Meeks and Rep. Trahan for their bipartisan leadership to improve and expand access to portable ultrasound exams while lowering the cost of care for patients. The PURE Act will help ensure our members can continue to meet the growing demand across the country for portable diagnostic services to allow seniors and our most vulnerable to receive the treatment they need in the comfort of their own homes.” said Tamara Schwartz, President of the American Portable Diagnostics Association (APDA). 
    Since joining the House Energy and Commerce Committee in 2021, Trahan has consistently championed legislation that expands access to health care for working families. In February, she reintroduced the Accelerating Kids’ Access to Care Act, bipartisan legislation that will break down barriers for children with complex medical conditions to make it easier for families to access out-of-state care. In 2024, she introduced the Bolstering Research and Innovation Now (BRAIN) Act, bipartisan legislation to strengthen research and treatment development for brain tumors and to improve the accessibility of brain tumor health care. Also in 2024, Trahan introduced the Reinforcing Essential Health Systems for Communities Act, legislation that would establish an “essential health system” designation in federal law, creating opportunity for more federal funding and support to flow to safety net hospitals that traditionally support more uninsured and low-income patients.
    Click HERE for a copy of the legislation.
    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

    April 4, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: Trahan, Cassidy, Ossoff Reintroduce Bipartisan Legislation to Restore Americans’ Control Over Their Own Data

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Lori Trahan (D-MA-03)

    WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congresswoman Lori Trahan (D-MA-03), a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade Subcommittee, partnered with Senators Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) and John Ossoff (D-GA) to reintroduce the Data Elimination and Limiting Extensive Tracking and Exchange (DELETE) Act. The bipartisan, bicameral legislation would establish a system through which individuals could request that all data brokers delete any personal data collected by the company and a prohibition on future collection.
    “Americans should be the ones in control of our own personal data – not shady online middlemen who harvest our most sensitive information and auction it off to the highest bidder,” said Congresswoman Trahan. “The DELETE Act puts power back where it belongs: in the hands of consumers. By giving individuals a simple, effective way to wipe their data from data brokers’ databases and block future collection, this bill takes a critical step toward protecting our privacy and reining in an industry that monetizes our data without our consent.”
    “Privacy should be expected and protected online,” said Dr. Cassidy. “This bill gives Americans a solution to ensure their personal data is not tracked, collected, bought or sold by data brokers.”
    “Data brokers are buying, collecting, and reselling vast amounts of personal information about all of us without our consent. This bipartisan bill is about returning control of our personal data to us, the American people,” said Senator Ossoff.
    The DELETE Act would direct the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to create an online dashboard for Americans to submit a one-time data deletion request that would be sent to all data brokers registered. Under current law, individuals must request removal from each individual data broker to ensure their privacy is protected. This legislation would also create a ‘do not track list’ to protect taxpayers from future data collection. The DELETE Act is supported by Public Knowledge.
    Since her appointment to the Energy and Commerce Committee, Trahan has spearheaded efforts to protect Americans’ most sensitive data, strengthen privacy rights, and protect consumers from corporate abuses. This March, she announced an effort to reform the Privacy Act of 1974, a 51-year-old law regulating how the federal government collects, maintains, utilizes, and disseminates Americans’ personally identifiable information. Also in March, she reintroduced the bipartisan Terms-of-service Labeling, Design and Readability (TLDR) Act, legislation requiring that online companies make their terms-of-service contracts more accessible, transparent, and understandable for consumers. In Energy and Commerce committee meetings and hearings, Trahan has consistently exposed and condemned exploitative business practices that violate Americans’ online privacy. 
    Supported by a strong track record, Trahan has earned a reputation of challenging the practices of data brokers. In 2022, she first introduced the DELETE Act to rein in data brokers’ shady behaviors. Following the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, she wrote to top data brokers questioning their handling of women’s health and reproductive data in light of the decision. Trahan blasted the companies after their responses failed to adequately address concerns about how this data could be used to target women seeking reproductive care, including issues raised by Massachusetts leaders.
    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

    April 4, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: Pressley, Chu, Repro. Caucus, Dem. Women’s Caucus Press RFK Jr. to Unfreeze Title X Funding, Restore Access to Critical Reproductive Care

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07)

    Members express outrage at Trump administration claims that Title X is frozen because it is DEI, stating “A federal program’s ability to provide care to people from historically marginalized and underserved communities does not make it wrong or illegal”

    Text of Letter (PDF)

    WASHINGTON – Today, Congresswomen Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) and Diana DeGette, Co-Chairs of the Reproductive Freedom Caucus, along with Democratic Women’s Caucus (DWC) Reproductive Health Care Task Force Chair & Liaison Judy Chu (CA-28), DWC Chair Teresa Leger Fernández (NM-03), Reproductive Freedom Caucus Vice Chair & Whip Lizzie Fletcher (TX-07), author of the Expanding Access to Family Planning Act Rep. Sharice Davids (KS-03), and Democratic Women’s Caucus Chief Whip Nikema Williams (GA-05), sent a letter signed by 162 Members urging Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to restore all appropriated funding for Title X providers and coordinate an urgent meeting on the matter. The Trump administration’s attack on Title X is yet another attack on women and reproductive health care. 

    Title X, the nation’s only federal program dedicated to family planning, allows low-income, uninsured, or underinsured individuals to receive critical health care from a diverse network of providers. Title X health centers served 2.8 million people in FY 2023, administering high-quality family planning and sexual health care, including cancer screenings, testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections, contraceptive services and supplies, pregnancy testing, and other essential health care services. In the letter, the Members ask Sec. Kennedy to immediately unfreeze funds for federal programs: 

    “We urge you to restore all appropriated funding for Title X providers and instead invest fully in the program which has helped people access essential health care for almost 50 years. On behalf of our 2.8 million constituents and women across the country who depend on Title X’s services, we also request a prompt reply to coordinate a meeting on this matter. We look forward to introducing you to the providers, community leaders, and patients from our districts who understand better than anyone else the importance of this program. We hope your agency will not be so reckless as to upend nearly half a century of bipartisan achievement and place Title X on the DOGE chopping block without hearing firsthand the consequences of that action.”

    The Members also expressed their outrage at reports that the funding is frozen due to claims that it might support “diversity, equity, and inclusion.” The Members explained:

    “This is another way of saying that this program is used to help people of color access care. Nearly half of the people served each year by Title X are people of color, the vast majority are people with low-incomes and most Title X users are women. A federal program’s ability to provide care to people from historically marginalized and underserved communities does not make it wrong or illegal. To suggest otherwise implies that HHS would determine who is worthy of taxpayer dollars based on the color of their skin. Congress created Title X to address the needs of underserved populations across our country, regardless of background, and it has demonstrated success in doing so for 50 years.”

    The full letter can be accessed here.

    In addition to letter leads Judy Chu, Diana DeGette, Ayanna Pressley, Teresa Leger Fernández, Lizzie Fletcher, Sharice Davids, and Nikema Williams, the letter was signed by: Gwen S. Moore, Chrissy Houlahan, Delia C. Ramirez, Frederica S. Wilson, Sydney Kamlager-Dove, Gerald E. Connolly, Dwight Evans, LaMonica McIver, Lori Trahan, Danny K. Davis, Eugene Simon Vindman, Nydia M. Velázquez, Brad Sherman, Rashida Tlaib, Darren Soto, Joyce Beatty, Seth Moulton, Marc A. Veasey, Jerrold Nadler, Madeleine Dean, Laura Friedman, John B. Larson, Juan Vargas, Nanette Diaz Barragán, Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, Becca Balint, Stephen F. Lynch, Betty McCollum, Lloyd Doggett, Jennifer L. McClellan, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Mikie Sherrill, Rick Larsen, Derek T. Tran, Greg Stanton, Jimmy Panetta, Paul D. Tonko, Jill Tokuda, Dave Min, Terri A. Sewell, Jake Auchincloss, Jared Huffman, James P. McGovern, Mary Gay Scanlon, Mark DeSaulnier, Dina Titus, Bonnie Watson Coleman, Scott H. Peters, Doris Matsui, Emanuel Cleaver, Suzanne Bonamici, Grace Meng, Lucy McBath, Emilia Strong Sykes, Jim Himes, Joseph D. Morelle, Chellie Pingree, Josh Gottheimer, Veronica Escobar, Jasmine Crockett, Kathy Castor, Zoe Lofgren, Mike Quigley, Jan Schakowsky, Kevin Mullin, Greg Landsman, Marilyn Strickland, Pramila Jayapal, Ted W. Lieu, Robert J. Menendez, Jim Costa, Ilhan Omar, Timothy M. Kennedy, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Robin L. Kelly, Sara Jacobs, Ritchie Torres, Bennie G. Thompson, Gilbert Ray Cisneros, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Adriano Espaillat, Sarah McBride, Luz M. Rivas, Ami Bera, Seth Magaziner, Andrea Salinas, Lois Frankel, Melanie Stansbury, Mike Thompson, Julia Brownley, Summer L. Lee, Deborah K. Ross, Nikki Budzinski, Lateefah Simon, Julie Johnson, Kelly Morrison, Lauren Underwood, Yassamin Ansari, Mark Takano, Chris Pappas, Shri Thanedar, Mark Pocan, Maxine Dexter, Donald Norcross, Hillary J. Scholten, Ro Khanna, Sarah Elfreth, Jahana Hayes, André Carson, Jimmy Gomez, Raul Ruiz, Angie Craig, Norma J. Torres, Gregory W. Meeks, Val Hoyle, Maggie Goodlander, Salud Carbajal, Sylvia R. Garcia, George Latimer, Gabe Amo, Kristen McDonald Rivet, Henry C. “Hank” Johnson, Shontel M. Brown, Suhas Subramanyam, Katherine M. Clark, Nancy Pelosi, Johnny Olszewski, Alma S. Adams, William R. Keating, Donald S. Beyer Jr., Ed Case, Glenn Ivey, Suzan K. DelBene, Raja Krishnamoorthi, Dan Goldman, Joaquin Castro, Sean Casten, Brittany Pettersen, Debbie Dingell, Chris Deluzio, Wesley Bell, Mike Levin, Bill Foster, Pete Aguilar, Bradley Scott Schneider, Greg Casar, Valerie P. Foushee, Al Green, Kim Schrier, Maxwell Alejandro Frost, John Garamendi, Joe Courtney, Steve Cohen, Troy A. Carter, and Robert C. “Bobby” Scott.

    Yesterday, Congresswoman Pressley rallied with Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA), colleagues, and advocates outside the U.S. Supreme Court during oral arguments in Medina v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, which could allow states to block Medicaid patients from accessing routine care at Planned Parenthood health centers.

    Rep. Pressley has also spoken out against Republican attempts to gut Medicaid and delivered an impassioned speech slamming Republicans’ cruel and callous budget resolution that would slash Medicaid and other critical government services to pay for trillions of dollars in tax giveaways for Donald Trump’s billionaire donors.

    In her personal capacity throughout her time in Congress, Rep. Pressley has fought persistently to protect fundamental reproductive and sexual healthcare rights. 

    • On the anniversary of the Dobbs decision, Rep. Pressley introduced the Abortion Justice Act, sweeping, intersectional legislation to address access to abortion care and put forth a comprehensive vision of a just America where abortion care is readily available—without stigma, shame or systemic barriers—for all who seek it, regardless of zip code, immigration status, income, or background.
    • Rep. Pressley is a lead co-sponsor of the Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA), bicameral federal legislation to guarantee equal access to abortion care, everywhere. 
    • Rep. Pressley is also a lead co-sponsor of the EACH Act, bold legislation to repeal the Hyde Amendment and help guarantee abortion coverage—regardless of how a patient gets their health insurance.
    • Shortly before the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade, Rep. Pressley led a group of her Black women colleagues in writing to President Biden urging him to declare a public health emergency amid the unprecedented threats to abortion rights nationwide. 
    • Rep. Pressley condemned the Supreme Court’s leaked draft opinion to overturn Roe v. Wade., and implored the Senate to protect abortion rights and slammed the white supremacist roots of anti-abortion efforts.
    • In October 2024, Rep. Pressley issued a statement on Josseli Barnica, who died on Sept. 3, 2021 after being denied emergency abortion care in Texas as she suffered a miscarriage.
    • In September 2024, in a House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee Hearing, Rep. Pressley highlighted the harmful and deadly impact of abortion bans in America to date, and outlined in detail the shameful circumstances under which Amber Nicole Thurman died after being denied necessary abortion care in Georgia.
    • In June 2024, Rep. Pressley issued a statement on the Supreme Court’s ruling in Idaho v. United States; Moyle v. United States – the case about whether emergency abortion care is included under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA). 
    • In May 2024, Rep. Pressley issued a statement on a Louisiana bill that would classify medication abortion drugs mifepristone and misoprostol as controlled substances. 
    • In April 2024, at a House Oversight Committee hearing, Rep. Pressley played “Fact or Fiction” with Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Robert Califf to emphasize the safety and efficacy of medication abortion drug mifepristone.
    • In August 2023, Rep. Pressley issued a statement on the Fifth Circuit Court decision in Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA.
    • In July 2023, Rep. Pressley, alongside Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Rep. Cori Bush (MO-01), and Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), reintroduced the Reproductive Health Care Accessibility Act, legislation to help people with disabilities—who face discrimination and extra barriers when seeking care—get better access to reproductive healthcare and the informed care they need to control their own reproductive lives.
    • In July 2023, Rep. Pressley applauded the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval of over-the-counter birth control.
    • In May 2023, Rep. Pressley applauded the FDA Advisory Committee’s unanimous, 17-0 vote to recommend the approval of the first-ever application for over-the-counter birth control. She and Senator Murray also held a press conference applauding the decision and urging the FDA to approval over-the-counter birth control without delay.
    • In May 2023, Rep. Pressley, along with Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14) and Ami Bera, MD (CA-06) and Senators Mazie Hirono (D-HI) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), reintroduced their bicameral Affordability is Access Act to ensure that once the FDA determines an over-the-counter birth control option to be safe, insurers fully cover over-the-counter birth control without any fees or out-of-pocket costs.
    • In April 2023, Rep. Pressley issued a statement condemning the Texas court ruling on mifepristone, and discussed the Texas case in a recent floor speech in which she affirmed medication abortion as routine medical care and access to mifepristone as essential. She later joined Governor Maura Healey, Senator Elizabth Warren (D-MA), and local leaders in announcing action to protect Mifepristone in Massachusetts.
    • In March 2023, Rep. Pressley, along with Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Reps. Schakowsky, Lee, DeGette, Torres and Strickland, reintroduced the Abortion is Healthcare Everywhere Act harmful and discriminatory Helms Amendment and expand abortion access globally.
    • In March 2023, Rep. Pressley and Senator Hirono led their colleagues in reintroducing a bicameral congressional resolution honoring abortion providers and clinic staff. 
    • In March 2023, Rep. Pressley delivered a speech in which she discussed the pending court case in Texas, which aims to restrict access to medication abortion across the entire nation. In her remarks, Rep. Pressley affirmed medication abortion as routine medical care, and accessibility to the abortion pill mifepristone as essential.
    • In September 2021, Rep. Pressley issued a statement condemning the Supreme Court’s inaction on SB-8, Texas’ restrictive abortion law. Later that month, she participated in a House Oversight Committee hearing to examine the threat posed by abortion bans and underscored the urgency of the Senate passing the Women’s Health Protection Act. 
    • In April 2021, Rep. Pressley, along with Congresswomen Barbara Lee (CA-13), Diana DeGette (CO-01) and Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), led a group of 131 Democratic members in reintroducing the Equal Access to Abortion Coverage in Health Insurance Act or the EACH Act, which would repeal the Hyde Amendment and ensure that all people, regardless of income, insurance or zip code, can make personal reproductive healthcare decisions without interference from politicians. She re-Introduced the legislation In January 2023.
    • Rep. Pressley has led calls in Congress for the FDA to remove medically unnecessary restrictions on the medication abortion drug mifepristone, and applauded the FDA’s action in January 2023 to allow retail pharmacies to dispense abortion medication pills.
    • As Chair of the Pro-Choice Caucus’s Abortion Rights and Access Task Force, Congresswoman Pressley has led the fight to repeal the Hyde Amendments from annual Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies appropriations bills and in July 2020 published a Medium post on the importance of doing so. She applauded the removal of the Hyde Amendment in President Biden’s FY2022 budget.
    • In May 2020, she led more than 155 Members of Congress in calling on House Democratic leadership to ensure that any future COVID-19 relief packages rejected Republican efforts to use the public health crisis to diminish abortion access.
    • In August 2021, Rep. Pressley, Oversight Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney, and Pro-Choice Caucus Co-Chairs Reps. Diana DeGette and Barbara Lee led more than 70 of their House Democratic colleagues in introducing a resolution in support of equitable, science-based policies governing access to medication abortion care. 
    • In January 2023, Rep. Pressley introduced a resolution to condemn all forms of political violence in the U.S., regardless of its target or intent. That same day, she delivered a powerful speech on the House floor slamming Republicans’ harmful, misleading anti-abortion resolution.
    • In September 2022, Rep. Pressley hosted U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra at the Codman Square Health Center in Dorchester for a convening on their work to address the Black maternal health crisis and the criminalization of abortion care in states across the nation following the harmful U.S. Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health. 
    • In May 2019, she led more than 100 colleagues in introducing H.Con.Res.40, a resolution reaffirming the House of Representative’s support for Roe v. Wade.
    • In June 2019, Rep. Pressley introduced H.R. 3296, the Affordability is Access Act, to make oral contraception available without a prescription. 
    • In September 2016, as a member of the Boston City Council, Pressley championed a resolution calling on Congress and President Obama to repeal the Hyde Amendment and reinstate insurance coverage for abortion services.

