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Category: Trump

  • MIL-OSI USA: Senator Coons statement on President Trump’s decision to allow the export of advanced AI chips to China

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Delaware Christopher Coons

    WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) issued the following statement after the Trump administration announced it would allow Nvidia to resume selling its H20 advanced computer chips to Chinese customers:

    “President Trump’s decision today hands China cutting-edge technology that Beijing will use to erase our competitive advantage in artificial intelligence, undermine our military, and outpace our economy. Thanks to the efforts of the Biden administration and bipartisan work in Congress, the United States was better positioned at the beginning of the year than any other country on the planet to lead the way on artificial intelligence, from chip design to applications. Now, President Trump is throwing that all away, giving China a tool that will strengthen their economy and military, while, just today, China announced it will restrict American access to critical battery technology and equipment we need for our own economy and security. The administration must immediately reverse this harmful decision and take steps to make sure its actions on AI actually match its tough-on-China rhetoric.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Right-wing political group Advance is in the headlines. What is it and what does it stand for?

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Riboldi, Lecturer in Social Impact and Social Change, UTS Business School, University of Technology Sydney

    Advance/Facebook

    Political lobby group Advance has been back in the headlines this week. It was revealed an organisation headed by the husband of the Special Envoy for Combatting Antisemitism, Jillian Segal, donated A$50,000 to the group.

    The news prompted outcry, though Segal denied any personal involvement.

    So what is Advance and what does it do?

    What is Advance?

    Advance (originally Advance Australia) is a digital campaigning organisation. It was formed in 2018 by a group of wealthy Australians, many with connections to the Liberal Party. The idea was to be a conservative counterpoint to progressive digital campaigning group GetUp!

    At the time, political journalist Mungo McCallum described them as a “stratospherically elite clique of rich, bored men looking for a hobby.” He suggested they would have little, if any, impact.

    Today the group has more than 330,000 members.

    They also successfully led the “No” campaign in the Indigenous Voice to Parliament Referendum in 2023.

    McCallum’s initial dismissal of Advance appears somewhat premature.

    What does Advance want?

    Advance’s stated aim is to “take the fight to the activists and elites” to “secure Australia’s freedom, security and prosperity”. They campaign against progressive taxation, immigration, the transition to renewable energy and even Welcome to Country ceremonies.

    This positions Advance alongside other right-wing populist actors, including Donald Trump, in the modern “war on woke”. This comparison was welcomed by founding Advance director, major donor and hedge fund manager Simon Fenwick.



    Read more:
    Follow the money: the organisations that spent the most on social media during the election

    These actors, which in Australia also include the Murdoch Press, construct elitism not along class lines, but along an urban/rural divide. In its view, Advance’s billionaire funders are apparently not elites. Instead, they attempt to foster divisions between urban “elites” and regional and suburban “mainstream Australians”.

    Like the Trumpian model of “flood(ing) the zone with shit”, Advance has been accused of pursuing these aims by “unleashing a veritable fire hose of disinformation”. The hose is often aimed at progressive political candidates, climate change, immigrants or the Voice referendum.

    Who runs and funds Advance?

    Advance’s longtime Executive Director and “main man” is the somewhat enigmatic Matthew Sheahan. Their current spokesperson is Sandra Bourke, who has a background in law enforcement and national security. In 2024, Bourke claimed Advance was “the biggest grassroots movement in Australian political history”.

    While Advance is structurally independent of any political party, a variety of Liberal Party figures have been closely connected to the organisation, including former Prime Minister Tony Abbott.

    Early prominent members (and funders) of Advance included storage king Sam Kennard, far-right president of the Australian Jewish Association David Adler, and climate denier Maurice Newman.

    Founding Director Simon Fenwick has donated at least $400,000 to the organisation through his family trust since its inception.

    In 2023–24, Advance received a $500,000 donation from the Cormack Foundation, an investment fund created by the Liberal Party of Victoria.

    The organisation reported income of more than $15.5 million in the same period. It claims their average donation received from supporters is $160.

    What impact has Advance had?

    The 2023 Voice Referendum “made” Advance (and arguably Matthew Sheahan) via their management of two prominent No campaigns.

    Prior to this, Advance’s campaigning was arguably more nuisance than anything else.

    Advance’s No campaign featured significant amounts of dis- and misinformation across multiple media channels, including phone banking (cold calling voters). The campaign was characterised by contradictory micro campaigns that sowed the confusion that fed the slogan of “if you don’t know, vote No”.

    The Advance-led No campaigns also strongly embraced racism against leading First Nations voices. This included suggestions that media commentator Stan Grant had artificially darkened his skin, questioning the “blackness” of Victorian Senator Lidia Thorpe, and utilising “Jim Crow” style advertising against leading Yes campaigner Thomas Mayo.

    The Jim Crow era of American history refers to a time in the late 19th and early-mid 20th centuries where laws enforced racial segregation and discrimination.

    One of the key spokespeople for Advance’s No campaign was Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, a woman with Aboriginal and Anglo-Celtic heritage. She’s a former Advance staffer and current Liberal Party Senator and made the comments about Lidia Thorpe.

    Why is Advance important?

    Following their role in the Voice campaign, Advance have arguably “eclipsed” their inspiration and progressive rivals GetUp! as Australia’s leading digital campaigning organisation. Glen Berman, current GetUp! chair, has even admitted “there were things that GetUp! could learn” from Advance.

    Advance appeared influential over Liberal Party strategy ahead of the 2025 federal election campaign. During the campaign, it was the highest spending third party group (non-party, non-candidate) on Meta (Facebook and Instagram) advertising. This saw it emerge as the conservative third party “opposition” to the Australian union movement.

    However, following the Australian Labor Party’s landslide victory, Advance attempted to distance themselves from the Coalition’s campaign. While they claim to have been focused on “destroying” the Greens, analysis suggests Advance’s campaign was equally focused on framing Labor Prime Minister Anthony Albanese as “weak, woke and sending us broke”.

    Senior Liberal Party figures, for their part, have also “cast doubt on the effectiveness of Advance”, saying it may have cost them seats.

    Generally, scholars Marian Sawer and Kurt Sengul argue Advance, along with the Murdoch media, have engaged in the “populist mobilisation of resentment which is likely to exacerbate the kind of divisions seen in the Voice referendum” since 2018.

    Part of a worldwide trend towards right-wing populism, Advance will likely continue to be at the centre of conservative politics in Australia.

    Mark Riboldi 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. Right-wing political group Advance is in the headlines. What is it and what does it stand for? – https://theconversation.com/right-wing-political-group-advance-is-in-the-headlines-what-is-it-and-what-does-it-stand-for-261164

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI USA: LEADER JEFFRIES ON MSNBC: “REPUBLICANS ARE RUNNING SCARED”

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Hakeem Jeffries (8th District of New York)

    Today, Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries appeared on MSNBC’s All In With Chris Hayes where he emphasized that Democrats will continue pushing back on the extremism being unleashed on the American people by the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress.

    CHRIS HAYES: Joining me now is House Democratic Leader, Congressman Hakeem Jeffries of New York. What do you make of all this, Congressman? Like, why are we here and what do you affirmatively want to see happen and the Democratic Caucus want to see happen?

    LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, it’s great to be with you, Chris. At the end of the day, the American people deserve to know the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth as it relates to this whole Jeffrey Epstein matter. Donald Trump and his MAGA extremist allies have fanned the flames of this conspiracy theory for years. And so there’s only two options at this point. Either Donald Trump, Pam Bondi and that whole crew have been lying to the American people over the last several years about what is actually in the Jeffrey Epstein files or, alternatively, Donald Trump, Pam Bondi and his allies in the Trump administration are hiding something from the American people right now. So we’re determined to get to the bottom of this on behalf of the American people who deserve transparency from their government.

    CHRIS HAYES: Reporter Annie Karni, who was just on in the last block, said that the line from Republicans on the House today—were talking about appointing a special counsel. I wonder if that’s something that you would support or other Democrats would support.

    LEADER JEFFRIES: It seems to me that a special counsel is just a diversionary tactic. If the files exist, produce them and produce them now to the American people. The Attorney General mentioned a few weeks ago that the files existed. In fact, she said it was on her desk. And so, all she really needs to do at this point is to release it, as Donald Trump promised that he would do. This is also a situation where what we’ve seen from the Trump administration is a government of the billionaires, by the billionaires and for the billionaires. We saw it during Trump’s inauguration. This One Big Ugly Bill was all about hurting everyday Americans to provide massive tax breaks to their billionaire donors. And now what we see is the possibility that there’s a massive coverup taking place within the Trump administration, because there may be people on the Epstein list, within the Epstein files, that Donald Trump is trying to protect, who happen to be part of his billionaire cabal.

    CHRIS HAYES: There’s—I want to talk about the one, the bill, in a second. But there’s something else happening this week in Congress, and it’s very strange. It’s called this rescission package. Basically, it’s clawing back money that’s already been appropriated. It would decimate public broadcasting in this country, including rural NPR affiliates and rural public radio. I know Democrats are opposed to it, but I want to ask about this technique. It seems like they’ve come up with a strange way to like, pass appropriations with a filibuster majority, where they come to Democrats, work out a bipartisan appropriations deal, and then they come back with a 50-vote threshold in the Senate so that they can kind of take back the money they don’t want. And if that’s the case, then, like, how can anyone do an appropriations deal with these people?

    LEADER JEFFRIES: I completely and totally agree. These people cannot be trusted. And why in the world would we ever enter into a bipartisan negotiation to try to arrive at a spending agreement that meets the needs of the American people if Donald Trump and his administration, at the end of the day, conspiring with MAGA extremists in the House, who are nothing more than a Reckless Rubber Stamp for his extreme agenda, decide that after passing into law a bipartisan spending agreement, they’re just going to come back through this rescission mechanism and undo the parts of that agreement that they don’t like because they want to hurt priorities that are important to Democrats because they’re important to the American people.

    CHRIS HAYES: Have you talked to Senator Schumer? Because ultimately, you know, we avoided a shutdown. Senator said, look, we had to avoid a shutdown. There was a bipartisan spending line set. You in the House took a different tact, but if they do this rescission package, I just can’t. I mean, how could there be some deal in September if they’re just going to do this? Like, have you talked about this with him?

    LEADER JEFFRIES: Yeah. And in fact, I think Senator Schumer has made some public statements in this regard, that if they are going to take this approach, it will detonate the possibility of arriving at any bipartisan agreement because we can’t trust that these extremists are operating in good faith. And we’re going to have to do something about this particular vehicle that is being used around rescission, which is a part of the 1974 Budget Control and Impoundment Act, because it’s a backdoor to undermining actual bipartisan agreements.

    CHRIS HAYES: I mean, at the same time, their position is that another part of that Act is totally unconstitutional, and they can impound funds unilaterally. But we’ll put that part aside. On the huge bill that they just passed, I saw Josh Hawley talking about introducing legislation in the Senate to stop Medicaid cuts, having voted for Medicaid cuts—enormous, unprecedented, hundreds of billions of dollars in Medicaid cuts, talking about how bad Medicaid cuts are, voting for it, now wanting to go back at Medicaid cuts. Would Democrats support some kind of, like, let’s go back and take the Medicaid cuts legislation?

    LEADER JEFFRIES: I mean, Josh Hawley is a complete and total phony at this point. He spent the last few months talking about how devastating these Medicaid cuts would be for the people that he represents in Missouri, and then turned around and actually voted for it. If he wanted to do something about these Medicaid cuts, he actually was the deciding vote, and he could have stopped it, just like Lisa Murkowski could have stopped it. We saw the same thing in the House of Representatives, where many of these so-called moderates who spent months saying they would never vote to cut Medicaid benefits to their constituents, and then they turned around and did exactly that. We’re going to have to get this situation addressed, but we have no faith that Republicans are actually committed to doing it in good faith. This is going to fall to Democrats in the House and the Senate. It’s one of the reasons why the midterm elections are going to be so important.

    CHRIS HAYES: Two quick questions for you before I let you go. One is there’s an announcement that Texas is going to do mid-decade redistricting. They did this under the Bush administration. It’s a violation of the normal norms because they want to, like, juice Republican representation. And they’re going to call a special session. Is there anything Democratic governors can do in large states like New York and California to respond to this?

    LEADER JEFFRIES: Republicans are running scared. This is outrageous, that they’re going to attempt to rig the midterm elections by gerrymandering a congressional map in Texas that is already gerrymandered, Chris.

    CHRIS HAYES: Yes it is.

    LEADER JEFFRIES: And so, what’s interesting about this is that this may be what has often been referred to as a dummymander, where as part of the effort to actually steal some more seats, they may make it easier for us because they’re going to shift Democrats into Republican held districts to actually flip some seats currently held by Republican incumbents. In terms of the Governor of California, who has been very vocal on this, and the Governor of New York and other states, it seems to me that all options should be on the table to make sure that we are unilaterally disarming when everything we care about, the economy and healthcare and democracy itself are at stake.

    CHRIS HAYES: Final question quickly. You’re meeting with Zohran Mamdani. You have not endorsed him yet. What do you say to people who say, why are you not endorsing the guy that won the Democratic primary in a contested election in your backyard?

    LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, I look forward to sitting down and talking to him. I didn’t get involved in that primary election, and I don’t know him well. We had a very good conversation the day after the primary. We agreed to meet. And so, I’m looking forward to having that discussion on Friday.

    CHRIS HAYES: Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, thank you very much. Appreciate it.

    Full interview can be watched here.

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: ER Report: A Roundup of Significant Articles on EveningReport.nz for July 16, 2025

    ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on July 16, 2025.

    How a drone delivering medicine might just save your life
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Centaine Snoswell, Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Health Services Research, The University of Queensland Flystock/Shutterstock Drones can deliver pizza, and maybe one day your online shopping. So why not use them to deliver urgent medicines or other emergency health-care supplies? Trials in Australia and internationally have shown

    Why it’s important young, unemployed Australians get a good job instead of just ‘any’ job
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brendan Churchill, ARC Senior Research Fellow and Senior Lecturer in Sociology, The University of Melbourne Lightfield Studios/Shutterstock We often hear young people need to get a job – any job – but what if the problem isn’t whether they’re working or not, but the kind of job

    Why do some autistic people walk differently?
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nicole Rinehart, Nicole Rinehart, Professor, Clinical Psychology, Director of the Neurodevelopment Program, School of Psychological Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University Autism is a neurodevelopmental condition that affects how people’s brains develop and function, impacting behaviour, communication and socialising. It can also involve

    How to approach going to the cinema like a philosopher
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alain Guillemain, PhD Candidate in Philosophy, Deakin University Philosophy is the study of fundamental questions about reality, knowledge, and values. One “does philosophy” when they respond to such questions in ways that engage critical thought and inquiry. Many of us will often respond philosophically to the world

    Australia’s census is getting a stress test – keeping it going is good for everyone
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Liz Allen, Demographer, POLIS Centre for Social Policy Research, Australian National University GoldPanter/Shutterstock The Australian Bureau of Statistics will roll out a large-scale census test next month. About 60,000 households will take part across the country to stress test the bureau’s collection processes and IT systems, ahead

    How safe are the chemicals in sunscreen? A pharmacology expert explains
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Musgrave, Senior Lecturer in Pharmacology, University of Adelaide aquaArts studio/Getty Last week, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) released its safety review of seven active ingredients commonly used in sunscreens. It found five were low-risk and appropriate for use in sunscreens at their current concentrations. However, the

    Control fire and ferals in Australia’s tropical savannas to bring the small mammals back
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alyson Stobo-Wilson, Research Adjunct in Conservation Ecology, Research Institute for the Environment and Livelihoods, Charles Darwin University Alyson Stobo-Wilson In remote central Arnhem Land, finding a northern brushtail possum is encouraging for the local Indigenous rangers. Though once common, such small native mammals are now rare. Many

    Florida is fronting the $450M cost of Alligator Alcatraz – a legal scholar explains what we still don’t know about the detainees
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Schlakman, Senior Program Director, The Florida State University Center for the Advancement of Human Rights, Florida State University Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis leads a tour of the new Alligator Alcatraz immigration detention facility for President Donald Trump and U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

    As house prices drop, will the retirement nest egg still be such a safe bet?
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Claire Dale, Research Fellow, the Pensions and Intergenerational Equity (PIE) research hub, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau MonthiraYodtiwong/Getty Images Changes to KiwiSaver, global economic uncertainty and predictions house prices could drop by as much as 20% by 2030 all mean retirement is looking very different to

    Fiji govt offers NZ$1.5m settlement to former anti-corruption head for ruined career
    By Margot Staunton, RNZ Pacific senior reporter The Fiji government looks set to pay around NZ$1.5 million in damages to the disgraced former head of the country’s anti-corruption agency FICAC. The state is offering Barbara Malimali an out-of-court settlement after her lawyer lodged a judicial review of her sacking in the High Court in Suva.

