Category: housing

MIL-OSI New Zealand: OCR reduction affirms spending discipline

Source: New Zealand Government

The reduction in the Official Cash Rate (OCR) affirms the work done by the Government to bring public spending back under control, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says.

The Reserve Bank today reduced the OCR by 25 basis points, meaning the rate has come down 200 basis points since August last year.

“That is good news for households because it means lower mortgage rates and more money in people’s pockets to help with the cost of living,” Nicola Willis says.

“For example, for someone with a $500,000 mortgage over 25 years, a two percentage point drop in their interest rate reduces their repayments by about $300 a fortnight.

“The fall in the OCR is also good news for businesses because it means more money flowing through their tills.

“The Government knows many families and businesses are still doing it tough but our focus on stopping wasteful spending has made a difference.

“When the Government is disciplined with its spending, it takes the heat out of inflation and gives the Reserve Bank more room to reduce interest rates.

“Since peaking at 7.3 per cent in June 2022, the annual inflation rate has fallen to 2.2 per cent.

“The OCR is now down to 3.5 per cent. By contrast, the OCR rose from 1.75 per cent when the previous government took office to 5.5 per cent when it left office.

“Increasing global uncertainty will present further challenges to the economy in coming months, but New Zealanders can be assured this Government will continue to act in a fiscally prudent manner while putting a premium on stability and certainty and promoting pro-investment policies.

“Now more than ever, we need to ensure we get value for every dollar of public money spent.”

MIL OSI New Zealand News –

April 9, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Philip Barbour High School named 2024 School of Excellence by ACT’s American College Application Campaign – West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission
Source: US State of West Virginia

Philippi high school is one of 26 U.S. schools recognized for outstanding effort in helping students apply for college

PHILIPPI, WEST VIRGINIA — ACT’s American College Application Campaign (ACAC) named Philip Barbour High School as a 2024 School of Excellence as part of the College for West Virginia (CFWV) effort to increase the number of first-generation college students and students from under-resourced communities pursuing a college degree or other higher education credential. Philip Barbour High School is one of 26 outstanding schools being recognized nationwide.

“This recognition is a testament to our commitment to helping students pursue a postsecondary degree or other higher education credential,” said Dr. Sarah Armstrong Tucker, West Virginia’s Chancellor of Higher Education. “We are incredibly pleased to see Philip Barbour bring home this award. The faculty and staff have worked incredibly hard to increase their college-going rate and have shown fierce dedication to their students’ success.”

CFWV coordinates three annual college-planning milestones to help students in West Virginia plan their pathway to education or training beyond high school. Philip Barbour High School fosters a college-going culture within their school through participation in these milestone events as well as creating an overarching culture of student success within their school. Because of this, Philip Barbour has seen an increase in their college going rate by 11 percentage points over the last few years.

This year’s winning schools were key contributors to the national campaign’s success, as reported by the participating state campaigns:
- Philip Barbour High School is among 5,854 participating schools that hosted a college application event last fall.
- More than 477,000 seniors submitted at least one college application during events, an increase of more than 10,000 more seniors compared to 2023.
- Students submitted a total of 1,316,688 applications.
Applying for college can be one of the most intimidating parts of a student’s high school education. This year’s recognized schools worked with students to help them better understand the process, ultimately empowering them to complete an application.

Every year, ACAC works with coordinators in nearly every state and the District of Columbia to host college application events and reach students in their schools and communities, encouraging them to apply to college. Activities in 2024 included career days and fairs, collegiate tailgates, financial aid workshops, and field trips to colleges, where students could take campus tours.

“There’s something that’s so rewarding about seeing our state coordinators take part in helping students navigate the admission process,” ACAC Director Lisa King said. “Students feel more confident and empowered to apply to college, and thanks to initiatives like the American College Application Campaign, it all serves as a reminder of the impact we can have.”

Nationally, the campaign has served nearly 5.17 million students who have submitted more than 10 million applications since 2005. This is the sixth year that ACAC has recognized outstanding schools.

For more information, visit https://impactandlearning.act.org.

To learn more about College for West Virginia, visit CFWV.com.

About College for West Virginia (CFWV)
College for West Virginia (CFWV) provides free resource that educators and students can use to expand college and career advising. CFWV’s tools, articles, and college-ready initiatives help guide students to career and college pathways. CFWV.com is West Virginia’s free one-stop resource for college and career information in the Mountain State.

About the American College Application Campaign
The American College Application Campaign (ACAC), a national initiative of ACT’s Center for Impact and Learning, is designed to increase the number of first-generation college students and students from under-resourced communities who pursue a postsecondary degree. The purpose is to assist high school seniors as they navigate the college application and admissions process and ensure each participating student submits at least one admissions application. https://impactandlearning.act.org

About ACT
ACT is transforming college and career readiness pathways so that everyone can discover and fulfill their potential. Grounded in more than 65 years of research, ACT’s learning resources, assessments, research, and work-ready credentials are trusted by students, job seekers, educators, schools, government agencies, and employers in the U.S. and around the world to help people achieve their education and career goals at every stage of life. Visit us at https://www.act.org.

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MIL OSI USA News –
April 9, 2025
MIL-Evening Report: Chinese-Australian voters were key to Labor’s win in 2022. Are some now swinging back to the Liberals?

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Wanning Sun, Professor of Media and Cultural Studies, University of Technology Sydney

Chinese-Australian voters were pivotal to Labor’s win in the 2022 election, with the swing against the Liberals in several key marginal seats almost twice that of other seats.

Many traditionally pro-business Liberal supporters switched sides in protest against the Coalition’s anti-China rhetoric under then-Prime Minister Scott Morrison. This exacerbated the widespread anti-Chinese racism many people felt in the wake of the COVID pandemic.

A new survey by Sydney Today, a digital Chinese-language media outlet, suggests Labor will most likely retain the support of many of these Chinese-Australian voters.

Nearly two-thirds (64%) of the 3,000 respondents in the ongoing survey have said they would vote for Labor in the upcoming federal election, while just 27% were backing the Liberals, 2% the Greens and 5% independents.

If these results mirror the views of the wider Chinese-Australian community, it bodes well for Labor’s prospects, at least in seats with a high concentration of Chinese-Australian voters.

However, Labor may not succeed in improving on its performance in the last election. One in five voters said they would vote differently this time compared to 2022, with 55% of this group indicating they would switch from Labor to the Coalition and just 18% going the other way.

When asked why they were changing their vote, 51% said economic management, while 26% said Australia–China relations.

Survey respondents were predominantly first-generation migrants from China. Nearly four in five were born outside Australia, but have lived here for more than ten years. Most (73%) were Australian citizens and eligible to vote.

What issues are most important

The 2021 census counted approximately 1.39 million Australian residents with Chinese heritage, around 536,000 of whom were born in mainland China. As this group continues to grow rapidly, first-generation Chinese-Australians are becoming a significant political force.

The survey results reveal a complex and shifting picture of party loyalties and preferences among these voters.

Participants were asked to identify one issue out of a list of 17 that concerns them most in this election. This list included things such as housing, income, taxes, welfare, health, education, immigration and the environment. The economy ranked first with 14% of respondents, followed closely by Australia–China relations (12%).

The fact that many Chinese-Australians see the Liberals as better economic managers may account for the shift back to the party among some swing voters.

Yet, most Chinese-Australians seem to agree Labor has handled Australia–China relations much better than the Liberals. This may be why the majority of respondents overall have preferred to stick with Labor.

About 70% of respondents said they would consider voting for a party that is friendly to Chinese-Australian communities, while 72% said they would consider voting for a party that adopts a moderate approach to China.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, long a hardline critic of the Chinese Communist Party, has attempted to soften his stance in the lead-up to this election. He said last year, for instance, he was “pro-China” and wanted to see the trade between the two countries double.

In recent days, however, he has attacked Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for his “weak” response to the presence of a Chinese research vessel off the coast of Australia.

Some Chinese-Australian voters would prefer Australia to adopt a more independent foreign policy that is less reliant on the US for its national security. Research suggests Chinese-Australians tend to be more critical of the bipartisan AUKUS agreement with the United States and United Kingdom than the general public.

And I’ve observed anecdotal evidence in conversations with Chinese-Australian voters suggesting some are unhappy with both major parties’ positions on China and the US. This is convincing a small number of rusted-on Labor supporters to consider voting for the Greens, minor parties or independents.

Support for Chinese candidates not a guarantee

There is a widespread assumption that ethnic voters tend to vote for a candidate who shares their cultural or ethnic background. This seems to be the thinking behind both major parties’ choice of candidates to run in electorates with high concentrations of Chinese voters.

The Liberals’ preselection of Grange Chung (Reid), Scott Yung (Bennelong), and Howard Ong (Tangney) are cases in point.

But the survey indicates this may not be a foolproof strategy. When asked whether they would support a candidate on the basis of their Chinese or Asian appearance, respondents were split down the middle. Only slightly more than half (52%) said they would.

Much can change between now and election day on May 3. Whether the Liberals can retain the small swing they seem to have gained among Chinese-Australians may depend on Dutton’s stance on China. They will no doubt be watching closely to see what he says.

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

– ref. Chinese-Australian voters were key to Labor’s win in 2022. Are some now swinging back to the Liberals? – https://theconversation.com/chinese-australian-voters-were-key-to-labors-win-in-2022-are-some-now-swinging-back-to-the-liberals-254052

MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

April 9, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Warner, Kaine, Colleagues Demand Answers and Return of Maryland Father Wrongfully Deported to El Salvador
US Senate News:
Source: United States Senator for Virginia Tim Kaine

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) joined 23 of their Senate colleagues in urging U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Acting Director Todd Lyons to return Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a father who was living legally under protected status in Maryland with his family until he was wrongfully deported without due process by the Trump Administration last month and sent to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador. The Trump Administration has admitted Abrego Garcia’s deportation was the result of an “administrative error” but has not returned Abrego Garcia to his family and home in Maryland.

Specifically, the senators call on the Trump Administration to comply with the court order requiring that they facilitate Abrego Garcia’s return and ask for responses to a series of questions regarding ICE’s enforcement policies that may have led to this grave error—and what measures they will take to ensure such an incident does not occur again.

“It is unacceptable that anyone would be deported without proper due process, especially where an immigration judge has granted the individual protected status that explicitly prohibits his return to El Salvador,” the senators wrote. “We demand that the Administration bring Mr. Abrego Garcia home immediately.”

“Per court filings, Mr. Abrego Garcia came to the United States in 2011 as a teenager fleeing gang threats in his home country of El Salvador. In 2019, ICE arrested Mr. Abrego Garcia over an unfounded and anonymous allegation that he was involved with MS-13, which placed him in deportation proceedings. The U.S. immigration judge in the case ultimately found that it was in fact Mr. Abrego Garcia who was at risk of being the victim of gang violence,” the senators continued. “This ruling was made under the Trump Administration in 2019 and was in fact required by law under section 241(b)(3) of the Immigration and Nationality Act once the immigration judge made the factual determination that Mr. Abrego Garcia faced a likelihood of torture in El Salvador. At the time, the Trump Administration made no effort to appeal the judge’s ruling or pursue Mr. Abrego Garcia’s deportation further. Court filings attest that Mr. Abrego Garcia has complied with regular ICE check-ins, has no criminal charges, and has had no contact with any other law-enforcement agency since his release in 2019.”

“Mr. Abrego Garcia is currently being held at CECOT, a maximum-security prison in El Salvador notorious for human rights abuses, after being deported in violation of the law to the very country where his return was impermissible,” they continued. “And when the Administration makes a mistake as severe as sending an individual with protected status to a foreign prison, it cannot simply shrug off responsibility and allege that there is nothing it can do to reunite him with his wife and child, who are American citizens.”

The senators concluded the letter with a series of questions for Secretary Noem and Acting Director Lyons about Abrego Garcia’s protected status, the Department of Homeland Security and ICE’s failure to follow well-established procedures and practices to avoid erroneous deportations and to promptly fix such errors if they do occur, and to demand evidence for unsupported accusations from Vice President J.D. Vance and Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt that Abrego Garcia is a member of MS-13 gang. The senators requested a response by April 22.

In addition to Warner and Kaine, the letter was signed by U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Chris Coons (D-DE), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ed Markey (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Gary Peters (D-MI), Jack Reed (D-RI), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Peter Welch (D-VT), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Ron Wyden (D-OR).

Full text of the letter can be found here and below:

Dear Secretary Noem and Acting Director Lyons,??

We write to express our concerns regarding the deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia to El Salvador, an action which the Administration admitted in a recent court filing was an “administrative error.” It is unacceptable that anyone would be deported without proper due process, especially where an immigration judge has granted the individual protected status that explicitly prohibits his return to El Salvador. We demand that the Administration bring Mr. Abrego Garcia home immediately.

According to court filings, on March 12, 2025, shortly after Mr. Abrego Garcia had picked up his son from the boy’s grandmother’s house, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) stopped Mr. Abrego Garcia, inaccurately telling him that his protected status had changed. After giving his wife a few minutes to arrive to take custody of his son, ICE arrested and detained him without any further explanation as to the reason for his arrest. ICE then transferred Mr. Abrego Garcia and other detainees to Texas, where on March 15, 2025, they were loaded onto planes and deported to El Salvador. Mr. Abrego Garcia was reportedly on the only plane that was not sent under the authority of the Alien Enemies Act but instead was transporting migrants with formal removal orders signed by a judge. This occurred despite the fact that ICE knew, as the Administration conceded in court, that his protected legal status specifically prohibited his removal to El Salvador.

Per court filings, Mr. Abrego Garcia came to the United States in 2011 as a teenager fleeing gang threats in his home country of El Salvador. In 2019, ICE arrested Mr. Abrego Garcia over an unfounded and anonymous allegation that he was involved with MS-13, which placed him in deportation proceedings. The U.S. immigration judge in the case ultimately found that it was in fact Mr. Abrego Garcia who was at risk of being the victim of gang violence. The judge found that Mr. Abrego Garcia and his relatives credibly testified that gang members had been trying to extort his family and recruit him and his brother to join the gang, forcing his family to move multiple times, ultimately compelling both him and his brother to flee to the United States out of fear.

The immigration judge agreed that Mr. Abrego Garcia would likely face persecution if deported back to El Salvador and thus granted him a form of legally mandated protection known as “withholding of removal.” Withholding of removal, which may only be granted by an immigration judge, provided Mr. Abrego Garcia the ability to stay and work in the United States despite being the subject of a deportation order. This ruling was made under the Trump Administration in 2019 and was in fact required by law under section 241(b)(3) of the Immigration and Nationality Act once the immigration judge made the factual determination that Mr. Abrego Garcia faced a likelihood of torture in El Salvador. At the time, the Trump Administration made no effort to appeal the judge’s ruling or pursue Mr. Abrego Garcia’s deportation further. Court filings attest that Mr. Abrego Garcia has complied with regular ICE check-ins, has no criminal charges, and has had no contact with any other law-enforcement agency since his release in 2019.

Mr. Abrego Garcia is currently being held at CECOT, a maximum-security prison in El Salvador notorious for human rights abuses, after being deported in violation of the law to the very country where his return was impermissible. Though the Administration has admitted in court that his deportation was a mistake, it alleges that there is nothing it can do to address this injustice, given that Mr. Abrego Garcia is now in the jurisdiction of the government of El Salvador as part of an agreement to imprison U.S. deportees in exchange for financial compensation.

