NewzIntel.com

Category: Trump

  • MIL-OSI USA: Senator Marshall: We’re Not Tired of Winning

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Kansas Roger Marshall

    Senator Marshall Joins the Brian Kilmeade Show to Discuss Trump Trade Deals, the MAHA Movement, and Democrats Obstructing Confirmations
    Washington – On Wednesday, U.S. Senator Roger Marshall, M.D. (R-Kansas), joined Brian Kilmeade on The Brian Kilmeade Show on Fox News Radio to discuss President Trump’s historic trade deals and what they mean specifically for Kansas agriculture, MAHA movement momentum, China deterrence, and Senate Democrats’ attempts to obstruct the confirmation process.

    Click HERE or on the image above to listen to Senator Marshall’s full interview.
    On President Trump’s trade deals:
    “Brian, I mean, we’re ecstatic, absolutely ecstatic. Every time I see the President, I’ll tell him we’re not tired of winning. But you know, who’s excited about these trade deals are my Kansas farmers and the aerospace industry. What Kansas exports are agriculture products and airplanes, and jets. So just ecstatic about these deals. The President removing these non-trade barriers all these countries, in addition to giving us basically zero types of penalties going into their country’s tariffs, but they’re also opening their markets, and they’re moving investment into America. Just this past week, I had several of the large pharma companies who make their drugs overseas, very popular, very successful [say that] they’re moving that manufacturing here, so we’re all excited about them.”
    On Fed Chair Powell and interest rates:
    “I sure hope so. Jerome “too late” Powell, he is too late, kind of like “too tall” Jones. This is Jerome “too late” Powell. He should have cut it a quarter point, some time ago, a quarter point now, half point in the future. He’s a lame duck, and I don’t know what he’s going to do. If he doesn’t drop something today, I just have to think it’s politically or emotionally motivated.”
    On the progress of the MAHA movement:
    “Yeah, we’re making great progress. Making incredible progress. We have a group of bills that will help support that movement as well. A group of bills that’s going to make our soil healthier, help our farmers grow more with less pesticides, and with less fertilizers. The thing I’m worried about right now, which is coming to my attention, Brian is China continues to make a lot of knockoffs. So, for instance, China is making a knockoff of a GLP-1, that they’re sending to the US, that’s compounded into a pharmacy. 14 people have died from that. So, one of my big emphases here is moving all that supply chain back to the United States. It’s easier said than done.”
    On U.S.-China trade deals:
    “The big picture is that with China, we have a $270 billion trade deficit to address. I think that people missed the calculated way that the Trump administration is doing this. Basically, they boxed in China. Think about it. They’ve done the EU. They’ve done Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Japan, and Australia, so that by having bilateral trade agreements with them, it’s putting a lot of pressure on China. One other thing China does to cheat is they’ll send a bunch of T-shirts that they made or tennis shoes, and they’ll send them to Vietnam, and then Vietnam is getting them in at their lower tariff rate. So, the President is doubling up on that type of transaction to make sure that those are tarred appropriately. So, we absolutely are getting there. To your point, I’m much more concerned about fentanyl poisoning, their intellectual property theft, the counterfeits they make, all those things. But I have faith in Scott Bessent. This guy is one of the sharpest people I’ve ever met.”
    On Democrats stalling nominations and spending bills:
    “I think this is the big political picture here, and you get this, but what’s driving the Democrat Party right now is the far left. Chuck Schumer is scared to death of AOC on the far left, so they’re demanding he’s got to do something. He’s got to do something. So, he’s doing everything in his power to gum up the process, whether it’s nominations or appropriations bills as well. He’s in a panicked mode right now, and he’s lashing out, slowing up what is traditionally done. People that would pass with unanimous consent and take zero floor time, we’re having to vote on them three times and spend two hours or more on each one of them. So, if they’re going to keep doing that, then we just need to stay here in August till we get more of these people confirmed.
    On the Senate delaying recess until nominations are confirmed:
    “The Democrats secretly want to all go home, right? That is their number one priority. These people are professional politicians; they’re used to having all summer off. And by the way, when I go back, I’m going to work harder back in Kansas than I do here. Then, at the same time, their leader is scared to death. I can’t believe he’s still there. Their leader hasn’t been fired yet, but he’s scared to death to be in a primary. So it’s all about his political legacy right now, keeping that together. But I just have to emphasize, Brian, yes, I want to go home, but I’ve done four telephone town halls up here with people back in Kansas in the last two weeks, with over 5,000 people on each one of those calls. You can go home on weekends. We’ve had significant, strong events as well. We could stay for easily two weeks, and still go back and accomplish that mission of targeting the great things about the Big Beautiful Bill, whether it’s the biggest tax cut in American history or no tax on tips, all those types of things. So, I think we can walk and chew gum. But, what we could do most to help the people of America is get President Trump’s nominations confirmed so they can execute his agenda.”
    On Democrats battling each other on bipartisan bills:
    “First of all, the one thing I learned politically up here is when your opponent is forming a circular firing squad, don’t hop in the middle of them. So, I think we need to give them all the rope we can on this. This kind of takes us back to what I was talking about earlier. The far left of the Democrat Party is the tail wagging the dog. Here’s Cory Booker running for president, right? He’s trying to reach that primary base, saying he’s the most radical, progressive person up here. That’s what he’s doing right there. And again, this is a party that won’t stop digging. They’re in this hole. They have no respect for law and order. They he just keep digging and digging. These bills that she’s proposing are bipartisan, stronger law and order support the police. He’s out there still shouting like this mayor candidate from New York that wants to defund the police. So, I think this is all political. They’re more interested in running for president, Cory Booker is. Then here, you have Amy Klobuchar, who’s one of the most moderate Democrats, level-headed people up here. And to be honest, it’s just been a joy to get to know and work with her. We’re in bipartisan prayer breakfast together. It’s something you’ll never see, but she gave just an incredible lesson to us today about life in our bipartisan prayer breakfast.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Senator Marshall: The USDA is Coming to Kansas City

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Kansas Roger Marshall

    Senator Marshall Questions Deputy Secretary of Agriculture About the USDA Reorganization
    Washington – On Wednesday, U.S. Senator Roger Marshall, M.D. (R-Kansas), questioned Deputy Secretary of Agriculture,The Honorable Stephen Alexander Vaden, during a recent Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry hearing focused on the recently announced USDA reorganizational proposal.

    Click HERE or on the image above to watch Senator Marshall’s full exchange.
    Highlights from the hearing include: 
    On why the USDA relocation to Kansas City makes sense:
    Senator Marshall: “Mr. Vaden, welcome. Glad you’re here today. In your testimony, you were mentioning some of the advantages of moving to some of these communities. And I would just point out that you failed to mention that moving to Kansas City that suddenly you would have the advantage of being a Chiefs fan, rather than suffering through another year here with the Washington Commanders. You failed to mention, to be within an hour of the most storied basketball program in the nation, and just barely two hours away from the first land-grant university in America.
    “And I just would want to give you a chance to talk a little bit more. You think about the Kansas City Metro, within a two-hour drive of the Iowa State University, the Nebraska University, Missouri, Arkansas…. How far away is Auburn? Not too far. So, my point is, you know what? You can’t coach talent. You have to have talent, and within just miles of there, some of the greatest ag research in the world. How important is that to American agriculture to have, let alone the affordability issues you mentioned?”
    Deputy Secretary Vaden: “It’s vital. And I want to add to the mix, NBAF. We haven’t forgotten about that. You haven’t either. I know there’s some unfinished business left there. But when you think about the potential that facility has and the technology and level of research that can go on there that are vital for the future of American agriculture, you’ve pointed to many of the reasons why Kansas City also joined as one of our five hubs.
    “The Department put some thought into this. We want to spark that level of collaboration that you have noted, whether it be with our land grant and non-land grant university partners, whether it be with individual farmers, whether it be with the local Chamber of Commerce in an area that is driven and motivated, even though it may be in an urban setting, by agriculture.
    “I know that you’re well aware that the Federal Reserve has a location in Kansas City, and that we’re looking at the shape of the agricultural economy for inclusion in the Beige Book, so we look to what the Kansas City Fed has to say. USDA will be able to take advantage of all of these synergies, and not only Kansas City, but the other hubs that we have laid out.”
    On the USDA’s right to reinitiate the relocation process:
    Senator Marshall: “Over the past four years, it was reported that only 6% of USDA employees were in the office as well. And more and more, just a crescendo of complaints from my ag producers back home that they could work with their local FSA officer or their conservation officer, but then that report would get somehow clogged here in DC. I want to compliment the White House on the $10 billion that was appropriated in [the] spring; within days, my farmers had the help that they needed.
    “And then, more recently, I think it was a $16 billion, so something is working, right from a standpoint of customer services. And I just can’t help but think when you’re when you have people working for USDA out there, going to church, going to the soccer match, all those type of things with the local farmers and ranchers, is going to be a better service of wealth. So just talk about customer service, how that was going to be impacted by these people, the net, net moving out into the hinterlands, as we call it.”
    Deputy Secretary Vaden: “Well, I don’t consider it the hinterlands, I consider it home, Senator. But with regard to having more people in the field, we agree with you that we think the level of service will improve. Not only do we agree with you, even if we had a disagreement, the Congress has legislated on this point, and this is another matter that drove our consideration of this plan, and that’s looking at USDA reorganization authority, which was granted to us by the Congress in 1953.
    “And if you actually look at the statute, I’m a former judge, so I tend to look at statutes. What does the statute say? The statute says, in carrying out this law, quote, ‘the Secretary shall seek to simplify and make efficient the operation of the Department of Agriculture, to place the administration of farm programs close to the state and local levels,’ close quote from the statute. This is exactly what Congress intended: the maximum amount of USDA resources dedicated out in the field, not in Washington, D.C.”
    Senator Marshall: “Just want to make one last point, President Trump’s tariffs are working. He has made incredible trade deals that are going to open up markets that we never had access to before. We’ve never sold a cheeseburger in all of Europe. Ethanol: 40% of our corn crop goes to ethanol. Suddenly, the EU, UK, and all these countries are going to be buying ethanol as well. We’re seeing manufacturing jobs move back to this country because of these tariffs as well. American agriculture will benefit significantly from long-term trade. Agreements for long-term success as well, and we can’t wait to see what’s next coming out of the White House and the tariffs. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I yield back.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Governor Newsom strengthens local control in Los Angeles burn scar areas

    Source: US State of California Governor

    Jul 30, 2025

    What you need to know: In response to concerns from local elected leaders and community members about the potential for widespread SB 9 development concentrated in areas rebuilding from destructive fires and crowding evacuation routes, the Governor today issued an executive order that will give local government the discretion to limit SB 9 development in very high fire hazard severity zones within the rebuilding areas.

    LOS ANGELES — Governor Gavin Newsom today issued an executive order providing local governments with stronger authority to limit Senate Bill 9 development in high fire hazard severity zones in Los Angeles County that fall within the burn scar areas. The executive order continues the Governor’s efforts to help respond to local concerns, provide tools to address rebuilding, and ensure that communities can recover safely. Read the executive order here.

    “We will continue to assist communities in rebuilding safely in ways that are responsive to local concerns. This executive order responds directly to requests from local officials and community feedback, recognizing the need for local discretion in recovery and that not all laws are designed for rebuilding entire communities destroyed by fires overnight.”

    Governor Gavin Newsom

    The executive order remains in effect as long as the state of emergency remains active. The order:

    • Grants local governments authority to adjust rules for SB 9 development (lot splits and duplexes in single-family residential zones) in very high fire severity zones within the LA fire burn scars. This order affects the entire Palisades within the city of LA, the eastern foothills portions of Altadena, Sunset Mesa, and Malibu. 
    • Includes a seven-day pause on SB 9 development in these specific areas while locals develop their own standards. 
    • Provides local governments with the flexibility to tailor standards based on community needs. For example, local officials could add additional mitigation requirements or designate areas within the affected zones where SB 9 development is or isn’t allowed. It allows local officials to make determinations as to what best serves their community — balancing the needs of their community and fire-resilient, safe recovery.

    The executive order is consistent with the state’s commitment to increasing the state’s housing supply and its unwavering dedication to supporting local officials in rebuilding their communities. It leaves the SB 9 framework in place everywhere other than very high fire hazard severity zones in the burn scar, and within those zones allows local leaders discretion to ensure that SB 9 development in the rebuilding areas appropriately accounts for fire safety concerns.