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

    April 4, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: Attorneys general secure order restoring $11 billion in critical public health funding

    Source: Washington State News

    SEATTLE — The U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island today granted a temporary restraining order that immediately restores $11 billion in critical public health funding to state and local public health agencies across the country, including Washington state.

    The temporary restraining order comes in a lawsuit filed Tuesday by a coalition of 23 states, including Washington, and the District of Columbia against the Trump Administration’s U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. over the unlawful termination of public health funding.

    “This administration’s attacks on public health are not over, but today’s order should give Washingtonians confidence that programs that prevent the spread of infectious diseases, support mental health and get people out of substance abuse will continue to be funded for now,” Attorney General Nick Brown said.

    Beginning on March 24, HHS abruptly, with no advance notice or warning, issued termination notices to state and local public health agencies across the country, purporting to end federal funding for grants that provide essential support for a wide range of urgent public health needs, including identifying, tracking, and addressing infectious diseases; ensuring access to immunizations; and modernizing critical public health infrastructure.

    The federal funding was appropriated by Congress to ensure the United States is better prepared for future public health threats.

    -30-

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

    Media Contact:

    Email: press@atg.wa.gov

    Phone: (360) 753-2727

    General contacts: Click here

    Media Resource Guide & Attorney General’s Office FAQ

    MIL OSI USA News –

    April 4, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: Warner & Kaine Announce Recommendations for U.S. Attorneys for the Eastern and Western Districts of Virginia

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Virginia Tim Kaine

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) today sent a letter to the White House recommending candidates for the U.S. Attorney vacancies in the Eastern District of Virginia (EDVA) and the Western District of Virginia (WDVA). In their letter, the Senators recommended Michael Gill, Assistant General Counsel and Director of Investigations for Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII), and Erik Siebert, Eastern District of Virginia Interim United States Attorney, for the EDVA position. The Senators recommended Christopher “Todd” Gilbert, Minority Leader in the Virginia House of Delegates, and Robert Tracci, Senior Assistant Attorney General and Section Chief for Major Crimes and Emerging Threats in the Office of the Virginia Attorney General, for the WDVA position.

    “Across the Commonwealth, well-respected attorneys interviewed several excellent candidates, including Mr. Gill, Mr. Siebert, Mr. Gilbert, and Mr. Tracci. After conducting our own interviews and reviewing these recommendations, we find these four candidates to be exceptionally qualified for the position of U.S. Attorney,” said the senators.

    The White House will now nominate one individual for each vacancy to be considered by the Senate Judiciary Committee. The nominations are subject to confirmation by the full Senate.

    A copy of the letter can be found here and below.

    Dear Mr. President:

    As you consider candidates to serve in the two U.S. Attorney positions in the Commonwealth of Virginia, we are pleased to recommend Michael Gill and Erik Siebert for the position of the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia (EDVA); and, Todd Gilbert and Robert Tracci for the position of the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Virginia (WDVA). Bipartisan panels of esteemed attorneys from across the Commonwealth interviewed Mr. Gill, Mr. Siebert, Mr. Gilbert and Mr. Tracci, along with many other excellent candidates. After considering the panels’ reviews and conducting our own interviews, we find these four candidates to be exceptionally qualified for the position of U.S. Attorney. 

    U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District

    Michael Gill is Assistant General Counsel and Director of Investigations for Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) in Newport News, Virginia. Prior to joining HII, Mr. Gill served as a federal prosecutor for twenty years, fifteen of which were in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the EDVA. He last served the EDVA as the Chief of the Criminal Division from 2018 to 2023, supervising operations across the District’s four divisions.  Mr. Gill received his Bachelor of Arts summa cum laude from Texas Christian University and his Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia School of Law.

    Erik Siebert currently serves as the Interim United States Attorney for the EDVA. Mr. Siebert has worked as a line Assistant U.S. Attorney (AUSA) in the EDVA, handling violent crimes, possession and trafficking of illegal firearms, and narcotics, as well as the Deputy Criminal Supervisor in the EDVA Richmond Division, supervising AUSAs and partnering with federal, state, and local partners. Prior to joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the EDVA, Mr. Siebert was a police officer and an investigator with the Metropolitan Police Department of Washington D.C. Mr. Siebert received his Bachelor of Arts from the Virginia Military Institute and his Juris Doctor cum laude from the University of Richmond School of Law. 

    U.S. Attorney for the Western District

    Christopher “Todd” Gilbert is the Minority Leader in the Virginia House of Delegates. During his twenty years representing parts of the Shenandoah Valley and the Blue Ridge Mountains, Mr. Gilbert also served as Speaker and Majority Leader of the Virginia House of Delegates. Mr. Gilbert has nearly fifteen years of experience prosecuting criminal and traffic cases in Shenandoah, Warren, and Frederick counties and the City of Lynchburg. He now operates his own firm representing criminal defendants. Mr. Gilbert earned his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Virginia and his Juris Doctor from the Southern Methodist University School of Law.

    Robert Tracci is the Senior Assistant Attorney General and Section Chief for Major Crimes and Emerging Threats in the Office of the Virginia Attorney General. He previously served as the Commonwealth’s Attorney in Albemarle County. Mr. Tracci has also worked in the WDVA as a Special Assistant United States Attorney, where he assisted in the prosecution of complex financial services fraud, firearms and narcotics crimes, and child exploitation. Mr. Tracci also previously served in the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. House of Representatives. He received his Bachelor of Arts summa cum laude from the Ohio Wesleyan University and his Juris Doctor from the University of Illinois College of Law. 

    We believe that any of these candidates would make an excellent U.S. Attorney, and we are honored to be able to recommend them to you.

    Sincerely,

    MIL OSI USA News –

    April 4, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: Kaine and Scott to Introduce Bill to Protect Miners’ Safety

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Virginia Tim Kaine

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), a member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP), and U.S. Representative Robert C. “Bobby” Scott, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Education and Workforce will introduce the Robert C. Byrd Mine Safety Protection Act of 2025. 

    This bill coincides with the 15th anniversary of the Upper Big Branch (UBB) Mine Disaster, reflecting lessons learned from the deadly explosion on April 5, 2010, that killed 29 miners.  The bill improves mine safety and closes glaring loopholes in our nation’s mine safety laws that could help save miners’ lives.  The bill would further prioritize the safety of miners by holding rogue mine operators accountable.

    “Miners take incredible risks to power our nation.  While we’ve made progress to support them—like extending the Black Lung Disability Trust excise tax at a higher rate and strengthening silica standards—the recent actions of the Trump Administration have undermined decades of work to enhance protections for coal miners,” said Kaine.  “This legislation is critical to strengthening safety standards and holding mine operators accountable for unsafe working conditions.”

    “The Robert C. Byrd Mine Safety Protection Act of 2025 is a critical step toward protecting the health and safety of mine workers across the country.  Coal miners, mine safety regulators and the UBB families have asked Congress to address long, overdue reforms to the nations’ mine safety laws.  The reforms in this bill would ensure that all miners are able to return home safely to their families at the end of their shift,” said Scott. “The tragedy of the Upper Big Branch Mine Disaster will be in vain if Congress does not close the loopholes that have allowed a small minority of mine operators to put profit ahead of their miners’ safety.”

    The comes at a time when the Trump Administration is abandoning the nation’s commitment to protect miners.  The Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) has fired inspectors and appears to be closing offices across the country.  That agency has yet to answer congressional queries.  Meanwhile, in a secretive and apparently arbitrary process, the Trump Administration terminated thousands of Health and Human Services (HHS) employees—including many scientists and researchers at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) who focus on black lung and innovative technologies to keep mines safe.

    Eliminating so much of the government’s mine safety capacity, especially as we near the fifteenth anniversary of the UBB Mine Disaster, is reckless and nonsensical.  Congress permanently established NIOSH’s Office of Mine Safety and Health in the aftermath of the deadly Sago Mine Disaster.

    Weakening the Labor Department’s ability to inspect mines at a time when the White House seeks to ramp up mining is a recipe for more mine disasters.  The Trump Administration’s actions will waste decades of life-saving innovations and put miners’ lives at risk.

    The Robert C. Byrd Mine Safety Protection Act protects miners’ health and safety by:

    • Expanding the authority of the MSHA to strengthen safety regulations and enforce penalties against mines with repeat violations.
    • Increasing penalties for mines violating health and safety standards.
    • Providing the MSHA with better enforcement tools to allow proper inspection and investigation.
    • Protecting whistleblowers from retaliation and loss of income.
    • Updating mine safety standards to prevent explosions.
    • Increasing accountability for the MSHA to ensure that inspectors are independent and qualified to provide quality oversight.

    The Robert C. Byrd Mine Safety Protection Act of 2025 is endorsed by Appalachian Citizens Law Center, Appalachian Voices, United Mine Workers of America, and United Steel Workers.

    Read the full text of the bill here.

    Read a section-by-section summary of the bill here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

    April 4, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: Pappas Leads Call to Restore Over $12 Billion in Funding to States for Public Health and Addiction Treatment

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Chris Pappas (D-NH)

    New Hampshire will lose $80 million in crucial public health funding from this decision by the Trump administration

    Today Congressman Chris Pappas (NH-01) led 50 of his colleagues in urging Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to reverse the cancellation of over $12 billion in federal grants for state health services from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This funding is critical for states and community health departments’ ability to strengthen public health infrastructure and provide life-saving health services, including mental health care and substance use disorder treatment.

    The members wrote, “You have dangerously framed this as a cost saving measure that pulls back funds no longer necessary, when instead this funding provides invaluable public and mental health services that keep our communities healthy and safe. A cessation of these funds, especially done so hastily, hinders the ability of states and awardees across the nation to protect and serve our fellow Americans.”

    “To this day, these funds are used for public health infrastructure like treatment and testing for respiratory diseases, like bird flu, and wastewater surveillance systems, which are helping us monitor the current measles outbreak. While the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency ended on May 11, 2023, the need for public health infrastructure did not,” they said, underscoring the risks that the bird flu and measles currently pose to the American public.

    The members stressed the importance of this funding for mental health services and substance use disorder treatment, saying, “In 2023, 49,316 Americans died by suicide  – nearly one death every 11 minutes. Clawing back SAMHSA funds aimed at addressing the substance use crises we are facing and supporting those living with mental illnesses will prove a death sentence for some.”

    “We must put politics aside and invest, rather than divest, in evidence-based solutions. Supporting our communities’ mental health needs and services requires a sustained, long-term strategy. It requires a multi-pronged approach that includes robust funding for prevention, treatment, and recovery efforts… We urge you to reverse this decision and resume the flow of funds that help save lives,” they concluded.

    Read the letter below or here:

    Dear Secretary Kennedy, 

    We write to you regarding the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) abrupt cancellation of $11.4 billion in federal grants that our states have been using for public health services and the cancellation of $1 billion in funds from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

    You have dangerously framed this as a cost saving measure that pulls back funds no longer necessary, when instead this funding provides invaluable public and mental health services that keep our communities healthy and safe. A cessation of these funds, especially done so hastily, hinders the ability of states and awardees across the nation to protect and serve our fellow Americans.

    The CDC funds, originally allocated during the COVID-19 pandemic for use toward testing, vaccination, and monitoring programs – among other uses – remain in use for important public health initiatives across the country. To this day, these funds are used for public health infrastructure like treatment and testing for respiratory diseases, like bird flu, and wastewater surveillance systems, which are helping us monitor the current measles outbreak. While the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency ended on May 11, 2023, the need for public health infrastructure did not. 

