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Category: Trump

  • MIL-OSI USA: Congress Codifies 28 of President Trump’s Executive Actions in One Big Beautiful Bill

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Mike Johnson (LA-04)

    Congress Codifies 28 of President Trump’s Executive Actions in One Big Beautiful Bill

    Washington, July 8, 2025

    WASHINGTON — Last week, when House Republicans passed President Trump’s signature legislation, the One Big Beautiful Bill, they codified into law 28 executive actions taken by President Trump.

    “President Trump has done more to improve the lives of working Americans in the last six months than almost anyone could have imagined,” said Speaker Johnson. “He has repaired Joe Biden’s damage and kickstarted America’s new Golden Age. To help accomplish the mission, Congress has cemented President Trump’s agenda by passing the Administration’s signature legislation—the One Big Beautiful Bill. In this historic act, Republicans included 28 of President Trump’s top executive actions – now codifying some of the most significant America First priorities.”

    Executive Actions Codified into Law by the One Big Beautiful Bill:

    1. Securing our Borders
    2. Declaring A National Emergency At The Southern Border Of The United States
    3. Protecting the American People Against Invasion
    4. Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Open Borders
    5. Restricting the Entry of Foreign Nationals to Protect the United States from Foreign Terrorists and other National Security and Public Safety Threats
    6. Implementing the President’s “DOGE” Cost Efficiency Initiative
    7. Protecting America’s Bank Account Against Fraud, Waste, and Abuse
    8. Continuing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy
    9. Stopping Waste, Fraud, and Abuse by Eliminating Information Silos 
    10. Iron Dome for America
    11. Unleashing American Drone Dominance
    12. Restoring America’s Maritime Dominance
    13. Unleashing American Energy
    14. Reinvigorating America’s Beautiful Clean Coal Industry
    15. Unleashing Alaska’s Extraordinary Resource Potential
    16. Declaring a National Energy Emergency
    17. Immediate Measures to Increase American Mineral Production
    18. Immediate Expansion of American Timber Production
    19. Clarifying The Military’s Role In Protecting The Territorial Integrity Of The United States
    20. Keeping Americans Safe in Aviation
    21. Improving Education Outcomes by Empowering Parents, States, and Communities
    22. Reforming Accreditation to Strengthen Higher Education
    23. Establishing the President’s Make America Health Again Commission
    24. Further Amendment to Duties Addressing the Synthetic Opioid Supply Chain in the People’s Republic of China as Applied to Low-Value Imports
    25. The Organization for Economic Co-operations and Development (OECD) Global Tax Deal (Global Tax Deal)
    26. Enforcing the Hyde Amendment
    27. Celebrating America’s 250th Birthday – Garden of Heroes
    28. Making the District of Columbia Safe and Beautiful

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Congressman Ruiz introduces the Treat and Reduce Obesity Act to combat obesity epidemic, improve Americans’ health

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Raul Ruiz (36th District of California)

    Palm Desert, CA – Today, U.S. Representatives Dr. Raul Ruiz (D-CA), Mike Kelly (R-PA), Mariannette Miller-Meeks, M.D. (R-IA), and Gwen Moore (D-WI) introduced the Treat and Reduce Obesity Act (TROA), bipartisan legislation to combat the obesity crisis in the United States by providing regular screenings. 

    The bill would also prevent diseases associated with obesity through expanded coverage of new health care specialists and chronic weight management medications for Medicare recipients.

    “Obesity is a complex, chronic disease and a growing public health crisis that costs our nation billions each year,” said Congressman Dr. Raul Ruiz. “As an emergency physician, I’ve treated countless patients suffering from diabetes, heart disease, and other serious complications linked to obesity. The bipartisan Treat and Reduce Obesity Act would give seniors struggling with obesity access to Medicare coverage for proven medications and behavioral therapies, empowering them to live healthier, longer lives.”

    “The Treat and Reduce Obesity Act takes a critical step toward improving patient costs and patient outcomes,” said Rep. Kelly. “This bipartisan legislation would allow seniors struggling with obesity to take a responsible, proactive approach to improve their health and live longer, more active lives. I look forward to working with the Trump administration and the team at CMS, including my friend Dr. Mehmet Oz, to make America healthy again!”

    “As a physician and former director of the Iowa Department of Public Health, I have seen firsthand how obesity contributes to serious and preventable health conditions. The Treat and Reduce Obesity Act allows Medicare beneficiaries to access life-changing treatments, including behavioral therapy and FDA-approved medications. This bipartisan legislation improves health outcomes, lowers long-term costs, and helps Americans live longer and healthier lives,” said Dr. Miller-Meeks.

    “Obesity poses a growing health risk to millions of Americans, especially older adults. TROA would support critical medical interventions that can help those struggling with obesity, improving the overall health and wellbeing of Medicare beneficiaries,” said Rep. Moore.

    You can find the full bill text here.

    Senator Bill Cassidy leads companion legislation in the U.S. Senate.

    BACKGROUND

    According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, diseases associated with obesity such as heart disease, stroke, type II diabetes, and certain types of cancer are the leading causes of preventable death in the U.S. TROA would work to directly prevent these comorbidities.

    The scientific understanding of obesity has evolved, recognizing it as a complex, chronic, and relapsing disease. Obesity is a public health crisis in the United States. The total economic and societal impact of obesity rose to $1.4 trillion in the United States in 2018, up from $976 billion in 2014.

    A recent study found that Medicare beneficiaries with obesity and at least one other chronic illness could significantly reduce healthcare costs through weight management. Annual savings were estimated at up to 38% or nearly $10,000 in medical cost savings. Additionally, the USC Schaeffer Center found coverage of new obesity treatments could generate approximately $175 billion in cost offsets to Medicare in the first 10 years alone, increasing to $700 billion in 30 years. Coverage of medications to treat obesity will enhance human health and reduce federal healthcare costs by lowering the risks and prevalence of costly obesity-related chronic diseases.

    The following organizations have endorsed TROA this Congress: Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, American Academy of Pas, American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, American Diabetes Association, American Gastroenterological Association, American Medical Group Association, American Psychological Association, American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery, American Society for Nutrition, Association of Asian Pacific Community Health Organizations, Association of Diabetes Care and Education Specialists, Black Woman’s Health Imperative, Boehringer-Ingelheim, ConscienHealth, Currax, Diabetes Leadership Council, Diabetes Patient Advocacy Coalition, Eli Lilly and Company, Endocrine Society, Gerontological Society of America, Global Liver Institute, Healthcare Leadership Council, HealthyWomen, Intuitive Surgical, MedTech Coalition for Metabolic Health, National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions, National Consumers League, National Council on Aging, National Hispanic Medical Association, National Kidney Foundation, Novo Nordisk, Obesity Action Coalition, Obesity Medicine Association, Ro, Strategies to Overcome and Prevent (STOP) Obesity Alliance, The Obesity Society, Trust for America’s Health, WW Weight Watchers International, and YMCA of the USA.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Analysis: Four reasons why many of us feel the global economy is not on our side

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Cahal Moran, Visiting Fellow in the Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science, London School of Economics and Political Science

    During my adult life, I have never experienced what it’s like to live in a “good” economy. Starting with the global financial crash in 2008, which hit just as I began studying economics, the world seems to have lurched from crisis to crisis and the UK economy even more so.

    Some of those crises, like the crash and COVID, are sudden shocks. Others have been more gradual, such as increasingly unaffordable housing or the rising dominance of the world’s ultra rich.

    As I explore in my new book, Why We’re Getting Poorer, the result of these crises is an economic system which works for some much more than it does for others. Here are four reasons why you may be feeling let down.

    1. Grasping for growth

    Like many of his fellow leaders across the world, the British prime minister, Keir Starmer, is aiming to make economic growth the primary mission of his government. And understandably so.

    A growing economy puts more money in people’s pockets and brings other benefits such as low unemployment. But economic growth is not easy (in the UK it has been poor for a long time).

    That’s because there’s no GDP dial that a prime minister or president can simply turn up. Research shows that economic growth is an amorphous and difficult goal which depends on many factors – geopolitical, demographic, technological – outside any single country’s control.

    One option is to focus on achievable goals around investment, like the public investments of £113 billion on homes, transport and energy planned in the UK. But big projects can take a long time to build and develop, so even if they do boost growth, it can take a while for households to feel the benefits.

    2. Inherent inequality

    Against the backdrop of low growth in the UK has been high inequality, under Conservative and Labour governments. And again, inequality is an international issue.

    The wealth of the richest people in the world skyrocketed over COVID, buoyed in many cases by the increased importance of the tech sector during lockdowns. Even before the pandemic, wealth inequality was a problem across the globe.

    This imbalance has given the very richest opportunities to buy up commercial competitors, indulge in space travel and control large parts of the media, exerting extreme economic, social and political power. Needless to say, their economic priorities are not the same as everyone else’s.

    Meanwhile, communities and regions may be left behind, with declining physical and social infrastructure. People living in hollowed out areas where incomes and opportunities are limited are unlikely to feel that the economic system is working for them.

    3. Globalisation

    Globalisation has made a lot of people – in places like China, India and Brazil – better off. But it is not a system which ensures economic benefits for everyone.

    With global competition, big businesses are often under pressure to reduce costs. Free trade deals have often failed to enforce labour standards or redistribute gains to poorly paid workers, and in many cases simply made the rich richer.

    Such a distorted form of economic governance, where large sections of society end up feeling left behind was bound to provoke a response. Some would link it to recent political events like Brexit and the presidencies of Donald Trump, whose international tariffs are a clear attempt to reverse the rise of globalisation.

    Sporadic supply chains.
    Corona Borealis Studio/Shutterstock

    Since the pandemic, more fault-lines have been exposed. The global economy has become too dependent on certain regions, epitomised by Taiwanese dominance in the manufacturing of semiconductors, or European reliance on Russia for gas and oil.

    Recent years have also seen supply chain bottlenecks, leading to shortages of goods including cars, phones and even salad ingredients. Inflexible global systems have been ineffective, and internationally agreed fixes are hard to achieve.

    4. Climate change

    World news at the start of 2020 was dominated by the massive wildfires raging across Australia. At the start of 2025, Los Angeles burned.

    As the global climate shifts and lurches, extreme weather events are becoming more common. Floods, hurricanes and extreme temperatures look to be the likely outcome.

    When sea levels rise, countless coastal cities will experience flooding, and many Pacific islands may disappear altogether. The UN’s climate science advisory group, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) suggests that humanity will struggle with food production, disease and massive migration.

    This will all result in huge economic costs, impeding growth and disrupting livelihoods across the world. According to the IPCC, the impacts could range from extreme weather events disrupting infrastructure to changing weather reducing yields in agriculture, forestry and fishing.

    Yet many countries appear to be backtracking on their commitment to reducing emissions. It seems they would prefer to deal with the fallout of climate change rather than invest in potential solutions like carbon taxes, walkable cities or alternative fuels. But such acts of self-harm are not a sound basis for a prosperous economy, society or planet.

    Cahal Moran 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. Four reasons why many of us feel the global economy is not on our side – https://theconversation.com/four-reasons-why-many-of-us-feel-the-global-economy-is-not-on-our-side-252220

    MIL OSI Analysis –

  • MIL-OSI Analysis: As Netanyahu meets Trump in Washington, what hope for peace in Gaza? Expert Q&A

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Jonathan Este, Senior International Affairs Editor, Associate Editor

    The US government “remains upbeat” about the prospects for at least a ceasefire in Gaza, according to the latest reports from Washington, where the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has been meeting the US president, Donald Trump.

    Netanyahu handed the US president a letter nominating him for the Nobel peace prize, saying he deserved it for “forging peace, as we speak, in one country in the region after another”. But as yet there are no signs that either Hamas or Israel have moved any closer to accepting each other’s terms.

    In fact, reports emerging from the White House meeting are that the two leaders discussed the displacement of much of the Palestinian population. And a plan revealed by the Israeli foreign minister, Israel Katz, proposed the contruction of a “humanitarian city” at Rafah in the north of the Gaza Strip to house more than 600,000 Palestinians.