Your unwillingness to immediately rectify this “administrative error” is unacceptable. Under multiple Democratic and Republican administrations, the Department of Homeland Security and ICE followed the rule of law and worked to quickly return people who were wrongfully deported, in the rare instances where such “administrative errors” occurred. The Administration’s mass deportation agenda does not transcend immigration law or the need for due process. And when the Administration makes a mistake as severe as sending an individual with protected status to a foreign prison, it cannot simply shrug off responsibility and allege that there is nothing it can do to reunite him with his wife and child, who are American citizens. On Friday, a U.S. District Court judge in the District of Maryland ordered the government to return Mr. Abrego Garcia to the United States, and on Monday the Fourth Circuit denied the government’s motion to stay the order. The Administration should promptly comply with the district court’s order.

To address our concerns about this matter and to provide clarity on the Department of Homeland Security and ICE’s policy regarding the immigration enforcement actions against immigrants with protected status, we ask that your Administration answer the following questions by April 22, 2025:
1. The standard and legal course for the government to take to deport someone with protected status would be to reopen the case, introduce evidence that grounds for terminating the protected status exist, and then allow an immigration judge to make a determination as to their status. Why was that course of action not taken in this case?
2. In the past, DHS and ICE worked to quickly return people to the U.S. who were erroneously deported. Why is DHS and ICE no longer following these well-established procedures and practices?
3. Vice President J.D. Vance and Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt have both claimed that Mr. Abrego Garcia is an MS-13 gang member, but the government was unable or unwilling to provide any evidence to substantiate that claim to the court. Please provide any evidence of Mr. Abrego Garcia’s membership in MS-13.
4. Given that the Administration is reportedly paying $6 million to El Salvador to detain deported immigrants at CECOT, why does it believe that there is nothing it can do to return Mr. Abrego Garcia to his family in the United States? Please provide a copy of the agreement between the U.S. and El Salvador on the detention of people deported from the U.S. in CECOT.
5. Are there any other cases that the Administration is aware of in which an immigrant with protected status was illegally deported without due process? If so, identify those cases and explain what, if anything the government is doing to rectify those errors.
6. Will the Administration commit to reviewing all of the cases of its deportees to ensure that it has appropriately identified all of the errors?
7. What actions will the Administration take in the future to ensure that immigrants with protected status are afforded their appropriate due process?
We appreciate your prompt attention to this vital matter and look forward to reviewing your fulsome, timely response.

Sincerely,
MIL OSI USA News –
April 9, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Warner, Kaine, & Colleagues Question HHS Secretary RFK Jr. on Decision to Fire Workers Tasked with Protecting Coal Miner Health and Safety
US Senate News:
Source: United States Senator for Virginia Tim Kaine

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Tim Kaine (D-VA), John Fetterman (D-PA), and Bernie Sanders (I-VT) wrote to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. pushing back on his decision to gut the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), firing nearly 900 employees. Recent reporting has indicated that these firings include all employees tasked with protecting the health and safety of coal miners.

“According to reports, HHS is laying off approximately 873 employees, or two-thirds, of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),” the senators wrote. “According to a notification provided to AFGE Local 1969, whose federal employee members are being impacted, all employees working on mining safety and health in NIOSH’s Spokane, WA and Pittsburgh, PA, offices are being let go. , The NIOSH Pittsburgh Mining Research Division focuses on coal miner safety, and the Spokane Mining Research Division specializes in hard rock mining, and are the two main research hubs for NIOSH’s Mining Research Program. Additionally, reports indicate more than 185 NIOSH employees are being laid off from its Morgantown, WV, office, who also work to protect miner health, among other occupational safety and health activities.”

The senators also highlighted the immediate impacts of this move, explaining that mining communities are already being left without key health services.

They continued, “We also have heard from those who work directly with our miner constituents in these communities that the Enhanced Coal Workers’ Health Surveillance Program is also being decimated. This program provides direct screening services via a mobile medical unit to miners at no cost. NIOSH also supports clinic sites where screening is done, so miners can understand if they are developing black lung or another condition and be as healthy as possible for themselves and their families.”

In their letter, the senators demanded answers from Secretary Kennedy, questioning how these crucial services will continue with a significantly reduced workforce. The senators requested a written response to the following:
1. How many HHS employees who work in offices that work on mining health and safety have been fired, put on administrative leave, accepted the deferred resignation program offer, or accepted the VERA/VSIP offer since January 20, 2025? Provide a complete breakdown by agency and position. For each category of employee at each agency, provide information on GS level and veteran status, and clearly state the justification for termination. Include employees who have since been reinstated or placed on administrative leave, noting that change in status. Please provide the latest data available.
2. How many HHS employees remain who work on mining health and safety? Please provide a complete breakdown by agency and position.
3. How many additional employees who work in offices that work on mining health and safety do you intend to fire following the announcement made on March 27, 2025?
4. Provide all analyses conducted prior to the reorganization and firings of HHS employees who work in offices that focus on mining safety and health to determine the immediate and long-term impact these firings will have on programs and activities that those employees are tasked with administering. In particular, provide all analyses relating to 1) ensuring statutory obligations will be met, and 2) the Coal Workers’ Health Surveillance Program.
A copy of letter is available here and text is below.

Dear Secretary Kennedy:

We write today with alarming concern about reports that nearly the entire workforce that works to improve the health of miners was laid off and the office that oversees this work was eliminated. We urge you to reverse course immediately and ensure the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) continues its important work in our states to protect and serve our constituents.

According to reports, HHS is laying off approximately 873 employees, or two-thirds, of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). According to a notification provided to AFGE Local 1969, whose federal employee members are being impacted, all employees working on mining safety and health in NIOSH’s Spokane, WA and Pittsburgh, PA, offices are being let go. , The NIOSH Pittsburgh Mining Research Division focuses on coal miner safety, and the Spokane Mining Research Division specializes in hard rock mining, and are the two main research hubs for NIOSH’s Mining Research Program. Additionally, reports indicate more than 185 NIOSH employees are being laid off from its Morgantown, WV, office, who also work to protect miner health, among other occupational safety and health activities.

We also have heard from those who work directly with our miner constituents in these communities that the Enhanced Coal Workers’ Health Surveillance Program is also being decimated. This program provides direct screening services via a mobile medical unit to miners at no cost. NIOSH also supports clinic sites where screening is done, so miners can understand if they are developing black lung or another condition and be as healthy as possible for themselves and their families.

Never has there been a more critical time to do this work. A 2023 study conducted jointly by researchers at NIOSH and at the University of Illinois Chicago found that coal miners in central Appalachia—Virginia, West Virginia, and Kentucky—were eight times more likely to die from respiratory diseases like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and black lung than American men who are not miners. Our constituents are getting more severe disease at younger ages in recent decades, and we might never had known that without the expertise of NIOSH’s work on coal miner health.

We require more than a fact sheet indicating these duties will be reorganized into an Administration for a Healthy America given the extensive cuts to personnel. In order for us to better understand how the same amount of work can be done with hundreds fewer individuals, please provide responses to the following questions by April 9, 2025:
1. How many HHS employees who work in offices that work on mining health and safety have been fired, put on administrative leave, accepted the deferred resignation program offer, or accepted the VERA/VSIP offer since January 20, 2025? Provide a complete breakdown by agency and position. For each category of employee at each agency, provide information on GS level and veteran status, and clearly state the justification for termination. Include employees who have since been reinstated or placed on administrative leave, noting that change in status. Please provide the latest data available.
2. How many HHS employees remain who work on mining health and safety? Please provide a complete breakdown by agency and position.
3. How many additional employees who work in offices that work on mining health and safety do you intend to fire following the announcement made on March 27, 2025?
4. Provide all analyses conducted prior to the reorganization and firings of HHS employees who work in offices that focus on mining safety and health to determine the immediate and long-term impact these firings will have on programs and activities that those employees are tasked with administering. In particular, provide all analyses relating to 1) ensuring statutory obligations will be met, and 2) the Coal Workers’ Health Surveillance Program.
Art Miller, an expert in mine air quality who has been working for NIOSH since 1996 and for its predecessor before this, was part of the Spokane-area firings. He noted that no one else does this kind of research and that “every worker in this country deserves to go home safe.” We agree, and urge you to reverse these cuts before it’s too late.

Sincerely,
MIL OSI USA News –
April 9, 2025
MIL-OSI China: Former US treasury secretary warns of likely recession, 2M layoffs

Source: China State Council Information Office

Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers said in an interview with Bloomberg TV on Tuesday that the United States is likely heading into a recession, with the possibility of 2 million Americans losing their jobs, as a result of the ongoing tariff increases.

“It’s more likely than not that we’re going to have a recession – and in the context of a recession, we’ll see an extra 2 million people be unemployed,” Summers said on Bloomberg Television’s Wall Street Week.

“We’ll see losses in household income” of 5,000 dollars per family or more, said Summers, who is Harvard University professor and paid contributor to Bloomberg TV.

Summers argued that the tariff plans by the Trump administration exceed even those of 1930 that “made the depression great,” noting that it would be wise to be “backing off the policies that have been announced.”

Despite warnings from Summers and other economists, the White House indicated on Tuesday that the policies will go into effect as previously planned.

“The president was asked and answered this yesterday. He said he’s not considering an extension or delay. I spoke to him before this briefing. That was not his mindset. He expects that these tariffs are going to go into effect,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said at a press briefing.

On April 2, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order regarding the so-called “reciprocal tariffs,” announcing that the United States will impose a 10 percent “baseline tariff” on trade partners and higher tariffs on certain partners, with some facing tariffs exceeding 30 percent, and even 40 percent.

The 10 percent “baseline tariff” went into effect on April 5, and the higher tariffs on certain trading partners are set to go into effect on Wednesday, April 9.

Although Trump has repeatedly claimed that the tariff increases will help generate revenue for the U.S. government, reduce the trade deficit, and revitalize American manufacturing, economists and business leaders warn that these tariff measures will drive up prices, harm American consumers and businesses, disrupt global trade, and be detrimental to global economic growth.

Several U.S. trade partners have already announced countermeasures.

MIL OSI China News –

April 9, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: SCHUMER DEMANDS FEMA IMMEDIATELY REVERSE DEVASTATING $300+ MILLION CUT FOR DISASTER PREPARDNESS, FLOOD MITIGATION & INFRASTRUCTURE UPGRADES ACROSS NEW YORK TO ENSURE CONSTRUCTION CAN CONTINUE & TO…

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator for New York Charles E Schumer

Last Week FEMA Announced It Will Eliminate The Building Resilient Infrastructure And Communities (BRIC), Cutting Projects Across NY; BRIC Was Set To Provide $325M For NYS Projects And Has Distributed $5B In Fed Grants Nationally Since It Started In 2020

BRIC Program – Created By Schumer And Signed Into Law By Trump – Helps State And Local Government Improve Infrastructure By Raising Roads, Improving Drainage, Creating Power Sources, And More With Projects In Capital Region, NYC, Buffalo, And More Set To Lose Funding

Schumer: FEMA Is Putting New Yorkers At Risk During Next Disaster By Cutting Off Funding

After Trump abruptly canceled FEMA’s Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) Program, including over $300 million in federal funding headed to New York, U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer today demanded FEMA reverse this harmful decision which will rip resources away from New York State’s disaster preparedness efforts. The senator said as New York has faced more extreme weather than ever, FEMA has played a critical role in helping communities rebuild and cutting off this lifeline with hurt New York families, businesses, and more in every corner of the state.

“New Yorkers are no strangers to natural disasters and FEMA’s BRIC program was one of the best tools for helping communities big and small rebuild to keep communities safe in the face of flooding, snowstorms and more. By ripping away over $300 million in funding for projects with no warning or explanation, imperiling them from moving forward, FEMA is going against its mission and putting the lives & safety of New Yorkers during the next emergency at risk,” said Senator Schumer. “When communities are hit by disaster, when roads are flooded, downtowns destroyed, or worse – it is FEMA that is supposed to come to help them rebuild. We cannot leave New York’s families, businesses, and neighborhoods fending for themselves by cutting off this vital lifeline. I’m demanding FEMA immediately reverse these cuts and restore BRIC to keep New Yorkers safe.”

FEMA’s Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) in 2020 and was previously signed into law by President Trump during his first administration. BRIC allocates resources to state and local governments to help mitigate damage from natural disasters, such as raising roads or building underground storage which will help make communities more resilient to extreme weather such as hurricanes or floods. When announcing that it would end the program, FEMA labeled BRIC as an “ineffective FEMA program” and said eliminating it was part of the Trump administration’s efforts to eliminate “waste, fraud and abuse.”

Schumer added, “I created BRIC to provide support for critical projects including rebuilding roads, improving drainage, creating emergency power sources, and more in every corner of the state – and Trump signed it into law. ‘DOGE’ claims to eliminate government waste, so why is Trump canceling a program that he signed into law? This newest announcement will only create more waste when houses, roads, and more are ruined with no resources to rebuild.”

In a letter to U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Schumer explained that BRIC provides a lifeline for New York and other states that have been facing more extreme weather as they prepare for the next storm. For example, last year New York State set a record for most tornadoes in a year since they were first recorded in 1950 and experienced an earthquake that was felt throughout the state. Schumer said BRIC has and should continue to play a critical role in supporting New York’s infrastructure improvements and mitigating damage caused by extreme weather and natural disasters and called on the Trump administration to reverse these cuts and maintain BRIC.

Schumer said canceled projects are in every corner of New York State, including New York City, Westchester, the Capital Region, and Buffalo. For example, according to Governor Hochul, $100 million was cut off for two flood mitigation projects in Central Harlem and East Elmhurst, $24 million was cut off for the New York Power Authority to reduce the formation of ice jams in the Capital Region, and over $700,000 was cut off for the removal of a dangerous dam in Westchester.

Schumer explained that BRIC is one of several FEMA preparedness and resilience programs that help communities reduce the impacts of future disasters. The Flood Mitigation Assistance Grant Program (FMA) and State Hazard Mitigation Revolving Loan Program, established by the Safeguarding Tomorrow through Ongoing Risk Mitigation Act of 2020, or the STORM Act, provide critical support to communities that have been hit by disasters to help them prepare for the next major storm. Secretary Noem’s previous comments asserting that the Trump administration will “eliminate FEMA” put not just the BRIC and preparedness programs at risk, but also programs and funds that allow the federal government to respond to major disasters and help communities rebuild in the immediate and long-term aftermath.

Schumer’s letter to Secretary Noem can be found HERE or below:

Dear Secretary Noem:

I write to urge you to reverse your recent decision to cancel the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) grant program. By cancelling this program, New York State will lose over $325 million for projects that have not yet begun construction that would help mitigate or prevent flooding in local communities, helping to save lives and reduce the damages and costs of extreme weather. $56 million in funding has already helped begin some resilience projects, although this decision now puts those dollars at risk. Funding to help states invest in preparedness and resilience not only saves lives and property, but also saves money for local, state, and the federal government in the long term. I implore you to revisit your decision to end the BRIC funding for states and restore the $325 million investments in New York’s resilience to extreme weather.

The BRIC program provides local, state, territorial and Tribal governments resources to reduce their hazard risk when extreme weather strikes. In recent years, New York has seen its fair share of disasters, including 23 federally declared disasters with New Yorkers receiving $1,385 in federal aid per capita from disasters that occurred 2011 – 2024, the third highest cost per capita in the country. Just last year, New York saw tornadoes and flooding that left communities devastated. Hurricane Ida brought record-shattering rainfall and devastated New York City in 2021, drowning 11 people in their basement apartments, demonstrating the dire need for improved wastewater infrastructure to ensure no more lives are lost at the hand of extreme rainfall. Programs like BRIC that invest in resilience will help mitigate the impacts of these storms, preventing some or all of the most severe damages that these weather systems bring. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has stated that every $1 invested in disaster preparedness saves communities $13 in damages, cleanup, and recovery costs. The BRIC investments are not only a smart choice to save lives and property, but they also make economic sense.