    In 2023, 49,316 Americans died by suicide  – nearly one death every 11 minutes. Clawing back SAMHSA funds aimed at addressing the substance use crises we are facing and supporting those living with mental illnesses will prove a death sentence for some. These funds were allocated, and states were rightfully depending on them to support the mental health services and supports available to their residents.

    On February 25, 2025, the CDC released its prediction that there was a “nearly 24% decline in drug overdose deaths in the United States for the 12 months ending in September 2024, compared to the previous year.”  One month later, the careless decision to revoke $1 billion in SAMHSA funding that goes toward reducing overdose deaths and other mental health services was announced. The predicted decrease in overdose deaths is promising and shows that now is the time to build on that momentum and continue investments in mental health services, not pull the rug out from underneath our communities.

    For all too many American families, the addiction epidemic and support for mental health services are deeply personal. We must put politics aside and invest, rather than divest, in evidence-based solutions. Supporting our communities’ mental health needs and services requires a sustained, long-term strategy. It requires a multi-pronged approach that includes robust funding for prevention, treatment, and recovery efforts. 

    This administration’s callous actions to reduce government spending are once again reckless and done without regard to the communities they will harm. We urge you to reverse this decision and resume the flow of funds that help save lives.

    Sincerely,

    XXX

    MIL OSI USA News –

    April 4, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: Casten, Stauber Introduce Bipartisan Bills to Improve Access to Health Care for Aviators

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Sean Casten (IL-06)

    April 03, 2025

    Washington, D.C. — U.S. Congressmen Sean Casten (D-IL-06) and Pete Stauber (R-MN-08) introduced two bipartisan bills to improve access to health care for pilots and air traffic controllers.

    “Pilots and air traffic controllers should not be unfairly penalized for seeking health care by a system that perpetuates a culture of silence,” said Rep. Sean Casten. “I’m proud to introduce these bipartisan bills to help bolster the availability of mental health care for aviators, require the FAA to eliminate significant barriers to care, and ensure everyone is given full information about what medications they may take. These commonsense changes will enable pilots and air traffic controllers to access help, should they need it.”

    “Our aviators help our friends and families conduct business, visit loved ones, and explore the world, and they do so with safety as their top priority,” said Rep. Stauber. “Mental health care is an important part of the safety mission, and we must not create barriers that deter aviators from seeking treatment. I am proud to introduce these two bills with Congressman Casten to ensure our aviators get the care they need while keeping our skies safe.”

    The first bill, the Mental Health in Aviation Act, is co-sponsored by Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Ranking Member Rick Larsen (D-WA-02) and Representative Tracey Mann (R-KS-01). The legislation would eliminate barriers to mental health care for aviators and require the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to implement recommendations of the Mental Health and Aviation Medical Clearances Rulemaking Committee within two years. 

    “At such a trying time for U.S. aviation, we must support the mental health of the dedicated aviation workforce who, every day, help ensure the traveling public reach their destination safely,” Ranking Member Larsen said. “That’s why I’m so proud to support the Mental Health in Aviation Act, legislation from Representatives Casten, Stauber and Mann to modernize the FAA’s mental health policies and remove barriers in access to critical care.”

    “Our nation’s pilots, air traffic controllers, and flight crews carry an overwhelming weight of responsibility in upholding the Gold Standard of American aviation while simultaneously keeping passengers safe,” said Rep. Mann, a co-sponsor of the Mental Health in Aviation Act. “As these talented professionals work tirelessly to maintain American aviation as the standard for the world, it’s important that they have access to resources and information to help care for their mental health and manage stressors appropriately. When the country is already facing an imminent pilot shortage, this legislation encourages more individuals to pursue careers in aviation by providing them with the tools they need to be successful.” 

    The second bill, the Aviation Medication Transparency Act, would require the FAA to publish and regularly update a list of approved medications for aviators.

    For a list of quotes from organizations who support the Reps. Casten and Stauber’s legislation, please click here.

    If you or someone you know is struggling, there are resources to help you. Call or text 988 to connect with a trained professional and receive support 24/7.

    Mental Health in Aviation Act

    Currently, pilots and air traffic controllers who seek mental health care are unfairly penalized by a system that perpetuates a culture of silence. While aviation professionals are mandated to report if they seek mental health care, once they take that step, they are faced with delays, confusion, and overbroad regulation in the process of returning to work. This often means that relatively minor mental health concerns result in long wait times and derailed careers for safe and well-trained pilots and air traffic controllers, which exacerbate the culture of silence that is rooted in fear for their livelihoods.

    In December 2023, the FAA recognized the need to reform its current policies and established the ARC to identify barriers to mental health care for aviators and present recommendations to the FAA to address these challenges. 

    To address these barriers, the ARC coalesced around a list of 24 recommendations to eliminate some of the main barriers to care. The Mental Health in Aviation Act requires the FAA to take the following steps:

    Regulations for Individuals Carrying Out Aviation Activities

    • In consultation with stakeholders, implement the recommendations of the ARC within two years
    • Report to Congress on its plans to implement recommendations to improve pilot mental health care from the National Transportation Safety Board, and a description of relevant clinical studies, manuals, and other protocols.

    Annual Review of Mental Health Special Issuance Process

    • Annually review and update process related to mental health-related special issuance for pilots and air traffic controllers to: reclassify and approve the use of additional medications, improve mental health knowledge and training to Aviation Medical Examiners, as appropriate defer additional authority to Aviation Medical Examiners, and improve the special issuance process; and report to congress. 

    Authorization of Appropriation for Additional Medical Examiners

    • Authorizes $13.74 M for each of the next three years to recruit, and train additional Aviation Medical Examiners and fund and expand capacity in the Flight Surgeon’s Office.

    Public Information Campaign

    • Authorizes $1.5M for each of the next three years to destigmatize mental health care among aviators, and make pilots and air traffic controllers aware of available services to help.
    • Report to Congress.

    Text of the Mental Health in Aviation Act can be found here.

    The legislation is endorsed by the Pilot Mental Health Campaign,  Air Line Pilots Association, Airlines for America, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, National Flight Training Alliance, the National Business Aviation Association, and NetJets Association of Shared Aircraft Pilots (NJASAP).

    Aviation Medication Transparency Act

    Currently, the FAA provides Aviation Medical Examiners with specific guidance on medications that are safe for aviators and those that necessitate grounding for various periods. However, this crucial information is not made accessible to pilots, non-aeromedical physicians, or air traffic Controllers.

    As a result, an aviator may unknowingly take prescription medications that could potentially jeopardize their career. If both the aviator and their physician had access to information regarding permissible medications, they could opt for similar medications that would not pose such risks. To make sure pilots and air traffic controllers have full information, the Aviation Medication Transparency Act requires the publication of a list of approved medications. Further, this bill requires that the FAA:

    • Publish and maintain this list of medications that are safe for pilots and air traffic controllers to take while working within one year of enactment.
    • Maintain this list in consultation with various stakeholders
    • Ensure that this list is comprehensive and drafted in a user-friendly and accessible manner.
    • Indicate what, if any, period of time aviators must have limited duties while taking this medication
    • Indicate a list of medications that the FAA has designated as “Do Not Issue”
    • Include any other clarifications it deems necessary
    • Update this list annually
    • Include a mechanism for doctors to seek information from the FAA should they have any questions

    Text of the Aviation Medication Transparency Act can be found here.

    The legislation is endorsed by the Pilot Mental Health Campaign, Airlines for America, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, the National Business Aviation Association, and the National Flight Training Alliance.

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

    April 4, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: Advocating for Rural Arkansas in Congress

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Bruce Westerman (AR-04)

    Our great state is home to beautiful rolling hills and scenic, winding highways. There’s also certainly an abundance of outdoor recreation opportunities, as well. After all, they don’t call it the Natural State for nothing. But this abundance of vast natural beauty also means that our state isn’t made up of big cities with sky high buildings and a bustling city life. No, Arkansas is largely made up of rural communities. These rural communities we call home provide opportunities for a way of life unavailable in the big cities but cherished by most who have experienced it. Just as rural life provides wonderful opportunities, it also comes with unique challenges such as communications and healthcare.

    Driving across the stately Ouachita and Ozark mountains, through the Arkansas River Valley, across the piney woods and the delta, and everywhere in between, locals who live in these parts know that their best chance at receiving up-to-date news and weather bulletins is often on the radio. Other rural communities across the country are also aware of how vital radio is to their livelihood, which is why the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act of 2025 was introduced earlier this year. As a proud cosponsor of this bill, it is well-understood the importance of ensuring that AM radio is maintained in vehicles even though several car manufacturers are trying to move away from maintaining AM broadcast radio in their modernized automobiles. 

    Not only is receiving timely news a contributor to the challenges rural Arkansans face, the ever-present need for effective healthcare is always a concern for those living in under-resourced areas. Congress must work toward passing commonsense legislation that works for the families and individuals who require and deserve timely, reliable, and quality health care. Rural hospitals play a crucial role in the well-being of these individuals which is why it was a privilege to cosponsor the Rural Health Care Technical Assistance Act last week. This bill will codify and expand a current United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) program that is responsible for providing vital assistance to rural health care facilities, works toward preventing hospital closures, strengthens needed health care services in rural communities, and bolsters the stability of these institutions.

    As a representative of one of the more rural congressional districts in our country, I know firsthand just how vital it is for Congress to work toward passing commonsense legislation that works for the families and individuals in these under-resourced communities – not legislation that keeps them further from resources Americans in urban areas have every-day access to. The vast majority of our nation is built upon these vibrant communities, and the Arkansas Congressional Delegation will certainly continue to work with House Republicans to continue serving rural America.

    MIL OSI USA News –

    April 4, 2025

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Speech to Project Auckland

    Source: New Zealand Government

    Check against delivery.Kia ora and thank you so much for inviting me here today. It’s great to be with you all.Can I start by thanking Fran O’Sullivan for her hard work in organising and supporting this annual event and the also NZME for sponsoring the event as always. I’d also like to acknowledge our Deputy Mayor Desley Simpson, Councillor Richard Hills, and my colleague the Honourable Chris Bishop, the Minister of many things relevant to Auckland’s future and success – Transport, Housing, RMA Reform, Infrastructure – the list goes on. He is also, importantly, Leader of the House because you can’t change the law if he doesn’t let you change the law, so it’s very important to have the Leader of the House on site – great to see you here. Also, the opposition spokesperson for Auckland, Carmel Sepuloni, and Shanan Halbert – lovely to see you here today as well.It’s always good to be with you all as leaders of our city – people who believe in Auckland’s future and are committed to its success.This shared commitment mirrors our Government’s focus on Going for Growth – driving positive change for this city, and delivering real results. 
    Context 
    As a Government, we have set a clear, decisive plan to get New Zealand back on track.There is no doubt that our country – and this city – faces significant challenges.At the heart of those challenges are the economy, inflation, and interest rates, which have been tightening household budgets and stifled economic growth. The Government has spent the last 18 months focused on the basics – rebuilding our economy, restoring law and order, and delivering better public services, particularly in health and education.By reducing wasteful spending, reining in inflation, and lowering interest rates, we are easing the pressure on families and mortgages and giving businesses the certainty they need to grow and invest.We campaigned on this, and we are starting to see the green shoots of economic recovery.Inflation is back within the one to three per cent band, and interest rates are falling. This is good news for Kiwi households and businesses and is critical to easing the cost-of-living pressures for New Zealanders.  Just last week, it was confirmed that our economy has also started to turn the corner, with GDP growing by 0.7 percent in the three months to December – ahead of what the economists were projecting – welcome news after a long period of economic decline, which we inherited, leaving Kiwis feeling poorer. Under Christopher Luxon’s leadership, our Government is Going for Growth, and working tirelessly to sustain this momentum, because a stronger economy means more jobs, better incomes, and more opportunities for Kiwis to get ahead. Rebuilding our economy also requires discipline across every part of government, local and central – delivering the services and infrastructure that Kiwis need, while ensuring every dollar is spent wisely to produce tangible results. This disciplined approach is especially crucial for Auckland – home to 34 per cent of our population and generating 38 per cent of New Zealand’s GDP.Rebuilding our economy means the Government can continue to invest in the priorities facing our city, whether that is better schools, more doctors and nurses in our hospitals, or the infrastructure needed for our fast-growing city.As Minister for Auckland, my role is to champion this city’s interests and ensure it receives the attention and investment it rightfully deserves from central Government, and I am proud of what we have already achieved as a Government. 
     
    Delivering for Auckland
    Since entering government, we have moved quickly deliver on our promises and get Auckland back on track. We axed the Auckland Regional Fuel Tax, removing 11.5 cents per litre from the cost of fuel.We delivered tax relief for hardworking Aucklanders, with average-income households receiving up to $102 a fortnight.We have also prevented a 25.8 per cent increase in water rates through our Local Water Done Well plan, ensuring Aucklanders have access to affordable and sustainable water services.This will save Aucklanders around $899 million in water and wastewater charges over four years through the Watercare Charter. I want to acknowledge the team from Watercare for the excellent work they’ve done, as well as Auckland Council who have partnered with the Government to enable this deal. The deal with Auckland Council to financially separate Watercare has also built huge confidence in the pipeline of water infrastructure in Auckland. A major sign of this confidence was the decision by tunnelling company, Ghella, who are building the Auckland Central Interceptor, to keep their tunnel boring machine in Auckland, following the completion of the central interceptor tunnels this Friday. They see the growing pipeline of water infrastructure projects that require delivering in our city. This is what real confidence in the infrastructure pipeline looks like and it’s a privilege to play a part in delivering that. We have also opened new state-of-the-art radiology equipment at Auckland City Hospital’s Regional Cancer and Blood Service.We’ve deployed additional cops on the beat – raising beat cops to 51 in the CBD – strengthening law and order to improve safety in the inner city and across Auckland.We scrapped Auckland Light Rail, halting a project that haemorrhaged over $228 million without delivering a single metre of track.We have introduced legislation for Time of Use Schemes, which will support the Government’s and Auckland Council’s efforts to reduce congestion across the city and improve efficiency of our roading network. We set a clear direction for both roading and public transport projects across Auckland, including the Northland Corridor, Mill Road Stage 1, the North-West Alternative State Highway, the Northwestern Busway and the Airport to Botany Busway so Aucklanders can have a clear plan of future transport projects for the city – both roading and public transport connections that this city needs for the future. And we are restoring democratic accountability for transport decisions, ensuring Auckland ratepayers have a genuine say in shaping our city.Our track record as a Government demonstrates our commitment to delivering real outcomes for Auckland and getting our city back on track.
     