    Federal Court rules Australian government doesn’t have a duty of care to protect Torres Strait Islanders from climate change
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Liz Hicks, Lecturer in Law, The University of Melbourne Australian Climate Case The Federal Court has handed down its long-awaited judgement in a four-year climate case brought by Torres Strait Islanders. Elders Uncle Pabai Pabai and Uncle Paul Kabai took the Australian government to court on behalf

    No more card surcharges: what the Reserve Bank’s proposed changes mean for your wallet
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Angel Zhong, Professor of Finance, RMIT University That extra 10c on your morning coffee. That $2 surcharge on your taxi ride. The sneaky 1.5% fee when you pay by card at your local restaurant. These could all soon be history. The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has

    President Xi Jinping tells Albanese China ready to ‘push the bilateral relationship further’
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Chinese President Xi Jinping has told Anthony Albanese China stands ready to work with Australia “to push the bilateral relationship further”, in their meeting in Beijing on Tuesday. During the meeting, Albanese raised Australia’s concern about China’s lack of proper

    Tyranny is an ever-present threat to civilisations. Here’s how Classical Greece and China dealt with it
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Shannon Brincat, Senior Lecturer in Politics and International Relations, University of the Sunshine Coast We’re just a few months into US president Donald Trump’s second term but his rule has already been repeatedly compared to tyranny. This may all feel very new to Americans, and to the

    A person in the US has died from pneumonic plague. It’s not just a disease of history
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Thomas Jeffries, Senior Lecturer in Microbiology, Western Sydney University Corona Borealis Studio/Shutterstock A person in Arizona has died from the plague, local health officials reported on Friday. This marks the first such death in this region in 18 years. But it’s a stark reminder that this historic

    Supermarket treatments for depression don’t require a prescription. But do they work?
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jon Wardle, Professor of Public Health, Southern Cross University Australians have long been some of the highest users of herbal and nutritional supplements that claim to boost mood or ease depression. These include omega-3s (found in fish oil), St John’s wort, probiotics and vitamin D. In fact,

    Tyranny is an ever-present threat to civilisations. Here’s how Ancient Greece and China dealt with it
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Shannon Brincat, Senior Lecturer in Politics and International Relations, University of the Sunshine Coast Panasevich/Getty Images We’re just a few months into US president Donald Trump’s second term but his rule has already been repeatedly compared to tyranny. This may all feel very new to Americans, and

    After a hopeful start, Labor’s affordable housing fund is proving problematic
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katrina Raynor, Director of the Centre for Equitable Housing, Per Capita and Research Associate, The University of Melbourne When the Albanese government announced the A$10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund in 2023, the news reverberated through the housing sector. A new funding facility to help build 30,000

    The southern hemisphere is full of birds found nowhere else on Earth. Their importance has been overlooked
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Matthias Dehling, Researcher, School of Biological Sciences, Monash University Matthias Dehling The snow petrel, a strikingly white bird with black eyes and a black bill, is one of only three bird species ever observed at the South Pole. In fact, the Antarctic is the only place on

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Hawley Urges DHS Secretary Noem to Declassify Trump Butler Assassination Records

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo)

    U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, calling on the agency to declassify all documents related to the July 13, 2024, assassination attempt on President Trump in Butler, PA.

    “I write to you following the one-year anniversary of the first assassination attempt against President Donald J. Trump. This occasion marks a deeply troubling chapter in our nation’s history and serves as a reminder of the importance of transparency in preserving public trust during moments of national crisis. To that end, I urge you to take the necessary steps to declassify all documents within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) related to the events of July 13, 2024,” Senator Hawley wrote. 

    In September 2024, Senator Hawley released a 22-page whistleblower report detailing the failures of the United States Secret Service in connection with the July 13, 2024 attempted assassination of President Trump.

    Read the full letter here or below. 

    The Honorable Kristi Noem
    Secretary
    U.S. Department of Homeland Security
    2707 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave SE
    Washington, D.C. 20528

    Dear Secretary Noem,

    I write to you following the one-year anniversary of the first assassination attempt against President Donald J. Trump. This occasion marks a deeply troubling chapter in our nation’s history and serves as a reminder of the importance of transparency in preserving public trust during moments of national crisis. To that end, I urge you to take the necessary steps to declassify all documents within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) related to the events of July 13, 2024.

    As you know, assassination attempts against current and former presidents are rare but profoundly consequential events in American life. And the American people rightly expect full transparency from their government. Unfortunately, the Secret Service and DHS under your predecessor stonewalled numerous congressional investigations—including my own—and denied the American people basic facts. The public learned far more from whistleblowers than they did from public officials, and I released a report documenting these disclosures, many of which have been corroborated to date.

    In October of last year, in a unanimous vote, the Homeland Security Committee passed my legislation requiring the Secret Service release to the public all pertinent documents. Now, I am requesting that you immediately declassify and release all documents relating to the first assassination attempt on President Trump within the full extent of your authority, subject only to the narrowest possible redactions necessary to protect ongoing operations or individual safety.

    The public deserves a full and accurate account of this event, the circumstances that allowed it to happen, and the steps the government has taken since to strengthen protective measures. To that end, and to advance congressional oversight work, I request that you provide the following by July 30, 2025:

    1. A complete inventory of all classified or non-public materials related to the first assassination attempt on President Trump, including reports, internal communications, threat assessments, after-action reviews, and coordination records with other agencies.

    2. A formal explanation for the continued classification of any materials you believe must remain restricted.

    3. A proposed plan and timeline for the immediate declassification and public release of all remaining documents, with minimal redactions.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Hawley Urges DHS Secretary Noem to Declassify Trump Butler Assassination Records

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo)

    U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, calling on the agency to declassify all documents related to the July 13, 2024, assassination attempt on President Trump in Butler, PA.

    “I write to you following the one-year anniversary of the first assassination attempt against President Donald J. Trump. This occasion marks a deeply troubling chapter in our nation’s history and serves as a reminder of the importance of transparency in preserving public trust during moments of national crisis. To that end, I urge you to take the necessary steps to declassify all documents within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) related to the events of July 13, 2024,” Senator Hawley wrote. 

    In September 2024, Senator Hawley released a 22-page whistleblower report detailing the failures of the United States Secret Service in connection with the July 13, 2024 attempted assassination of President Trump.

    Read the full letter here or below. 

    The Honorable Kristi Noem
    Secretary
    U.S. Department of Homeland Security
    2707 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave SE
    Washington, D.C. 20528

    Dear Secretary Noem,

    I write to you following the one-year anniversary of the first assassination attempt against President Donald J. Trump. This occasion marks a deeply troubling chapter in our nation’s history and serves as a reminder of the importance of transparency in preserving public trust during moments of national crisis. To that end, I urge you to take the necessary steps to declassify all documents within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) related to the events of July 13, 2024.

    As you know, assassination attempts against current and former presidents are rare but profoundly consequential events in American life. And the American people rightly expect full transparency from their government. Unfortunately, the Secret Service and DHS under your predecessor stonewalled numerous congressional investigations—including my own—and denied the American people basic facts. The public learned far more from whistleblowers than they did from public officials, and I released a report documenting these disclosures, many of which have been corroborated to date.

    In October of last year, in a unanimous vote, the Homeland Security Committee passed my legislation requiring the Secret Service release to the public all pertinent documents. Now, I am requesting that you immediately declassify and release all documents relating to the first assassination attempt on President Trump within the full extent of your authority, subject only to the narrowest possible redactions necessary to protect ongoing operations or individual safety.

    The public deserves a full and accurate account of this event, the circumstances that allowed it to happen, and the steps the government has taken since to strengthen protective measures. To that end, and to advance congressional oversight work, I request that you provide the following by July 30, 2025:

    1. A complete inventory of all classified or non-public materials related to the first assassination attempt on President Trump, including reports, internal communications, threat assessments, after-action reviews, and coordination records with other agencies.

    2. A formal explanation for the continued classification of any materials you believe must remain restricted.

    3. A proposed plan and timeline for the immediate declassification and public release of all remaining documents, with minimal redactions.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Murray, Scott, Colleagues Reintroduce Child Care for Working Families Act—Democrats Advocate for Affordable Child Care While Trump & Republicans Blow Up Debt on Billionaire Tax Cuts and Attack Head Start and Federal Child Care Programs

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Washington State Patty Murray

    As Republicans deliver fresh tax breaks for billionaires and kick Americans off their health care, Democrats continue their fight to help families find and afford child care

    ***WATCH PRESS CONFERENCE HERE***

    Washington, D.C. – Today, Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee and a senior member and former chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and Congressman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (D-VA-03), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Education and Workforce, joined their colleagues in reintroducing the Child Care for Working Families Act, comprehensive legislation to ensure families across America can find and afford the high-quality child care they need.

    Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), and Andy Kim (D-NJ) and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) joined Senator Murray in leading reintroduction of the legislation alongside 39 additional cosponsors in the Senate—the most in the bill’s history.

    House Democratic Whip Katherine Clark (D-MA-05) and Representative Summer Lee (D-PA-12) joined Representative Scott in leading reintroduction of the legislation alongside 80 additional cosponsors in the House.

    “Right now, the cost of child care and other essentials is weighing millions of families down, but instead of tackling the affordability crisis, President Trump and Republicans have chosen to shower their billionaire donors with trillions of dollars in new tax breaks and kick 17 million Americans off their health care,” said Senator Patty Murray. “It’s an outrageous betrayal, and instead of wasting billions on handouts for the richest people on earth, Democrats are going to keep fighting to help working families afford the basics and get ahead—including by passing my Child Care for Working Families Act to ensure every family can find and afford the child care they need. Just about everyone now recognizes how urgent an issue the child care crisis is—and how badly it hurts families and our economy—so I invite my Republican colleagues to join us to finally deliver the actual reform we need to address this crisis. This is an ambitious and commonsense plan to build child care centers, hire and retain more early childhood educators, and make sure every family can afford child care—with the typical family paying less than $15 a day. Not only that, we’d finally set this country on the path to universal Pre-K. People actually want Congress to do this—don’t tell me we can’t afford to invest in child care and bring down costs for every family after Republicans just blew up the national debt to give tax breaks to billionaires who don’t need them.”

    “Our economy forces too many workers to choose between their jobs and caring for their children. Without investments in the care economy, jobs will remain unfilled because too many workers, especially women, will have to remain at home and our economy will never reach its full potential,” said Ranking Member Robert C. “Bobby” Scott. “Let’s be clear. The child care crisis cannot be solved without sustained public funding. The Child Care for Working Families Act makes the investments we need to turn our child care system around and meet the needs of children, parents, and child care workers. We must finally pass this bill and expand access to affordable, quality early learning opportunities, provide child care workers with the support they deserve, and give parents the freedom to pursue rewarding careers and contribute to our economic growth.”

    As President Trump and Republicans in Congress choose to spend trillions on new tax cuts for billionaires and the biggest corporations, kick Americans off their health care, cut kids off from nutrition assistance, and raise costs on everyday essentials for working families, Democrats in Congress are continuing their push to help working people make ends meet—including by tackling the child care crisis. The cost of child care nationwide continues to rise—and far from helping tackle it, President Trump is exacerbating the affordability crisis. The average cost of child care is now $13,128—a 29% increase since 2020 that outpaces inflation. In 49 states and the District of Columbia, the average annual costs of child care for two children exceeds median rent—and in 41 states and the District of Columbia, the cost of care for one infant exceeds in-state university tuition. The crisis costs the U.S. economy over $100 billion each year. Nonetheless, President Trump has gutted oversight of and support for the federal child care office, held up child care funding to states, held up Head Start funding, and now created massive holes in states’ budgets with the “Big Beautiful Bill’s” cuts to Medicaid and SNAP—which may well force states to pare back on their own investments in child care. While two-thirds of Americans oppose Republicans’ Big Beautiful Betrayal that President Trump signed into law earlier this month, over three-quarters of Americans support increased investment to help families afford child care.

    The Child Care for Working Families Act would tackle the child care crisis head-on: ensuring families can afford the child care they need, expanding access to more high-quality options, stabilizing the child care sector, and helping ensure child care workers taking care of our nation’s kids are paid livable wages. The legislation will also dramatically expand access to pre-K, and support full-day, full-year Head Start programs and increased wages for Head Start workers. Under the legislation, which Murray and Scott have introduced every Congress since 2017, the typical family in America will pay no more than $15 a day for child care—with many families paying nothing at all—and no eligible family will pay more than 7% of their income on child care.

    “Families should not have to break the bank to afford child care. Democrats are fighting to ensure working families can access the child care they need, and that hardworking child care workers get paid what they deserve,” said Leader Chuck Schumer. “Republicans have a different priority – giving tax breaks to the ultra-wealthy, paid for by cutting health care and food assistance for millions of families. The contrast couldn’t be clearer and Republicans couldn’t be crueler. We hope Republicans will join us in moving forward legislation that will actually help working people and invest in kids and families.”

    “Child care enables parents to work and kids to thrive. But right now, it’s impossibly expensive,” said Democratic Whip Katherine Clark. “In the richest nation on earth, no parent should have to choose between groceries and child care. Under this bill, the typical family will pay no more than $15 a day for care. Ultimately, this bill is about giving every family a fair shot at the American Dream. I want my Republican colleagues to look parents in the eye and explain how they can oppose that.”

    “The child care crisis is holding our families, businesses, and economy back,” said Senator Tim Kaine. “I’ve heard from parents in every corner of Virginia about how they’re being locked out of the workforce because they can’t find affordable care for their kids, and from passionate child care workers who are pressured to leave their field because of low wages. Especially as we contend with the economic chaos and uncertainty caused by President Trump, Congress can and must do more to address this issue and put affordable care within reach. By raising salaries for low-wage child care employees and capping child care costs at seven percent of working families’ incomes, we can make child care more accessible and affordable, support passionate workers in the field, and strengthen our economy.”

    “Throughout our country, too many working and middle class families struggle to find access to high-quality, affordable child care, forcing parents to make tough sacrifices for their children,” said Senator Mazie Hirono. “Child care is essential to the strength of our communities, and every family should be able to access the affordable care they need and deserve. That’s why I am proud to reintroduce the Child Care for Working Families Act, which would provide a long-term investment in our children as an important step forward in tackling our country’s child care crisis.”

    “Parents and working families are struggling under an affordability crisis being made worse by the Trump administration — many without any childcare options they can afford or reasonably get their kids to every day,” said Senator Andy Kim. “This bill is the comprehensive reform we need to tackle the childcare shortage, deliver families immediate relief, and make sure we better support the workers who go above and beyond to deliver this high-quality care.”