Across New York City, 10 projects totaling over $280 million were slated to help improve flooding resiliency. The NYC Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has several projects to mitigate flooding impacts by reducing storm-related runoff and flooding from high intensity rainfall. These projects would improve and strengthen stormwater infrastructure across the city, including in the Historic South Street Seaport, Central Harlem, East Elmhurst, Corona East, at the NYCHA Polo Grounds Tower Development, and other areas of the city. In Upstate New York, three projects totaling over $1 million are at risk because of this reckless decision to cancel the BRIC program. In Westchester, the Upper Minkel Dam Decommissioning and Riparian Corridor Restoration project would restore a stream and surrounding land to reduce flood hazards, potentially eliminating any future flooding event at this site. The New York Power Authority was slated to address ice jams in Vischer Ferry along the NYS canal system, flushing ice from the Vischer Ferry impoundment to avoid jam flooding and the potential for ice dam formations. Lastly, the City of Buffalo was slated to utilize BRIC funds to improve building codes and invest in local workforce training and development, helping to improve energy use and the utilization of emerging technologies. All these projects, and more across the state, detailed today by New York Governor Kathy Hochul, would help improve community safety and invest in local workforce development, but are unfortunately now at risk thanks to the administration’s decision to cancel the BRIC program.

The BRIC program, along with FEMA’s other disaster preparedness and resilience programs such as the Flood Mitigation Assistance Grant Program (FMA) and State Hazard Mitigation Revolving Loan Program, established by the Safeguarding Tomorrow through Ongoing Risk Mitigation Act of 2020, or the STORM Act, provide critical support to communities that have been hit by disasters to help them prepare for the next major storm. I urge you to swiftly restore the BRIC program to ensure these dollars can continue doing this important work to create safer communities and save costs.

MIL OSI USA News –

April 9, 2025
MIL-OSI New Zealand: NZCTU announce transformative policy vision for Aotearoa

Source: Council of Trade Unions – CTU

The New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi has launched a new policy platform, Aotearoa Reimagined, which has been developed by engaging workers, community leaders and policy experts over the past year.

“Today we are announcing a transformative policy vision that reimagines our society and economy to ensure that Aotearoa New Zealand works for the many, not just the few. We challenge political parties to make a strong commitment to working people by adopting these policies in the lead up to the next general election,” said NZCTU President Richard Wagstaff.

“Our country is heading in the wrong direction. We have a broken economy, rising inequality and poverty, soaring unemployment, and stagnating wages. The rich keep getting richer at the expense of ordinary people. We need to do things differently. It’s time for bold change.

“We’ve spent the last year listening to workers who have told us that they are angry at a system that doesn’t meet their needs or aspirations. They fear their children are facing a future of increasing hardship.

“Everyone deserves security, dignity, and to have enough to thrive. Changing the country’s trajectory is possible—we just need to make different choices. We have listened to working people and created a plan to build a society that works for everyone.

“Our plan would ensure everyone can have good, well-paid jobs underpinned by strong workers’ rights.

“It will deliver world-leading public health and education, a cradle-to-grave care and support system, modern infrastructure, warm dry, affordable homes, clean and publicly owned energy, and low-cost transport.

“The plan would ensure that Aotearoa meets its climate obligations and guarantees a just transition for the workers and communities who will bear the brunt of the climate crisis and technological change.

“We are also calling on politicians to reject the politics of division and honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi by implementing it in law and in our constitutional frameworks.

“We can fund the transformative change we desperately need by rebalancing the tax system, taxing capital gains and ensuring that the wealthy pay their fair share.

“The union movement is challenging political parties to make this vision a reality and create an Aotearoa that works for the many, not just the few. It’s time for a new approach,” said Wagstaff.

Read the full policy platform here.

MIL OSI New Zealand News –

April 9, 2025
MIL-OSI New Zealand: Innovation – Nigel Latta Launches Parentland, a Groundbreaking Parenting App
Source: www.parentland.app

AUCKLAND, New Zealand, Wednesday 9th April 2025 – Parentland, a revolutionary new app offering tailored, evidence-based parenting advice launches this week.

The brainchild of renowned New Zealand clinical psychologist Nigel Latta, Parentland is like having an experienced psychologist in your pocket, offering personalised, science-backed solutions when parents need them the most.

Unlike other parenting apps, Parentland delivers advice that is specific to the age, temperament, and individual needs of each child. Whether you’re dealing with a persistent 5-year-old or an easy-going 11-year-old, the app adapts its guidance to ensure it’s the right fit for your child. This level of individualisation, backed by current scientific research, sets Parentland apart from the competition.

Nigel has long recognised the challenges that modern parents face; he is the author of 7 parenting books which have now been published in 19 countries and 10 languages and has presented numerous TV shows on the subject. He is regarded as the trusted authority on the topic for New Zealanders.

“In 2025, parents face unprecedented pressures, from navigating the digital age to dealing with issues like sleep, eating, and behaviour. Many parents are struggling with not having access to immediate, reliable, and evidence-based advice.

“The internet is full of mostly well-meaning people offering advice that can often be ineffective or even harmful, and unfortunately the cost of seeing a clinical psychologist can be prohibitive for many.

Nigel added, “We wanted to create an app that doesn’t just deliver generic advice but offers something tailored to the unique temperament and developmental stage of each child. Whether you’re trying to help a toddler sleep through the night or work through a picky eater, Parentland gives you clear, actionable steps that actually work.”

Addressing Common Parenting Struggles – Picky Eating

Latta has observed that while New Zealand parents are generally doing well, many struggle with foundational issues such as sleep, behaviour, and eating: “Parents need evidence-based advice from experienced professionals.”

One of the app’s standout features is its Food Range Diary, which helps parents address the growing issue of picky eating—a challenge that has escalated to millions of parents both in New Zealand and globally. Curated by Dr Natalie Flynn, who is a clinical psychologist specialising in eating disorders, parents can track their child’s eating habits, identify areas of concern, and receive personalised guidance on when to seek help.

“We’re seeing more and more picky eaters today, and it’s important that we address this early on,” says Dr Flynn. “If left unchecked, picky eating can lead to serious nutritional deficiencies, and it’s often rooted in behavioural patterns that can be changed with the right tools. Parentland will guide parents through those tricky moments, offering advice that’s based on solid clinical evidence,” she says.

In addition, the app’s innovative tools such as the Farty Monkey, the Star Chart, and the Ladder help families break out of unhelpful patterns of behaviour. By focusing on positive reinforcement and research-backed strategies, Parentland empowers parents to create healthier routines and stronger relationships with their children.

The Future of Parenting: Evidence-Based, Personalised, and Convenient

The app’s features include:
- A tool to determine your child’s temperament (TQ)
- Customised advice for behaviour, sleep, and eating, specific to each child’s age and TQ
- A range of fun, interactive reward tools like the Farty Monkey and Star Chart
- The ability to share features and information with another caregiver
- A Good-parent-o-meter to highlight your positive parenting skills
- Daily parenting tips that fit your specific needs
- The Ladder, a tool to encourage desirable behaviours
- A Food Range Diary to track and expand your child’s food preferences
Nigel Latta’s Health Journey: A Personal Commitment to Helping Parents

Nigel underwent a major health battle last year when diagnosed with cancer, but recent medical breakthroughs and treatment have made his condition no longer terminal.

“Going through my own health battle this past year made me even more committed to helping families. I know how important it is to get reliable, science-based support when things feel out of control—that’s why I’m so passionate about Parentland.”

About Parentland

Parentland is the parenting app that provides trustworthy, science-backed advice designed for the unique needs of your family. Developed by clinical psychologists with over fifty years of combined experience, Parentland offers parents real, actionable tools to navigate the everyday challenges of raising children. With Parentland, every parent can feel empowered to make informed decisions and take the right steps to create positive changes in their home.

The Parentland app was created by Cactuslab, an independent web, app design and development studio based in Auckland. Successful apps they’ve created include Letterboxed (the social network for film lovers) and Cloudcheck (an electronic identification verification (EV) tool).

For more, see: www.parentland.app

MIL OSI New Zealand News –
April 9, 2025
MIL-OSI New Zealand: World Vision – Sport and music stars join forces to raise funds to combat hunger in the Pacific caused by climate change

Source: World Vision

   

A group of star-studded inspirational Kiwis, including rugby players, pop icons, and a climate activist are putting their names behind this year’s World Vision 40 Hour Challenge. 
 

The stellar line up of ambassadors fronting the campaign this year includes singer Stan Walker; rugby legends Caleb Clarke and Wallace Sititi; Warriors rugby league star Dallin Watene-Zelezniak; singer/songwriter Paige Tapara; and climate advocate Brianna Fruean.   

 

A rite of passage for young New Zealanders, the World Vision 40 Hour Challenge (13-15 June 2025), gives rangatahi a platform to champion important causes, raise funds for those in need, and demonstrate the power their voice and actions can have around the world.   

 

This year’s World Vision 40 Hour Challenge is calling on youth to give up technology and go “offline for 40 Hours” to unplug, disconnect, and get together with their friends and whānau to raise funds to support children who are struggling to get enough food each day due to the impact of climate change in the Pacific.  

 

Making a real difference for children in Solomon Islands   

 

1 in 6 children in the Pacific region is living in severe child food poverty, leaving them at risk of hunger and malnutrition. As subsistence farmers, communities across the Pacific rely on fishing and farming for their food. However, in places like Solomon Islands, climate change means rising sea levels are flooding community gardens, killing crops and fishing is becoming harder.

The rising seas have forced nine-year-old Polyne’s family to move inland. The land they once called home is eroding and the soil is full of salt so their crops can’t grow. Every day is a struggle for her family to find enough food.

Our garden is important because this is where we get our food,” explains Polyne. “When the sea level rises, it destroys our food gardens. I’m so worried.”

The funds raised in this year’s World Vision 40 Hour Challenge will give communities like Polyne’s the tools and seeds to farm climate-smart crops; plant mangroves to protect land from rising seas and restore fish populations; and provide sustainable food sources for future generations so that children can grow up healthy and strong in a changing climate. 

Singer Stan Walker says he’s proud to be part of this year’s World Vision 40 Hour Challenge.   

 

“As someone of Māori, of Tūhoe, Ngāi Te Rangi and Ngāti Porou descent, this year’s World Vision 40 Hour Challenge focus on the Pacific is close to my heart. I lived in the Cook Islands and served as their climate ambassador during my time there, and I have seen firsthand the effects of climate change. There is so much struggle happening in our own backyard. Our small Islands are at the frontline of this battle – fighting to protect their homes, their culture, and their traditional practices.” 

Walker is calling on rangatahi to take part in this year’s World Vision 40 Hour Challenge.

“Everybody has an opportunity to make their mark on this world. And what better way to make your mark than helping somebody else who is less fortunate than you. The more we come together, the better we can be. Join me and be a part of this year’s World Vision 40 Hour Challenge.”

 

Walker says, as a father of three, his own children have also spurred him to participate in the campaign.  

 

“I couldn’t imagine my own children wanting or needing anything, which is why I want to use my voice and my platform for good to help to bring about tangible change so that all children in the Pacific and beyond can flourish in the world to live their full purpose.  The decisions that we make don’t just affect us, they affect the children and their future.” 

New to the campaign this year, World Vision 40 Hour Challenge ambassador, rising rugby star Wallace Sititi, is thrilled to be getting behind the campaign.

 

“It is such a privilege to be part of the World Vision 40 Hour Challenge, which gets young New Zealanders on board to help other people around the world in need. Taking part in the challenge activities is a lot of fun – especially when you get your friends involved, too! I hope that everyone will be inspired to take part.”

 

Also new to the campaign this year, Warriors rugby league star Dallin Watene-Zelezniak says:

‘I’m so honoured to be supporting the World Vision 40 Hour Challenge, which will make a real, tangible difference to children in the Pacific who are struggling to get enough food to eat due to climate change. Giving up 40 hours of your time to go offline is small sacrifice that will have a powerful impact on the lives of children and the communities that they live in. I’d love to see as many rangatahi and their families as possible take part in this fun Challenge for a great cause.”

Grant Bayldon, National Director of World Vision New Zealand, says World Vision is honoured to have a team of inspirational and passionate ambassadors on board.  

 

“We’re thrilled to have such an incredible line-up of ambassadors working with us to support children and families in Solomon Islands who are living in food poverty because rising seas are killing their crops. By working together, we can make an amazing and lifechanging impact on children and the communities they live in.” 

 

Climate Ambassador Brianna Fruean says she’s passionate about any campaign that seeks to help children in the Pacific live better lives in the face of the climate crisis.  

 

“One in six children in the region is living in severe food poverty due to the impact of climate change, leaving them at risk of hunger and malnutrition. Together, we can change that. Whether participating in the World Vision 40 Hour Challenge or giving a donation to those who are participating, every contribution counts.” 

 

For more information visit:

https://www.worldvision.org.nz/connect/40-hour-challenge 

MIL OSI New Zealand News –

April 9, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Ernst, Grassley, Marshall Protect Family Farms, Consumers from Burdensome Government Overreach