    The Conversation’s senior international affairs editor, Jonathan Este, spoke with Middle East expert, Scott Lucas, of University College Dublin to address this and other questions.

    The two leaders’ discussions in Washington seemed to centre around displacement of the Palestinian population in lieu of a two-state solution. What does this tell you about the chance of a ceasefire deal?

    I am fascinated – and sometimes disillusioned – by how some media outlets, led by the nose, miss the main story. Last week Donald Trump pronounced on social media that Israel had agreed to a 60-day ceasefire and Hamas “should take this deal”.

    But the Netanyahu government has not accepted the framework, circulated by Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff, let alone consented to a halt of their attacks, which have continued even as the Israeli prime minister travelled to Washington to meet the US president.

    As Trump hosted Netanyahu in the White House on Monday, the line was that the US president was “upbeat on Gaza ceasefire talks”. Meanwhile, few of them seemed to notice the important development. Hamas responded to the US framework with proposals for the staged release of 28 of the remaining 50 Israeli hostages over the 60 days while Israeli troops withdrew from positions inside the Strip and humanitarian aid was restored.

    But the Israeli government has thus far not given a substantive response. Instead, while pursuing a plan for the long-term military occupation of Gaza, it may also be seeking the displacement of a large portion of the more than 2.2 million population.

    Sign up to receive our weekly World Affairs Briefing newsletter from The Conversation UK. Every Thursday we’ll bring you expert analysis of the big stories in international relations.

    Hard-right members of Netanyahu’s cabinet, such as finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, and internal security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, have long called for more than a million Gazans to be moved out of the territory. Reports over the weekend confirmed that this is not rhetoric. Israeli businessmen and venture capitalists have reportedly been working on plans for postwar Gaza, to include a “Trump riviera”, mirroring the displacement declaration by the US President, and an “Elon Musk smart manufacturing zone”.

    On Tuesday, security cabinet member Ze’ev Elkin, a Netanyahu loyalist, proclaimed “a substantial chance” for a ceasefire. But Qatari negotiators have said there are currently no talks, only discussions with each side about the framework for talks.

    Meanwhile, citing the killing of five Israeli soldiers in Gaza on Sunday night by an improvised explosive device, Ben-Gvir said: “We should not negotiate with those who kill our soldiers. They should be crushed to pieces, starved to death, and not resuscitated with humanitarian aid that gives them oxygen.”

    He called for “a complete siege, crushing them militarily” and reiterated the plan for “encouraging [Palestinian] immigration and [Jewish] settlement — these are the keys to complete victory”.

    Smotrich also called for a ban on any aid to Gaza: “In addition, I demand … that any territory that was conquered and cleansed of terror with the blood of our fighters not be abandoned.”

    So I am not optimistic at the moment.

    Looking at the region as a whole, two events have ‘reset’ the Middle East: the October 7 Hamas attacks and Israel’s recent 12-day war. Can you tell me more about the kaleidoscope effect these two events had?

    In October 2023, there was no open-ended war in Gaza. Benjamin Netanyahu’s focus was on curbing the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, blocking any possibility of a two-state solution. His tactic was to ease the economic pressure on Gaza and Hamas, maintaining that organisation as a balance against its West Bank rivals.

    Hamas ripped up that approach with its mass murder on October 7 – the first of the two kaleidoscope moments which changed the whole picture in a matter of hours. The attack triggered the deadly Israeli response that continues 21 months later. That response did not “destroy” Hamas, as Netanyahu pledged, but it led the Israelis to take on other foes in the region.

    Pursuing its “octopus doctrine”, Israel severely damaged one of the tentacles, Hezbollah, when it destroyed much of the Lebanese group’s leadership in the autumn of 2024. It assassinated senior Iranian commanders and officials in Damascus, and received a further boost when Turkish-backed factions toppled the Assad regime in December.

    The 12-day war in June aimed to destroy the head of the octopus: Iran. Israel’s strikes and assassinations killed much of the country’s military leadership and many of its top nuclear scientists. The supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, hid in a bunker, only emerging on July 6. But Israel failed to topple his regime, as it had hoped.

    The war was another kaleidoscope moment. Israel had its regional victory. But paradoxically, because there has been no resolution in Gaza, this has come at the cost of further international isolation. Gulf States, having moved away from “normalisation” with Israel, put out tougher statements about “genocide” of Gazans and the violation of Iranian sovereignty. Saudi Arabia’s state media highlighted a letter from Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi to Saudi counterpart Faisal bin Farhan for “ways to support and enhance [relations] across all fields”.

    This implies that for any normalisation to occur, Israel must end its military operation in Gaza?

    That question cuts to the chase. The Gulf states, with the notable exception of Qatar, are no friends of Hamas. They might even have accepted the destruction of the group if Israel had been able to accomplish it quickly.

    But there is no way that they can publicly acquiesce in the killing of almost 60,000 Gazans, the large majority of them civilians, and the humanitarian blockade that threatens every single person living in the Gaza Strip. Nor will they want to see Israel export Gazans across the region in an echo of the 1948 “Nakba” whose legacy is the millions of Palestinians living in refugee camps across the Middle East.

    Netanyahu can pursue his “absolute destruction” of Hamas by pursuing the destruction and displacement of Gazans. Or he can try to capitalise on his war with Iran through links with Arab countries. He cannot do both.

    Will Donald Trump get his Nobel peace prize?

    I don’t know, for that is a question which does not have a logical answer.

    Herny Kissinger was the US secretary of state who oversaw an escalation of the Vietnam war in which up to 3 million Vietnamese, 310,000 Cambodians, 62,000 Laotians and 58,220 US service members died. The singer-songwriter Tom Lehrer aptly noted: “Political satire became obsolete when Henry Kissinger was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.”

    We are in a world where having caused so much disorder and chaos, having enabled violence, including Israel’s open-ended war, Donald Trump may succeed in a pose as “peacemaker”.

    Some may see the least worst option as flattery, which seems to work as a strategy for dealing with the US president. They may accept the White House theatre in which Netanyahu, wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes, personally hands Trump a peace prize nomination.

    Meanwhile, in the past 24 hours, according to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry, the number of casualties in Gaza rose to 57,575 people killed and 136,879 wounded. Twenty hostages spent another day in limbo. That’s what matters here.

    – ref. As Netanyahu meets Trump in Washington, what hope for peace in Gaza? Expert Q&A – https://theconversation.com/as-netanyahu-meets-trump-in-washington-what-hope-for-peace-in-gaza-expert-qanda-260722

    MIL OSI Analysis –

  • MIL-OSI Analysis: Brics is sliding towards irrelevance – the Rio summit made that clear

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Amalendu Misra, Professor of International Politics, Lancaster University

    The Brics group of nations has just concluded its 17th annual summit in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro. But, despite member states adopting a long list of commitments covering global governance, finance, health, AI and climate change, the summit was a lacklustre affair.

    The two most prominent leaders from the group’s founding members – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – were conspicuously absent. Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, only attended virtually due to an outstanding arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court over his role in the war in Ukraine.

    China’s Xi Jinping avoided the summit altogether for unknown reasons, sending his prime minister, Li Qiang, instead. This was Xi’s first no-show at a Brics summit, with the snub prompting suggestions that Beijing’s enthusiasm for the group as part of an emerging new world order is in decline.

    Perhaps the most notable takeaway from the summit was a statement that came not from the Brics nations but the US. As Brics leaders gathered in Rio, the US president, Donald Trump, warned on social media: “Any Country aligning themselves with the Anti-American policies of BRICS, will be charged an ADDITIONAL 10% Tariff. There will be no exceptions to this policy.”

    Get your news from actual experts, straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily newsletter to receive all The Conversation UK’s latest coverage of news and research, from politics and business to the arts and sciences.

    Trump has long been critical of Brics. This is largely because the group has consistently floated the idea of adopting a common currency to challenge the dominance of the US dollar in international trade.

    Such a move makes sense if we focus on trade figures. In 2024, the value of trade among the Brics nations was around US$5 trillion, accounting for approximately 22% of global exports. Member nations have always felt their economic potential could be fully realised if they were not reliant upon the US dollar as their common currency of trade.

    During their 2024 summit, which was held in the Russian city of Kazan, the Brics nations entered into serious discussions around creating a gold-backed currency. At a time when the Trump administration is waging a global trade war, the emergence of an alternative to the US dollar would be a very serious pushback against US economic hegemony.



    Read more:
    Why Donald Trump’s election could hasten the end of US dollar dominance

    But the freshly concluded Brics summit did not present any concrete move towards achieving that objective. In fact, the 31-page Rio de Janeiro joint declaration even contained some reassurances about the global importance of the US dollar.

    There are two key obstacles hindering Brics from translating its vision of a common currency into reality. First is that some founding member nations are uncomfortable with adopting such an economic model, in large part due to internal rivalries within Brics itself.

    India, currently the fourth-largest economy in the world, has a history of periodic confrontation and strategic competition with China. It is reticent about adopting an alternative to the US dollar, concerned that this could make China more powerful and undercut India’s long-term interests.

    Second is that the Brics member nations are dependent on their bilateral trade with the US. Simply put, embracing an alternative currency is counterproductive when it comes to the current economic interests of individual countries. Brazil, China and India, for example, all export more to the US than they import from it.

    In December 2024, following his election as US president, Trump said: “We require a commitment from these countries that they will neither create a new Brics currency nor back any other currency to replace the mighty US dollar or they will face 100% tariffs and should expect to say goodbye to selling into the wonderful US economy”. This blunt message all but killed any enthusiasm that was there for this grand economic model.

    Caught in contradiction

    The Brics group is a behemoth. Its full 11 members account for 40% of the world’s population and economy. But the bloc is desperately short of providing any cohesive alternative global leadership.

    While Brazil used its position as host to highlight Brics as a truly multilateral forum capable of providing leadership in a new world order, such ambitions are thwarted by the many contradictions plaguing this bloc.

    Among these are tensions between founding members China and India, which have been running high for decades.

    There are other contradictions, too. In their joint Rio declaration, the group’s members decried the recent Israeli and US attacks on Iran. Brazil’s president, Luiz Inácio “Lula” da Silva, also used his position as summit host to criticise the Israeli offensive in Gaza.

    But this moral high ground appears hollow when you consider that the Russian Federation, a key member of Brics, is on a mission to destroy Ukraine. And rather than condemning Russia, Brics leaders used the Rio summit to criticise recent Ukrainian attacks on Russia’s railway infrastructure.

    Brics declared intention to address the issue of climate change is also problematic. The Rio declaration conveyed the group’s support for multilateralism and unity to achieve the goals of the Paris agreement. But, despite China making significant advances in its green energy sector, Brics contains some of the world’s biggest emitters of greenhouse gases as well as several of the largest oil and gas producers.

    Brics can only stay relevant and provide credible leadership in a fast-changing international order when it addresses its many inner contradictions.

    Amalendu Misra is a recipient of British Academy and Nuffield Foundation Fellowships.

    – ref. Brics is sliding towards irrelevance – the Rio summit made that clear – https://theconversation.com/brics-is-sliding-towards-irrelevance-the-rio-summit-made-that-clear-260653

    MIL OSI Analysis –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Four reasons why many of us feel the global economy is not on our side

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Cahal Moran, Visiting Fellow in the Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science, London School of Economics and Political Science

    During my adult life, I have never experienced what it’s like to live in a “good” economy. Starting with the global financial crash in 2008, which hit just as I began studying economics, the world seems to have lurched from crisis to crisis and the UK economy even more so.

    Some of those crises, like the crash and COVID, are sudden shocks. Others have been more gradual, such as increasingly unaffordable housing or the rising dominance of the world’s ultra rich.

    As I explore in my new book, Why We’re Getting Poorer, the result of these crises is an economic system which works for some much more than it does for others. Here are four reasons why you may be feeling let down.

    1. Grasping for growth

    Like many of his fellow leaders across the world, the British prime minister, Keir Starmer, is aiming to make economic growth the primary mission of his government. And understandably so.