    “We are experiencing a child care crisis in this country. Child care—if folks can even find it—is pushing families into poverty, and Trump’s Big Ugly bill will only exacerbate the struggles our families are dealing with,” said Representative Summer Lee. “The Child Care for Working Families Act is a means to putting an end to this crisis. We have to make sure families have access to child care slots, that no family spends more than seven percent of their income on child care, and that all early childhood educators make a livable wage. I am grateful for Ranking Member Bobby Scott and Senator Patty Murray for their partnership on this bill, and I look forward to seeing it over the finish line.”

    The Child Care for Working Families Act will:

    • Make child care affordable for working families.
      • The typical family earning the state median income will pay less than $15 a day for child care.
      • No working family will pay more than seven percent of their income on child care.
      • Families earning below 85% of state median income will pay nothing at all for child care.
      • If a state does not choose to receive funding under this program, the Secretary can provide funds to localities, such as cities, counties, local governments, districts, or Head Start agencies.
    • Improve the quality and supply of child care for all children and expand families’ child care options by:
      • Addressing child care deserts by providing grants to help open new child care providers in underserved communities.
      • Providing grants to cover start-up and licensing costs to help establish new providers.
      • Increasing child care options for children who receive care during non-traditional hours.
      • Supporting child care for children who are dual-language learners, children who are experiencing homelessness, and children in foster care.
    • Support higher wages for child care workers.
      • Child care workers would be paid a living wage and achieve parity with elementary school teachers who have similar credentials and experience.
      • Child care subsidies would cover the cost of providing high-quality care.
    • Dramatically expand access to high-quality pre-K.
      • States would receive funding to establish and expand a mixed-delivery system of high-quality preschool programs for 3- and 4-year-olds.
      • States must prioritize establishing and expanding universal local preschool programs within and across high-need communities.
      • If a state does not choose to receive funding under this program, the Secretary can provide funds to localities, such as cities, counties, local governments, districts, or Head Start agencies.
    • Better support Head Start programs by providing the funding necessary to offer full-day, full-year programming and increasing wages for Head Start workers.

    In the Senate, the bill is cosponsored by 44 Senators: Senators Murray, Kaine, Hirono, Kim, Schumer, Alsobrooks, Baldwin, Bennet, Blumenthal, Blunt Rochester, Booker, Cantwell, Coons, Cortez-Masto, Duckworth, Durbin, Fetterman, Gallego, Gillibrand, Hassan, Heinrich, Hickenlooper, Kelly, King, Klobuchar, Lujan, Markey, Merkley, Murphy, Padilla, Peters, Reed, Rosen, Sanders, Schatz, Schiff, Shaheen, Slotkin, Smith, Van Hollen, Warnock, Welch, Whitehouse, Wyden.

    In the House, the bill is cosponsored by 83 lawmakers: Representatives Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03), Democratic Whip Katherine Clark (MA-05), Summer Lee (PA-12), Danny K. Davis (IL-07), Julia Brownley (CA-26), Paul Tonko (NY-20), Cleo Fields (LA-06), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC-AL), Rashida Tlaib (MI-12), Delia C. Ramirez (IL-03), Nancy Pelosi (CA-11), Bennie G. Thompson (MS-02), Jonathan L. Jackson (IL-01), Melanie A. Stansbury (NM-01), Andrea Salinas (OR-06), LaMonica McIver (NJ-10), Nikema Williams (GA-05), Lucy McBath (GA-06), Yassamin Ansari (AZ-03), Eric Swalwell (CA-14), Gwen Moore (WI-04), Joaquin Castro (TX-20), Maxwell Frost (FL-10), André Carson (IN-07), Kathy Castor (FL-14), George Latimer (NY-16), Chellie Pingree (ME-01), Robert Garcia (CA-42), Maggie Goodlander (NH-02), Hillary J. Scholten (MI-03), Shri Thanedar (MI-13), Jasmine Crockett (TX-30), Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), Robin L. Kelly (IL-02), Lauren Underwood (IL-14), Troy A. Carter (LA-02), Mark Pocan (WI-02), April McClain Delaney (MD-06), Ted W. Lieu (CA-36), Sarah McBride (DE-AL), Juan Vargas (CA-52), Teresa Leger Fernandez (NM-03), Betty McCollum (MN-03), Debbie Dingell (MI-06), Lois Frankel (FL-22), Donald Norcross (NJ-01), Jennifer L. McClellan (VA-04), Kristen McDonald Rivet (MI-08), Sarah Elfreth (MD-03), Suzan K. DelBene (WA-01), Madeleine Dean (PA-04), Morgan McGarvey (KY-03), Jill N. Tokuda (HI-02), Yvette D. Clarke (NY-09), Seth Moulton (MA-06), William R. Keating (MA-09), Linda T. Sánchez (CA-38), Judy Chu (CA-28), Robert Menendez (NJ-08), Janice D. Schakowsky (IL-09), Lateefah Simon (CA-12), Frederica S. Wilson (FL-24), Adam Smith (WA-09), Haley M. Stevens (MI-11), Greg Landsman (OH-01), Deborah K. Ross (NC-02), Rosa L. DeLauro (CT-03), Jerrold Nadler (NY-12), Dwight Evans (PA-03), Suhas Subramanyam (VA-10), Joyce Beatty (OH-03), Josh Gottheimer (NJ-05), Dina Titus (NV-01), Brittany Pettersen (CO-07), Nikki Budzinski (IL-13), Seth Magaziner (RI-02), Terri A. Sewell (AL-07), Shontel M. Brown (OH-11), Sean Casten (IL-06), John Garamendi (CA-08), Jamie Raskin (MD-08), Donald S. Beyer Jr. (VA-08), and Sharice Davids (KS-03).

    A fact sheet on the legislation is available HERE.

    Text of the legislation if available HERE.

    “As Child Care Aware of America’s report, Child Care in America: 2024 Price & Supply shows, in every region of the country, there are far too many families that do not have access to affordable and high-quality child care. The high price of child care is often one of the largest household expenses for families. And yet, our educators and programs struggle to make ends meet. Current federal investment in child care is not meeting the needs faced by families across the country. The Child Care for Working Families Act would help ensure more families have access to high-quality and affordable child care,” said Child Care Aware of America.

    “For far too long, children, families, and providers have borne the burden of a broken child care sector. The Child Care for Working Families Act would make access to child care more equitable and affordable for families across the country while also better valuing and compensating the child care workforce. Families need relief from untenable child care prices. Children need reliable education and care settings. Providers need increased education supports, consistent employment, and higher wages. This bill will deliver necessary improvements to America’s child care sector,” said Wendy Chun-Hoon, President and Executive Director, Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP).

    “Recognizing  and supporting child care as a true public good simply requires the political will from our elected leaders because the political will from families across the country is already there. Americans agree we should have equal opportunities to engage in the workforce regardless of gender and parental status and making that a reality shouldn’t break the bank for families. I want to thank Senator Murray, Rep. Scott and the child care champions leading the way on the Child Care for Working Families Act. The bill builds on the excellent foundation of its previous iterations, incorporates lessons from the pandemic, ARPA, and the experience of nearly achieving historic child care and early learning policy during the Build Back Better debate. Children, families, and America’s economic growth cannot wait,” said TCF Senior Fellow and Director of Women’s Economic Justice Julie Kashen.

    “Making child care more affordable isn’t just good for families—it’s essential for a thriving economy, strong businesses, and vibrant communities,” said Fatima Goss Graves, president of the National Women’s Law Center Action Fund. “Instead of working to pass legislation that will increase costs for families while giving tax breaks to billionaires, Congress should pass the Child Care for Working Families Act. This billwould lower costs for families, raise wages for early educators, and tackle the child care crisis head on.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Murray, Scott, Colleagues Reintroduce Child Care for Working Families Act—Democrats Advocate for Affordable Child Care While Trump & Republicans Blow Up Debt on Billionaire Tax Cuts and Attack Head Start and Federal Child Care Programs

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Washington State Patty Murray

    As Republicans deliver fresh tax breaks for billionaires and kick Americans off their health care, Democrats continue their fight to help families find and afford child care

    ***WATCH PRESS CONFERENCE HERE***

    Washington, D.C. – Today, Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee and a senior member and former chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and Congressman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (D-VA-03), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Education and Workforce, joined their colleagues in reintroducing the Child Care for Working Families Act, comprehensive legislation to ensure families across America can find and afford the high-quality child care they need.

    Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), and Andy Kim (D-NJ) and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) joined Senator Murray in leading reintroduction of the legislation alongside 39 additional cosponsors in the Senate—the most in the bill’s history.

    House Democratic Whip Katherine Clark (D-MA-05) and Representative Summer Lee (D-PA-12) joined Representative Scott in leading reintroduction of the legislation alongside 80 additional cosponsors in the House.

    “Right now, the cost of child care and other essentials is weighing millions of families down, but instead of tackling the affordability crisis, President Trump and Republicans have chosen to shower their billionaire donors with trillions of dollars in new tax breaks and kick 17 million Americans off their health care,” said Senator Patty Murray. “It’s an outrageous betrayal, and instead of wasting billions on handouts for the richest people on earth, Democrats are going to keep fighting to help working families afford the basics and get ahead—including by passing my Child Care for Working Families Act to ensure every family can find and afford the child care they need. Just about everyone now recognizes how urgent an issue the child care crisis is—and how badly it hurts families and our economy—so I invite my Republican colleagues to join us to finally deliver the actual reform we need to address this crisis. This is an ambitious and commonsense plan to build child care centers, hire and retain more early childhood educators, and make sure every family can afford child care—with the typical family paying less than $15 a day. Not only that, we’d finally set this country on the path to universal Pre-K. People actually want Congress to do this—don’t tell me we can’t afford to invest in child care and bring down costs for every family after Republicans just blew up the national debt to give tax breaks to billionaires who don’t need them.”

    “Our economy forces too many workers to choose between their jobs and caring for their children. Without investments in the care economy, jobs will remain unfilled because too many workers, especially women, will have to remain at home and our economy will never reach its full potential,” said Ranking Member Robert C. “Bobby” Scott. “Let’s be clear. The child care crisis cannot be solved without sustained public funding. The Child Care for Working Families Act makes the investments we need to turn our child care system around and meet the needs of children, parents, and child care workers. We must finally pass this bill and expand access to affordable, quality early learning opportunities, provide child care workers with the support they deserve, and give parents the freedom to pursue rewarding careers and contribute to our economic growth.”

    As President Trump and Republicans in Congress choose to spend trillions on new tax cuts for billionaires and the biggest corporations, kick Americans off their health care, cut kids off from nutrition assistance, and raise costs on everyday essentials for working families, Democrats in Congress are continuing their push to help working people make ends meet—including by tackling the child care crisis. The cost of child care nationwide continues to rise—and far from helping tackle it, President Trump is exacerbating the affordability crisis. The average cost of child care is now $13,128—a 29% increase since 2020 that outpaces inflation. In 49 states and the District of Columbia, the average annual costs of child care for two children exceeds median rent—and in 41 states and the District of Columbia, the cost of care for one infant exceeds in-state university tuition. The crisis costs the U.S. economy over $100 billion each year. Nonetheless, President Trump has gutted oversight of and support for the federal child care office, held up child care funding to states, held up Head Start funding, and now created massive holes in states’ budgets with the “Big Beautiful Bill’s” cuts to Medicaid and SNAP—which may well force states to pare back on their own investments in child care. While two-thirds of Americans oppose Republicans’ Big Beautiful Betrayal that President Trump signed into law earlier this month, over three-quarters of Americans support increased investment to help families afford child care.

    The Child Care for Working Families Act would tackle the child care crisis head-on: ensuring families can afford the child care they need, expanding access to more high-quality options, stabilizing the child care sector, and helping ensure child care workers taking care of our nation’s kids are paid livable wages. The legislation will also dramatically expand access to pre-K, and support full-day, full-year Head Start programs and increased wages for Head Start workers. Under the legislation, which Murray and Scott have introduced every Congress since 2017, the typical family in America will pay no more than $15 a day for child care—with many families paying nothing at all—and no eligible family will pay more than 7% of their income on child care.

    “Families should not have to break the bank to afford child care. Democrats are fighting to ensure working families can access the child care they need, and that hardworking child care workers get paid what they deserve,” said Leader Chuck Schumer. “Republicans have a different priority – giving tax breaks to the ultra-wealthy, paid for by cutting health care and food assistance for millions of families. The contrast couldn’t be clearer and Republicans couldn’t be crueler. We hope Republicans will join us in moving forward legislation that will actually help working people and invest in kids and families.”

    “Child care enables parents to work and kids to thrive. But right now, it’s impossibly expensive,” said Democratic Whip Katherine Clark. “In the richest nation on earth, no parent should have to choose between groceries and child care. Under this bill, the typical family will pay no more than $15 a day for care. Ultimately, this bill is about giving every family a fair shot at the American Dream. I want my Republican colleagues to look parents in the eye and explain how they can oppose that.”

    “The child care crisis is holding our families, businesses, and economy back,” said Senator Tim Kaine. “I’ve heard from parents in every corner of Virginia about how they’re being locked out of the workforce because they can’t find affordable care for their kids, and from passionate child care workers who are pressured to leave their field because of low wages. Especially as we contend with the economic chaos and uncertainty caused by President Trump, Congress can and must do more to address this issue and put affordable care within reach. By raising salaries for low-wage child care employees and capping child care costs at seven percent of working families’ incomes, we can make child care more accessible and affordable, support passionate workers in the field, and strengthen our economy.”

    “Throughout our country, too many working and middle class families struggle to find access to high-quality, affordable child care, forcing parents to make tough sacrifices for their children,” said Senator Mazie Hirono. “Child care is essential to the strength of our communities, and every family should be able to access the affordable care they need and deserve. That’s why I am proud to reintroduce the Child Care for Working Families Act, which would provide a long-term investment in our children as an important step forward in tackling our country’s child care crisis.”

    “Parents and working families are struggling under an affordability crisis being made worse by the Trump administration — many without any childcare options they can afford or reasonably get their kids to every day,” said Senator Andy Kim. “This bill is the comprehensive reform we need to tackle the childcare shortage, deliver families immediate relief, and make sure we better support the workers who go above and beyond to deliver this high-quality care.”

    “We are experiencing a child care crisis in this country. Child care—if folks can even find it—is pushing families into poverty, and Trump’s Big Ugly bill will only exacerbate the struggles our families are dealing with,” said Representative Summer Lee. “The Child Care for Working Families Act is a means to putting an end to this crisis. We have to make sure families have access to child care slots, that no family spends more than seven percent of their income on child care, and that all early childhood educators make a livable wage. I am grateful for Ranking Member Bobby Scott and Senator Patty Murray for their partnership on this bill, and I look forward to seeing it over the finish line.”

    The Child Care for Working Families Act will:

    • Make child care affordable for working families.
      • The typical family earning the state median income will pay less than $15 a day for child care.
      • No working family will pay more than seven percent of their income on child care.
      • Families earning below 85% of state median income will pay nothing at all for child care.
      • If a state does not choose to receive funding under this program, the Secretary can provide funds to localities, such as cities, counties, local governments, districts, or Head Start agencies.
    • Improve the quality and supply of child care for all children and expand families’ child care options by:
      • Addressing child care deserts by providing grants to help open new child care providers in underserved communities.
      • Providing grants to cover start-up and licensing costs to help establish new providers.
      • Increasing child care options for children who receive care during non-traditional hours.
      • Supporting child care for children who are dual-language learners, children who are experiencing homelessness, and children in foster care.
    • Support higher wages for child care workers.
      • Child care workers would be paid a living wage and achieve parity with elementary school teachers who have similar credentials and experience.
      • Child care subsidies would cover the cost of providing high-quality care.
    • Dramatically expand access to high-quality pre-K.
      • States would receive funding to establish and expand a mixed-delivery system of high-quality preschool programs for 3- and 4-year-olds.
      • States must prioritize establishing and expanding universal local preschool programs within and across high-need communities.
      • If a state does not choose to receive funding under this program, the Secretary can provide funds to localities, such as cities, counties, local governments, districts, or Head Start agencies.
    • Better support Head Start programs by providing the funding necessary to offer full-day, full-year programming and increasing wages for Head Start workers.