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA)
WASHINGTON – After the U.S. Supreme Court left an open invitation for Congress to strike down California’s Proposition 12, U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) is leading her colleagues in ending this unjustified and burdensome regulatory overreach to protect family farms and bring down pork prices for consumers.
The Food Security and Farm Protection Act prohibits any state or local government from interfering with commerce and agricultural practices in another state outside their jurisdiction. The bill is co-led by Ernst’s fellow Senate Agriculture Committee members Senators Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Roger Marshall (R-Kan.).
“Proposition 12 is dangerous and arbitrary overregulation that stands in direct opposition to the livelihoods of Iowa pork producers, increases costs for both farmers and consumers, and jeopardizes our nation’s food security,” said Senator Ernst. “I’m proud to be leading the charge to strike down this harmful measure and will keep fighting to make sure the voices of the farmers and experts who know best – not liberal California activists – are heard.”
“California’s Proposition 12, along with Massachusetts’ Question 3, are based on arbitrary, nonsensical standards and have resulted in a harmful patchwork of regulations across the 50 states. They’re a threat to Iowa, which leads the nation in pork production, and to farmers and consumers across this country. Consistent with its authorities under the Commerce Clause, it’s time for Congress to solve this problem by passing legislation. Our bill will end California’s war on breakfast and make sure delicious Iowa pork can be sold everywhere,” said Senator Grassley.
“The United States is constantly faced with non-tariff trade barriers from protectionist countries, which hurts American agriculture’s access to new markets. The last thing we need is for states like California imposing its will on ag-heavy states like Kansas with regulations that will also restrict our ability to trade among the states,” said Senator Marshall. “Midwest farmers and ranchers who produce our nation’s food supply should not be hamstrung by coastal activist agendas that dictate production standards from hundreds of miles away, and I am proud to support this legislation that gives Kansas agriculture producers the freedom to produce safe, affordable food for all.”
Agriculture organizations across Iowa support Ernst’s effort:
“We appreciate Sen. Ernst fighting to protect the livelihoods of Iowa pig farmers by introducing this legislation. The Supreme Court said Congress should address California’s Proposition 12 law regulating sow housing,” said Iowa Pork Producers Association President and pig farmer from Carroll, Iowa, Aaron Juergens. “Congress must act this year to prevent a patchwork of more state regulations from being enacted into law in the future. Since this overburdensome regulation has gone into effect, it’s not only proven costly for producers but consumers as well. We hope Sen. Ernst’s colleagues will join her in supporting efforts to stop Prop 12,”
“We thank Senator Ernst for standing up for the American pork producer, especially during these times of uncertainty. U.S. pork producers have just suffered the worst 18 months of financial losses in history, and many farm families are contemplating whether they can pass along their farm to the next generation,” said National Pork Producers Council President and Ohio pork producer, Duane Stateler. “We urge the Senate to take up this legislation immediately to provide us much-needed relief.”
“Iowa soybean farmers are grateful for Senator Ernst’s leadership to address challenges Prop 12 creates for Iowa farmers. It’s crucial we recognize the negative consequences regulations like this create for the entire supply chain, starting with farmers and ending with increased prices for consumers. California’s Prop 12 creates a patchwork of rules that force farmers, including those in Iowa, to comply with costly regulations,” said Iowa Soybean Association President and farmer, Brent Swart. “Not only do the increased costs of compliance threaten to put pork farmers out of business, Prop 12 increases the price of pork at the grocery store by as much as 40%. Higher prices for pork dampen demand for this high-quality protein which negatively impacts market demand for soybeans used for pig feed. This legislation gives us a chance to protect our farms, our livelihoods, and ultimately, families that need affordable food.”
“The Iowa Cattle industry has made it clear that government overreach and overregulation is incredibly burdensome to industries that provide safe, quality, and sustainable products for the world. Proposition 12 has the potential to further dismantle the livestock industry with the lack of science-based measures. Proposition 12 has already proven to be an unfunded mandate with consumers unwilling to pay premiums for the products that must be compliant with the proposition,” said Iowa Cattlemen’s Association President, Rob Medberry. “The inherent cost to become compliant is overbearing and the simple fact of dollars and cents does not add up. The Iowa Cattlemen’s Association believes that consumers have the right to buy products that fit their desires. However, ICA does not support state-by-state regulation of interstate commerce and fervently opposes proposition 12 and similar legislation that has no sound scientific backing.”
“Turkey farmers across the nation work tirelessly to ensure the production of safe, wholesome, and nutritious turkey products. Through collaboration with veterinarians and industry experts, farmers adhere to rigorous standards and practices designed to provide optimal care for their birds. This effort includes implementing auditable systems that are continuously monitored and improved to meet evolving standards of animal welfare, food safety, and environmental responsibility,” said Iowa Turkey Federation Executive Director, Gretta Irwin. “The proliferation of varying state and local laws that attempt to regulate farming and processing practices presents significant challenges. These inconsistencies create unnecessary burdens for farmers operating across state lines, hinder efficient production, and undermine well-established, science-based practices developed in coordination with industry experts.
“The Iowa Corn Growers Association (ICGA) thanks Senator Ernst for her continued pushback on California’s Proposition 12,” said ICGA President and farmer from Galt, Iowa, Stu Swanson. “Iowa’s corn and pig farmers work together to provide nutritious pork to families across the U.S. With barriers like Proposition 12 cutting off our ability to supply fellow Americans with Iowa grown pork, it’s not only those families who are being affected, but also our farm families here in Iowa. As farmers, we take pride in the crops and livestock we raise, and we need support, not restrictions, as we continue supplying a safe, nutritious product to the growing world. We will continue to work with our livestock partners to see that this issue gets resolved.”
Background:
Since Proposition 12 passed in 2018, Ernst has been a vocal opponent of California’s attempts to regulate hardworking pork producers in Iowa and is leading the charge to strike down this harmful initiative that threatens all of American agriculture. She has secured critical support from the Trump administration to aid in these efforts.

MIL OSI USA News –

April 9, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Murphy, Blumenthal, Connecticut Delegation Demand McMahon Reverse Abrupt Policy Change Halting Funding For Schools Nationwide

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator for Connecticut – Chris Murphy
WASHINGTON—U.S. Senators Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and U.S. Representatives John Larson (D-Conn.-01), Joe Courtney (D-Conn.-02), Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.-03) and Jahana Hayes (D-Conn.-05) joined 71 members of Congress in sending a letter to U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon demanding a reversal of a recently announced policy that abruptly changed department practice and imposed new red tape on states. The policy would block states from accessing pandemic relief funds they rely on to support students’ learning.
“We write to request the immediate reversal of the Department of Education’s recent March 28, 2025, action to revise the liquidation extension policy for COVID-19 relief funds,” the members wrote. “Just over a month ago, the Department announced a policy change to the longstanding extension policy that imposed an additional step for processing of extension reimbursements. … However, on March 28, 2025, with many state extension requests having been approved more than six months ago, the Department suddenly announced on March 28 that ‘the Department is modifying the liquidation period to end on March 28, 2025,’ the very same day as the announcement.”
“In short,” they continued, “the Department changed the spending rules it affirmed just one month ago, without providing any notice, and imposing more federal red tape.”
The members noted that the abrupt change—coupled with the mass firings at ED—seriously threaten the ability of schools to support students’ learning: “When combined with the massive reduction in force announced earlier this month, the Department jeopardizes an estimated $4 billion from the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2021 and American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 in nearly all of our states and outlying areas and roughly 1,000 school districts nationwide. This action is particularly harmful to rural school districts that faced the greatest disruptions during the authorized program period. This will also have a disproportionate impact on $800 million reserved for identification and support for students experiencing homelessness, which was implemented slowly in many states. The March 28th decision of the Department improperly imposes its will on state and local budget decisions in a manner not contemplated by Congress.”
The members criticized McMahon for undermining Congress’s intent to give states the flexibility they need to meet local needs: “Congress intended the Secretary to support states and districts in their use of the flexibility under the law to ensure the unique needs of their communities were met and to implement evidence-based learning loss interventions. The Department is now trying to change the spending rules and impose an administrative hurdle by stating ‘the Department will consider an extension to your liquidation period on an individual project-specific basis.’…We are astonished by the amount of hypocrisy here from an administration that has repeatedly said it wants to return education to the states, including your recent statement that ‘Education is fundamentally a state responsibility. Instead of filtering resources through layers of federal red tape, we will empower states…’ Now, it appears the Department is turning its back on states by arbitrarily imposing more federal red tape.”
They concluded: “Let’s be very clear: The abrupt change in the liquidation extension policy is yet another way this administration is seeking to strip educational opportunities for students in order to pay for tax cuts for billionaires and large corporations. President Trump and Congressional Republicans are intent in claiming any savings they can in the federal budget that they intend to use to pay for their tax cuts for billionaires and large corporations. It is appalling to us that those billionaire and corporate giveaways are valued over the students in rural school districts that faced supply chain disruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic that led to the districts’ need for these liquidation extensions, valued over students experiencing homelessness who have seen the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds dedicated to them spent down slowly, and valued over so many other students that will be attending schools that are already facing difficult budget choices for the next school year without the additional burden of this changed policy. That is, unless states undertake the newest burden put in place by your Department and are able to navigate the Department’s bureaucratic maze and receive funds for projects that may have been committed to years ago. We believe there is a better way.”
U.S. Senators Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Angus King (I-Maine), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) also signed the letter.
U.S. Representatives Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (D-Va.-03), Alma Adams (D-N.C.-12), Donald Beyer (D-Va.-08), Suzanne Bonamici (D-Ore.-01), Julia Brownley (D-Calif.-26), Shontel Brown (D-Ohio-11), André Carson (D-Ind.-07), Greg Casar (D-Texas-35), Sean Casten (D-Ill.-06), Joaquin Castro (D-Texas-20), Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.-09), Danny Davis (D-Ill.-07), Diana DeGette (D-Colo.-01), Chris Deluzio (D-Pa.-17), Mark DeSaulnier (D-Calif.-10), Sarah Elfreth (D-Md.-03), Veronica Escobar (D-Texas-16), Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.-13), Dwight Evans (D-Pa.-03), Shomari Figures (D-Ala.-02), Jesús García (D-Ill.-04), Sylvia Garcia (D-Texas-29), Vicente Gonzalez (D-Texas-34), Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.-06), Jonathan Jackson (D-Ill.-01), Hank Johnson (D-Ga.-04), Robin Kelly (D-Ill.-02), Timothy Kennedy (D-N.Y.-26), Summer Lee (D-Pa.-12), Lucy McBath (D-Ga.-06), Sarah McBride (D-Del.-01), Jennifer McClellan (D-Va.-04), Betty McCollum (D-Minn.-04), Kristen McDonald Rivet (D-Mich.-08), Jim McGovern (D-Mass.-02), LaMonica McIver (D-N.J.-10), Donald Norcross (D-N.J.-01), Johnny Olszewski (D-Md.-02), Chellie Pingree (D-Maine-01), Mark Pocan (D-Wis.-02), Andrea Salinas (D-Ore.-06), Linda Sánchez (D-Calif.-38), Terri Sewell (D-Ala.-07), Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.-11), Lateefah Simon (D-Calif.-12), Darren Soto (D-Fla.-09), Haley Stevens (D-Mich.-11), Mark Takano (D-Calif.-39), Dina Titus (D-Nev.-01), Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.-12), Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-N.J.-12), Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.-24), and Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.-01) signed the letter as well.
Full text of the letter is available HERE and below:
Dear Secretary McMahon:
We write to request the immediate reversal of the Department of Education’s (“the Department”) recent March 28, 2025, action to revise the liquidation extension policy for COVID-19 relief funds. Just over a month ago, the Department announced a policy change to the longstanding extension policy that imposed an additional step for processing of extension reimbursements. That policy stated “Beginning today, all future payments under the CARES Act, CRRSA Act, and ARP Act spent on allowable expenditures must be paid by the states in advance and then submitted to the U.S. Department of Education for reimbursement.” While the Department’s action added an unnecessary burden on states, it continued the longstanding extension policy established years ago in stating “All [COVID-19 Pandemic relief funding] expenditures must fall under the approved expenditures as outlined in guidance for ESSER, ARPA, and HEERF.”
However, on March 28, 2025, with many state extension requests having been approved more than six months ago, the Department suddenly announced that “the Department is modifying the liquidation period to end on March 28, 2025”, the very same day as the announcement. Specifically, the Department stated that “The extension approval was issued recently, so any reliance interests developed are minimal…So you could not rely on the Department adhering to its original decision.” In short, the Department changed the spending rules it affirmed just one month ago, without providing any notice, and imposing more federal red tape.
This abrupt and chaotic revision of policy is not helpful to students whose states, school districts, or institutions of higher education are uncertain about the Department’s commitments to implementing federal funding designed to support students. The March 28th decision is an imposition of an unauthorized layer of bureaucratic red tape on the expenditure of resources passed by Congress to support learning recovery for our nation’s students. When combined with the massive reduction in force announced earlier this month, the Department jeopardizes an estimated $4 billion from the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2021 and American Rescue Plan Act of 2021(“ARP Act”) in nearly all of our states and outlying areas and roughly 1,000 school districts nationwide. This action is particularly harmful to rural school districts that faced the greatest disruptions during the authorized program period. This will also have a disproportionate impact on $800 million reserved for identification and support for students experiencing homelessness, which was implemented slowly in many states. The March 28th decision of the Department improperly imposes its will on state and local budget decisions in a manner not contemplated by Congress.
Second, we are alarmed by your lack of a recognition of the lasting effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on our nation’s students. The Department’s March 28 policy change asserts “Extending deadlines for COVID-related grants, which are in fact taxpayer funds, years after the COVID pandemic ended is not consistent with the Department’s priorities and thus not a worthwhile exercise of its discretion.” We are surprised to learn the Department is unaware of recent results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (“NAEP”) which show “National scores are below pre-pandemic levels (2019) in ALL tested grades and subjects.” NAEP results also reveal “Gaps are growing between higher-performing and lower-performing students.” Further, chronic absenteeism still is too high with the latest data indicating “a majority of students still attended schools with 20% or higher levels of chronic absence. This serious absenteeism is in stark contrast to 2019, when slightly over a quarter of schools experienced such high levels of chronic absence.” Years after the COVID-19 pandemic, our schools and communities still have much work to do to help students recover and the Department’s termination of the remaining resources Congress passed for that purpose will only serve to delay and undermine our students’ recovery.
Third, Congress intended the Secretary to support states and districts in their use of the flexibility under the law to ensure the unique needs of their communities were met and to implement evidence-based learning loss interventions. The Department is now trying to change the spending rules and impose an administrative hurdle by stating “the Department will consider an extension to your liquidation period on an individual project-specific basis.” This is despite the fact that such extensions to liquidation periods were noticed more than one year ago, with some granted more than six months ago, and that states assured to the Department that “The SEA will ensure that LEAs [school districts] use ARP ESSER funds for activities allowable under section 2001(e) of the ARP.” We are astonished by the amount of hypocrisy here from an administration that has repeatedly said it wants to return education to the states, including your recent statement that “Education is fundamentally a state responsibility. Instead of filtering resources through layers of federal red tape, we will empower states…”. Now, it appears the Department is turning its back on states by arbitrarily imposing more federal red tape.
We would be heartened if the Department’s new policy was really intended to better support students. However, actions of the past two months tell a starkly different story. The Department has cancelled hundreds of millions in teacher training grants that were at work in addressing educator shortages and improving the quality of instruction in our schools. The Department has cancelled hundreds of millions of research and evaluation contracts on critical issues like an evaluation of transition supports for students with disabilities, which was intended to provide states and school districts with high quality evidence on approaches to support students with disabilities with their transition to post-school outcomes. The Department also cancelled an evaluation of the programs that receive the largest amount of funding appropriated for the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, depriving Congress and the Department of critical information about the implementation of those programs. The Department cancelled contracts for the Comprehensive Centers program, which—in addition to being statutorily required—were poised to provide effective capacity building support and technical assistance to states, school systems, and schools in addressing chronic absenteeism, and math and literacy learning, among other locally and regionally identified challenges. The Department also canceled the Long Term Trend NAEP for 17 year olds, which has been providing data on student achievement for decades. The Department has implemented a massive dismantling and reduction in staff, which has reduced the number of staff available at the Office for Civil Rights to protect the rights of all students. Finally, the massive reduction also appears to have delayed the processing of COVID-19 relief reimbursement requests prior to the announcement of the changed policy that is the subject of this letter.
Let’s be very clear: The abrupt change in the liquidation extension policy is yet another way this administration is seeking to strip educational opportunities for students in order to pay for tax cuts for billionaires and large corporations. President Trump and Congressional Republicans are intent in claiming any savings they can in the federal budget that they intend to use to pay for their tax cuts for billionaires and large corporations. It is appalling to us that those billionaire and corporate giveaways are valued over the students in rural school districts that faced supply chain disruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic that led to the districts’ need for these liquidation extensions, valued over students experiencing homelessness who have seen the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds dedicated to them spent down slowly, and valued over so many other students that will be attending schools that are already facing difficult budget choices for the next school year without the additional burden of this changed policy. That is, unless states undertake the newest burden put in place by your Department and are able to navigate the Department’s bureaucratic maze and receive funds for projects that may have been committed to years ago.
We believe there is a better way. We urge you to immediately rescind your March 28 revision to the longstanding liquidation extension policy. Further, we believe you should work with us to start properly executing our federal education laws as Congress intended.

MIL OSI USA News –

April 9, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Tennessee Observes National Crime Victims’ Rights Week

Source: Office of United States Attorneys

Memphis, TN – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Tennessee and the Department of Justice’s Office of Victims of Crime (“OVC”) joins communities nationwide in observing National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, April 6-12, 2025, and in celebrating victims’ rights, protections, and services. This year’s theme, “Kinship – Connecting & Healing,” is a call to action to recognize that shared humanity should be at the center of supporting all survivors and victims of crime. KINSHIP is a state of being with survivors that drives vital connections to services, rights, and healing. KINSHIP is where victim advocacy begins.

Each year in April, the Department of Justice and United States Attorney’s Offices observe National Crime Victims’ Rights Week nationwide by taking time to honor victims of crime and those who advocate on their behalf. According to a report from the Bureau of Justice Statistics, in 2023, there were approximately 20 million crime victimizations in the United States. More than 6.4 million were the result of violent crimes, including rape or sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, and simple assault. Of that 6.4 million, only about 45% were reported to police.