    Helping communities rebuild

    Today’s announcement adds to recent orders by the Governor to help the Los Angeles community recover and rebuild, including another order fast-tracking rebuilding the homes and schools affected by the disaster by suspending permitting laws and building codes, which adds to earlier orders cutting red tape and streamlining the rebuilding of homes and businesses destroyed — suspending permitting and review requirements under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and the California Coastal Act. The Governor also issued an executive order further cutting red tape by reiterating that permitting requirements under the California Coastal Act are suspended for rebuilding efforts and directing the Coastal Commission not to issue guidance or take any action that interferes with or conflicts with the Governor’s executive orders. The Governor also issued an executive order removing administrative barriers, extending deadlines, and providing critical regulatory relief to help fire survivors rebuild, access essential services, and recover more quickly.

    California’s all-in efforts

    Since the first day these firestorms ignited, Governor Newsom has been on the ground leading an all-in state response and recovery. 

    The Governor deployed resources before the hurricane-force fires broke out – growing to over 16,000 boots on the ground at the peak of the state’s response. And in the hours that followed, Governor Newsom launched historic recovery and rebuilding efforts to help Los Angeles get back on its feet, faster. 

    Even before the fires were out, Governor Newsom worked closely with outgoing President Joe Biden to secure a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration and then coordinated with the Trump Administration to ensure comprehensive federal support for Los Angeles. 

    That work has paid dividends as the current pace of debris and hazardous waste removal is months ahead of the cleanup timeline for the Camp, Woolsey, Hill fires in 2019 and Tubbs Fire in 2017/18, which at the time were themselves the fastest of their kind. 

    State and federal officials worked hand in glove to clear hazardous waste from 9,000 homes in less than 30 days. At the project’s peak, as many as 500 crews of expert heavy equipment operators from the Army Corps of Engineers worked around the clock to rapidly clear ash, soot, and fire debris from structures damaged by the Eaton and Palisades fires. 

    By the numbers 

    • 16,000 first responders and recovery personnel deployed
    • $2.5 billion in Small Business Administration Assistance approved. 
    • $144.2 million in individual assistance disbursed
    • $100 million in dedicated community partnerships through LA Rises
    • 40,000 totals visitors to disaster recovery centers 
    • 30 days to clear properties of hazardous waste
    • 9,195 properties cleared of debris 
    • 2,300 homes cleared of debris 
    • 12,500 right of entry forms submitted 
    • 8 of 8 schools resumed in person instruction 
    • 9 of 9 water systems reactivated  

    Recent news

    Jul 30, 2025

    News SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced that he has signed the following bills:AB 17 by Assemblymember Juan Alanis (R-Modesto) – Elections: precinct maps.AB 377 by Assemblymember David Tangipa (R-Clovis) – High-Speed Rail Authority: business plan:…

    Jul 30, 2025

    News What you need to know: California is standing up for all Americans by challenging Trump’s unlawful tariff policy, which is slowing the national economy and raising prices for consumers.  SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today filed an amicus brief in support of…

    Jul 30, 2025

    News What you need to know: California is taking targeted action to address the mental health crisis among young men and boys today with a new executive order focused on suicide prevention, behavioral health, and helping find purpose through education, family, and…

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Welch Grills Trump Admin on How So-Called ‘Reorganization Plan’ of USDA Hurts Vermont 

    US Senate News:

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

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – During a Senate Agriculture Committee hearing today, U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Ranking Member of the Senate Agriculture Subcommittee on Rural Development, Energy, and Credit, grilled U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Deputy Secretary Stephen Vaden on the Trump Administration’s reorganization plan for USDA, which will rob rural communities of vital local control and leadership. Senator Welch also questioned Dep. Sec. Vaden about how USDA plans to better balance and allocate resources to specialty crop, organic, and dairy farms in comparison to large commodity farms.  
    “Let me be candid: I have some inclination to be supportive of folks being back home, closer to where they’re serving,” said Senator Welch. “The concern I have is whether the reorganization plan is on the level—whether it’s about empowering local communities or it’s about decimating the already severely cut back work force.” 
    U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins’ plan to restructure USDA follows the Department’s firing of 15,000 employees as part of the Trump Administration’s mass-layoff campaign of federal employees. While USDA claims the reorganization will bring USDA closer to farmers, the proposal would force more than 2,000 local USDA federal employees to relocate across five regional hubs in North Carolina, Missouri, Indiana, Colorado, and Utah. The location of these hubs makes it clear that USDA values large-scale commodity and row cropping farms over the small-scale farms in Vermont and the Northeast.  
    Farmers and agricultural organizations have expressed concerns over how the sudden large-scale restructuring of USDA could disrupt essential services the agency provides and erode support for farmers and rural communities. 
    Watch the exchange between Senator Welch and USDA Deputy Secretary Vaden: 

    Read key excerpts of Senator Welch’s questioning below: 

    Senator Welch: “In Vermont, we’ve lost 78 staff members already. And our local USDA is terrific—they’re responsive, we call them, they give us an answer—they help us…So, how am I going to get excited about this so-called ‘reorganization plan’ where folks are going back, but we’ve already lost 78? Tell me why I should be confident about this.” 
    Mr. Vaden: “Well Senator, to use your phrase, this plan is ‘on the level.’ The Secretary and I are both serious. Employees who accept their new locations—they’ve got a job, and we’ve got an office for them, and we’re planning a new home for them in a location where their federal salary will go farther.” 
    Senator Welch: “But here’s what doesn’t make sense to me: If you believe in the local control, why do you fire local people?” 
    Mr. Vaden: “Senator, if you’re referring to the deferred resignation plan, those were voluntary decisions made by individual employees who chose—with the information that the agency provided to them—to seek a new career elsewhere.” 
    Senator Welch: “You know, you’re talking about a lot of federal workers—they felt the axe was coming down, and they had to make a choice between two really terrible things: get fired…or take the buyout. So, that doesn’t satisfy me. And again, we’ve got 78 people who wanted to stay on their jobs, buy and large, and were doing a good job and would answer the phone when I called—and they’re gone. 
    “You know what my concern is, and I’d like to be able to follow up, because I want this in the real world to be beneficial for folks in Vermont, for our farmers who are incredibly valuable citizens.” 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: On 60th Anniversary of Medicaid and Medicare, Congressman Amo Visits Providers Hit Hard by Trump’s Big, Ugly Law 

    Source: US Congressman Gabe Amo (Rhode Island 1st District)

    Republicans’ Big, Ugly Law undercuts the promise of health care for the elderly and vulnerable, which Medicare and Medicaid were meant to fulfill.

    RIVERSIDE, RI – TODAY, Congressman Gabe Amo (D-RI), member of the House Budget Committee, toured the East Bay Community Action Program (EBCAP) Family Health Care- Riverside to discuss with Medicaid providers how President Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans’ Big, Ugly Law will devastate their ability to serve vulnerable Rhode Islanders. Amo met with EBCAP’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Lisa Denny and former Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Sarah Fessler. 

    “For six decades, Medicaid and Medicare have provided essential, life-improving health care to Rhode Islanders,” said Congressman Gabe Amo (D-RI). “Republicans’ Big, Ugly Law is poised to take health care from 47,000 Rhode Islanders and break the promise President Lyndon B. Johnson made 60 years ago today that our government would care for the elderly and vulnerable. Trump and Congressional Republicans’ decimation destabilizes our state’s entire health system. Today, the East Bay Community Action Program’s medical staff shared the immense challenges that Rhode Island’s health centers and their patients will face because of their new law. I won’t stop speaking out until we reverse Trump’s treacherous cuts, restore investment in Medicaid and Medicare, and ensure all Rhode Islanders have access to high-quality health care.”

    “East Bay Community Action Program provides services and resources to more than 30,000 Rhode Islanders each year,” said Jesse Shipley, Chief Operation Officer, East Bay Community Health Program. “Any health care funding reductions passed into law put our East Bay residents at risk, add continued pressure to hospitals and the health care workforce, and can contribute to reductions in health care access across our state.”

    Background

    On July 3, 2025, Congressman Amo voted no on the Big, Ugly Law after speaking out against the bill on the House Floor at 3:45 AM.

    On July 2, 2025, Amo took to the floor to urge adoption of an amendment to protect Medicaid and SNAP. Republicans stood in the way. 

    On July 1, 2025, Amo spoke out in the House Rules Committeeabout Republicans’ dastardly plan to steal from the poor to gift tax handouts to the rich. 

    Amotook to the House Floor at 3:30 AM to hit back at Republicans’ original passage of the Big, Ugly Bill in the House on May 22, 2025, before he voted no.

    On April 9, 2025, Amo slammed the Republican budget resolution on the House floor and shared the story of a Rhode Islander in the First Congressional District who would be hurt by Republican cuts. 

    On February 25, 2025, Amo took to the House Floor to slam the Republican budget resolution that threatens devastating cuts to critical programs.

    On February 24, 2025, Amo submitted two amendments to the House Committee on Rules to protect SNAP and affirm that Medicaid is a critical program for more than 306,000 Rhode Island residents. The Republican-controlled House Committee on Rules refused to consider Congressman Amo’s amendments.    

    During the House Budget Committee markup on February 13, 2025, Amo offered two amendments to support protecting and extending Medicare’s solvency as well as protecting SNAP, the Community Eligibility Provision, the School Breakfast Program, and the National School Lunch Program. Republicans voted no.

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    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: On 60th Anniversary of Medicaid and Medicare, Congressman Amo Visits Providers Hit Hard by Trump’s Big, Ugly Law 

    Source: US Congressman Gabe Amo (Rhode Island 1st District)

    Republicans’ Big, Ugly Law undercuts the promise of health care for the elderly and vulnerable, which Medicare and Medicaid were meant to fulfill.

    RIVERSIDE, RI – TODAY, Congressman Gabe Amo (D-RI), member of the House Budget Committee, toured the East Bay Community Action Program (EBCAP) Family Health Care- Riverside to discuss with Medicaid providers how President Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans’ Big, Ugly Law will devastate their ability to serve vulnerable Rhode Islanders. Amo met with EBCAP’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Lisa Denny and former Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Sarah Fessler. 

    “For six decades, Medicaid and Medicare have provided essential, life-improving health care to Rhode Islanders,” said Congressman Gabe Amo (D-RI). “Republicans’ Big, Ugly Law is poised to take health care from 47,000 Rhode Islanders and break the promise President Lyndon B. Johnson made 60 years ago today that our government would care for the elderly and vulnerable. Trump and Congressional Republicans’ decimation destabilizes our state’s entire health system. Today, the East Bay Community Action Program’s medical staff shared the immense challenges that Rhode Island’s health centers and their patients will face because of their new law. I won’t stop speaking out until we reverse Trump’s treacherous cuts, restore investment in Medicaid and Medicare, and ensure all Rhode Islanders have access to high-quality health care.”

    “East Bay Community Action Program provides services and resources to more than 30,000 Rhode Islanders each year,” said Jesse Shipley, Chief Operation Officer, East Bay Community Health Program. “Any health care funding reductions passed into law put our East Bay residents at risk, add continued pressure to hospitals and the health care workforce, and can contribute to reductions in health care access across our state.”

    Background

    On July 3, 2025, Congressman Amo voted no on the Big, Ugly Law after speaking out against the bill on the House Floor at 3:45 AM.

    On July 2, 2025, Amo took to the floor to urge adoption of an amendment to protect Medicaid and SNAP. Republicans stood in the way. 

    On July 1, 2025, Amo spoke out in the House Rules Committeeabout Republicans’ dastardly plan to steal from the poor to gift tax handouts to the rich. 

    Amotook to the House Floor at 3:30 AM to hit back at Republicans’ original passage of the Big, Ugly Bill in the House on May 22, 2025, before he voted no.

    On April 9, 2025, Amo slammed the Republican budget resolution on the House floor and shared the story of a Rhode Islander in the First Congressional District who would be hurt by Republican cuts. 

    On February 25, 2025, Amo took to the House Floor to slam the Republican budget resolution that threatens devastating cuts to critical programs.

    On February 24, 2025, Amo submitted two amendments to the House Committee on Rules to protect SNAP and affirm that Medicaid is a critical program for more than 306,000 Rhode Island residents. The Republican-controlled House Committee on Rules refused to consider Congressman Amo’s amendments.    

    During the House Budget Committee markup on February 13, 2025, Amo offered two amendments to support protecting and extending Medicare’s solvency as well as protecting SNAP, the Community Eligibility Provision, the School Breakfast Program, and the National School Lunch Program. Republicans voted no.

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Vice Ranking Member Amo Applauds Partnership to Deliver Humanitarian Aid, Blasts Trump’s Failure to Keep Aid Promises to Starving Kids and American Producers

    Source: US Congressman Gabe Amo (Rhode Island 1st District)

    PROVIDENCE, RI – Today, House Foreign Affairs Vice Ranking Member Gabe Amo (D-RI) thanked Edesia Nutrition and Ocean State Job Lot’s initiative in sending Rhode Island-made therapeutic food to aid severely malnourished children in South Sudan. Amo also called on President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio to support American farmers and aid producers by delivering Edesia’s food aid to children and providing new contracts so Edesia can continue their essential work.

