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Category: Trumpism

  • MIL-OSI USA: Warner, Kaine, Colleagues Press Trump Administration for Answers and Demand Reversal of Termination of Temporary Protected Status for Afghans Living in the U.S.

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Virginia Tim Kaine
    WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, (both D-VA) joined nearly 100 of their congressional colleagues in pressing the Departments of Homeland Security (DHS) and State regarding the Trump Administration’s decision to terminate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Afghan nationals living in the United States. Following the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, nearly 200,000 Afghans came to the U.S. From 2018 to 2022, nearly 20,000 of these individuals settled in Virginia—the most of any state after California.
    In the letter sent to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the lawmakers noted the thousands of lives this decision could endanger—particularly the lives of many Afghans who supported the U.S. efforts during the war in Afghanistan and face significant danger upon their return to Afghanistan. The lawmakers also urged the Trump Administration to reverse course and continue TPS for Afghans.
    “We write with deep concern about the Department of Homeland Security’s termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Afghanistan, which is scheduled to take effect on July 14, 2025. This decision is devastating for resettled Afghan nationals in the United States who have fled widespread violence, economic instability, challenging humanitarian conditions, and human rights abuses in their home country,” the lawmakers wrote. “Many of these Afghans fearlessly served as strong allies to the United States military during the war in Afghanistan, and we cannot blatantly disregard their service. We respectfully ask that you redesignate Afghanistan for TPS to ensure Afghan nationals in the U.S. are not forced to return to devastating humanitarian, civic, and economic conditions.”
    The lawmakers continued, “The Secretary of Homeland Security ‘may designate a foreign country for TPS due to conditions in the country that temporarily prevent the country’s nationals from returning safely, or in certain circumstances, where the country is unable to handle the return of its nationals adequately.’  This is why, following the withdrawal of American troops and the return of the Taliban to power in Afghanistan, in May 2022 the U.S. designated Afghanistan for TPS.”
    “The grave conditions that forced Afghan nationals to flee and seek refuge in the U.S. following the return of the Taliban to power remain. Because of this harsh reality, forcing Afghan nationals in the U.S. to return to Afghanistan would be reckless and inhumane, and would threaten the safety and well-being of thousands of individuals and families, especially women and girls,” the lawmakers stressed.
    The lawmakers closed the letter requesting the following information:
    Please provide any reports that credibly determine that conditions have improved in Afghanistan since 2023. 
    The TPS termination announcement stated that “there are recipients who have been under investigation for fraud and threatening our public safety and national security.” Please provide additional details on how the Administration made this determination and how widespread these allegations of fraud and threats are.
    Describe the collaboration with the Department of Homeland Security and Department of State to reach the determination that Afghanistan no longer meets the conditions for designation for TPS.
    Please provide any reports that indicate the Taliban is no longer a threat to Afghan nationals that assisted the United States military during the war in Afghanistan.
    What steps are you taking to ensure that Afghan nationals who previously had TPS will not be sent back to persecution or torture in Afghanistan?
    In addition to Warner and Kaine, the letter was signed by U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Chris Coons (D-DE), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Dick Durbin (D-IL), John Fetterman (D-PA), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Angus King (I-ME), Ed Markey (D-MA), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Jack Reed (D-RI), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Tina Smith (D-MN), Rev. Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Peter Welch (D-VT), and Ron Wyden (D-OR). The letter is signed by 72 members of the U.S. House of Representatives.
    A copy of the letter is available here and below.
    Dear Secretary Noem and Secretary Rubio:
    We write with deep concern about the Department of Homeland Security’s termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Afghanistan, which is scheduled to take effect on July 14, 2025. This decision is devastating for resettled Afghan nationals in the United States who have fled widespread violence, economic instability, challenging humanitarian conditions, and human rights abuses in their home country. Many of these Afghans fearlessly served as strong allies to the United States military during the war in Afghanistan, and we cannot blatantly disregard their service. We respectfully ask that you redesignate Afghanistan for TPS to ensure Afghan nationals in the U.S. are not forced to return to devastating humanitarian, civic, and economic conditions.
    The Secretary of Homeland Security “may designate a foreign country for TPS due to conditions in the country that temporarily prevent the country’s nationals from returning safely, or in certain circumstances, where the country is unable to handle the return of its nationals adequately.”  This is why, following the withdrawal of American troops and the return of the Taliban to power in Afghanistan, in May 2022 the U.S. designated Afghanistan for TPS.  In September 2023, the U.S. extended and redesignated TPS for Afghanistan. The Administration’s decision to terminate TPS for Afghanistan negatively impacts approximately 9,000 Afghan nationals.
    In your announcement, you state that “there are notable improvements in the security and economic situation such that requiring the return of Afghan nationals to Afghanistan does not pose a threat to their personal safety due to armed conflict or extraordinary and temporary conditions.”  But you also concede that threats of violence and terrorism, as well as humanitarian concerns, remain.  The Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP), the Afghan affiliate of the Islamic State (ISIS), continues to launch attacks against ethnic and religious minorities and against the Taliban, leading to innocent civilian casualties. If Afghan nationals are forced to return to Afghanistan, they will be caught in the crossfire between the Taliban and ISKP.  According to Human Rights Watch, in 2024, Taliban authorities intensified their crackdown on human rights, especially against women and girls. Women and girls are banned from attending secondary school or university and are unable to move freely. The Taliban also continues to detain and torture journalists, curtailing free speech and media. The 2023 U.S. State Department Human Rights Report covering Afghanistan found that women’s rights rapidly declined and restrictions on freedom of expression increased. The horrific human rights conditions in Afghanistan are unsafe for Afghan nationals to return to and returning would put their personal safety at immediate risk.
    We are also deeply concerned about the State Department Human Rights Report finding that widespread arbitrary and unlawful killings against officials associated with the pre-August 2021 government have occurred.  Afghan nationals who assisted the U.S. military should not be put in harm’s way because they supported the U.S. in its fight against the Taliban. This would be a betrayal of those who bravely served alongside our servicemembers for nearly two decades.
    Afghan civilians still face devastating humanitarian and economic conditions. Over half of the population in Afghanistan needs urgent humanitarian assistance. Human Rights Watch reports that in 2024, 12.4 million people were facing food insecurity and 2.9 million were at emergency levels of hunger.  The World Bank also found that in Afghanistan, as of May 2025, “per capita income has stagnated, while poverty and food insecurity remain pressing challenges, exacerbated by high unemployment and restrictions on women’s economic participation.” 
    The grave conditions that forced Afghan nationals to flee and seek refuge in the U.S. following the return of the Taliban to power remain. Because of this harsh reality, forcing Afghan nationals in the U.S. to return to Afghanistan would be reckless and inhumane, and would threaten the safety and well-being of thousands of individuals and families, especially women and girls.
    In August 2021, Americans welcomed Afghan nationals at Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia with open arms, and we refuse to turn our backs on them now.  We strongly urge you to reconsider your decision to terminate TPS for Afghanistan and ask that you respond to the following requests no later than two weeks of receipt of this letter:
    Please provide any reports that credibly determine that conditions have improved in Afghanistan since 2023. 
    The TPS termination announcement stated that “there are recipients who have been under investigation for fraud and threatening our public safety and national security.” Please provide additional details on how the Administration made this determination and how widespread these allegations of fraud and threats are.
    Describe the collaboration with the Department of Homeland Security and Department of State to reach the determination that Afghanistan no longer meets the conditions for designation for TPS.
    Please provide any reports that indicate the Taliban is no longer a threat to Afghan nationals that assisted the United States military during the war in Afghanistan.
    What steps are you taking to ensure that Afghan nationals who previously had TPS will not be sent back to persecution or torture in Afghanistan?
    Thank you for your attention to this urgent matter and we hope to receive your responses soon.
    Sincerely,

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Padilla, Schiff Blast Trump Admin’s Plan to Gut California High-Speed Rail Funding

    US Senate News:

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

    Padilla, Schiff Blast Trump Admin’s Plan to Gut California High-Speed Rail Funding

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senators Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff (both D-Calif.) released the following joint statement after Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy announced his plan to terminate billions of dollars of previously-allocated federal funding to the California High-Speed Rail Project: 
    “In Donald Trump’s corrupt world, there’s no need for high-speed rail when you can accept a $400 million jet from a foreign government. But for the millions of Californians left to pick up the tab for Trump’s reckless trade wars and rising costs of living, today’s announcement is devastating. 
    “High-speed rail is the future of transportation — with the potential to bring customers to new businesses, businesses to new employees, and to connect communities hundreds of miles away with affordable and faster transit. The fact is that the California High-Speed Rail Project is already the most audited public works project in the country. Rather than advance the progress being made in the Central Valley, Secretary Duffy has used a review process to appease President Trump and punish Californians who didn’t vote for him. We’ll keep fighting every partisan, self-defeating policy of this Administration as we build infrastructure fit for the 21st century.”
    Last year, Senators Padilla and Schiff and their California Congressional colleagues urged former Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg to approve the California High-Speed Rail Authority’s grant application for $536 million in federal funds. Padilla previously supported the Department of Transportation’s announcement of $3.1 billion for the California High-Speed Rail Authority, as well as over $200 million for the agency from the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements Grant Program. Padilla and the late Senator Dianne Feinstein previously announced $25 million for the Authority’s Merced Extension Design Project through the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) discretionary grant program.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Shaheen Grills Secretary Lutnick on Impacts of Damaging Steel Tariff on Granite State Businesses, Defense Supply Chain

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for New Hampshire Jeanne Shaheen

    (Washington, NH) – U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), a senior member of the U.S. Senate Appropriations and Small Business Committees, today questioned U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick during a Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee hearing examining the U.S. Department of Commerce’s budget request. During the hearing, Shaheen grilled Secretary Lutnick on President Trump’s damaging steel tariffs – which were recently doubled – and drew attention to the impacts on New Hampshire businesses and the nation’s defense supply chain. You can watch the Senator’s full remarks and questions here.

    “Last month I visited a New Hampshire company that makes ball bearings for the aerospace industry. And I agree we should be protecting the aerospace industry in this country. It’s our biggest export in New Hampshire – aerospace parts. They were very concerned about the impact of the steel tariffs on their ability to get ball bearings. They said not only has their costs gone up, but the lead time to get the steel to make the bearings. They only have one domestic supplier. While they had suppliers in the Indo-Pacific and in Canada, those have been eliminated under the tariffs. They said that their lead times have gone from 20 weeks to two and a half years because of the tariffs. I think this creates a real challenge with respect to our national security. A good percentage of the work they do is with the Department of Defense,” Shaheen said of the impacts tariffs are having on a Granite State manufacturer.

    Secretary Lutnick dismissed Senator Shaheen’s concerns about rising costs for small businesses.

    Shaheen also raised concerns over Secretary Lutnick’s plans to eliminate the Manufacturing Extension Partnership whose Centers provide access to expert advisors and technological services that help grow the U.S. manufacturing base, reduce operating costs, develop new technology and jobs and compete on a global scale. Shaheen noted that in Fiscal Year 2023, every dollar of federal investment in the program generated $24.60 in new sales growth and $27.50 in new client investment.