The United States Department of Justice’s Office for Victims of Crime leads communities across the country in observing National Crime Victims’ Rights Week. In 1981, President Ronald Reagan proclaimed the first National Crime Victims’ Rights Week to bring greater sensitivity to the needs and right of victims of crime.

Here, in the Western District of Tennessee, we have a dedicated Victim Witness Coordinator who supports federal crime victims by providing victims with essential services, including referrals to counseling, securing temporary housing, assisting with access to victim’s compensation funds, and accompanying victims to court proceedings to provide support and guidance. These services provide victims with tools to reshape their futures.

The U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs provides innovative leadership to federal, state, local, and tribal justice systems by disseminating state-of-the-art knowledge and practices across the United States and by providing grants for the implementation of these crime-fighting strategies. Because most of the responsibility for crime control and prevention falls to law enforcement officers in states, cities, and neighborhoods, the federal government can be effective in these areas only to the extent that it can enter partnerships with these officers.

Further National Crime Victims’ Rights Week resources can be found at https://ovc.ojp.gov/ncvrw2025/overview.

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For more information, please contact the media relations team at USATNW.Media@usdoj.gov. Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office on Facebook or on X at @WDTNNews for office news and updates.

MIL Security OSI –

April 9, 2025
MIL-OSI USA News: Amendment to Reciprocal Tariffs and Updated Duties as Applied to Low-Value Imports from the People’s Republic of China

Source: The White House

AMENDMENT TO RECIPROCAL TARIFFS AND UPDATED DUTIES AS APPLIED TO LOW-VALUE IMPORTS FROM THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) (IEEPA), the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), section 604 of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended (19 U.S.C. 2483), and section 301 of title 3, United States Code, I hereby determine and order:

Section 1. Background. In Executive Order 14257 of April 2, 2025 (Regulating Imports with a Reciprocal Tariff to Rectify Trade Practices that Contribute to Large and Persistent Annual United States Goods Trade Deficits), I declared a national emergency arising from conditions reflected in large and persistent annual U.S. goods trade deficits, and imposed additional ad valorem duties that I deemed necessary and appropriate to deal with that unusual and extraordinary threat, which has its source in whole or substantial part outside the United States, to the national security and economy of the United States. Section 4(b) of Executive Order 14257 provided that “[s]hould any trading partner retaliate against the United States in response to this action through import duties on U.S. exports or other measures, I may further modify the [Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States] to increase or expand in scope the duties imposed under this order to ensure the efficacy of this action.” I further declared pursuant to Executive Order 14256 of April 2, 2025 (Further Amendment to Duties Addressing the Synthetic Opioid Supply Chain in the People’s Republic of China as Applied to Low-Value Imports) that duty-free de minimis treatment on articles described in section 2(a) of Executive Order 14195 is no longer available effective at 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on May 2, 2025.

On April 4, 2025, the State Council Tariff Commission of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) announced that in response to Executive Order 14257, effective at 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on April 10, 2025, a 34 percent tariff would be imposed on all goods imported into the PRC originating from the United States. Pursuant to section 4(b) of Executive Order 14257, I am ordering modification of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) and taking other actions to increase the duties imposed on the PRC in response to this retaliation. In my judgment, this modification is necessary and appropriate to effectively address the threat to the national security and economy of the United States.

Sec. 2. Tariff Increase. In recognition of the fact that the PRC has announced that it will retaliate against the United States in response to Executive Order 14257, the HTSUS shall be modified as follows. Effective with respect to goods entered for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on April 9, 2025:
(a) heading 9903.01.63 of the HTSUS shall be amended by deleting “34%” each place that it appears and by inserting “84%” in lieu thereof; and
(b) subdivision (v)(xiii)(10) of U.S. note 2 to subchapter III of chapter 99 of the HTSUS shall be amended by deleting “34%”, and inserting “84%” in lieu thereof.

Sec. 3. De Minimis Tariff Increase. To ensure that the imposition of tariffs pursuant to section 2 of this order is not circumvented and that the purpose of Executive Order 14257 and this action is not undermined, I also deem it necessary and appropriate to:
(a) increase the ad valorem rate of duty set forth in section 2(c)(i) of Executive Order 14256 from 30 percent to 90 percent;
(b) increase the per postal item containing goods duty in section 2(c)(ii) of Executive Order 14256 that is in effect on or after 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on May 2, 2025, and before 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on June 1, 2025, from 25 dollars to 75 dollars; and
(c) increase the per postal item containing goods duty in section 2(c)(ii) of Executive Order 14256 that is in effect on or after 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on June 1, 2025, from 50 dollars to 150 dollars.

Sec. 4. Implementation. The Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the United States Trade Representative, as applicable, in consultation with the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy, the Senior Counselor for Trade and Manufacturing, the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, and the Chair of the International Trade Commission, are directed to take all necessary actions to implement and effectuate this order, consistent with applicable law, including through temporary suspension or amendment of regulations or notices in the Federal Register and adopting rules and regulations, and are authorized to take such actions, and to employ all powers granted to the President by IEEPA, as may be necessary to implement this order. Each executive department and agency shall take all appropriate measures within its authority to implement this order.

Sec. 5. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department, agency, or the head thereof; or
(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.
(c) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

DONALD J. TRUMP

THE WHITE HOUSE,
April 8, 2025

MIL OSI USA News –

April 9, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Dingell, McClain Reintroduce Bipartisan Great Lakes Mapping Act

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (12th District of Michigan)

Representatives Debbie Dingell (D-MI) and Lisa McClain (R-MI) reintroduced their bipartisan Great Lakes Mapping Act, legislation that would provide a better understanding of the unseen, unexplored lakebeds of America’s Great Lakes, and further our knowledge of their environmental, social, and economic impact.

The Great Lakes Region provides over $6 trillion to America’s GDP, supports 51 million jobs, and is a critical shipping lifeline for much of the country with more than 200 million tons of cargo shipped through the Great Lakes. Despite the far-reaching economic, social, and environmental significance of the Great Lakes, we lack a thorough understanding of their underwater environment.

“In Michigan, the Great Lakes are a way of life, and their impact is felt across our country and beyond. Protecting these waters is personal to me and to so many who call the Heartland home,” Dingell said. “Comprehensively exploring and mapping the Great Lakes will strengthen our understanding of their underwater environment so that we can better protect them and the many species they contain and continue to foster the economic prosperity they have supported for generations.”

“Only 13 percent of the Great Lakes is mapped to modern standards. Imagine how much more these bodies of water can be used to strengthen our economy if the remaining 87 percent is utilized,” McClain said. “We have a unique opportunity to unlock the region’s economic potential. Advanced mapping will give us a deeper understanding of how we can tap into and protect one of American’s most valuable natural resources. My legislation with Rep. Dingell will take Michigan’s economy to the next level.”

The Great Lakes have never been fully explored. Thousands of shipwrecks lay hidden in the depths. Ancient civilizations have left their cultural imprint hundreds of feet below the surface. Marine life is crucial for Great Lakes fisheries; however, their habitats are barely understood.

This bill would direct the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to conduct high-resolution bathymetric mapping of the lakebeds of the Great Lakes by 2030. Throughout this process, NOAA would work with consulting bodies and regional coastal observing systems, such as the Great Lakes Observing System, to map the lakebeds and then make all relevant data available to the public.

View the full bill text here.

MIL OSI USA News –

April 9, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: U.S. Marshals Arrest Man Wanted in Maryland on Multiple Charges

Source: US Marshals Service

Washington, DC – Members of the Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force April 8 arrested in Arlington, Virginia, a man wanted in Prince George’s County, Maryland, for multiple charges including assault first degree firearm, armed robbery, and use of a firearm in commission of a crime of violence.

Tyler Jordan Clendenen is also wanted in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, for unlawful motor vehicle use, resisting arrest, failure to obey a lawful order, and theft. He is prohibited from owning a firearm due to multiple prior convictions.

CARFTF members arrested Clendenen in the 4200 block of Wilson Boulevard after observing him riding as a passenger inside of a vehicle.

The Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force began operations in June of 2004 and was among the first Regional Fugitive Task Forces to become fully operational following the Presidential Threat Protection Act of 2000. The Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force has partnership agreements with over 100 federal, state, and local agencies and has eight fully operational offices.

The CARFTF has successfully apprehended over 102,700 fugitives since its inception and has made an extraordinary impact on the apprehension of the region’s most dangerous and violent fugitives, always striving to make their communities safer.

MIL Security OSI –

April 9, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Kaine & Colleagues Announce Intent to File Legislation to Challenge Trump’s Senseless Trade Wars

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator for Virginia Tim Kaine

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-OR), U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) were joined by U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Peter Welch (D-VT), and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) in announcing their intent to file legislation to repeal the cost-raising, across-the-board tariffs President Donald Trump announced on April 2, which will cost the average American household nearly $4,000 a year and have already led to significant market declines and raised the odds of a recession. Once filed, the legislation will be privileged, meaning it will receive a vote before the full Senate.

The announcement follows last week’s Senate passage of legislation led by Kaine and Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Mark R. Warner (D-VA) to repeal Trump’s tariffs on Canada.

“No President has the authority to unilaterally impose such sweeping across-the-board tariffs without congressional approval,” said Kaine. “President Trump’s tariff strategy is raising costs on American families, threatening alliances our national security depends on, and creating opportunity for China and other adversaries to take advantage of global instability. The time is now for Congress to reassert its authority in matters of international trade, and I hope my colleagues on both sides of the aisle will join us.”

On April 2, Trump announced tariffs on imports from all countries around the world. In response, nations are exploring aggressive countermeasures on goods imported from the U.S.

Text of the resolution is available here.

MIL OSI USA News –

April 9, 2025
MIL-OSI New Zealand: Housing Market – NZ residential construction cost growth slows to near-record low – CoreLogic

Source: CoreLogic

New Zealand’s residential construction costs are rising at one of the slowest annual rates on record with CoreLogic NZ’s latest Cordell Construction Cost Index (CCCI) recording a growth rate of 0.9% over the past year. (ref. https://www.corelogic.co.nz/news-research/reports/cordell-construction-cost-index )

The Q1 2025 national CCCI, which tracks the cost to build a typical new dwelling, rose 0.3% in the March 2025 quarter, down from 0.6% in Q4 and well below the long-term quarterly average of 1.0%.

CoreLogic NZ Chief Property Economist Kelvin Davidson said it’s the second-lowest annual increase since the index began in 2012 and a significant shift after the double-digit growth seen during the COVID-era construction boom.

The CCCI’s peak annual growth rate was 10.4% in Q4 2022, and the long-term average is 4.2%.

“After several years of intense upward pressure, construction costs have now settled into a much slower rate of growth,” Mr Davidson said.

“But this is a moderation, not a retreat. Labour doesn’t tend to get cheaper, and while materials pricing has flattened out, we’re not seeing any decline in the overall cost to build.”

The March quarter saw a familiar mix of price shifts across key materials. Roof flashings and sheet metal rose by 3–4%, structural steel ticked up by around 1%, while kitchen cabinetry fell 2% and plumbing PVC pipework and fittings dropped by 3%.

Mr Davidson said these changes reflect a sector returning to more normal patterns after several years of disruption.

“We’re well past the extremes of 2021 and 2022, where costs surged across the board. These days, we’re seeing more nuanced movements, driven by specific supply and demand factors rather than industry-wide pressure,” he said.

The sharp drop-off in new dwelling consents and eventual building work over the past 2-3 years has helped take the heat out of costs. Stats NZ figures show approvals are down across most regions in the past 12 months, except for Otago, which recorded a 25% lift.

Overall, national consent volumes are around one-third below their peak.
“Some builders now have spare capacity, which is helping cap further price rises,” Mr Davidson said.

“Construction activity appears to have stabilised, however any signs of a recovery remain tentative.”

Looking ahead, Mr Davidson said easing interest rates and favourable lending conditions for new builds may support a modest lift in construction demand, but any return to the double-digit growth rates for costs experienced in 2022 is unlikely.

“If new-build activity picks up again, and there are signs it might, we could see construction costs start to rise a little more quickly over the next year or two,” he said.

“The key trend this year is construction costs are no longer spiralling but they’re also not falling. For now, we’re in a holding pattern, which will come as a welcome relief for builders, developers and households alike.”

CoreLogic NZ is a leading, independent provider of property data and analytics. We help people build better lives by providing rich, up-to-the-minute property insights that inform the very best property decisions. Formed in 2014 following the merger of two companies that had strong foundations in New Zealand’s property industry – Terralink Ltd and PropertyIQ NZ Ltd – we have the most comprehensive property database with coverage of 99% of the NZ property market and more than 500 million decision points in our database.
We provide services across a wide range of industries, including Banking & Finance, Real Estate, Government, Insurance and Construction. Our diverse, innovative solutions help our clients identify and manage growth opportunities, improve performance and mitigate risk. We also operate consumer-facing portal propertyvalue.co.nz – providing important insights for people looking to buy or sell their home or investment property. We are a wholly owned subsidiary of CoreLogic, Inc – one of the largest data and analytics companies in the world with offices in New Zealand, Australia, the United States and United Kingdom. For more information visit corelogic.co.nz.

About Cordell Building Indices
The Cordell Building Indices (CBI) are a series of construction industry index figures that are used to monitor the movement in costs associated with building work within particular segments of the industry. The CBI indicate the rate of change in prices within particular segments of the New Zealand construction industry.
The changes in prices are measured daily through the use of detailed cost surveys, and are reported on a quarterly basis. This ensures the most current and comprehensive industry information available. Each index is based on a combination of labour, material, plant hire and subcontract services required to construct buildings within the particular segment being measured. The CBI measure the change in the cost of constructing buildings, and as such do not provide the actual costs.

MIL OSI New Zealand News –

April 9, 2025
MIL-OSI New Zealand: Appointments – Kevin Jenkins appointed to BRANZ Board

Source: BRANZ

BRANZ Chair Nigel Smith announced today the appointment of Kevin Jenkins to the BRANZ Group Board of Directors.

“As a founding member of business advisory firm MartinJenkins, Kevin has more than 30 years’ experience of helping organisations across a wide range of industries to drive performance and tackle complex challenges.

“He joins BRANZ at a critical time. Earlier this year, we launched a new long-term strategy focusing on four main priorities: affordability, quality, resilience, and sustainability. Addressing skyrocketing building costs; combating inappropriate building practices; meeting carbon reduction targets and adapting to climate change are among the most pressing issues we face.

“Kevin, with his strategic and analytical background across various industries is well-equipped to help us address these complex and longstanding issues.

“He brings a real strength with his ability to understand the convergence of business, regulation and innovation and how to work across the system to solve problems and capitalise on opportunities,” says Nigel.

Commenting on his appointment, Kevin said, “I’m delighted to join BRANZ at such a pivotal moment. The challenges we face in the building sector are significant, but with a clear vision for the future and a commitment to innovation and collaboration, I believe we can make substantial progress towards our goals. I look forward to working with the team at BRANZ to drive meaningful change and create a positive impact for the future of New Zealand’s built environment.”

As a Chartered Member of the Institute of Directors, Kevin has held numerous governance roles over his career and brings insights from across the wider economy.

His current directorships include positions at: Accessible Properties – New Zealand’s largest community housing provider of affordable homes and property management services for those with disabilities, older people, and those on low incomes; urban development firm Harrison Grierson; Real Estate Institute New Zealand – as Independent Chair; chair of the NZ Qualifications Authority; and WorkSafe New Zealand. He also chairs two risk and assurance committees.