    “Thanks to Ocean State Job Lot and Edesia Nutrition, working in coordination with World Vision, America can still answer the call when aid is needed. By partnering together, these organizations are filling the massive gap left by President Trump in delivering needed food assistance to children around the world. Rhode Island workers and businesses are meeting the moment while Donald Trump and the State Department sit on their hands, hide behind red tape, and refuse to take accountability for literally incinerating food. Children are starving. There is no excuse for Republican inaction,”  said Vice Ranking Member Amo (D-RI).“I have pressed Secretary Rubio and his State Department underlings repeatedly to resurrect America’s aid programs. I will keep fighting to ensure our government combats childhood malnutrition and supports American farmers by delivering and continuing to fund American-made therapeutic food.” 

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    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Vice Ranking Member Amo Applauds Partnership to Deliver Humanitarian Aid, Blasts Trump’s Failure to Keep Aid Promises to Starving Kids and American Producers

    Source: US Congressman Gabe Amo (Rhode Island 1st District)

    PROVIDENCE, RI – Today, House Foreign Affairs Vice Ranking Member Gabe Amo (D-RI) thanked Edesia Nutrition and Ocean State Job Lot’s initiative in sending Rhode Island-made therapeutic food to aid severely malnourished children in South Sudan. Amo also called on President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio to support American farmers and aid producers by delivering Edesia’s food aid to children and providing new contracts so Edesia can continue their essential work.

    “Thanks to Ocean State Job Lot and Edesia Nutrition, working in coordination with World Vision, America can still answer the call when aid is needed. By partnering together, these organizations are filling the massive gap left by President Trump in delivering needed food assistance to children around the world. Rhode Island workers and businesses are meeting the moment while Donald Trump and the State Department sit on their hands, hide behind red tape, and refuse to take accountability for literally incinerating food. Children are starving. There is no excuse for Republican inaction,”  said Vice Ranking Member Amo (D-RI).“I have pressed Secretary Rubio and his State Department underlings repeatedly to resurrect America’s aid programs. I will keep fighting to ensure our government combats childhood malnutrition and supports American farmers by delivering and continuing to fund American-made therapeutic food.” 

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: TOMORROW: Governor Newsom to announce major addition to state’s firefighting capabilities

    Source: US State of California Governor

    Jul 30, 2025

    SACRAMENTO COUNTY — Governor Gavin Newsom will join CAL FIRE at a press conference tomorrow to announce the latest additions to the world’s largest aerial firefighting fleet.

    WHEN: Thursday, July 31 at approximately 1 p.m.

    LIVESTREAM: Governor’s Twitter page, Governor’s Facebook page, and the Governor’s YouTube page. This event will also be available to TV stations on the LiveU Matrix under “California Governor.”

    NOTE: This in-person press event will be open to credentialed media only. Media interested in attending must RSVP by clicking here no later than 11 a.m., July 31. Location information will be provided upon RSVP confirmation.

    Media advisories, Recent news

    Recent news

    Jul 30, 2025

    News What you need to know: In response to concerns from local elected leaders and community members about the potential for widespread SB 9 development concentrated in areas rebuilding from destructive fires and crowding evacuation routes, the Governor today issued…

    Jul 30, 2025

    News SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced that he has signed the following bills:AB 17 by Assemblymember Juan Alanis (R-Modesto) – Elections: precinct maps.AB 377 by Assemblymember David Tangipa (R-Clovis) – High-Speed Rail Authority: business plan:…

    Jul 30, 2025

    News What you need to know: California is standing up for all Americans by challenging Trump’s unlawful tariff policy, which is slowing the national economy and raising prices for consumers.  SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today filed an amicus brief in support of…

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Chairman Capito Delivers Floor Speech on Need for Bipartisan Permitting Reform Legislation

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for West Virginia Shelley Moore Capito

    [embedded content]

    To watch Chairman Capito’s floor remarks, click here or the image above.

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, delivered remarks on Senate Floor outlining the need for comprehensive, bipartisan reforms to our nation’s environmental review and permitting processes.

    “The opportunity is here, this is right in front of us, and I can guarantee you that I will be at the forefront of these efforts to make sure that these reforms can become a reality. I encourage my colleagues to heed the importance of this moment,”Chairman Capito said.

    Below are the floor remarks of Chairman Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) as delivered.

    “As we both know, for too long, critical projects central to American energy development, infrastructure improvement, and economic development have been trapped in a cycle of redundant reviews, shifting goalposts, endless red tape, and regulatory uncertainty.

    “Businesses large and small, looking to build things in our country again, really need certainty that is necessary for long-term investments, and projects needed to deploy new energy technologies, and efforts to restore the environment, have been caught in the same regulatory swamp as well.

    “This has been loaded on for years. Years of changes in guidance have created a complex web of ever-expanding, duplicative, and contradictory requirements, while Congress has not stepped in to provide the clarifications that our country needs. All this has led to lost jobs, missed economic opportunities, and higher prices across America, underpinning the importance of comprehensive reform to our environmental review and permitting processes. I can tell you, I get asked about this consistently, every day, more than a few times a day.

    “So, let me talk a little bit about my home state of West Virginia. I’ve seen firsthand how projects that our communities rely on face needless delays and how costs are then shifted to our families who pay more for energy, housing, transportation, and basic goods as a result.

    “These types of delays nearly stopped what will become one of the most environmentally friendly steel production facilities in the world that will employ over a thousand people in Mason County.

    “Top highway projects, like Corridor H that would improve both safety, mobility, and create economic development, have encountered multiple permitting delays and uncertainty under a litany of environmental statutes. Even West Virginia water extensions, broadband deployments, and bridge replacements have all faced delays from the federal permitting process.

    “If you’ve spent time in my state, visited our communities, or traveled across our mountains, it’s obvious how important these projects are to our state of West Virginia. They impact everything from how we heat our homes, to how we connect our schools with internet, and maintain the roads and bridges that our residents travel on every single day.

    “Point blank, these delays are holding our state and every state back from reaching our full potential, robbing our people of investments and economic development that would improve the quality of their lives. I believe it is time for Congress act.

    “Clearly, I am no stranger to the ever-illusive topic of permitting reform. Throughout my time in the Senate, I have introduced multiple bills on the subject and have been involved in the regulations on this topic, and while we were able to include some reforms in the bipartisan Fiscal Responsibility Act, it is very clear that much more needs to be done.

    “The fact of the matter is, each one of us in this chamber has a critical need in our state that could be addressed by improving our permitting and environmental processes. Like building more housing, we always hear about a housing shortage, or bringing energy projects online, we hear about the expansions of nuclear, that are going to be held in the permitting process, or improving the conditions of surface transportation infrastructure, just to name a few. No matter what our constituents need, we all know that permitting reform is needed to deliver projects more quickly and more efficiently.

    “In my role as the Chair of the EPW Committee, where we have jurisdiction over the laws that set the framework for our environmental review and permitting processes, I could not be more earnest in my desire to lead this effort with our Ranking Member. Our Committee’s involvement on this issue remains apparent by the delivery of not just this speech we’re doing together, but as we continue to work together with the goal of crafting bipartisan legislation.

    “Together, we started bipartisan conversations in our Committee in February, when we held a hearing to gain the perspectives of leaders who are directly involved with navigating these processes.

    “To ensure that we would gather a complete look at all of the issues, we kept the hearing record open for over a month to give all stakeholders the opportunity to share their experience with these existing environmental review and permitting processes, and identify challenges and recommend possible solutions to this Congress.

    “From this record, we garnered 107 submissions representing 146 individual organizations, and an additional 854 individual requests on how to improve the federal environmental review and permitting process.

    “These responses have helped the EPW Committee identify the challenges that persist across the wide variety of projects and to identify consensus on the potential solutions to address these challenges.

    “While we’ve talked about the issue of permitting for a number of years in Congress, it’s important that we currently find ourselves, I think, in like-thought all across the spectrum. Each branch of the federal government, from the Executive, to Congress, and the Judiciary, are united in our dissatisfaction with the current permitting and environmental review processes.

    “The Trump Administration has taken numerous actions to cut red tape and to put the United States in the best possible position to grow our economy and create jobs.

    “The Supreme Court delivered a unanimous decision in the Seven County Infrastructure Coalition case in May that validated what many of my colleagues and I have long been saying, and that is the responsibilities of federal agencies under the [National Environmental Policy Act] have evolved beyond what Congress intended, creating roadblocks instead of considering the environment in federal decision-making.

    “Right now, we have the momentum, I believe, needed to deliver meaningful and lasting reforms to the environmental review and permitting process, and I believe this is an unprecedented opportunity and something we can truly accomplish.

    “I do believe, and we know this well, Senator Whitehouse and I know this well, that there are areas of strong disagreement in this area between the two of us, and what we’re going to try to do is to find those areas of like-thinking, that moves the process along. No matter how difficult it might be, this is the only way we get a permanent solution, so we don’t see the swings of the environmental process that we’ve seen over the last few years.

    “To start, durable and implementable reforms need to be successful, they have to be bipartisan. Legislation that the Senate crafts must take into account all types of projects, not just politically favored projects no matter who is favoring them, or projects that will support the infrastructure needs of some Americans but not others. We must provide clarity and transparency in these processes, and be thoughtful in the way we craft the legislation.

    “We need to address every stage of these processes to find efficiencies while balancing public health, the environment, and the needs of our economy, and our legislation must establish guardrails that cease the endless amounts of agency delays and litigation that stunts the development of our projects. I’ve seen investments in my state collapse under the weight of legal challenges, denying benefits to those that needed it the most.

    “I want to stress that modernizing these processes does not mean cutting corners or weakening our environmental and public health protections, and this is exceedingly important to all of us and to the process. It means focusing the government on meeting the needs of the American people, ensuring the quality of our environment for generations to come, and making the processes more efficient, predictable, and transparent so that they’re not stuck in a bureaucratic purgatory of endless litigation.

    “The reality is this, hardworking Americans want a government that works for them, not one that keeps them waiting for the benefits that many of these projects promise to their communities. What happens when you wait, if the project still goes forward? It gets more and more and more expensive with time.

    “I was encouraged to see bipartisan efforts from our colleagues in the House of Representatives, as last week, Natural Resources Committee Chairman Bruce Westerman and Representative Jared Golden announced a proposal to address many of the concerns I just laid out.

    “As negotiations continue in the Senate, we must remember that it will take the collaboration of both chambers [of Congress] and the Administration to get impactful legislation across the finish line.

    “The opportunity is here, this is right in front of us, and I can guarantee you that I will be at the forefront of these efforts to make sure that these reforms can become a reality. I encourage my colleagues to heed the importance of this moment, and many of our colleagues are talking about this and have great expertise in this area, and we need your help.

    “With that, I yield the floor.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Capito: The OBBB Delivers Tax Relief for West Virginians

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for West Virginia Shelley Moore Capito

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – The One Big Beautiful Bill prevents what could have been the largest tax increase in history for working- and middle-class Americans. By permanently extending and expanding on the successful Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), passed during President Trump’s first term, Senate Republicans are delivering on their promise to foster an environment of economic growth and increase affordability for American families.

    “The One Big Beautiful Bill delivers the largest tax cut in history to hardworking people in West Virginia and across the country. That means that West Virginia families not only get to keep more of their hard-earned paychecks, but they will see their take-home pay increase by thousands of dollars. These tax cuts will also help small businesses grow and hire more people, leading to greater economic growth and more opportunity,” Senator Capito said.

    West Virginia Wins:

    • Around 400 thousand seniors in West Virginia could benefit from the no taxes on social security.
    • 5% of the labor force is employed in occupations that will benefit from the no taxes on tips.
    • Establishes a $6,000 bonus deduction for seniors. 
    • Establishes a permanent small business deduction and increases Section 179, Small Business Expensing Cap from $1.25 million to $2.5 million. 
    • Extends the Hydrogen Tax Credit (945V) until January 1, 2028, which will save Hydrogen Hubs across the country, including West Virginia’s ARCH2 project. 
    • Permanently restores 163j interest deductibility beginning after December 31, 2024, which will provide West Virginia’s small business owners the tools they need to compete, grow, and hire.

    What Others Are Saying:

    “The One Big Beautiful Bill Act is a landmark victory for West Virginia’s small businesses. By making the Small Business Tax Deduction permanent, Congress delivered the certainty that Main Street needs, allowing small business owners to continue to create jobs, grow their business, and invest in their communities. With the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Senator Capito along with both Chambers of Congress, have strengthened the foundation of our economy and provided a boost not just for small businesses, but a boost for the entire country,” Gil White, NFIB West Virginia State Director, said.