    Senator Shaheen is helping lead efforts in Congress to mitigate the harmful impacts of President Trump’s tariffs. In January, Shaheen introduced the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes on Imported Goods Act which would limit the president’s ability to leverage sweeping tariffs that increase costs for American consumers and families. Her effort to pass this bill by unanimous consent was blocked by Senate Republicans. In recent months, Shaheen has traveled across the Granite State to visit businesses including Chatila’s Bakery, C&J, DCI Furniture, Mount Cabot Maple, American Calan Inc., NH Ball Bearings and Colby Footwear. to hear directly from Granite Staters impacted by the administration’s tariffs. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Cassidy Releases Statement After Another Great Meeting with President Trump

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Louisiana Bill Cassidy

    WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) today releases a statement after President Trump invited him for another productive meeting along with other members of the U.S. Senate Finance Committee. The group discussed President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill.
    “There was very good conversation with President Trump about the One Big Beautiful Bill. The goal is to develop a bill that preserves the American Dream and keeps taxes low. The President and I want to eliminate tax on tips, stop illegal immigration, and develop American resources. I look forward to continuing the process while working to put Louisiana in the best position to benefit,” said Dr. Cassidy.
    In March, Cassidy met with President Trump at the White House to discuss reconciliation priorities. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Nadler Statement on Reauthorization of SUPPORT Act Amid Trump Administration Sabotage and House Republican Complicity

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Jerrold Nadler (10th District of New York)

    WASHINGTON, DC –  Today, Congressman Jerrold Nadler (NY-12) released the following statement after voting in favor of the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Reauthorization Act:

    “Today, I voted in favor of the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Reauthorization Act, which reauthorizes vital prevention, treatment, and recovery programs that tackle our nation’s opioid crisis, substance use disorders, and pressing mental health needs. Since the SUPPORT Act became law in 2018, these programs have undeniably saved lives, and our commitment to this work must continue.

    However, we cannot overlook the alarming context surrounding this vote. The Trump Administration is actively and unlawfully working to dismantle the very agency responsible for executing the programs we have just reauthorized. They have recklessly terminated hundreds of experienced employees, shut down critical offices established by Congress, and withdrawn over $1 billion that was previously allocated to state and local behavioral health initiatives. This has severely undermined essential prevention, treatment, and recovery efforts across the nation. Moreover, the Administration’s proposed budget only exacerbates this crisis, threatening to eliminate nearly all the programs outlined in the SUPPORT Act.

    In a disgraceful display of hypocrisy, House Republicans have chosen to be complicit in this dismantling rather than doing anything to stand against it. Reauthorizing these programs on paper amounts to nothing if we permit the infrastructure that supports them to be obliterated. Just weeks ago, House Republicans passed the largest Medicaid cut in our nation’s history, targeting a program that provides care for 40 percent of Americans grappling with opioid use disorder. These Medicaid reductions will deprive millions of lifesaving treatment, all to fund massive tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans at the expense of vulnerable individuals fighting substance use disorders. Voting to reauthorize programs while allowing their infrastructure to be dismantled is simply unacceptable.

    Republicans must finally stand up to the Trump Administration and take decisive action to halt its reckless dismantling of our nation’s support systems. Anything less would render the SUPPORT Act meaningless. Americans facing mental health and addiction crises deserve genuine leadership and steadfast support, not empty rhetoric and political games.”

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Chairman Capito Releases EPW Budget Reconciliation Text

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for West Virginia Shelley Moore Capito

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, released legislative text within the EPW Committee’s jurisdiction to be considered as part of Senate Republicans’ budget reconciliation bill.

    “This legislative text puts in motion plans that Senate Republicans pledged to take, like stopping Democrats’ natural gas tax and rescinding unobligated dollars from the so-called Inflation Reduction Act. I look forward to working with my colleagues to move our legislative package forward to enact President Trump’s agenda, which the American people overwhelmingly support,” Chairman Capito said.

    • Click HERE to view text.
    • Click HERE to view a section-by-section.
    • Click HERE to view a one-pager.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Senator Marshall Joins RFD-TV to Discuss Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act, MAHA, and the ‘One Big, Beautiful Bill’

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Kansas Roger Marshall

    Washington – U.S. Senator Roger Marshall, M.D. (R-Kansas) joined Market Day Report on RFD-TV today to highlight the Senate Agriculture Committee advancing his legislation, the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act, which will put whole milk back in schools. He detailed the next steps to get the bill across the finish line and to President Trump’s desk.
    The Senator also discussed the recent Make America Healthy Again Commission report and President Trump’s ‘One Big, Beautiful Bill.’

    [embedded content]

    Click HERE or on the image above to watch Senator Marshall’s full interview.
    On the importance of the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act:
    Senator Marshall: “This is so important to me, to my family. My dad grew up on a dairy [farm] where every day for 25 years, they milk cows twice a day. And some of your listeners know exactly what that’s like, but milk is the most nutritious drink known to mankind, and for whatever reason, the federal government took whole milk out of our schools over a decade ago.
    “Because of that, we have a generation of young adults now whose bones will never reach their peak mass. We’re going to have an epidemic of osteoporosis and osteopenia. Look, whole milk just tastes better. So we need to focus on the quality of the nutrition as opposed to just the calorie count. And again, milk [is] the most nutritious drink known to mankind.”
    On the next steps for the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act:
    Senator Marshall: “I think very easily we could go to the Senate floor and ask unanimous consent, and as long as not one senator stands up objects to it, we’ll get it across the Senate floor. Hopefully, they can do a similar effort over on the House side and get it to the President’s desk. So we’ll do our very best to give the President a win here.”
    On the MAHA Commission report:
    Senator Marshall: “As you look at that MAHA commission report, I didn’t write it, but certainly I agree with the same goals that they have, that we want healthy, nutritious food out there for everybody, a special emphasis on children…
    “My emphasis is soil health. Soil health is where agriculture meets healthy food. Healthy soil means healthy food. And so many of our farmers are out there doing regenerative agriculture. They’ve been doing it for decades. We’ve got to share what we’ve been doing. You know, you showed a little aerial report of a person using drones to grow more with less to grow more. Instead of blanketing that field with the fungicide, they were able to spot-spray it.
    “… Regenerative agriculture, healthy soil, what that means to me is, number one is using no-till farming, coming back and using the least amount of fertilizers, pesticides. That means precision agriculture. It means putting a cover crop on and then grazing cattle over it, maybe bringing in some manure from the local dairy or the local feedlot as well, and then measuring the quality of that soil as well, and showing our customers out there… they’re who is driving this, I’m not driving this, the MAHA moms out there that are driving this, and I know that American agriculture is doing incredible jobs in this area, and they but they need to be reimbursed for it, because it’s expensive to undertake all these efforts.”
    On the hurdles President Trump’s ‘One Big, Beautiful Bill’ may face:
    Senator Marshall: “Well, there’s always hurdles. We have 53 Republican senators and 53 opinions. But it’s important for your listeners to know why this is so important to them. This will take care of the reference price issues on the title one, funding, and open the doors for us to be able to get the Farm Bill across the finish line. 
    “From the business tax perspective on this, we’re going to take care of permanently, the 199a, which your listeners will be excited about, as well as the R and D deduction, capital appreciation, bonus depreciation as well, and writing off their interest expenses. So all those are important to every one of your listeners and making those permanent will be so, so important to the financial viability of the future farmers of America.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Tillis Helps Secure Helene Recovery Funding for North Carolina

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for North Carolina Thom Tillis

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senator Thom Tillis applauded the U.S. Economic Development Administration’s (EDA) announcement of its Fiscal Year 2025 Disaster Supplemental Notice of Funding Opportunity, which allocates approximately $1.45 billion in federal funding for disaster-impacted communities, including those in Western North Carolina affected by Helene. 

    “This critical EDA funding will help ensure that communities in Western North Carolina still reeling from the impacts of Helene have the resources they need to recover and rebuild stronger than before,” said Senator Tillis. “I remain fully committed to making sure North Carolina receives its fair share of this funding and that Western North Carolina is made whole again.” 

    The announcement follows a bipartisan letter led by Senator Tillis and members of North Carolina’s congressional delegation to the Trump Administration urging the U.S. Economic Development Administration to issue a Notice of Funding Opportunity as quickly as possible. 

    Background:

    Senator Tillis has been pushing for federal assistance for Western North Carolina since the moment Helene made landfall.

    On October 1, 2024, Senator Tillis led a bipartisan letter to Senate Appropriations Chair Patty Murray (D-WA) and Vice Chair Susan Collins (R-ME) on the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene and the urgent need to pass an appropriations package to support the millions of Americans affected by the storm.  

    On October 16, 2024, Senator Tillis led a bipartisan group of senators in urging the White House to rapidly submit a government funding request to Congress that will fully cover costs associated with clean-up and recovery following Hurricanes Helene and Milton so that affected communities could begin to heal. The Senators called for Congress to return to Washington from the October in-state work period to approve federal disaster relief legislation. 

    On October 23, 2024, The Hill published an op-ed by Senator Tillis addressed to members of Congress to step up and be proactive with long-term disaster recovery assistance.   

    On October 29, 2024, Senator Tillis and his colleagues announced plans to introduce legislation that would replenish the Small Business Administration (SBA) Disaster Loan Program with families and small businesses across WNC unable to get loans approved until then. The Senators outlined their plan to seek passage of the legislation when Congress returned to session.

    On November 14, 2024, Senator Tillis attempted to pass legislation to replenish the SBA Disaster Loan Program through a unanimous consent request on the Senate floor, but was blocked by another Senator. 

    On November 15, 2024, Senator Tillis led a bipartisan letter to request that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) immediately send a supplemental appropriation request to Congress to support the communities we represent, which were devastated after Hurricanes Helene and Milton. The OMB sent the request to Congress a few days later.

    On November 18, 2024, Senator Tillis introduced the standalone RELIEF Act to provide Hurricane relief to small businesses impacted by Hurricane Helene.  

    On November 20, 2024, Senator Tillis called on Congress to quickly pass Hurricane Helene relief during his testimony to the Senate Appropriations Committee.  

    On November 21, 2024, Senator Tillis met with Governor Cooper, Governor-Elect Stein, members of the North Carolina Congressional Delegation and the North Carolina General Assembly, and local leaders from Western North Carolina to discuss efforts to provide federal assistance to North Carolinians affected by the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene. 

    On December 5, 2024, Senator Tillis joined Fox News’ Your World with Neil Cavuto where he discussed the urgent need for Congress to provide federal assistance to North Carolinians affected by the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene.  

    On December 10, 2024, Senator Tillis hosted N.C. Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger, N.C. House of Representatives Speaker-elect Destin Hall, State Senators Bill Rabon and Ralph Hise, and State Representative Dudley Greene to discuss efforts to provide immediate assistance to North Carolinians affected by Hurricane Helene’s devastation.   

    On December 18, 2024, Senator Tillis committed to filibustering any continuing resolution that did not include disaster aid for Western North Carolina. 

    On December 21, 2024, Senator Tillis voted to pass a bipartisan government funding bill that included more than $100 billion in disaster relief for states and communities hit by natural disasters, including North Carolina during Hurricane Helene.

    On January 7, 2025 Senator Tillis announced $1.65 billion in Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds to help rebuild communities devastated by Hurricane Helene.  

    On January 24, 2025, Senator Tillis released a statement thanking President Trump for his visit to Western North Carolina to survey the devastation left behind by Helene. 

    On January 31, 2025, Senator Tillis introduced the Disaster Mitigation and Tax Parity Act of 2025, legislation that excludes from gross income, for income tax purposes, any qualified catastrophe mitigation payment made under a state-based catastrophe loss mitigation program. 