Outside of his governance roles, Kevin is a prominent public commentator, producing content for: New Zealand Policy Quarterly (Victoria University of Wellington); Institute of Directors’ Boardroom magazine; the NZ Herald; and a range of other news and information publications.

“Kevin’s governance and executive management experience is extensive. We’re excited to have him on board at BRANZ as we work towards our aspiration of creating affordable, resilient, sustainable, and quality buildings for Aotearoa New Zealand,” says Nigel.

Kevin’s Board position replaces Dr Lisbeth Jacobs who will be stepping down from her BRANZ directorship in May 2025, to focus on other governance roles.

“We’re grateful to Lisbeth for the expertise and insights she’s delivered during her time on the BRANZ Board. Her contributions have been instrumental during a period of strategic change, and her experience in the scientific and building sectors has helped to shape our direction. Lisbeth’s contributions will continue to influence our work for years to come,” says Nigel.

About the Building Research Association of New Zealand (BRANZ):

BRANZ is a trusted, independent expert in building construction. We provide practical research, testing, quality assurance and expertise to support better buildings.

Our aspiration: Affordable, resilient, sustainable and quality buildings for Aotearoa New Zealand. Find out more: branz.co.nz

MIL OSI New Zealand News –

April 9, 2025
MIL-OSI New Zealand: Arrest made in Northland homicide investigation

Source: New Zealand Police (National News)

Attribute to Detective Inspector Nick Pritchard:

Police investigating the death of a man in Northland, Wellington, have charged a 23-year-old man with murder.

The victim, 65-year-old Simon Bird, was found deceased at his Albemarle Road property on Tuesday, 1 April. Mr Bird had not been heard from for several days, prompting a concerned friend to carry out a welfare check – leading to the discovery of his body.

Police charged the suspect this morning and he is due to appear in the Wellington District Court today. At this time, we are unable to elaborate on the accused’s relationship with Mr Bird.

This is a positive development for his family and friends, but there are still many unanswered questions that we are working hard to answer.

A scene examination is ongoing at Mr Bird’s Albemarle Road home, and we are still want to hear from anyone who might be able to help.

Mr Bird was last seen alive on Thursday 27 March, and we need to hear from anyone who saw suspicious activity in the vicinity of Albemarle Road that day.

We also want to speak to anybody who knew Mr Bird, as well as those who saw him, or his vehicle in the last week. This includes any CCTV or dashcam footage you may have of him or his silver Honda Odyssey.

If you have any information that could assist Police, please update us online or call 105. Please use the reference number 250401/4530 or referencing Operation North.

You can also provide information anonymously through Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.

ENDS

MIL OSI New Zealand News –

April 9, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Colorado, It’s Showtime! Governor Polis Signs Film Festival Tax Credit Bill Into Law, Celebrates Colorado as the New Home of the Sundance Film Festival

Source: US State of Colorado

DENVER – Last month, Governor Polis, the Sundance Institute, Visit Boulder, and others announced that Colorado was selected to be the new home of the Sundance Film Festival starting in 2027. To support the festival’s historic move to Colorado and the many other film festivals that call Colorado home, today Governor Polis signed HB25-1005 – Tax Incentive for Film Festivals – sponsored by Representatives Monica Duran and Brianna Titone, and Senators Judy Amabile and Mark Baisley.

“Colorado is the best state for film and television artists, and I am thrilled today to sign this bipartisan law to support our growing film industry in Colorado that is captivating audiences, supporting hard-working Coloradans, and strengthening our tourism and economy. As the iconic Sundance Film Festival joins many successful film festivals operating across the state, we are ensuring that Colorado continues to be the top film festival state in the nation,” said Governor Polis.

“From original films to panel discussions with filmmakers, the Sundance Film Festival will be right at home in Boulder,” said Majority Leader Monica Duran, D-Wheat Ridge. “Since Boulder was selected as the next location for the Sundance Film Festival in 2027, we expect our small businesses, restaurants and hotels to benefit from the boost in local tourism and out-of-state visitors. The Sundance Film Festival will strengthen Colorado’s reputation as a destination for the arts and will generate new jobs in our state.”

“It’s an incredible honor to host the Sundance Film Festival because it will solidify our state’s reputation as a destination for the arts,” said Rep. Brianna Titone, D-Arvada. “The 2024 festival attracted 24,000 out-of-state visitors and generated $132 million in gross domestic product, and we expect to see a similar positive economic impact in Colorado. We’re proud that the world-renowned Sundance Film Festival will call Boulder home for the next ten years.”

“This law demonstrates our commitment to ensuring the success of the Sundance Film Festival in Colorado,” said Senator Judy Amabile, D-Boulder. “Sundance is more than just an economic driver – it will cement Colorado’s place as a global hub for the arts, creating opportunities for filmmakers and audiences alike. Our communities will benefit year-round from Sundance’s investments in expanded access to the arts, support for aspiring storytellers, and a platform for powerful narratives that have the potential to move, inspire, and change all of us.”

“Today’s bill signing is a tremendous win for Colorado small businesses. We welcome the Sundance Film Festival making its new home in Boulder. This will boost sales at restaurants, retailers and other small businesses throughout the region that rely on tourism, bringing much needed revenue to Colorado communities during a quiet time of year,” said Colorado Sen. Mark Baisley.

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MIL OSI USA News –

April 9, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: What They’re Saying: Local Film Festivals Applaud New Law Signed by Governor Polis Supporting Film in Colorado

Source: US State of Colorado

DENVER – Earlier today, Governor Polis signed HB25-1005 – Tax Incentive for Film Festivals – sponsored by Representatives Monica Duran and Brianna Titone, and Senators Judy Amabile and Mark Baisley. This legislation supports Colorado’s thriving film festivals, including the Sundance Film Festival which recently announced it would be moving to Boulder beginning in 2027.

“We are incredibly grateful to the State of Colorado for this support, not only for the Sundance Film Festival, but also for the many film festivals that have spent decades building and nurturing a rich cultural landscape in Colorado. This investment highlights the invaluable role the state plays in cultivating creative industries that both enrich our culture and drive the economy,” said Ebs Burnough, Sundance Institute Board Chair, and Amanda Kelso, Sundance Institute Acting CEO. “We are also deeply honored as a nonprofit to be welcomed into Colorado’s thriving film festival and arts ecosystem. We look forward to the future, inviting our audiences and artists to join us in Boulder in 2027, and are excited to contribute to the vibrant arts community here in Colorado.”

“ACT is celebrating ten years of elevating human rights stories and inspiring audiences,” said Act Human Rights Film Festival Managing Director Beth Seymour. “At ACT we celebrate how far we have come in advancing human rights in all corners of the globe, and we also share stories that help guide us to learn more about the work that remains.”

“We believe film festivals are a place for audiences to be entertained, to learn and to be inspired. Through our popular youth programs, senior programs, and our signature Call2Action program, BIFF has united the community and ignited positive change. This is part of the magnificent richness of film festivals, and what has made them into an unforgettable experience,” said Robin Beeck, Boulder International Film Festival Executive Director and Kathy Beeck, BIFF Director. “BIFF has attracted audiences and filmmakers from around the state and around the world, and brings in much needed dollars to local businesses at an otherwise down time of year. We’re excited about the tax incentive bill, and Sundance Film Festival’s potential cultural and economic impact for Boulder and the State of Colorado. The bill’s support for Colorado film festivals will strengthen our ability to be epicenters of community involvement, creativity, innovation and change.”

“Film festivals are an integral part of Colorado’s film industry and art scene. They offer vital community forums, uplift differing perspectives, and provide entertainment you can’t beat anywhere else! The Breckenridge Film Festival is thrilled to be a part of a state that uplifts these vital cultural celebrations and we look forward to watching the Colorado film industry flourish under these new tax incentives!” said Cait McCluskie, Head of Programming and Director of Operations, Breckendridge Film Festival.

“As one of the first 10 film festivals in the country, Denver Film Festival has been embraced and celebrated by film lovers across our state for nearly a half century,” said Denver Film CEO Kevin Smith. “As champions of independent film and the people that bring these films to life, film festivals serve as the culmination of that discovery delivering a chance for our audiences to break out and see, experience, learn and talk through something new, something challenging, bold, entertaining or thought provoking. We proudly provide that place of discovery, and we’re excited to see that spotlight shine a little brighter on our industry and the state of Colorado with the addition of the Sundance Film Festival and the thoughtful and strategic investment and support of the arts by our business and elected leaders. Working collaboratively, we will elevate our collective body of work and strengthen Colorado’s position on the global film stage.”

“So happy that the new Colorado Film Festival Tax Incentive is in place. Small festivals like Durango Independent Film Festival will benefit greatly from this bill, alongside larger entities like the Sundance Film Festival. There is a pool of $5 million (paid out over 10 years) that will help rural festivals like ours support both the economics of our community and the creativity of independent filmmakers. It’s exciting,” said Carol Fleisher, Executive Director, Durango Independent Film Festival.

“Film festivals are a wonderful opportunity to showcase local culture as well as bring in films and ideas from across the country and around the world. Being able to come together in a theater and experience movies together as a community is more important than ever. The Junktown Film Festival makes an impact on the community of Grand Junction. Students at Colorado Mesa University and CMU Tech are able to not only have their work show (and win awards) but also help as jury for the submitted films and in promoting the festival,” said Jeff Gustafson, The Junktown Film Festival Director.

“At Pueblo Film Fest, our mission is to ignite an international passion for storytelling through the art of cinema as we build the next generation of filmmakers. We celebrate the diverse voices of filmmakers from around the world, from budding talents to seasoned auteurs. Our festival serves as a vibrant platform, connecting artists with audiences and fostering a sense of community. Through thought-provoking narratives, captivating documentaries, and innovative experimental works, we aim to inspire, entertain, and provoke meaningful conversations. Pueblo Film Fest is committed to nurturing the cinematic arts, promoting cultural exchange, and shining a spotlight on how to have conversations across lines of difference. The festival makes a powerful economic impact and serves to provide both representation and inspiration to Southern Colorado and beyond!” said Andee Naglich, Executive Producer of the Pueblo Film Fest.

“Our 11-year old festival began to really flourish when we partnered with COFTM, and we have grown by leaps and bounds in the years since. We have been impressed by the ease of accessibility to opportunities and funding. Colorado is a great place to make a home for our festival, where people are truly engaged with our programming, and the beautiful land itself plays a featured role in our festival. RIFF is looking forward to new opportunities and growth in Colorado in the coming years,” said Arielle Bielak, Ridgway Independent Film Festival Director.

“The Tax Incentive for Film Festivals Bill will strengthen Colorado’s creative economy by supporting statewide nonprofit arts organizations, generating jobs, and attracting tourism. By investing in film festivals, this legislation will drive economic growth and establish Colorado as a leading destination for independent film and television. SeriesFest is proud to exist in a state that recognizes the power of community building through storytelling,” said SeriesFest Co-Founder & CEO, Randi Kleiner

“Colorado stands at a unique crossroads of culture and commerce, with two of the most influential film festivals in the world—Telluride and Sundance Film Festival—showcasing the brilliance of cinema. Together, we amplify Colorado’s role as a cultural leader, offering a comprehensive survey of the film industry today. For 52 years, Telluride has brought world-class cinema to the far western corner of the state, and now, with the opening of our new year-round home and state-of-the-art theater, we’re investing in the future of cinema—nurturing artistic innovation with filmmaker residencies, and the creation of a collaborative hub for the theatrical experience of film. This is an exciting moment for Colorado, as the magic of cinema set against Colorado’s exquisite natural beauty—seemingly crafted by cinematic masters—creates an experience that can’t be matched,” said Julie Huntsinger, Director of the Telluride Film Festival.

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MIL OSI USA News –

April 9, 2025
MIL-OSI Australia: Access Canberra is speaking your language
Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services

Concierge Tejas estimates he speaks with customers in Hindi or Gujarati at least 25–30 times a week.
Many frontline service staff at Access Canberra speak multiple languages.

This not only reflects the diversity of the Canberra community but allows them to assist customers who may not be comfortable communicating in English.

Across Access Canberra’s five service centres, staff speak 12 languages, in addition to English.

These are:
- Hindi
- Punjabi
- French
- Japanese
- Vietnamese
- French
- Thai
- Greek
- Gujarati
- Croatian
- Tibetan
- Indian.
Staff wear badges, allowing customers to identify them easily to see which languages they speak.

Woden Service Centre Concierge Tejas is often the first friendly face customers see when they enter the Centre and speaks Gujarati, Hindi and English.

“Being a Concierge I think I speak in Hindi and Gujarati at least 25–30 times a week to help members of community,” he said.

He finds the badge helps Canberrans with little English feel more at ease.

“Wearing the badge gives members of the community an idea that I speak different languages. It invites members of the community who may be anxious of walking into a service centre because they can’t correctly interpret or understand English. I have also seen people who can understand English very well, but speaking it is the problem. Thus, whenever I can, I assist the Customer Service Officer and customer complete a transaction by translating for both,” Tejas said.

“As soon as a customer finds out that I can speak their language, they are delighted and relaxed that they can communicate in a much clearer and better way. Customers are more at ease because I can translate government policies and legislation for them, making comprehending them easier.”

Tejas has worked at Access Canberra since 2021.

“My vision every day is to help members of community who visit the service centre in every possible way,” he said.

“I am proud of wearing this badge because I know I can make a difference and put a smile on someone’s face.”

Many Access Canberra transactions can be carried out online. Visit accesscanberra.act.gov.au to find a translation option on the homepage.

Get ACT news and events delivered straight to your inbox, sign up to our email newsletter:
MIL OSI News –
April 9, 2025
MIL-OSI Australia: Police investigating Bridgewater firearms incident

Source: New South Wales Community and Justice

Police investigating Bridgewater firearms incident

Wednesday, 9 April 2025 – 9:18 am.

Police are investigating an isolated incident on Finlay Street, Bridgewater around 8pm last night where a firearm was discharged into a residence.
Two people were home at the time but were not injured as a result of the incident.
If you were in the area around the time and witnessed suspicious activity or have dash cam or CCTV footage, please phone 131 444 or contact Crime Stoppers Tasmania on 1800 333 000 or online at crimestopperstas.com.au.
Information can be provided anonymously. Please quote OR771722.

MIL OSI News –

April 9, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: DelBene, LaHood Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Build 2 Million More Affordable Homes, 67,000 in WA
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Suzan DelBene (1st District of Washington)

Today, Representatives Suzan DelBene (WA-01), Darin LaHood (IL-16), Claudia Tenney (NY-24), Don Beyer (VA-08), Randy Feenstra (IA-4), Jimmy Panetta (CA-19), and over 100 of their bipartisan House colleagues introduced the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act, legislation that would support the financing and development of nearly 2 million more affordable homes across the country. This would include nearly 67,000 units in Washington. The bill would expand the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (Housing Credit), our nation’s most successful affordable housing program.

Since its creation, the Housing Credit has built or restored more than 3.5 million affordable housing units, nearly 90% of all federally funded affordable housing during that time. Roughly 8 million American households have benefited from the credit, and the economic activity that it generated has supported 5.5 million jobs and generated more than $617 billion in wages.

“Too many families are struggling to find a safe, affordable place to call home. This is a pervasive problem across the country,” said DelBene. “When people have stable housing, it has a ripple effect throughout other aspects of life. They’re better able to support their families and succeed at work. This overwhelmingly bipartisan legislation makes smart, targeted investments to increase affordable housing supply and help meet the needs of growing communities in Washington and elsewhere.”

“As I travel throughout Illinois’ 16th Congressional District, I frequently hear how the shortage of affordable housing impacts our communities throughout central and northwestern Illinois,” said LaHood. “To address this growing crisis across the country, Congress must strengthen tools to drive investment into affordable workforce housing and expand housing options for hardworking families nationwide. I am proud to reintroduce the bipartisan Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act alongside Representatives DelBene, Tenney, Beyer, Feenstra, and Panetta to strengthen our communities and support economic development.”