    “Senator Capito has always been a champion and leader for West Virginia’s hospitality and tourism industry, which is an economic driver that employs thousands of West Virginia workers and welcomes millions of visitors to our great state annually. We are thankful for Senator Capito’s support of key provisions in the One Big, Beautiful Bill that will positively impact our restaurant, lodging, and tourism industry members. Important policies included in the bill – such as ‘no tax or tips’ and ‘no taxes on overtime,” full expensing of capital equipment purchases, qualified business income deductions, and permanent family and medical leave credits – provide much-needed benefits to hospitality and tourism employees and regulatory and tax certainty for small business owners that will allow tourism to continue as an economic powerhouse for West Virginia,” Richie Heath, Executive Director of the West Virginia Hospitality and Travel Association, said.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Cotton to Greer: Investigate Jack Smith for Election Interference

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Arkansas Tom Cotton

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
    Contact: Caroline Tabler or Patrick McCann (202) 224-2353
    July 30, 2025

    Cotton to Greer: Investigate Jack Smith for Election Interference

    Washington, D.C. — Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) today sent a letter to Acting Special Counsel Jamieson Greer requesting an investigation into whether former Special Counsel Jack Smith violated federal law by using political actions to influence the 2024 election against then-candidate President Donald Trump.

    In part, Senator Cotton wrote:

    “These actions were not standard, necessary, or justified—unless Smith’s real purpose was to influence the election. In fact, throughout Special Counsel Smith’s tenure, he regularly used far-fetched and aggressive legal theories to prosecute the Republican nominee for president. I would add that President Biden also called during the election for President Trump to be ‘locked up.’”

    Full text of the letter may be found here and below.

    Mr. Jamieson Greer
    Acting Special Counsel
    United States Office of Special Counsel
    1730 M Street NW
    Washington, D.C. 20036-4504

    Dear Acting Special Counsel Greer:

    I write requesting the Office of Special Counsel to investigate whether Jack Smith, Special Counsel for Attorney General Merrick Garland, unlawfully took political actions to influence the 2024 election to harm then-candidate President Donald Trump. As the Office of the Special Counsel is tasked with ensuring federal employees aren’t conducting partisan political activity under the guise of their federal employment, you’re well situated to determine whether Smith broke the law.

    Many of Smith’s legal actions seem to have no rationale except for an attempt to affect the 2024 election results—actions that would violate federal law.

    Consider just the following examples, where Smith expedited trial proceedings and deliberately published information, with no legitimate purpose:

    • After filing the indictment against President Trump on August 10, 2023, Smith demanded the trial start January 2, 2024, with jury selection beginning as early as December 11, 2023. Defendants in these types of cases typically have more than two years to prepare for trial, but President Trump’s defense team had fewer than six months to review 13 million pages of evidence and thousands of hours of video footage provided by prosecutors. Notably, jury selection was to begin just two weeks before the Iowa caucuses.
    • On December 11, 2023, after President Trump filed his defense with the District of Columbia District Court, Smith pressed for a trial before the election by moving for an expedited review by the appeals court. On the same day, however, Smith further escalated this push and filed a petition with the Supreme Court to bypass the district court. Smith skirted the normal appellate process but failed to articulate a legitimate reason the court should grant this abnormal request.
    • Following the Supreme Court’s decision recognizing presidential immunity, Smith’s prosecution team filed an initial brief on September 5, 2024, although there was no defense motion pending. The judge granted Smith permission to file the brief on September 26, 2024, but pointed out this was “procedurally irregular.” This timeline is highly unusual considering complex litigation matters normally take place over several months, rather than a mere three weeks. This action also appears to violate the Justice Department’s 60-day rule, which prohibits timing any action, for the purpose of affecting any election or giving advantage or disadvantage to a candidate, within 60 days of the election.
    • Smith’s brief on Trump’s immunity from prosecution was 165 pages, which required special permission to exceed the normal maximum page limit by four times. In fact, Smith also incorporated grand jury testimony typically kept secret at this point in other proceedings. This action appears to be a deliberate and underhanded effort to disclose unsubstantiated and extensive allegations timed to maximize electoral impact.

    These actions were not standard, necessary, or justified—unless Smith’s real purpose was to influence the election. In fact, throughout Special Counsel Smith’s tenure, he regularly used far-fetched and aggressive legal theories to prosecute the Republican nominee for president. I would add that President Biden also called during the election for President Trump to be “locked up.”

    President Trump of course vanquished Joe Biden, Jack Smith, every Democrat who weaponized the law against him, but President Trump’s astounding victory doesn’t excuse Smith of responsibility for his unlawful election interference. I therefore ask the Office of Special Counsel to investigate whether Jack Smith or any members of his team unlawfully acted for political purposes.

    Sincerely,

    Tom Cotton

    United States Senator

     

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Interview with James Glenday and Emma Rebellato, News Breakfast, ABC

    Source: Australian Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Industry

    James Glenday:

    Welcome back to the show. On this Thursday morning, you’re watching News Breakfast. It is always lovely to have your company.

    Emma Rebellato:

    We’ll get an update on the latest with the global tsunami alerts in just a moment. But first, borrowers will be hoping the latest inflation data will be the confirmation the Reserve Bank needs to cut rates next month.

    Treasurer, Jim Chalmers, joins us now from Canberra. Treasurer, thanks for joining us this morning.

    Jim Chalmers:

    Thanks for having me back on, Emma.

    Rebellato:

    So homeowners are hoping for a rate cut. Are you worried though that if there is a cut it will encourage more investors into the market, and that will price out people wanting to buy their own home?

    Chalmers:

    I’m not going to pre‑empt decisions that the Reserve Bank takes independently. I think rate relief is welcome, certainly when interest rates were cut twice already this year, that provided some very, very welcome rate relief for millions of Australians with a mortgage. That’s how we see it, but I don’t want to make predictions or pre‑empt the decisions that the Reserve Bank will take.

    What yesterday’s numbers showed when it comes to those inflation numbers is really quite remarkable progress. The progress that Australians have made together over the course of the last 3 years on inflation has been outstanding because we’ve been able to get inflation down at the same time as we deep unemployment low, we’ve got real wages growing again – but it’s never mission accomplished, because the global environment’s uncertain, we’ve got some persistent structural issues in our economy, growth in our economy is soft and people are under pressure. And that’s why the primary goal, the main priority of the first 2 weeks of the parliament sitting has been to roll out more cost‑of‑living help.

    Rebellato:

    Treasurer, your productivity roundtable is on in just a few weeks. Will you be looking – and we know housing going’s to be on the agenda – will you be looking specifically at property investors. Do you want to change the capital gains tax discount?

    Chalmers:

    That’s not why we’ve put this Economic Reform Roundtable together. It’s all about making our economy more resilient and more productive, and our budget more sustainable.

    I expect and I hope that building more homes is one of the central considerations of the Economic Reform Roundtable. I’ve been working very closely with Minister Clare O’Neil with a number of people who will be at the roundtable and with a whole range of people around the country.

    We’ve all got an interest in building more homes sooner; that’s the government’s priority. The primary focus there, I think, at the roundtable will be around how we speed up approvals and get the zoning for housing right, because we desperately need more homes. The Commonwealth government has come to the table with tens of billions of dollars in investment, our political opponents want to cut funding for housing, but overwhelmingly, people want to see where there’s common ground to build more homes, and that will be the focus.

    Rebellato:

    Treasurer, one of the stories we’re following today is the latest Productivity Commission report on closing the gap. Again, so many targets are showing so little progress, and some are worsening. How would you characterise this? Is this a failure by governments?

    Chalmers:

    We need to do much better. I think from memory, 10 of the 15 measures, we’ve seen a little bit of progress in the report released overnight, some have gone backwards in worrying ways.

    I think every member of the government, and I think many Australians would acknowledge that we need to do better, and the reason why these reports are so important is because they make sure that we keep governments and the community more broadly up to the mark. We need to do better when it comes to closing the cap.

    Minister Malarndirri McCarthy is working in her characteristically diligent way with all of the stakeholders, all of the communities to try and turn these numbers around. There has been progress in 10 of the 15, there has been some worrying outcomes in the rest, but overall, we need to do more and we need to do better.

    Rebellato:

    Treasurer, we know the issue in the Middle East is a big talking point in parliament and in the government at the moment. Is it now inevitable that Australia will recognise a Palestinian state; do you want to see that happen?

    Chalmers:

    I do, and I think it’s a matter of when, not if Australia recognises a Palestinian state for a long.

    Rebellato:

    So could we see it before September, before that UN meeting?

    Rebellato:

    I don’t want to put a timeframe for it, it’s been a long‑standing bipartisan policy that we see a two‑state solution in that part of the Middle East. From my point of view that progress that has been made, that momentum that we’re seeing in the international community is welcome, but it’s also conditional.

    There are a number of obstacles still in the way to recognition of a Palestinian state, for example, the treatment, the release of the hostages, making sure that there’s absolutely no role for Hamas. These are the sorts of things that the international community is working through.

    That statement that came out yesterday that we signed as Australians via our Foreign Minister Penny Wong is a really important one. It condemns the terrorist act on 7 October, it demands a ceasefire, the release of hostages and access for humanitarian aid; it encourages countries to work towards recognition as a really important part of that two‑state solution, and the reason we want to see a two‑state solution is because Israeli families and Palestinian families need and deserve to be able to raise their kids in peace, and that’s what this is all about.

    Rebellato:

    Treasurer, let’s stay with issues overseas, and the issue of tariffs. Now, Donald Trump has now said if he’s not negotiated with a country that they’re now looking at between a 15 and 20 per cent tariff. Is that what you’re working towards now; forget about 10 per cent, it’s now looking 15 to 20?

    Chalmers:

    We haven’t heard differently from the 10 per cent baseline that’s been levied on Australia; obviously we continue to engage with the Americans on this. It’s one of the main issues playing out in the global economy, it’s a major source of uncertainty in the economy, whether it’s what’s been said overnight about India, whether it’s the back and forth between the US and China or the tariffs levied directly on Australia. We’ve got the baseline rate as far as we are aware, and as we understand it, which is 10 per cent.

    Rebellato:

    So you don’t expect that to move?

    Chalmers:

    I think it would be a brave person to assume that there won’t be – whether it’s with other countries or – there will always be more announcements about this. These tariff announcements are a moving feast. But our understanding, our expectation is we get the baseline.

    We think that the best outcome is zero because these tariffs are an act of economic self‑harm. We see inflation is going up in the US. Earlier in the year they had slowing growth, interest rates on hold again in the US overnight, they’ve got higher interest rates than we do in Australia.

    We think these tariffs are bad for the American economy, certainly bad for the global economy. We’re better placed and better prepared than most countries to deal with that, but we won’t be immune. We’ll continue to engage with the Americans on it.

    Rebellato:

    Treasurer, just to change things up a little bit, this is possibly the hardest question you’ll be asked today, we’ve been talking about theme songs. Do you have a favourite theme song?

    Chalmers:

    It’s hard to go past the themes – the 2 theme songs in the Rocky movies, or the theme song to that great Eminem movie, 8 Mile. I’m a hip‑hop guy –

    Rebellato:

    Oh, yeah.

    Chalmers:

    – as James on the couch knows, but I think the best theme song, now that you put me on the spot, the best theme song I can remember is when Powderfinger, These Days kicks in during that wonderful Australian movie, Two Hands.

    I think These Days by Powderfinger came in at number 14 on the week in the Triple J Hottest 100 Australian songs. Like everyone who loves Powderfinger, I think that should have been higher. But that’s an amazing theme song, and that’s an incredible, Two Hands, Heath Ledger, Bryan Brown, Rose, all the great Australian actors and a wonderful Australian theme song too by Powderfinger from Brisbane.

    Rebellato:

    Treasurer, thank you so much for joining us this morning, we appreciate it.

    Chalmers:

    Thanks very much.

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Statement of Intelligence Vice Chairman Warner on Confirmation of Joe Kent to Lead NCTC

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Commonwealth of Virginia Mark R Warner

    WASHINGTON – Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Vice Chairman Mark R. Warner (D-VA) released the following statement after Senate Republicans voted 52-44 to confirm Joe Kent to head the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC):

    “In May, Congress received clear written evidence that Mr. Kent, while serving as chief of staff to Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, sought to manipulate intelligence to match a political narrative promoted by President Trump. His efforts to alter intelligence assessments in support of demonstrably false political claims is not only a gross violation of the solemn responsibility with which the intelligence community is charged, which is to speak truth to power regardless of politics, but it is also a threat to our ability to keep the nation safe. When intelligence is shaped to fit political agendas instead of hard facts, it blinds decision-makers to real threats, sows confusion among our allies, and emboldens our adversaries.