    What’s next for Auckland
     
    But the question is what’s next for Auckland?While we’ve achieved a lot in a short space of time, our work isn’t done. There is much more to do. Two key areas of work that will be underway over the next 12-18 months, which I think are critically to our city’s success, is capitalising on the benefits of the City Rail Link and developing an Auckland Regional Deal.The next 12-18 months see significant change in Auckland as we look forward to the completion of the City Rail Link. This project, started under the last National Government, will be truly transformational for the city and unlock huge benefits for Aucklanders, including reduced travel times and increased opportunities for development along our rail corridor. Once complete, the City Rail Link will be truly city shaping, and will have a significant impact beyond just making transport more accessible for Aucklanders. Unlocking the benefits of the CRL is key to Auckland’s success. Both the Government and Auckland Council have invested billions of dollars into this project and we must make sure that we are getting the benefits from it. Whether it is the work Transport Minister Chris Bishop is delivering with Auckland Council to remove level crossings to keep traffic moving safely in our suburbs, or it is unlocking development around train stations across Auckland, we must make sure that the city maximises the benefits. The Government has also recently welcomed proposals around regional deals, and I welcome Auckland Council’s proposal which has been put forward as part of that process. I hope that maximising the City Rail Link benefits can be part of that deal because that is something we must jointly ensure happens for the city. Regional deals are an opportunity to bring Councils, Government, Business, Iwi and community together with a longer-term view than just the three-year political cycle, about what’s need to enable the key issues to be unlock, whether that economic growth, productivity, housing, or infrastructure. I’m looking forward to the opportunity we have before us to build on the work already underway with Auckland Council, and how a regional deal could support that. As Minister of Auckland, I will be advocating for Auckland to be the first cab off the rank for a regional deal so we can build on the strong progress we have already made for Auckland in the past 18 months. A regional deal will be a long-term plan for the city, outlining how both local and central government can work together to unlock economic growth in our city, build houses, and deliver the infrastructure needed for this city. It is also an opportunity to outline how central and local governments need to work together to solve problems and deliver tangible solutions. Taxpayers and Ratepayers are ultimately the same people – and they expect central and local governments to work together to deliver on their priorities over the long term. Regional deals are an opportunity to do just that and I will be working closely with Auckland Council on their plan to deliver a Regional Deal for Auckland. But, great infrastructure and economic reforms also need high-quality public services, particularly in health, that are efficient and put patients first.
     
    Keeping Auckland healthy
     
    That’s why we’re determined to ensure Aucklanders have timely, quality access to healthcare.A lot has changed since I last spoke to you in March, when I was talking about potholes – but even Bernard Orsman managed to find a pothole at Greenlane Hospital carpark yesterday, and we got it fixed. Some might say I traded one challenge for an even bigger one. In a growing city like Auckland, we need a resilient health system, so that rising demand from a growing population doesn’t mean waitlists balloon out even more than they already have.The Government is putting more money into health than ever before and we are focussing our health system on delivering the timely and quality healthcare for all New Zealanders. To achieve this – we have restored national health targets – which are key to delivering timely and quality healthcare. Unfortunately over the last 6 years, we’ve seen the results go backwards for patients, whether its Kiwis waiting longer in emergency departments or elective surgeries, which increased from 1000 people more than four months in 2017 to over 27,000 waiting more than four months in 2023.It is unacceptable and New Zealanders deserve better. Health targets have been restored to deliver better outcomes for patients because what gets measured gets managed.But performance also depends on infrastructure. Auckland’s population is growing, so we need modern hospitals to keep up.For the expectant new mother needing maternity care.For the elderly patient needing a hip replacement.For the injured tradie needing urgent care after an accident on the job.
     
    Health Infrastructure Plan
     
    At the recent New Zealand Infrastructure Summit, I highlighted 67 health infrastructure projects – valued at $6.39 billion – which are in the pipeline across the country. $1.5 billion of that is in Auckland, including Manukau Health Park here in Auckland, large scale remediation programmes across our estate at Auckland Hospital and Greenlane Hospital.But at current estimates, we cannot build capacity fast enough to meet the demands of a growing population. Today, I am providing an update on the Health Infrastructure Plan that Cabinet is developing. This plan will set a direction for the next 10 to 20 years to ensure that as a country, we build the right things in the right places at the right size and scale.While each project will require its own business case, the plan will set a long-term view of health infrastructure needs across the country and gives Health New Zealand a clear plan to work upon. We know that hospitals across the Auckland region are experiencing pronounced bed shortages, which are expected to increase as the population grows.South Auckland in particular is one of our fastest-growing communities, with significant health challenges. This community experiences higher rates of infectious conditions and long term conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and chronic respiratory disease. The health needs of South Auckland are compounding, and this impacts the whole region, with both Middlemore and Auckland City Hospital under pressure to service the south Auckland population – and this pressure will only continue to grow.A new site in South Auckland has long been acknowledged by the region’s health planning as necessary to meet the growing demand. Today, I’m confirming that as part of the Health Infrastructure Plan, a new major hospital in South Auckland is being explored. The next steps involve detailed planning by Health New Zealand and securing land to accelerate development.This hospital would work alongside Middlemore, adding more beds, modern surgical theatres, and expanded emergency services – easing pressure on the system and improving outcomes for Aucklanders. Kiwis deserve better than long waits in overcrowded emergency departments and long waits for surgery. Patients come first, and investing in infrastructure is key to delivering that.The Health Infrastructure Plan has been considered by Cabinet and will be published in the coming weeks 
     
    Conclusion
     
    We have a clear growth agenda for Auckland. We’ve taken decisive action to ease the cost of living, restore law and order, and keep our city moving.Auckland must be a city that works for its people – where businesses thrive, families can afford to live, people can travel quickly and safely, and everyone has access to timely, quality healthcare.That’s my focus.Thanks very much for having me here.Thank you, and I look forward to continuing this work alongside you all.

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

    April 4, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA News: Cancer Control Month, 2025

    Source: The White House

    class=”has-text-align-center”>By the President of the United States of America

    A Proclamation

    During Cancer Control Month, we honor the unwavering strength and courage of every American battling cancer and celebrate with over 18 million survivors who are still with us today.  We also hold dear the memories of beloved family members and friends that we have lost to this devastating disease.  My Administration remains devoted to pursuing groundbreaking medical advancement and spearheading innovative treatments to combat and prevent all forms of cancer.

    Last year, over 2 million Americans were diagnosed with cancer, and more than 600,000 lost their lives to this horrific disease.  Since 1990, adult cancer cases have surged by 88 percent, while childhood cancer cases, though still uncommon, has incrementally increased by 0.8 percent annually since 1975, leading to a more than 40 percent increase in the past 50 years.  These trends indicate that something is wrong.  That is why I have proudly established the Make America Healthy Again Commission to address the root causes of America’s chronic disease crisis.

    My Administration is committed to lowering healthcare costs; making additional treatment options available through Right to Try; and rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse in Government.  By promoting transparency and ending conflicts of interest in federally funded health research, we are working to restore trust in our medical and scientific institutions.  As President, I am also tapping into emerging technologies like artificial intelligence to support cutting-edge research in innovative fields like genomics and immunotherapy, pioneering medical advances that will improve the lives of cancer patients. 

    Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States.  However, there are encouraging signs of progress.  The combined death rate from all types of cancer continues to decline among both men and women, and the mortality rates for several common cancers — including lung, colon, breast, and ovarian — are steadily decreasing.  These promising developments reflect the unending efforts of our Nation’s dedicated healthcare professionals to diagnose cancers at earlier stages, improve prevention, and enhance treatment.

    Americans must take action to prevent and combat cancer.  Maintaining a healthy weight, adopting balanced eating habits, and engaging in regular physical activity may help prevent kidney, endometrial, esophageal, colorectal, and other cancers.  Avoiding tobacco use and alcohol consumption can also help prevent and combat cancers.  Additionally, Americans should discuss their family medical history with their doctors and undergo recommended screenings.  This can lead to an early diagnosis and increase the odds of overcoming the disease.

    As a country, we will continue to push the boundaries of medical innovation, driven by the unwavering spirit of the American people.  Together, we will work to vanquish cancer, eradicating the suffering and pain it has inflicted on too many American families.  I have unshakable faith in the greatness of our Nation and the excellence of our people.  We will continue to fight until we find a long-sought cure, and we will emerge victorious in our fight against cancer.

    The Congress of the United States, by joint resolution approved March 28, 1938 (52 Stat. 148; 36 U.S.C. 103), as amended, has requested the President to issue an annual proclamation declaring April as “Cancer Control Month.”

    NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim April 2025 as Cancer Control Month.  I call upon the people of the United States to observe this month with relevant programs, ceremonies, and activities.

    IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
    third day of April, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-five, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-ninth.

                                   DONALD J. TRUMP

    MIL OSI USA News –

    April 4, 2025

  • MIL-Evening Report: ‘Curiosity-driven research’ led to a recent major medical breakthrough. But it’s under threat

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sean Coakley, Senior Research Fellow, School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland

    Hakase_420/Shutterstock

    Earlier this year news broke about doctors in London curing blindness in children with a rare genetic condition.

    The genetic condition was a severe, albeit rare, form of retinal dystrophy. It causes severe sight impairment and can be caused by defects in many different genes.

    In this case, the four young patients had mutations in the gene encoding AIPL1. This accounts for up to 5% of infants affected by this condition, and has no treatment.

    In this study, published in The Lancet, a team from the Moorfields Eye Hospital and University College London Institute of Ophthalmology injected a new copy of the gene AIPL1 into one eye of each patient to replace the defective one. The four children in the study showed improved functional vision without serious adverse effects.

    The story of this incredible breakthrough actually begins 132 years ago. It highlights the importance of research done not for any clear application in the world – just curiosity. But around the world, this kind of research is under threat.

    Understanding the world – just for the sake of it

    Curiosity-driven research is exactly what it sounds like: research driven by the goal of understanding nature without regard for application. It has many aliases. “Blue-sky research”, “discovery science” and “basic science” are all terms commonly used to describe this approach.

    This kind of research differs from “mission-directed research”, which focuses primarily on practical applications and whose goals are set by governments and industry.

    The logic behind curiosity-driven research is that understanding how things work will inevitably lead to discoveries that will fuel innovation.

    Historically, this has led to transformational discoveries. Another recent example is the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, which was awarded to Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman for discoveries that enabled the development of effective mRNA vaccines against COVID.

    The recent study in The Lancet follows more than a century of curiosity-driven discoveries culminating in these four children receiving their life-changing injections.

    Sketching the structure of the retina

    The kind of medical intervention used on these patients is called a gene therapy.

    In this case, the cause of the condition is a defect in a single gene. This defect leads to the malfunction of an individual protein in the eye that is required for vision. The approach essentially is to provide a working copy of that gene to the eye, to restore function. This requires not only the technology to deliver the therapy, but the underlying knowledge of how AIPL1 functions in normal vision.

    In 1893, the pioneer of modern neuroscience Santiago Ramon y Cajal exquisitely sketched the structure of the retina.
    Santiago Ramon y Cajal/Wikipedia

    This knowledge dates back to 1893, when the pioneer of modern neuroscience, Santiago Ramon y Cajal, exquisitely sketched the structure of the retina – the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye.

    In the 132 years since, our knowledge of how this tissue converts light into an electrical signal for our brain to interpret as vision has significantly advanced. We now understand a lot about how this works.

    This foundational knowledge also means we know precisely why a dysfunctional AIPL1 gene leads to severe vision impairment. It also enables us to predict that providing a working version could improve vision. Armed with this knowledge, we have an engineering problem. How do we get a working copy into the eye?

    In this case, the working copy of AIPL1 was delivered by an adeno-associated virus, or AAV. These were first discovered in the mid-1960s, and without realising their therapeutic potential, several research groups dedicated themselves to understanding their biology.

    An AAV was first used in a human patient in 1995 for the treatment of cystic fibrosis. Without this curiosity-driven research they would not have been developed into a gene therapy platform. This is how most modern therapies have emerged.

    Curiosity-driven research is driven by the goal of understanding nature without regard for application.
    Trust Katsande/Unsplash

    Protecting curiosity-driven research

    This is one of hundreds of therapies taking a similar approach. We will likely see many more stories like this in the coming decades. But I am certain we won’t see any examples where we don’t understand the underlying biology.

    Curiosity-driven research, focused on understanding how biology works, is essential for the development of therapies to treat human disease. The history of medical advances shows us this time and time again.

    Curiosity-driven breakthroughs include the discovery of X-rays as well as the antibiotic penicillin. The discovery of CRISPR/Cas9, an ancient bacterial defence, has enabled the editing of DNA with unprecedented precision. This has already led to an FDA-approved therapy to treat sickle cell disease.

    Australia has punched above its weight in this arena for many years. But this is no longer the case.

    Funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council, our largest funder of medical research, has been falling since 2020. More broadly, this coincides with a decline in the proportion of basic research being funded in Australia and directly threatens our capacity for curiosity-driven innovation.

    Internationally, this strong focus on practical application is repeated. For example, 83% of the European Union’s €95.5 billion research funding program supports mission-directed research.

    In Australia, and globally, we must protect curiosity-driven research at all costs and not underestimate the vital contribution it will make to our future.

    Sean Coakley receives funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council and the Australian Research Council.

    – ref. ‘Curiosity-driven research’ led to a recent major medical breakthrough. But it’s under threat – https://theconversation.com/curiosity-driven-research-led-to-a-recent-major-medical-breakthrough-but-its-under-threat-252298

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

    April 4, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: April 3rd, 2025 Heinrich, Luján Join Senate Democrats in Demanding Trump Rescind Illegal Executive Order Threatening Federal Employee Collective Bargaining Agreements

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for New Mexico Martin Heinrich

    Washington, D.C. – Wednesday, U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) joined the entire Senate Democratic Caucus in urging President Donald Trump to rescind his March 27 executive order to end collective bargaining agreements between public employee unions and dozens of federal agencies and bureaus. In their letter, the Democratic Senators blasted the move as a “gross overreach” of presidential authority, asserting that the executive order is a clear attempt to gut the federal merit-based civil service and implement a system of political cronyism. They stressed that the order poses a grave threat to the ability of over 1 million federal workers to carry out their missions and deliver important services for the American people – and thus should be rescinded immediately.

    “We write today in outrage over your recent executive order entitled Exclusions from Federal Labor-Management Relations Programs, a gross overreach of the authority granted in the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 (CSRA). This order is an insult to the hardworking public servants who go to work on behalf of the American people,” the Senators began.