“Since 1986, the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit has supported the development of more than 8,300 units through $55M of allocations in NY-24 alone,” said Tenney. “The Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act leverages private investments to increase access to affordable housing for low-income families in rural communities. It is a privilege to join my colleagues in reintroducing this legislation to ensure this vital program continues to serve those who need it most.”

“My community, like many others around the country, is facing a crisis in affordable housing,” said Beyer. “This bill would expand and update the most effective tool for financing affordable housing, and take a big step forward in addressing the massive need for affordable housing across the nation.”

“In rural Iowa, access to affordable housing is critical for young families looking to plant their roots, local businesses attracting employees, and the long-term growth of our economy. However, with housing costs consistently increasing and construction projects being more difficult to finance in rural areas, we need to enact smart and cost-effective strategies to expand the housing supply and bring down prices,” said Feenstra. “I’m glad to work with my Ways and Means Committee colleague, Rep. Darin LaHood, to introduce the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act to expand and improve incentives in the tax code to build more housing. This commonsense policy will pay dividends for affordable housing in rural Iowa and help our families find housing options that fit their budgets.”

“Too many working families struggle to find affordable housing, be it in California’s 19th Congressional District or across the country,” said Panetta. “The bipartisan Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act would strengthen the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, helping finance nearly 2 million affordable homes over the next decade while creating jobs and generating economic growth. By incentivizing the development of affordable housing through this public-private partnership, we can start to tackle the housing crisis and provide more families with the opportunity to not just work, but also to live in the same community.”

“The reintroduction of the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act is a vital step toward addressing our nation’s housing crisis. Expanding the Housing Credit is the most effective way to increase the supply of affordable housing, leveraging public-private partnerships to build and preserve homes for working families, seniors, and vulnerable communities. At a time when rents are rising and supply is lagging, strengthening the Housing Credit will ensure that more Americans have access to safe, stable, and affordable housing,” said Ayrianne Parks and Jennifer Schwartz, Co-chairs of the ACTION Campaign. “The ACTION Campaign thanks Representatives Darin LaHood, Suzan DelBene, Claudia Tenney, Don Beyer, Randy Feenstra, and Jimmy Panetta for their leadership.”

“The overwhelming bipartisan support for the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act of 2025 underscores the critical need to increase the supply of affordable rental homes,” said Emily Cadik, Chief Executive Officer, Affordable Housing Tax Credit Coalition. “We thank Congressman LaHood, Congresswoman DelBene, Congresswoman Tenney, Congressman Beyer, Congressman Feenstra, and Congressman Panetta for their leadership and the more than 100 bipartisan cosponsors for supporting this commonsense solution to expand and strengthen the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, a proven, pro-growth tool with a nearly 40-year record of leveraging private investment to fill a critical need.”

The Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act will support the financing of nearly two million new affordable homes across the country by:
- Increasing the number of credits allocated to each state by 50 percent for the next two years and making the temporary 12.5 percent increase secured in 2018 permanent.
- Increasing the number of affordable housing projects that can be built using private activity bonds. This provision stabilizes financing for workforce housing projects built using private activity bonds by decreasing the amount of private activity needed to secure Housing Credit funding. As a result, projects would have to carry less debt, and more projects would be eligible to receive funding.
- Improving the Housing Credit program to serve at-risk and underserved communities, including veterans, victims of domestic violence, and rural Americans.
More information about the legislation’s impact in Washington can be found here.

MIL OSI USA News –
April 9, 2025
MIL-OSI New Zealand: Restauranteur placed on 6 months home detention, fined $20,000 for selling recalled food

Source: Ministry for Primary Industries

A Christchurch restauranteur has been placed on 6 months home detention and fined $20,000 for selling food that had been recalled.

In November last year, the owner of Samurai Bowl in Colombo Street, Xinchen Liu, pleaded guilty to one charge under the Food Act for trading in food that was subject to a recall because of unsafe levels of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) bacteria being found in some frozen meals.

Ms Liu was sentenced in the Christchurch District Court (8 April 2025) following a successful prosecution by New Zealand Food Safety.

“The bacteria found in the food can cause nausea, vomiting, stomach cramps and diarrhoea. The consequences can be serious for people with compromised immune systems.

“Food recalls are conducted to protect consumers from potential harm. People rightly expect food businesses sell food that is safe and suitable.” says New Zealand Food Safety acting deputy director-general, Jenny Bishop.

A verifier observed routine testing results undertaken by the business, which found unsafe levels of the bacteria S. aureus in samples of frozen ramen meals. MPI’s New Zealand Food Safety was notified, as required under the Food Act. The bacteria find led to a recall on 1 June 2019 of all frozen Samurai Bowl ramen meals made since Ms Liu had taken over the business. Ms Liu confirmed the recall had gone ahead, providing evidential pictures to food safety officers and the recall was closed off in August that year by New Zealand Food Safety.

“Most people do the right thing, but Ms Liu didn’t do as she claimed and stored the meals in freezers. Some of them were defrosted and made available to staff. Miso soup and meat from recalled meals was also served to customers at her restaurant. This was deliberate and reckless behaviour and Ms Liu’s actions had potential to cause sickness and health risk for a number of customers,” says Jenny Bishop.

For further information and general enquiries, call MPI on 0800 00 83 33 or email info@mpi.govt.nz

For media enquiries, contact the media team on 029 894 0328.

MIL OSI New Zealand News –

April 9, 2025
MIL-Evening Report: ‘Germany is back’: 3 ways NZ can benefit from Europe’s renewed centre of power

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mathew Doidge, Senior Research Fellow, National Centre for Research on Europe, University of Canterbury

Getty Images

It’s unlikely many New Zealanders paid close attention to Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ statement late last year that “New Zealand and Germany are committed to enhancing their partnership”.

Peters had been visiting Berlin two weeks after Donald Trump’s US election victory, but well before the real contours of the second Trump administration came into focus.

The foreign minister’s diplomatic tone may have suited the less heated atmosphere of the time, but 2025 is a very different place. With the pillars of the international system New Zealand depends on crumbling, strong ties with an active Germany at the heart of Europe begin to look more important.

Germans, too, are grappling with the same uncertainties – not least Friedrich Merz, the Christian Democratic Union party leader who is all but certain to be the new chancellor when coalition negotiations conclude.

Among the most pro-American of Europe’s leaders, Merz will enter the Chancellery at a time when US relations are fraught. Even before the February election results were finalised, he acknowledged this new reality, calling to “strengthen Europe as quickly as possible so that […] we can really achieve independence from the USA”.

With Trump’s reversal of US support for Ukraine, his “might is right” foreign policy and hostile trade tariffs, Germany and the European Union have begun to reassess their place in the new world order. New Zealand will be watching closely.

Easing the ‘debt brake’

Former German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine a Zeitenwende – a watershed moment from which “the world afterwards will no longer be the same as the world before”. Trump 2.0 has only reinforced this rupture.

Responding to events even before assuming office, Merz (supported by the Social Democratic Party and the Greens) reformed Germany’s “debt brake”, or Schuldenbremse.

Restricting government borrowing to 0.35% of GDP, the brake was introduced by former chancellor Angela Merkel in 2009 to limit indebtedness following the global financial crisis. It achieved its aim, but contributed significantly to the current parlous state of German infrastructure and defence.

The reform allows greater borrowing for defence and establishes a €500 billion infrastructure fund (with €100 billion for climate and economic transformation as the price for Green support).

This is the first step in Merz’s goal to transform Germany from “a sleeping middle power to a leading middle power again”, and exercise greater leadership in the European Union alongside France and Poland.

With Emmanuel Macron’s French presidency ending in 2027, and France’s far-right gaining strength (Marine Le Pen’s recent embezzlement conviction notwithstanding), a strong Germany at the heart of Europe is essential to the maintenance of the EU and its approach to world affairs.

As an important – perhaps vital – partner for New Zealand and the Pacific, three key considerations stand out.

A leading middle power: Friedrich Merz addressing Christian Democratic Union supporters in Berlin on election night, February 23.
Getty Images

Pacific re-engagement

Germany’s ties with Samoa and the Pacific may be a century old, but it has recently begun looking south again, including opening an embassy in Suva in August 2023.

Now, the Trump administration’s axing of USAID has put foreign aid in the region under a cloud. Pacific states are not eligible for German bilateral development support, but are covered by more general climate change and disaster preparedness programmes.

Since stepping up Pacific engagement in 2022, Germany has also joined the Partners in the Blue Pacific and been an advocate for Pacific projects within the EU’s Global Gateway Initiative (a framework for global infrastructure investment).

Importantly, Germany does not intend to establish significant independent Pacific aid projects. Rather, it sees itself as a “force multiplier”, partnering with other donors to support their efforts. New Zealand therefore has an opportunity to both strengthen relations with Germany and add impact to its own Pacific projects.

Climate resilience

Climate change is the single greatest security threat to Pacific island states, and yet another area the US is pulling back from. But while Germany has been a strong player on climate policy, Merz has been a critic of the Greens and environmental policy in general.

The balance of power in the new Bundestag may now force a change of mindset. Merz’s coalition will hold just 328 seats in the 630-seat chamber, meaning Green support cannot be discounted. A more serious commitment to climate policy will be the price.

There is a base to work from, too. Germany co-founded the UN Group of Friends on Climate and Security with Nauru in 2018, and has identified climate issues as a driving force behind its Pacific engagement. Again, this is an area where New Zealand’s interests can be served by closer engagement with Germany.

The rules-based order

Ultimately, the international trade system and multilateral frameworks for cooperation and conflict resolution are crucial pillars of the Germany-New Zealand relationship.

With the US no longer a reliable backstop, Germany and the EU are also the bulwark for a rules-based order grounded in international law. Merz’s debt brake reform, seen as strengthening Europe, was framed in these terms:

Our friends in the EU are looking to us just as much as our adversaries and the enemies of our democratic and rules-based order.

“Germany is back,” Merz said in March. We may well see New Zealand’s foreign minister back in Germany before long, too.

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

– ref. ‘Germany is back’: 3 ways NZ can benefit from Europe’s renewed centre of power – https://theconversation.com/germany-is-back-3ways-nz-can-benefit-from-europes-renewed-centre-of-power-253926

MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

April 9, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Reed & Whitehouse Seek Answers & Return of Maryland Father Wrongfully Deported to El Salvador