    In the Senate, the bill is cosponsored by 44 Senators: Senators Murray, Kaine, Hirono, Kim, Schumer, Alsobrooks, Baldwin, Bennet, Blumenthal, Blunt Rochester, Booker, Cantwell, Coons, Cortez-Masto, Duckworth, Durbin, Fetterman, Gallego, Gillibrand, Hassan, Heinrich, Hickenlooper, Kelly, King, Klobuchar, Lujan, Markey, Merkley, Murphy, Padilla, Peters, Reed, Rosen, Sanders, Schatz, Schiff, Shaheen, Slotkin, Smith, Van Hollen, Warnock, Welch, Whitehouse, Wyden.

    In the House, the bill is cosponsored by 83 lawmakers: Representatives Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03), Democratic Whip Katherine Clark (MA-05), Summer Lee (PA-12), Danny K. Davis (IL-07), Julia Brownley (CA-26), Paul Tonko (NY-20), Cleo Fields (LA-06), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC-AL), Rashida Tlaib (MI-12), Delia C. Ramirez (IL-03), Nancy Pelosi (CA-11), Bennie G. Thompson (MS-02), Jonathan L. Jackson (IL-01), Melanie A. Stansbury (NM-01), Andrea Salinas (OR-06), LaMonica McIver (NJ-10), Nikema Williams (GA-05), Lucy McBath (GA-06), Yassamin Ansari (AZ-03), Eric Swalwell (CA-14), Gwen Moore (WI-04), Joaquin Castro (TX-20), Maxwell Frost (FL-10), André Carson (IN-07), Kathy Castor (FL-14), George Latimer (NY-16), Chellie Pingree (ME-01), Robert Garcia (CA-42), Maggie Goodlander (NH-02), Hillary J. Scholten (MI-03), Shri Thanedar (MI-13), Jasmine Crockett (TX-30), Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), Robin L. Kelly (IL-02), Lauren Underwood (IL-14), Troy A. Carter (LA-02), Mark Pocan (WI-02), April McClain Delaney (MD-06), Ted W. Lieu (CA-36), Sarah McBride (DE-AL), Juan Vargas (CA-52), Teresa Leger Fernandez (NM-03), Betty McCollum (MN-03), Debbie Dingell (MI-06), Lois Frankel (FL-22), Donald Norcross (NJ-01), Jennifer L. McClellan (VA-04), Kristen McDonald Rivet (MI-08), Sarah Elfreth (MD-03), Suzan K. DelBene (WA-01), Madeleine Dean (PA-04), Morgan McGarvey (KY-03), Jill N. Tokuda (HI-02), Yvette D. Clarke (NY-09), Seth Moulton (MA-06), William R. Keating (MA-09), Linda T. Sánchez (CA-38), Judy Chu (CA-28), Robert Menendez (NJ-08), Janice D. Schakowsky (IL-09), Lateefah Simon (CA-12), Frederica S. Wilson (FL-24), Adam Smith (WA-09), Haley M. Stevens (MI-11), Greg Landsman (OH-01), Deborah K. Ross (NC-02), Rosa L. DeLauro (CT-03), Jerrold Nadler (NY-12), Dwight Evans (PA-03), Suhas Subramanyam (VA-10), Joyce Beatty (OH-03), Josh Gottheimer (NJ-05), Dina Titus (NV-01), Brittany Pettersen (CO-07), Nikki Budzinski (IL-13), Seth Magaziner (RI-02), Terri A. Sewell (AL-07), Shontel M. Brown (OH-11), Sean Casten (IL-06), John Garamendi (CA-08), Jamie Raskin (MD-08), Donald S. Beyer Jr. (VA-08), and Sharice Davids (KS-03).

    A fact sheet on the legislation is available HERE.

    Text of the legislation if available HERE.

    “As Child Care Aware of America’s report, Child Care in America: 2024 Price & Supply shows, in every region of the country, there are far too many families that do not have access to affordable and high-quality child care. The high price of child care is often one of the largest household expenses for families. And yet, our educators and programs struggle to make ends meet. Current federal investment in child care is not meeting the needs faced by families across the country. The Child Care for Working Families Act would help ensure more families have access to high-quality and affordable child care,” said Child Care Aware of America.

    “For far too long, children, families, and providers have borne the burden of a broken child care sector. The Child Care for Working Families Act would make access to child care more equitable and affordable for families across the country while also better valuing and compensating the child care workforce. Families need relief from untenable child care prices. Children need reliable education and care settings. Providers need increased education supports, consistent employment, and higher wages. This bill will deliver necessary improvements to America’s child care sector,” said Wendy Chun-Hoon, President and Executive Director, Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP).

    “Recognizing  and supporting child care as a true public good simply requires the political will from our elected leaders because the political will from families across the country is already there. Americans agree we should have equal opportunities to engage in the workforce regardless of gender and parental status and making that a reality shouldn’t break the bank for families. I want to thank Senator Murray, Rep. Scott and the child care champions leading the way on the Child Care for Working Families Act. The bill builds on the excellent foundation of its previous iterations, incorporates lessons from the pandemic, ARPA, and the experience of nearly achieving historic child care and early learning policy during the Build Back Better debate. Children, families, and America’s economic growth cannot wait,” said TCF Senior Fellow and Director of Women’s Economic Justice Julie Kashen.

    “Making child care more affordable isn’t just good for families—it’s essential for a thriving economy, strong businesses, and vibrant communities,” said Fatima Goss Graves, president of the National Women’s Law Center Action Fund. “Instead of working to pass legislation that will increase costs for families while giving tax breaks to billionaires, Congress should pass the Child Care for Working Families Act. This billwould lower costs for families, raise wages for early educators, and tackle the child care crisis head on.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Senator Murray Statement on Federal Arrests of Spokane Residents for Protests Against ICE

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Washington State Patty Murray

    ICYMI from June: Senator Murray Statement on Protests in Response to Immigration Arrests in Spokane

    Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, released the following statement on the news, reported by the Spokesman-Review, that federal agents arrested and searched the homes of Spokane residents who took part in a protests in Spokane on June 11th. The protests in June were sparked by the sudden detention of two asylum-seekers whose work visas were abruptly revoked days before.

    “The Trump administration is abusing the force of the law to intimidate Americans exercising their First Amendment rights—whether you are a Democrat or Republican, this is wrong and we all need to speak out against this disturbing perversion of justice.

    “If you are as angry as I am about Trump’s unconstitutional and cruel assault on immigrants, we need to speak out peacefully against inhumane policies. We lose our democracy when our voices fall silent.

    “Let’s be perfectly clear about Trump’s unconstitutional immigration crackdown: he is diverting limited federal resources away from pursuing violent criminals to instead round up individuals with no criminal record—and now, apparently, he’s going after peaceful protestors as well. We cannot be silent and I will be contacting DOJ directly regarding this gross abuse of federal resources.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Senator Murray Statement on Federal Arrests of Spokane Residents for Protests Against ICE

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Washington State Patty Murray

    ICYMI from June: Senator Murray Statement on Protests in Response to Immigration Arrests in Spokane

    Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, released the following statement on the news, reported by the Spokesman-Review, that federal agents arrested and searched the homes of Spokane residents who took part in a protests in Spokane on June 11th. The protests in June were sparked by the sudden detention of two asylum-seekers whose work visas were abruptly revoked days before.

    “The Trump administration is abusing the force of the law to intimidate Americans exercising their First Amendment rights—whether you are a Democrat or Republican, this is wrong and we all need to speak out against this disturbing perversion of justice.

    “If you are as angry as I am about Trump’s unconstitutional and cruel assault on immigrants, we need to speak out peacefully against inhumane policies. We lose our democracy when our voices fall silent.

    “Let’s be perfectly clear about Trump’s unconstitutional immigration crackdown: he is diverting limited federal resources away from pursuing violent criminals to instead round up individuals with no criminal record—and now, apparently, he’s going after peaceful protestors as well. We cannot be silent and I will be contacting DOJ directly regarding this gross abuse of federal resources.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Padilla, Peters, Merkley Sound Alarm on Potential Purging of Eligible Voters Through DHS Database

    US Senate News:

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

    Padilla, Peters, Merkley Sound Alarm on Potential Purging of Eligible Voters Through DHS Database

    Senators to DHS Secretary Noem: “As Secretary, you have a responsibility to assure the public that the Department is acting appropriately to protect citizens’ rights and personally identifiable data.”

    Senators criticize DHS for briefing election denier groups, but not Congress on uses of database on voting records

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senators Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Ranking Member of the Senate Rules and Administration Committee, Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Ranking Member of the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee (HSGAC), and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) expressed serious concerns that recent changes to and the expanded use of the insufficiently tested Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program could purge eligible citizens from state voter rolls.

    In addition to President Trump’s attempts to create obstacles to the ballot box through his anti-voter “election integrity” executive order earlier this year, DHS overhauled the program to verify the citizenship of voters on state voter rolls over false concerns of noncitizen voting. However, the Administration’s political agenda and data quality issues could lead to the erroneous disenfranchisement of eligible voters. The Senators warned that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has not conducted sufficient testing to root out errors and false positives that could make the SAVE program ready for widespread use by states to determine voter eligibility, independent of other databases.

    They also criticized DHS’ lack of transparency surrounding the program’s operations and safeguards. More than 9 million records have already been run through the new SAVE program with little to no transparency.

    “States and nonpartisan voter advocacy organizations have expressed concerns with using the SAVE program as a standalone tool to determine voter eligibility without adequate safeguards,” wrote the Senators. “In particular, there are concerns that data quality issues may cause state and local officials who rely on the program to receive false positives or incomplete results. This means state and local officials must take on additional burdens to verify SAVE’s results and to ensure that eligible Americans are not denied their right to cast a ballot.”

    “Public transparency and assurances that the Department is appropriately protecting citizens’ rights, including privacy, is extremely important,” continued the Senators. “Unfortunately, DHS has not issued any of the routine and required documentation about the program’s operations and safeguards or issued any public notice or notice to Congress. … It has been reported that the Department is apparently preparing to urge all state election officials to use this program but has not provided these officials with any briefings about its capabilities or safeguards.”

    The Senators expressed particular concern with the fact that DHS briefed the Election Integrity Network — an organization founded by Cleta Mitchell, a lawyer who worked to overturn the results of the 2020 election — on the changes to the SAVE program before providing information to lawmakers or the public. They requested that the Senate Rules and Administration Committee and HSGAC receive any materials shared with external organizations as well as a briefing on these changes to the SAVE program.

    Additionally, the Senators reiterated a series of questions for the record that Padilla previously asked USCIS Director nominee Joseph Edlow about the SAVE program. After receiving no substantive response from Edlow, the Senators asked Secretary Noem to respond to the same questions by July 29, 2025.

    Senator Padilla led 11 Senators in introducing the Defending America’s Future Elections Act to repeal Trump’s illegal anti-voter executive order and prevent the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from accessing sensitive voter registration data and state records. Padilla previously led 14 Democratic Senators in calling on Trump to revoke his illegal anti-voter executive order and issued a statement slamming the order when it was announced.

    Full text of the letter is available here and below:

    We are seeking information regarding the recent overhaul of the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program, which the Department has apparently undertaken with the goal of expanding the program to verify citizenship of voters on state voter rolls. 

    States and nonpartisan voter advocacy organizations have expressed concerns with using the SAVE program as a standalone tool to determine voter eligibility without adequate safeguards. In particular, there are concerns that data quality issues may cause state and local officials who rely on the program to receive false positives or incomplete results. This means state and local officials must take on additional burdens to verify SAVE’s results and to ensure that eligible Americans are not denied their right to cast a ballot. 

    Public transparency and assurances that the Department is appropriately protecting citizens’ rights, including privacy, is extremely important. Unfortunately, DHS has not issued any of the routine and required documentation about the program’s operations and safeguards or issued any public notice or notice to Congress. Recent reports indicate that the Department of Homeland Security has run more than 9 million voter records through the new SAVE system. It has been reported that the Department is apparently preparing to urge all state election officials to use this program but has not provided these officials with any briefings about its capabilities or safeguards.

    We are also gravely concerned that the Department has not shared information with lawmakers and the public, but did reportedly provide a private advance briefing about the changes to the database to the Election Integrity Network, an organization founded by Cleta Mitchell, a lawyer who worked to overturn the results of the 2020 election. 

    We request that USCIS brief the staff of the Senate Committees on Rules and Administration and Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and provide any other materials that have been shared with external organizations like EIN about the updates to the SAVE program.

    Further, Ranking Member Padilla previously posed a series of nomination hearing questions for the record to Joseph Edlow, the nominee to be Director of USCIS about the SAVE program but received no substantive responses in his reply. Given Mr. Edlow’s lack of response and the impact the use of this program will have on the American people, we are once again seeking complete and substantive answers to similar questions from you. As the program continues to be in use, we respectfully seek responses no later than July 29, 2025.

    1) What level of access to the SAVE program and the underlying data that feeds into it was provided to staff of the Department of Government Efficiency?

    a) What precautions, if any, were taken to ensure the integrity of the SAVE program and the data it accesses were not compromised?

    b) In initiating your changes, what if any notice did you provide to the public on data privacy?

    c) Will you commit that going forward USCIS will review and monitor all the user access, usage, and other relevant data related by all personnel to the SAVE program to ensure that individuals’ data is not compromised and compliance with the Privacy Act? 

    2) USCIS has announced that users can search the program using an individual’s Social Security Number, name, and date of birth. What categories of information are being shared by USCIS with the Social Security Administration, and vice versa?

    a) Does USCIS plan to segregate that data from searches that are conducted using a Department-issued identification number?

    b) Can you describe the testing USCIS has done to confirm accuracy of this expanded program? What is your accuracy rate? Is it possible to determine what percentage of US citizens could be falsely identified as non-citizens in the SAVE program?

    c) How will USCIS work to educate state and local election officials on the potential for falsely identifying individuals as noncitizens or providing inconclusive findings that can occur when using the system in the context of verifying voter eligibility?

    3) How does the Department plan to fund the SAVE program now that it is free to government agencies at the federal, state, and local level?

    a) What steps will be taken to ensure the program has the infrastructure to support this level of use, including hiring additional staff that may be needed for manual verifications to reconcile contradictory information? 

    4) Does the Department have memoranda of agreement (MOA) with each state or local agency that uses the SAVE program?

    a) If not, which agencies are using SAVE without an MOA? 

    b) Existing MOAs between USCIS and states on voting require remediation steps before a state may remove a voter from their rolls following a SAVE program’s non-confirmation of citizenship. How is USCIS actively seeking to ensure that states are in compliance with this provision of the MOA? 

    c) Will you make the MOAs public?

    5) Is the expansion of this program covered by the SAVE System of Records Notice published in 2020?

    a) If so, please provide a copy of the SAVE MOA or Computer Matching Agreement.

    b) If not, please provide any relevant interagency data-sharing or data-matching agreements between the Department and the Social Security Administration.

    6) Have you completed an updated Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) for the SAVE program. If so, please provide a copy. If not, please address:

    a) Data quality requirements and procedures

    b) Data retention and information sharing policies

    7) Does SAVE retain data from voter rolls? If so:

    a) What data elements are saved?

    b) Who within the Department has access to any saved data?

    c) How long is this data retained?

    As Secretary, you have a responsibility to assure the public that the Department is acting appropriately to protect citizens’ rights and personally identifiable data. We look forward to your prompt attention to these important questions.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Padilla, Peters, Merkley Sound Alarm on Potential Purging of Eligible Voters Through DHS Database

    US Senate News:

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

    Padilla, Peters, Merkley Sound Alarm on Potential Purging of Eligible Voters Through DHS Database

    Senators to DHS Secretary Noem: “As Secretary, you have a responsibility to assure the public that the Department is acting appropriately to protect citizens’ rights and personally identifiable data.”