    “With today’s party-line vote to confirm Mr. Kent to one of the nation’s most sensitive counterterrorism roles, the Senate missed an opportunity to hold the Trump administration accountable for openly politicizing intelligence – a precedent that, if left unchecked, threatens to erode trust in our intelligence agencies, compromise the integrity of national security assessments, and ultimately make Americans less safe.”

    On May 21, the Senate Intelligence Committee received copies of emails indicating that Mr. Kent pressured career intelligence officials to revise and suppress analytical conclusions that contradicted public claims made by President Trump. Specifically, Kent pressed the National Intelligence Council (NIC) to rewrite findings about the relationship between Venezuela’s government and the criminal gang Tren de Aragua (TDA) “so this document is not used against the DNI or POTUS,” and to emphasize supposed ties between the Venezuelan government and TDA. Despite the pressure, the April 7 assessment issued by the NIC reaffirmed the original conclusion that Venezuela’s government “probably does not have a policy of cooperating with TDA and is not directing TDA movement to and operations in the United States.” Shortly thereafter, the senior career analysts leading the NIC were dismissed from their positions by DNI Gabbard.

    Sen. Warner spoke in opposition to Mr. Kent’s nomination on the Senate floor prior to the vote. Video of those remarks is available here.  

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Statement of Intelligence Vice Chairman Warner on Confirmation of Joe Kent to Lead NCTC

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Commonwealth of Virginia Mark R Warner

    WASHINGTON – Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Vice Chairman Mark R. Warner (D-VA) released the following statement after Senate Republicans voted 52-44 to confirm Joe Kent to head the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC):

    “In May, Congress received clear written evidence that Mr. Kent, while serving as chief of staff to Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, sought to manipulate intelligence to match a political narrative promoted by President Trump. His efforts to alter intelligence assessments in support of demonstrably false political claims is not only a gross violation of the solemn responsibility with which the intelligence community is charged, which is to speak truth to power regardless of politics, but it is also a threat to our ability to keep the nation safe. When intelligence is shaped to fit political agendas instead of hard facts, it blinds decision-makers to real threats, sows confusion among our allies, and emboldens our adversaries.

    “With today’s party-line vote to confirm Mr. Kent to one of the nation’s most sensitive counterterrorism roles, the Senate missed an opportunity to hold the Trump administration accountable for openly politicizing intelligence – a precedent that, if left unchecked, threatens to erode trust in our intelligence agencies, compromise the integrity of national security assessments, and ultimately make Americans less safe.”

    On May 21, the Senate Intelligence Committee received copies of emails indicating that Mr. Kent pressured career intelligence officials to revise and suppress analytical conclusions that contradicted public claims made by President Trump. Specifically, Kent pressed the National Intelligence Council (NIC) to rewrite findings about the relationship between Venezuela’s government and the criminal gang Tren de Aragua (TDA) “so this document is not used against the DNI or POTUS,” and to emphasize supposed ties between the Venezuelan government and TDA. Despite the pressure, the April 7 assessment issued by the NIC reaffirmed the original conclusion that Venezuela’s government “probably does not have a policy of cooperating with TDA and is not directing TDA movement to and operations in the United States.” Shortly thereafter, the senior career analysts leading the NIC were dismissed from their positions by DNI Gabbard.

    Sen. Warner spoke in opposition to Mr. Kent’s nomination on the Senate floor prior to the vote. Video of those remarks is available here.  

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Leading National Security Dems Alarmed by Trump’s Steep Concessions to China

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Rhode Island Jack Reed

    WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Senate Armed Services Ranking Member Jack Reed (D-RI) joined Ranking Senate Defense Appropriator Chris Coons (D-DE), Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Senate Appropriations Vice Chair Patty Murray (D-WA), Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Mark Warner (D-VA), and several other key members of the Appropriations, Armed Services, Foreign Relations, and Intelligence Committees raised the alarm over public reporting that President Trump is pausing export controls on critical technology sold to China and undermining relations with Taiwan as part of an effort to secure a trade deal with Beijing.

    The Senators are deeply concerned that President Trump’s desire for a perceived “deal” is clouding crucial U.S. export control decisions that could imperil national security, threaten U.S. artificial intelligence advantages, and put other American-generated emerging technologies critical to military programs at risk.

    The twelve U.S. Senators, who also included Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations Ranking Member Brian Schatz (D-HI), Senate Foreign Relations Committee member Tim Kaine (D-VA), Senate Foreign Relations Committee member Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Senate Armed Services Committee member Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Senate Intelligence Committee member Michael Bennet (D-CO), Senate Armed Services Committee member Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), and Senate Subcommittee on National Security and International Trade and Finance Ranking Member Andy Kim (D-NJ), issued the following joint statement:

    “President Trump has spent the past six months eroding our advantages over China, but recent developments make clear how willing his administration is to sacrifice American economic and technological leadership for symbolic “wins” with China in Trump’s self-inflicted trade war.

    “In just the last two days, we have seen reporting that the Trump administration has cancelled a long-planned high-level security dialogue with Taiwan and denied the president of Taiwan the ability to transit the United States—a longstanding tradition respected by administrations of both parties. These developments come right on the heels of a decision to pave the way for the sale of advanced AI chips to China and to freeze export controls on additional American technologies enabling them to now flow to China, even as Beijing tightens export controls on the United States. Independent media reports today suggest these moves are an attempt to secure trade concessions, curry favor with President Xi Jinping, and ensure President Trump gets a visit to China. The president is demonstrating to Beijing that he can be cajoled into giving up America’s core interests.

    “In the face of lackluster domestic economic forecasts and anemic interest from Beijing in achieving a real breakthrough in talks, President Trump and his economic team have ceded leverage and negotiating power to Beijing in a desperate attempt to lure President Xi to a meeting with President Trump. Even more dangerously, they risk putting American national security, technological advantage, and economic prosperity on the chopping block in order to do so.

    “President Trump is handing our primary geopolitical adversary the keys to the castle of 21st century global technological dominance. Doing so will enable Chinese leadership in artificial intelligence, infusing the Chinese military with the technological advantage it needs to continue hostile operations across the globe. He is signaling his ambivalence about standing with Taiwan, our long-term partner in the region and a powerhouse of the global economy. And he is emboldening Beijing to take aggressive actions and seek even more aggressive concessions in whatever trade negotiations may follow.

    “President Trump and this administration must reset their dangerously weak approach to China and make clear they will no longer accept symbolic wins in exchange for steep American concessions. An administration convinced it can renegotiate the world order needs to stop negotiating against itself.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Leading National Security Dems Alarmed by Trump’s Steep Concessions to China

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Rhode Island Jack Reed

    WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Senate Armed Services Ranking Member Jack Reed (D-RI) joined Ranking Senate Defense Appropriator Chris Coons (D-DE), Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Senate Appropriations Vice Chair Patty Murray (D-WA), Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Mark Warner (D-VA), and several other key members of the Appropriations, Armed Services, Foreign Relations, and Intelligence Committees raised the alarm over public reporting that President Trump is pausing export controls on critical technology sold to China and undermining relations with Taiwan as part of an effort to secure a trade deal with Beijing.

    The Senators are deeply concerned that President Trump’s desire for a perceived “deal” is clouding crucial U.S. export control decisions that could imperil national security, threaten U.S. artificial intelligence advantages, and put other American-generated emerging technologies critical to military programs at risk.

    The twelve U.S. Senators, who also included Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations Ranking Member Brian Schatz (D-HI), Senate Foreign Relations Committee member Tim Kaine (D-VA), Senate Foreign Relations Committee member Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Senate Armed Services Committee member Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Senate Intelligence Committee member Michael Bennet (D-CO), Senate Armed Services Committee member Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), and Senate Subcommittee on National Security and International Trade and Finance Ranking Member Andy Kim (D-NJ), issued the following joint statement:

    “President Trump has spent the past six months eroding our advantages over China, but recent developments make clear how willing his administration is to sacrifice American economic and technological leadership for symbolic “wins” with China in Trump’s self-inflicted trade war.

    “In just the last two days, we have seen reporting that the Trump administration has cancelled a long-planned high-level security dialogue with Taiwan and denied the president of Taiwan the ability to transit the United States—a longstanding tradition respected by administrations of both parties. These developments come right on the heels of a decision to pave the way for the sale of advanced AI chips to China and to freeze export controls on additional American technologies enabling them to now flow to China, even as Beijing tightens export controls on the United States. Independent media reports today suggest these moves are an attempt to secure trade concessions, curry favor with President Xi Jinping, and ensure President Trump gets a visit to China. The president is demonstrating to Beijing that he can be cajoled into giving up America’s core interests.

    “In the face of lackluster domestic economic forecasts and anemic interest from Beijing in achieving a real breakthrough in talks, President Trump and his economic team have ceded leverage and negotiating power to Beijing in a desperate attempt to lure President Xi to a meeting with President Trump. Even more dangerously, they risk putting American national security, technological advantage, and economic prosperity on the chopping block in order to do so.

    “President Trump is handing our primary geopolitical adversary the keys to the castle of 21st century global technological dominance. Doing so will enable Chinese leadership in artificial intelligence, infusing the Chinese military with the technological advantage it needs to continue hostile operations across the globe. He is signaling his ambivalence about standing with Taiwan, our long-term partner in the region and a powerhouse of the global economy. And he is emboldening Beijing to take aggressive actions and seek even more aggressive concessions in whatever trade negotiations may follow.

    “President Trump and this administration must reset their dangerously weak approach to China and make clear they will no longer accept symbolic wins in exchange for steep American concessions. An administration convinced it can renegotiate the world order needs to stop negotiating against itself.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: On 60th Anniversary of Medicare & Medicaid, Reed Seeks to Repeal Health Care Cuts in Trump’s ‘Big, Ugly Betrayal’

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Rhode Island Jack Reed

    WASHINGTON, DC – Today, on the 60th anniversary of the Medicare and Medicaid programs, U.S. Senator Jack Reed joined Democratic colleagues in introducing new legislation to repeal the health care cuts in President Donald Trump and Republicans’ ‘Big, Ugly Betrayal’ tax and budget law and permanently extend the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) enhanced tax credits, which expire at the end of the year.

    The sweeping billionaires-first tax law, which Senator Reed strongly opposed, was passed using a legislative process known as reconciliation that only required a 50 vote majority to pass. The law includes nearly $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts over the next decade, with Rhode Island projected to lose $4 billion in federal Medicaid funding over that timeframe, according to projections from experts at health policy organization KFF.

    Nationwide, Trump’s law will result in an estimated 15 million people losing their health insurance under Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act. It will have significant repercussions for many health clinics, hospitals, patients, seniors and nursing homes.

    “Sixty years ago, President Johnson signed the landmark law establishing Medicare and Medicaid. These programs have helped save lives, but now they are under partisan attack and need protection. President Trump and Congressional Republicans enacted a law to kick millions of hardworking people off their health insurance under Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act, denying them coverage when they need it most,” said Senator Reed. “While billionaires get a bigger tax break, average Americans will be forced to pay more for health care and so will states. Democrats are offering a bill to reverse that trend, and expand access to health care. I am pleased to join my colleagues in introducing legislation to repeal the Medicaid cuts in the ‘Big Ugly Betrayal’ law and extend the Affordable Care Act’s enhanced tax credits so every American has access to affordable, cost-effective health insurance that meets their needs.”

    Studies show that people without health insurance are more likely to delay or forgo the care they need, which often leads to worse health outcomes that are more expensive in the long run. Hospitals will also face higher costs because federal law requires them to provide emergency care to patients who can’t afford it.

    While billionaires and millionaires reap trillions of dollars from the Trump tax bill, young workers will no longer have access to the enhanced premium tax credits that helped them afford health insurance under the ACA. Those credits made ACA health coverage more affordable for roughly 22 million Americans by lowering monthly premiums an average of $705 annually, according to KFF. Congressional Republicans refused to extend those credits, which are now set to expire at the start of 2026, and could force millions of Americans to be hit with higher health insurance premiums.

    The Providence Journal reported: “An additional 40,000 will see their insurance premiums balloon by an average of 85% when tax credits that expanded Obamacare coverage expire at the end of 2025, leading to more Rhode Islanders uninsured or underinsured.”

    In addition to taking away people’s health care, the Republican tax law makes massive cuts to nutrition assistance and other critical programs that Rhode Islanders rely on in order to provide a larger tax windfall for the ultra-wealthy. According to the Providence Journal, the Trump tax and budget law means: “An estimated 144,000 Rhode Islanders losing some form of SNAP benefits, according to the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities. More than two-thirds of SNAP recipients are children, the elderly or people with disabilities.” The budget package cuts federal SNAP funding by 20 percent through 2034 — the largest cut in SNAP history. Rhode Island could be required to contribute more than $51 million annually in state cost-share for benefits, which have always been fully federally funded.