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator for Rhode Island Jack Reed
WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Justice admitted the deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia — a father who was living legally in the United States under protected status — was an “administrative error.” Mr. Garcia, 29, who fled El Salavador in 2006 and migrated to the U.S. in 2011, is married with a five-year old child and two step children who are all U.S. citizens. According to USA Today: After finishing a shift working as a sheet metal apprentice and picking up his son from his grandmother’s house, Mr. Garcia was pulled over by ICE officers in several vehicles and erroneously told that his status had changed. He was handcuffed and placed in an ICE vehicle and eventually sent to an out of state detention facility before being flown out of the country to a notorious prison in El Salvador known as the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT).
In 2019, an immigration judge granted Mr. Garcia protection from deportation on the grounds that he might be at risk of persecution from local gangs in his home country. ICE officials under the Trump Administration in 2019 did not object to the judge’s ruling.
Last week, Justice Department lawyer Erez Reuveni told a federal judge that Mr. Garcia “should not have been removed.” The judge agreed and wrote a scathing opinion finding that the Trump Administration’s actions “shocks the conscience” and that the government had acted “without any lawful authority” and was holding Mr. Garcia in “direct contravention” of U.S. law. The judge ordered the U.S. to return Mr. Garcia to the United States. However, the Trump Administration contended Mr. Garcia could not be returned to the U.S. because he is in Salvadoran custody and U.S. courts have no jurisdiction there, even though the U.S. is reportedly paying the El Salvadoran government $6 million to house deportees from the United States. Yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court granted the Trump Administration’s request to temporarily block a lower court order.
Today, 25 U.S. Senators, including Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Jack Reed (D-RI), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) wrote to U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Acting Director Tedd Lyons urging them to return Kilmar Abrego Garcia to the United States.
In their letter, the Senators call on the Trump Administration to comply with the lower court order requiring that they facilitate Abrego Garcia’s return and ask for responses to a series of questions regarding ICE’s enforcement policies that may have led to this grave error – and what measures they will take to ensure such an incident does not occur again.
“We write to express our concerns regarding the deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia to El Salvador, an action which the Administration admitted in a recent court filing was an “administrative error.” It is unacceptable that anyone would be deported without proper due process, especially where an immigration judge has granted the individual protected status that explicitly prohibits his return to El Salvador. We demand that the Administration bring Mr. Abrego Garcia home immediately,” the 25 U.S. Senators wrote.
“Per court filings, Mr. Abrego Garcia came to the United States in 2011 as a teenager fleeing gang threats in his home country of El Salvador. In 2019, ICE arrested Mr. Abrego Garcia over an unfounded and anonymous allegation that he was involved with MS-13, which placed him in deportation proceedings. The U.S. immigration judge in the case ultimately found that it was in fact Mr. Abrego Garcia who was at risk of being the victim of gang violence,” the Senators continued. “This ruling was made under the Trump Administration in 2019 and was in fact required by law under section 241(b)(3) of the Immigration and Nationality Act once the immigration judge made the factual determination that Mr. Abrego Garcia faced a likelihood of torture in El Salvador. At the time, the Trump Administration made no effort to appeal the judge’s ruling or pursue Mr. Abrego Garcia’s deportation further. Court filings attest that Mr. Abrego Garcia has complied with regular ICE check-ins, has no criminal charges, and has had no contact with any other law-enforcement agency since his release in 2019.
“Mr. Abrego Garcia is currently being held at CECOT, a maximum-security prison in El Salvador notorious for human rights abuses, after being deported in violation of the law to the very country where his return was impermissible,” they noted. “And when the Administration makes a mistake as severe as sending an individual with protected status to a foreign prison, it cannot simply shrug off responsibility and allege that there is nothing it can do to reunite him with his wife and child, who are American citizens.
“On Friday, a U.S. District Court judge in the District of Maryland ordered the government to return Mr. Abrego Garcia to the United States, and on Monday the Fourth Circuit denied the government’s motion to stay the order. The Administration should promptly comply with the district court’s order,” the Senators urged.
In addition to Van Hollen, Reed, and Whitehouse, the letter was also signed by U.S. Senators: Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Chris Coons (D-DE), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ed Markey (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Gary Peters (D-MI), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Mark Warner (D-VA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Peter Welch (D-VT), and Ron Wyden (D-OR).
The Senators closed the letter with a series of questions to Secretary Noem and Acting Director Lyons:
The standard and legal course for the government to take to deport someone with protected status would be to reopen the case, introduce evidence that grounds for terminating the protected status exist, and then allow an immigration judge to make a determination as to their status. Why was that course of action not taken in this case?
In the past, DHS and ICE worked to quickly return people to the U.S. who were erroneously deported. Why is DHS and ICE no longer following these well-established procedures and practices?
Vice President J.D. Vance and Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt have both claimed that Mr. Abrego Garcia is an MS-13 gang member, but the government was unable or unwilling to provide any evidence to substantiate that claim to the court. Please provide any evidence of Mr. Abrego Garcia’s membership in MS-13.
Given that the Administration is reportedly paying $6 million to El Salvador to detain deported immigrants at CECOT, why does it believe that there is nothing it can do to return Mr. Abrego Garcia to his family in the United States? Please provide a copy of the agreement between the U.S. and El Salvador on the detention of people deported from the U.S. in CECOT.
Are there any other cases that the Administration is aware of in which an immigrant with protected status was illegally deported without due process? If so, identify those cases and explain what, if anything the government is doing to rectify those errors.
Will the Administration commit to reviewing all of the cases of its deportees to ensure that it has appropriately identified all of the errors?
What actions will the Administration take in the future to ensure that immigrants with protected status are afforded their appropriate due process?
Full text of the letter follows:
Dear Secretary Noem and Acting Director Lyons,??
We write to express our concerns regarding the deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia to El Salvador, an action which the Administration admitted in a recent court filing was an “administrative error.” It is unacceptable that anyone would be deported without proper due process, especially where an immigration judge has granted the individual protected status that explicitly prohibits his return to El Salvador. We demand that the Administration bring Mr. Abrego Garcia home immediately.
According to court filings, on March 12, 2025, shortly after Mr. Abrego Garcia had picked up his son from the boy’s grandmother’s house, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) stopped Mr. Abrego Garcia, inaccurately telling him that his protected status had changed. After giving his wife a few minutes to arrive to take custody of his son, ICE arrested and detained him without any further explanation as to the reason for his arrest. ICE then transferred Mr. Abrego Garcia and other detainees to Texas, where on March 15, 2025, they were loaded onto planes and deported to El Salvador. Mr. Abrego Garcia was reportedly on the only plane that was not sent under the authority of the Alien Enemies Act but instead was transporting migrants with formal removal orders signed by a judge. This occurred despite the fact that ICE knew, as the Administration conceded in court, that his protected legal status specifically prohibited his removal to El Salvador.
Per court filings, Mr. Abrego Garcia came to the United States in 2011 as a teenager fleeing gang threats in his home country of El Salvador. In 2019, ICE arrested Mr. Abrego Garcia over an unfounded and anonymous allegation that he was involved with MS-13, which placed him in deportation proceedings. The U.S. immigration judge in the case ultimately found that it was in fact Mr. Abrego Garcia who was at risk of being the victim of gang violence. The judge found that Mr. Abrego Garcia and his relatives credibly testified that gang members had been trying to extort his family and recruit him and his brother to join the gang, forcing his family to move multiple times, ultimately compelling both him and his brother to flee to the United States out of fear.
The immigration judge agreed that Mr. Abrego Garcia would likely face persecution if deported back to El Salvador and thus granted him a form of legally mandated protection known as “withholding of removal.” Withholding of removal, which may only be granted by an immigration judge, provided Mr. Abrego Garcia the ability to stay and work in the United States despite being the subject of a deportation order. This ruling was made under the Trump Administration in 2019 and was in fact required by law under section 241(b)(3) of the Immigration and Nationality Act once the immigration judge made the factual determination that Mr. Abrego Garcia faced a likelihood of torture in El Salvador. At the time, the Trump Administration made no effort to appeal the judge’s ruling or pursue Mr. Abrego Garcia’s deportation further. Court filings attest that Mr. Abrego Garcia has complied with regular ICE check-ins, has no criminal charges, and has had no contact with any other law-enforcement agency since his release in 2019.
Mr. Abrego Garcia is currently being held at CECOT, a maximum-security prison in El Salvador notorious for human rights abuses, after being deported in violation of the law to the very country where his return was impermissible. Though the Administration has admitted in court that his deportation was a mistake, it alleges that there is nothing it can do to address this injustice, given that Mr. Abrego Garcia is now in the jurisdiction of the government of El Salvador as part of an agreement to imprison U.S. deportees in exchange for financial compensation.
Your unwillingness to immediately rectify this “administrative error” is unacceptable. Under multiple Democratic and Republican administrations, the Department of Homeland Security and ICE followed the rule of law and worked to quickly return people who were wrongfully deported, in the rare instances where such “administrative errors” occurred. The Administration’s mass deportation agenda does not transcend immigration law or the need for due process. And when the Administration makes a mistake as severe as sending an individual with protected status to a foreign prison, it cannot simply shrug off responsibility and allege that there is nothing it can do to reunite him with his wife and child, who are American citizens. On Friday, a U.S. District Court judge in the District of Maryland ordered the government to return Mr. Abrego Garcia to the United States, and on Monday the Fourth Circuit denied the government’s motion to stay the order. The Administration should promptly comply with the district court’s order.
To address our concerns about this matter and to provide clarity on the Department of Homeland Security and ICE’s policy regarding the immigration enforcement actions against immigrants with protected status, we ask that your Administration answer the following questions by April 22, 2025:
The standard and legal course for the government to take to deport someone with protected status would be to reopen the case, introduce evidence that grounds for terminating the protected status exist, and then allow an immigration judge to make a determination as to their status. Why was that course of action not taken in this case?
In the past, DHS and ICE worked to quickly return people to the U.S. who were erroneously deported. Why is DHS and ICE no longer following these well-established procedures and practices?
Vice President J.D. Vance and Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt have both claimed that Mr. Abrego Garcia is an MS-13 gang member, but the government was unable or unwilling to provide any evidence to substantiate that claim to the court. Please provide any evidence of Mr. Abrego Garcia’s membership in MS-13.
Given that the Administration is reportedly paying $6 million to El Salvador to detain deported immigrants at CECOT, why does it believe that there is nothing it can do to return Mr. Abrego Garcia to his family in the United States? Please provide a copy of the agreement between the U.S. and El Salvador on the detention of people deported from the U.S. in CECOT.
Are there any other cases that the Administration is aware of in which an immigrant with protected status was illegally deported without due process? If so, identify those cases and explain what, if anything the government is doing to rectify those errors.
Will the Administration commit to reviewing all of the cases of its deportees to ensure that it has appropriately identified all of the errors?
What actions will the Administration take in the future to ensure that immigrants with protected status are afforded their appropriate due process?
We appreciate your prompt attention to this vital matter and look forward to reviewing your fulsome, timely response.
Sincerely,

MIL OSI USA News –

April 9, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Reed & Whitehouse Seek to Raise Federal Minimum Wage to $17 by 2030

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator for Rhode Island Jack Reed
WASHINGTON, DC – The last time the federal minimum wage was raised it was July of 2009 – Barack Obama had just been elected president, iPads hadn’t come out yet, and the world was experiencing a global recession. Since then, corporate profits have risen as has the costs of goods, but the federal minimum wage — which is supposed to ensure workers can afford the basic necessities — remains stuck at $7.25 an hour.
U.S. Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) are looking to ensure American workers can earn a living wage, drive economic growth, and reduce income inequality by raising the minimum wage to $17 by 2030 for all workers and gradually raise the minimum wage for tipped workers, workers with disabilities, and youth workers.
Today, Reed and Whitehouse teamed up with U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), the Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), to introduce the Raise the Wage Act. This bill would incrementally raise the federal minimum wage to $17 an hour by 2030, benefiting an estimated 64,000 Rhode Islanders.
Rhode Island is among 30 states and the District of Columbia that have enacted higher wage floors. Currently, the minimum wage in Rhode Island is $15 an hour. Servers in the restaurant industry and other hospitality workers who derive a large portion of income from tips have had their hourly wages capped at $3.89 since 2017.
Last year, nearly one in four workers in the U.S. made less than $17 per hour. The Raise the Wage will raise the federal minimum wage to $17 over five years, eliminate the tipped subminimum wage over seven years, eliminate the subminimum wage for workers with disabilities over five years, and eliminate the subminimum wage for youth workers over seven years. According to analysis by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), passing the Raise the Wage Act of 2025 would provide raises to over 22.2 million workers across the country by 2030.
If the federal minimum wage had increased with worker productivity over the last 57 years, it would be over $23 an hour today, not $7.25 an hour, which translates to a full-time salary of about $15,000 per year.
“The $7.25 an hour minimum wage is a starvation wage. It must be raised to a living wage – at least $17 an hour,” Senator Sanders said. “In the year 2025, a job should lift you out of poverty, not keep you in it. At a time of massive income and wealth inequality, we can no longer tolerate millions of workers trying to survive on just $10 or $12 an hour. Congress can no longer ignore the needs of the working class of this country. The time to act is now.”
“The federal minimum wage has been stuck at $7.25 for too long. No one in today’s economy can make ends meet working for such meager pay. Rhode Islanders deserve a raise and workers deserve to be fairly compensated. Right now, those making minimum wage can’t afford housing, food, and transportation so taxpayers end up subsidizing employers that pay so little. When all businesses have to operate on a level playing field with fair pay it helps prevent costly turnover and re-training of workers. The Raise the Wage Act would help strengthen families, businesses, and our economy,” said Senator Reed.
“As rising costs squeeze families across Rhode Island, it’s well past time to increase the federal minimum wage,” said Senator Whitehouse. “Our legislation will help more Americans get a foothold in the middle class by paying them a livable wage.”
Today, the value of the current federal minimum wage – $7.25 per hour – is the lowest it has been since 1956 and has declined by over 32 percent since it was last increased in 2009. While approximately four million tipped workers in the U.S. depend on tips for as much as half of their income or more, the tipped sub-minimum wage has remained stagnant at just $2.13 per hour since 1991. The current median wage for at least 37,000 workers with disabilities is just $3.50 per hour.
Meanwhile, across every state in the country, a living wage for a worker in a family with two working adults and one child is greater than $17 per hour, according to the Economic Policy Institute’s (EPI) Family Budget Calculator. Many of these low-wage workers face persistent economic insecurity, struggling to put food on the table and afford basic necessities, including housing, health care, and childcare. Black and Hispanic workers disproportionately feel the burden of these low wages as compared to their white counterparts, and that disparity is even worse for women of color. Nearly 40 percent of Hispanic women and 35 percent of Black women make less than $17 per hour.
Joining Sanders, Reed, and Whitehouse on this legislation are U.S. Senators: Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Dick Durbin (D-IL), John Fetterman (D-PA), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ed Markey (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Patty Murray (D-A), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Gary Peters (D-MI), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Tina Smith (D-MN), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Peter Welch (D-VT), and Ron Wyden (D-OR).
More than 85 organizations endorsed the Raise the Wage Act of 2025, including: Service Employees International Union (SEIU), AFL-CIO, American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), American Federation of Teachers (AFT), Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN), Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, Communications Workers of America (CWA), Economic Policy Institute (EPI), Equal Pay Today, International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT), National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA), National Education Association (NEA), National Employment Law Project (NELP), The National Partnership for Women & Families, National Women’s Law Center (NWLC), One Fair Wage, Oxfam America, Patriotic Millionaires, UNITE HERE, United Autoworkers (UAW), United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), United for Respect, and United Steelworkers (USW).
Companion legislation has been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Congressman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (D-Va.), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Education and Workforce.

MIL OSI USA News –

April 9, 2025
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Multi-billion-pound investment secured as Universal theme park and resort set to be built in Bedford, bringing thousands of jobs
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

Press release

Multi-billion-pound investment secured as Universal theme park and resort set to be built in Bedford, bringing thousands of jobs

A multi-billion-pound investment in a major new Universal theme park and resort in Bedford has been agreed between Universal, the government and the local council, in a move that represents a major vote of confidence in the UK economy and the future of partnerships between the UK and the US.
The Prime Minister has today closed the deal on a new Universal theme park in Bedfordshire

Plans will bring an estimated £50bn boost for the economy and create around 28,000 jobs in total across creative, hospitality and construction industries

Set to open in 2031, the theme park will form part of a new planned entertainment resort, due to include immersive storytelling, rides, attractions and hospitality

Deal firmly puts the UK on the global investment stage, delivering on the government’s Plan for Change, which will create growth and opportunities across the country

A multi-billion-pound investment in a major new Universal theme park and resort in Bedford has been agreed between Universal, the government and the local council, in a move that represents a major vote of confidence in the UK economy and the future of partnerships between the UK and the US.

The theme park, which is set to be one of the largest and most advanced in Europe, will bring nearly 20,000 jobs during the construction period, with a further 8,000 new jobs across the hospitality and creative industries when it opens in 2031.

Supporting the government’s Plan for Change to create economic growth and opportunities by getting people into well-paid, decent jobs across the creative, technology, tourism and hospitality sectors, Universal has committed to working with local colleges and universities to train the next generation of its hospitality workforce, including through a range of apprenticeships and internships.

As well as generating significant opportunities, the new theme park and resort will bring significant local benefits – with approximately 80% of employees at the theme park expected to come from local areas – and support a stream of ongoing work to unleash the potential of the Oxford-Cambridge corridor through growth, infrastructure revitalisation and further job opportunities.

Universal expects the site to generate nearly £50 billion for the economy by 2055, with 8.5 million visitors expected in its first year – becoming the largest visitor attraction in the UK. This will support the government to deliver its growth mission – creating higher living standards and putting more money in people’s pockets.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said:

Today we closed the deal on a multi-billion-pound investment that will see Bedford home to one of the biggest entertainment parks in Europe, firmly putting the county on the global stage.

This is our Plan for Change in action, combining local and national growth with creating around 28,000 new jobs across sectors such as construction, AI, and tourism.

It is not just about numbers; it’s about securing real opportunities for people in our country. Together, we are building a brighter future for the UK, getting people into work and ensuring our economy remains strong and competitive.

The development, working with Bedford Borough Council, will be the first Universal-branded theme park and resort destination in Europe and will be part of a larger 476-acre entertainment resort complex.

Proposed plans from Universal Destinations & Experiences, a business unit of Comcast, include a world-class theme park with several themed lands featuring Universal’s distinct brand of immersive storytelling, thrilling rides, innovative attractions and exciting entertainment, all utilising sophisticated and advanced technology. Initial resort plans also feature a 500-room hotel and a retail, dining and entertainment complex.

Mike Cavanagh, President of Comcast Corporation, said:

We could not be more excited to take this very important step in our plan to create and deliver an incredible Universal theme park and resort in the heart of the United Kingdom, which complements our growing US-based parks business by expanding our global footprint to Europe. We appreciate the leadership and support of Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Chancellor Rachel Reeves, Minister for Investment Poppy Gustafsson, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy and their teams, as we work together to create and deliver a fantastic new landmark destination.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves said:

At a time of global change, this investment is a vote of confidence in Britain as a place to do business. Universal’s investment will bring billions to the economy and create thousands of jobs to the UK, putting more money in people’s pockets.

Mark Woodbury, Chairman and CEO of Universal Destinations & Experiences, said:

Bringing a world-class theme park and resort to the United Kingdom is a tremendous opportunity and is part of our strategy to introduce the Universal brand and experiences to new audiences around the globe. We appreciate the incredible support for our proposed project and look forward to bringing it to life in the years ahead.

As part of the Plan for Change, the government will commit to a major investment in infrastructure around the site to support the delivery of the project and ensure it is well connected and easily accessible. It comes just days after the government signed-off the expansion of Luton Airport, showcasing how the government’s pro-growth agenda is delivering real-life benefits for working people.

The deal supports the UK’s world leading creative industries, a growth-driving sector identified in the government’s modern Industrial Strategy, which will be published this spring. The Strategy will drive investment into high growth sectors, unlocking jobs and growth right across the country.

Universal Destinations & Experiences has a proven track record of building and operating major theme parks and resorts across the globe. A Universal development in the UK will join the company’s existing portfolio of destinations across the United States and Asia-Pacific.

The proposals remain subject to a planning decision from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

Additional details on the project:

Please contact Universal Destinations & Experiences for artist impression and drone footage of the site: uprcorpcomm@uniparks.com

Further details on Government plans for infrastructure investment around the site will be set out in due course.

The theme park resort will be built on the former Kempston Hardwick brickworks. More information on the project can be found at universalukproject.co.uk.

The theme park and resort is subject to planning permission, which will be considered at a later date.

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Updates to this page

Published 9 April 2025
MIL OSI United Kingdom –
April 9, 2025