    Senators criticize DHS for briefing election denier groups, but not Congress on uses of database on voting records

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senators Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Ranking Member of the Senate Rules and Administration Committee, Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Ranking Member of the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee (HSGAC), and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) expressed serious concerns that recent changes to and the expanded use of the insufficiently tested Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program could purge eligible citizens from state voter rolls.

    In addition to President Trump’s attempts to create obstacles to the ballot box through his anti-voter “election integrity” executive order earlier this year, DHS overhauled the program to verify the citizenship of voters on state voter rolls over false concerns of noncitizen voting. However, the Administration’s political agenda and data quality issues could lead to the erroneous disenfranchisement of eligible voters. The Senators warned that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has not conducted sufficient testing to root out errors and false positives that could make the SAVE program ready for widespread use by states to determine voter eligibility, independent of other databases.

    They also criticized DHS’ lack of transparency surrounding the program’s operations and safeguards. More than 9 million records have already been run through the new SAVE program with little to no transparency.

    “States and nonpartisan voter advocacy organizations have expressed concerns with using the SAVE program as a standalone tool to determine voter eligibility without adequate safeguards,” wrote the Senators. “In particular, there are concerns that data quality issues may cause state and local officials who rely on the program to receive false positives or incomplete results. This means state and local officials must take on additional burdens to verify SAVE’s results and to ensure that eligible Americans are not denied their right to cast a ballot.”

    “Public transparency and assurances that the Department is appropriately protecting citizens’ rights, including privacy, is extremely important,” continued the Senators. “Unfortunately, DHS has not issued any of the routine and required documentation about the program’s operations and safeguards or issued any public notice or notice to Congress. … It has been reported that the Department is apparently preparing to urge all state election officials to use this program but has not provided these officials with any briefings about its capabilities or safeguards.”

    The Senators expressed particular concern with the fact that DHS briefed the Election Integrity Network — an organization founded by Cleta Mitchell, a lawyer who worked to overturn the results of the 2020 election — on the changes to the SAVE program before providing information to lawmakers or the public. They requested that the Senate Rules and Administration Committee and HSGAC receive any materials shared with external organizations as well as a briefing on these changes to the SAVE program.

    Additionally, the Senators reiterated a series of questions for the record that Padilla previously asked USCIS Director nominee Joseph Edlow about the SAVE program. After receiving no substantive response from Edlow, the Senators asked Secretary Noem to respond to the same questions by July 29, 2025.

    Senator Padilla led 11 Senators in introducing the Defending America’s Future Elections Act to repeal Trump’s illegal anti-voter executive order and prevent the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from accessing sensitive voter registration data and state records. Padilla previously led 14 Democratic Senators in calling on Trump to revoke his illegal anti-voter executive order and issued a statement slamming the order when it was announced.

    Full text of the letter is available here and below:

    We are seeking information regarding the recent overhaul of the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program, which the Department has apparently undertaken with the goal of expanding the program to verify citizenship of voters on state voter rolls. 

    States and nonpartisan voter advocacy organizations have expressed concerns with using the SAVE program as a standalone tool to determine voter eligibility without adequate safeguards. In particular, there are concerns that data quality issues may cause state and local officials who rely on the program to receive false positives or incomplete results. This means state and local officials must take on additional burdens to verify SAVE’s results and to ensure that eligible Americans are not denied their right to cast a ballot. 

    Public transparency and assurances that the Department is appropriately protecting citizens’ rights, including privacy, is extremely important. Unfortunately, DHS has not issued any of the routine and required documentation about the program’s operations and safeguards or issued any public notice or notice to Congress. Recent reports indicate that the Department of Homeland Security has run more than 9 million voter records through the new SAVE system. It has been reported that the Department is apparently preparing to urge all state election officials to use this program but has not provided these officials with any briefings about its capabilities or safeguards.

    We are also gravely concerned that the Department has not shared information with lawmakers and the public, but did reportedly provide a private advance briefing about the changes to the database to the Election Integrity Network, an organization founded by Cleta Mitchell, a lawyer who worked to overturn the results of the 2020 election. 

    We request that USCIS brief the staff of the Senate Committees on Rules and Administration and Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and provide any other materials that have been shared with external organizations like EIN about the updates to the SAVE program.

    Further, Ranking Member Padilla previously posed a series of nomination hearing questions for the record to Joseph Edlow, the nominee to be Director of USCIS about the SAVE program but received no substantive responses in his reply. Given Mr. Edlow’s lack of response and the impact the use of this program will have on the American people, we are once again seeking complete and substantive answers to similar questions from you. As the program continues to be in use, we respectfully seek responses no later than July 29, 2025.

    1) What level of access to the SAVE program and the underlying data that feeds into it was provided to staff of the Department of Government Efficiency?

    a) What precautions, if any, were taken to ensure the integrity of the SAVE program and the data it accesses were not compromised?

    b) In initiating your changes, what if any notice did you provide to the public on data privacy?

    c) Will you commit that going forward USCIS will review and monitor all the user access, usage, and other relevant data related by all personnel to the SAVE program to ensure that individuals’ data is not compromised and compliance with the Privacy Act? 

    2) USCIS has announced that users can search the program using an individual’s Social Security Number, name, and date of birth. What categories of information are being shared by USCIS with the Social Security Administration, and vice versa?

    a) Does USCIS plan to segregate that data from searches that are conducted using a Department-issued identification number?

    b) Can you describe the testing USCIS has done to confirm accuracy of this expanded program? What is your accuracy rate? Is it possible to determine what percentage of US citizens could be falsely identified as non-citizens in the SAVE program?

    c) How will USCIS work to educate state and local election officials on the potential for falsely identifying individuals as noncitizens or providing inconclusive findings that can occur when using the system in the context of verifying voter eligibility?

    3) How does the Department plan to fund the SAVE program now that it is free to government agencies at the federal, state, and local level?

    a) What steps will be taken to ensure the program has the infrastructure to support this level of use, including hiring additional staff that may be needed for manual verifications to reconcile contradictory information? 

    4) Does the Department have memoranda of agreement (MOA) with each state or local agency that uses the SAVE program?

    a) If not, which agencies are using SAVE without an MOA? 

    b) Existing MOAs between USCIS and states on voting require remediation steps before a state may remove a voter from their rolls following a SAVE program’s non-confirmation of citizenship. How is USCIS actively seeking to ensure that states are in compliance with this provision of the MOA? 

    c) Will you make the MOAs public?

    5) Is the expansion of this program covered by the SAVE System of Records Notice published in 2020?

    a) If so, please provide a copy of the SAVE MOA or Computer Matching Agreement.

    b) If not, please provide any relevant interagency data-sharing or data-matching agreements between the Department and the Social Security Administration.

    6) Have you completed an updated Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) for the SAVE program. If so, please provide a copy. If not, please address:

    a) Data quality requirements and procedures

    b) Data retention and information sharing policies

    7) Does SAVE retain data from voter rolls? If so:

    a) What data elements are saved?

    b) Who within the Department has access to any saved data?

    c) How long is this data retained?

    As Secretary, you have a responsibility to assure the public that the Department is acting appropriately to protect citizens’ rights and personally identifiable data. We look forward to your prompt attention to these important questions.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Kaine, Scott and Colleagues Introduce Legislation to Make Child Care More Affordable

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Virginia Tim Kaine

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and U.S. Representative Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (D-VA-03), Ranking Member of the House Education and Workforce Committee, joined Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) in introducing the Child Care for Working Families Act, comprehensive legislation to ensure families across America can find and afford the high-quality child care they need. The average cost of child care is now $13,128—a 29 percent increase since 2020 that outpaces inflation. The Child Care for Working Families Act would tackle the child care crisis head-on: ensuring families can afford the child care they need, expanding access to more high-quality options, stabilizing the child care sector, and helping ensure child care workers taking care of our nation’s kids are paid livable wages. The legislation will also dramatically expand access to pre-K and support full-day, full-year Head Start programs and increased wages for Head Start workers.

    “The child care crisis is holding our families, businesses, and economy back,” said Kaine. “I’ve heard from parents in every corner of Virginia about how they’re being locked out of the workforce because they can’t find affordable care for their kids, and from passionate child care workers who are pressured to leave their field because of low wages. Especially as we contend with the economic chaos and uncertainty caused by President Trump, Congress can and must do more to address this issue and put affordable care within reach. By raising salaries for low-wage child care employees and capping child care costs at seven percent of working families’ incomes, we can make child care more accessible and affordable, support passionate workers in the field, and strengthen our economy.”

    “Our economy forces too many workers to choose between their jobs and caring for their children. Without investments in the care economy, jobs will remain unfilled because too many workers, especially women, will have to remain at home and our economy will never reach its full potential,” said Ranking Member Scott. “Let’s be clear. The child care crisis cannot be solved without sustained public funding. The Child Care for Working Families Act makes the investments we need to turn our child care system around and meet the needs of children, parents, and child care workers. We must finally pass this bill and expand access to affordable, quality early learning opportunities, provide child care workers with the support they deserve, and give parents the freedom to pursue rewarding careers and contribute to our economic growth.”

    In 49 states—including Virginia—and the District of Columbia, the average annual costs of child care for two children exceeds median rent. And in 41 states, including Virginia, and the District of Columbia, the cost of care for one infant exceeds in-state university tuition. The crisis costs the U.S. economy over $100 billion each year. This crisis could worsen as the Trump Administration has gutted oversight of and support for the federal child care office, held up child care funding to states, held up Head Start funding, and now created massive holes in states’ budgets with the GOP partisan megabill’s cuts to Medicaid and SNAP. These cuts could force states to pare back on their own investments in child care.

    The Child Care for Working Families Act will:

    • Make child care affordable for working families.
      • The typical family earning the state median income will pay about $10 a day for child care. 
      • No working family will pay more than seven percent of their income on child care.
      • Families earning below 85% of state median income will pay nothing at all for child care.
      • If a state does not choose to receive funding under this program, the Secretary can provide funds to localities, such as cities, counties, local governments, districts, or Head Start agencies.
    • Improve the quality and supply of child care for all children and expand families’ child care options by:
      • Addressing child care deserts by providing grants to help open new child care providers in underserved communities.
      • Providing grants to cover start-up and licensing costs to help establish new providers.
      • Increasing child care options for children who receive care during non-traditional hours.
      • Supporting child care for children who are dual-language learners, children who are experiencing homelessness, and children in foster care.
    • Support higher wages for child care workers.
      • Child care workers would be paid a living wage and achieve parity with elementary school teachers who have similar credentials and experience.
      • Child care subsidies would cover the cost of providing high-quality care.
    • Dramatically expand access to high-quality pre-K.
      • States would receive funding to establish and expand a mixed-delivery system of high-quality preschool programs for 3- and 4-year-olds.
      • States must prioritize establishing and expanding universal local preschool programs within and across high-need communities.
      • If a state does not choose to receive funding under this program, the Secretary can provide funds to localities, such as cities, counties, local governments, districts, or Head Start agencies.
    • Better support Head Start programs by providing the funding necessary to offer full-day, full-year programming and increasing wages for Head Start workers.

    Kaine has long pushed to expand access to child care. Earlier this year, he introduced the bipartisan Child Care Availability and Affordability Act and the Child Care Workforce Act—bipartisan, bicameral legislation that form a bold proposal to make child care more affordable and accessible by strengthening existing tax credits to lower child care costs and increase the supply of child care providers. Provisions from the legislation were signed into law by President Trump in July 2025. In 2023, Kaine introduced the Child Care Stabilization Act to expand vital child care funding to help providers keep their doors open. He has also introduced bipartisan legislation to develop, administer, and evaluate early childhood education apprenticeships.

    In addition to Kaine and Murray, the legislation is co-led in the Senate by U.S. Senators Mazie Hirono (D-HI) and Andy Kim (D-NJ) and cosponsored by U.S. Senators Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Chris Coons (D-DE), Catherine Cortez-Masto (D-NV), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Dick Durbin (D-IL), John Fetterman (D-PA), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Angus King (I-ME), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Ed Markey (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Gary Peters (D-MI), Jack Reed (D-RI), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Tina Smith (D-MN), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Rev. Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Peter Welch (D-VT), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Ron Wyden (D-OR), and Adam Schiff (D-CA).

    In addition to Scott, the legislation is co-led in the House by Whip Katherine Clark (D-MA-05) and Representative Summer Lee (D-PA-12) and is cosponsored by Danny K. Davis (IL-07), Julia Brownley (CA-26), Paul Tonko (NY-20), Cleo Fields (LA-06), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC-AL), Rashida Tlaib (MI-12), Delia C. Ramirez (IL-03), Nancy Pelosi (CA-11), Bennie G. Thompson (MS-02), Jonathan L. Jackson (IL-01), Melanie A. Stansbury (NM-01), Andrea Salinas (OR-06), LaMonica McIver (NJ-10), Nikema Williams (GA-05), Lucy McBath (GA-06), Yassamin Ansari (AZ-03), Eric Swalwell (CA-14), Gwen Moore (WI-04), Joaquin Castro (TX-20), Maxwell Frost (FL-10), André Carson (IN-07), Kathy Castor (FL-14), George Latimer (NY-16), Katherine M. Clark (MA-05), Chellie Pingree (ME-01), Robert Garcia (CA-42), Maggie Goodlander (NH-02), Hillary J. Scholten (MI-03), Shri Thanedar (MI-13), Jasmine Crockett (TX-30), Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), Robin L. Kelly (IL-02), Lauren Underwood (IL-14), Troy A. Carter (LA-02), Mark Pocan (WI-02), April McClain Delaney (MD-06), Ted W. Lieu (CA-36), Sarah McBride (DE-AL), Juan Vargas (CA-52), Teresa Leger Fernandez (NM-03), Betty McCollum (MN-03), Debbie Dingell (MI-06), Lois Frankel (FL-22), Donald Norcross (NJ-01), Jennifer L. McClellan (VA-04), Kristen McDonald Rivet (MI-08), Sarah Elfreth (MD-03), Suzan K. DelBene (WA-01), Madeleine Dean (PA-04), Morgan McGarvey (KY-03), Jill N. Tokuda (HI-02), Yvette D. Clarke (NY-09), Seth Moulton (MA-06), William R. Keating (MA-09), Linda T. Sánchez (CA-38), Judy Chu (CA-28), Robert Menendez (NJ-08), Janice D. Schakowsky (IL-09), Lateefah Simon (CA-12), Frederica S. Wilson (FL-24), Adam Smith (WA-09), Haley M. Stevens (MI-11), Greg Landsman (OH-01), Deborah K. Ross (NC-02), Rosa L. DeLauro (CT-03), Jerrold Nadler (NY-12), Dwight Evans (PA-03), Suhas Subramanyam (VA-10), Joyce Beatty (OH-03), Josh Gottheimer (NJ-05), Dina Titus (NV-01), Brittany Pettersen (CO-07), Nikki Budzinski (IL-13), Seth Magaziner (RI-02), Terri A. Sewell (AL-07), Shontel M. Brown (OH-11), Sean Casten (IL-06), John Garamendi (CA-08), Jamie Raskin (MD-08), Donald S. Beyer Jr. (VA-08), and Sharice Davids (KS-03).

    A fact sheet on the legislation is available here.