    The law also jeopardizes clean energy jobs in Rhode Island by phasing out clean energy and energy efficiency tax credits and incentives that were passed in the Inflation Reduction Act.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: July 30th, 2025 Heinrich Votes Against Advancing Trump’s Nominees for DOI and DOE

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for New Mexico Martin Heinrich

    WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, voted no on the nominations of Lanny Erdos to be the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) Director of the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Audrey Robertson to be the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Assistant Secretary of Energy for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, and Timothy Walsh to be DOE Assistant Secretary of Energy for Environmental Management, citing Trump’s nominees’ history of ignoring the will of Congress.

    VIDEO: Ranking Member Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) votes no on Trump Administration DOI and DOE nominees during a hearing on the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, July 30, 2025.

    Explaining his no votes to Trump’s nominees, Ranking Member Heinrich blasted previous nominees’ promises to respect the will of Congress during hearings, “then, after they are confirmed, they have withheld funds that we have appropriated, they have canceled programs that we have established, they have closed offices that we have created, and they pursued policies that we have never approved.”

    A video of Heinrich’s opening remarks is here.

    A transcript of Heinrich’s remarks as delivered is below:

    Turning now to today’s agenda item, let me simply say that, under the first Trump Administration, I would have been able to support all three of these nominees.

    But we have had nominee after nominee come before this Committee and assure us that they would follow the law and respect the will of Congress.

    Then, after they are confirmed, they have withheld funds that we have appropriated, they have canceled programs that we have established, they have closed offices that we have created, and they pursued policies that we have never approved.

    Until this Administration respects the will of Congress, I am unable to support its nominees, and I will vote no on all three as a result.

    Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: On 60th Anniversary of Medicare & Medicaid, Reed Seeks to Repeal Health Care Cuts in Trump’s ‘Big, Ugly Betrayal’

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Rhode Island Jack Reed

    WASHINGTON, DC – Today, on the 60th anniversary of the Medicare and Medicaid programs, U.S. Senator Jack Reed joined Democratic colleagues in introducing new legislation to repeal the health care cuts in President Donald Trump and Republicans’ ‘Big, Ugly Betrayal’ tax and budget law and permanently extend the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) enhanced tax credits, which expire at the end of the year.

    The sweeping billionaires-first tax law, which Senator Reed strongly opposed, was passed using a legislative process known as reconciliation that only required a 50 vote majority to pass. The law includes nearly $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts over the next decade, with Rhode Island projected to lose $4 billion in federal Medicaid funding over that timeframe, according to projections from experts at health policy organization KFF.

    Nationwide, Trump’s law will result in an estimated 15 million people losing their health insurance under Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act. It will have significant repercussions for many health clinics, hospitals, patients, seniors and nursing homes.

    “Sixty years ago, President Johnson signed the landmark law establishing Medicare and Medicaid. These programs have helped save lives, but now they are under partisan attack and need protection. President Trump and Congressional Republicans enacted a law to kick millions of hardworking people off their health insurance under Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act, denying them coverage when they need it most,” said Senator Reed. “While billionaires get a bigger tax break, average Americans will be forced to pay more for health care and so will states. Democrats are offering a bill to reverse that trend, and expand access to health care. I am pleased to join my colleagues in introducing legislation to repeal the Medicaid cuts in the ‘Big Ugly Betrayal’ law and extend the Affordable Care Act’s enhanced tax credits so every American has access to affordable, cost-effective health insurance that meets their needs.”

    Studies show that people without health insurance are more likely to delay or forgo the care they need, which often leads to worse health outcomes that are more expensive in the long run. Hospitals will also face higher costs because federal law requires them to provide emergency care to patients who can’t afford it.

    While billionaires and millionaires reap trillions of dollars from the Trump tax bill, young workers will no longer have access to the enhanced premium tax credits that helped them afford health insurance under the ACA. Those credits made ACA health coverage more affordable for roughly 22 million Americans by lowering monthly premiums an average of $705 annually, according to KFF. Congressional Republicans refused to extend those credits, which are now set to expire at the start of 2026, and could force millions of Americans to be hit with higher health insurance premiums.

    The Providence Journal reported: “An additional 40,000 will see their insurance premiums balloon by an average of 85% when tax credits that expanded Obamacare coverage expire at the end of 2025, leading to more Rhode Islanders uninsured or underinsured.”

    In addition to taking away people’s health care, the Republican tax law makes massive cuts to nutrition assistance and other critical programs that Rhode Islanders rely on in order to provide a larger tax windfall for the ultra-wealthy. According to the Providence Journal, the Trump tax and budget law means: “An estimated 144,000 Rhode Islanders losing some form of SNAP benefits, according to the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities. More than two-thirds of SNAP recipients are children, the elderly or people with disabilities.” The budget package cuts federal SNAP funding by 20 percent through 2034 — the largest cut in SNAP history. Rhode Island could be required to contribute more than $51 million annually in state cost-share for benefits, which have always been fully federally funded.

    The law also jeopardizes clean energy jobs in Rhode Island by phasing out clean energy and energy efficiency tax credits and incentives that were passed in the Inflation Reduction Act.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: July 30th, 2025 Heinrich Votes Against Advancing Trump’s Nominees for DOI and DOE

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for New Mexico Martin Heinrich

    WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, voted no on the nominations of Lanny Erdos to be the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) Director of the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Audrey Robertson to be the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Assistant Secretary of Energy for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, and Timothy Walsh to be DOE Assistant Secretary of Energy for Environmental Management, citing Trump’s nominees’ history of ignoring the will of Congress.

    VIDEO: Ranking Member Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) votes no on Trump Administration DOI and DOE nominees during a hearing on the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, July 30, 2025.

    Explaining his no votes to Trump’s nominees, Ranking Member Heinrich blasted previous nominees’ promises to respect the will of Congress during hearings, “then, after they are confirmed, they have withheld funds that we have appropriated, they have canceled programs that we have established, they have closed offices that we have created, and they pursued policies that we have never approved.”

    A video of Heinrich’s opening remarks is here.

    A transcript of Heinrich’s remarks as delivered is below:

    Turning now to today’s agenda item, let me simply say that, under the first Trump Administration, I would have been able to support all three of these nominees.

    But we have had nominee after nominee come before this Committee and assure us that they would follow the law and respect the will of Congress.

    Then, after they are confirmed, they have withheld funds that we have appropriated, they have canceled programs that we have established, they have closed offices that we have created, and they pursued policies that we have never approved.

    Until this Administration respects the will of Congress, I am unable to support its nominees, and I will vote no on all three as a result.

    Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Grassley Helps Reinstate FBI Whistleblower, Delivers Keynote Address During National Whistleblower Appreciation Day

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Iowa Chuck Grassley

    WASHINGTON – At the National Whistleblower Day celebration on Capitol Hill Wednesday, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) announced he has succeeded in reinstating Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) whistleblower Michael DeBey’s clearance and employment with the agency. This is the sixth whistleblower Grassley has successfully restored so far this year.

    During his remarks, Grassley also spoke about his work to support patriotic whistleblowers and the important role they play in rooting out waste, fraud and abuse. Grassley is the co-founder and co-chair of the Whistleblower Protection Caucus.

    Remarks by Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa
    “Whistleblower Appreciation Day”
    Wednesday, July 30, 2025

    It’s an honor to be among patriots here today.

    Today, nobody will be treated like a skunk at a picnic.

    Whistleblowers too often get the short end of the stick for simply telling the truth.

    Instead, whistleblowers ought to be recognized for what they are: patriots and the government’s most powerful tool to root out waste, fraud, and abuse.

    So, I’m proud to have introduced the National Whistleblower Appreciation Day resolution for the 12th year in a row.

    Throughout my career, I’ve fought for whistleblowers.

    I’m committed to ensuring that federal agencies treat whistleblowers fairly and are held accountable for retaliating against them.

    That goes for both Republican and Democratic administrations.

    When I first was elected to the Senate in 1981, I worked with brave whistleblowers like Ernie Fitzgerald.

    Ernie was fired in 1968 by President Nixon for blowing the whistle on waste and fraud in Defense Department contracts.

    I worked to pass laws to eliminate fraud that whistleblowers like Ernie told me about.

    Now, because of this work, I passed the False Claims Amendment Act in 1986.

    It’s helped recover more than $78 billion in fraud so far, and prevented countless billions more.

    My “anti-gag” provision also became law. It’s an important sword and shield to protect whistleblowers.

    Far too often, federal agencies tried to silence or intimidate whistleblowers through nondisclosure agreements.

    My anti-gag provision is designed to put a stop to that.

    I also championed laws and legislation to expand whistleblower protections for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

    This Congress, I introduced much needed legislation to strengthen whistleblower protections for FBI employees.

    But just because we’ve introduced legislation and passed good laws doesn’t mean we can stop paying attention.

    I’ve worked hard to ensure individuals who retaliate against whistleblowers are held accountable. I’ve also pushed federal agencies to do right by whistleblowers.

    IRS whistleblowers Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler made legally protected disclosures about government misconduct.

    They were retaliated against and sidelined from doing their job.

    This year, at my urging, they were taken out of the shadows of retaliation and were promoted by the Treasury Department.

    I also pushed the Department of Homeland Security Secretary to end the seven-year nightmare for Customs and Border Protection whistleblowers Mark Jones, Mike Taylor and Fred Wynn.

    These brave whistleblowers faced years of retaliation for blowing the whistle on the government’s failure to collect DNA at the border.

    At my urging, this year the Department of Homeland Security promoted them and restored their law enforcement credentials.

    So, they got their guns and badges back to do their job.

    I’ve also worked to restore the security clearances of FBI employees who had them suspended or revoked.

    These FBI employees were retaliated against and, as we all know, the FBI’s illegal power move is to take away security clearances.

    And it’s not just government whistleblowers who are important.

    I’ve introduced legislation to protect private sector whistleblowers from retaliation for exposing waste, fraud, abuse and misconduct.

    I’m the lead cosponsor of the bipartisan Expanding Whistleblower Protections for Contractors Act.

    That bill increases whistleblower protections for employees of federal contractors and subcontractors.

    I also introduced the bipartisan Securities and Exchange Commission Whistleblower Reform Act of 2025.

    The bill protects corporate whistleblowers who report violations to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

    Additionally, I’m proud to have introduced the bipartisan Artificial Intelligence Whistleblower Protection Act.

    That bill is designed to increase transparency and provide whistleblower protections to employees who work in the Artificial Intelligence field.

    But like I said, there’s still a lot of work to be done.

    The task of supporting whistleblowers doesn’t start and stop with this day or depend on who’s in the White House.

    If you make legally protected disclosures, you’re a whistleblower and ought to be protected from retaliation.

    This administration has said Mr. Reuvini isn’t a whistleblower.

    I’ve publicly disagreed.

    The other two people who came forward about Mr. Bove are also whistleblowers.

    Here’s my message to all whistleblowers in this room: just because I may disagree with the conclusions in a whistleblower disclosure, it doesn’t mean that I don’t support a whistleblower’s right to come forward.

    And regardless of the content of the disclosure, every whistleblower must be protected from retaliation.

    That’s why last week, I wrote President Trump about the importance of protecting whistleblowers from retaliation.

    As this administration reduces the federal workforce, it must ensure terminations aren’t done because a protected disclosure was made. This administration, just like all the rest, has an obligation to comply with whistleblower laws.

    In my letter, I also reminded President Trump of my outstanding request that he hold a Rose Garden Ceremony for whistleblowers.

    I’ve asked every president since Ronald Reagan to have a Rose Garden ceremony honoring whistleblowers.

    I’m not giving up on that request just like I’m not giving up on any of you.

    Whistleblowers are some of the bravest people out there. It takes guts to stick your neck out and report misconduct.

    All of you here have put your careers, livelihoods and reputations on the line in service to our great country.

    God Bless you for your service and sacrifices.

    I’ll continue to fight for you.

    -30-

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Grassley Helps Reinstate FBI Whistleblower, Delivers Keynote Address During National Whistleblower Appreciation Day

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Iowa Chuck Grassley

    WASHINGTON – At the National Whistleblower Day celebration on Capitol Hill Wednesday, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) announced he has succeeded in reinstating Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) whistleblower Michael DeBey’s clearance and employment with the agency. This is the sixth whistleblower Grassley has successfully restored so far this year.