    A growing economy puts more money in people’s pockets and brings other benefits such as low unemployment. But economic growth is not easy (in the UK it has been poor for a long time).

    That’s because there’s no GDP dial that a prime minister or president can simply turn up. Research shows that economic growth is an amorphous and difficult goal which depends on many factors – geopolitical, demographic, technological – outside any single country’s control.

    One option is to focus on achievable goals around investment, like the public investments of £113 billion on homes, transport and energy planned in the UK. But big projects can take a long time to build and develop, so even if they do boost growth, it can take a while for households to feel the benefits.

    2. Inherent inequality

    Against the backdrop of low growth in the UK has been high inequality, under Conservative and Labour governments. And again, inequality is an international issue.

    The wealth of the richest people in the world skyrocketed over COVID, buoyed in many cases by the increased importance of the tech sector during lockdowns. Even before the pandemic, wealth inequality was a problem across the globe.

    This imbalance has given the very richest opportunities to buy up commercial competitors, indulge in space travel and control large parts of the media, exerting extreme economic, social and political power. Needless to say, their economic priorities are not the same as everyone else’s.

    Meanwhile, communities and regions may be left behind, with declining physical and social infrastructure. People living in hollowed out areas where incomes and opportunities are limited are unlikely to feel that the economic system is working for them.

    3. Globalisation

    Globalisation has made a lot of people – in places like China, India and Brazil – better off. But it is not a system which ensures economic benefits for everyone.

    With global competition, big businesses are often under pressure to reduce costs. Free trade deals have often failed to enforce labour standards or redistribute gains to poorly paid workers, and in many cases simply made the rich richer.

    Such a distorted form of economic governance, where large sections of society end up feeling left behind was bound to provoke a response. Some would link it to recent political events like Brexit and the presidencies of Donald Trump, whose international tariffs are a clear attempt to reverse the rise of globalisation.

    Sporadic supply chains.
    Corona Borealis Studio/Shutterstock

    Since the pandemic, more fault-lines have been exposed. The global economy has become too dependent on certain regions, epitomised by Taiwanese dominance in the manufacturing of semiconductors, or European reliance on Russia for gas and oil.

    Recent years have also seen supply chain bottlenecks, leading to shortages of goods including cars, phones and even salad ingredients. Inflexible global systems have been ineffective, and internationally agreed fixes are hard to achieve.

    4. Climate change

    World news at the start of 2020 was dominated by the massive wildfires raging across Australia. At the start of 2025, Los Angeles burned.

    As the global climate shifts and lurches, extreme weather events are becoming more common. Floods, hurricanes and extreme temperatures look to be the likely outcome.

    When sea levels rise, countless coastal cities will experience flooding, and many Pacific islands may disappear altogether. The UN’s climate science advisory group, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) suggests that humanity will struggle with food production, disease and massive migration.

    This will all result in huge economic costs, impeding growth and disrupting livelihoods across the world. According to the IPCC, the impacts could range from extreme weather events disrupting infrastructure to changing weather reducing yields in agriculture, forestry and fishing.

    Yet many countries appear to be backtracking on their commitment to reducing emissions. It seems they would prefer to deal with the fallout of climate change rather than invest in potential solutions like carbon taxes, walkable cities or alternative fuels. But such acts of self-harm are not a sound basis for a prosperous economy, society or planet.

    Cahal Moran 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. Four reasons why many of us feel the global economy is not on our side – https://theconversation.com/four-reasons-why-many-of-us-feel-the-global-economy-is-not-on-our-side-252220

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: As Netanyahu meets Trump in Washington, what hope for peace in Gaza? Expert Q&A

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Jonathan Este, Senior International Affairs Editor, Associate Editor

    The US government “remains upbeat” about the prospects for at least a ceasefire in Gaza, according to the latest reports from Washington, where the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has been meeting the US president, Donald Trump.

    Netanyahu handed the US president a letter nominating him for the Nobel peace prize, saying he deserved it for “forging peace, as we speak, in one country in the region after another”. But as yet there are no signs that either Hamas or Israel have moved any closer to accepting each other’s terms.

    In fact, reports emerging from the White House meeting are that the two leaders discussed the displacement of much of the Palestinian population. And a plan revealed by the Israeli foreign minister, Israel Katz, proposed the contruction of a “humanitarian city” at Rafah in the north of the Gaza Strip to house more than 600,000 Palestinians.

    The Conversation’s senior international affairs editor, Jonathan Este, spoke with Middle East expert, Scott Lucas, of University College Dublin to address this and other questions.

    The two leaders’ discussions in Washington seemed to centre around displacement of the Palestinian population in lieu of a two-state solution. What does this tell you about the chance of a ceasefire deal?

    I am fascinated – and sometimes disillusioned – by how some media outlets, led by the nose, miss the main story. Last week Donald Trump pronounced on social media that Israel had agreed to a 60-day ceasefire and Hamas “should take this deal”.

    But the Netanyahu government has not accepted the framework, circulated by Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff, let alone consented to a halt of their attacks, which have continued even as the Israeli prime minister travelled to Washington to meet the US president.

    As Trump hosted Netanyahu in the White House on Monday, the line was that the US president was “upbeat on Gaza ceasefire talks”. Meanwhile, few of them seemed to notice the important development. Hamas responded to the US framework with proposals for the staged release of 28 of the remaining 50 Israeli hostages over the 60 days while Israeli troops withdrew from positions inside the Strip and humanitarian aid was restored.

    But the Israeli government has thus far not given a substantive response. Instead, while pursuing a plan for the long-term military occupation of Gaza, it may also be seeking the displacement of a large portion of the more than 2.2 million population.

    Sign up to receive our weekly World Affairs Briefing newsletter from The Conversation UK. Every Thursday we’ll bring you expert analysis of the big stories in international relations.

    Hard-right members of Netanyahu’s cabinet, such as finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, and internal security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, have long called for more than a million Gazans to be moved out of the territory. Reports over the weekend confirmed that this is not rhetoric. Israeli businessmen and venture capitalists have reportedly been working on plans for postwar Gaza, to include a “Trump riviera”, mirroring the displacement declaration by the US President, and an “Elon Musk smart manufacturing zone”.

    On Tuesday, security cabinet member Ze’ev Elkin, a Netanyahu loyalist, proclaimed “a substantial chance” for a ceasefire. But Qatari negotiators have said there are currently no talks, only discussions with each side about the framework for talks.

    Meanwhile, citing the killing of five Israeli soldiers in Gaza on Sunday night by an improvised explosive device, Ben-Gvir said: “We should not negotiate with those who kill our soldiers. They should be crushed to pieces, starved to death, and not resuscitated with humanitarian aid that gives them oxygen.”

    He called for “a complete siege, crushing them militarily” and reiterated the plan for “encouraging [Palestinian] immigration and [Jewish] settlement — these are the keys to complete victory”.

    Smotrich also called for a ban on any aid to Gaza: “In addition, I demand … that any territory that was conquered and cleansed of terror with the blood of our fighters not be abandoned.”

    So I am not optimistic at the moment.

    Looking at the region as a whole, two events have ‘reset’ the Middle East: the October 7 Hamas attacks and Israel’s recent 12-day war. Can you tell me more about the kaleidoscope effect these two events had?

    In October 2023, there was no open-ended war in Gaza. Benjamin Netanyahu’s focus was on curbing the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, blocking any possibility of a two-state solution. His tactic was to ease the economic pressure on Gaza and Hamas, maintaining that organisation as a balance against its West Bank rivals.

    Hamas ripped up that approach with its mass murder on October 7 – the first of the two kaleidoscope moments which changed the whole picture in a matter of hours. The attack triggered the deadly Israeli response that continues 21 months later. That response did not “destroy” Hamas, as Netanyahu pledged, but it led the Israelis to take on other foes in the region.

    Pursuing its “octopus doctrine”, Israel severely damaged one of the tentacles, Hezbollah, when it destroyed much of the Lebanese group’s leadership in the autumn of 2024. It assassinated senior Iranian commanders and officials in Damascus, and received a further boost when Turkish-backed factions toppled the Assad regime in December.

    The 12-day war in June aimed to destroy the head of the octopus: Iran. Israel’s strikes and assassinations killed much of the country’s military leadership and many of its top nuclear scientists. The supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, hid in a bunker, only emerging on July 6. But Israel failed to topple his regime, as it had hoped.

    The war was another kaleidoscope moment. Israel had its regional victory. But paradoxically, because there has been no resolution in Gaza, this has come at the cost of further international isolation. Gulf States, having moved away from “normalisation” with Israel, put out tougher statements about “genocide” of Gazans and the violation of Iranian sovereignty. Saudi Arabia’s state media highlighted a letter from Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi to Saudi counterpart Faisal bin Farhan for “ways to support and enhance [relations] across all fields”.

    This implies that for any normalisation to occur, Israel must end its military operation in Gaza?

    That question cuts to the chase. The Gulf states, with the notable exception of Qatar, are no friends of Hamas. They might even have accepted the destruction of the group if Israel had been able to accomplish it quickly.

    But there is no way that they can publicly acquiesce in the killing of almost 60,000 Gazans, the large majority of them civilians, and the humanitarian blockade that threatens every single person living in the Gaza Strip. Nor will they want to see Israel export Gazans across the region in an echo of the 1948 “Nakba” whose legacy is the millions of Palestinians living in refugee camps across the Middle East.

    Netanyahu can pursue his “absolute destruction” of Hamas by pursuing the destruction and displacement of Gazans. Or he can try to capitalise on his war with Iran through links with Arab countries. He cannot do both.

    Will Donald Trump get his Nobel peace prize?

    I don’t know, for that is a question which does not have a logical answer.

    Herny Kissinger was the US secretary of state who oversaw an escalation of the Vietnam war in which up to 3 million Vietnamese, 310,000 Cambodians, 62,000 Laotians and 58,220 US service members died. The singer-songwriter Tom Lehrer aptly noted: “Political satire became obsolete when Henry Kissinger was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.”

    We are in a world where having caused so much disorder and chaos, having enabled violence, including Israel’s open-ended war, Donald Trump may succeed in a pose as “peacemaker”.

    Some may see the least worst option as flattery, which seems to work as a strategy for dealing with the US president. They may accept the White House theatre in which Netanyahu, wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes, personally hands Trump a peace prize nomination.

    Meanwhile, in the past 24 hours, according to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry, the number of casualties in Gaza rose to 57,575 people killed and 136,879 wounded. Twenty hostages spent another day in limbo. That’s what matters here.

    – ref. As Netanyahu meets Trump in Washington, what hope for peace in Gaza? Expert Q&A – https://theconversation.com/as-netanyahu-meets-trump-in-washington-what-hope-for-peace-in-gaza-expert-qanda-260722

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Brics is sliding towards irrelevance – the Rio summit made that clear

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Amalendu Misra, Professor of International Politics, Lancaster University

    The Brics group of nations has just concluded its 17th annual summit in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro. But, despite member states adopting a long list of commitments covering global governance, finance, health, AI and climate change, the summit was a lacklustre affair.

    The two most prominent leaders from the group’s founding members – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – were conspicuously absent. Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, only attended virtually due to an outstanding arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court over his role in the war in Ukraine.

    China’s Xi Jinping avoided the summit altogether for unknown reasons, sending his prime minister, Li Qiang, instead. This was Xi’s first no-show at a Brics summit, with the snub prompting suggestions that Beijing’s enthusiasm for the group as part of an emerging new world order is in decline.

    Perhaps the most notable takeaway from the summit was a statement that came not from the Brics nations but the US. As Brics leaders gathered in Rio, the US president, Donald Trump, warned on social media: “Any Country aligning themselves with the Anti-American policies of BRICS, will be charged an ADDITIONAL 10% Tariff. There will be no exceptions to this policy.”

    Get your news from actual experts, straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily newsletter to receive all The Conversation UK’s latest coverage of news and research, from politics and business to the arts and sciences.

    Trump has long been critical of Brics. This is largely because the group has consistently floated the idea of adopting a common currency to challenge the dominance of the US dollar in international trade.