    On March 11, 2025 Senator Tillis reintroduced the Disaster Assistance Simplification Act, bipartisan legislation to simplify the application process for federal disaster recovery assistance. 

    On April 1, 2025 Senator Tillis sent a letter urging U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins to work with Congress to quickly distribute the more than $23 billion Congress passed in December to assist farmers, ranchers and rural Americans in responding to devastating natural disasters in 2023 and 2024.

    On April 3, 2025 Senator Tillis (R-NC) introduced the FEMA Independence Act, bipartisan legislation to restore the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as an independent cabinet-level agency and improve efficiency in federal emergency response efforts. 

    On April 24, 2025 Senator Tillis introduced the Helene Recovery Small Business Act and the Loans in Our Neighborhoods (LIONs) Act of 2025, legislation that would provide much-needed relief to small businesses as they work to recover from the devastation of Helene.

    In addition to Senator Tillis’ legislative efforts the Senator has met with local leaders, residents, and elected officials across Western North Carolina including in: Asheville, Black Mountain, Boone, Burnsville, Canton, Clyde, Fairview, Flat Rock, Hendersonville, Hot Springs, Marshall, Morganton, Spruce Pine, Swannanoa, Waynesville and Wilkesboro.   

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Luján, Whitehouse, Durbin, Blumenthal, Coons Question DOJ Decision to Shutter Specialized Unit for Cracking Down on Transnational Crime

    US Senate News:

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

    The Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces program has helped arrest fentanyl traffickers, seize hundreds of tons of narcotics, and confiscate billions in dirty money

    Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), and Chris Coons (D-Del.) sent a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi questioning the Department of Justice’s plan to end the successful Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) program. 

    “As the Department’s website notes, OCDETF ‘is the centerpiece of the Attorney General’s strategy to combat transnational-organized crime and to reduce the availability of illicit narcotics in the nation.’ OCDETF oversees coordination of thousands of federal, state, and local law enforcement officials to implement a national strategy to dismantle transnational drug cartels, the financial networks that support them, and the flow of drugs from these cartels into the United States,” wrote the senators.

    The OCDETF program is the largest anti-crime task force in the country. In just the past two months, OCDETF program resources have been used to secure prison sentences for two individuals operating a clandestine fentanyl lab in South Carolina and to take down three prolific Chinese money launderers who pleaded guilty to laundering tens of millions of dollars in drug proceeds. Many OCDETF investigations target the cartels’ financial networks, an often-overlooked component of the U.S. strategy to combat drug-trafficking organizations. In Fiscal Year 2023, OCDETF investigations resulted in forfeitures and seizures totaling more than $423 million. 

    Reporting from Bloomberg in May revealed that the Trump Administration plans to eliminate the OCDETF program, including its support for specialized investigators and prosecutors, in a move that would kneecap America’s ability to dismantle cartels trafficking illicit fentanyl. 

    “We seek to fully understand the Department’s plans to cease OCDETF operations.  We also seek to ensure that the federal government continues to have a coordinated strategy for working with state and local stakeholders to investigate and hold accountable transnational criminal organizations operating in, or financing the operations of organizations that operate in, the United States,” added the senators.

    The senators requested answers to the following questions by June 13, 2025:

    1. How many cases has OCDETF led, or supported with funds, intelligence, or other resources, that disrupted fentanyl traffickers’ production, distribution, financing, or money laundering networks?
    1. Does the Department intend to cease or significantly reduce OCDETF operations?  If so, please specify how.
    1. If the Department intends to cease or significantly reduce OCDETF operations:
    1. Why is the Department choosing to cease or significantly reduce OCDETF operations?
    1. How will the Department ensure that ongoing OCDETF investigations and prosecutions continue uninterrupted?
    1. According to GAO, “OCDETF cases must have a financial component” to facilitate the targeting of financial networks underpinning drug trafficking organizations.  How will the Department ensure that OCDETF-enabled inter-agency coordination on investigations into the financial networks of fentanyl traffickers and transnational criminal organizations continues uninterrupted?
    1. How will the Department ensure that federal, state, and local law enforcement relying on OCDETF’s Fusion Center intelligence products are not hampered by a cessation or reduction of OCDETF operations? 
    1. Does the Department intend to designate another entity to coordinate investigations and prosecutions of transnational criminal organizations, unrelated to low-level offenders?  If so, which entity?

    The text of the letter is below and a PDF is available here.

    Dear Attorney General Bondi:

    We write to request information on the Department of Justice’s plans to terminate its Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) program.  On May 5, 2025, Bloomberg reported that DOJ has begun the process of “closing down” OCDETF and “zeroing” out its budget in Fiscal Year (FY) 2026.

    As the Department’s website notes, OCDETF “is the centerpiece of the Attorney General’s strategy to combat transnational-organized crime and to reduce the availability of illicit narcotics in the nation.”  OCDETF oversees coordination of thousands of federal, state, and local law enforcement officials to implement a national strategy to dismantle transnational drug cartels, the financial networks that support them, and the flow of drugs from these cartels into the United States.  By leveraging resources from its participating and partner agencies, OCDETF can pursue investigations into the highest-level criminal actors behind these drug crime networks.

    OCDETF’s intelligence products and insights enhance the capacity of federal, state, and local law enforcement.  In FY 2023, OCDETF Fusion Center analysts disseminated 4,141 intelligence products to 36,693 law enforcement personnel across the country.  These resources buoy state and local agencies that may otherwise lack the expertise or funds to launch longer, more complex investigations. 

    According to DEA, “since OCDETF’s inception tens of thousands of arrests have been made and hundreds of tons of narcotics and billions in currency, real property, and conveyances have all been seized.”  And as the Department of Justice noted upon the 40th anniversary of President Reagan’s establishment of OCDETF, “[s]ome of the department’s most notable successes against drug cartels have resulted from OCDETF coordinated investigations and prosecutions.”  These successes include “taking down the powerful Colombian cartels of the 1980s, the notorious and violent Mexican cartels . . . in the 1990s; and the methamphetamine, heroin, fentanyl and opioid threats from all over the world in the last two decades.”

    OCDETF investigations continue to deliver.  This month, DOJ announced that “three members of a prolific Chinese money laundering organizations plead[ed] guilty to laundering tens of millions of dollars in drug proceeds.”  In April, DEA reported that two individuals operating a clandestine fentanyl lab in South Carolina “were each sentenced to 15 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl.”  OCDETF resources were used for both cases.     

    Many OCDETF-supported investigations that result in financial forfeitures or seizures channel money into government funds, which can be used to pay for the expenses associated with forfeiture operations, as well as certain investigative costs.  In FY 2023, closed OCDETF investigations resulted in forfeitures and seizures totaling $423.1 million.  These benefits are in addition to money judgments resulting from ODCETF investigations, which ranged between $125 million to over $750 million from FY 2019 to FY 2023. 

    We seek to fully understand the Department’s plans to cease OCDETF operations.  We also seek to ensure that the federal government continues to have a coordinated strategy for working with state and local stakeholders to investigate and hold accountable transnational criminal organizations operating in, or financing the operations of organizations that operate in, the United States.  Thus, we request that you provide answers to the following questions.

    1. How many cases has OCDETF led, or supported with funds, intelligence, or other resources, that disrupted fentanyl traffickers’ production, distribution, financing, or money laundering networks?
    1. Does the Department intend to cease or significantly reduce OCDETF operations?  If so, please specify how.
    1. If the Department intends to cease or significantly reduce OCDETF operations:
    1. Why is the Department choosing to cease or significantly reduce OCDETF operations?
    1. How will the Department ensure that ongoing OCDETF investigations and prosecutions continue uninterrupted?
    1. According to GAO, “OCDETF cases must have a financial component” to facilitate the targeting of financial networks underpinning drug trafficking organizations.  How will the Department ensure that OCDETF-enabled inter-agency coordination on investigations into the financial networks of fentanyl traffickers and transnational criminal organizations continues uninterrupted?
    1. How will the Department ensure that federal, state, and local law enforcement relying on OCDETF’s Fusion Center intelligence products are not hampered by a cessation or reduction of OCDETF operations? 
    1. Does the Department intend to designate another entity to coordinate investigations and prosecutions of transnational criminal organizations, unrelated to low-level offenders?  If so, which entity?

    Please provide your response to our questions no later than June 13, 2025.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Representative Smith statement on SUPPORT Act

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Adam Smith (9th District of Washington)

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Representative Rep. Smith (D – Wash.) released the following statement regarding the SUPPORT Act, which passed the U.S. House of Representatives today.
     
    “Today I voted for the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Reauthorization Act of 2025, which would renew funding for drug prevention and treatment programs, as well as key mental health initiatives, and behavioral health care programs.

    “Improving our response to mental and behavioral health is a key priority of mine. This bill has historically provided a bipartisan investment in addressing these issues. I am glad to support the authorization of important disorder treatment programs and opioid response grants.

    “Unfortunately, this historically bipartisan bill is being knee-capped by an Executive Branch that has unlawfully gutted the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) which would be responsible for running these vital programs. The Administration is also preparing to eliminate 40 different mental health and substance use programs, including eight programs reauthorized by the SUPPORT Act.

    “It is incredibly hypocritical of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to vote for this bill while maintaining ardent support for the cutting of SAMHSA and other programs by the “Big Ugly Bill” and the Trump Administration.

    “Congress must take the problems of mental and behavioral health care seriously. I urge all who also vote “yea” on this bill to also take a long, hard look at the proposed cuts to SAMHSA and HHS from the Trump Administration. This bill could do important things to address substance use disorders, the opioid crisis, and our mental and behavioral health care crisis, if only the Trump Administration would faithfully implement it.” 

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Durbin Meets With Three Federal Judges To Discuss Judicial Security

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Illinois Dick Durbin

    June 04, 2025

    WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, released the following statement after discussing judicial security with Judge Beth Bloom of the Southern District of Florida, Judge Mark Norris of the Western District of Tennessee, and Judge Esther Salas of the District of New Jersey, whose son was murdered at the family’s home by a former litigant who posed as a deliveryman:

    “President Trump is openly threatening judges with over-the-top rhetoric and even calling for their impeachment for ruling against him. Just as bad: Republicans seem to be keeping quiet about—or even enabling—his threats. If President Obama or President Biden had said these things, Republicans would’ve thrown a fit.

    “Americans are welcome to disagree with judicial decisions on the merits, but we must all agree that we cannot undermine our Constitution by allowing threats to the officers of our judicial branch in an attempt to weaken it.

    “Judges Salas, Bloom, and Norris are helping to shed light on the threats faced by our judges in a heightened political environment, and I thank them for having the courage to speak about their experiences and carry on the legacy of Judge Salas’s son Daniel.”

    New reporting found that USMS has seen a spike in threats against federal judges, including 197 federal judges threatened between March 1 and May 27 of this year. One report identified more than 600 posts on social media and right-leaning message boards since February targeting family members of judges who ruled against the Trump Administration—with the posts viewed more than 200 million times. Another report described federal judges and their family members receiving anonymous deliveries to their homes intended to show that those seeking to intimidate the targeted judge know the judge’s address or their family members’ addresses. Some of these deliveries were made using the name of Judge Salas’s son.

    The spike in threats coincides with escalating, threatening language by President Trump and his allies, including calls for impeaching judges who don’t rule in the President’s favor.

    Durbin has urged Attorney General Bondi and FBI Director Patel to investigate the ongoing and increasing threats against federal judges. Durbin asked for a response by May 20, but has yet to receive one.

    In 2023, the Daniel Anderl Judicial Security and Privacy Act was signed into law as part of the National Defense Authorization Act. The legislation provided additional intelligence analysts and deputy Marshals to the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) and allowed judges to remove sensitive personal information from government websites and private publications.

    -30-

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Tonko Slams Republicans’ Hypocrisy in Protecting Addiction & Mental Health

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Paul Tonko (Capital Region New York)

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Addiction, Treatment, and Recovery (ATR) Caucus Co-Chair, Congressman Paul D. Tonko, spoke on the House floor today to call out Republicans for failing to respond to Trump administration attacks on addiction and mental health resources.

    Tonko’s speech came ahead of the vote on the bipartisan Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment (SUPPORT) for Patients and Communities Reauthorization Act. Tonko decried the hypocrisy of Republicans in bringing up this bill to pay lip service to the mental health and addiction crises while at the same time enabling the Trump administration to make devastating cuts to the very programs, services, and staff the SUPPORT Act needs to function, including decimating the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

    Earlier this year, Tonko held a virtual press conference with ten former SAMHSA employees who were fired as a result of cuts from this administration. Participants spoke about the detrimental impact that these cuts will have on addressing mental health, and ensuring access to substance use disorder treatment, services, prevention and recovery.
    Tonko’s full remarks can be viewed HERE or read below as prepared for delivery.

     

    SAMHSA’s stated mission is to lead public health and service delivery efforts that promote mental health, prevent substance misuse, and provide treatments and supports to foster recovery while ensuring access and better outcomes for all.

     

    It is not an exaggeration to say that the public servants at SAMHSA work every day to prevent overdoses and suicides and save lives.

     

    As a longtime champion for behavioral health parity and access to treatment and as Co-Chair of the Congressional Addiction Treatment and Recovery Caucus, bipartisan in nature, there have been a few questions on my mind.

     

    For instance, how many public servants need to be fired at SAMHSA before we say enough?

     

    How many suicide prevention trainings need to be cancelled before Republicans can speak out?

     

    How many lifesaving naloxone trainings need to be cancelled for Republicans to say something… say anything?

     

    How many lives need to be lost before Republicans tell the Trump Administration to stop the decimation of SAMHSA?

     

    I have other questions too, simple ones like how many people work at SAMHSA currently? What divisions have no staff left at all? What programs have they had to cut in local communities?

     

    In February, following the firing of probationary employees, I started asking these questions and since the firing of nearly 50 percent of SAMHSA’s staff I have continued asking those questions.

     

    To date I have gotten zero answers. Zero.

     

    Currently, we have lost 50 percent of SAMHSA staff and it’s not HHS or the Trump administration who shared that with Congress.

     

    We only have confirmation that SAMHSA lost half its staff from the press and from the former SAMHSA employees.

     

    That is unacceptable.

     

    As a Congress if we say we care about behavioral health, then we should be ashamed that we are okay not knowing this. For four months we have been asking questions and instead of answers we have even more concerning questions.

     

    I shared with our Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman that as the committee that has jurisdiction over SAMHSA, how do we not have these answers?

     

    This affects every community in the country and our first action should be finding out these answers. If the administration refuses to come in, then let’s bring in the fired employees.

     

    These people are some of the most dedicated public servants who did this work for all the right reasons and they served an incredible need. On behalf of all Americans, I thank all of the fired SAMHSA employees for their service to our nation. You deserved better. And frankly all Americans deserve better.

     

    Our loved ones should have access to effective addiction treatment, prevention and recovery support and behavioral health support and services. 

     

    The recent actions of this Trump Administration are betraying the goal of access to behavioral health treatment and support.

     

    RFK and Donald Trump have proposed to eliminate SAMHSA as an independent agency, burying it in the so-called “Administration for a Healthy America or AHA”

     

    Let’s remember that the whole reason Congress moved SAMHSA into an independent agency was to ensure that behavioral health was prioritized despite the longstanding stigma.


    Instead, AHA would take us back to the time that behavioral health is tucked away in another agency and deprioritized.

     

    When the agency is gutted, the programs and the mission suffers, and ultimately, the individuals we are trying to help with their mental health and substance use struggles will simply not get the support they need.

     

    People will die.

     

    I beg my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, let’s reverse course. We have an obligation to protect SAMHSA’s mission and all of our constituents who SAMHSA serves.

     

    Like many of my colleagues, I support the programs in this package; but it’s completely disingenuous and frankly outrageous that Republicans are here today trying to pat themselves on the back as doing something meaningful for those struggling with addiction while the entire agency we are authorizing programs for is being dismantled – the people doing the work we are authorizing have all been fired – and the Administration is proposing even more draconian cuts for mental health and substance use programs in the 2026 budget.

     

    Give me a break. 

     

    It’s like we’re trying to heal a bullet wound with a band aid.


    So I’m regrettably going to have to vote no and would respectfully ask my Republican colleagues to pause today’s vote and instead focus our intention on responding to the actual crisis at SAMHSA.

     

    Let’s stop this performance and instead let’s do the right thing and walk out right now and meet, make calls and work together to stop this madness. Let’s actually do something to meet this moment before it’s too late and we no longer have an agency focused on behavioral health.

     

    This is a truly a performative vote if Republicans are too scared to say anything when the agency is being decimated and the mission is on the line but they want to go home and say they voted for SUPPORT.


    But they won’t mention that it will never be implemented because the funding and staff are gone. 

     

    Let’s return to my initial question: how many lives need to be lost before Republicans tell the Trump Administration to stop the decimation of SAMHSA?

     

    If Republicans go forward with this vote today while staying silent as this administration takes the chainsaw to SAMHSA then it’s clear that they are willing to let SAMHSA lose all capacity to serve its mission to save lives.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Ranking Member Hoyer Opening Remarks at FSGG Hearing on the Office of Management and Budget

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Steny H Hoyer (MD-05)

    WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (MD-05), Ranking Member of the Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) Appropriations Subcommittee, delivered opening remarks at the FSGG hearing with Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russell Vought. Below is a video and transcript of his remarks:

    Click here to watch a full video of his remarks.

    “Mr. Chairman. Mr. Director. Candidly, Director Vought, I think your agenda is a danger to our country, our Constitution, our people, and one that marginalizes the Congress and Article I to establish an imperial presidency. That’s exactly the opposite of what our founders had in mind.

    “What this administration has done under your direction mirrors what you did during Trump’s first term, what you wrote in your Project 2025 chapter, and what you said in a ‘23 speech – 2023 – to members of the MAGA right. You had it quoted to you many times – as you probably know, I represent over 70,000 federal employees – a highly offensive statement: ‘We want the bureaucrats,’ which is so often used as an epithet, not a descriptor, ‘to be traumatically affected. When they wake up in the morning, we want them to not want to go to work because they are increasingly viewed as villains. We want their funding to be shut down.’ Were the thousands of doctors, scientists, and cancer researchers DOGE fired from NIH villains? The more than 800 employees DOGE dismissed from NOAA, people who take, track hurricanes and protect Americans from storms, were they deep state agendas? What about the food inspectors, intelligence officers, National Park rangers, first responders, and countless others purged by this administration? They’re just patriotic Americans trying to serve their country. [They] all received an email seeking their decision to leave the federal service, two point – plus million of them. What sort of message does that send?

    “I think of a Marylander named Caitlin, who worked at the Center for Medical and Medicaid Innovation. After spending weeks agonizing over whether DOGE would fire her, she died of suicide back in February. I think of another Marylander, Monique, who worked for the Social Security Administration. She was forced to pick up more work as many of her colleagues took the buyout or fired by DOGE. The stress grew and grew until sitting at her desk in February, she died of a heart attack. Her friends and family are certain it was triggered by the stress she was under at work. No business on Earth could treat employees like this and expect efficiency to improve or their enterprise to succeed.

    “There is no doubt efficiency has gone down. Backlogs have grown at the Social Security Administration, the VA, and other agencies. Federal employees now have to spend hours filling out paperwork just to order basic office supplies, something that used to take minutes. One of the first things OMB did after Trump took office was pause all federal loans and grants. That froze thousands of infrastructure projects that were already under construction across the country, an action taken with no regard – or no awareness, perhaps, of the consequences of those actions.

    “The Trump Administration has traumatized Americans – not just federal employees – reduced efficiency, broken the law, and trampled on Congress’s authority, and for what? We have every indication that DOGE will cost taxpayers more than it’s going to save. Director Vought, you’re going to play an even larger role in these efforts now that Elon Musk is reportedly leaving. This committee isn’t going to ask you to summarize your work in five bullet points, or write essays to pass a loyalty test. We expect you to address the concerns of the American people. They have questions. I have questions. We owe them answers. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: SASC Chairman Roger Wicker Releases Defense Reconciliation Bill

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Mississippi Roger Wicker
    WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, today unveiled legislative text of the reconciliation bill’s defense portion. The House and Senate Armed Services Committees developed this legislation in close coordination with the White House and Department of Defense to modernize America’s military, secure the border, and strengthen national security.
    Chairman Wicker released the following statement after the release of the bill text:
    “This bill is a landmark down payment toward the modernization of our military and our defense capabilities. It represents a generational upgrade for our national security with historic funding for Golden Dome, American manufacturing, innovative unmanned technology, and new shipbuilding efforts,” Chairman Wicker said. “It would not have been possible without the peace-through-strength leadership of President Trump, Chairman Rogers, and Secretary Hegseth. This is about building the future of American defense, and ultimately deterring war. In combination with significant legislative reforms through the NDAA process, this bill will fundamentally change the Pentagon and help us maintain peace and prosperity for Americans.” 
    House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-AL.) released the following statement alongside Chairman Wicker:
    “The House and Senate Armed Services Committees are committed to implementing President Trump’s Peace through Strength agenda with a generational investment in our national defense. Chairman Wicker and I have worked closely together to identify how we can best modernize our military, regrow our defense industrial base, and build a ready, capable, and lethal fighting force. Now that the Senate will soon take up the One Big, Beautiful Bill, I’m eager to continue our forward momentum and get this to the President’s desk as soon as possible.”
    The full text is available here. 
    A legislative overview is available here.
    Legislation Highlights:
    $9B to improve servicemember quality of life, including housing modernization, childcare and education improvements, and health care.
    $29B for shipbuilding to expand the maritime industrial base, build 13 Battle Force ships, and rapidly grow an unmanned fleet.
    $25B for Golden Dome to maintain space superiority, develop space-based missile intercept, and accelerate existing missile defense efforts.
    $23B to re-stock crucial munitions, rebuid U.S. supply chains for critical minerals, and expand advanced manufacturing capacity.
    $16B to scale production of innovative low-cost and next-gen weapons like drones, counter-drone tech, cheap munitions, and artificial intelligence.
    $400M to accelerate the DOD audit through artificial intelligence and improve cybersecurity.
    $9B to expand the fighter fleet and accelerate next-gen air superiority programs.
    $15B to accelerate nuclear modernization programs and fix infrastructure.
    $12B to equip INDOPACOM commander with necesary capabilities and rebuild our Pacific infrastructure.
    $16B to improve readiness, including through modernization of depots, additional spare parts for aircraft, and expanded naval maintenance.
    $3.3B to expand military border support mission through Trump term.
    Background:
    In December 2024, Chairman Wicker introduced the FORGED Act, a comprehensive legislative proposal to reform Pentagon efficiency. The bill is designed to fundamentally change the way the Pentagon does business by getting better weapons to our troops faster and maximizing taxpayer dollars.
    Since taking the gavel as Chairman, Senator Wicker has laid out a significant defense investment plan aimed at rebuilding our military for generations to come. The plan encompasses several critical areas including rebuilding the arsenal of democracy, proliferating integrated air and missile defense, modernizing infrastructure, and more.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: President Trump Agrees with Senator Warren: Scrap the Debt Limit

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Massachusetts – Elizabeth Warren
    June 04, 2025
    “If Republicans in Congress were serious about preventing that economic disaster, they would scrap the debt limit entirely like President Trump has called for – not increase it by $4 trillion dollars to finance tax cuts for billionaires and billionaire corporations.”
    Washington, D.C. – In response to President Donald Trump’s post, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ranking Member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, released the following statement:
    “The independent non-partisan Congressional Budget Office confirmed today that Donald Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill will rip away health care from millions of people and increase the debt by $2.4 trillion to fund tax breaks for the ultra-wealthy. That’s a disgusting abomination, as Elon Musk made clear.
    “I’ve argued for years that a default on the national debt would be an economic catastrophe that must be avoided by getting rid of the debt limit permanently. If Republicans in Congress were serious about preventing that economic disaster, they would scrap the debt limit entirely like President Trump has called for – not increase it by $4 trillion dollars to finance tax cuts for billionaires and billionaire corporations.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Senator Murray Slams Lutnick for Decimation of NOAA, Illegal Cancellation of Digital Equity Act Funding, More

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Washington State Patty Murray

    ***WATCH: Senator Murray’s Q&A with Sec. Lutnick***

    Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, questioned Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick at a Senate Appropriations Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Subcommittee hearing on the president’s fiscal year 2026 budget request for the Department. Senator Murray slammed what’s happening at the Department and President Trump’s thoughtless tariffs, and grilled Secretary Lutnick on the Department’s decision to completely eliminate the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund in the budget request, the Department’s failure to submit required budget justifications to the Committee, and the Trump administration’s decision to cancel billions of dollars of funding from Senator Murray’s Digital Equity Act which passed with overwhelming bipartisan support.

    In opening comments, Vice Chair Murray said:

    “You know, over the law few months, I am deeply concerned because we have seen: mass firings at NOAA that are really, seriously jeopardizing the weather forecasting that we all count on; funds have been frozen; grants and contracts have been abruptly cancelled; and agencies that were created by Congress in a bipartisan way have been shuttered unilaterally—really ignoring the law—and sweeping, thoughtless tariffs that are crunching small businesses and raising costs for families.

    “And we have even seen President Trump illegally block some emergency funding House Republicans included in their yearlong CR which has cut off funding your Department counts on for trade fairness, export controls, NOAA satellites, and more.

    “So, needless to say: I don’t think any of this helps advance the Department’s mission to spur economic growth and strengthen America’s competitiveness, and it does leaves me very seriously concerned about whether the Department is going to be able to carry out its job.

    “Now, before I turn to my questions, I do want to quickly raise your decision to cancel $48 million in Tech Hub funding for the American Aerospace Materials Manufacturing Center in Eastern Washington and Idaho—alongside several other hubs. We had a chance to talk about this yesterday, but I want you to know I have a lot more questions than I think you answered.

    “This hub is really a partnership of industry, academia, the military, and governments at all levels. Cancelling that funding and further delaying progress at the tech hub really damages our defense industrial base and limits our ability to compete with China, as I told you yesterday. So, that is unacceptable, and I look forward to you resolving that as soon as possible.”

    [TRUMP REQUESTS TO ELIMINATE SALMON RECOVERY PROGRAM]

    Senator Murray began by explaining how important NOAA is to our nation’s fisheries and how important salmon are to Washington state’s way of life, calling out President Trump’s request to zero out funding for a key salmon program: “Now, I do want to ask you while you’re here, one of the agencies you oversee is NOAA. It is absolutely essential to supporting sustainable fisheries, protecting our natural resources, and making sure that we have accurate weather forecasts. Cutting away at NOAA—as you have been doing and as your budget proposes to do further—is going to do serious harm. Among other cuts, your budget would completely eliminate the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund. That would be a catastrophic failure—it would abandon our communities, our Tribes, and our industries who rely on salmon. And across the Pacific Northwest, salmon are not just fish—they are a way of life, and they are foundational to our economy and our culture. So, I would like you to explain quickly why you proposed that cut, and I want to ask you, did you consult with our Tribes or fishing communities who count on it before making that decision?”

    Secretary Lutnick replied, “The issues are that we do the same thing in multiple ways in NOAA. We have not cut any hydrologists, which are the people who study the water.”

    “You eliminated the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund. That is what I’m precisely asking you about. Did you talk to our tribes or fishermen before you did that?” Senator Murray pressed.

    “Of course,” responded Secretary Lutnick.

    Senator Murray said, “Well, I have spoken to the tribes, I’ve talked to the scientists, I’ve talked to the fishermen. No one—no one—in the Pacific Northwest supports those cuts. And I want everyone to know I will not vote for an appropriations bill that eliminates that funding.”

    [LACK OF TRANSPARENCY]

    Senator Murray then asked about the Department failure to present full budget justifications to Congress, “Now, staying on NOAA facilities like the Northwest Fishery Science Center, which is in Seattle, are really in dire need of investment. For this reason, this CJS Appropriations Subcommittee has long included language requiring the Secretary of Commerce to include the cost estimates for NOAA construction projects of more than $5 million, in the congressional budget justification materials, as well as the 5-year cost estimates for those projects. Are you aware of that requirement?”

    “My understanding is we filed our budget according to the CR with exact precision,” Secretary Lutnick replied.

    “Well, have you submitted the Department’s FY26 congressional budget justification? It did not include the list of projects, which it’s required to do,” asked Senator Murray.

    Secretary Lutnick continued to dodge, “My understanding is the CR had certain obligations for us, and we followed them with precision. That’s my understanding.”

    Senator Murray pushed back, “Well, the fact is that you are required by law to submit the NOAA PAC [Procurement, Acquisition and Construction] construction list to Congress with the budget. That wasn’t done. Can we get that list by Friday?”

    “I’ll happily take a look at it. And if it’s required, of course, I will send it,” said Secretary Lutnick.

    Senator Murray responded, “Okay. It is required.”

    [ATTACKS ON DIGITAL EQUITY ACT]

    Senator Murray turned her questions about President Trump’s recent announcement he is illegally planning to cancel Digital Equity Act grants, “Mr. Secretary, I wrote a law, it was called the Digital Equity Act, to help close the digital divide—and it passed with overwhelming bipartisan support. Now, the Administration has arbitrarily cancelled billions of dollars for the Digital Equity Act, claiming it’s unconstitutional. This is a program that every state, Democrat and Republican, has applied for—every single state in the country. It distributes laptops in Iowa. It helped people get back online after Hurricane Helene washed away computers and phones in western North Carolina. It’s a program in rural Alabama where they taught seniors—including some who have never used a computer—how to use the internet. I want to ask you, has the Supreme Court declared this bipartisan law unconstitutional? Has any judge?”

    Secretary Lutnick sidestepped the question, “It will go through the courts and the courts will decide.”

    “No one has declared this unconstitutional—no one. Your job, Mr. Secretary, is to carry out the law that Congress has passed. You don’t get to keep laptops from our kids, because the President doesn’t care about kids in rural communities. My advice to you here—it is a law, it is not unconstitutional, and I would urge you to get those digital equity dollars out the door and save everyone the legal fees, because the law is very clear,” emphasized Senator Murray.

    [TRUMP’S THOUGHTLESS TRADE WAR]

    Senator Murray concluded by saying, “I just have a few seconds left, and I before I finish, I do want to underscore my state, Washington state, is one of the most trade dependent states in the nation. 40% of our jobs are connected to international trade and President Trump and your Department continue to pursue this chaotic tariff policy that businesses in my state stand to lose billions of dollars. I have heard from businesses across my state, from manufacturers, from small retailers. They are struggling to absorb the cost increases on everything from napkins to car parts. And this uncertainty has really left them scrambling which has delayed investments and caused serious supply chain disruptions, especially at our ports. These actions, in addition, have really harmed our relationships with our key allies like Canada. I heard Senator Collins here earlier talking about Maine being their neighbor—it is our neighbor in Washington state. They are one of our biggest trading partners. And let me be clear, this is causing chaos, disruption, anger. And we have got to get this resolved because farmers, our people and our small businesses and our communities, are really hurting.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Trump’s Tax Cut Bill Will Increase Deficit by $2.4 Trillion – Congressional Budget Office

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

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

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

    NEW YORK, June 4 (Xinhua) — The U.S. Congressional Budget Office, a nonpartisan agency, on Wednesday released an analysis projecting that President Donald Trump’s tax cut bill will reduce tax revenues by $3.7 trillion, increasing the federal budget deficit by $2.4 trillion over the next decade.

    The report, published on the agency’s website on June 4 but dated May 20, also projects that if the bill is passed, the number of people without health insurance would increase by 10.9 million, including 1.4 million people who are in the country without legal status and who use government-funded programs.

    The document, which D. Trump and Republican lawmakers call a “big, beautiful” bill, was passed by the House of Representatives (lower chamber) of the US Congress with a narrow majority of votes and is currently awaiting consideration by the Senate (upper chamber). –0–

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Pressley Joins Warren, MA Delegation in Sounding Alarm on Trump Admin Attacks on International Students at Harvard and Nationwide

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

    Letter follows recent DHS attempts to terminate Harvard’s ability to enroll international students on F-1 and J-1 visas

    Massachusetts hosts over 80,000 international students, who contribute almost $4 billion to state economy and support over 35,000 jobs in the state

    “The Administration’s apparent hostility to international students contributes to an overall climate of fear on campuses. This trend creates a chilling effect that discourages the best and brightest students from around the world from coming to study in the United States…” 

    Text of Letter

    WASHINGTON – Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) joined U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and the Massachusetts’ Congressional delegation in pressing Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Acting Director Todd Lyons on the Trump Administration’s attacks on international students, particularly last week’s attempt to terminate Harvard University’s ability to enroll international students on F-1 and J-1 visas. 

    The letter was also signed by U.S. Senator Ed Markey (D-MA), along with Representatives Richard Neal (MA-01), Jim McGovern (MA-02), Stephen Lynch (MA-08), Bill Keating (MA-09), Katherine Clark (MA-05), Seth Moulton (MA-06), Lori Trahan (MA-03), and Jake Auchincloss (MA-04). 

    “As members of the Massachusetts congressional delegation, we are gravely concerned about the Trump Administration’s attacks on international students,” wrote the lawmakers. “This trend has been particularly damaging for Massachusetts, which is home to one of largest concentrations of higher education institutions and hosts over 80,000 international students, who contribute almost $4 billion to the state’s economy and support over 35,000 jobs in the state.”

    Last week, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) revoked Harvard’s certification in the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP), the system that allows the university to admit international students — not only blocking Harvard’s ability to enroll new international students, but also interfering with current international students’ ability to legally remain. In effect, this action would allow DHS to arrest, detain, and deport international students who remain at Harvard. Shortly thereafter, a federal judge temporarily enjoined DHS from enforcing the revocation.

    “This attack on Harvard and its international students appears to be an attempt to punish the university for not agreeing to the Trump Administration’s April 2025 demands,” wrote the lawmakers.

    This is the latest in the Trump Administration’s long pattern of attacks on international students nationwide. Starting in March, the Administration effectively terminated the legal status of over 4,700 international students across at least 48 states and 160 colleges. Often without notice to students or their universities, ICE terminated students’ records in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) — records that are “functionally equivalent to having lawful student status” — which exposed students to the “risk of arrest, detention, or removal.” The State Department also revoked many visas, adding to widespread confusion about students’ legal status.

    “While DHS and the State Department claimed to target those with a criminal history or history of engaging in campus protests,  some of the impacted students had neither, and in many cases, there was ‘no obvious cause for the revocations,’” wrote the lawmakers.

    International students in Massachusetts and nationwide continue to face serious threats, even beyond Harvard’s campus, including: ICE expanding its authority for terminating SEVIS records; not restoring — or re-terminating — students’ legal status; and leaving problematic gaps in records of students’ legal status. Some students who left the country after their visas or records were suspended face significant hurdles to returning. This week, the State Department reportedly ordered its overseas embassies and consulates to stop scheduling any international student visa interviews, causing serious delays.

    “The Administration’s apparent hostility to international students contributes to an overall climate of fear on campuses. This trend creates a chilling effect that discourages the best and brightest students from around the world from coming to study in the United States — which harms not only current and prospective international students, but also American universities, U.S. citizen students on campuses, and, in the long term, the nation’s prosperity and economic growth,” concluded the lawmakers.

    Text of the letter can be found here.

    Rep. Pressley has been a vocal advocate for students attacked by Trump and his unlawful, anti-immigrant, and anti-free speech agenda – including her constituent, Tufts PhD student Rümeysa Öztürk, who was unlawfully abducted and detained by ICE in March. She has also repeatedly spoken out against Trump’s attacks on Harvard.

    • On May 11, 2025, Rep. Pressley, Senator Markey, and the Massachusetts community welcomed Rümeysa Öztürk back to Massachusetts following her release from ICE detention in Louisiana.
    • On May 8, 2025, Rep. Pressley and her colleagues sent a letter to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) seeking more information on the detention conditions of immigrants held at the Central Louisiana ICE Processing Center (CLIPC) and the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center (SLIPC) after an oversight trip to the facilities.
    • On May 7, 2025, Pressley, Sen. Markey, and Rep. McGovern applauded the Second Circuit for ordering Rümeysa’s transfer from ICE custody in Louisiana to Vermont and rejecting the Trump administration’s attempt to delay complying with a lower court order to do so.
    • On April 25, 2025, Rep. Pressley issued a statement on the Trump Administration’s abrupt reinstatement of international student visas. 
    • On April 25, 2025, Rep. Pressley, Sen. Markey, and Rep. McGovern published a New York Times op-ed on their meeting with Rümeysa Öztürk in detention and warned the American people of the dangers posed by the Trump administration’s unlawful attacks on our constitutional rights to freedom of speech and due process.
    • On April 23, 2025, Rep. Pressley and her colleagues visited Rümeysa Öztürk and Mahmoud Khalil and conducted oversight at the ICE facilities in Louisiana in which they were detained.
    • On April 18, 2025, Rep. Pressley and Sens. Warren and Markey demanded Secretary of State Rubio released any documents related to her arrest after a recent report indicated that an internal State Department memo concluded that the key premise underlying Tufts graduate student Rümeysa Öztürk’s arrest and detention was false. 
    • On April 3, 2025, Rep. Pressley, along with Sens. Warren and Markey, sounded the alarm on Öztürk’s medical neglect in DHS custody and renewed urgent calls for her release.
    • On March 28, 2025, Rep. Pressley, along with Sens. Warren and Markey, led over 30 lawmakers in writing to Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Acting Director for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Todd Lyons, demanding information about Öztürk’s arrest and detention as well as similar incidents across the country.
    • On March 26, 2025, Rep. Pressley issued a statement condemning reports that ICE arrested and detained Rümeysa Öztürk.
    • On March 25, 2025, Rep. Pressley issued a statement following reports of ICE activity in Boston and other municipalities in Massachusetts

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: ICYMI | Fox News — SEN BILL HAGERTY: Nashville is not a sanctuary city. I won’t let that happen

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Tennessee Bill Hagerty

    ‘Illegal aliens are facing justice. They are being sent home. And violent criminals, who are here illegally, will no longer plague our communities…The American people, the people of Tennessee and the brave men and women of ICE deserve much better. I look forward to seeing this commitment upheld.’

    SEN BILL HAGERTY: Nashville is not a sanctuary city. I won’t let that happen
    By: Senator Bill Hagerty
    June 4, 2025
    Link here.

    Nashville mayor condemns arrests of illegal immigrants. Now, ICE agents are targets of doxxing.

    Nashville is not, nor is any other city in Tennessee, a sanctuary city. I intend to make certain that remains the case.  

    In May in Nashville, ICE conducted a successful operation with Tennessee Highway Patrol to arrest 196 criminal illegal aliens, including a convicted rapist and a suspected murderer. 

    While I have received every assurance that Nashville and every other city in Tennessee will work in a cooperative manner with law enforcement, make no mistake: I will make certain those commitments are not just lip service. 

    After the operation, Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell condemned ICE’s good work, promoted a fund to provide support dollars for illegal immigrants and their families in Nashville, and even updated an executive order to fast-track the collection of all Nashville government employees’ interactions with ICE. 

    The mayor’s executive order has – unsurprisingly – led to the doxxing of ICE agents, who have faced a 413% increase in assaults against them while on the job. In Nashville, we know that activists are monitoring ICE activity in the city and alerting each other of ICE’s movements using encrypted group chats. 

    Did these groups see the doxxed ICE agents’ personal information? How will they use it? How does the mayor ensure these lists of ICE agents do not end up in the wrong hands? These are all questions we shouldn’t have to ask, but now we do. 

    The cloud of confusion that has arisen from this misstep is unfortunate, and the facts need to be made clear: the state of Tennessee is a state that stands for law enforcement and the protection of its citizens. 

    The leftwing media is adding fuel to the fire. For example, New York Times opinion writer Margaret Renkl explicitly compares ICE raids in Nashville to the Jim Crow South and the Trail of Tears. Her article – littered with cherry-picked stories from immigrant activists – uses such ridiculous words as “hunt” to suggest that what is happening in my state is not legal. Let me be clear: the only illegality is from those who chose to cross the border illegally. 

    We know where this all leads: In 2019, an Antifa activist attempted to firebomb an ICE facility in Tacoma, Washington. Thankfully, he was stopped before he could succeed. But his intentions and motivation were clear. In his manifesto, he slandered ICE as “the forces of evil,” and compared their detention facilities to “concentration camp[s].” 

    Even when such rhetoric from the media and mismanagement on the part of local officials does not inspire acts of domestic terrorism, it still leads to harassment and threats against ICE and other federal law enforcement officers. 

    In the first Trump presidency, the left shamelessly engaged in doxxing of ICE agents, sharing their personal information in an effort to intimidate them out of their jobs, or even cause direct harm to them. Such private information was even shared by college professors, published by WikiLeaks, and disseminated by the far-left domestic terrorist organization Antifa.

    Now that President Donald Trump is back in office, activists have resumed this dangerous tactic. Even state lawmakers have joined in on efforts to expose ICE officers’ identities, with Tennessee Democrat state Representative Aftyn Behn filming herself gleefully stalking ICE agents. 

    Trump’s historic re-election made it clear: the American people support his immigration agenda, including the removal and deportation of criminal illegal aliens from our communities. Yet some, like Nashville Mayor O’Connell, whether intentional or not, are inhibiting the president’s mission. This will not stand. 

    The Trump administration and the men and women of ICE have a Herculean task before them in cleaning up what former President Joe Biden facilitated: the largest invasion of our Southern border in history. 

    For four years, we watched Biden sacrifice our national sovereignty to allow millions to illegally flood our country. Unsurprisingly, this illegal tsunami included murderers, rapists, human traffickers, drug smugglers, people on terrorist watch lists, and more. Today, ICE is working overtime to remove these criminals and make our communities safer. 

    Here’s the reality: Illegal aliens are facing justice. They are being sent home. And violent criminals, who are here illegally, will no longer plague our communities. 

    O’Connell should take care to empower ICE and local law enforcement to remove illegal aliens from our communities, not endanger them. The American people, the people of Tennessee and the brave men and women of ICE deserve much better. I look forward to seeing this commitment upheld. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Markey, Leader Schumer, Wyden, Merkley Seek Information on Republican Reconciliation Bill’s Potential to Close Rural Hospitals

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Massachusetts Ed Markey

    Letter Text (PDF)

    Washington (June 4, 2025) – Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), a member of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y), Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Ranking Member of the Finance Committee, and Senator Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Ranking Member of the Budget Committee, today wrote to Mark Holmes, PhD, Director of the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, requesting analysis of the impact of House Republicans’ budget bill’s proposed cuts to federal spending on health programs, on rural hospitals, and their surrounding communities. 

    In the letter the lawmakers write, “The independent, nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates this bill and other regulatory actions by the Trump administration will lead to nearly 14 million Americans losing their health insurance and shifting billions of dollars in health care costs to states. In short, the House-passed budget reconciliation bill is expected to have substantial and devastating impacts to health care access for working families across America, particularly in rural communities. We are deeply concerned that these cuts will increase uncompensated care and make it more difficult for rural hospitals to continue providing services to all patients, paying workers, and keeping their doors open.”

    The lawmakers continue, “The magnitude of federal cuts to health programs will inevitably devastate health access for millions of Americans who will see their local hospitals forced to reduce services or close altogether. To help us better understand the devastation of these cuts, we are interested in the Sheps Center’s expert analysis of how this bill will impact rural hospitals and the communities they serve.”

    The lawmakers request responses to the following questions by June 11, 2025:

    1. Which U.S. rural hospitals treat the highest share of Medicaid recipients? Please identify these hospitals by name, state, and congressional district.
    1. How many rural hospitals are currently in financial distress or at risk of closure? Please identify these hospitals by state and congressional district and whether these hospitals are eligible for any Medicare rural hospital designation.
    1. If the health care cuts in the House-passed budget reconciliation bill were to become law, would the rural hospitals with the highest share of Medicaid recipients or that are currently in financial distress face risk of closure or having to reduce services (including obstetric and behavioral health care, emergency room services, etc.)

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: ICYMI: Secretary Chavez-DeRemer highlights skilled workforce training on America at Work tour

    Source: US Department of Labor

    EDISON, NJ – U.S. Department of Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer continued her America at Work listening tour this week with visits to Long Island, New York, and Edison, New Jersey, where she met with apprentices and observed hands-on training in welding, framing, and acoustical work.

    “Our nation’s skilled workforce is thriving under President Trump’s leadership, with thousands of new jobs created on Long Island and in New Jersey since he took office,” said Secretary Chavez-DeRemer. “This week, I’ve seen firsthand the impact of investments in top-notch training programs that drive local economic growth. When we invest in skills and opportunity, we empower men and women to build better lives for themselves and their families. I appreciate Congressmen Garbarino, LaLota, and Kean hosting me on my America at Work tour and will continue working with them to Make America Skilled Again.”

    “Long Island has long been a leader in workforce innovation, and today’s visit showcased the strong partnerships between labor, education, and government that are building pathways to good-paying jobs for local workers,” said Rep. Andrew Garbarino. “From apprentices learning the trades at Local 290 to advanced technical training programs at Suffolk County Community College, these initiatives are not only equipping our workforce with the skills they need – they’re also strengthening Long Island’s economic future. I thank Secretary Chavez-DeRemer for making the trip and recognizing the importance of continued investment in our skilled workforce.”

    “Labor Secretary Chavez-DeRemer’s visit to Suffolk County and her engagement with Long Island’s blue-collar labor leaders highlight the new Republican Party’s commitment to supporting both business growth and hardworking Americans through fair wages, safe working conditions, and expanded opportunities,” said Rep. Nick LaLota. “To keep our region competitive, we must continue investing in workforce development and modern infrastructure. In Congress, I’ll keep fighting for commonsense solutions that strengthen job training, connect workers to good-paying careers, and grow Long Island’s economy from the ground up.”

    New York

    Joined by Reps. Garbarino and LaLota, Secretary Chavez-DeRemer visited the Northeast Regional Council of Carpenters Local 290 Training Center in Hauppauge, where she observed hands-on technical instruction in welding, framing, and acoustical work. She also engaged with apprentices to discuss the importance of developing practical skills. 

    Later, they toured Suffolk County Community College’s National Offshore Wind Training Center in Brentwood, a state-of-the-art program preparing local workers for careers in the emerging offshore wind industry. The group also toured specialized training facilities focused on fire awareness, sea survival, and working-at-heights safety – critical for ensuring safe and effective operations in offshore environments.

    The Secretary concluded her Long Island stop with a roundtable discussion hosted by the Society for Human Resource Management to discuss strategies for building workplaces that help both people and businesses thrive.

    New Jersey

    In Edison, the Secretary visited the Northeast Carpenters Training Center in Edison with Rep. Kean. This state-of-the-art, union-owned facility, part of the Eastern Atlantic States Carpenters Technical Centers, provides hands-on training in carpentry, millwright work, cabinetmaking, and floor laying. Secretary Chavez-DeRemer emphasized the importance of developing pathways to success through high-quality workforce development programs that equip apprentices with the resources they need to excel.

    “From construction and manufacturing to transportation infrastructure, everything built in New Jersey is built by the hands of dedicated tradesmen and women,” said Rep. Tom Kean Jr. “Today’s visit to the Northeast Carpenters Training Center, alongside Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer, was an incredible opportunity to see the next generation of skilled laborers in action. The center’s workforce development programs show how strong partnerships between labor, industry, and educators equip students with the skills, leadership, and safety training they need to succeed on the job and return home safely to their families each night. As we invest in infrastructure, innovation, and nationwide projects, New Jersey will continue to lead the way due to its strong and skilled workforce. I want to thank Secretary Chavez-DeRemer for her continued leadership and for visiting the great Garden State.”

    Secretary Chavez-DeRemer launched her America at Work listening tour in early April to bring real-world feedback from American workers to policymakers in Washington. Recent stops have included visits to Colorado and Arizona, highlighting best practices and successful workforce development initiatives across the country.

    Learn more about Secretary Chavez-DeRemer’s efforts to strengthen America’s skilled workforce.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI: “The AI Mothership Has Landed”: Legendary Tech Investor Reveals Musk’s Most Powerful Project Yet

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    NEW YORK, June 04, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — In a new briefing from bestselling author and tech entrepreneur James Altucher, startling revelations are emerging about Musk’s most ambitious AI undertaking yet — a project known as “Project Colossus.”

    According to Altucher, this facility — now operational in Memphis — will soon power what he calls Artificial Superintelligence, ushering in a second wave of AI unlike anything we’ve seen before. And it’s happening alongside the return of Donald Trump, who Altucher says has already “cleared the path” for AI developers like Musk to move forward at full speed.

    Musk’s “AI Mothership” Quietly Built in Memphis

    Altucher opens his briefing with a bold claim: Elon Musk has already surpassed all major tech competitors — including OpenAI, Meta, and Microsoft — with a covert project few have even heard of.

    “Elon Musk has created the AI mothership… an innovation of such enormous proportion… that he has already surpassed all the leading AI developers.”

    “Right here, inside this warehouse in Memphis, Tennessee… lies a massive supercomputer Musk calls ‘Project Colossus.’”

    According to Altucher, this isn’t speculation — it’s already functional and has been acknowledged by Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, who reportedly called it:

    “The fastest supercomputer on the planet.” — Jensen Huang

    AI 2.0: The Rise of Artificial Superintelligence

    Altucher claims the world is on the verge of an entirely new technological era — one that goes beyond ChatGPT and the public’s current understanding of AI.

    “This will lead to the rise of AI 2.0… Or what I call ‘Artificial Superintelligence.’”

    “AI 1.0 gives us all the world’s knowledge at our fingertips. AI 2.0… gives that knowledge to intelligent machines that I believe will solve our problems for us.”

    A Presidential Greenlight

    In the same briefing, Altucher highlights Donald Trump’s early move to eliminate restrictions that were previously in place under President Biden.

    “In one of his FIRST acts as President… Donald Trump overturned Executive Order #14110.”

    “That’s why Donald Trump REPEALED Biden’s AI executive safety order on Day 1… Clearing the path for leading AI developers like Musk.”

    Trump has also unveiled a $500 billion AI infrastructure plan, which Altucher says reflects the seriousness of the new administration’s approach.

    “Trump also announced the LARGEST AI investment in history… Stargate… a massive, AI data center and infrastructure project with an estimated $500 billion price tag.”

    What Comes Next: A 10X Expansion?

    Altucher warns that the biggest developments are yet to come — and soon.

    “In a matter of weeks, Elon plans to unveil a critical new update to Project Colossus that is expected to increase its power by 10-fold.”

    “That’s when I predict Elon could announce a major update to this new AI project. One that some say will essentially 10X its power – overnight.”

    He adds, “This second wave of ARTIFICIAL SUPERINTELLIGENCE… Will rival all of the great innovations of the past. Electricity… the wheel… even the discovery of fire.”

    A Life’s Work Converging

    Altucher isn’t just reporting from the sidelines — he claims to have been immersed in AI for more than 40 years.

    “I’ve been working in the artificial intelligence field for the better part of the last four decades.”

    “I helped pioneer AI trading on Wall Street.”

    “At one point, I was recruited by IBM to help them develop their Deep Blue AI supercomputer… the one that beat the world chess champion, Gary Kasprov, in 1997.”

    What’s at Stake

    Altucher closes his report by pointing to a quote from Russian President Vladimir Putin as a sobering reminder of what this technology represents on the world stage.

    “Whoever becomes the leader in this sphere will become the ruler of the world.” — Vladimir Putin

    With Trump clearing regulatory barriers and Musk ramping up development, Altucher believes the United States is poised to enter a defining moment in global technology leadership.

    About James Altucher

    James Altucher is a former hedge fund manager, computer scientist, and the author of over 20 books on finance, technology, and personal growth. A longtime pioneer in digital innovation, Altucher has advised startups, traded for top funds, and interviewed some of the most influential figures in business and tech. His latest work focuses on exposing the hidden infrastructure behind emerging AI technologies and preparing readers for the changes ahead.

    Media Contact:
    Derek Warren
    Public Relations Manager
    Paradigm Press Group
    Email: dwarren@paradigmpressgroup.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI USA: General and Flag Officers Announcement

    Source: United States Department of Defense

    Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that President Donald J. Trump has nominated Navy Vice Adm. Charles B. Cooper II for appointment to the grade of admiral and Air Force Lt. Gen. Dagvin R.M. Anderson for appointment to the grade of general.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: California leads the nation — again — with most Fortune 500 companies

    Source: US State of California 2

    Jun 4, 2025

    SACRAMENTO – For the second year in a row, California ranks highest on Fortune 500’s list as the state with the most corporations generating the largest revenues. As host to 58 Fortune 500 companies, California leads the nation – followed by Texas with 54 and New York with 53.

    The new rankings, based on fiscal year 2024 revenue, were compiled before the implementation of President Trump’s tariff slump, which is estimated to cost the state $16 billion in lost revenue. 

    “There’s nowhere better for innovation and growth than the 4th largest economy in the world that attracts and retains world-class dreamers and doers – as illustrated by the 58 Fortune 500 companies that call California home.”

    Governor Gavin Newsom

    California’s economic dominance

    Last month, Governor Newsom announced that California is now the 4th largest economy in the world, with a nominal GDP of nearly $4.1 trillion. California’s per capita GDP is the second largest among large economies.

    California is home to 33 of the world’s 50 leading AI companies, high-impact research and education institutions, and a quarter of the technology’s patents and conference papers. With an increasing state population and recent record-high tourism spending, California is the nation’s top state for new business starts, access to venture capital funding, and manufacturing, high-tech, and agriculture.

    But even as a tentpole of the nation’s economy, California has not been immune to the economic damage created by President Trump’s chaotic tariff policies. The state is estimated to have lost a resulting $16 billion in revenue, and in April, Governor Newsom announced a lawsuit challenging President Trump’s authority to unilaterally enact tariffs.

    Recent news

    Jun 3, 2025

    News What you need to know: Today, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services rescinded previous guidance reaffirming protections for emergency abortion care when medically necessary, creating serious risk for women in states with near and total  bans on…

    Jun 3, 2025

    News SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the following appointments:Alana Mathews, of Elk Grove, has been appointed Deputy Secretary of Enforcement and General Counsel at the California Environmental Protection Agency. Mathews has been Assistant…

    Jun 3, 2025

    News What you need to know: The state will use specially equipped vehicles to collect block-by-block air quality data in 64 communities heavily burdened by pollution. The results will help create local solutions to improve air quality and public health.  SACRAMENTO –…

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Hawley Takes Liberal Professor to Task for Flip-Flopping on Injunctions Stance

    US Senate News:

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

    Wednesday, June 04, 2025

    In a joint Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing, U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) took Kate Shaw, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, to task over her double standard for nationwide injunctions issued against the Trump Administration versus those against the Biden Administration. Senator Hawley repeatedly called out Shaw for lacking a “principle” to guide her legal opinion regarding when nationwide injunctions constitute the appropriate remedy for a legal dispute.   

    Libs thought nationwide injunctions were a “travesty for principles of democracy” – when Joe Biden was in office
    But now they LOVE them.
    What changed? TRUMP. Once again: the rule of law should be blind. Not blinded by rage. pic.twitter.com/9PEJmyhzF0
    — Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) June 3, 2025

    The hearing was jointly hosted by the Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution and the Judiciary Subcommittee on Federal Courts, Oversight, Agency Action, and Federal Rights. 
    Earlier this year, Senator Hawley introduced legislation to end liberal judges’ serial abuse of power by banning nationwide injunctions.
    Watch the full committee hearing here.  

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: DHS Unearths TSA Corruption: Sitting US Senator’s Husband Received Blanket Exemption from National Security Review After Traveling with Known or Suspected Terrorist

    Source: US Federal Emergency Management Agency

    Headline: DHS Unearths TSA Corruption: Sitting US Senator’s Husband Received Blanket Exemption from National Security Review After Traveling with Known or Suspected Terrorist

    lass=”text-align-center”>New Hampshire Senator Jeanne Shaheen’s Husband Traveled with a Known or Suspected Terrorist Three Times in A Single Year 
    WASHINGTON —Today, the Department of Homeland Security revealed evidence detailing the politicization of TSA’s watchlisting program under the Biden administration

     Discovered documents, correspondence, and timelines clearly highlight the Biden’s inconsistent application of Silent Partners Quiet Skies and watchlisting programs, circumventing security policies to benefit politically aligned friends and family at the expense of the American people

     
    This includes William “Billy” Shaheen, spouse of fellow democrat and sitting U

    S

    New Hampshire Senator, Jeane Shaheen, while surveilling political opponents like Tulsi Gabbard months after

      
    After Senator Shaheen directly lobbied the former Administrator, Pekoske gave repeated, explicit direction to exclude Shaheen from the Silent Partner Quiet Skies list

    Pekoske granted Billy Shaheen a blanket Silent Partners Quiet Skies exemption despite Shaheen flying with a Known or Suspected Terrorist on three occasions

     
    All the while, Tulsi Gabbard, and many other Americans, were placed on the Silent Partners’ Quiet Skies list with little to no visibility, awareness, explanation, or oversight

      
    Billy Shaheen was hardly the only high-profile individual that was placed on this exclusion list

    This list also included members of foreign royal families, political elites, professional athletes, and journalists

     Shaheen’s blanket exemption has since been revoked

     
    “It is clear that this program was used as a political rolodex of the Biden Administration—weaponized against its political foes and to benefit their well-heeled friends,” said Secretary Kristi Noem

    “This program should have been about the equal application of security, instead it was corrupted to be about political targeting

    Trump Administration will restore the integrity, privacy, and equal application of the law for all Americans, including aviation screening

    ” 
    For far too long, this program has yielded little to no measurable security impact and lay at the expense of the American traveler

     
    A timeline of events:
    • 07/20/2023: William “Billy” Shaheen was a TSA Random Selectee on his flights from Boston Logan International Airport (BOS, Flight #1) to Washington-Reagan International Airport (DCA) and Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) to BOS (Flight #2)

    Billy Shaheen was flagged for the first time as Co-Traveler with a Known or Suspected Terrorist (KST)

    • Shortly after Billy Shaheen’s travel, Senator Shaheen’s office made an inquiry to TSA about the Senator’s husband receiving enhanced screening on these two flights

    • 10/18/2023: Shaheen was flagged a second time as a Co-Traveler of a KST

    • It was after this flight that Senator Shaheen made a second inquiry to TSA, via a meeting with then Administrator Pekoske, about her husband being on a watchlist

    TSA did not disclose any information on watchlisting

    • 10/20/2023: Shaheen was then approved by then Assistant Administrator for Intelligence and Analysis Nykamp (she departed TSA in March 2025), acting on then TSA Administrator Pekoske’s Authority, to be added to the Secure Flight Exclusion List

    • This means that Shaheen was excluded from any future TSA Random Selectee designation, and Rules-based Selectee designation, such as Quiet Skies, Association Based Rule Selectee designation, or Silent Partner Selectee designation

    • 10/24/2023: TSA Legislative Affairs communicates with then Assistant Administrator for Intelligence and Analysis Nykamp, and refers to the action taken by Nykamp and/or Pekoske to add Shaheen to the Secure Flight Exclusion List

    • Follow on communication provide instructions to TSA Security Operations to ensure the exclusion is accurately captured in the passenger’s boarding pass status

    • Billy Shaheen stayed on the Secure Flight Exclusion List for 18 months until current TSA leadership removed him

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Ranking Member Huffman Statement on Supreme Court’s Refusal to Hear Apache Religious Freedom Case on Mining in Oak Flat

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Jared Huffman Representing the 2nd District of California

    May 28, 2025

    Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) released the following statement:

    “The Supreme Court’s refusal to hear the Apache Stronghold’s request to pause the Trump administration’s land transfer giving sacred Oak Flat to Resolution Copper is unjust, irresponsible, and a direct threat to the health, safety, and rights of the Tribe and surrounding communities.
     
    “The final environmental impact statement on Resolution Copper will confirm what tribal leaders and experts have warned all along: foreign mining giants, through their subsidiary Resolution Copper, will irrevocably destroy Oak Flat, where Native peoples have gone to pray, seek spiritual cleansing, and conduct ceremonies since time immemorial. Oak Flat—a federally recognized National Historic Site—will be nothing more than a two-mile-wide, thousand-foot-deep crater once Resolution Copper is done hollowing it out. This will spell the end of the Apaches’ religious practices forever, just so foreign mining corporations can make a quick buck. Because in America, your right to worship is sacred—unless what you worship sits on valuable real estate.
     
    “And for all the fearmongering about “national security,” let’s be clear: there’s no guarantee the copper will even stay in the United States. In fact, Resolution Copper seems more than willing to ship it straight to the Chinese Communist Party.
     
    “Rio Tinto’s scheme to mine Oak Flat is the latest chapter in a long, shameful history of extracting wealth from Native lands while destroying the communities who live there. The Supreme Court may have turned its back for now, but the fight to protect this sacred place—and the people who depend on it—is far from over.”

    Background

    In December 2014, a non-germane midnight rider was inserted into the must-pass National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that mandated the public land transfer of the Oak Flat area to Resolution Copper. Oak Flat is located in the Tonto National Forest and listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a Traditional Cultural Property.
     
    On April 17, 2025, the Trump administration published their notice of intent to issue the final environmental impact statement (FEIS) for Resolution Copper in 60 days, i.e. on June 16, 2025. The 2014 NDAA language says the land transfer must happen within 60 days of the publication of the FEIS – but the transfer could happen immediately after the FEIS is published.
     
    Resolution Copper is just the latest example of a reckless foreign-backed mining project that disrespects tribal sovereignty and threatens our public lands with no guaranteed benefit to the American people. The mine is owned by multinational, multi-billion-dollar mining giants Rio Tinto and BHP. Rio Tinto’s largest shareholder is a Chinese state-owned company and the Rio Tinto has a long, disturbing history of human rights violations around the world. Resolution Copper has never guaranteed any of the copper mined from Oak Flat will stay in the United States and have no plans to build smelting or refining capacity for the copper they mine. Instead, they appear to be making plans to ship the unrefined copper to China.
     
    Three different legal challenges to the land transfer and Resolution Copper mine are currently working their way through the courts. The Supreme Court decided on May 27, 2025 not to hear a request from tribal organization Apache Stronghold to pause the land transfer while lower courts decide their case on the merits. Apache Stronghold alleges the land swap is an unconstitutional infringement on their religious freedoms under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the free exercise clause of the First Amendment. The San Carlos Apache Tribe and the Arizona Mining Reform Coalition with the Inter Tribal Association of Arizona have also asked the courts to pause the land transfer while their challenges to the land transfer are considered.

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  • MIL-OSI USA: Committee Leaders Raise Alarm Over Burgum’s Interior Staffing Freeze: “Illegal and Dangerous”

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Jared Huffman Representing the 2nd District of California

    May 30, 2025

    Washington, D.C. – Today, top Democrats on the House Natural Resources Committee sent a letter to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum demanding answers about a blanket freeze on personnel actions across the Department of the Interior, reportedly imposed earlier this month by the Department’s acting Chief Human Capital Officer—a former staffer of Elon Musk’s DOGE.

    “This sweeping directive has already sparked internal conflict at the Department, where staff are reportedly struggling to fulfill the duties of thousands of now-vacant positions essential to the Department’s day-to-day operations,” the lawmakers wrote. “Your actions to date raise serious doubts about your commitment to that obligation.”

    In the letter, the lawmakers cite the Administration’s proposed “skinny budget,” DOGE-led “voluntary” buyouts “backed by the threat of termination,” and pending Reductions in Force (RIF) plans as part of a “coordinated campaign of institutional dismantling” that “threatens the safety of our parks, the reliability of our water systems, and the scientific integrity of the very agencies entrusted with protecting Americans from wildfire, drought and other escalating risks.”

    The lawmakers also expressed concern over the reported removal of Bureau of Land Management Deputy Director Michael Nedd, “who reportedly raised concerns about the effects of the May 2 personnel directive on the Department’s ability to do its job.”

    The lawmakers called on the Department to provide a copy of the May 2 memo and respond to several questions, including what impact assessment was conducted, what essential functions are at risk, and whether other senior personnel have been penalized for raising objections.

    “Like other recent personnel actions, this latest personnel freeze is, at best, shortsighted and self-defeating—and at worst, illegal and dangerous for Americans who visit our National Parks, live near federal lands, rely on federal irrigation for their farms, or depend on sound science to protect their homes and communities,” the lawmakers wrote. “It represents yet another ill-considered action by the Trump Administration that leaves our country weaker, less safe, and less prepared to meet the challenges ahead.”

    The letter was signed by Ranking Member Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), Vice Ranking Member Sarah Elfreth (D-Md.), Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Ranking Member Maxine Dexter (D-Ore.), Federal Lands Subcommittee Ranking Member Joe Neguse (D-Colo.), Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee Ranking Member Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.), Water, Wildlife and Fisheries Subcommittee Ranking Member Val Hoyle (D-Ore.), and Indian and Insular Affairs Subcommittee Ranking Member Teresa Leger Fernández (D-N.M.).

    Read the full letter.

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  • MIL-OSI USA: Ranking Member Huffman Statement on Supreme Court NEPA Ruling That Lets Agencies Ignore Climate and Health Impacts

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Jared Huffman Representing the 2nd District of California

    May 30, 2025

    Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) released the following statement:
     
    “The Supreme Court once again put polluters first, siding with fossil fuel interests over the communities that bear the burden of more oil drilling and refining. In the face of the climate crisis, the government should be clear-eyed about the threats and act accordingly. But by giving agencies an excuse to ignore foreseeable impacts in their NEPA reviews, the Court has said they can look the other way about the consequences of their decisions if they want. And communities, and our country, will suffer.
     
    “The American people want to know when federal actions will cause environmental and health risks and fuel the climate crisis. Support for NEPA is high among voters of all stripes. They don’t want to let polluters sidestep responsibility. And they certainly don’t want House Republicans’ corrupt, polluter-friendly pay-to-play scheme for NEPA reviews, buried in their Big, Ugly Bill.
     
    “This ruling adds to the chaos and confusion already unleashed by the Trump administration’s sabotage of agencies’ NEPA procedures. This is part of a broader assault on our nation’s environmental protections. Congressional Democrats invested $1 billion to improve NEPA and environmental reviews through the Inflation Reduction Act—an investment that was already producing real results. Now, Republicans are dragging us backward, risking more delays, more litigation, and more harm.”

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  • MIL-OSI USA: Congressman Robert Garcia Statement on the Trump Administration’s Disastrous Dismantling of Long Beach Job Corps Program

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Robert Garcia California (42nd District)

    Washington, D.C. – Today, Congressman Robert Garcia (CA-42) released the following statement after the Trump Administration ordered the dismantling of the Long Beach Job Corps program, which provides education, vocational training, job placement, and wraparound support services to hundreds of people in our community. Long Beach hosts one of seven Job Corps sites in California.

    “As Mayor of Long Beach for eight years and now as a Member of Congress, I’ve seen firsthand how Job Corps has helped young people across our community and country. For decades, Job Corps has been a lifeline for students and young workers, especially those from underserved communities. It offers training, support, and opportunity to help folks build a future. We should be expanding this program, not dismantling it, which is why we’re going to fight back against this decision and make it clear to the Trump Administration that this action is illegal and unethical,” said Congressman Robert Garcia.

    As an educator, Congressman Garcia is at the forefront of the fight to protect and uplift our students and young workforce. In May, Congressman Garcia joined 141 House Members in advocating for adequate levels of funding for Job Corps. Last year, Congressman Garcia joined the Job Corps Class of 2024 for their graduation, distributing personalized Certificates of Congressional Recognition to each graduate.

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