    “The executive order effectively classifies two thirds of the federal workforce as having national security missions, a blatant misuse of a limited authority intended to provide operational flexibility to address legitimate security needs,” they continued. “There is no evidence that the long-standing collective bargaining agreements at these agencies have jeopardized our nation’s security in any way; to the contrary, the protection collective bargaining has provided for employees allows them to conduct their work on behalf of the American people—including blowing the whistle on fraud or abuse—without political interference.”

    “This Administration clearly does not have even a basic understanding of the legally binding nature of federal collective bargaining agreements and is actively trying to bend the law to undermine protections for federal civil servants. We urge you to immediately rescind this illegal executive order so that our dedicated public servants can continue to work on behalf of the American public without fear for their job or political retribution,” the Senators concluded.

    The Senators’ letter is endorsed by the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU), International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE), and Service Employees International Union (SEIU).

    Led by U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Mark Warner (D-Va.), and Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Senators Heinrich and Luján were joined on this letter by Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Angus King (I-Maine), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).

    A copy of the letter is available here and below.

    Dear President Trump: 

    We write today in outrage over your recent executive order entitled Exclusions from Federal Labor-Management Relations Programs, a gross overreach of the authority granted in the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 (CSRA). 

    This order is an insult to the hardworking public servants who go to work on behalf of the American people. They care for our veterans, deliver disaster assistance, prevent wildfires, help farmers improve crop yields, manage health benefits for 9/11 first responders, research treatments and cures for diseases, keep air travel safe, process tax returns, staff our national parks and much, much more. Nearly one third of these dedicated civil servants are veterans seeking to continue their service to our country out of uniform.  

    The executive order effectively classifies two thirds of the federal workforce as having national security missions, a blatant misuse of a limited authority intended to provide operational flexibility to address legitimate security needs. The national security exemption has existed for nearly 50 years and has been used only sparingly by Republican and Democratic Administrations—including during your first term—to exclude federal offices with an unquestionable core function in intelligence, counterintelligence, or national security. There is no evidence that the long-standing collective bargaining agreements at these agencies have jeopardized our nation’s security in any way; to the contrary, the protection collective bargaining has provided for employees allows them to conduct their work on behalf of the American people—including blowing the whistle on fraud or abuse—without political interference. 

    Federal employees’ collective bargaining agreements are critical to ensuring they continue to serve the American people with the peace of mind that comes with being protected from unfair labor practices. Unlike in the private sector, federal employee unions in most cases cannot negotiate pay or benefits, which are set by Congress, and they are legally prohibited from striking. The federal collective bargaining agreements do, however, protect federal employees from illegal firings, retaliation, and discrimination. They also promote resources for whistleblowers and veterans. These federal union contracts give employees in the civil service protections from retaliation so they can serve the American people fairly and effectively without partisan political interference.  

    This executive order, which ruthlessly strips collective bargaining agreements for over one million federal workers, is the most recent attack your Administration has levied against our merit-based civil service in the effort to cut the workforce and replace them with political cronies. While the CSRA does give the president the authority to limit collective bargaining agreements due to national security concerns, the executive order’s direction to terminate mass swaths of federal employee collective bargaining agreements is clearly intended to broadly dismantle the CSRA, which is specifically designed to grant federal employees the right to collective bargaining as a means to resolve workplace issues while maintaining the smooth functioning of government operations.  

    When the Secretary of Labor testified in February in front of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, Members of Congress asked her both in-person and through questions for the record whether she and the Administration would commit to honoring all legally binding collective bargaining agreements signed by federal agencies and labor unions, and whether federal employees have the right to organize and collectively bargain without fear of retaliation. The Secretary answered, “if confirmed, I will follow the law and work with the experts at the Department to understand the collective bargaining process at the Department and the terms and conditions of the collective bargaining agreements in place.” This Administration clearly does not have even a basic understanding of the legally binding nature of federal collective bargaining agreements and is actively trying to bend the law to undermine protections for federal civil servants.  

    We urge you to immediately rescind this illegal executive order so that our dedicated public servants can continue to work on behalf of the American public without fear for their job or political retribution.

    Sincerely,

    MIL OSI USA News –

    April 4, 2025

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: South Yorkshire kicks off £125 million plans to get Britain back to health and work

    Source: United Kingdom – Government Statements

    Press release

    South Yorkshire kicks off £125 million plans to get Britain back to health and work

    Liz Kendall visits Barnsley to unveil first of nine ‘trailblazers’ which will get people back to health and back to work, supported by £18m of £125m investment

    • First trailblazer programme to tackle inactivity and boost employment launches in South Yorkshire. 
    • In the first year, South Yorkshire will work with over 7,800 people and aim to help up to 3,000 people into jobs or to stay in jobs.
    • Trailblazers at heart of wider efforts to Get Britain Working and boost economic growth under the Plan for Change.

    Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall has unveiled the first of nine trailblazer programmes in Barnsley to get Britain back to health and back to work, nine months on from her landmark speech on employment reforms in the same town.

    South Yorkshire is one of nine £125 million backed ‘inactivity trailblazers’ across the country to launch, with the aim of helping areas with the highest levels of economic inactivity as part of the wider Plan for Change. 

    Backed by £18 million, South Yorkshire plans a dedicated new service working with employers to hire those with health conditions, and a new “triage” system to make it quicker and easier to connect people to employment, health, and skills support. 

    This work will include preventing people falling out of work completely due to ill health through an NHS programme, working with people with conditions ranging from cardiovascular disease to diabetes. This could include arranging voluntary work as a stepping stone to paid employment or helping people receive the right treatment early so they can remain in a job. Similar NHS programmes have also kicked off this week in the North East and West Yorkshire. 

    South Yorkshire has already had success in tailoring support to meet the needs of local people, including:

    • Gerald who spent years working in the coal mining industry. With the help of South Yorkshire, he’s developing his digital skills and first aid abilities so he can continue to share his knowledge with others through volunteering. 
    • Ruby who has a learning and physical disability. She was told she would never walk or work, but South Yorkshire worked with local employer Barnsley Norse, who provide cleaning and caretaking services, to create a bespoke role with amended duties, including shorter shifts so she could build stamina and confidence. 
    • John, who has improved his prospects through engagement with South Yorkshire, working towards a qualification in English and Maths. He is volunteering with Barnsley Museums and now has paid employment with Age UK, and two relief positions with the Museums service. 

    Work and Pensions Secretary, Liz Kendall MP said: 

    For too long, whole areas of the UK have been written off and deprived of investment. We are turning the tide on this – as we believe in the potential of every single person across our country and that they deserve to benefit from the security and dignity that good work affords.

    This is why we’re investing £125 million into nine local areas to get Britain back to health and back to work – with our new approach making it quicker and easier for people to access the support they need to stay in work if they have a health condition or return to work.

    South Yorkshire is the first to kick off their innovative plans – backed by £18 million – and we will be launching more areas in the coming weeks as we put more money in people’s pockets, boost living standards and Get Britain Working under our Plan for Change.

    South Yorkshire Mayor, Oliver Coppard said:

    We know that South Yorkshire’s industrial past has left a legacy of poor health and low skills that holds people back right across our communities; holding people back from accessing good work, making the most of their potential or living their fullest lives. 

    That’s why we developed the pioneering Pathways to Work approach here in Barnsley, and why we’re now working with the Government to roll that programme out across the whole of South Yorkshire. From today people will receive tailored support, bringing together the health system, the skills and employment system, to truly help people back into decent work. 

    I’m really pleased that South Yorkshire is now leading with the first inactivity trailblazer and NHS growth accelerator to launch in the UK, because it means we can help people more quickly and more effectively, and in a more tailored way. That’s not just the right thing to do for those people locked out of finding good work, it’s the right thing for our economy too, helping us to create the bigger and better economy we need and deserve here in our region.

    Minister for Public Health and Prevention, Ashley Dalton MP added:

    Poor health is holding back too many people across the country, keeping them languishing on waiting lists when they could be getting back to their jobs and lives. Innovative services like these are critical to tackling economic inactivity.

    This support will get people working again, which is vital because we know being in work leads to better overall heath and helps grow the economy. 

    Though the Plan for Change we will make people healthier, reduce pressure on the NHS, all while helping them into fulfilling and rewarding careers.

    The trailblazer programmes, which have been designed largely by civil servants based in Sheffield working with Mayoral Combined Authorities, are part of the Government’s wider efforts to reach an 80 per cent employment rate, which includes a record £1 billion investment in helping disabled people and those with long-term health conditions who can work into work and an overhaul of Jobcentres to make sure they meet the needs of employers.

    Through their new initiatives, South Yorkshire aims to reduce inactivity from 25.5% in 2023 to under 20% by the end of 2029 – equivalent to helping 40,000 people across the area. Their trailblazer has been shaped by Barnsley’s Pathways to Work Commission – a landmark report that heard directly from local residents who have experienced barriers to accessing work.  

    Once a crucible of the industrial revolution from steelmaking to coal mining, South Yorkshire has felt the full brunt of the industrial slump – and denied the investment and opportunity to thrive, with many people suffering from long-term health conditions. 

    This new funding will help unlock the potential of the hardworking people across the region and help them get back to health and back to work. This is central to the government’s drive to deliver growth across the region – and will work alongside the 10-year Sheffield Growth Plan.

    South Yorkshire marks one of nine inactivity trailblazers going live across England and Wales. In the coming weeks, similar schemes will launch in: Greater Manchester, North East, York and North Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, Wales; and three in London (West London, South London and Local London). 

    In addition, eight youth trailblazer areas will also be set up across mayoral authorities in England with £45 million funding in the coming weeks, to ensure all 18–21-year-olds have access to education, training, and employment opportunities.  

    The government has published local Get Britain Working Plan guidance for Local Government and stakeholders across England to develop a coordinated approach to supporting people into and remaining in good work. 

    As part of a drive to show transparency and track delivery, the Government is also publishing Get Britain Working outcome metrics, based on analysis of the ONS’ Labour Force Survey data.

    Further Information

    • With 230,000 economically inactive people in South Yorkshire, £10 million of the investment will go towards helping people who have been inactive for less than two years, as well as those with long-term health conditions, in Barnsley, Doncaster, Sheffield and Rotherham.  
    • The remaining £8 million will fund the NHS Accelerator programme. This is the first time that the NHS in England will have responsibility for work as well as health outcomes, with similar schemes rolling out in West Yorkshire and the North East. They will also improve access to Talking Therapies, which provides treatment such as cognitive behavioural therapy to adults. 
    • Both programmes aim to work with a total of 7,800 people and help up to 3,000 of those into jobs or to stay in work in the first year. 
    • Sheffield’s Growth Plan is a 10-year plan to grow the economy, giving local people higher living standards and more opportunities. The South Yorkshire inactivity trailblazer represents that this government is focusing investment on places still experiencing the consequences of the past.
    • The nine inactivity trailblazers, backed by £125 million of UK Government funding, is giving power to the Welsh Government and some Mayoral Authorities to design joined up work, health and skills offers.
    • Funding for Scotland and Northern Ireland has been devolved in the usual way.
    • The Get Britain Working metrics have been published: Get Britain Working outcomes – GOV.UK
    • The measures have been built based on analysis of the ONS’ Labour Force Survey data and segment out health related inactivity, regional variations in employment rates and the disability employment rate gap.
    • The local Get Britain Working Plan guidance has been published: Guidance for Developing local Get Britain Working plans (England) – GOV.UK
    • The guidance will ensure all areas are working towards the government’s 80% employment ambition. 
    • The eight youth trailblazers will be in: Liverpool, West Midlands, Tees Valley, East Midlands, West of England, and Cambridgeshire & Peterborough and two in London
    • Employment support measures are fully transferred to Northern Ireland. Jobcentre Plus services is reserved in both Scotland and Wales, but the Scottish Government and the Welsh Government also deliver other forms of employment support. The funding announced in the Pathways to Work Green Paper is UK wide, the share of funding for devolved Governments will be calculated in the usual way.
    • The UK Government also plans to establish new governance arrangements with the Scottish and Welsh Governments to help frame discussions around the reform of Jobcentres and agree how best to work in partnership on shared employment ambition across devolved and reserved provision.
    • The announcement of the first inactivity trailblazer comes as the Government and National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) invests £7.4 million in four research projects across the UK to help reduce health-related economic inactivity.

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    Published 4 April 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

    April 4, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: Padilla, Welch Probe AI Chatbot Apps on Safeguards for Children

    US Senate News:

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

    Senators: “In light of recent reports of self-harm associated with this emerging application category… policymakers, parents, and their kids deserve to know what your companies are doing to protect users.”

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), co-founder of the bipartisan Senate Mental Health Caucus, and Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) are raising concerns regarding the mental health and safety risks posed to children using character- and persona-based AI chatbot and companion apps that have surged in popularity in recent years. In letters to the CEOs of three leading AI chatbot companies, Character.AI (C.AI), Chai, and Replika, the Senators are pushing the companies to ensure their products do not contribute to self-harm or suicide of young users.

    The letters come after recent reports have tied self-harm to use of these AI chatbot applications, including the tragic suicide of a 14-year-old boy in Florida who had extensive interactions with C.AI’s chatbot in the lead up to his death, resulting in multiple lawsuits. Since 2023, at least two individuals have died by suicide following extensive conversations with AI chatbots. Chai and Replika have also recently been named in consumer protection complaints, highlighting the safety risks of these products. C.AI recently announced new safety features, and Chai added crisis-intervention features, but the reliability of these systems is unclear.

    “The synthetic attention users receive from these chatbots (e.g., streams of expressive messages, sycophantic and agreeable responses, AI-generated selfies, and convincing voice calls) can, and has already, led to dangerous levels of attachment and unearned trust stemming from perceived social intimacy,” wrote the Senators.

    “This unearned trust can, and has already, led users to disclose sensitive information about their mood, interpersonal relationships, or mental health, which may involve self-harm and suicidal ideation—complex themes that the AI chatbots on your products are wholly unqualified to discuss,” continued the Senators. “Therefore, it is critical to understand how these models are trained to respond to conversations about mental health.”

    The Senators concluded by asking for information on the implementation, adoption, and efficacy of safety measures, including the data used to train their models and the treatment of strategic personnel involved in these efforts.

    “Given that young people are accessing your products—where the average user spends approximately 60-90 minutes per day interacting with these AI chatbots—policymakers, parents, and their kids deserve to know what your companies are doing to protect users from these known risks,” concluded the Senators.

    Earlier this year, Senator Padilla raised concerns about the safety of this emerging consumer product category during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, noting that AI chatbots have exposed kids to suggestive, sexual, or otherwise age-inappropriate themes.

    Full text of the letters to Character.AI, Chai, and Replika are available here, here, and here, respectively.