    Text of the legislation if available here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Senator Marshall Hosts HHS Secretary Kennedy & USDA Secretary Rollins for First ‘MAHA’ Roundtable

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Kansas Roger Marshall
    Washington – On Tuesday, U.S. Senator Roger Marshall, M.D. (R-Kansas) hosted Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, alongside farmers from across the country and agriculture experts, for the inaugural Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) roundtable on Capitol Hill. The conversation centered on how agriculture aligns with the MAHA movement, emphasizing the critical role of soil health in producing nutrient-dense food.
    “As a fifth-generation Kansas farm kid and a physician, I recognize that producing nutrient-dense foods for a healthier America starts with healthy soil,” said Senator Marshall. “Today, I was privileged to welcome Secretary Kennedy, Secretary Rollins, farmers, and agriculture experts from across the country to Capitol Hill for the first MAHA roundtable. Focused on soil health, I believe healthy soil leads to healthy food and healthy people, fostering a healthier America. MAHA will thrive due to the dedication, collaboration, and partnership of those who joined us today.”
    “America’s farmers and ranchers are not just stakeholders in this fight—they are the foundation of it,” Secretary Kennedy said. “I was proud to join Senator Marshall and Secretary Rollins today to meet directly with ranchers, farmers, and agricultural experts who are driving our shared mission to Make America Healthy Again.”
    “Farmers are at the heart of the Trump Administration’s mission to Make America Healthy Again. Thank you to Senator Marshall for gathering our great farmers and ranchers to discuss the role soil health plays in growing healthy foods. I look forward to continuing to support American agriculture as producers work towards healthier, more fertile soil,” said Secretary Rollins.
    Click HERE for additional photos.
    Background:
    As chair of the Senate Agriculture subcommittee on Conservation, Natural Resources, and Biotechnology, Senator Marshall has long fought for better agriculture practices and healthier foods in America. He is also the founder of both the MAHA Caucus and the Food is Medicine Caucus.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Kennedy ahead of vote on rescissions: “You either believe in reducing spending, or you don’t”

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator John Kennedy (Louisiana)

    Watch Kennedy’s comments here.

    WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) delivered the following remarks on the U.S. Senate floor: 

    “I think most people—most adults anyway—understand that, in life, what you say doesn’t really matter. It’s what you do that demonstrates what you believe, and that’s certainly true in politics, and that’s certainly true in Washington, D.C. . . .

    “Now, President Trump—whether you voted for him or not, whether you like him or not—ran on a platform of reducing the size of government, and the people elected him. And since day one, the president has been—if you paid attention to the news—he’s been working very hard to reduce government spending. And he’s reduced a lot. He started out with a [Department of Government Efficiency] program with Mr. Elon Musk. Mr. Musk, of course, has left. But the quest to reduce government spending, wasteful government spending, which I call spending porn, continues.

    “Every Republican in the U.S. Senate has voiced approval of what the president has done. Every Republican—every one of my colleagues, myself included—has said to the president, ‘Atta boy, Mr. President. Go get them. Keep issuing those executive orders. Reduce the spending. We’re spending too much money. We’ve got a $37 trillion debt. Keep going, Mr. President.’

    “And the president has, but he’s been doing it through executive order. There’s only so much you can do through executive order. . . .  And now my colleagues and I have an opportunity to really support the president.

    “I don’t know if this bill is going to pass. . . . But I want to put this in context: After all of us on my side of the aisle telling the world that we need to reduce spending, if we vote against this rescission package and refuse to reduce spending by one-tenth of one percent of the budget, we ought to hide our heads in a bag. . . . 

    “I’m going to read you some of the appropriations that the president is asking us to eliminate from the current budget, and you be the judge. Let the American people decide. 

    “The president is asking us to eliminate $5.1 million of taxpayer money in the American budget and the federal budget that is there to ‘strengthen the resilience of queer global movements.’ . . . $3 million for circumcision, vasectomies and condoms in Zambia. I didn’t make this stuff up. It’s in the budget. . . . $3.6 million for pastry cooking classes, cybercafes and dance focus groups for male prostitutes in Haiti.

    “How many Americans, Mr. President, do you think we should be spending their money to fund male prostitutes in Haiti? But there it is in our budget, bigger than Dallas. And the president is saying cut it out. $6.2 million for Venezuelan migrants in Colombia. $500,000 to buy Rwanda electric buses. 

    “I love Rwanda. If they want electric buses, they have got a budget. $300,000 for a pride parade in Lesotho. $300,000 for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex advocacy in Uganda. $500,000 for biodiversity in Peru. 

    “I could keep going. I could go the rest of the day and the night. Now I know what you’re thinking: How in God’s name, on God’s green earth did this spending porn get in the federal budget? Why would Congress put it there? I’m going to tell you why: We didn’t.

    “When we pass a budget, we pass budgets based on programs or agendas or line items. . . . Congress didn’t vote to spend $3 million on sexual reproductive health in Venezuela. We voted for a program that the bureaucrats took and spent on sexual health and reproductive health in Venezuela.

    “That’s not an excuse, but I get that question all the time. Why did Congress vote to do this? We didn’t. The bureaucracy did. It’s a giant rogue beast. But the point is: Trump caught it, and his people caught it, and the president is saying, ‘Get rid of it.’

    “We’d be better off taking all of this money that I just talked about and spending it on scratch tickets and blackjack. At least taxpayers might have a chance of getting a return. That’s how out of control this is. But if you listen to some of my colleagues, ‘Oh my God. If we cut this spending porn, civilization is going to melt.’

    “Now, there’s one other thing in our budget that the president is asking us to cut: He’s asking us to cut a little over $1 billion for what I will call public broadcasting. . . . The president and CEO of NPR thinks that America is ‘addicted to white supremacy.’ She has denounced the use of the words ‘boy’ and ‘girl.’ She said that is ‘erasing language’ for nonbinary people. She contends that the U.S. was founded on the basis of ‘black plunder and white democracy’ That’s who’s running the show over there. . . .

    “NPR and PBS and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting are entitled to publish and broadcast what they publish, but not on the taxpayer’s dime. . . . We don’t fund CNN. We don’t fund Fox News. We don’t fund newspapers. Why are we funding PBS and NPR and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting?

    “And all the president is saying, ‘I don’t want you to do that anymore, Congress. I don’t want you to fund any form of media. PBS, for example, is right to publish what they want, but Congress shouldn’t give them taxpayer money to do it. Let them go raise money in the private sector.’ And the president’s right. 

    “The president is absolutely right, and that’s all this rescission bill is going to do, Mr. President. It’s going to bring a little bit of sanity back to our appropriations process. . . . What you do is what you believe, and everything else is just cottage cheese. . . . I listened to all of my Republican colleagues encourage the president and say, ‘That’s great. We’ve got to reduce spending.’

    “Well, here’s your chance. It’s gut-check time. You either believe in reducing spending, or you don’t. You either support spending porn or you don’t. We’re going to find out who does and who doesn’t here in about three or four hours.”

    Watch Kennedy’s speech here.  

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Coast Guard seizes over 240,000 pounds of cocaine, doubling amount interdicted over previous year

    Source: US Department of Homeland Security

    WASHINGTON – The U.S. Coast Guard announced that it has seized 242,244 pounds of cocaine since the start of President Trump’s administration on January 20th. This is a more than 100% increase over the cocaine seized under the previous administration over the same period in 2024.

    Since just 1.2 grams of cocaine can be lethal, the Coast Guard has seized over 91 million potentially lethal doses — enough to kill the entire population of the states of California, Texas, and New York combined.

    This milestone comes after President Trump ordered a surge of Coast Guard resources to America’s maritime border on his first day in office, tripling the number of forces along the U.S. southern border and maritime approaches. 

    “The U.S. southern border is an interconnected system, and as illegal migration and smuggling become harder across the southwest land border, cartels may try different routes,” said Coast Guard Acting Commandant Adm. Kevin Lunday. “Our message to the cartels is this: We own the sea, not you. Using every capability at our disposal, the Coast Guard will prevent threats from reaching our borders.” 

    “Thanks to the heroic and diligent work of the men and women of the U.S. Coast Guard, these drugs will never hit American streets to poison our communities and destroy American families,” said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. “Securing our maritime borders is critical to making America safe again. Under President Trump and Secretary Noem’s leadership, the Coast Guard is getting the resources and support it needs to fulfill its mission like never before.”

    Under the President’s leadership, Secretary Noem is implementing Force Design 2028, a full-scale effort to transform the Coast Guard into a more agile, capable, and responsive force. This effort will make the Coast Guard even more effective maritime force, empowering it to crack down on the international drug trade and keep deadly drugs like cocaine and fentanyl out of American communities.

    80 percent of all US-bound drugs are seized on the high seas, and the Coast Guard is the primary force charged with interdicting those drugs and breaking up international maritime drug smuggling rings.  

    For more information about the Coast Guard, visit www.uscg.mil.

    # # #

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Schatz fights Trump-backed NOAA staffing cuts

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Hawaii Brian Schatz
    WASHINGTON >> Members of Congress are expressing renewed support for the nation’s weather forecasting system after deadly flooding in Texas and elsewhere put the focus on cuts within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
    The Trump administration proposed cutting NOAA’s fiscal 2026 budget to $4.5 billion — a 27%, nearly $1.7 billion reduction from the estimated fiscal 2025 spending.
    But Senate appropriators from both parties highlighted the importance of NOAA, and particularly the National Weather Service housed within it, in a meeting last week.
    During the Senate Appropriations Committee’s markup of its draft fiscal 2026 Commerce-Justice-Science bill on July 10, Subcommittee Chair Jerry Moran, R-Kan., said the bill would spare the NWS from the proposed cuts.
    “NOAA, and particularly the National Weather Service, is a hugely important component of what this bill funds, and this bill recognizes that importance,” said Moran, adding that the “bill fully funds the (NWS) for purposes of employing people who work” and eliminates any reduction in the workforce.
    Moran said the language would require the Trump administration to maintain staffing at levels necessary to fill statutory obligations and would increase the appropriation by $10 million to accomplish that goal. Moran didn’t provide a topline figure and the committee hasn’t yet released its draft text or bill summary.
    Sen Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, expressed concern that the bill still gave too much discretion to the Office of Management and Budget to determine whether the agency has too many employees. He offered an amendment that would require the administration to maintain staffing at the same levels as they were on Sept. 30, 2024. The panel rejected the amendment along party lines.
    “It’s clear to me that this administration has already made the judgment that the National Weather Service has too many human beings,” said Schatz.
    The committee ultimately didn’t complete work on the bill last week due to an unrelated disagreement over the future of a proposed FBI campus in Maryland.
    House Republicans, meanwhile, released their version of the fiscal 2026 Commerce-Justice-Science spending bill on Monday. The bill includes a cut of $387 million, or 6%, for NOAA, taking its budget to $5.8 billion in fiscal 2026, according to the GOP summary.
    The House C-J-S Appropriations Subcommittee approved the measure for full committee consideration on a 9-6 vote today.
    Staffing ‘a top priority’
    The issue of staffing at NOAA also came up in the confirmation hearing for Neil Jacobs, Trump’s nominee to lead NOAA, in the Senate Commerce Committee on July 10. Ranking member Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., said NOAA has lost nearly 1,900 employees, with 3,000 vacancies due to firings of probationary employees and buyouts, since Trump took office.
    “If confirmed, I will ensure that staffing the weather service offices is a top priority,” said Jacobs. “It’s really important for the people to be there because they have relationships with the people in the local community. They’re a trusted source.”
    Jacobs said he supported the administration’s proposal to cut NOAA’s budget by 27% in fiscal 2026, adding the cuts could be implemented by shifting work from the research to operations without impacting “mission essential functions” at the NWS.
    Monica Medina, principal deputy secretary for oceans and atmosphere at NOAA during the Obama administration and now a distinguished fellow with the environmental group Conservation International, said cuts to research would have significant implications for operations.
    “Artificial intelligence is only as good as the data you put in it,” Medina said in an interview. “We need science and research and data to inform our weather forecasts now and in the future, and what we’re doing is taking apart a system that was getting better and better and better, and putting ourselves at greater risk. And the impact on people is real and the forecast will be less accurate.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Schatz grills Hegseth, calls on Republicans to kill the ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Hawaii Brian Schatz
    U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, upped his criticism of the Trump administration Wednesday, grilling Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine about the deployment of National Guard and U.S. Marine personnel to quell protests in Los Angeles during a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense hearing. He called on Republicans to kill the president’s so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill” in a speech from the Senate floor. 
    At the subcommittee hearing, Schatz asked Caine if, in fact, the United States was being invaded by a foreign nation or if a rebellion was occurring, to which Caine responded: “I do not see any state-sponsored folks invading. There’s definitely some frustrated folks out there.” 
    Turning to Hegseth, Schatz asked, “Did you just potentially mobilize every Guard everywhere and every service member everywhere? I mean, create the framework for that?” 
    Hegseth, a frequent target of Schatz’s criticism dating back to his initial appointment, responded that the deployments were a preemptive move should protests expand to other areas.
    Schatz was more direct in his condemnation of the deployments in his Senate speech, repeating earlier accusations that the real purpose of the military intervention is to shift public attention away from a Republican legislative package he said would gut Medicaid and cut off food assistance for children and families while delivering a $600 billion tax cut for large corporations and the nation’s wealthiest 1%.
    “Trump does what he always does. He creates a spectacle out of nowhere in order to distract people from what is actually happening,” Schatz said. “They are cutting Medicaid. They are slashing nutritional assistance for children and families. They are jacking up everyone’s health insurance premiums and energy bills.”
    The Trump administration has maintained that the bill would in fact benefit nearly all Americans.
    In “50 Wins in the One Big Beautiful Bill,” an overview of benefits posted to the White House website, the administration claimed the legislation would deliver the largest tax cut in American history, with Americans earning between $30,000 and $80,000 paying about 15% less in taxes.
    And as the bill would make tax cuts initiated during Trump’s first term in office permanent, Americans would also be spared what the administration claimed would be “the largest tax increase in history.”
    Schatz pushed back at the administration’s claims.
    “Here’s what’s going to happen if Republicans pass this bill,” he said. “Anyone making $4 million a year or more will get a very nice tax break, and the more you make, the more you’ll get. So, if you’re a millionaire, you get close to $70,000. But if you’re a billionaire, you’re looking at $300,000. 
    “Now, if you’re wondering, ‘Well, what about me? I’m not a billionaire or a millionaire. What do I get?’” he continued. “Well, next to nothing. Worse than that, you’re going to be subsidizing these enormous tax cuts with cuts to your benefits and services 16 million Americans, including 60,000 people in the state of Hawaii, will lose coverage through Medicaid because of these cuts, meaning even when people get really sick, they’re going to avoid going to the hospital and buying medication because they cannot afford it. And then they’re going to turn to emergency care because they have no choice.”
    Schatz also noted controversial provisions tucked into the bill, including one that would prevent judges from taking action against people for violating court orders and another that would establish a tax credit for the purchase of gun silencers.
    “We’re going to fight as hard as we can,” Schatz told his Senate colleagues. “We’ve only got 47 votes. We need four Republicans to say ‘enough is enough.’”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Experts Agree: Iran’s Nuclear Facilities Have Been Obliterated

    US Senate News:

    Source: US Whitehouse
    From nuclear regulators to foreign policy experts to members of the intelligence community, every knowledgeable person is in agreement that President Donald J. Trump obliterated Iran’s nuclear facilities.
    International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi: “Given the power of these devices and the technical characteristics of a centrifuge, we already know that these centrifuges are no longer operational, because they are fairly precise machines: there are rotors, and the vibrations [from the bombs] have completely destroyed them.”
    CIA Director John Ratcliffe: “CIA can confirm that a body of credible intelligence indicates Iran’s Nuclear Program has been severely damaged by the recent, targeted strikes. This includes new intelligence from a historically reliable and accurate source/method that several key Iranian nuclear facilities were destroyed and would have to be rebuilt over the course of years.”
    Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard: “New intelligence confirms what @POTUS has stated numerous times: Iran’s nuclear facilities have been destroyed. If the Iranians chose to rebuild, they would have to rebuild all three facilities (Natanz, Fordow, Esfahan) entirely, which would likely take years to do. The propaganda media has deployed their usual tactic: selectively release portions of illegally leaked classified intelligence assessments (intentionally leaving out the fact that the assessment was written with “low confidence”) to try to undermine President Trump’s decisive leadership and the brave servicemen and women who flawlessly executed a truly historic mission to keep the American people safe and secure.”
    Former ODNI National Intelligence Manager for Iran Norman Roule: “I am confident that Iran has suffered a catastrophic — catastrophic — blow … and that this has set them back for a very, very long time.”
    Former NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe Gen. Philip Breedlove (Ret.): “It went off magnificently … They did it perfectly, so we should have … an expectation that there was significant damage.”
    Institute for Science and International Security President David Albright: “Iran can’t make centrifuges and can’t produce, in a sense, the equivalent of the gas … so their program is severely damaged.”
    President Trump: “Monumental Damage was done to all Nuclear sites in Iran, as shown by satellite images. Obliteration is an accurate term! The white structure shown is deeply imbedded into the rock, with even its roof well below ground level, and completely shielded from flame. The biggest damage took place far below ground level. Bullseye!!!”
    Israel Atomic Energy Commission: “The devastating US strike on Fordo destroyed the site’s critical infrastructure and rendered the enrichment facility inoperable. We assess that the American strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, combined with Israeli strikes on other elements of Iran’s military nuclear program, has set back Iran’s ability to develop nuclear weapons by many years. The achievement can continue indefinitely if Iran does not get access to nuclear material.”
    IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir: “I can say here that the assessment is that we significantly damaged the nuclear program, and I can also say that we set it back by years, I repeat, years.”
    Iran Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei: “Our nuclear installations have been badly damaged, that’s for sure.”
    Vice President JD Vance: “I can say to the American people with great confidence that they are much further away from a nuclear program today than they were 24 hours ago. That was the objective of the mission, to destroy that Fordow nuclear site, and of course, do some damage to the other sites as well, but we feel very confident that the Fordow nuclear site was substantially set back, and that was our goal.”
    Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth: “Based on everything we have seen — and I’ve seen it all — our bombing campaign obliterated Iran’s ability to create nuclear weapons. Our massive bombs hit exactly the right spot at each target and worked perfectly. The impact of those bombs is buried under a mountain of rubble in Iran; so anyone who says the bombs were not devastating is just trying to undermine the President and the successful mission.”
    Secretary Hegseth: “Given the 30,000 pounds of explosions and the capability of those munitions, it was DEVASTATION underneath Fordow … Any assessment that tells you otherwise is speculating with other motives.”
    Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan “Razin” Caine: “Initial battle damage assessments indicate that all three sites sustained extremely severe damage and destruction. More than 125 US aircraft participated in this mission, including B2 stealth bombers, multiple flights of fourth and fifth generation fighters, dozens and dozens of air refueling tankers, a guided missile submarine, and a full array of intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance aircraft, as well as hundreds of maintenance and operational professionals.”
    Secretary of State Marco Rubio: “The Iranian program — the nuclear program — today looks nothing like it did just a week ago … That story is a false story and it’s one that really shouldn’t be re-reported because it doesn’t accurately reflect what’s happening.”
    Secretary Rubio: “Everything underneath that mountain is in bad shape … There’s no way Iran comes to the table if somehow nothing had happened. This was complete and total obliteration. They are in bad shape. They are way behind today compared to where they were just seven days ago because of what President Trump did.”
    Special Envoy Steve Witkoff: “We put 12 bunker buster bombs on Fordow. There’s no doubt that it breached the canopy, there’s no doubt that it was well within reach of the depth that these bunker buster bombs go to, and there’s no doubt that it was obliterated — so the reporting out there that in some way suggests that we did not achieve the objective is just completely preposterous.”
    Director Gabbard: “The operation was a resounding success. Our missiles were delivered precisely and accurately, obliterating key Iranian capabilities needed to quickly assemble a nuclear weapon.”
    Director General Grossi: “Given the explosive payload utilized, and the extreme vibration-sensitive nature of centrifuges, very significant damage is expected to have occurred. At the Esfahan nuclear site, additional buildings were hit, with the US confirming their use of cruise missiles. Affected buildings include some related to the uranium conversion process. Also at this site, entrances to tunnels used for the storage of enriched material appear to have been hit. At the Natanz enrichment site, the Fuel Enrichment Plant was hit, with the US confirming that it used ground-penetrating munitions.”
    Mr. Albright: “Overall, Israel’s and U.S. attacks have effectively destroyed Iran’s centrifuge enrichment program. It will be a long time before Iran comes anywhere near the capability it had before the attack.”
    Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Nonproliferation and Biodefense Program Deputy Director Andrea Stricker: “I think that because of the massive damage and the shock wave that would have been sent by 12 Massive Ordnance Penetrators at the Fordow site, that it likely would render its centrifuges damaged or inoperable.”
    American Enterprise Institute Middle East Portfolio Manager Brian Carter: “There is no question that the bombing campaign ‘badly, badly damaged’ the three sites.”
    Institute for Science and International Security Senior Research Fellow Spencer Faragasso: “Overall, it may possibly take years for Iran to reconstitute the capabilities it lost at these facilities.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: SUNDAY SHOWS: Send the One Big Beautiful Bill to President Trump’s Desk

    US Senate News:

    Source: US Whitehouse
    This morning, Members of Congress joined President Donald J. Trump on the Sunday shows to discuss the overwhelmingly positive impacts of the One Big Beautiful Bill — which will deliver unprecedented tax relief, generational welfare reform, and historic spending cuts for the American people.
    Here’s what you missed:
    President Trump on Sunday Morning Futures
    “We’re cutting $1.7 trillion … We’re going to have growth like we’ve never seen before.” (Watch)
    “It takes care of the border. There’s also No Tax on Tips, No Tax on Social Security, No Tax on Overtime.” (Watch)
    Senator Markwayne Mullin on Meet the Press
    “This cuts spending. It’s the largest deficit cut by any Congress ever in history. It makes tax cuts permanent — which, instead of taxes going up January 1 by $4 trillion, it actually restores the tax cuts and the average household of four is going to bring home pay over $10,000 more a year.” (Watch)
    “What we’re doing is cutting the waste, fraud, and abuse out of the Medicaid system and make sure it’s for the people that it was originally intended for.” (Watch)
    Senator Jim Banks on Fox News Sunday
    “This is the biggest spending cut in American history — a $1.6 trillion spending cut, getting rid of the Green New Deal scams from the Biden Administration, and it’s the biggest tax cut in American history for working class families.” (Watch)
    “Everyone in my family is blue collar, working class. They’re all going to get socked by another $2,000, on average, every year. They already tell me they can’t keep up right now, and the Democrats want them to pay more in taxes? … Democrats are focused on screwing the working class with higher taxes … President Trump and Republicans are serious about cutting taxes on the people who need it the most.” (Watch)
    Senator Katie Britt on State of the Union
    “We’re going to make sure that hardworking people can keep more of their money. We’re going to make sure that we have secure borders — not just now, but for generations to come. We’re going to make sure that we have a strong national defense so that our warfighter is the best trained, equipped, and ready across the planet. We’re going to unleash American energy … We want to make sure that these programs are available for the people who need them and we want to make sure that people who are working know that we see them and that they have a great opportunity to achieve the American Dream — and that’s what this bill does.” (Watch)
    “The reforms in this bill are necessary and we’re going to deliver actual solutions to the American people … This bill does No Tax on Tips, it does No Tax on Overtime. Real, hardworking Americans are going to see results from this.” (Watch)

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Ricketts Supports President Trump’s Move to Sell Weapons to Europe in Support of Ukraine

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Pete Ricketts (Nebraska)

    July 15, 2025

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Pete Ricketts (R-NE), a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, released the following statement in support of President Trump’s move to sell weapons to Europe in support of Ukraine.

    “For over three years, Ukraine has courageously fought and dismantled Russia’s military. Russia is one of our top adversaries. I support President Trump’s move to sell American munitions to NATO in support of Ukraine’s war efforts against Vladimir Putin’s Russia. If Putin succeeds in his brutal war against Ukraine, NATO allies like Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland could be next and American lives would be at risk. Military support for Ukraine keeps Americans safe, supports American jobs and our defense industry. Supporting Ukraine keeps our troops at home.”

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    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Rep. Jim Costa Leads Push to Release Federal Funds for Crime Victims and Survivors 

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Jim Costa Representing 16th District of California

    WASHINGTON – Congressman Jim Costa (CA-21), co-founder and co-chair of the Crime Survivors and Justice Caucus (CSJC), is leading a push with 33 lawmakers calling on the Trump Administration to immediately release long-delayed funding allocations under the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA).  
    “With the FY 2025 program year already underway, having begun on July 1, 2025, states still cannot finalize budgets or disburse funds to providers that support survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking, and child abuse,” wrote the lawmakers.  
    The lawmakers further wrote, “Given the gravity of this national shortfall, and with vital survivor services hanging in the balance, swift federal action to publish state allocation tables and award notices is essential.” 
    BACKGROUND 
    The Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) was enacted by Congress in 1984 to create the Crime Victims Fund (CVF), which provides financial support to state and local programs that assist victims of crime. Funded entirely by criminal fines and penalties, not taxpayer dollars, VOCA supports approximately 6,500 organizations nationwide, reaching more than six million victims each year. 
     Since 2019, California has seen a staggering 67% cut in VOCA funding, jeopardizing support for local organizations that assist survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking, and child abuse. Many San Joaquin Valley providers, including the Marjaree Mason Center in Fresno, Family Services of Tulare County, and Valley Crisis Center in Merced, rely heavily on VOCA dollars to fund emergency housing, 24/7 crisis hotlines, legal advocacy, and trauma counseling.  
    Other states like Wisconsin have seen their annual VOCA allocation plunge from roughly $44 million to $13 million, forcing shelters to lay off staff, limit beds, and in some cases pause medical-advocacy coverage. In Tennessee, more than 360 victim-service nonprofits have petitioned the state for a $25 million recurring fund after federal reductions left them on the brink of closure. Despite $4.6 billion sitting unused in the Crime Victims Fund, the Trump Administration has yet to release Fiscal Year 2025 allocations, preventing California from disbursing funds to local programs. Without this federal funding, these organizations face the prospect of cutting staff and reducing services. 
    The following Members of Congress signed the letter: Henry C. “Hank” Johnson, Jr. (GA-04), Emanuel Cleaver, II (MO-05), Stephen F. Lynch (MA-08), Dave Min (CA-47), Gwen S. Moore (WI-04), Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), Adam Smith (WA-09), LaMonica McIver (NJ-10), Andrea Salinas (OR-06), Danny K. Davis (IL-07), Brittany Pettersen (CO-07), Sean Casten (IL-06), Chris Pappas (NH-01), Debbie Dingell (MI-06), Timothy M. Kennedy (NY-26), Chellie Pingree (ME-01), Jared Golden (ME-02), Raja Krishnamoorthi (IL-08), Robert Garcia (CA-42), Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06), Deborah K. Ross (NC-02), Nikema Williams (GA-05), Bill Foster (IL-11), Emilia Strong Sykes (OH-13), Morgan McGarvey (KY-03), Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-05), James P. McGovern (MA-02), Summer L. Lee (PA-12), Johnny Olszewski, Jr. (MD-02), Gabe Amo (RI-01), Marilyn Strickland (WA-10), and Josh Gottheimer (NJ-05). 
    Full text of the letter is available HERE. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Murphy Questions Mike Waltz on Trump Administration’s Kneecapping Of U.S. Counter-Propaganda Efforts, Failures In Yemen

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Connecticut – Chris Murphy
    WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, on Tuesday questioned former National Security Adviser Mike Waltz at a confirmation hearing on his nomination to be the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. Murphy demanded answers from Waltz on the Trump administration’s decision to cede ground to Russia and China in the global information war by shutting down USAGM, the umbrella agency for American foreign media operations such as Radio Free Europe and Voice of America. He also pushed Waltz about the Trump administration’s failure to disrupt Houthi attacks against American allies and commercial shipping in the Red Sea. 
    Murphy highlighted the Trump administration’s reckless dismantling of American counter-propaganda capabilities: “This administration, while you were at the NSC, essentially shut down USAGM, which is the umbrella agency for our global media operations, fired 92% of the staff, announced plans to shut down Radio Free Europe and Voice of America. They’re only open today because of court orders. The administration does not support the Global Engagement Center, which is also now shut down, which was the State Department’s ability to try to work with partners around the world to counter Chinese propaganda and Russian propaganda.” 
    Stressing that the administration’s decisions will further empower our adversaries and set back U.S. national security interests, Murphy continued: “We were already having circles run around us by Russia and by China predominantly even before the administration went forward with this essential destruction of our existing information and counter-propaganda capacity. So maybe just share with me: while you were National Security Adviser, why did you believe that it advanced U.S. national security interests to shut down our most important agencies that try to win the information war, which is a war that whether we like it or not, exists in this world, and we’re not fighting it today, while our adversaries are?” 
    On Waltz and the Trump Administration’s strategically inconsequential campaign against the Houthis in Yemen, Murphy said: “You were very involved in the offensive operations in Yemen. As you saw in this last week, the Houthis have restarted attacks on the shipping lanes. Two very devastating attacks. Throughout the last two months, they have been continuing to take offensive operations against Israel. It doesn’t look like we did much to really fundamentally change the battle space there. They still have pretty robust offensive capabilities to target shipping lanes and to target our friends. We spent, it looks like, around $1 billion, depleted a lot of our ammunition stocks. How do you look at that operation in retrospect knowing that, as we sit here today, the Houthis have once again begun attacks in the Red Sea?”
    A full transcript of Murphy’s exchanges with Waltz is available below. 
    MURPHY: “Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Thank you all for being here.
    “Mr. Waltz, the U.N. doesn’t have a conventional army. It’s got peacekeepers, but there’s no aircraft carriers, there’s no air force. This is a place where smart power matters, right? This is a place where we invest in things like diplomacy and humanitarian aid and economic development to try to stabilize the world. 
    “I think what worries me about your fit for this position is that while you were at the National Security Council, you oversaw the dismantling of many of our most important smart power tools in the U.S. foreign policy toolkit. A lot of conversations happened on this committee about what has happened to USAID, our ability to influence the world through economic development and humanitarian assistance. But not as much conversation has happened about the attempted destruction – I think, led by an NSC process – of our information and media operations around the world. 
    “This administration, while you were at the NSC, essentially shut down USAGM, which is the umbrella agency for our global media operations, fired 92% of the staff, announced plans to shut down Radio Free Europe and Voice of America. They’re only open today because of court orders. The administration does not support the Global Engagement Center, which is also now shut down, which was the State Department’s ability to try to work with partners around the world to counter Chinese propaganda and Russian propaganda. I mean, listen, we were already having circles run around us by Russia and by China predominantly even before the administration went forward with this essential destruction of our existing information and counter-propaganda capacity. 
    “So maybe just share with me: while you were National Security Adviser, why did you believe that it advanced U.S. national security interests to shut down our most important agencies that try to win the information war, which is a war that whether we like it or not, exists in this world, and we’re not fighting it today, while our adversaries are?”
    WALTZ: “Thank you for the question. And I think we’re in violent agreement that we have to win the information war. We may have a disagreement on the best way to do that. What we did not see were the metrics, were the actual results. As you mentioned, we’re getting, in many ways, outpaced in the information space. Yet for decades we’ve had these entities that have become expensive and have become quite bloated. I think the best way to block and tackle our adversaries abroad is through our amazing private sector, through innovation, through what we’re seeing in our leadership role in AI and in other spaces. And so as the president, as the secretary looked across the interagency and those entities, they made those decisions.”
    MURPHY: “But the private sector isn’t going to fight Russian and Chinese propaganda around the world, right? I mean, that has to be an essential function of U.S. national security policy, correct?”
    WALTZ: “Well, what they are going to do is show the power of free markets, the power of entrepreneurship, and show, really, the power of the U.S. in terms of a free society and with our values.”
    MURPHY: “We’re going to rely on Disney?”
    WALTZ: “I think we’re actually more aligned than what you think. What we were looking at is the actual effectiveness. It’s the tool that we questioned, and then the president and secretary made a decision to reallocate resources.”
    MURPHY: “Listen, I hope the administration does rethink this. If they’ve got a better idea on how to try to project power in the information space, then I think we’re all willing to hear it. But right now, we’re taking ourselves off the playing field. 
    “You were very involved in the offensive operations in Yemen. As you saw in this last week, the Houthis have restarted attacks on the shipping lanes. Two very devastating attacks. Throughout the last two months, they have been continuing to take offensive operations against Israel. It doesn’t look like we did much to really fundamentally change the battle space there. They still have pretty robust offensive capabilities to target shipping lanes and to target our friends. We spent, it looks like, around $1 billion, depleted a lot of our ammunition stocks. How do you look at that operation in retrospect knowing that, as we sit here today, the Houthis have once again begun attacks in the Red Sea?”
    WALTZ: “Well, thank you, senator, for the question. I think we also have to look at it in the context of, from the figures that I’ve seen, a 20% to 30% increase in shipping through the Red Sea, an increase in revenues through the Suez Canal. And what we do not have are our warships being used as target practice by the Houthis, which is what, frankly, we had in the last administration. Now, do we need to work to make sure that’s enduring? Perhaps the Houthi leadership hasn’t fully gotten the message. But I would defer to Secretary Rubio, Secretary Hegseth and the president on the way forward there.”
    MURPHY: “Thank you, Mr. Chairman.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Restoring Order: ICE Arrests Illegal Alien with 40 Criminal Convictions

    Source: US Department of Homeland Security

    Worst of the worst arrests also include drug traffickers and child sexual predator

    WASHINGTON – The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) today announced U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested criminal illegal aliens with egregious criminal histories from child sexual abuse to organized drug trafficking and conspiracy to defraud the United States. These arrests are part of ICE’s ongoing effort to identify and remove the worst of the worst threatening our public safety and exploiting America’s immigration system. 