    Such a move makes sense if we focus on trade figures. In 2024, the value of trade among the Brics nations was around US$5 trillion, accounting for approximately 22% of global exports. Member nations have always felt their economic potential could be fully realised if they were not reliant upon the US dollar as their common currency of trade.

    During their 2024 summit, which was held in the Russian city of Kazan, the Brics nations entered into serious discussions around creating a gold-backed currency. At a time when the Trump administration is waging a global trade war, the emergence of an alternative to the US dollar would be a very serious pushback against US economic hegemony.



    Read more:
    Why Donald Trump’s election could hasten the end of US dollar dominance

    But the freshly concluded Brics summit did not present any concrete move towards achieving that objective. In fact, the 31-page Rio de Janeiro joint declaration even contained some reassurances about the global importance of the US dollar.

    There are two key obstacles hindering Brics from translating its vision of a common currency into reality. First is that some founding member nations are uncomfortable with adopting such an economic model, in large part due to internal rivalries within Brics itself.

    India, currently the fourth-largest economy in the world, has a history of periodic confrontation and strategic competition with China. It is reticent about adopting an alternative to the US dollar, concerned that this could make China more powerful and undercut India’s long-term interests.

    Second is that the Brics member nations are dependent on their bilateral trade with the US. Simply put, embracing an alternative currency is counterproductive when it comes to the current economic interests of individual countries. Brazil, China and India, for example, all export more to the US than they import from it.

    In December 2024, following his election as US president, Trump said: “We require a commitment from these countries that they will neither create a new Brics currency nor back any other currency to replace the mighty US dollar or they will face 100% tariffs and should expect to say goodbye to selling into the wonderful US economy”. This blunt message all but killed any enthusiasm that was there for this grand economic model.

    Caught in contradiction

    The Brics group is a behemoth. Its full 11 members account for 40% of the world’s population and economy. But the bloc is desperately short of providing any cohesive alternative global leadership.

    While Brazil used its position as host to highlight Brics as a truly multilateral forum capable of providing leadership in a new world order, such ambitions are thwarted by the many contradictions plaguing this bloc.

    Among these are tensions between founding members China and India, which have been running high for decades.

    There are other contradictions, too. In their joint Rio declaration, the group’s members decried the recent Israeli and US attacks on Iran. Brazil’s president, Luiz Inácio “Lula” da Silva, also used his position as summit host to criticise the Israeli offensive in Gaza.

    But this moral high ground appears hollow when you consider that the Russian Federation, a key member of Brics, is on a mission to destroy Ukraine. And rather than condemning Russia, Brics leaders used the Rio summit to criticise recent Ukrainian attacks on Russia’s railway infrastructure.

    Brics declared intention to address the issue of climate change is also problematic. The Rio declaration conveyed the group’s support for multilateralism and unity to achieve the goals of the Paris agreement. But, despite China making significant advances in its green energy sector, Brics contains some of the world’s biggest emitters of greenhouse gases as well as several of the largest oil and gas producers.

    Brics can only stay relevant and provide credible leadership in a fast-changing international order when it addresses its many inner contradictions.

    Amalendu Misra is a recipient of British Academy and Nuffield Foundation Fellowships.

    – ref. Brics is sliding towards irrelevance – the Rio summit made that clear – https://theconversation.com/brics-is-sliding-towards-irrelevance-the-rio-summit-made-that-clear-260653

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Attorney General Bonta Blasts U.S. EPA for Illegally Terminating Environmental Justice Grants

    Source: US State of California Department of Justice

    OAKLAND – California Attorney General Rob Bonta today co-led a multistate coalition of 20 attorneys general in submitting an amicus brief supporting Earthjustice, Public Rights Project, and Southern Environmental Law Center in their class action lawsuit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for unlawfully terminating the Environmental and Climate Justice Block Grant program. The funding, secured through the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), was explicitly appropriated by Congress to ensure that communities across the country would have access to clean air, safe water, and healthy homes, with a particular focus on supporting disadvantaged communities nationwide. In today’s amicus brief, the attorneys general argue that the Trump Administration’s actions to terminate the grant program will leave hundreds of local communities nationwide unable to pursue vital environmental justice and public health projects — jeopardizing their fight for clean air, safe water, and climate resilience efforts.  

    “Congress directed these funds to protect public health and address long-standing environmental injustices in communities that have borne the brunt of pollution for decades,” said Attorney General Bonta. “We are not going to stand by while this administration continues to take illegal action and dismantle environmental justice programs where they are most urgently needed.” 

    More than 200 grantees of the terminated program within the coalition of states— including non-profits, local and regional governments, Native American tribes, and educational institutions — were slated to receive over $1.38 billion to support frontline communities in combating pollution, improving public health infrastructure, and building climate resilience. Due to the termination of this program, at least 40 grantees within California have lost access to over $301 million in funding from the EPA, which represents the greatest number of EPA grantees and highest amount of EJ funding from EPA flowing to any single state.

    In the amicus brief, Attorney General Bonta, alongside the coalition, argues that: 

    • The termination of the program disproportionately harms marginalized and historically disadvantaged communities — including Native American tribes, non-profits serving low-income neighborhoods, and communities of color — undermining the core purpose of Congress’s instruction to EPA when it passed the IRA. 
    • By halting critical environmental justice and public health improvement projects, the Trump Administration’s actions put vulnerable populations at increased health risk. 
    • The Plaintiffs are likely to succeed on the merits in their argument that the EPA acted unlawfully by rescinding grants that were explicitly authorized by Congress under the IRA.

    Attorney General Bonta co-led the filing of today’s amicus brief, together with the Attorneys General of New York and Massachusetts, and is joined by the following states and territories: Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Hawai‘i, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington.

    A copy of the amicus brief can be found here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: ICYMI: Administrator Loeffler Joins Lara Trump for Exclusive Interview on One Big Beautiful Bill

    Source: United States Small Business Administration

    WASHINGTON — In case you missed it, Kelly Loeffler, Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), joined My View with Laura Trump to discuss how President Donald J. Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill will empower America’s 34 million small businesses. Signed into law on July 4, 2025, the bill provides historic tax cuts that will unleash a new era of hiring, growth, and prosperity on Main Street.

    During the exclusive interview, Administrator Loeffler and Lara Trump visited small businesses in Wilmington, North Carolina, where they spoke directly to job creators about how the One Big Beautiful Bill will help them create jobs, expand, and plan for the future. Administrator Loeffler highlighted that the bill will lock in tax relief, cut burdensome regulations, and strengthen American supply chains. She also emphasized how the SBA and President Trump will continue to work together to empower small businesses and workers as they drive America’s economic comeback, including through efforts like the agency’s Made in America Manufacturing Initiative and Make Onshoring Great Again Portal.

    Click HERE to watch the full interview or view excerpts below:

    “[The One Big Beautiful Bill] is the lifeblood for small businesses, to have that certainty of low taxes. It will also create about 1 million Main Street jobs—main streets like this that will benefit from the economic energy that will come behind it. It is literally rocket fuel for the economy.”

    “We’ve talked to manufacturers…from aerospace to defense to barbeque grills and boats and so many things that this country can do. We’ve even introduced a directory for Made in America, manufactured goods to ensure that small businesses can source supplies from America—and that’s what’s happening across this country. Small businesses are grateful for President Trump fighting for fair-trade.”

    “What’s great about getting out across the country, outside of Washington, you see the concerns that are on the minds of hardworking Americans that make this country work…the last thing they need to hear is that there is a tax increase on the horizon…massive tax increase on hardworking Americans who have been pushed to the brink by Biden inflation that created 20% inflation, $1.6 trillion of regulation.”

    “It’s such a great honor to serve in President Trump’s Administration…I bring 30 years of business experience to this role, but most importantly, I bring the heart of a small businessperson…so I know what small businesses go through every single day to make this country work—to make ours the greatest in the world—and President Trump is fighting for small businesses through fair trade, through deregulation and through low taxes.”

    # # #

    About the U.S. Small Business Administration

    The U.S. Small Business Administration helps power the American dream of entrepreneurship. As the leading voice for small businesses within the federal government, the SBA empowers job creators with the resources and support they need to start, grow, and expand their businesses or recover from a declared disaster. It delivers services through an extensive network of SBA field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations. To learn more, visit www.sba.gov. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Huizenga Votes to Cut Taxes for Michiganders, Strengthen Michigan’s Economy

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Bill Huizenga (MI-02)

    Today, Congressman Bill Huizenga (R-MI) released the following statement after voting in support the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which passed the House by a vote of 218-214. The One Big Beautiful Bill will now head to President Trump’s desk to be signed into law.

    “Today, Congress delivered on the promises President Trump and House Republicans made to the American people to stop the largest tax increase in our nation’s history.

    “The One Big Beautiful Bill will help Americans across all walks of life by making tax cuts permanent and increasing take home pay as much as $7,500 through provisions such as no tax on tips and no tax on overtime.

    “Additionally, by increasing tax breaks for seniors, strengthening the child tax credit for families, making made-in-America car loan interest tax deductible, and addressing inflation with the largest mandatory spending reduction ever, the Big Beautiful Bill will make everyday life more affordable.

    “Importantly, this bill makes significant progress to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse from both SNAP and Medicaid by implementing work requirements for able-bodied individuals without dependents. These commonsense reforms will preserve these important safety net programs for those who need it most — namely, low-income mothers, children, the elderly, and disabled Americans.

    “The One Big Beautiful Bill will supercharge Michigan’s economy by boosting manufacturing, helping farmers, modernizing our military, and unleashing American energy.

    “Lastly, the One Big Beautiful Bill provides critical resources to ensure our border remains secure by finishing the wall and ensuring we have the law enforcement manpower we need to keep our nation safe.

    “I look forward to President Trump signing this legislation, delivering a massive win for hardworking Americans, and putting America back on track for an age of prosperity!”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Huizenga Votes to Cut Taxes for Michiganders, Strengthen Michigan’s Economy

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Bill Huizenga (MI-02)

    Today, Congressman Bill Huizenga (R-MI) released the following statement after voting in support the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which passed the House by a vote of 218-214. The One Big Beautiful Bill will now head to President Trump’s desk to be signed into law.

    “Today, Congress delivered on the promises President Trump and House Republicans made to the American people to stop the largest tax increase in our nation’s history.

    “The One Big Beautiful Bill will help Americans across all walks of life by making tax cuts permanent and increasing take home pay as much as $7,500 through provisions such as no tax on tips and no tax on overtime.

    “Additionally, by increasing tax breaks for seniors, strengthening the child tax credit for families, making made-in-America car loan interest tax deductible, and addressing inflation with the largest mandatory spending reduction ever, the Big Beautiful Bill will make everyday life more affordable.

    “Importantly, this bill makes significant progress to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse from both SNAP and Medicaid by implementing work requirements for able-bodied individuals without dependents. These commonsense reforms will preserve these important safety net programs for those who need it most — namely, low-income mothers, children, the elderly, and disabled Americans.

    “The One Big Beautiful Bill will supercharge Michigan’s economy by boosting manufacturing, helping farmers, modernizing our military, and unleashing American energy.

    “Lastly, the One Big Beautiful Bill provides critical resources to ensure our border remains secure by finishing the wall and ensuring we have the law enforcement manpower we need to keep our nation safe.

    “I look forward to President Trump signing this legislation, delivering a massive win for hardworking Americans, and putting America back on track for an age of prosperity!”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Huizenga Votes to Cut Taxes for Michiganders, Strengthen Michigan’s Economy

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Bill Huizenga (MI-02)

    Today, Congressman Bill Huizenga (R-MI) released the following statement after voting in support the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which passed the House by a vote of 218-214. The One Big Beautiful Bill will now head to President Trump’s desk to be signed into law.

    “Today, Congress delivered on the promises President Trump and House Republicans made to the American people to stop the largest tax increase in our nation’s history.

    “The One Big Beautiful Bill will help Americans across all walks of life by making tax cuts permanent and increasing take home pay as much as $7,500 through provisions such as no tax on tips and no tax on overtime.

    “Additionally, by increasing tax breaks for seniors, strengthening the child tax credit for families, making made-in-America car loan interest tax deductible, and addressing inflation with the largest mandatory spending reduction ever, the Big Beautiful Bill will make everyday life more affordable.

    “Importantly, this bill makes significant progress to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse from both SNAP and Medicaid by implementing work requirements for able-bodied individuals without dependents. These commonsense reforms will preserve these important safety net programs for those who need it most — namely, low-income mothers, children, the elderly, and disabled Americans.

    “The One Big Beautiful Bill will supercharge Michigan’s economy by boosting manufacturing, helping farmers, modernizing our military, and unleashing American energy.

    “Lastly, the One Big Beautiful Bill provides critical resources to ensure our border remains secure by finishing the wall and ensuring we have the law enforcement manpower we need to keep our nation safe.

    “I look forward to President Trump signing this legislation, delivering a massive win for hardworking Americans, and putting America back on track for an age of prosperity!”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Feenstra Applauds Trump Administration’s National Farm Security Action Plan

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Randy Feenstra (IA-04)

    HULL, IOWA – Today, U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra (R-Hull) issued the following statement praising the Trump administration’s National Farm Security Action Plan:

    “I thank President Trump and Secretary Rollins for rolling out the National Farm Security Action Plan and standing with Iowa farmers and producers. This initiative will help keep American farmland in the hands of American farmers, protect our agricultural research and supply chains from China, and defend American agriculture from the threat of foreign animal disease. By cementing our agricultural dominance and investing in our rural communities, we ensure that American farmers and producers can continue to feed and fuel our country and the world.”

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Feenstra Applauds Trump Administration’s National Farm Security Action Plan

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Randy Feenstra (IA-04)

    HULL, IOWA – Today, U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra (R-Hull) issued the following statement praising the Trump administration’s National Farm Security Action Plan:

    “I thank President Trump and Secretary Rollins for rolling out the National Farm Security Action Plan and standing with Iowa farmers and producers. This initiative will help keep American farmland in the hands of American farmers, protect our agricultural research and supply chains from China, and defend American agriculture from the threat of foreign animal disease. By cementing our agricultural dominance and investing in our rural communities, we ensure that American farmers and producers can continue to feed and fuel our country and the world.”

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: ICYMI: Senator Mullin on Securing America’s Borders with the ‘One Big, Beautiful Bill’ICYMI:

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator MarkWayne Mullin (R-Oklahoma)

    ICYMI: Senator Mullin on Securing America’s Borders with the ‘One Big, Beautiful Bill’ICYMI:

    Washington, D.C. – On Sunday, U.S. Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) joined Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures” to discuss how the ‘One Big, Beautiful Bill’ and President Trump are securing America’s borders and making the country safe again. Senator Mullin also touted the record retention and recruiting numbers seen by the military under President Trump and Defense Secretary Hegseth’s leadership. Highlights below.

    Sen. Mullin’s full interview can be found here.

    On the ‘One Big, Beautiful Bill’ providing funding to complete the southern border wall:

    “Look, first of all, what we’re going to do is actually complete the wall. The last time that President Trump started the wall, obviously you saw the Biden administration come in and just wreak havoc on it and sell the material at pennies on the dollar. So, the first thing we’re doing is we’re actually putting this into law by putting $46 billion to finally complete the wall all the way across our southern border.”

    On the ‘all-out attacks’ faced by border officials:

    “It’s not just land crossings, but it’s going across water, going around. It’s overwhelming our Coast Guard, the Marines, are able to augment that. We’re having to have a lot more sea power that you probably wouldn’t see when you’re thinking of just human smuggling and drug smuggling. It’s literally an all-out attack.”

    On President Trump securing America’s borders and making the U.S. safe again:

    “This is why President Trump has made it a high priority. He is the guy who’s going to save America from imploding from within.”

    “This is what peace through strength looks like, Jason. When you’re not just sitting back playing whac-a-mole, or just simply inviting them in like the Biden administration, President Trump is pushing forward.” 

    “President Trump now has made it a focus to not just focus on the southern border, but our northern border too, and he is restoring law and order on our borders.”

    On record breaking military recruiting and retention numbers:

    “If you’re a young man and you’re a patriot, you want to serve underneath this president. He is being forward thinking. I mean, you have Secretary Hegseth, that is absolutely a warrior leader that is appointed by President Trump. You’re having a strong emphasis on actually restoring America back to where it is. And you know President Trump isn’t going to put you into an endless war. He’s not going to use you as some type of political pawn. He is going to use you in a way that our military was designed for.” 

    “He brings pride back to our military, and that’s where you’re seeing recruiting numbers go through the roof. And not even recruiting numbers, but retention, people that were on their way out have decided, ‘Wait a second, I want to serve underneath President Trump. I want this as my commander in chief. I want to do great things and have generational changes inside DOD.’ And President Trump and Secretary Hegseth are delivering that.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: McConnell on Continuing U.S. Lethal Assistance to Ukraine

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Kentucky Mitch McConnell

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) released the following statement today regarding the delivery of weapons to Ukraine:

    “Today, the strategic incoherence of underfunding our military and restricting lethal assistance to partners like Ukraine is measured in the avoidable erosion of American credibility with allies and the mounting deaths of innocents. 

    “I’m glad that President Trump wants to resume deliveries of lethal capabilities to Ukraine. America’s policy of providing lethal support to Ukraine began during his first term, and likely helped deter earlier Russian escalation.

    “This time, the President will need to reject calls from the isolationists and restrainers within his Administration to limit these deliveries to defensive weapons. And he should disregard those at DoD who invoke munitions shortages to block aid while refusing to invest seriously in expanding munitions production. The self-indulgent policymaking of restrainers – from Ukraine to AUKUS – has so often required the President to clean up his staff’s messes. And the budget OMB sent to Congress does not put America on a path to peace through strength.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: McConnell on Continuing U.S. Lethal Assistance to Ukraine

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Kentucky Mitch McConnell

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) released the following statement today regarding the delivery of weapons to Ukraine:

    “Today, the strategic incoherence of underfunding our military and restricting lethal assistance to partners like Ukraine is measured in the avoidable erosion of American credibility with allies and the mounting deaths of innocents. 

    “I’m glad that President Trump wants to resume deliveries of lethal capabilities to Ukraine. America’s policy of providing lethal support to Ukraine began during his first term, and likely helped deter earlier Russian escalation.

    “This time, the President will need to reject calls from the isolationists and restrainers within his Administration to limit these deliveries to defensive weapons. And he should disregard those at DoD who invoke munitions shortages to block aid while refusing to invest seriously in expanding munitions production. The self-indulgent policymaking of restrainers – from Ukraine to AUKUS – has so often required the President to clean up his staff’s messes. And the budget OMB sent to Congress does not put America on a path to peace through strength.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: McConnell on Continuing U.S. Lethal Assistance to Ukraine

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Kentucky Mitch McConnell

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) released the following statement today regarding the delivery of weapons to Ukraine:

    “Today, the strategic incoherence of underfunding our military and restricting lethal assistance to partners like Ukraine is measured in the avoidable erosion of American credibility with allies and the mounting deaths of innocents. 

    “I’m glad that President Trump wants to resume deliveries of lethal capabilities to Ukraine. America’s policy of providing lethal support to Ukraine began during his first term, and likely helped deter earlier Russian escalation.

    “This time, the President will need to reject calls from the isolationists and restrainers within his Administration to limit these deliveries to defensive weapons. And he should disregard those at DoD who invoke munitions shortages to block aid while refusing to invest seriously in expanding munitions production. The self-indulgent policymaking of restrainers – from Ukraine to AUKUS – has so often required the President to clean up his staff’s messes. And the budget OMB sent to Congress does not put America on a path to peace through strength.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: MEDIA ADVISORY: Welch to Hold ‘Pen and Pad’ on His New Bill to Reform FEMA

    US Senate News:

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

    **THURSDAY**
    Introduction of the Disaster Assistance Improvement and Decentralization (AID) Act will mark the anniversaries of catastrophic flooding across Vermont on July 10-11, 2023, and July 10-11, 2024 
    WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) will hold a Pen and Pad with reporters this Thursday to discuss his new bill to reform the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). He will file the bill Thursday morning. 
    Senator Welch’s new Disaster AID Act will cut red tape and empower state and local governments, make the delivery of disaster aid more efficient and effective, provide assistance to small towns and communities impacted by natural disasters, and block the White House from withholding funding for disaster recovery.   
    Last week, Senator Welch visited with Vermonters and community leaders impacted by the July 2023 and July 2024 floods across Vermont—including in Killington, Ludlow, Weston, Barre and Montpelier.  
    LOGISTICS:   
    WHAT: Senator Peter Welch’s Pen and Pad on the need to reform and strengthen FEMA. 
    ***Please RSVP to Aaron_White@welch.senate.gov; 202-960-0677 *** 
    WHEN: Thursday, July 10, 2025; 10:15-10:45 a.m. ET 
    WHERE: Senator Welch’s hideaway—location provided upon RSVP 
    ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND:   
    Senator Welch has been outspoken in opposing threats by President Trump to dismantle FEMA. Earlier this year, Senator Welch published a guest essay in The New York Times entitled: “Don’t Kill FEMA. Fix It.” In his piece, Senator Welch outlined why President Trump’s actions to undermine and potentially dissolve FEMA are misguided—but also committed to working with the President on good faith efforts to reform the agency’s long-term recovery process.   
    In December 2024, Senator Welch helped shape and pass a comprehensive disaster aid package, which delivered more than $100.4 billion of relief for states like Vermont recovering from climate disasters. The disaster aid package contained many of Senator Welch’s top priorities for the State: dedicated help for Vermont’s flood-impacted farmers, flexible spending through the Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Relief fund, money for FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund, and support for businesses, among many other important provisions.  
    Learn more about the Disaster AID Act.  
    Read a section-by-section summary of the Disaster AID Act.  

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: MEDIA ADVISORY: Welch to Hold ‘Pen and Pad’ on His New Bill to Reform FEMA

    US Senate News:

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

    **THURSDAY**
    Introduction of the Disaster Assistance Improvement and Decentralization (AID) Act will mark the anniversaries of catastrophic flooding across Vermont on July 10-11, 2023, and July 10-11, 2024 
    WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) will hold a Pen and Pad with reporters this Thursday to discuss his new bill to reform the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). He will file the bill Thursday morning. 
    Senator Welch’s new Disaster AID Act will cut red tape and empower state and local governments, make the delivery of disaster aid more efficient and effective, provide assistance to small towns and communities impacted by natural disasters, and block the White House from withholding funding for disaster recovery.   
    Last week, Senator Welch visited with Vermonters and community leaders impacted by the July 2023 and July 2024 floods across Vermont—including in Killington, Ludlow, Weston, Barre and Montpelier.  
    LOGISTICS:   
    WHAT: Senator Peter Welch’s Pen and Pad on the need to reform and strengthen FEMA. 
    ***Please RSVP to Aaron_White@welch.senate.gov; 202-960-0677 *** 
    WHEN: Thursday, July 10, 2025; 10:15-10:45 a.m. ET 
    WHERE: Senator Welch’s hideaway—location provided upon RSVP 
    ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND:   
    Senator Welch has been outspoken in opposing threats by President Trump to dismantle FEMA. Earlier this year, Senator Welch published a guest essay in The New York Times entitled: “Don’t Kill FEMA. Fix It.” In his piece, Senator Welch outlined why President Trump’s actions to undermine and potentially dissolve FEMA are misguided—but also committed to working with the President on good faith efforts to reform the agency’s long-term recovery process.   
    In December 2024, Senator Welch helped shape and pass a comprehensive disaster aid package, which delivered more than $100.4 billion of relief for states like Vermont recovering from climate disasters. The disaster aid package contained many of Senator Welch’s top priorities for the State: dedicated help for Vermont’s flood-impacted farmers, flexible spending through the Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Relief fund, money for FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund, and support for businesses, among many other important provisions.  
    Learn more about the Disaster AID Act.  
    Read a section-by-section summary of the Disaster AID Act.  

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: MEDIA ADVISORY: Welch to Hold ‘Pen and Pad’ on His New Bill to Reform FEMA

    US Senate News:

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

    **THURSDAY**
    Introduction of the Disaster Assistance Improvement and Decentralization (AID) Act will mark the anniversaries of catastrophic flooding across Vermont on July 10-11, 2023, and July 10-11, 2024 
    WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) will hold a Pen and Pad with reporters this Thursday to discuss his new bill to reform the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). He will file the bill Thursday morning. 
    Senator Welch’s new Disaster AID Act will cut red tape and empower state and local governments, make the delivery of disaster aid more efficient and effective, provide assistance to small towns and communities impacted by natural disasters, and block the White House from withholding funding for disaster recovery.   
    Last week, Senator Welch visited with Vermonters and community leaders impacted by the July 2023 and July 2024 floods across Vermont—including in Killington, Ludlow, Weston, Barre and Montpelier.  
    LOGISTICS:   
    WHAT: Senator Peter Welch’s Pen and Pad on the need to reform and strengthen FEMA. 
    ***Please RSVP to Aaron_White@welch.senate.gov; 202-960-0677 *** 
    WHEN: Thursday, July 10, 2025; 10:15-10:45 a.m. ET 
    WHERE: Senator Welch’s hideaway—location provided upon RSVP 
    ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND:   
    Senator Welch has been outspoken in opposing threats by President Trump to dismantle FEMA. Earlier this year, Senator Welch published a guest essay in The New York Times entitled: “Don’t Kill FEMA. Fix It.” In his piece, Senator Welch outlined why President Trump’s actions to undermine and potentially dissolve FEMA are misguided—but also committed to working with the President on good faith efforts to reform the agency’s long-term recovery process.   
    In December 2024, Senator Welch helped shape and pass a comprehensive disaster aid package, which delivered more than $100.4 billion of relief for states like Vermont recovering from climate disasters. The disaster aid package contained many of Senator Welch’s top priorities for the State: dedicated help for Vermont’s flood-impacted farmers, flexible spending through the Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Relief fund, money for FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund, and support for businesses, among many other important provisions.  
    Learn more about the Disaster AID Act.  
    Read a section-by-section summary of the Disaster AID Act.  

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Senator Marshall: China, Get the Hell Out of American Agriculture 

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Kansas Roger Marshall
    Senator Marshall Delivers Remarks at Unveiling of USDA’s National Farm Security Action Plan
    Washington – On Tuesday, U.S. Senator Roger Marshall, M.D. (R-Kansas), joined Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Attorney General Pam Bondi, and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, along with Governors from across the country, and other members of Congress, at the USDA, where they unveiled their National Farm Security Action Plan to protect American agriculture from foreign threats like China.
    Click HERE or on the image above to watch Senator Marshall’s full remarks.
    Full remarks as delivered:
    “Well, good morning, everybody. America’s abundant food supply is not guaranteed. It’s a strategic asset we must fiercely protect. Farm and ranch security is national security, and I’m proud today to share how Kansas is at the heart of this mission. Today, we tell China to get the hell out of American agriculture. Today, China, here’s your ticket, do not pass go. Get the hell out of American agriculture, and the Trump administration is going to lead the way.
    “Now, I want to start by just thanking Secretary Rollins, and maybe we can help you get some Angus cattle someday for your farm. But I do want to say thank Secretary Rollins, and President Trump, and his administration, for his unwavering commitment to our farmers, our ranchers, and rural America. The big reconciliation bill we just passed exemplifies this support. It strengthened the farm safety net, including increased reference prices, it makes key business tax deductions permanent, and doubles the estate tax exemption up to $30 million for couples, and streamlines the 45Z tax credit. Folks, 45Z is going to do more for agriculture than all the soybeans and sorghum we sold to China in the past five years.
    “This bill empowers our agriculture communities and secures our family farms for generations to come. Now, as a fifth-generation farm kid, I learned how agriculture underpins our economic stability, our public health, our national defense, our geopolitical autonomy, and our rural way of life.
    “It contributes $1.5 trillion to GDP and supports over 22 million jobs, yet we often take it for granted. Our farmers, ranchers, and our food supply chains face grave threats… specifically bioterrorism, procurement disruptions, and foreign ownership. A virus like COVID, which was made in a lab, could target our beef and dairy cattle industry next, or a fungus could devastate our wheat and our corn. Whether it’s from nature or made in a laboratory by a foreign adversary, these risks demand vigilance.
    “Let me share how Kansas is leading the fight. We’re proud to host the Animal Health Corridor that stretches from Columbia, Missouri, to Manhattan, Kansas – the little apple – to Lincoln, Nebraska, where cutting-edge research thrives. And why in the world would we let scientists from foreign adversaries in those experiments and in those laboratories? I’ll never know. And why we’re doing research with American dollars in those foreign countries, or threats, I’ll never know either.
    “I want to thank President Trump – in his first term, he welcomed the USDA Economic Research Service, the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, to Kansas City, which complements the national bio-agro defense facility in Manhattan. This synergy makes Kansas a global hub for agricultural innovation.
    “Our strength lies in our collaboration by uniting public and private sectors with land grant universities like my alma mater, the fighting, ever-fighting mighty Wildcats of Kansas State University, we’re building a resilient food supply. There you go. Coach Tuberville, ‘Let’s Go Wildcats.’
    “I want to just commend the Department of Defense and all the agencies up here today for your joint efforts to combat diseases like avian influenza, screw worm, and foot and mouth, protecting our farmers and communities. And finally, this, let me just concur with Coach Tuberville that I’m going to champion for the Secretary of Agriculture to be part of CFIUS. President Trump could appoint her, and Congress can make that legal for years to come as well. That’s the best way to counter these emerging threats. Think about it – China, right now, owns land next to Whiteman Air Force Base where our B2s were launched, who did just a spectacular job of, yes, obliterating Iran’s nuclear armament.
    “They own land next to Fort Riley, Kansas, home of the Big Red One Infantry Division as well. We need someone who thinks of agriculture when they wake up in the morning, and they go to bed, and they think of agriculture as national security. Again, we can’t take our food supply for granted. Kansas is leading the way, but it takes a national resolve to protect our farms, to fortify our biosecurity, and keep America’s food in American hands. Thank you so much. God bless.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Lawler Praises Major SALT Victory in One Big Beautiful Bill, Securing $40,000 Cap, 1% Growth on a $500,000 Annual Income

    Source: US Congressman Mike Lawler (R, NY-17)

    Pearl River, N.Y. – 6/28/25… Today, Congressman Mike Lawler issued a statement regarding key Senate provisions of H.R. 1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, confirming that the House-negotiated $40,000 cap on State and Local Tax (SALT) deductions will remain in the final bill text. The House passed H.R. 1 on May 22.

    On this latest update, Congressman Lawler said:

     “After months of working closely with my SALT Caucus colleagues, we’ve secured an agreement to raise the SALT cap to $40,000 for five years with a $500,000 income cap and 1% growth, maintaining the House-passed language. This is meaningful relief for middle-class families in the Hudson Valley who have been hit hard by the current $10,000 cap.

    In addition to securing SALT relief, we were able to ensure pass-through entities are able to deduct their state and local taxes as well, a big win for small businesses across the country.

    I want to thank President Trump, Speaker Johnson, and Treasury Secretary Bessent for working with us to make SALT relief a priority. As I have been from the moment I entered Congress, I’m committed to fighting to ensure we deliver real tax relief to the hardworking families of New York.”

    Congressman Lawler is one of the most bipartisan members of Congress and represents New York’s 17th Congressional District, which is just north of New York City and contains all or parts of Rockland, Putnam, Dutchess, and Westchester Counties. He was rated the most effective freshman lawmaker in the 118th Congress, 8th overall, surpassing dozens of committee chairs. 

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Sherrill Statement on Voting No on the Republican Price Hike Bill

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill (NJ-11)

    WASHINGTON, DC — Representative Mikie Sherrill (NJ-11) released the following statement after voting NO on the Republican Price Hike Bill:

    “Today, I voted no on the Republican Price Hike Bill. This cruel piece of legislation will kick hundreds of thousands of New Jerseyans off their healthcare and raise costs for even more, cut food assistance for working families, and increase the cost of utilities and mortgages. At the same time, they are funneling New Jersey’s hard-earned tax dollars to Trump’s billionaire friends and donors.

    “Our country is built on the promise of the American Dream — that this country provides opportunity for everyone. This bill is ripping apart the very foundation of that dream by giving handouts to the richest Americans while making working families pay the price. As billionaires line their pockets, children will go hungry, seniors will not be able to access health care, and New Jerseyans will see their monthly bills go up. 

    “Once again, I’m disgusted, yet not surprised, that my Washington Republican colleagues could not find the courage to stand up and do what is right by the American people.”

    ### 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Kelly leads introduction of Treat and Reduce Obesity Act to combat obesity epidemic, improve Americans’ health

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Mike Kelly (R-PA)

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Representatives Mike Kelly (R-PA), Raul Ruiz, M.D. (D-CA), Mariannette Miller-Meeks, M.D. (R-IA), and Gwen Moore (D-WI) introduced the Treat and Reduce Obesity Act (TROA), bipartisan legislation to combat the obesity crisis in the United States by providing regular screenings. 

    The bill would also prevent diseases associated with obesity through expanded coverage of new health care specialists and chronic weight management medications for Medicare recipients.

    “The Treat and Reduce Obesity Act takes a critical step toward improving patient costs and patient outcomes,” said Rep. Kelly. “This bipartisan legislation would allow seniors struggling with obesity to take a responsible, proactive approach to improve their health and live longer, more active lives. I look forward to working with the Trump administration and the team at CMS, including my friend Dr. Mehmet Oz, to make America healthy again!”

    “Obesity is a complex, chronic disease and a growing public health crisis that costs our nation billions each year,” said Congressman Dr. Raul Ruiz. “As an emergency physician, I’ve treated countless patients suffering from diabetes, heart disease, and other serious complications linked to obesity. The bipartisan Treat and Reduce Obesity Act would give seniors struggling with obesity access to Medicare coverage for proven medications and behavioral therapies, empowering them to live healthier, longer lives.”

    “As a physician and former director of the Iowa Department of Public Health, I have seen firsthand how obesity contributes to serious and preventable health conditions. The Treat and Reduce Obesity Act allows Medicare beneficiaries to access life-changing treatments, including behavioral therapy and FDA-approved medications. This bipartisan legislation improves health outcomes, lowers long-term costs, and helps Americans live longer and healthier lives,” said Dr. Miller-Meeks.

    “Obesity poses a growing health risk to millions of Americans, especially older adults. TROA would support critical medical interventions that can help those struggling with obesity, improving the overall health and wellbeing of Medicare beneficiaries,” said Rep. Moore.

    You can find the full bill text here.

    Senator Bill Cassidy leads companion legislation in the U.S. Senate.

    BACKGROUND

    According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, diseases associated with obesity such as heart disease, stroke, type II diabetes, and certain types of cancer are the leading causes of preventable death in the U.S. TROA would work to directly prevent these comorbidities.

    The scientific understanding of obesity has evolved, recognizing it as a complex, chronic, and relapsing disease. Obesity is a public health crisis in the United States. The total economic and societal impact of obesity rose to $1.4 trillion in the United States in 2018, up from $976 billion in 2014.

    A recent study found that Medicare beneficiaries with obesity and at least one other chronic illness could significantly reduce healthcare costs through weight management. Annual savings were estimated at up to 38% or nearly $10,000 in medical cost savings. Additionally, the USC Schaeffer Center found coverage of new obesity treatments could generate approximately $175 billion in cost offsets to Medicare in the first 10 years alone, increasing to $700 billion in 30 years. Coverage of medications to treat obesity will enhance human health and reduce federal healthcare costs by lowering the risks and prevalence of costly obesity-related chronic diseases.