    MIL OSI USA News –

    April 4, 2025

  • MIL-Evening Report: Yes, data can produce better policy – but it’s no substitute for real-world experience

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anna Matheson, Associate Professor in Public Health and Policy, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington

    Shutterstock

    Governments like to boast that “data-driven” policies are the best way to make fair, efficient decisions. They collect statistics, set targets and adjust strategies to suit.

    But while data can be useful, it’s not neutral. There are biases and blind spots in the systems that produce the data. Worse, data often lacks the depth, context and responsiveness needed to drive real-world change.

    The real questions are about who decides which data matter, how it’s interpreted – and what the change based on the data might look like.

    Take the Social Investment Agency, for example. One of New Zealand’s best-known data-driven initiatives, it was established to improve the efficiency of social services using data and predictive analytics to identify individuals and families most at risk, directing funding accordingly.

    The model is intended to guide early interventions and prevent long-term harm. And on paper, this appears to be a smart, targeted strategy. Yet it has also faced criticism over the risk of data-driven policies reducing individuals to measurable statistics, stripping away the complexity of lived experiences.

    The result is that decision making remains centralised within government agencies rather than being shaped by the communities most affected.

    What data can’t tell us

    The Social Investment Agency also relies on Stats NZ’s Integrated Data Infrastructure, a database of anonymised administrative information. While a rich source for longitudinal research and policy development, this too has limitations.

    It relies heavily on government-collected data, which may embed systemic bias and fail to represent communities accurately. Without accounting for context, some populations may be underrepresented or misrepresented, leading to skewed insights and misguided policy recommendations.

    This kind of data is completely separate from the lived reality of the people the data describes. Māori in particular have been concerned about a lack community ownership and that the Integrated Data Infrastructure does not currently align with their own data sovereignty aspirations.

    Given this greater likelihood of misrepresentation, Māori and Pasifika communities worry that data-driven funding models, on their own, fail to account for more holistic, whānau-centered approaches.

    For instance, a predictive algorithm might flag a child as “at risk” based on socioeconomic indicators. But it would fail to also measure protective factors such as strong cultural connections, intergenerational knowledge and community leadership.

    This is where the kaupapa Māori initiative Whānau Ora provides an alternative model. Instead of viewing individuals in isolation, it prioritises the needs of families to provide tailored housing, education, health and employment support.

    A Whānau Ora COVID vaccination campaign in 2021 funded Māori health providers to reach at-risk communities in the North Island.
    Getty Images

    Change from the ground up

    Funded by Te Puni Kōkiri/Ministry of Māori Development, Whānau Ora has been criticised in the past for the lack of measurable outputs data-driven systems can offer. But research has also shown community-led models produce better long-term outcomes than traditional, top-down, data-driven welfare and service delivery models.

    A 2018 review found Whānau Ora strengthened family resilience, improved employment outcomes and increased educational engagement – for example, through supporting whānau into their own businesses and off social assistance.

    Whānau Ora’s work strengthening community networks and building self-determination migh be harder to measure using standard metrics, but it has long-term economic and social benefits.

    Similarly, data-driven approaches to disease prevention can fall short. While governments might rely on obesity rates or physical activity levels to shape interventions, these blunt measurements fail to capture the deeper social and economic factors that affect health.

    Too often, strategies target individual behaviours – calorie counting, exercise tracking – assuming better data leads to better choices. But we know local conditions, including what financial and community resources are available, matter much more.

    An example of this in action is Health New Zealand/Te Whatu Ora’s Healthy Families NZ division. With teams in ten communities around the country, it works to create local change to improve health.

    Instead of simply telling people to eat better and exercise more, it has supported community action to reshape local environments so healthier choices become easier to make.

    In South Auckland, for example, Healthy Families NZ has worked with local businesses to improve access to fresh, affordable food. In Invercargill, it has helped transform urban planning policies to expand green spaces for physical activity.

    Data in perspective

    Such initiatives recognise health is about more than just individuals. It is a shared outcome that results from systemic processes. Data-driven approaches by themselves struggle to capture these less measurable pathways and relationships.

    That is not to say government-led, data-driven methods don’t often diagnose the problem correctly – just that they frequently fail to provide solutions that empower communities to make lasting change.

    Rather than over-relying on data analytics to dictate funding, or on national health targets to guide the system, cross-sector and place-based initiatives such as Whānau Ora and Healthy Families NZ can teach us a lot about what works in the real world.

    Data will always have an important role to play in shaping policy, but this requires a broader perspective. Data offers a tool for communities, not a substitute for their leadership and voice. Real system change happens when we fundamentally rethink how change happens, and who leads that change in the first place.

    Anna Matheson has been leading the evaluation of Healthy Families NZ which is funded by Health New Zealand.

    – ref. Yes, data can produce better policy – but it’s no substitute for real-world experience – https://theconversation.com/yes-data-can-produce-better-policy-but-its-no-substitute-for-real-world-experience-253527

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

    April 4, 2025

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Disability working groups announced

    Source: New Zealand Government

    Strong interest in the development of a refreshed New Zealand disability strategy has been welcomed by Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston.

    Membership of the strategy working groups was announced today, drawn from the disabled community, industry and government agencies. The groups will develop actions in the five key areas of education, employment, health, housing and justice. 

    “There has been a particularly strong response from the disability community, reflecting the commitment of people who want to be part of this important work,” Louise Upston says.

    “The Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha received almost 350 expressions of interest from the disability community before making their appointment decisions.

    “In total, Whaikaha is announcing 26 members of the groups, including the chairs, who I congratulate today:

    • Education – Grant Cleland
    • Employment – Lorraine Toki
    • Health – Dr Josephine Herman
    • Housing – Daniel Clay
    • Justice – Paul Gibson 

    “The Ministry is taking a new approach to developing the new strategy, and I will be excited to see the results. 

    “Ultimately, the purpose is to improve the lives of disabled people. For instance, recent data from the Stats NZ Household Disability Survey found disabled New Zealanders continue to face many barriers, for example in education, employment and housing.

    “We know 1 in 6 New Zealanders are disabled, yet three quarters of unemployed disabled people want to be working which means creating employment opportunities must be an important focus. 

    “Disabled people, like non-disabled people, want to participate in their communities, to thrive and make decisions about their own lives.

    “The strategy refresh represents huge opportunities to make a positive difference,” Louise Upston says.

    The Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha is managing the refresh process. The draft strategy will go to the wider disabled community later this year for further review before being agreed by Cabinet.

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

    April 4, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: Governor Josh Stein and NCDHHS Secretary Dev Sangvai Hold Roundtable in Nash County on NC Medicaid in Rural Communities

    Source: US State of North Carolina

    Headline: Governor Josh Stein and NCDHHS Secretary Dev Sangvai Hold Roundtable in Nash County on NC Medicaid in Rural Communities

    Governor Josh Stein and NCDHHS Secretary Dev Sangvai Hold Roundtable in Nash County on NC Medicaid in Rural Communities
    lsaito
    Thu, 04/03/2025 – 17:33

    Raleigh, NC

    Today, Governor Josh Stein and North Carolina Health and Human Services Secretary Dev Sangvai joined rural health providers and community leaders for a roundtable discussion on how access to health care coverage through NC Medicaid is a lifeline for rural communities. With Congress considering cuts to the program, leaders noted rural communities would be particularly hard hit.  

    “NC Medicaid is an innovative and fiscally responsible program that has thrived with bipartisan support and helps keep North Carolinians healthy, especially in rural communities,” said Governor Josh Stein. “We must protect this life-changing health care that gives more than 3 million North Carolinians peace of mind and that strengthens our rural hospitals.”

    In some rural counties, more than half of the population has affordable health coverage through NC Medicaid. In addition, Medicaid is a major source of funding for the state’s rural hospitals, many of which are struggling financially. When more people have health care coverage, hospitals have a lower burden for covering the cost of care for those who remain uninsured, better supporting financial stability.

    Access to health care makes North Carolinians healthier – more than 230,000 people in rural communities enrolled in Medicaid under expansion and can now get check-ups, prescriptions and other services they need. Across the state, Medicaid covers 3 million people, or 1 in 4 North Carolinians, including children, older adults, people living with disabilities and working adults.

    “NC Medicaid saves lives by providing preventive screenings, care during and after pregnancy, mental health support, substance use treatment, low cost prescriptions and so much more,” said Secretary Sangvai. “North Carolinians know the value and importance of what NC Medicaid does for communities and our state.”

    The roundtable was hosted by UNC Health Nash, a non-profit hospital authority in Nash County that serves patients from several rural counties in eastern NC. The discussion falls at a critical time for the Medicaid program, as federal proposals threaten to harm the program and the people it serves. Despite widespread support for Medicaid, Congress is proposing massive cuts that will hurt North Carolina. Current proposals could take health coverage away from 640,000 working North Carolinians overnight, worsen health outcomes, take billions from our economy, disproportionately harm rural communities, and drive up costs for everyone, including employers.

    “Hospitals like Nash see first-hand every single day how Medicaid provides patients with access to critical services that keep them healthy and able to work and contribute to society,” said L. Lee Isley, president and CEO of UNC Health Nash. “Any cuts to Medicaid or the direct payment programs that reimburse hospitals for their services to these patients would have catastrophic and unintended consequences. Not only would these cuts significantly limit patient access to healthcare, but they would force rural hospitals to shutter services that are essential to the health of a community.”

    Other roundtable participants included: 

    • Dr. L. Lee Isley, FACHE, President and CEO, UNC Health Nash
    • Reuben Blackwell, CEO, OIC Family Medical Center, Rocky Mount City Council
    • Dr. Joanna Dauber, DO, NCMP, Family Medicine and Primary Care Provider, UNC Health Nash
    • Tyronda “Ty” Whitaker, Regional Long Term Care Ombudsman, Upper Coastal Plain Council of Governments 
    Apr 3, 2025

    MIL OSI USA News –

    April 4, 2025

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Following Discovery of Mass Grave in Gaza with Bodies of 15 Aid Workers, Human Rights Chief Warns Security Council about Heightened Risk of Atrocity Crimes

    Source: United Nations MIL OSI b

    Note: Full coverage of this afternoon’s meeting of the Security Council will be available Friday, 4 April.

    Following the recent discovery of a mass grave in Gaza — in which the bodies of 15 humanitarian workers were interred — the United Nations human-rights Chief warned the Security Council today of a high and increasing risk that atrocity crimes are being committed in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

    “I am appalled by the recent killing of 15 medical personnel and humanitarian aid workers, which raise further concerns over the commission of war crimes by the Israeli military,” said Volker Türk, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.  Additionally, he observed that the temporary relief granted by the ceasefire “has been shattered”.  According to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, Israeli military operations have killed more than 1,200 Palestinians, including at least 320 children, since 1 March. Bombardments of residential buildings, tents, hospitals and schools continue, including places where Palestinians have been ordered to move.

    Pointing out that a month has passed since the Israeli military imposed a complete blockade on vital aid and supplies to Gaza, he underscored: “The blockade and siege imposed on Gaza amount to collective punishment and may also amount to the use of starvation as a method of war.”  He also noted that, as of 1 April, the World Food Programme (WFP) shut its 25 bakeries in Gaza — leaving many without access to bread — and he spotlighted a “return to the breakdown of social order that preceded the ceasefire”. Additionally, he said that inflammatory rhetoric by senior Israeli officials regarding seizing, dividing and controlling territory “raises grave concerns about the commission of international crimes”.

    Further noting that the situation in the West Bank is “extremely alarming”, he said that the announcement that residents must not return to their homes for a year “raises serious concerns about long-term mass displacement”.  While “nothing can justify” the horrific attacks committed on 7 October 2023, he stressed that the same is true for the collective punishment of the Palestinian people.  Urging immediate restoration of the ceasefire in Gaza, he warned:  “There is a high and increasing risk that atrocity crimes are being committed in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.”

    ‘Many Appalling Records’ Broken in Gaza, with Highest Number of Aid Workers Killed in Any Conflict

    “Many appalling records have been broken in this war,” observed Younes Al-Khatib, President of the Palestine Red Crescent Society.  The war on Gaza, he said, has seen the greatest number of aid workers killed in any conflict.  Recently, a mission coordinated by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs uncovered a mass grave, where 15 first responders — including eight Palestine Red Crescent Society paramedics, six civil-defence members and one UN officer — were buried.  “They were killed while on mission to save lives,” he said.

    Noting the Society’s documentation of the mission’s timeline, as well as dispatch communications and what one team “had witnessed when they went back to the scene”, he added that Asad Al-Nasasra, a Society member, had reported that his team was being fired upon and that several colleagues were injured.  He is still missing.  “We call on the Israeli occupation forces to provide information on his fate,” he urged. Also calling for a thorough investigation and the immediate resumption of aid delivery, he added:  “We call on the Security Council — and on the whole international community — to spare no effort to return to the ceasefire.”

    …

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

    April 4, 2025

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: DR Congo: Armed violence displaces thousands as cholera outbreak worsens

    Source: United Nations 2

    3 April 2025 Humanitarian Aid

    Ongoing violence in North and South Kivu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) continues to kill, injure and displace civilians, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has warned. 

    Intense clashes between local armed groups and M23 rebels were reported on Thursday in the town of Masisi Centre in North Kivu.

    Preliminary reports from partners on the ground indicate at least two civilian fatalities and multiple injuries, with several wounded evacuated to Masisi General Hospital.

    Meanwhile, many civilians remain confined to their homes due to active crossfire, intensifying fear and limited access to basic needs and services.

    “The volatility of frontlines and ongoing combat have rendered comprehensive assessments impossible,” OCHA said.

    Despite international support, armed groups have made significant recent gains, particularly the M23 movement, which claims to defend the interests of Congolese Tutsi – many of whom were exiled to Rwanda – and is reportedly backed by Rwandan forces. The extremist Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) also remain active in the region.

    Delivering lifesaving aid

    In eastern Masisi, where the security situation allows, UN partners are delivering critical aid to displaced and returning populations.

    OCHA noted that since yesterday, partners have been distributing household and hygiene kits to more than 500 displaced households in Sake’s collective centre.

    Furthermore, 19 of 24 water points in Sake have been rehabilitated, restoring access to safe water for over 4,000 households.

    Fresh clashes in South Kivu

    In South Kivu, fighting flared again on Tuesday in Fizi Territory, as local armed groups clashed with M23 fighters.

    The violence struck the villages of Mulima and Lusuku – both already sheltering thousands of displaced families – prompting another wave of forced displacement. 

    Cholera outbreak

    Meanwhile, in the southern province of Tanganyika, a rapidly escalating cholera outbreak is placing thousands at risk. 

    As of Wednesday, nine out of 11 health zones in the province are affected, with more than 1,450 confirmed cases and 27 deaths reported since January – a six-fold increase compared to the same period last year.

    UN health partners point to severely limited access to safe water – with less than 20 per cent coverage in affected areas – and insufficient healthcare capacity to manage cases effectively. 

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

    April 4, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: Salinas Introduces Bipartisan Bill to Increase Access to Specialty Care in Rural Communities

    Source: US Representative Andrea Salinas (OR-06)

    Washington, DC – Today, U.S. Congresswoman Andrea Salinas (OR-06) announced her bipartisan, bicameral bill to increase rural communities’ access to specialty care providers. Modeled on a successful Oregon pilot program, the Ensuring Access to Specialty Care Everywhere (EASE) Act authorizes the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) to create a virtual specialty care provider network that rural patients can access through telehealth.

    Salinas joined her Republican colleague, Rep. Jodey Arrington (TX-19), in introducing the EASE Act in the House. U.S. Senators Alex Padilla (D-CA) and Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) introduced companion legislation in the Senate.

    “People with chronic conditions depend on specialty care to stay healthy, yet many rural communities do not have sufficient access to these services,” said Rep. Salinas. “The bipartisan EASE Act is based on a successful pilot program from Oregon that used telehealth to connect rural patients with specialty care providers, reducing wait times and improving coordination between providers. I’m proud to introduce this critical legislation that would expand access to specialty care for millions of Americans.” 

    “We won’t have the next generation of ag and energy producers providing our country with food security and energy independence if we don’t ensure their families have access to quality care,” said Rep. Arrington. “The lack of specialty care for rural Americans has resulted in worse outcomes and higher costs. I’m proud to introduce the EASE Act, which leverages technology to close the health care gap in rural and underserved communities with greater access to specialty and integrated care.”

    “Everyone deserves access to quality, efficient health care. However, people in rural communities often face unacceptable barriers to care, including unsustainably high wait times and impossibly long drives to connect with specialists,” said Sen. Padilla. “Our bipartisan EASE Act would expand telehealth capabilities so rural communities can access specialty care, allowing for earlier intervention and reducing unnecessary emergency visits.”

    “Rural communities are disproportionately impacted by clinician shortages, an aging population, and transportation hurdles, which can make it tough to access specialty care,” said Sen. Mullin. “Harnessing the power of telehealth will help address these needs and expand access to essential health care services of which many patients are in desperate need. I am glad to join my colleagues in introducing this bill to ensure access to quality health care regardless of a patients’ zip code.”

    Specifically, the EASE Act would:

    • Authorize CMMI to enter into an agreement with a provider network comprised of nonprofit entities including federally qualified health centers, rural health clinics, critical access hospitals, or rural emergency hospitals, at least half of which are located in rural areas.
    • Patients eligible for participation in this program must be located in rural and underserved areas and be enrolled in Medicare, Medicaid, or CHIP.

    The legislation is endorsed by the following organizations: National Rural Health Association (NRHA), American Telemedicine Association (ATA), ATA Action, Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, Providence, OCHIN, The Libre Initiative, and the Texas Organization of Rural & Community Hospitals.

    “The National Rural Health Association applauds Representatives Arrington, Salinas, and LaHood and Senators Mullin and Padilla for the introduction of the EASE Act. A shortage of health care providers in rural areas means that patients can often have long wait times and challenges accessing needed specialty care. The EASE Act is an innovative piece of legislation that would leverage virtual technologies to reduce wait times, overcome geographic barriers, and improve care for rural Americans,” said Alan Morgan, Chief Executive Officer of the National Rural Health Association.

    “We need to rethink how we ensure Rural America’s access to specialty care. The EASE Act is an innovative and cost-effective way to provide reliable and integrated access to specialists. OCHIN applauds Reps. Arrington and Salinas for championing bi-partisan solutions that will redesign how high-quality care is delivered,” said Jennifer Stoll, Chief External Affairs Officer at OCHIN.

    “The EASE Act seeks to remove barriers health care access for families in underserved areas who can face delays of 30 to 70 days just to access basic specialty care. By empowering local clinics with virtual tools and better care coordination, the EASE Act would help communities take control of their health, empower patients, and strengthen local health networks,” said Isabel Soto, Policy Director for The LIBRE Initiative.

    To read the full text of the legislation, click here. 

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

    April 4, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Tatyana Golikova took part in a round table dedicated to the two-year anniversary of the “Defenders of the Fatherland” foundation

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

    Source: Government of the Russian Federation – An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

    April 3, 2025

    Tatyana Golikova took part in a round table dedicated to the two-year anniversary of the “Defenders of the Fatherland” foundation. On the left is the Minister of Labor and Social Protection Anton Kotyakov. Photo by the press service of the National Center “Russia”.

    A round table dedicated to the second anniversary of the state fund “Defenders of the Fatherland” was held in the National Center “Russia”. Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova, Minister of Health Mikhail Murashko, Minister of Labor and Social Protection Anton Kotyakov, State Secretary – Deputy Minister of Defense, Chairperson of the state fund “Defenders of the Fatherland” Anna Tsivileva, Head of the Federal Medical and Biological Agency Veronika Skvortsova, veterans of the special military operation took part in the round table.

    “It is symbolic that in the Year of the Defender of the Fatherland, declared by the President of our country Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, we are summing up the work of the “Defenders of the Fatherland” foundation for two years. The main thing is that as a new structure the foundation has been established. This became possible thanks to the efforts of caring people who give themselves to this work, dedicating their professional lives to it. Our main task is to ensure that, returning from a special military operation, our guys are maximally integrated into society, and families do not feel lonely when the defenders are fighting on the front lines. Work in this direction is an absolute priority for us. It is important for us to hear the guys themselves, so that they share their vision – how the work to support them should be structured and implemented,” emphasized Tatyana Golikova.

    Over the past two years, the fund has received 28 billion rubles from the federal budget to develop a support system for SVO participants. In 2025, funding is provided in the amount of more than 25 billion rubles, in 2026-2027 it will amount to more than 28 billion rubles.

    According to Tatyana Golikova, the foundation was helped to establish close cooperation primarily with the participants of the SVO, with government bodies, the Government of Russia, the regions of the country, and the expert community.

    In order to strengthen the coordination of the activities of federal and regional executive bodies, the Fatherland Defenders Foundation, and other organizations, a State Council commission was created on issues of supporting combat veterans – participants in the SVO and their family members.

    The support system is being fine-tuned, primarily based on feedback from participants in the special military operation and their relatives. For these purposes, work is being carried out within the framework of an open dialogue on the platform of the Russian Government with the participation of all regions and federal authorities and the expert community.

    Based on proposals from SVO participants, the state guarantees program for free medical care for citizens includes an out-of-turn procedure for providing medical care to combat veterans and providing a separate health worker to coordinate it, an out-of-turn procedure for undergoing preventive examinations and medical check-ups, providing specialized and high-tech care, and, if necessary, a mobile team visiting a combat veteran. In addition, rehabilitation opportunities have been expanded – starting this year, 17 thousand SVO participants will be able to undergo medical rehabilitation and spa treatment in 12 Social Fund centers. Currently, 3,528 SVO participants and their family members are undergoing treatment, 2,640 people have completed it. Compensation for travel expenses to and from the place of treatment is provided.

    Work is underway to improve the level of employment of SVO participants.

    Within the framework of the new national project “Personnel”, measures are being implemented to organize vocational training and additional vocational education for SVO participants and their family members. Subsidies are also being provided for the re-equipment of workplaces, their adaptation for SVO participants who have become disabled. It is planned that by 2030, 33 thousand such workplaces will be equipped.

    “On the instructions of the head of state, large-scale work is underway to create a network of specialized centers for complex prosthetics and rehabilitation and ensure their maximum accessibility. The centers will be created primarily based on the needs of the SVO participants, as outlined by the Ministry of Defense. The competencies the guys acquired on the front lines should be used further, not lost, their integration into everyday life is very important for all of us,” noted Tatyana Golikova.

    Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

    MIL OSI Russia News –

    April 4, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: AI screening for opioid use disorder associated with fewer hospital readmissions

    Source: US Department of Health and Human Services – 2

    News Release
    Thursday, April 3, 2025

    NIH-supported clinical trial shows AI tool as effective as healthcare providers in generating referrals to addiction specialists.
    An artificial intelligence (AI)-driven screening tool, developed by a National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded research team, successfully identified hospitalized adults at risk for opioid use disorder and recommended referral to inpatient addiction specialists. The AI-based method was just as effective as a health provider-only approach in initiating addiction specialist consultations and recommending monitoring of opioid withdrawal. Compared to patients who received provider-initiated consultations, patients with AI screening had 47% lower odds of being readmitted to the hospital within 30 days after their initial discharge. This reduction in readmissions translated to a total of nearly $109,000 in estimated healthcare savings during the study period.
    The study, published in Nature Medicine, reports the results of a completed clinical trial, demonstrating AI’s potential to affect patient outcomes in real-world healthcare settings. The study suggests investment in AI may be a promising strategy specifically for healthcare systems seeking to increase access to addiction treatment while improving efficiencies and saving costs.
    “Addiction care remains heavily underprioritized and can be easily overlooked, especially in overwhelmed hospital settings where it can be challenging to incorporate resource-intensive procedures such as screening,” said Nora D. Volkow, M.D., director of NIH’s National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). “AI has the potential to strengthen implementation of addiction treatment while optimizing hospital workflow and reducing healthcare costs.”
    In a clinical trial, researchers at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, compared physician-led addiction specialist consultations to the performance of their AI screening tool, which had been developed and validated in prior work. Researchers first measured the effectiveness of provider-led consultations at the University Hospital in Madison, Wisconsin, between March to October 2021 and March to October 2022, whereby healthcare providers conducted ad hoc addiction specialist consultations for opioid use disorder. They then implemented the AI screening tool between March to October 2023 to assist the healthcare providers and remind them throughout hospitalization of a patient’s need for an addiction specialist’s care. From start to finish, the trial screened 51,760 adult hospitalizations, with 66% occurring without deploying the AI screener and 34% with the AI screener deployed hospital-wide. A total of 727 addiction medicine consultations were completed during the study period.
    The AI screener was built to recognize patterns in data, like how our brains process visual information. It analyzed information within all the documentation available in the electronic health records in real time, such as clinical notes and medical history, to identify features and patterns associated with opioid use disorder. Upon identification, the system issued an alert to providers when they opened the patient’s medical chart with a recommendation to order addiction medicine consultation and to monitor and treat withdrawal symptoms.
    The trial found that AI-prompted consultation was just as effective as provider-initiated consultation, ensuring no decrease in quality while offering a more scalable and automated approach. Specifically, the study showed that 1.51% of hospitalized adults received an addiction medicine consultation when healthcare professionals used the AI screening tool, compared to 1.35% without the assistance of the AI tool. Additionally, the AI screener was associated with fewer 30-day readmissions, with approximately 8% of hospitalized adults in the AI screening group being readmitted to hospital, compared to 14% in the traditional provider-led group.
    The reduction in 30-day readmissions still held after accounting for patients’ age, sex, race and ethnicity, insurance status, and comorbidities, as calculated via an odds ratio. When analyzing the results using the odds ratio, the researchers estimated a decrease of 16 readmissions by employing the AI screener. A subsequent cost-effectiveness analysis indicated a net cost of $6,801 per readmission avoided for the patient, healthcare insurer, and/or the hospital. This amounted to an estimated total of $108,800 in healthcare savings for the eight-month study period in which the AI screener was used, even after accounting for the costs of maintaining the AI software. The average cost of a 30-day hospital readmission is currently estimated at $16,300.
    “AI holds promise in medical settings, but many AI-based screening models have remained in the development phase, without integration into real-world settings,” said Majid Afshar, M.D., lead author of the study and associate professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “Our study represents one of the first demonstrations of an AI screening tool embedded into addiction medicine and hospital workflows, highlighting the pragmatism and real-world promise of this approach.”
    While the AI screener showed strong effectiveness, challenges remain, including potential alert fatigue among providers and the need for broader validation across different healthcare systems. The authors also note that while the various study periods – spanning multiple years – were seasonally matched, the evolving nature of the opioid crisis may have introduced residual biases. Future research will focus on optimizing the AI tool’s integration and assessing its longer-term impact on patient outcomes.
    The opioid crisis continues to strain healthcare systems in the U.S., with emergency department admissions for substance use increasing by nearly 6% between 2022 to 2023 to an estimated 7.6 million. Opioids are the second leading cause of these visits after alcohol, but screening for opioid use disorder in hospitals remains inconsistent. As a result, hospitalized patients with opioid use disorder frequently leave the hospital before seeing an addiction specialist, a factor linked to a tenfold increase in overdose rates. AI technology has emerged as a novel, scalable tool to potentially overcome these barriers and improve opportunities for early intervention and linkage to medications for opioid use disorder, but more research is needed to understand how AI can be used effectively in healthcare settings. 
    If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org. To learn how to get support for mental health, drug or alcohol conditions, visit FindSupport.gov. If you are ready to locate a treatment facility or provider, you can go directly to FindTreatment.gov or call 800-662-HELP (4357).
    About the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA): NIDA is a component of the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIDA supports most of the world’s research on the health aspects of drug use and addiction. The Institute carries out a large variety of programs to inform policy, improve practice, and advance addiction science. For more information about NIDA and its programs, visit www.nida.nih.gov.
    About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation’s medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.
    NIH…Turning Discovery Into Health®

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

    April 4, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: FACT SHEET: Trump Imperils Program to Help Working Americans Heat and Cool Their Homes

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Washington State Patty Murray
    Trump and RFK Jr. fired entire staff running LIHEAP—putting program that helps 6 million American households heat and cool their homes in grave jeopardy
    $378 million due to go out to help Americans avoid sweltering heat this summer now at risk
    Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, responded to President Trump and Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. firing the entirety of the staff who run the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), which helps 6 million American households with the tightest budgets afford to heat and cool their homes.
    6 MILLION HOUSEHOLDS SERVED BY LIHEAP ANNUALLY
    In a statement, Senator Murray said:
    “As he raises costs for American families by $3,800 and works to give billionaires like himself new tax breaks, Trump has now also fired all the staff in charge of helping over 6 million American households heat and cool their homes.
    “If the idea here is to prevent federal funding from reaching working class families who are counting on help to cool their homes this summer, Trump and RFK Jr. are on to something—because who exactly is supposed to ensure this funding gets out now? In a matter of weeks, HHS is due to send states hundreds of millions of dollars in new resources ahead of the summer heat—who is going to ensure that happens? When HHS has to quickly turn around new appropriations in October to release funding to states ahead of the winter cold, who is going to ensure that is done quickly and correctly?
    “Even a brief delay could ruin the finances of working families who are hanging on by a thread if this money doesn’t get out—and leave seniors stranded in deadly heat waves this summer. If there are serious errors with calculations that end up shortchanging communities, we have Trump and RFK Jr. to thank for firing the very people who keep this program running.
    “Donald Trump and Elon Musk would like us to believe that our country cannot afford to pay the salaries of the people who help working people across America heat and cool their homes—but that we can afford over $5 trillion in new tax breaks for billionaires like themselves. It is as absurd as it is offensive—and it is working people across the country who will suffer the consequences of their recklessness.”
    LIHEAP helps 6 million households in every state and territory afford to heat and cool their homes with $4.1 billion in assistance for fiscal year 2025. The program is particularly important in ensuring working class Americans and vulnerable populations like seniors are not left in deadly heat waves or winter freezes. Each year, extreme heat causes more deaths than any other weather events.
    Approximately $378 million in fiscal year 2025 funding to help Americans cool their homes this summer has yet to go out. Without it, Americans will lose out on a lifeline that saves them money each month and allows them to stay cool.
    A state-by-state breakdown of LIHEAP funding in jeopardy because Trump and RFK Jr. fired the entirety of the staff that run the program is below:
    STATE
    FUNDING
    HOUSEHOLDS SERVED
    Alabama
    $61,827,868
    80,636
    Alaska
    $12,514,996
    4,737
    Arizona
    $34,579,159
    27,788
    Arkansas
    $38,052,625
    69,242
    California
    $252,804,332
    222,271
    Colorado
    $60,504,810
    88,951
    Connecticut
    $80,405,772
    101,181
    Delaware
    $14,532,965
    11,431
    District of Columbia
    $12,663,494
    14,893
    Florida
    $118,510,347
    106,968
    Georgia
    $93,715,302
    137,619
    Hawaii
    $8,322,955
    8,349
    Idaho
    $23,198,387
    34,439
    Illinois
    $197,224,161
    172,841
    Indiana
    $84,494,967
    122,931
    Iowa
    $58,755,595
    83,353
    Kansas
    $40,143,968
    39,185
    Kentucky
    $60,361,460
    119,407
    Louisiana
    $61,891,569
    103,858
    Maine
    $41,291,192
    41,195
    Maryland
    $82,939,890
    96,798
    Massachusetts
    145,506,393
    152,011
    Michigan
    $179,606,815
    431,842
    Minnesota
    $125,243,116
    133,166
    Mississippi
    $38,710,989
    46,243
    Missouri
    $87,476,893
    130,057
    Montana
    $23,598,855
    17,254
    Nebraska
    $35,797,133
    41,270
    Nevada
    $17,014,767
    12,273
    New Hampshire
    $30,873,308
    29,669
    New Jersey
    $135,718,896
    241,888
    New Mexico
    $21,859,849
    43,592
    New York
    $400,902,563
    1,162,529
    North Carolina
    $114,199,252
    201,988
    North Dakota
    $23,610,179
    14,633
    Ohio
    $171,388,890
    265,455
    Oklahoma
    $43,138,184
    112,440
    Oregon
    $44,165,847
    57,454
    Pennsylvania
    $215,460,689
    312,789
    Rhode Island
    $26,802,894
    26,052
    South Carolina
    $53,276,376
    48,638
    South Dakota
    $21,292,485
    23,787
    Tennessee
    $75,921,984
    118,073
    Texas
    $197,192,608
    120,725
    Utah
    $28,641,042
    24,344
    Vermont
    $23,140,644
    26,695
    Virginia
    $103,773,588
    118,347
    Washington
    $66,214,242
    84,654
    West Virginia
    $35,191,790
    56,108
    Wisconsin
    $112,736,789
    189,941
    Wyoming
    $11,065,033
    7,615
    TOTAL
    $4,115,400,000
    5,939,605
    Funding listed is the full FY24 allocation released to states by HHS. FY25 allocations are not yet final or fully disbursed. [HHS DATA]
    Households served is the number of households served by LIHEAP in FY23—the latest data on record. [HHS DATA]

    MIL OSI USA News –

    April 4, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: Luján, Padilla, Warnock Lead Group Demanding Reversal of Mass Firings of Head Start, Office of Child Care Employees

    US Senate News:

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

    Luján and Warnock are the only two Head Start alumni to serve in the U.S. Senate

    Senators to Secretary Kennedy: “The termination of staff is alarming and will compound the challenges already facing these programs and services…with no clear planning nor considerations for how early childhood services will be impacted”

    Washington, D.C. — This week, U.S. Senators Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), and Peter Welch (D-Vt.) led 25 Senators in condemning the Trump Administration’s mass firings of federal employees at the Office of Head Start (OHS) and the Office of Child Care (OCC), and demanding Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. immediately reinstate these employees. The sweeping firings of staff from these critical HHS offices will severely restrict access to child care for working-class families and limit OHS and OCC’s ability to administer and conduct oversight of nearly $25 billion in federal investments in early childhood programs.

    The cuts included the closure of and termination of all staff at five of the 10 regional offices in San Francisco, Boston, New York, Chicago, and Seattle. The Senators emphasized that these indiscriminate firings did not factor in employee performance and failed to plan for inevitable disruptions to children, families, child care providers, and Head Start programs.

    “This attack on employees at a time when children, families, child care providers, and early educators are relying on critical early childhood programs undermines the Department’s role in administering and conducting oversight of early childhood programs, including Head Start programs and child care assistance for working-class families across the country,” wrote the Senators. “We are deeply concerned by reports of a high number of employees at OHS and OCC who have been fired across the country who provide critical support to Head Start programs and help make child care safer and more affordable. The termination of staff is alarming and will compound the challenges already facing these programs and services, including the lack of timely and transparent information, with no clear planning nor considerations for how early childhood services will be impacted.”

    The Head Start program currently serves nearly 800,000 children, providing comprehensive services to help children receive health care and insurance, while offering parents job training, education, housing support, and nutrition services. OCC administers the Child Care Development Fund, which includes the Child Care Development Block Grant that provides an average of over 1.3 million children from nearly 800,000 low-income families with child care subsidies each month.                      

    The Senators stressed that these cuts are especially alarming as child care programs have become increasingly unaffordable and harder to access. According to a recent survey of more than 10,000 early childhood educators, 55 percent of programs were underenrolled compared to their preferred capacity, citing affordability and staffing challenges as the primary concerns as opposed to a lack of demand.

    “The Administration’s decision to reduce staff comes at a time when it is increasingly expensive to run child care and early learning programs, the cost of child care continues to be out of reach for many working-class families, and the demand for quality child care continues to far outpace the supply,” continued the Senators. “We are deeply concerned about the exacerbation of these issues for child care providers and children and families as a result of the Administration’s termination of a large portion of OHS and OCC staff, including the sudden closure of five of the ten Regional Offices and RIFs.”

    In addition to Senators Luján, Padilla, and Warnock, the letter was also signed by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Senators Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Angus King (I-Maine), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).

    The letter was endorsed by the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), National Women’s Law Center, MomsRising, the Center for Law and Social Policy, Zero toThree, and Child Care For Every Family Network.

    Earlier this year, Senators Luján, Padilla, and Warnock joined Senator Kaine in expressing concerns about the threats to Head Start programs across the country as a result of the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) memo that imposed a government-wide funding freeze.

    Full text of the letter is available here and below:

    Dear Secretary Kennedy,

    We write to express our serious concern regarding the recent decision to fire federal employees at the Office of Head Start (OHS) and Office of Child Care (OCC) in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and we ask that you immediately reinstate these employees to full work status. Between the firing of probationary employees and the recent RIFs, these offices have been gutted and the ability for the federal government to support children and families and carefully oversee nearly $25 billion in federal investments in early childhood programs will be extremely hampered. It appears these firings occurred without regard to employee performance, input from career civil servants, or planning against disruptions to understand the impact on children, families, child care providers, and Head Start programs.

    This attack on employees at a time when children, families, child care providers, and early educators are relying on critical early childhood programs undermines the Department’s role in administering and conducting oversight of early childhood programs, including Head Start programs and child care assistance for working-class families across the country. We are deeply concerned by reports of a high number of employees at OHS and OCC who have been fired across the country who provide critical support to Head Start programs and help make child care safer and more affordable. The termination of staff is alarming and will compound the challenges already facing these programs and services, including the lack of timely and transparent information, with no clear planning nor considerations for how early childhood services will be impacted.

    The federal Head Start program currently serves nearly 800,000 children across the nation with comprehensive services to ensure children receive age-appropriate health care, dental care, and health insurance, and they provide referrals to other critical services for parents, such as job training, adult education, nutrition services, and housing support. For the last several years, there has been broad, bipartisan support in Congress to recognize the longstanding program’s important work by providing increased appropriations. Head Start and Early Head Start grant recipients deliver services in every state and territory, farm worker camps, and over 155 Tribal communities. OHS provides Head Start programs with federal policy guidance, training, and technical assistance and administers grants in accordance to the Head Start Act. These federal employees play an important role to ensure that programs use their grant funds efficiently and effectively. Terminating OHS and Regional Office employees reduces the capacity to support and allow Head Start programs to use permissible flexibilities to effectively use their federal grant to best serve children in their communities.

    Further, OCC administers the Child Care Development Fund (CCDF), which includes the Child Care Development Block Grant (CCDBG) that provides an average of over 1.3 million children from nearly 800,000 families with low-income with child care subsidies monthly. The federal child care program is also central to states’ efforts to ensure the health, safety, and quality of nearly every child care program in the country. OCC staff across the country support states in ensuring federal funds are used effectively to improve affordability, quality, and supply of child care options for families. These drastic terminations will weaken the ability to support states and oversee federal law, transparent information for families, professional development, and the timeliness and consistency of payment for child care providers.

    The Administration’s decision to reduce staff comes at a time when it is increasingly expensive to run child care and early learning programs, the cost of child care continues to be out of reach for many working-class families, and the demand for quality child care continues to far outpace the supply. According to a recent survey of more than 10,000 early childhood educators by the National Association for the Education of Young Children, more than half of programs indicated they were unable to serve their preferred number of children relative to their preferred capacity, with affordability and staffing challenges cited as the top reasons, rather than a lack of demand. We are deeply concerned about the exacerbation of these issues for child care providers and children and families as a result of the Administration’s termination of a large portion of OHS and OCC staff, including the sudden closure of five of the ten Regional Offices and RIFs.

    We ask that you immediately reinstate these employees to full work status, and we request your responses to the following questions by April 11, 2025:

    • To date, how many staff have been terminated within OHS and OCC, both in the Central office and in each Regional office? Please share the reasoning behind the closure of offices in regions 1, 2, 5, 9, and 10 (Boston, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and Seattle), and what information and planning were used to decide which and how many of these offices would be closed?
    • Who decided which probationary and non-probationary employees within OHS and OCC were to be terminated and under what cause?
    • What assessment was done about the impact of the RIFs on children and families served by the programs? What are the steps being taken to minimize disruptions and continue the administration of Head Start programs and CCDF?
    • Was a review conducted to determine the impact of terminating OHS and OCC staff on early childhood programs, the impact on health and safety in care settings, the stewardship of nearly $25 billion in taxpayer dollars, the ability to meet the purposes of the federal statutes, and the impact on children, families, and communities?
    • Are there plans for additional staff terminations in the months ahead, and if so, how many and what offices? Regional office staff are the first point of contact for Head Start programs and State and Tribal child care agencies. Who are the new points of contact for programs? If this work has been reassigned to remaining regional offices, how will doubling their workloads create a system that is responsive to pressing program needs?
    • What percent of the Office of Grants Management team responsible for Head Start and Child Care programs have been fired since January? Can you guarantee that once a grant is awarded that grant recipients can draw down their awards?
    • Can the Secretary guarantee that funds will be awarded on time for Head Start grant recipients that are due to receive a new or continuing award on May 1st, and subsequent awards? If there are lapses in awarding grants, how long will they last and what communication will be done to support programs in the interim?

    Thank you for your attention to this critical issue, and we look forward to your response.

    Sincerely,

    MIL OSI USA News –

    April 4, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: Wyden Asks Dr. Oz to Honor His Commitment to Come to Eastern Oregon

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore)
    April 03, 2025
    With Dr. Oz confirmed today as Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Oregon senator suggests dates when Dr. Oz could join him in Malheur County
    Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Ron Wyden today invited Dr. Mehmet Oz to honor his recent commitment to join him for a Malheur County town hall so the Trump appointee could hear directly about Medicaid’s importance in the county with the state’s highest share of residents enrolled in the federal-state program that helps seniors, children, families and more cover medical and nursing home costs — known in Oregon as the Oregon Health Plan.
    Citing Dr. Oz’s March 14 confirmation hearing last month with the Senate Finance Committee in today’s written invitation, Wyden’s letter followed today’s Senate floor vote to confirm Dr. Oz as Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.  
    “I know you will honor your commitment to Oregonians to visit Malheur County so you can hear directly from citizens and dedicated health care workers how devastating proposed Medicaid cuts by the Trump Administration and Congressional Republicans would be to one of Oregon’s poorest counties,” wrote Wyden, Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee. “The importance of Medicaid in Malheur County cannot be overstated. With more than half of its residents enrolled in the Oregon Health Plan, it has the highest share among Oregon’s 36 counties”.
    Wyden, who has held 1,110 open-to-all  town halls throughout Oregon in keeping with his commitment to hold at least one such town hall each year in each of Oregon’s 36 counties, reminded Dr. Oz just how vital the Oregon Health Plan is for residents of this rural county.
    “The Oregon Health Plan is a lifeline for seniors, children, people with disabilities, and farmworkers in Malheur County. It is what allows families to place their aging loved one in a local nursing home,” wrote Wyden, who voted against the nomination of Dr. Oz in the Finance Committee as well as today on the Senate floor. “The Oregon Health Plan helps kids have access to counseling at school, support they would not receive otherwise. It allows kids and adults with disabilities to go to school, go to work, and thrive at home, in their communities, because they have access to home-based care. And it is what guarantees life-saving treatment for the sickest Oregonians, in their darkest hours.”
    “Not only that, the Oregon Health Plan is the economic lifeblood of Malheur County,” Wyden wrote. “Malheur County boasts one hospital, one nursing home, and a community-based mobile crisis team, operating 24 hours per day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year for people who experience a behavioral health crisis. These pillars of the community offer stable employment for doctors, nurses, aides, counselors, janitors, and administrators, among others.”
    Wyden told Dr. Oz he could schedule a town hall with him on April 23 in Malheur County during the Senate’s upcoming state work period, or between June 19-21 during the June state work period.
    The entire letter is here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

    April 4, 2025
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