    Among the most egregious arrests was Murad Sanih Awad, an illegal alien from Jordan, taken into custody by ICE Atlanta. Awad has a staggering 40 prior criminal convictions, including sexual battery in Gwinnett County, Georgia, and possession of cocaine with intent to distribute in Gilmer County. Despite his long history of criminal behavior, Awad remained in our country, underscoring the urgent need for renewed enforcement efforts prioritizing the safety of American communities.

    “Awad is yet another egregious example of what happens when open border policies are paired with spineless leadership,” said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. “Awad was allowed to terrorize American communities and accumulate 40 criminal convictions, including sexual battery, without consequence. The Biden era of negligence is over. Under President Trump and Secretary Noem, we are restoring law and order and ensuring dangerous criminal aliens are removed before they can harm more innocent Americans.” 

    Other arrests include: 

    • Niceforo Ruiz-Najera, an illegal alien from Mexico, convicted of facilitation of aggravated sexual battery of a 4-year-old child in Shelbyville, TN  
    • Ismael Galvan-Perez, an illegal alien from Mexico, convicted of drug trafficking in Salt Lake City, UT.
    • Abdul Waris Akinsanya, an illegal alien from Nigeria, convicted of forgery, conspiracy to defraud the United States, and fleeing in a vehicle in Oklahoma City, OK. 
    • Victor Manuel Villalobos-Romero, an illegal alien from Mexico, convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine in the Southern District of Florida. 

    ###

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Restoring Order: ICE Arrests Illegal Alien with 40 Criminal Convictions

    Source: US Department of Homeland Security

    Worst of the worst arrests also include drug traffickers and child sexual predator

    WASHINGTON – The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) today announced U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested criminal illegal aliens with egregious criminal histories from child sexual abuse to organized drug trafficking and conspiracy to defraud the United States. These arrests are part of ICE’s ongoing effort to identify and remove the worst of the worst threatening our public safety and exploiting America’s immigration system. 

    Among the most egregious arrests was Murad Sanih Awad, an illegal alien from Jordan, taken into custody by ICE Atlanta. Awad has a staggering 40 prior criminal convictions, including sexual battery in Gwinnett County, Georgia, and possession of cocaine with intent to distribute in Gilmer County. Despite his long history of criminal behavior, Awad remained in our country, underscoring the urgent need for renewed enforcement efforts prioritizing the safety of American communities.

    “Awad is yet another egregious example of what happens when open border policies are paired with spineless leadership,” said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. “Awad was allowed to terrorize American communities and accumulate 40 criminal convictions, including sexual battery, without consequence. The Biden era of negligence is over. Under President Trump and Secretary Noem, we are restoring law and order and ensuring dangerous criminal aliens are removed before they can harm more innocent Americans.” 

    Other arrests include: 

    • Niceforo Ruiz-Najera, an illegal alien from Mexico, convicted of facilitation of aggravated sexual battery of a 4-year-old child in Shelbyville, TN  
    • Ismael Galvan-Perez, an illegal alien from Mexico, convicted of drug trafficking in Salt Lake City, UT.
    • Abdul Waris Akinsanya, an illegal alien from Nigeria, convicted of forgery, conspiracy to defraud the United States, and fleeing in a vehicle in Oklahoma City, OK. 
    • Victor Manuel Villalobos-Romero, an illegal alien from Mexico, convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine in the Southern District of Florida. 

    ###

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Justice Department Files Complaint Against Former Members of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting

    Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

    WASHINGTON – Today, the Justice Department filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court of Washington, D.C. against three former members of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting for refusing to vacate their offices after being removed by President Donald J. Trump.

    The subjects of this complaint have continued to operate in office despite their removal and subsequent failure to obtain legal relief protecting their old positions. This litigation reflects the Department’s ongoing commitment to protecting the President’s core Article II powers, which include the authority to make personnel decisions regarding those occupying federal offices.

    The complaint asks the court to declare that the former members have not lawfully served on the board since their removals, to enjoin the former members from serving on the board, and to order the former members to refund any compensation during their unlawful terms of service.

    Read the full complaint here.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Attorney General Bonta Strongly Urges DOE to Halt Unlawful Rescission of Efficiency Standards

    Source: US State of California

    OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta today co-led a coalition of 15 attorneys general, alongside Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown, New York Attorney General Tish James, and the Corporation Counsel of the City of New York Muriel Goode-Trufant, in submitting comment letters to the United States Department of Energy (DOE) strongly urging the department to refrain from moving forward with its proposed deregulatory actions. Last month, the DOE proposed 16 rules that would erode water and energy efficiency standards for consumer appliances and commercial equipment. In today’s comment letters, the coalition argues that these rollbacks, if implemented, would be unlawful, would harm consumers and businesses by increasing utility costs, and would contribute to climate change by increasing greenhouse gas emissions.

    “As energy costs reach historic highs, the President continues to break his promise to Americans of ‘driving costs down’ on Day One. Not only are these rules unlawful, but they will also drive up energy costs for business and consumers and harm our environment,” said Attorney General Bonta. “Alongside attorneys general nationwide, we strongly urge the Department of Energy to refrain from adopting these rollbacks and maintain the current common-sense water and energy efficiency standards.” 

    In response to President Trump’s Executive Order, “Zero-Based Regulations to Unleash American Energy,” the DOE proposed rules intended to weaken water and energy efficiency standards on a range of appliances and commercial equipment – either by rescinding amended standards, returning standards to statutory minimums, or removing products entirely from coverage under the Energy Policy Conservation Act (EPCA). If implemented, the Trump Administration’s actions would violate the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and in some cases EPCA’s “anti-backsliding” provision, which prohibits the weakening or removal of existing standards unless explicitly allowed by Congress. 

    In the comment letters, the coalition writes that: 

    • The water or energy efficiency standards that DOE seeks to roll back have historically resulted in significant water and energy savings. 
    • DOE’s extensive rollback proposals, if adopted, would increase energy costs for businesses and consumers and contribute significantly to climate change.
    • The rules, if implemented, would violate the APA and NEPA, and in some cases would also violate EPCA’s anti-backsliding provision. 

    In submitting the comment letters, Attorney General Bonta joins the attorneys general of Maryland, New York, the City of New York, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington.

    Copies of the 16 comment letters can be found here. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Attorney General Bonta Strongly Urges DOE to Halt Unlawful Rescission of Efficiency Standards

    Source: US State of California

    OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta today co-led a coalition of 15 attorneys general, alongside Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown, New York Attorney General Tish James, and the Corporation Counsel of the City of New York Muriel Goode-Trufant, in submitting comment letters to the United States Department of Energy (DOE) strongly urging the department to refrain from moving forward with its proposed deregulatory actions. Last month, the DOE proposed 16 rules that would erode water and energy efficiency standards for consumer appliances and commercial equipment. In today’s comment letters, the coalition argues that these rollbacks, if implemented, would be unlawful, would harm consumers and businesses by increasing utility costs, and would contribute to climate change by increasing greenhouse gas emissions.

    “As energy costs reach historic highs, the President continues to break his promise to Americans of ‘driving costs down’ on Day One. Not only are these rules unlawful, but they will also drive up energy costs for business and consumers and harm our environment,” said Attorney General Bonta. “Alongside attorneys general nationwide, we strongly urge the Department of Energy to refrain from adopting these rollbacks and maintain the current common-sense water and energy efficiency standards.” 

    In response to President Trump’s Executive Order, “Zero-Based Regulations to Unleash American Energy,” the DOE proposed rules intended to weaken water and energy efficiency standards on a range of appliances and commercial equipment – either by rescinding amended standards, returning standards to statutory minimums, or removing products entirely from coverage under the Energy Policy Conservation Act (EPCA). If implemented, the Trump Administration’s actions would violate the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and in some cases EPCA’s “anti-backsliding” provision, which prohibits the weakening or removal of existing standards unless explicitly allowed by Congress. 

    In the comment letters, the coalition writes that: 

    • The water or energy efficiency standards that DOE seeks to roll back have historically resulted in significant water and energy savings. 
    • DOE’s extensive rollback proposals, if adopted, would increase energy costs for businesses and consumers and contribute significantly to climate change.
    • The rules, if implemented, would violate the APA and NEPA, and in some cases would also violate EPCA’s anti-backsliding provision. 

    In submitting the comment letters, Attorney General Bonta joins the attorneys general of Maryland, New York, the City of New York, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington.

    Copies of the 16 comment letters can be found here. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Attorney General Bonta Strongly Urges DOE to Halt Unlawful Rescission of Efficiency Standards

    Source: US State of California

    OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta today co-led a coalition of 15 attorneys general, alongside Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown, New York Attorney General Tish James, and the Corporation Counsel of the City of New York Muriel Goode-Trufant, in submitting comment letters to the United States Department of Energy (DOE) strongly urging the department to refrain from moving forward with its proposed deregulatory actions. Last month, the DOE proposed 16 rules that would erode water and energy efficiency standards for consumer appliances and commercial equipment. In today’s comment letters, the coalition argues that these rollbacks, if implemented, would be unlawful, would harm consumers and businesses by increasing utility costs, and would contribute to climate change by increasing greenhouse gas emissions.

    “As energy costs reach historic highs, the President continues to break his promise to Americans of ‘driving costs down’ on Day One. Not only are these rules unlawful, but they will also drive up energy costs for business and consumers and harm our environment,” said Attorney General Bonta. “Alongside attorneys general nationwide, we strongly urge the Department of Energy to refrain from adopting these rollbacks and maintain the current common-sense water and energy efficiency standards.” 

    In response to President Trump’s Executive Order, “Zero-Based Regulations to Unleash American Energy,” the DOE proposed rules intended to weaken water and energy efficiency standards on a range of appliances and commercial equipment – either by rescinding amended standards, returning standards to statutory minimums, or removing products entirely from coverage under the Energy Policy Conservation Act (EPCA). If implemented, the Trump Administration’s actions would violate the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and in some cases EPCA’s “anti-backsliding” provision, which prohibits the weakening or removal of existing standards unless explicitly allowed by Congress. 

    In the comment letters, the coalition writes that: 

    • The water or energy efficiency standards that DOE seeks to roll back have historically resulted in significant water and energy savings. 
    • DOE’s extensive rollback proposals, if adopted, would increase energy costs for businesses and consumers and contribute significantly to climate change.
    • The rules, if implemented, would violate the APA and NEPA, and in some cases would also violate EPCA’s anti-backsliding provision. 

    In submitting the comment letters, Attorney General Bonta joins the attorneys general of Maryland, New York, the City of New York, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington.

    Copies of the 16 comment letters can be found here. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Welch Calls for Resignation of DHS Secretary Noem 

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont)

    Welch took to the Senate floor to demand Noem resign or be fired 
    WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) today called for the resignation of U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, citing Secretary Noem’s mishandling of the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and record of undermining FEMA’s work, as well as her handling of President Trump’s cruel and illegal mass deportation campaign.
    “The Department of Homeland Security has a simple but extremely important mission: keep Americans safe. Under that mission, the department is tasked with two critical jobs—border security and disaster response. Our current Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, has failed both. In her short tenure, Secretary Noem has overstepped, underperformed, and endangered the lives of countless Americans,” said Senator Welch. “I believe it is time for Secretary Noem to resign or for her to be fired.” 
    Watch Senator Welch’s floor remarks here: 

    Read key excerpts of Senator Welch’s remarks:  
    “Secretary Noem has undermined FEMA’s work, and in so doing has endangered disaster victims. Just a few months ago, Secretary Noem said in a cabinet meeting, and I quote ‘We are eliminating FEMA.’ And she meant it.  
    “And we saw evidence of that in not just Texas, but in North Carolina, New Mexico, California, Kentucky, Hawaii, and Vermont—where FEMA is crucial to helping people, and communities, and businesses recover from disaster. We need FEMA. It’s only the federal government that can surge into affected communities. We can’t lose that function and that capacity. When you need safety from a flood, and when you need to start the long road to recovery, you need the support of the federal government. No state, no community can do this alone. They cannot do this alone.  
    “I have seen from our experience in Vermont that FEMA, in fact, must be reformed—it must not be destroyed, as Secretary Noem has suggested. We cannot have a leader in charge of FEMA that is committed to its destruction. We must have one who is energetically committed to its reform.” 
    • • • 
    “We are seeing under the leadership of Secretary Noem that her response is an across-the-board embarkation on a massive and far-reaching deportation plan. There is no distinction in her policy among those who were brought here as children, who have families, who have jobs, who pay taxes, and who serve their communities.   
    “And there is a big difference between deporting known criminals and rounding up immigrants—some of whom have status to be here, in fact, are here legally—from work sites, and schools, and churches. This mass deportation policy is not about serving America and doing what our country needs to be strong and safe. It is instead about Secretary Noem accumulating the highest possible headcount of deportees. It’s hurting those folks, their families, and their communities, of course. 
    “It’s also hurting America. Particularly rural America. Our farmers depend on labor to milk their cows, to pick their crops. It’s weakening our construction industry, where workplace raids are shutting down construction sites, including for low-income housing, which we desperately need. This is decimating our health care workforce and the hospitality industry in every state in the union. 
    “We need a Homeland Security Secretary who will help us develop a sensible policy for folks who are here without status but have no criminal record; work; who have families; and are taxpayers.” 
    • • • 
    “We have an obligation to protect the safety of the families that all of us represent. I urge every one of my colleagues to demand better for our constituents and for every American. We need a Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security who puts public safety and preparedness before her personal image or political aspirations. Secretary Noem must resign.” 

    MIL OSI USA News –