    During his remarks, Grassley also spoke about his work to support patriotic whistleblowers and the important role they play in rooting out waste, fraud and abuse. Grassley is the co-founder and co-chair of the Whistleblower Protection Caucus.

    Remarks by Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa
    “Whistleblower Appreciation Day”
    Wednesday, July 30, 2025

    It’s an honor to be among patriots here today.

    Today, nobody will be treated like a skunk at a picnic.

    Whistleblowers too often get the short end of the stick for simply telling the truth.

    Instead, whistleblowers ought to be recognized for what they are: patriots and the government’s most powerful tool to root out waste, fraud, and abuse.

    So, I’m proud to have introduced the National Whistleblower Appreciation Day resolution for the 12th year in a row.

    Throughout my career, I’ve fought for whistleblowers.

    I’m committed to ensuring that federal agencies treat whistleblowers fairly and are held accountable for retaliating against them.

    That goes for both Republican and Democratic administrations.

    When I first was elected to the Senate in 1981, I worked with brave whistleblowers like Ernie Fitzgerald.

    Ernie was fired in 1968 by President Nixon for blowing the whistle on waste and fraud in Defense Department contracts.

    I worked to pass laws to eliminate fraud that whistleblowers like Ernie told me about.

    Now, because of this work, I passed the False Claims Amendment Act in 1986.

    It’s helped recover more than $78 billion in fraud so far, and prevented countless billions more.

    My “anti-gag” provision also became law. It’s an important sword and shield to protect whistleblowers.

    Far too often, federal agencies tried to silence or intimidate whistleblowers through nondisclosure agreements.

    My anti-gag provision is designed to put a stop to that.

    I also championed laws and legislation to expand whistleblower protections for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

    This Congress, I introduced much needed legislation to strengthen whistleblower protections for FBI employees.

    But just because we’ve introduced legislation and passed good laws doesn’t mean we can stop paying attention.

    I’ve worked hard to ensure individuals who retaliate against whistleblowers are held accountable. I’ve also pushed federal agencies to do right by whistleblowers.

    IRS whistleblowers Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler made legally protected disclosures about government misconduct.

    They were retaliated against and sidelined from doing their job.

    This year, at my urging, they were taken out of the shadows of retaliation and were promoted by the Treasury Department.

    I also pushed the Department of Homeland Security Secretary to end the seven-year nightmare for Customs and Border Protection whistleblowers Mark Jones, Mike Taylor and Fred Wynn.

    These brave whistleblowers faced years of retaliation for blowing the whistle on the government’s failure to collect DNA at the border.

    At my urging, this year the Department of Homeland Security promoted them and restored their law enforcement credentials.

    So, they got their guns and badges back to do their job.

    I’ve also worked to restore the security clearances of FBI employees who had them suspended or revoked.

    These FBI employees were retaliated against and, as we all know, the FBI’s illegal power move is to take away security clearances.

    And it’s not just government whistleblowers who are important.

    I’ve introduced legislation to protect private sector whistleblowers from retaliation for exposing waste, fraud, abuse and misconduct.

    I’m the lead cosponsor of the bipartisan Expanding Whistleblower Protections for Contractors Act.

    That bill increases whistleblower protections for employees of federal contractors and subcontractors.

    I also introduced the bipartisan Securities and Exchange Commission Whistleblower Reform Act of 2025.

    The bill protects corporate whistleblowers who report violations to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

    Additionally, I’m proud to have introduced the bipartisan Artificial Intelligence Whistleblower Protection Act.

    That bill is designed to increase transparency and provide whistleblower protections to employees who work in the Artificial Intelligence field.

    But like I said, there’s still a lot of work to be done.

    The task of supporting whistleblowers doesn’t start and stop with this day or depend on who’s in the White House.

    If you make legally protected disclosures, you’re a whistleblower and ought to be protected from retaliation.

    This administration has said Mr. Reuvini isn’t a whistleblower.

    I’ve publicly disagreed.

    The other two people who came forward about Mr. Bove are also whistleblowers.

    Here’s my message to all whistleblowers in this room: just because I may disagree with the conclusions in a whistleblower disclosure, it doesn’t mean that I don’t support a whistleblower’s right to come forward.

    And regardless of the content of the disclosure, every whistleblower must be protected from retaliation.

    That’s why last week, I wrote President Trump about the importance of protecting whistleblowers from retaliation.

    As this administration reduces the federal workforce, it must ensure terminations aren’t done because a protected disclosure was made. This administration, just like all the rest, has an obligation to comply with whistleblower laws.

    In my letter, I also reminded President Trump of my outstanding request that he hold a Rose Garden Ceremony for whistleblowers.

    I’ve asked every president since Ronald Reagan to have a Rose Garden ceremony honoring whistleblowers.

    I’m not giving up on that request just like I’m not giving up on any of you.

    Whistleblowers are some of the bravest people out there. It takes guts to stick your neck out and report misconduct.

    All of you here have put your careers, livelihoods and reputations on the line in service to our great country.

    God Bless you for your service and sacrifices.

    I’ll continue to fight for you.

    -30-

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Ministers welcome new FBI office in Wellington

    Source: New Zealand Government

    The FBI’s upgrade of its Wellington office demonstrates the strength of the Five Eyes partnership and enhances the safety and security of New Zealanders, the Minister Responsible for the GCSB and NZSIS Judith Collins and Police Minister Mark Mitchell say.

    The Ministers met with FBI Director Kash Patel, who officially opened the new Wellington office at the US Embassy earlier today and installed a permanent Legat position. 

    “We exchanged a range of insights on areas such as trans-national organised crime, counter-terrorism, cyber-security and espionage,” Ms Collins says.

    “NZSIS and GCSB relationships with overseas partners like the FBI, as well as their support to New Zealand Police, are an important part of how the intelligence agencies deliver on their mission to keep New Zealand safe and secure.”   

    Mr Mitchell says Director Patel’s visit should send a clear message to criminals whose offending causes harm in our communities, wherever they are, that they cannot hide behind an international border.

    “New Zealand Police are continually working with their overseas counterparts like the FBI to catch those engaged in illegal, harmful activities such as drug smuggling and online child exploitation, as well disrupting and preventing this offending from happening in the first place,” he says.

    “Police are part of a global effort on law enforcement. Director Patel’s visit was an excellent opportunity to share our common concerns while reinforcing the importance of New Zealand and the US working together to protect our citizens.”

    Director Patel is the most senior member of the US administration to visit New Zealand since the start of President Trump’s second term in office.

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Sens. Markey and Slotkin, Rep. Strickland Introduce Legislation to Boost Funding for Research on Gun Violence Prevention

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Massachusetts Ed Markey

    Bill Text (PDF)

    Washington (July 30, 2025) – Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), a member of the Gun Violence Prevention Caucus, along with Senator Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) and Representative Marilyn Strickland (WA-10), reintroduced the Gun Violence Prevention Research Act, legislation that would dedicate $50 million each year for the next five years for gun violence prevention research at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

    This legislation arrives at a critical time. After a decades-long prohibition on the CDC’s ability to conduct gun violence prevention research, Congress began to secure $25 million annually for this research in Fiscal Year 2020. However, the Trump administration has effectively dismantled gun violence prevention efforts, decimating the staff at the CDC responsible for this critical research and terminating $158 million—more than half—of federal funding for gun violence prevention programs at the Department of Justice. The Gun Violence Prevention Research Act would help ensure we have the tools to stem the scourge of gun violence in our communities.

    “Stopping the spread of our nation’s gun violence epidemic requires action on the reforms we know are essential and effective,” said Senator Markey. “We must invest more to study the root causes of violence and develop evidence-based solutions. This legislation would allow our nation’s top medical, scientific, and public health researchers to conduct studies that would save lives. It is critical that we chart a path out of this public health crisis.”

    “Gun violence is a uniquely American crisis that continues to impact communities across Michigan and our country,” said Senator Slotkin. “As the first Member of Congress to have two mass shootings in my former House district—Oxford High School and Michigan State University—I’ve seen first-hand the devasting toll gun violence has on our communities. As elected officials, our most basic responsibility is to protect our children from the things that are truly harming them. We must treat this epidemic like the national security threat that it is. And that means using every tool in the toolbox. Let’s get this bill across the finish line.”

    “Make no mistake: gun violence is preventable. Republicans actively choose to watch children, mothers, fathers, and Americans gunned down in deference to the gun lobby,” said Representative Strickland. “We must root out the gun violence crisis in our nation. This legislation will simply treat gun violence as the public health crisis it is, and allow us to research it so we can take steps toward saving lives.”

    Cosponsors of the Gun Violence Prevention Research Act include Senators Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), Angus King (I-Maine), Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), John Fetterman (D-Penn.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Richard Durbin (D-Ill.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), and Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.).

    The Gun Violence Prevention Research Act is endorsed by Brady, Everytown, March For Our Lives, and Giffords.

    In June 2025, Senator Markey reintroduced five gun violence prevention bills, including the 3D Printed Gun Safety Act, Keeping Gun Dealers Honest Act, Gun Violence Prevention Through Financial Intelligence Act, Making America Safe and Secure (MASS) Act, and Protecting Kids from Gun Marketing Act. This package of bills would significantly decrease the pervasive threat of gun violence across the United States by putting an end to the three-dimensional (3D) printing and distribution of “ghost guns,” strengthen accountability measures for irresponsible gun dealers, help banks detect and report suspicious activity related to mass shootings, establish rules that prohibit the marketing of firearms to children, and strengthen state-by-state gun-licensing regulations through federal incentives.

    In April 2025, Senator Markey and Representative Dwight Evans (PA-03) introduced the Resources for Victims of Gun Violence Act, legislation that would help all victims of gun violence—from survivors to their loved ones, coworkers, and classmates—identify and access resources to help meet medical, legal, financial, and other needs.

    Senator Markey first introduced the Gun Violence Prevention Research Act in 2023.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: B. Netanyahu to present Gaza annexation plan in case Hamas refuses deal – media

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –

    An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

    Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News

    JERUSALEM, July 29 (Xinhua) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to present a plan to annex part of the Gaza Strip to the country’s security cabinet, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported on Monday evening.

    According to her, B. Netanyahu told the ministers that Israel gave Hamas several days to agree on a ceasefire. If it refuses the agreement, Israel will begin to gradually annex parts of the Gaza Strip until the Palestinian movement surrenders, the prime minister added.

    The article notes that B. Netanyahu has chosen this course of action in order to secure the support of the far-right Religious Zionism party, which opposes both the ceasefire and increased humanitarian aid to Gaza. Keeping this party in the coalition is crucial to preventing the collapse of the current government.

    According to media reports, Religious Zionism leader and cabinet member Bezalel Smotrich told his associates that the party is pushing a “good strategic move” and it will soon become clear whether it will be successful.

    Haaretz writes that during his conversations with ministers, B. Netanyahu stated that his plan was approved by the administration of US President Donald Trump.

    Also on Monday, the Prime Minister’s Office said Israel would continue to work with international organizations, as well as the United States and European countries, to ensure that large amounts of humanitarian aid reach the Gaza Strip. “While the situation in Gaza remains difficult and Israel works to ensure that aid reaches the Strip, Hamas is benefiting from attempts to create the impression of a humanitarian crisis,” the office said. -0-

    Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source of the information. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

    .

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • Thailand-Cambodia border calm as military-level talks postponed

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    The Thailand–Cambodia border, where fighting has raged since last week, was calm on Tuesday following a ceasefire deal and military commanders from both sides are set to meet for talks later in the day, acting Thai Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai said.

    Phumtham and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet met in Malaysia on Monday and agreed to halt their deadliest conflict in more than a decade following five days of intense fighting that killed at least 38 people, mostly civilians, and displaced over 300,000.

    The Thai army said in a statement there had been attacks by Cambodian troops in at least five locations early on Tuesday, violating the ceasefire that had come into effect from midnight, and Thailand‘s military had retaliated proportionately.

    Phumtham played down the clashes, and said he had spoken with Cambodia‘s defence minister ahead of the talks between military commanders.

    “There is no escalation,” Phumtham told reporters. “Right now things are calm.”

    Thai military officials in two areas had met with their Cambodian counterparts, but commanders along the stretch of the frontier that has seen the heaviest fighting during the conflict were yet to hold talks, Thai army spokesman Major Gen. Winthai Suvaree said in a statement.

    The parley had been scheduled for 10 a.m. local time (0300 GMT), but it was postponed and no new time had yet been set, he added.

    Maly Socheata, a spokesperson for the Cambodian Defence Ministry, said at a briefing on Tuesday that there had been no new fighting along the border.

    Vehicular traffic and daily activity resumed in the Kantharalak district of Thailand‘s Sisaket province on Tuesday, about 30 km (20 miles) from the frontlines, where Thai and Cambodian troops remain amassed.