    The following organizations have endorsed TROA this Congress: Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, American Academy of Pas, American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, American Diabetes Association, American Gastroenterological Association, American Medical Group Association, American Psychological Association, American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery, American Society for Nutrition, Association of Asian Pacific Community Health Organizations, Association of Diabetes Care and Education Specialists, Black Woman’s Health Imperative, Boehringer-Ingelheim, ConscienHealth, Currax, Diabetes Leadership Council, Diabetes Patient Advocacy Coalition, Eli Lilly and Company, Endocrine Society, Gerontological Society of America, Global Liver Institute, Healthcare Leadership Council, HealthyWomen, Intuitive Surgical, MedTech Coalition for Metabolic Health, National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions, National Consumers League, National Council on Aging, National Hispanic Medical Association, National Kidney Foundation, Novo Nordisk, Obesity Action Coalition, Obesity Medicine Association, Ro, Strategies to Overcome and Prevent (STOP) Obesity Alliance, The Obesity Society, Trust for America’s Health, WW Weight Watchers International, and YMCA of the USA.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Northern B.C. shows how big resource projects can strain rural health care

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Gary N. Wilson, Professor of Political Science, University of Northern British Columbia

    American tariffs and fears of a prolonged recession have increased calls to expand resource development and infrastructure projects in Canada. The pace and scope of expansion projects like these have major implications for Canada on many levels, including: commitments to environmental sustainability, relations with Indigenous Peoples and the quality of local health services.

    In a study that I conducted with environmental health researcher Barbara Oke in northern British Columbia, we found that major resource projects can strain local health-care services in rural and remote regions. In particular, the influx of workers connected with development projects puts significant pressures on health-care providers. This is especially concerning as local health-care services are already experiencing funding, infrastructure and staff shortages.

    Therefore, it’s critical that government and industry actively consider these pressures when planning new projects.

    Health-care services under pressure

    In recent years, northern British Columbia has been home to some of the biggest capital investment projects in Canada, including a major hydroelectric dam, liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities, pipelines and mines.

    Our interviews with leaders from Northern Health, the region’s main health-care provider, have highlighted the link between major development projects and the pressures experienced by their health-care system.

    Pressures on the local health-care system mainly stem from the influx of a non-local workforce when compared to the size of the nearest community, and local contexts. The smaller the community, the more vulnerable its health-care system is to additional pressures, especially if capacity challenges already exist.

    How well a project manages its health service impacts clearly matters. When project workers resided in well-managed camps supported by competent onsite medical service providers, the pressures on the local system were less than when workforces did not have adequate accommodation and health supports.

    An older workforce

    Contrary to some popular assumptions that itinerant project workforces consist mainly of young, risk-taking individuals, most workers seeking health-care services were older and managing multiple chronic illnesses or disease risk factors.

    Therefore, most of the pressure on health-care services did not come from what one would consider typical “workplace injuries” but, rather, from workers experiencing injuries and illnesses common within any population.

    One health-care interviewee said: “It’s not that [project workers] are asking for special services, but just having more people needing health care adds to [the] pressure.”

    Emergency departments

    Impacts to the health-care system were felt primarily in the emergency departments of local hospitals and health-care centres.

    Many communities in northern B.C. do not have walk-in clinics and most doctor’s offices are already at patient capacity.

    So if a project does not provide its own on-site medical supports, the only option for workers is to seek care at a local emergency department, which are supposed to respond to urgent issues.

    When staff have to deal with non-urgent needs, such as prescription renewals, sick notes or to manage regular ailments, it compounds the challenges and congestion faced by emergency departments.

    Cumulative impacts on health services

    Beyond emergency departments, industry pressures have cascaded throughout the system, affecting services such as primary care, infectious disease, diagnostic and lab services, and administrative and ambulance transfer services.

    Rising workloads, combined with higher private-sector wages and an industry-driven increase in the cost of living, have made it harder to retain and recruit staff — especially in housekeeping, food services, laundry, administration, ambulance services and care aide roles.

    Several people interviewed noted the consistent and cumulative pressures of projects on the health-care system.

    While the pressures from a single project may seem inconsequential, the impacts from multiple projects in the same area pose a significant challenge to health-care services.

    Balancing resource development and health care

    The strategic and economic value of resource development is difficult to ignore.

    Major infrastructure projects contribute to both local and provincial economies. When managed well, the economic benefits of such projects can positively contribute to community health.

    But when not managed properly, the pressures that major infrastructure projects place on local health-care services can be significant. Therefore, we strongly urge governments and businesses to consider their impacts on overburdened and hard-working health-care providers in rural and remote communities.

    Barbara Oke contributed to this article. She recently completed her Master’s of Arts in Political Science at UNBC.

    The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Northern B.C. shows how big resource projects can strain rural health care – https://theconversation.com/northern-b-c-shows-how-big-resource-projects-can-strain-rural-health-care-256059

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: There are many things American voters agree on, from fears about technology to threats to democracy

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Emma Connolly, Research Fellow, Digital Speech Lab, UCL

    During his recent public spat with Donald Trump, Elon Musk tweeted a poll asking if a new political party would better represent the 80% of voters in the middle. Hundreds of thousands of people responded and more than 80% answered “yes”.

    The middle is still overlooked in US politics. This is because there is a perception that Republicans and Democrats have nothing in common, and therefore no issue will win support from both centrist Republicans and Democrats.

    Polarisation is problematic as it is linked to “democratic backsliding” – the use of underhand tactics in political processes. Worst of all, it poses a threat to democracy.

    Many think that polarisation is fuelled by echo chambers created on social media platforms. These only expose people to beliefs similar to their own.

    However, I study how narratives emerge on social media, and ways to investigate them. My work has two aims: first, to identify political issues that are likely to cross party lines, and a wider goal of exploring the role of social media in mitigating, rather than exacerbating, levels of polarisation.

    Get your news from actual experts, straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily newsletter to receive all The Conversation UK’s latest coverage of news and research, from politics and business to the arts and sciences.

    Earlier this year, for example, I sorted through 12,000 posts from Republican and Democrat voters on subreddits (online forums discussing specific topics). Using a technique I developed in my PhD research, I analysed attitudes to contested political issues around the time of Trump’s inauguration. Like other researchers, I am finding that there are things both sides often agree on, and that not every issue splits neatly across party lines.

    Pew Research shows what Democrats and Republicans agree on.

    Although it’s a complex topic, people from both parties are worried about levels of free speech on social media. According to my work and other sources, some Democrats accuse TikTok of censoring hashtags such as #FreeLuigi (a reference to Luigi Mangione, accused of murdering UnitedHealthcare CEO, Brian Thompson).

    Meanwhile, some Republicans are saying they are flooded with what they see as left-wing content pushed by the algorithms. Despite their differences, Republicans and Democrats agree that social media platforms need to be more transparent about the way they work.

    Both sides worry about the rise of authoritarianism and the growing negative influence of artificial intelligence in shaping the US’s future. There is a sense among some members of the two parties that the real enemies aren’t each other, but powerful corporations who hold too much power.

    People on both sides of the political divide can be distrustful of tech companies and big businesses, where billionaires have power regardless of who’s in charge. Divisions of “up v down” could be alternatives to seeing divisions as “left v right”.

    Some people are worried about the creation of a massive database of citizens’ details, and how their details could be used, or abused. Recently Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene said she would have opposed Trump’s “big, beautiful, bill”, had she read the AI clause thoroughly. The clause stops states from passing laws to regulate AI systems for the next ten years.

    What do people agree on?

    On the topic of protecting democracy, there are some suggestions that many Republicans and Democrats agree this is important, and under threat. In my study, some Republican and Democrat voters object to the possibility of Trump having a third term, aligning with the findings of several recent polls on the subject, and even among Trump’s most loyal support groups.

    Both Republicans and Democrats want “the best” leaders who could get things done fast and efficiently. But it would appear that people on both sides are concerned about the “slash-and-burn” way that Doge (the Department for Government Efficiency, the new agency tasked with cutting federal spending) is working.

    Also, deciding who is the best leader isn’t always about agreeing with specific policies. Instead, it’s about delivering decisive, efficient action. Even Republicans who don’t back everything Trump is doing say that at least he is doing something, especially in relation to immigration.

    Many Republicans criticise the left, and former Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris in particular, but for unclear messaging, as much as any one policy. They (and others) put her loss down to a lack of direction and clarity on key issues (among other things). This probably resulted in failing to win votes from independents and moderate Republicans and many Democrats are frustrated that the party still hasn’t addressed this.

    Research suggests that Democrat and Republican voters often agree that polarisation causes gridlock and prevents progress, but believe voices from the middle are not being heard. Some Republicans and Democrats also share a concern that both parties are more focused on fighting each other than on solving problems, with 86% of Americans believing this.

    Some Republican voters in the posts I am analysing suggest that working together to get things done would be positive, supporting findings from the US and abroad. Other important factors rather than political party, such as religion or family or everyday life experiences can bring people from both sides together.

    So, Americans might not be as divided as one might think. Levels of polarisation feel high but this could be skewed by the extreme views of a minority on both sides. And it isn’t helped by some sensationalist media reporting.

    Lots of people get their news from social media platforms which reward and monetise engagement. Posts that fuel division are often the most visible, but they rarely tell the whole story. Divisive views are also often shared by those who are themselves the most polarised.

    Like Musk’s online poll, research is starting to suggest that there is still a sizeable moderate middle in the US today who are open to compromise through clear messaging. These voters can make all the difference, especially if parties can frame issues in ways that appeal across the divide. With the 2026 midterm elections on the horizon, both sides might want to listen to them more.

    Emma Connolly 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. There are many things American voters agree on, from fears about technology to threats to democracy – https://theconversation.com/there-are-many-things-american-voters-agree-on-from-fears-about-technology-to-threats-to-democracy-258440

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Universities in every state care for congressional papers that document US political history − federal cuts put their work at risk

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Katherine Gregory, Assistant Professor, University Libraries, Mississippi State University

    The papers of members of Congress are fertile ground for research into Congress’ role in shaping U.S. history. cunfek, iStock/Getty Images Plus

    In 1971, the president of Mississippi State University, Dr. William L. Giles, invited President Richard Nixon to attend the dedication of U.S. Sen. John C. Stennis’ papers to the university library’s archives.

    Nixon declined, but the Republican president sent a generous note in support of the veteran Democrat Stennis.

    “Future students and scholars who study there will … familiarize themselves with the outstanding record of a U.S. Senator whose … judgment in complex areas of national security have been a source of strength and comfort to those who have led this Nation and to all who are concerned in preserving the freedom we cherish.”

    Nixon’s prediction came true, perhaps ironically, considering the legal troubles over his own papers during the Watergate crisis. Congress passed the Presidential Records Act of 1978 after Nixon resigned.

    Stennis’ gift to his alma mater caused a windfall of subsequent congressional donations to what is now the Mississippi Political Collections at Mississippi State University Libraries.

    Now, 55 years later, Mississippi State University holds a body of records from a bipartisan group of officials that has positioned it to tell a major part of the state’s story in national and global politics. That story is told to over 100 patrons and dozens of college and K-12 classes each year.

    The papers are fertile ground for scholarly research into Congress’ role in shaping U.S. history, with its extraordinary powers over lawmaking, the economy and one of the world’s largest militaries.

    Mississippi State University, where I work as an assistant professor and director of the Mississippi Political Collections, is not alone in providing such a rich source of history. It is part of a national network of universities that hold and steward congressional papers.

    But support for this stewardship is in jeopardy. With the White House’s proposed elimination of independent granting agencies such as the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Institute of Museum and Library Services, it is unclear what money will be available for this work in the future.

    A 1963 letter from Sen. John Stennis to a constituent about agricultural legislation and also Russians in Cuba.
    Mississippi State University

    From research to public service

    Mississippi State University’s building of an expansive political archive is neither unique nor a break from practices by our national peers:

    • The Richard Russell Library for Political Research and Studies at the University of Georgia – named after the U.S. senator from Georgia from 1933 to 1971 – has grown since its founding in 1974 into one of America’s premier research libraries of political history, with more than 600 manuscript collections and an extensive oral history collection.

    • Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin donated his papers to Drake University to form The Harkin Institute, which memorializes Harkin’s role as chief sponsor of the Americans with Disabilities Act through disability policy research and education.

    • Sens. Robert and Elizabeth Dole’s papers are the bedrock of the Dole Institute of Politics at Kansas University.

    • In 2023, retiring Sens. Richard Shelby and Patrick Leahy donated their archives – Shelby to the University of Alabama and Leahy to the University of Vermont.

    By lending their papers and relative political celebrity, members of Congress have laid the groundwork for repositories like these to promote policy research to enable local and state governments to shape legislation on issues central to their states.

    More complete history

    When the repositories are at universities, they also provide educational programming that encourages public service for the next generations.

    At Mississippi State University, the John C. Stennis Institute for Government and Community Development sponsors an organization that allows students to learn about government, voting, organizing and potential careers on Capitol Hill with trips to Washington, D.C.

    Depositing congressional papers in states and districts, to be cared for by professional archivists and librarians, extends the life of the records and expands their utility.

    When elected officials give their papers to their constituents, they ensure the public can see and use the papers. This is a way of returning their history to them, while giving them the power to assemble a more complete, independent version of their political history. While members of Congress are not required by law to donate their papers, they passed a bipartisan concurrent resolution in 2008 encouraging the practice.

    Users of congressional archives range from historians to college students, local investigative journalists, political memoirists and documentary filmmakers. In advance of the 2020 election, we contributed historical materials to CNN’s reporting on Joe Biden’s controversial relationship with the Southern bloc of segregationist senators in his early Senate years.

    A copy of a letter from U.S. Rep. Carl Albert of Oklahoma, who ultimately became the 46th speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.
    Carl Albert Center Congressional and Political Collections, University of Oklahoma

    Preserving the archives

    While the results contribute to the humanities, the process of archival preservation and management is as complex a science as any other.

    “Congressional records” is a broad term that encompasses many formats such as letters, diaries, notes, meeting minutes, speech transcripts, guestbooks and schedules.

    They also include ephemera such as campaign bumper stickers, military medals and even ceremonial pieces of the original U.S. Capitol flooring. They contain rare photographs of everything from natural disaster damage to state dinners and legacy audiovisual materials such as 8 mm film, cassette tapes and vinyl records. Members of Congress also have donated their libraries of hundreds of books.

    Archival preservation is a constantly evolving science. Only in the mid-20th century was the acid-free box developed to arrest the deterioration of paper records. After the advent of film-based photographs, archivists later learned to keep them away from light and heat, and they observed that audiovisual materials such as 8mm tape decompose from acid decay quickly if not stored in proper conditions.

    Alongside preservation work comes the task of inventorying the records for public use. Archivists write finding aids – itemized, searchable catalogs of the records – and create metadata, which describes items in terms of size, creation date and location.

    Future congressional papers will include born-digital content such as email and social media. This means traditional archiving will give way to digital preservation and data management. Federal law mandates that digital records have alt-text and transcription, and they need specialized expertise in file storage and data security because congressional papers often contain case files with sensitive personal data.

    With congressional materials often clocking in at hundreds or thousands of linear feet, emerging artificial intelligence and automation technologies will usher this field into a new era, with AI speeding metadata and cataloging work to deliver usable records for researchers faster than ever.

    No more funding?

    All of this work takes money; most of it takes staff time. Institutions meet these needs through federal grants – the very grants at risk from the Trump administration’s proposed elimination of the agencies that administer them.

    For example, West Virginia University has been awarded over $400,000 since 2021 from the National Endowment for the Humanities for the American Congress Digital Archives Portal project, a website that centralizes digitized congressional records at the university and a growing list of partners such as the University of Hawaii and the University of Oklahoma.

    Past federal grants have funded other congressional papers projects, from basic supply needs such as folders to more complex repair of film and tape.

    The Howard Baker Center for Public Policy at the University of Tennessee used National Endowment for the Humanities funds to purchase specialized supplies needed to store the papers of its namesake, the Republican senator who also served as chief of staff to President Ronald Reagan.

    National Endowment for the Humanities funds helped process U.S. Rep. Pat Williams’ papers at the University of Montana, resulting in a searchable finding aid for the 87 boxes of records documenting the Montana Democrat’s 18 years in Congress.
    President Franklin D. Roosevelt said, “I have an unshaken conviction that democracy can never be undermined if we maintain our library resources and a national intelligence capable of utilizing them.”

    With the current threat to federal grants – and agencies – that pay for the crucial work of stewarding these congressional papers, it appears that these records of democracy may no longer play their role in supporting that democracy.

    Katherine Gregory received funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities and is a member of the Society of American Archivists.

    – ref. Universities in every state care for congressional papers that document US political history − federal cuts put their work at risk – https://theconversation.com/universities-in-every-state-care-for-congressional-papers-that-document-us-political-history-federal-cuts-put-their-work-at-risk-256053

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Universities in every state care for congressional papers that document US political history − federal cuts put their work at risk

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Katherine Gregory, Assistant Professor, University Libraries, Mississippi State University

    The papers of members of Congress are fertile ground for research into Congress’ role in shaping U.S. history. cunfek, iStock/Getty Images Plus

    In 1971, the president of Mississippi State University, Dr. William L. Giles, invited President Richard Nixon to attend the dedication of U.S. Sen. John C. Stennis’ papers to the university library’s archives.

    Nixon declined, but the Republican president sent a generous note in support of the veteran Democrat Stennis.

    “Future students and scholars who study there will … familiarize themselves with the outstanding record of a U.S. Senator whose … judgment in complex areas of national security have been a source of strength and comfort to those who have led this Nation and to all who are concerned in preserving the freedom we cherish.”

    Nixon’s prediction came true, perhaps ironically, considering the legal troubles over his own papers during the Watergate crisis. Congress passed the Presidential Records Act of 1978 after Nixon resigned.

    Stennis’ gift to his alma mater caused a windfall of subsequent congressional donations to what is now the Mississippi Political Collections at Mississippi State University Libraries.

    Now, 55 years later, Mississippi State University holds a body of records from a bipartisan group of officials that has positioned it to tell a major part of the state’s story in national and global politics. That story is told to over 100 patrons and dozens of college and K-12 classes each year.

    The papers are fertile ground for scholarly research into Congress’ role in shaping U.S. history, with its extraordinary powers over lawmaking, the economy and one of the world’s largest militaries.

    Mississippi State University, where I work as an assistant professor and director of the Mississippi Political Collections, is not alone in providing such a rich source of history. It is part of a national network of universities that hold and steward congressional papers.

    But support for this stewardship is in jeopardy. With the White House’s proposed elimination of independent granting agencies such as the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Institute of Museum and Library Services, it is unclear what money will be available for this work in the future.

    A 1963 letter from Sen. John Stennis to a constituent about agricultural legislation and also Russians in Cuba.
    Mississippi State University

    From research to public service

    Mississippi State University’s building of an expansive political archive is neither unique nor a break from practices by our national peers:

    • The Richard Russell Library for Political Research and Studies at the University of Georgia – named after the U.S. senator from Georgia from 1933 to 1971 – has grown since its founding in 1974 into one of America’s premier research libraries of political history, with more than 600 manuscript collections and an extensive oral history collection.

    • Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin donated his papers to Drake University to form The Harkin Institute, which memorializes Harkin’s role as chief sponsor of the Americans with Disabilities Act through disability policy research and education.

    • Sens. Robert and Elizabeth Dole’s papers are the bedrock of the Dole Institute of Politics at Kansas University.

    • In 2023, retiring Sens. Richard Shelby and Patrick Leahy donated their archives – Shelby to the University of Alabama and Leahy to the University of Vermont.

    By lending their papers and relative political celebrity, members of Congress have laid the groundwork for repositories like these to promote policy research to enable local and state governments to shape legislation on issues central to their states.

    More complete history

    When the repositories are at universities, they also provide educational programming that encourages public service for the next generations.

    At Mississippi State University, the John C. Stennis Institute for Government and Community Development sponsors an organization that allows students to learn about government, voting, organizing and potential careers on Capitol Hill with trips to Washington, D.C.

    Depositing congressional papers in states and districts, to be cared for by professional archivists and librarians, extends the life of the records and expands their utility.

    When elected officials give their papers to their constituents, they ensure the public can see and use the papers. This is a way of returning their history to them, while giving them the power to assemble a more complete, independent version of their political history. While members of Congress are not required by law to donate their papers, they passed a bipartisan concurrent resolution in 2008 encouraging the practice.

    Users of congressional archives range from historians to college students, local investigative journalists, political memoirists and documentary filmmakers. In advance of the 2020 election, we contributed historical materials to CNN’s reporting on Joe Biden’s controversial relationship with the Southern bloc of segregationist senators in his early Senate years.

    A copy of a letter from U.S. Rep. Carl Albert of Oklahoma, who ultimately became the 46th speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.
    Carl Albert Center Congressional and Political Collections, University of Oklahoma

    Preserving the archives

    While the results contribute to the humanities, the process of archival preservation and management is as complex a science as any other.

    “Congressional records” is a broad term that encompasses many formats such as letters, diaries, notes, meeting minutes, speech transcripts, guestbooks and schedules.

    They also include ephemera such as campaign bumper stickers, military medals and even ceremonial pieces of the original U.S. Capitol flooring. They contain rare photographs of everything from natural disaster damage to state dinners and legacy audiovisual materials such as 8 mm film, cassette tapes and vinyl records. Members of Congress also have donated their libraries of hundreds of books.

    Archival preservation is a constantly evolving science. Only in the mid-20th century was the acid-free box developed to arrest the deterioration of paper records. After the advent of film-based photographs, archivists later learned to keep them away from light and heat, and they observed that audiovisual materials such as 8mm tape decompose from acid decay quickly if not stored in proper conditions.

    Alongside preservation work comes the task of inventorying the records for public use. Archivists write finding aids – itemized, searchable catalogs of the records – and create metadata, which describes items in terms of size, creation date and location.

    Future congressional papers will include born-digital content such as email and social media. This means traditional archiving will give way to digital preservation and data management. Federal law mandates that digital records have alt-text and transcription, and they need specialized expertise in file storage and data security because congressional papers often contain case files with sensitive personal data.

    With congressional materials often clocking in at hundreds or thousands of linear feet, emerging artificial intelligence and automation technologies will usher this field into a new era, with AI speeding metadata and cataloging work to deliver usable records for researchers faster than ever.

    No more funding?

    All of this work takes money; most of it takes staff time. Institutions meet these needs through federal grants – the very grants at risk from the Trump administration’s proposed elimination of the agencies that administer them.

    For example, West Virginia University has been awarded over $400,000 since 2021 from the National Endowment for the Humanities for the American Congress Digital Archives Portal project, a website that centralizes digitized congressional records at the university and a growing list of partners such as the University of Hawaii and the University of Oklahoma.

    Past federal grants have funded other congressional papers projects, from basic supply needs such as folders to more complex repair of film and tape.

    The Howard Baker Center for Public Policy at the University of Tennessee used National Endowment for the Humanities funds to purchase specialized supplies needed to store the papers of its namesake, the Republican senator who also served as chief of staff to President Ronald Reagan.

    National Endowment for the Humanities funds helped process U.S. Rep. Pat Williams’ papers at the University of Montana, resulting in a searchable finding aid for the 87 boxes of records documenting the Montana Democrat’s 18 years in Congress.
    President Franklin D. Roosevelt said, “I have an unshaken conviction that democracy can never be undermined if we maintain our library resources and a national intelligence capable of utilizing them.”

    With the current threat to federal grants – and agencies – that pay for the crucial work of stewarding these congressional papers, it appears that these records of democracy may no longer play their role in supporting that democracy.

    Katherine Gregory received funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities and is a member of the Society of American Archivists.

    – ref. Universities in every state care for congressional papers that document US political history − federal cuts put their work at risk – https://theconversation.com/universities-in-every-state-care-for-congressional-papers-that-document-us-political-history-federal-cuts-put-their-work-at-risk-256053

    MIL OSI –