    Cars and motorbikes returned to the streets, which had been largely empty since the border clashes began on Thursday, with military vehicles among civilian traffic.

    Chaiya Phumjaroen, 51, said he returned to town to reopen his shop early on Tuesday, after hearing of the ceasefire deal on the news.

    “I am very happy that a ceasefire happened,” he said. “If they continue to fight, we have no opportunity to make money.”

     

    TALKS AND TRADE

    The Southeast Asian neighbours have wrangled for decades over their disputed frontier and have been on a conflict footing since the killing of a Cambodian soldier in a skirmish late in May, which led to a troop buildup on both sides and a full-blown diplomatic crisis.

    Monday’s peace talks came after a sustained push by Malaysian Premier Anwar Ibrahim and U.S. President Donald Trump, with the latter warning Thai and Cambodian leaders that trade negotiations would not progress if fighting continued.

    Thailand and Cambodia face a tariff of 36% on their goods in the U.S., their biggest export market, unless a reduction can be negotiated. After the ceasefire deal was reached, Trump said he had spoken to both leaders and had instructed his trade team to restart tariff talks.

    Pichai Chunhavajira, Thailand‘s finance minister, said on Tuesday that trade talks with Washington are expected to be concluded before August 1, and that U.S. tariffs on the country are not expected to be as high as 36%.

    (Reuters)

  • Trump says he is not seeking summit with Xi, but may visit China

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he was not seeking a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, but added that he may visit China at Xi’s invitation, which Trump said had been extended.

    “I may go to China, but it would only be at the invitation of President Xi, which has been extended. Otherwise, no interest!,” Trump said on Truth Social.

    Aides to Trump and Xi have discussed a potential meeting between the leaders during a trip by the U.S. president to Asia later this year, sources previously told Reuters.

    A trip would be the first face-to-face encounter between the men since Trump’s second term in office, at a time when trade and security tensions between the two superpower rivals remain elevated.

    While plans for a meeting have not been finalized, discussions on both sides of the Pacific have included a possible Trump stopover around the time of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in South Korea or talks on the sidelines of the October 30-November 1 event, the people said.

    The third round of U.S.-China trade talks taking place in Stockholm this week may lay the groundwork ahead of a leaders’ summit in the autumn, analysts say.

    A new flare-up of tariffs and export controls would likely impact any plans for a meeting with Xi.

    (Reuters)

  • Trump says many are starving in Gaza, vows to set up food centres

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday many people were starving in Gaza and suggested Israel could do more on humanitarian access, as Palestinians struggled to feed their children a day after Israel declared steps to improve supplies.

    As the death toll from two years of war in Gaza nears 60,000, a growing number of people are dying from starvation and malnutrition, Gaza health authorities say, with images of starving children shocking the world and fuelling international criticism of Israel over sharply worsening conditions.

    Describing starvation in Gaza as real, Trump’s assessment put him at odds with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said on Sunday “there is no starvation in Gaza” and vowed to fight on against the Palestinian militant group Hamas – a statement he reposted on X on Monday.

    However, Netanyahu later on Monday described the situation in Gaza as “difficult”, saying his country was working to ensure aid delivery to the besieged strip.

    “Israel will continue to work with international agencies as well as the U.S. and European nations to ensure that large amounts of humanitarian aid flows into the Gaza Strip,” Netanyahu said, according to a statement from his office.

    Trump, speaking during a visit to Scotland, said Israel has a lot of responsibility for aid flows, and that a lot of people could be saved. “You have a lot of starving people,” he said.

    “We’re going to set up food centres,” with no fences or boundaries to ease access, Trump said. The U.S. would work with other countries to provide more humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza, including food and sanitation, he said.

    A White House spokesperson said additional details on the food centres would be “forthcoming.”

    ‘WHEN YOU GO TO BED HUNGRY, YOU WAKE UP HUNGRY’

    On Monday, the Gaza health ministry said at least 14 people had died in the past 24 hours of starvation and malnutrition, bringing the war’s death toll from hunger to 147, including 88 children, most in just the last few weeks.

    Israel announced several measures over the weekend, including daily humanitarian pauses to fighting in three areas of Gaza, new safe corridors for aid convoys, and airdrops. The decision followed the collapse of ceasefire talks on Friday.

    Wessal Nabil from Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza described the struggle of trying to feed her three children. “When you go to bed hungry, you wake up hungry. We distract them with anything … to make them calm down,” she told Reuters.

    “I call on the world, on those with merciful hearts, the compassionate, to look at us with compassion, to be kind to us, to stand with us until aid comes in and ensure it reaches us.”

    Two Israeli defence officials said the international pressure prompted the new Israeli measures, as did the worsening conditions on the ground.

    U.N. agencies said a long-term and steady supply of aid was needed. The World Food Programme said 60 trucks of aid had been dispatched – short of target. Almost 470,000 people in Gaza are enduring famine-like conditions, with 90,000 women and children in need of specialist nutrition treatments, it said.

    “Our target at the moment, every day is to get 100 trucks into Gaza,” WFP Regional Director for the Middle East, North Africa and Eastern Europe, Samer AbdelJaber, told Reuters.

    Jan Egeland, head of the Norwegian Refugee Council, told Reuters the situation is catastrophic.

    “At this time, children are dying every single day from starvation, from preventable disease. So time has run out.”

    Netanyahu has denied any policy of starvation towards Gaza, saying aid supplies would be kept up whether Israel was negotiating a ceasefire or fighting.

    A spokesperson for COGAT, the Israeli military aid coordination agency, said Israel had not placed a time limit on the humanitarian pauses in its military operation, a day after U.N. aid chief Tom Fletcher said Israel had decided “to support a one-week scale-up of aid”.

    “We hope this pause will last much longer than a week, ultimately turning into a permanent ceasefire,” Fletcher’s spokesperson, Eri Kaneko, said on Monday.

    Netanyahu’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

    Compared to last week, U.N. spokesperson Farhan Haq said, there had only been a “small uptick” in the amount of aid being transported into Gaza since Israel started the humanitarian pauses.

    TRUMP SAYS HAMAS DIFFICULT TO DEAL WITH

    In his statement on Sunday, Netanyahu said Israel would continue to fight until it achieved the release of remaining hostages held by Hamas and the destruction of its military and governing capabilities.

    Trump said Hamas had become difficult to deal with in recent days, but he was talking with Netanyahu about “various plans” to free hostages still held in the enclave.

    The war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas militants attacked communities across the border in southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people and taking another 251 hostage, according to Israeli tallies.

    The Gaza health ministry said that 98 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire in the past 24 hours.

    Some of the trucks that made it into Gaza were seized by desperate Palestinians, and some by armed looters, witnesses said.

    The Hamas-run Gaza government said only 87 aid trucks entered the Gaza Strip on Monday, with the majority of trucks looted due to what it described as “direct and systematic Israeli complicity”.

    “Currently aid comes for the strong who can race ahead, who can push others and grab a box or a sack of flour. That chaos must be stopped and protection for those trucks must be allowed,” said Emad, 58, who used to own a factory in Gaza City.

    The WFP said it has 170,000 metric tons of food in the region, outside Gaza, which would be enough to feed the whole population for the next three months if it gets the clearance to bring into the enclave.

    COGAT said more than 120 truckloads of aid were distributed in Gaza on Sunday by the U.N. and international organizations.

    More aid was expected on Monday. Qatar said it had sent 49 trucks that arrived in Egypt en route for Gaza. Jordan and the United Arab Emirates airdropped supplies.

    Israel cut off aid to Gaza from the start of March in what it said was a means to pressure Hamas into giving up dozens of hostages it still holds, and reopened aid with new restrictions in May. Hamas accuses Israel of using hunger as a weapon.

    Israel says it abides by international law but must prevent aid from being diverted by militants, and blames Hamas for the suffering of Gaza’s people.

    (Reuters)

  • MIL-Evening Report: Air-dropping food into Gaza is a ‘smokescreen’ – this is what must be done to prevent mass starvation

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amra Lee, PhD candidate in Protection of Civilians, Australian National University

    Israel partially lifted its aid blockade of Gaza this week in response to intensifying international pressure over the man-made famine in the devastated coastal strip.

    The United Arab Emirates and Jordan airdropped 25 tonnes of food and humanitarian supplies on Sunday. Israel has further announced daily pauses in its military strikes on Gaza and the opening of humanitarian corridors to facilitate UN aid deliveries.

    Israel reports it has permitted 70 trucks per day into the strip since May 19. This is well below the 500–600 trucks required per day, according to the United Nations.

    The UN emergency relief chief, Tom Fletcher, has characterised the next few days as “make or break” for humanitarian agencies trying to reach more than two million Gazans facing “famine-like conditions”.

    A third of Gazans have gone without food for several days and 90,000 women and children now require urgent care for acute malnutrition. Local health authorities have reported 147 deaths from starvation so far, 80% of whom are children.

    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has claimed – without any evidence – “there is no starvation in Gaza”. This claim has been rejected by world leaders, including Netanyahu ally US President Donald Trump.

    Famine expert Alex de Waal has called the famine in Gaza without precedent:

    […] there’s no case of such minutely engineered, closely monitored, precisely designed mass starvation of a population as is happening in Gaza today.

    While the UN has welcomed the partial lifting of the blockade, the current aid being allowed into Gaza will not be enough to avert a wider catastrophe, due to the severity and depth of hunger in Gaza and the health needs of the people.

    According to the UN World Food Programme, which has enough food stockpiled to feed all of Gaza for three months, only one thing will work:

    An agreed ceasefire is the only way to reach everyone.

    Airdrops a ‘distraction and a smokescreen’

    Air-dropping food supplies is considered a last resort due to the undignified and unsafe manner in which the aid is delivered.

    The UN has already reported civilians being injured when packages have fallen on tents.

    The Global Protection Cluster, a network of non-governmental organisations and UN agencies, shared a story from a mother in Al Karama, east of Gaza City, whose home was hit by an airdropped pallet, causing the roof to collapse:

    Immediately following the impact, a group of people armed with knives rushed towards the house, while the mother locked herself and her children in the remaining room to protect her family. They did not receive any assistance and are fearful for their safety.

    Air-dropped pallets of food are also inefficient compared with what can be delivered by road.

    One truck can carry up to 20 tonnes of supplies. Trucks can also reach Gaza quickly if they are allowed to cross at the scale required. Aid agencies have repeatedly said they have the necessary aid and personnel sitting just one hour away at the border.

    Given how ineffective the air drops have been – and will continue to be – the head of the UN Relief Works Agency (UNRWA) for Palestine has called them a “distraction” and a “smokescreen”.

    Malnourished women and children need specialised care

    De Waal has also made clear how starvation differs from other war crimes – it takes weeks of denying aid for starvation to take hold.

    For the 90,000 acutely malnourished women and children who require specialised and supplementary feeding, in addition to medical care, the type of food being air-dropped into Gaza will not help them. Malnourished children require nutritional screening and access to fortified pastes and baby food.

    Gaza’s decimated health system is also not able to treat severely malnourished women and children, who are at risk of “refeeding syndrome” when they are provided with nutrients again. This can trigger a fatal metabolic response.

    Gaza will take generations to heal from the long-term impacts of mass starvation. Malnourished children suffer lifelong cognitive and physical effects that can then be passed on to future generations.

    What needs to happen now

    The UN has characterised the limited reopening of aid deliveries to Gaza as a potential “lifeline”, if it’s upheld and expanded.

    According to Ciaran Donnelly from the International Rescue Committee, what’s needed is “tragically simple”: Israel must fully open the Gaza borders to allow aid and humanitarian personnel to flood in.

    Israel must also guarantee safe conditions for the dignified distribution of aid that reaches everyone, including women, children, the elderly and people with disabilities. The level of hunger and insecurity mean these groups are at high risk of exclusion.

    The people of Gaza have the world’s attention – for now. They have endured increasingly dehumanising conditions – including the risk of being shot trying to access aid – under the cover of war for more than 21 months.

    Two leading Israeli human rights organisations have just publicly called Israel’s war on Gaza “a genocide”. This builds on mounting evidence compiled by the UN and other experts that supports the same conclusion, triggering the duty under international law for all states to act to prevent genocide.

    These obligations require more than words – states must exercise their full diplomatic leverage to pressure Israel to let aid in at the scale required to avert famine. States must also pressure Israel to extend its military pauses into the only durable solution – a permanent ceasefire.

    Amra Lee 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. Air-dropping food into Gaza is a ‘smokescreen’ – this is what must be done to prevent mass starvation – https://theconversation.com/air-dropping-food-into-gaza-is-a-smokescreen-this-is-what-must-be-done-to-prevent-mass-starvation-262053

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –