NewzIntel.com

Category: Trumpism

  • MIL-OSI USA: Cantwell Statement on Release of Joseph St. Clair

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Washington Maria Cantwell

    05.20.25

    Cantwell Statement on Release of Joseph St. Clair

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) released this statement regarding the release of Joseph St. Clair, a Washingtonian who was being wrongfully detained in Venezuela.

    “I’m thrilled Joe has been released and will be reunited with his family. His parents were relentless advocates for their son. I thank the Trump administration for working to secure his release.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Murphy Grills Secretary Of State Marco Rubio On Trump Meme Coin Dinner, USAID, Corrupt Deals With Foreign Governments

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Connecticut – Chris Murphy

    [embedded content]

    WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, on Tuesday questioned U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio at a hearing on President Trump’s fiscal year 2026 budget request for the U.S. Department of State. Murphy challenged Rubio on the administration’s misleading foreign aid claims and raised serious concerns about Trump’s ongoing business ties with foreign governments, warning they undermine U.S. national security.

    Murphy called out Rubio for downplaying the harm caused by shutting down USAID and misrepresenting key facts in his opening statement: “It would certainly shock Americans to hear that only 12% of our foreign aid reaches needy recipients on the ground – the people who need the help. That is not actually an accurate number. That is the amount of our aid that goes directly to local groups on the ground, but as you know, most of our aid runs through bigger international organizations, like Save the Children. Those entities are [giving] somewhere around 80%, 85% of the aid we give them directly to recipients on the ground. So I think that what you have done to shutter USAID is illegal, but I also think it is bad policy, and I do think it is important for us to all be operating with the same set of facts. The fact is not that only 12% of taxpayer dollars are ending up in the hands of the people who really need it on the ground.”

    Murphy condemned Trump for abandoning his pledge to keep family business separate from foreign deals, warning the reversal creates dangerous conflicts between national security and personal profit: “During his first term, [Trump] made the decision to not enter into any new business deals during his presidency – that Trump-affiliated businesses would not enter into any foreign business arrangements. And that made sense, because obviously it can be confusing for foreign governments to know how to try to win favor with the U.S. government if they have one route – making concessions that are good for U.S. national security – and they also have another route – which is perhaps helping the President’s business interests. The President obviously changed that policy, and in this administration, his business interests are announcing new agreements and new investments into those business interests by foreign governments. And I think it stands to reason that that creates a real problem for foreign policy. It creates a problem for foreign governments in which they don’t exactly know what the best way is to try to get on good terms with the U.S. government and with the White House. Is it to do what’s right for American national security, or might it also be to do a business deal with the President of the United States and the entities he controls?”

    After Rubio denied knowing about Trump’s upcoming meme coin dinner, a closed-door gala promising exclusive access to the President in exchange for anonymous multi-million dollar investments in Trump’s meme coin, Murphy concluded: “I think that represents a real problem for this Committee, because there is clearly a way around the State Department for foreign individuals of significant influence and wealth, to be able to directly lobby the President of the United States. And so, if your answer is that you don’t know this is happening, that in and of itself is a problem. These are individuals who just bought their way into a meeting with the President. I think you should endeavor to get your hands on the list to make sure that there aren’t individuals there who are perhaps contravening national security interests that the Department of State is prioritizing.”

    A full transcript of Murphy’s exchange with Rubio can be found below:

    MURPHY: “Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, Mr. Secretary, for being here. 

    “Before I ask my questions, I just ask that after this hearing you go back and reconsider a claim that you made in your opening statement. It would certainly shock Americans to hear that only 12% of our foreign aid reaches needy recipients on the ground– the people who need the help. That is not actually an accurate number. That is the amount of our aid that goes directly to local groups on the ground, but as you know, most of our aid runs through bigger international organizations, like Save the Children. Those entities are getting somewhere around 80%, 85% of the aid we give them directly to recipients on the ground. So I think that what you have done to shutter USAID is illegal, but I also think it is bad policy, and I do think it is important for us to all be operating with the same set of facts. The fact is not that only 12% of taxpayer dollars are ending up in the hands of the people who really need it on the ground.

    “Mr. Secretary, I wanted to talk to you about the President’s personal business interests. During his first term he made the decision to not enter into any new business deals during his presidency– that Trump-affiliated businesses would not enter into any foreign business arrangements. And that made sense, because obviously it can be confusing for foreign governments to know how to try to win favor with the U.S. government if they have one route – making concessions that are good for U.S. national security – and they also have another route – which is perhaps helping the President’s business interests. The President obviously changed that policy, and in this administration, his business interests are announcing new agreements and new investments into those business interests by foreign governments. And I think it stands to reason that that creates a real problem for foreign policy. It creates a problem for foreign governments in which they don’t exactly know what the best way is to try to get on good terms with the U.S. government and with the White House. Is it to do what’s right for American national security, or might it also be to do a business deal with the President of the United States and the entities he controls? Just to clarify, when the President’s businesses are engaged in negotiations, for instance with the UAE on their stable-coin business – there was this big investment announced recently – you are not part of those negotiations. Those are being done by the President’s family or those representing the President’s businesses?”

    RUBIO: “I am not aware the President is involved in managing any business, other than the presidency of the United States. His family is allowed to make business deals. They continue to operate the enterprises that his family ran. I also don’t accept the notion that these deals – for example in Saudi Arabia, or the UAE or Qatar – had anything to do with the President. For example, Qatar bought $200 billion worth of airplanes from Boeing. The President’s not – as far as I know– a shareholder of Boeing. He certainly does not own Boeing. The overwhelming – if you look at the deals that were structured, they were involved with investments in the United States, that’s the deals he signed, and/or investments in, for example, the UAE or Saudi Arabia, involving artificial intelligence.”

    MURPHY: “UAE did announce a massive investment in World Liberty Financial, and World Liberty Financial is controlled by the President. And the President does actively engage in these businesses. He uses his social media to market the businesses that are being run by his family. I mean, just go on to his social media feed and you will see him marketing his meme coin. That is the President of the United States, that is not his sons doing it.”

    RUBIO: “But just to be clear, that was not an announcement as part of this trade visit that was conducted into the Middle East.”

    MURPHY: “Well, whether or not it was made during the time the President was there, there are obviously business deals being done between Trump entities and these countries.

    “Let me ask you about the one that is probably most confusing to this Committee, which is the planned gift of a plane to either the United States government or the President. Is it your understanding that this luxury plane that Qatar has offered the President – and the President has announced he is willing to accept – is a gift to the United States government? Or is it a gift, ultimately, to the President himself that he can use in his library?”

    RUBIO: “Well you would have to talk to the Department of Defense because this is a replacement, or at least a temporary bridge plane, for Air Force One – the new Air Force One – which is way off of its delivery schedule. And so that would have to be with the Air Force. They operate Air Force One. My understanding of it basically has been from the very beginning that this is a plane that was identified after talking to Boeing about what other planes around the world would fit the bill – that are out there, that could be used now – they identified the ones the Qataris had as an opportunity for one, and the ones the UAE had as an opportunity for one, and that’s how that–“

    MURPHY: “And it’s not your understanding that the plane ultimately will belong to the President, or to the President’s library, after?”

    RUBIO: “I’m not involved at that level of it. I’ve never heard that before. What I’ve heard is that that plane will replace Air Force One which is an Air Force plane.”

    MURPHY: “Let me ask you about the dinner that’s happening this Thursday night. The President has offered access to him to the 200 top purchasers of his meme coin. Reports are that maybe about half or more of those individuals, who will be meeting with him, many in a VIP reception, are foreigners. Do you have a list of those foreign individuals who will be meeting with the President?”

    RUBIO: “I don’t. I don’t know anything about it. I didn’t even know there was a dinner on Thursday night, so I’m not sure what you’re referring to.”

    MURPHY: “So you don’t know whether any of the foreign individuals who are going to be meeting with the President this Thursday night, for instance, are on our list of sanctioned individuals, or whether any of those individuals have connections to, let’s say, terrorist organizations abroad?”

    RUBIO: “Well I think if they had terrorist links the Department of Homeland Security probably would not have allowed them into the country. But, again, I don’t even know there is a dinner on Thursday. You’re asking me about something I don’t know about.”

    MURPHY: “Listen, this is a dinner that the President is having. It is likely going to involve some very significant foreign interests. You have to be pretty wealthy in order to be able to get inside this dinner. Isn’t that a relevant question for the Secretary of State–”

    RUBIO: “I’m not the Social Secretary.”

    MURPHY: “–which foreign interests are going to be speaking to the President?”

    RUBIO: “No.”

    MURPHY: “I mean, it’s kind of naive to believe they aren’t going to be in that room talking about national security matters.”

    RUBIO: “I don’t think that that’s the case at all, because I would be aware if it was the case. The truth of the matter is I interact with government officials and others in governments of other countries. You’re asking about a dinner I don’t know anything about. I can’t answer you because I don’t know anything about this dinner. It’s the first I heard of it. Like I said, I don’t keep the President’s social schedule. It’s not on my phone. It’s not in my pocket. I can’t comment on a dinner I know nothing about.”

    MURPHY: “I think that represents a real problem for this Committee, because there is clearly a way around the State Department for foreign individuals of significant influence and wealth, to be able to directly lobby the President of the United States. And so if your answer is that you don’t know this is happening, that in and of itself is a problem.”

    RUBIO: “I don’t think that’s fair. I don’t know that there’s a dinner, and I don’t know what the guest list is, but I can tell you I’ve run into the President of FIFA from the World Cup. He’s here all the time. I see him. He’s a private individual, it’s not a government entity, and he’s met with the President and is friendly with the President. He doesn’t have to go through me to meet with the President. The President has relationships and friends and people he’s known for a long time. Some of them are foreigners. That’s not unusual. But you’re asking me about a specific dinner and implying nefarious impact. I can’t comment on a dinner.”

    MURPHY: “Yeah, but those are people that he’s known for a long time. These are individuals who just bought their way into a meeting with the President. I think you should probably endeavor to get your hands on the list to make sure that there aren’t individuals there who are perhaps contravening national security interests that the Department of State is prioritizing.”

    RUBIO: “I don’t have any concern about that. I don’t have any concern that the President having dinner with someone is going to contravene the national security of the United States.”

    MURPHY: “Thank you, Mr. Chairman.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI: ESET Research uncovers Operation RoundPress: Russia-aligned Sednit targets entities linked to the Ukraine war to steal confidential data

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    • ESET researchers uncovered the Operation RoundPress espionage campaign, with Russia-aligned Sednit group most likely behind it.
    • In Operation RoundPress, the compromise vector is a spearphishing email leveraging an XSS vulnerability to inject malicious JavaScript code into the victim’s webmail page. It targets Roundcube, Horde, MDaemon, and Zimbra webmail software.
    • Most victims are governmental entities and defense companies in Eastern Europe, although ESET has observed governments in Africa, Europe, and South America being targeted as well.
    • The payloads are able to steal webmail credentials, and exfiltrate contacts and email messages from the victim’s mailbox.
    • Additionally, SpyPress.MDAEMON is able to set up a bypass for two-factor authentication.

    MONTREAL and BRATISLAVA, Slovakia, May 20, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — ESET researchers have uncovered a Russia-aligned espionage operation, which ESET named RoundPress, targeting webmail servers via XSS vulnerabilities. Behind it is most likely the Russia-aligned Sednit (also known as Fancy Bear or APT28) cyberespionage group, holding the ultimate goal of stealing confidential data from specific email accounts. Most of the targets are related to the current war in Ukraine; they are either Ukrainian governmental entities or defense companies in Bulgaria and Romania. Notably, some of these defense companies are producing Soviet-era weapons to be sent to Ukraine. Other targets include African, EU, and South American governments.

    “Last year, we observed different XSS vulnerabilities being used to target additional webmail software: Horde, MDaemon, and Zimbra. Sednit also started to use a more recent vulnerability in Roundcube, CVE-2023-43770. The MDaemon vulnerability — CVE-2024-11182, now patched — was a zero day, most likely discovered by Sednit, while the ones for Horde, Roundcube, and Zimbra were already known and patched,” says ESET researcher Matthieu Faou, who discovered and investigated Operation RoundPress. Sednit sends these XSS exploits by email; the exploits lead to the execution of malicious JavaScript code in the context of the webmail client web page running in a browser window. Therefore, only data accessible from the target’s account can be read and exfiltrated.

    In order for the exploit to work, the target must be convinced to open the email message in the vulnerable webmail portal. This means that the email needs to bypass any spam filtering, and the subject line needs to be convincing enough to entice the target into reading the email message — abusing well-known news media such as Ukrainian news outlet Kyiv Post or Bulgarian news portal News.bg. Among the headlines used as spearphishing were: “SBU arrested a banker who worked for enemy military intelligence in Kharkiv” and “Putin seeks Trump’s acceptance of Russian conditions in bilateral relations”.

    The attackers unleash JavaScript payloads SpyPress.HORDE, SpyPress.MDAEMON, SpyPress.ROUNDCUBE, and SpyPress.ZIMBRA upon the targets. Those are capable of credential stealing; exfiltration of the address book, contacts, and log-in history; and exfiltration of email messages. SpyPress.MDAEMON is able to set up a bypass for two-factor authentication protection; it exfiltrates the two-factor authentication secret and creates an app password, which enables the attackers to access the mailbox from a mail application.

    “Over the past two years, webmail servers such as Roundcube and Zimbra have been a major target for several espionage groups, including Sednit, GreenCube, and Winter Vivern. Because many organizations don’t keep their webmail servers up to date, and because the vulnerabilities can be triggered remotely by sending an email message, it is very convenient for attackers to target such servers for email theft,” explains Faou.

    The Sednit group — also known as APT28, Fancy Bear, Forest Blizzard, or Sofacy — has been operating since at least 2004. The U.S. Department of Justice named the group as one of those responsible for the Democratic National Committee (DNC) hack just before the 2016 U.S. elections and linked the group to the GRU. The group is also presumed to be behind the hacking of global television network TV5Monde, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) email leak, and many other incidents.

    For a more detailed analysis and technical breakdown of Sednit’s tools used in Operation RoundPress, check out the latest ESET Research blogpost “Operation RoundPress” on WeLiveSecurity.com. Make sure to follow ESET Research on Twitter (today known as X), BlueSky, and Mastodon for the latest news from ESET Research.

    Map of operation RoundPress targets, according to ESET telemetry

    About ESET

    ESET® provides cutting-edge digital security to prevent attacks before they happen. By combining the power of AI and human expertise, ESET stays ahead of emerging global cyberthreats, both known and unknown — securing businesses, critical infrastructure, and individuals. Whether it’s endpoint, cloud, or mobile protection, our AI-native, cloud-first solutions and services remain highly effective and easy to use. ESET technology includes robust detection and response, ultra-secure encryption, and multifactor authentication. With 24/7 real-time defense and strong local support, we keep users safe and businesses running without interruption. The ever-evolving digital landscape demands a progressive approach to security: ESET is committed to world-class research and powerful threat intelligence, backed by R&D centers and a strong global partner network. For more information, visit www.eset.com or follow our social media, podcasts and blogs.

    A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/eee3ee68-80dc-4136-a11d-6f498092f7d1

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Cortez Masto Calls on Trump Administration to Strengthen American Critical Mineral Supply Chain

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Nevada Cortez Masto
    Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) submitted a letter to the U.S. Department of Commerce in response to their Section 232 National Security Investigation of Imports of Processed Critical Minerals and their Derivative Products calling on the Trump Administration to take strategic action to protect, invest in, and strengthen America’s critical mineral supply chain. The Senator also expressed concern that the Administration’s recent tariff policy has undermined our economic and national security.
    “First, critical minerals are deeply important to the economy of Nevada,” the Senator wrote. “It is not an understatement to say that the actions taken in this investigation could impact Nevada more than any other state in the country. Therefore, I encourage you to proceed in a cautious and consultative manner to ensure that any actions taken do not adversely impact my constituents and businesses. Second, I am concerned that President Trump’s trade actions to date work counter to U.S. economic and national security. Blanket tariffs on allies and the chaotic uncertainty of the administration’s trade policy undermine our ability to attract greater U.S. investment and strengthen U.S. critical mineral supply chains.”
    Within Nevada is the “lithium loop” – a region within 250 miles of Reno where critical minerals are mined, extracted, and processed; electric vehicles and batteries are produced; and lithium batteries and other materials are recycled. The state has 19 times more lithium deposits than the next highest state, and Nevada is home to Albemarle’s Silver Peak facilities – the only facility with commercial-scale lithium production in the U.S.
    “Instead of indiscriminate tariffs on allies, we should be imposing strategic tariffs on adversaries,” the Senator continued. “Instead of eliminating tax credits that catalyze investment and growth, we should be expanding tax credits to ensure America dominates the industries of the future. I stand ready to work with you and the administration on any policies that help Nevadans, particularly in these sectors and supply chains which are so key to my state’s economy.”
    Read the full letter here.
    Senator Cortez Masto has led efforts in Congress to strengthen our national security and supply chains. Earlier this year, the Senator demanded Secretary of Defense Hegseth and Secretary of the Treasury Bessent provide answers on the national security impacts of President Trump’s tariffs on Canadian goods. She has consistently blocked burdensome taxes on mining and wrote important provisions of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to bolster Nevada’s critical mineral supply chain. She’s also introduced bipartisan legislation to strengthen the domestic supply chain for rare-earth magnets, which are critical components of cell phones, computers, defense systems, and electric vehicles, but are almost exclusively made in China.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Senator Marshall Joins Fox Business to Discuss the ‘One Big, Beautiful Bill’ and Potential Coverup of Biden’s Health

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Kansas Roger Marshall

    Washington – U.S. Senator Roger Marshall, M.D. (R-Kansas) joined Maria Bartiromo on Fox Business this morning to discuss Joe Biden’s cancer announcement and the questions surrounding the timing of these revelations and the need to quickly pass President Donald Trump’s ‘One Big, Beautiful Bill.’

    You may click HERE or above to watch Senator Marshall’s full interview on Fox Business.
    President Trump commented on Senator Marshall’s interview on Truth Social:

    Highlights from the interview include:
    On the next great cover-up from Joe Biden’s Administration:
    Senator Marshall: “What we do know is that, typically, this type of cancer takes at least two years to spread to the bones, at least two years, typically five years. It’s inconceivable to me that they weren’t doing PSA tests. If they were doing them, show them to us. If they weren’t, then show us that as well. All they have to do to dispel this rumor is show us the data. Show us the President’s records.
    “But the big issue here, to me is, what about six months from now when. Let’s just assume that Joe Biden will be completely mentally incapacitated in six months now they’re going to go back and say, Oh, these are metastases from the prostate, the cancer that caused this, not the Alzheimer’s that we’ve been seeing or the Parkinson’s, whichever it is, if not both of them, that’s been affecting his mental capacity now for several years.”
    On how this is seemingly yet another cover-up by the Biden Administration:
    Senator Marshall: “And they’ll continue the lie. The legacy media is complicit in all this, the White House, his White House, surrounding him, is complicit in this. Look, they’ve lied to us about Russia, Russia, Russia. They lied to us about the Hunter Biden laptop. They lied to us about all things COVID, and now there is one more cover-up.
    “Joe Biden has been out of office now for, what, not even six months a year, and there’s one more cover-up here. The great great cover-up is upon us. So coincidental, right after the Hur testimony comes out, that recording, which was way worse than I would have thought it would have been. Joe Biden had tangential thought processes going on. There is a classic sign of Alzheimer’s disease, as we know that he couldn’t complete sentences, really. He didn’t have any memory recollection beyond 2015 if you listen to that tape.”
    On how the cover-up put America and the world at risk:
    Senator Marshall: “Is there any doubt why Putin was not afraid to invade Ukraine? Is there any doubt why President Xi in China was going to walk all over us on trade agreements? All this points to we had a very weak leader. And again, who was running the country? And you’ve said this on your show so many times, who was running the country, who was signing those executive orders, who was signing the bills into law, all the people that he pardoned. Did you really know the story of who they were pardoning, but it was not the person that America elected.”
    On what’s next for the ‘One Big, Beautiful Bill’:
    Senator Marshall: “So I do have confidence, I have all the confidence in the world in Speaker Johnson, all the confidence world in leader, soon, if this is a ball game, we’d be in the third inning. The starting pitchers have both been knocked out. We’re into our middle relief, but we had the greatest closer of all time in Donald Trump. I mean, I think about Mario Rivera and his cutter fastball. That’s what President Trump has. I’m very confident. The big difference, I think, is this, the Republican Senate is more conservative than the House Republican caucus right now. We don’t have Senators from a SALT state.
    “Look, they’re probably trying to cut about one and a half trillion dollars. We think we need to cut at least a minimum of $2 trillion that’s probably the biggest difference between the two bills. The SALT is a great example. We don’t have a senator from a SALT state. What they’re talking about doing is going to cost American taxpayers a trillion dollars over the next 10 years. So, people from Kansas look like we’re supplementing folks from California, from Illinois, from New York, on this SALT deduction tax to the tune of a trillion dollars. We don’t think that that’s fair. So, they’ll get something across the finish line. Give it to us. We’ll make it better. We’ll work with President Trump and get him this One Big, Beautiful Bill.”
    On the importance of getting the ‘One Big, Beautiful Bill’ across the finish line:
    Senator Marshall: “We don’t have any choice. We have to get this bill across the finish line, or we’re going to see the largest tax increase in American history, a $4 trillion tax increase. We have to get it across the finish line. President Trump says we need to take care of this ceiling, of this debt ceiling… To your point, if we don’t, then the Democrats will weaponize it against us. So, we have to take care of it now, and that’s going to allow us to work towards a balanced budget as we go forward. We need to get last year behind us, focus on the future, and start working towards a balanced budget.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: SBA Launches Onshoring Portal to Advance America’s Economic Comeback

    Source: United States Small Business Administration

    WASHINGTON — Today, Kelly Loeffler, Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), announced the launch of the Make Onshoring Great Again Portal, a free tool designed to help small businesses identify U.S. manufacturers and producers. With a database of more than 1 million American suppliers, the searchable portal will empower job creators to source domestic suppliers to support their operations – which will in turn support American jobs, reconnect our supply chain with U.S-based production, and end our nation’s concentrated dependence on foreign suppliers and adversaries like the Chinese Communist Party.

    “The SBA is proud to support President Donald J. Trump’s mission to restore America’s economic resurgence by empowering small businesses with the resources to supercharge the return of Made in America,” said SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler. “The Make Onshoring Great Again Portal will give job creators a direct line to more than one million domestic suppliers – replacing foreign dependence with access to American-made solutions. It’s a decisive step toward rebuilding our nation’s strength through stronger supply chains, better products, and a renewed commitment to American industry, small business, and workers.”

    The SBA is working with several private-sector cosponsors to provide public access to three free databases representing more than 1 million U.S. based manufacturers, producers, and suppliers. Not only will the portal enable small businesses to support American industry and workers – it will also benefit job creators by helping them source domestic supply chains that will deliver shortened lead times, improved quality control, and reduced exposure to overseas disruptions.

    The Made in America Onshoring Portal builds on the SBA’s ongoing commitment to revitalizing American industry. Earlier this year, the agency launched the Made in America Manufacturing Initiative, which is aimed at expanding access to capital for U.S. manufacturers, promoting a skilled workforce, and cutting $100 billion in red tape. The agency has also endorsed recent bipartisan, bicameral legislation to double the SBA loan cap for small manufacturers in the effort to supercharge the return of American manufacturing dominance.

    For more information, please visit the Make Onshoring Great Again Portal at: www.sba.gov/priorities/american-manufacturers/make-onshoring-great-again-portal

    # # #

    About the U.S. Small Business Administration

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

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: ICYMI—Hagerty Joins Varney & Co. on Fox Business to Discuss Trump’s Capitol Hill Meeting on Reconciliation, GENIUS Act

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Tennessee Bill Hagerty

    WASHINGTON—Today, United States Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN), a member of the Senate Appropriations, Banking, and Foreign Relations Committees and former U.S. Ambassador to Japan, joined Varney & Co. on Fox Business to discuss President Donald Trump’s meeting on Capitol Hill on the budget reconciliation package, along with the GENIUS Act.

    *Click the photo above or here to watch*

    Partial Transcript

    Hagerty on Trump’s meeting on Capitol Hill: “We’re watching what the president had to say coming out of the meeting. We’re very focused on this bill, making certain that it happens. But I’ll say this: a lot of the projections, a lot of the prognosticators are pointing to a growth in the deficit, revenue shortfalls, etc. I’ll take us back to 2017. If you think about what the Congressional Budget Office was saying, they were looking at a revenue decrease from President Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. What happened? We actually had a revenue increase. They don’t capture the dynamics, as was mentioned before, tariff revenues, cost savings coming from the DOGE efforts and a lot of effort that’s going on within the agencies beyond DOGE. I think there’s a lot more to be captured here and the Senate is looking forward to getting our teams on this and looking for even more significant cuts than the House has delivered so far.”

    Hagerty on moving forward on the GENIUS Act in the Senate:     “I think we have broad agreement from a policy standpoint between Democrats and Republicans. We had a good evening last night, and I think there are actually a number of other folks that aren’t on the bill just yet that will become supportive of it. So, I feel very good about where we’re going. The momentum is very positive right now. All the feedback I’ve had since last night has been extremely positive. So, we’re going to be working at pace this week—we might even get it done this week—that would be great if we could.”

    Hagerty on the GENIUS Act’s impact on the financial system: “It puts our financial system and our payment system more specifically into the modern times. What we rely upon today was designed in the seventies and eighties. This is a chance to completely modernize our payment system to make sure that the innovation that’s happening around the entire industry stays here in America. And importantly, the stablecoin is dollar-denominated, that will perpetuate the dollar’s position, dollar’s dominance as the reserve currency of the world. And it will also increase demand for treasury bills here in America, which is a good thing as well […] The stablecoin legislation requires that each dollar stablecoin be backed fully by either a dollar in cash or short-term treasuries. To do that, the stablecoin issuer has to go and purchase short-term treasuries. Already, stablecoin issuers are large owners of treasuries, and by 2030, Citi projects that stablecoin issuers will be the largest owner of U.S. treasuries in the world.”

    Hagerty on the ability to buy stablecoins:     “You’ll be able to [purchase stablecoins] almost instantaneously. And again, the payment system is there. We just need to give a legal framework for it to thrive here in America. Otherwise, we’ll see what’s been happening. It’s going to keep moving offshore. This is a better way for us to protect consumers, and it’s certainly a better way for us to make certain that America remains the hotbed of competition and innovation in this space […] If you think about it, this is great for dollar dominance as well. We’ve seen a slight erosion, but this is going to make certain that the dollar is the currency of choice around the world, because that’s where all the digital trading is going to go. And again, enhancing the demand for treasuries helps us, particularly at a time when we’re trying to work this deficit down.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: With the Law in Front of Him, Trump IRS Nominee Refuses to Say It’s Illegal for the President to Weaponize the IRS Against His Political Enemies

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Massachusetts – Elizabeth Warren

    May 20, 2025

    Warren questioned Long on Trump’s threats to revoke Harvard’s non-profit status

    Warren: “It’s clear the statute makes it illegal…And the fact that you want to sit there and dance around about this tells me that you shouldn’t be within 1000 miles…of the IRS.” 

    Video of Exchange (YouTube)

    Washington, D.C. — At a hearing of the Senate Finance Committee, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) questioned IRS Commissioner nominee Billy Long about the legality of President Trump’s threats to revoke Harvard’s non-profit status—and any other efforts by the President to use the IRS to target individual taxpayers. 

    In early May, President Trump threatened to revoke Harvard University’s tax-exempt status after the university refused to cave to his demands. 

    Despite Senator Warren walking him through the law and giving him over a dozen opportunities to answer, Mr. Long refused to say whether it is illegal for the President of the United States to instruct the IRS to remove a taxpayer’s non-profit status. 

    Federal law states that “[i]t shall be unlawful for [the President] to request, directly or indirectly, any officer or employee of the Internal Revenue Service to conduct or terminate an audit or other investigation of any particular taxpayer.” In a meeting three weeks ago, Senator Warren asked Mr. Long whether it would be unlawful for the President to direct the IRS to revoke the nonprofit status of a taxpayer and sent Mr. Long a copy of the relevant statute after the meeting to review with counsel. Despite this, Mr. Long was still unable to answer the question. 

    “[Y]ou’d have a lot more credibility if you would just say yes. It’s clear the statute makes it illegal for the President to direct the IRS vis-à-vis any particular taxpayer. And the fact that you want to sit there and dance around about this tells me that you shouldn’t be within 1000 miles of the directorship of the IRS,” concluded Senator Warren. 

    Transcript: Hearing to Consider the Nomination of William Long, of Missouri, to be Commissioner of Internal Revenue for the remainder of the term expiring November 12, 2027
    Senate Finance Committee
    May 20, 2025 

    Senator Elizabeth Warren: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. So the IRS collects nearly all federal revenue and that means that behind every road we build, every Social Security check that we pay is the IRS, making sure everyone pays what the law says they owe. No politics. But Donald Trump has a different idea. He wants to use the IRS to punish his enemies.

    On May 2, Trump said, “We are going to be taking away Harvard’s Tax Exempt Status.” Harvard wouldn’t cave in to other demands Trump made, so Trump said he would hurt them using the IRS. Now, this is about more than Harvard. It is a threat to anyone who might displease the President, including the people or organizations that can’t afford to have an expensive legal battle if Trump sets the IRS on them.

    So, Mr. Long, when you and I met, I asked you whether it was illegal for the President to tell the IRS to revoke a taxpayer’s non-profit status. And you said in our meeting that you weren’t sure, but you would take a look and consult with lawyers. I sent you the statute, you’ve had three weeks to talk to the lawyers about it, so let’s jump in.

    Mr. Long, is it illegal for the President to direct the IRS to revoke a taxpayer’s non-profit status?

    Mr. Billy Long, nominee for Commissioner of the IRS: In the first place, he wouldn’t do that —

    Senator Warren: That’s not my question Mr. Long. Please don’t start down this. 

    Mr. Long: Are we on Section 7212 or 7217? 

    Senator Warren: I’m at 26 U.S.C. 7217. Do I need to read it to you? 

    Mr. Long: “Prohibits any member of the executive branch to request the IRS to conduct or terminate an audit on a taxpayer.” 

    Senator Warren: Alrighty. So is it illegal—

    Mr. Long: I’m going to follow the law. And if that’s the law, yes. 

    Senator Warren: Okay, but I want you—that is the law. So I just want to be clear: is it illegal for the President of the United States to instruct the IRS to remove a taxpayer’s non-profit status? 

    Mr. Long: “Prohibits any member of the executive branch to request the IRS to conduct or terminate an audit of a taxpayer.” 

    Senator Warren: Is that a yes? 

    Mr. Long: I’d have to go to the lawyers at the IRS to tell me. 

    Senator Warren: No. Come on. You just read it. 

    Mr. Long: I know, but I don’t see the instance that you’re speaking about in there. Correct me if I’m wrong but I don’t see—

    Senator Warren: Look, it says “it shall be unlawful for any applicable person,” which in this case includes the President, “to request, directly or indirectly, any officer or employee of the Internal Revenue Service to conduct or terminate an audit or other investigation of any particular taxpayer.” 

    Is it illegal for the President to instruct the IRS to remove non-profit status from a taxpayer? 

    Mr. Long: I’m not going to have the answer you need, and I apologize but like I said—

    Senator Warren: Why are you not having the answer? You’ve had three weeks to consult with lawyers, the statute is about as clear as plain English makes possible—

    Mr. Long: Well, if I say I’m going to follow the law, why would you need to ask me the question? 

    Senator Warren: Well, because I want to make sure that you understand what the law says. If you think ‘follow the law’ means you just get to make it up on the spot, then bud, you don’t get to be the IRS Commissioner. The point here is to follow the law as it is written and I’m asking what I think is a pretty simple question: can the President of the United States legally tell the IRS to change someone’s nonprofit status?

    Mr. Long: I’m not able to answer—

    Senator Warren: You can’t read these words and tell what those words say?

    Mr. Long: I can read the statute and I did but—

    Senator Warren: Alright, then tell me what they mean. What does it mean to say that ‘a person, an applicable person’ here—that’s the President, right?

    Mr. Long: Yes. 

    Senator Warren: Alright, ‘cannot directly or indirectly,’ right? 

    Mr. Long: (silence)

    Senator Warren: ‘Tell any officer or employee,’ that would be you, ‘of the Internal Revenue Service to conduct or terminate an audit or other investigation of any particular taxpayer.’ What part do you not understand here? 

    Mr. Long: It seems to be a non-profit—I don’t see exactly what it refers to—

    Senator Warren: Any taxpayer. To start an investigation of any taxpayer. 

    Mr. Long: If it’s illegal, I’m not going to allow it to happen at my IRS. 

    Senator Warren: Is it illegal? That’s the question. 

    Mr. Long: Me and you will be friends then. I want to be your friend anyway but we will be on the same page. I’m going to follow the law, and if that’s point blank the law—

    Senator Warren: What do you understand the law to be saying about the President telling the IRS in his dealings with any particular taxpayer? What do you understand this law to be saying? 

    Mr. Long: I think it sounds like it’s saying what you are saying, but I don’t—I’ve got a little bit of a section here, and I looked at it, I talked to an attorney that used to be at the IRS and now is going to maybe be back at the IRS and I’m sorry if I don’t have the answer.

    Senator Warren: What? You mean the lawyers told you that they couldn’t understand this?

    Mr. Long: The what? 

    Senator Warren: The lawyers told you they couldn’t understand this? 

    Mr. Long: I didn’t say that. 

    Senator Warren: Well, then tell me, what part do you not understand? It says ‘no person,’ and you’ve said that includes the President, ‘cannot instruct any officer,’ that would be you, ‘of the IRS to conduct or terminate an audit or other investigation for any particular taxpayer.’

    Mr. Long: I don’t intend to let anyone direct me to start an audit for a political reason or any type of reason. 

    Senator Warren: Does that include the President of the United States? 

    Mr. Long: Anyone. 

    Senator Warren: Can you say yes? That the President of the United States cannot tell the IRS what to do.  

    Mr. Long: I can tell them they’re not going to tell me what to do. I can’t speak for if there’s other agents at the IRS that you’re talking about, but I’m telling you what I don’t want to have happen at my IRS. 

    Senator Warren: You know, Mr. Long, you’d have a lot more credibility if you would just say yes. It’s clear the statute makes it illegal for the President to direct the IRS vis-à-vis any particular taxpayer. And the fact that you want to sit there and dance around about this tells me that you shouldn’t be within 1000 miles of the directorship of the IRS. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: WATCH: Ranking Member Pingree Blasts Interior Budget as a Blueprint for Destruction

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (1st District of Maine)

    Today, during the House Appropriations Interior and Environment Subcommittee hearing for the Fiscal Year 2026 budget request with Secretary Burgum, Ranking Member Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) laid out how the Trump Administration is dismantling the Department of the Interior—abandoning its core mission to protect our environment, preserve our public lands, and help steward our natural resources in order to pay for tax cuts for billionaires. 
    [embedded content]
    Click here to watch Pingree’s opening remarks; Watch the full hearing here.

    Pingree’s remarks as prepared for delivery:

    Secretary Burgum, we appreciate your being here today. This is my first chance to meet you, and I want to thank you for bringing your many skills as a former governor and businessman to this very important position.

    The Department of the Interior is tasked with protecting and managing our natural resources and cultural heritage, providing scientific information about those resources, and honoring our treaty and trust responsibilities.

    I will warn you, I am deeply, deeply concerned with the state of the Department of the Interior. In just four months, the Department has been destabilized, and there has been a stunning decline in its ability to meet this mission. Given your extensive executive experience, I am stunned and disappointed that you would allow this to happen.

     In partnership with Elon Musk’s rogue “agency” DOGE, you illegally canceled grants for conservation, for ecosystem restoration, and other important work. Over 1,700 probationary employees have been recklessly fired and 7,600 (or 11%) of the Interior workforce have been pushed to resign. These are not just numbers—those people are experts and dedicated public servants with decades of programmatic and institutional knowledge that is critically needed to ensure the Department fulfills its mission as a guardian of our public lands.

    To make matters worse, you instituted a hiring freeze and are considering even further reductions-in-force. I don’t see this ending well for this precious agency that this committee is dedicated to overseeing. And that this committee has devoted hundreds of hours to nurturing.

    Further, due to the policies you have instituted, employees are hamstrung from accomplishing everyday tasks by absurdly limiting credit card expenditures to $1. This is no way to efficiently run an organization. In fact, these actions seem to be designed to obstruct employees from doing their job.

    Even the National Park Service is under attack: Ahead of peak season, you have gutted staff—leaving national parks like Acadia, in my home state of Maine, understaffed and without the resources needed to keep summer visitors safe, and our parks pristine and protected.

    Your Fiscal Year 2026 budget is equally devastating, with a proposed cut to the Department of 30%.

    The budget eviscerates the U.S. Geological Survey with a proposed $564 million cut, targeting scientific research on natural hazards, ecosystems, water, and Earth mapping. These programs help us monitor and provide real-time earthquake and hazard information, they strengthen our assessment of groundwater and surface water systems, and they help ensure our national safety by informing the management of our mineral and energy resources.

    Without these programs, our communities will be left vulnerable to natural disasters and deprived of the scientific data that guides responsible land management.

    The budget shamefully abandons our trust and treaty obligations to Native Americans, slashing the Bureau of Indian Affairs public safety and justice programs by 19% when we are already only meeting a fraction of the need. You’ve also chosen to eliminate funding for desperately needed school construction, leaving a $1 billion repair backlog untouched.

    Secretary Burgum, the document we are here to discuss today is more than just a budget. It is a blueprint for dismantling the very mission of the Department of the Interior, making it impossible to protect our natural resources and iconic national parks or uphold our commitments to Tribal communities now and for future generations.

    As Ranking Member of this subcommittee, I wholeheartedly oppose these harmful cuts, and I will not stand by while you attempt to hollow out this agency.

    Thank you again for being here this morning. I hope you are prepared to give a rationale for your decisions or work with us to reverse them.

    I yield back.

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: NFFE-IAM, IAM Union Welcomes MBDA Workers Back To Work After Court Injunction  

    Source: US GOIAM Union

    WASHINGTON, May 20, 2025—The National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE-IAM) and the IAM Union (International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers) gathered outside the Department of Commerce today to welcome back the 35 employees at the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) who had been placed on administrative leave and faced a Reduction in Force (RIF) threat under a Trump administration Executive Order. 

    WATCH: NFFE-IAM, IAM Union Welcomes Minority Business Development Agency Employees Back to Work  

    VIEW PHOTOS FROM THE EVENT  

    NFFE-IAM members at the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) were able to return to work today after the Rhode Island U.S. District Court issued a preliminary injunction on May 7, 2025,  that protects the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) from an executive order calling for its dismantling. The court stated that the executive order violates the Administrative Procedures Act, separation of powers principles, and the Take Care clause of the U.S. Constitution.

    “I’m proud to stand here today on behalf of NFFE Local 2 to welcome our colleagues back to work,” said Angela Washington, Shop Steward for NFFE-IAM Local 2. “For two years, I’ve served as a steward for these employees, and I’ve seen firsthand their critical work. MBDA is one of 13 bureaus within the Department of Commerce, and it plays a vital role in supporting socially and economically disadvantaged communities by providing access to capital, contracts, and technical assistance. The return of these employees means a return to serving businesses that help create more than 14,000 jobs annually and over $2 billion in access to capital. This is a win for equity, workers, and the communities we serve.”

    The MBDA is the only federal agency solely dedicated to the growth and global competitiveness of minority business enterprises (MBEs). It achieves this mission by funding a national network of business centers and providing technical assistance, access to capital, and market development services.

    “We are happy to welcome back NFFE-IAM members employed by MBDA,” said NFFE-IAM National President Randy Erwin. “Now they can return to their mission of fostering the growth and competitiveness of minority-owned businesses. We will continue to ensure they are treated with dignity and respect in the workplace.” 

    The IAM Union (International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers) is one of North America’s largest and most diverse industrial trade unions, representing approximately 600,000 active and retired members in the aerospace, defense, airlines, railroad, transit, healthcare, automotive, and other industries. 

    goIAM.org | @IAM_Union

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    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Reed Slams Republicans for Advancing Bill to Rip Health Care Away from Millions & Warns GOP Will Impose Higher Health Costs for All

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Rhode Island Jack Reed

    WASHINGTON, DC — Today, Republicans in the House Energy and Commerce and Ways and Means Committees voted along party lines to severely cut Medicaid and blow a hole in America’s health care system in order to provide bigger tax benefits to billionaires and big corporations.

    The House Republican plan would take health care away from millions of Americans, including children and seniors in nursing home, as well as people battling cancer or addiction, and working families who don’t receive health care through their employers.  It would result in 10.3 million people losing Medicaid coverage and 7.6 million people going uninsured, according to an analysis by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).

    Today, U.S. Senator Jack Reed denounced the Republican plan to cut Medicaid, stating:

    “The American people want more people to have health insurance and for it to be more affordable.  Republicans apparently don’t agree and want to whack Medicaid so fewer people have coverage and costs go up.  These Trump inspired cuts will do real harm – pushing seniors out of nursing homes, increasing hospital closures, and denying families access to preventative care.  If you think the emergency room is crowded now, just wait until Trump’s Medicaid cuts happen.  

    “These cuts to Medicaid are extremely unpopular, which is why Republicans hope people don’t notice.  I urge citizens to look closely at what Congressional Republicans and the Trump Administration are trying to do here.  Get engaged before it is too late. 

    “Ensuring the health care system is strong, sustainable, affordable, and accessible to all will do more to save Americans their hard earned money, rather than a few dollars in tax cuts.  Congressional Republicans are trying to jam Medicaid cuts through without people noticing.  Trump Administration officials are trying to incorrectly brand Medicaid, which covers hundreds of thousands of Rhode Islanders, as ‘welfare.’  It’s not welfare – it’s a lifeline.

    “I will continue to sound the alarm and oppose it every step of the way.  We have a long way to go, and together, we can make a difference.  But ordinary people need to speak up and send a message that if Republicans cut Medicaid, they will be held accountable.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Lawmakers Raise Alarm Over Trump’s Middle East AI Giveaway

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Rhode Island Jack Reed

    WASHINGTON, DC  — President Donald Trump’s efforts to curry favor from several wealthy royal families that rule over countries in the Middle East and cut artificial intelligence deals with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) could threaten U.S. national security and put American economic interests at risk.

    Today. U.S. Senators Jack Reed (D-RI), Chris Coons (D-DE), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Mark Warner (D-VA), and Mark Kelly (D-AZ) along with Congressmen Jim Himes (D-CT) and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) issued the following joint statement in response to President Trump’s artificial intelligence deals that were announced with Saudi Arabia and the UAE this week:

    “Democrats and Republicans have long agreed that American companies must remain the undisputed leader in AI, a rapidly developing technology critical to the future of everything from our national security to manufacturing, finance to health care. We have worked hard to ensure the most powerful AI systems are built here, and we have fought to restrict the most sophisticated chips from reaching China – or those who would grant remote access to China – given Beijing’s use of AI to strengthen its military, crack down on domestic dissent, and compete with the U.S.

    “President Trump announced deals to export very large volumes of advanced AI chips to the UAE and Saudi Arabia without credible security assurances to prevent U.S. adversaries from accessing those chips. These deals pose a significant threat to U.S. national security and fundamentally undermine bipartisan efforts to ensure the United States remains the global leader in AI. Rather than putting America first, this deal puts the Gulf first.

    “The volume of AI chips Trump is offering for export would deprive American AI developers of highly sought-after chips needed here and slow the U.S. AI buildout. Under this deal, data centers and AI systems that would otherwise be built in America will be built in the Middle East – at the exact time that President Trump says he wants to bring jobs and key industries back home. This deal would incentivize U.S. firms to build the factories of the future overseas, creating significant vulnerabilities in our AI supply chain. If our leading AI firms offshore their frontier computing infrastructure to the Middle East, we could become as reliant on the Middle East for AI as we are on Taiwan for advanced semiconductors – and as we used to be on the Middle East for oil. We should not foster new dependencies on foreign countries for this premier technology.

    “Additionally, these deals will provide our highest end chips to G42, a company with a well-documented history of cooperation with the People’s Republic of China. We applaud the administration’s efforts to limit exports of advanced AI chips to China, including recent actions to further restrict exports of Nvidia chips. However, these efforts will be for nothing if G42 or other companies with ties to China are given large quantities of our most advanced chips.

    “Proponents of the deal argue that China will fill the gap if we do not sell substantial quantities of advanced chips to these countries. This is false. China cannot and will not because China makes fewer chips as a nation than these deals offer, and each is inferior to their U.S.-designed equivalent. This is thanks to the bipartisan efforts under both the Trump and Biden administrations to cut off China’s access to advanced chip manufacturing equipment. These efforts have worked, and we should double down on this success rather than squander the leverage we have won.

    “If this deal succeeds, the offshoring of frontier American AI will be recorded as an historic American blunder. People around the world deserve to enjoy the benefits we will reap from AI. However, AI chips must only be exported to trusted companies, in reasonable numbers, and in concert with credible security standards and assurances. We welcome the opportunity to work with the administration to meet these objectives and urge our colleagues in Congress to do the same.”

    Senator Reed is Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.  Senator Coons is Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense. Senator Shaheen is Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Senator Warner is Vice Chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee. Senator Kelly is a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee. Congressman Himes is Ranking Member of the House Intelligence Committee. Congressman Krishnamoorthi is Ranking Member of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Leading National Security Senators to Trump: If your tariff tirade continues to spiral, “America First” may result in “America Alone”

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Rhode Island Jack Reed

    WASHINGTON, DC — This week, U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Jack Reed (D-RI), Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and Mark Warner (D-VA), Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, sent a letter to President Donald Trump expressing concern about the Administration’s tariff policy and its harmful impact on U.S. national security.

    The leading national security Senators warned that tariffs announced this year will cost American households thousands of dollars, increase inflation and undermine longstanding U.S. alliances and partnerships—ultimately harming U.S. national security interests. They urged President Trump to reassess the long-term national security consequences of a trade policy that isolates the U.S. from its closest partners. 

    “We are writing to express our deep concern over your Administration’s tariff policy and its harmful impact on U.S. national security,” wrote the Senators. “The tariffs announced this year will raise trade barriers to their highest level in more than a century, costing the average American household $4,900 per year, increasing inflation to as high as 5.5 percent and risking bankruptcy for small businesses across the country.”

    “Global stock markets have experienced wild fluctuations and companies have paused shipments to the United States, laid off workers and delayed new investments and expansion due to the uncertainty these tariffs have caused,” continued the Senators. “Yet this decision has an additional consequence: it undermines longstanding U.S. alliances and partnerships and harms our national security interests. We urge you to assess the long-term national security implications of your short-sighted, impulsive tariff agenda.”

    “As the Senate considers the Administration’s fiscal year 2026 budget request, we will hold a number of hearings,” concluded the Senators. “We expect Administration officials to speak to the impact of U.S. tariff actions on our alliances and partnerships as part of that process. If your tariff tirade continues to spiral, ‘America First’ may result in ‘America Alone,’ leaving our citizens less safe and our Nation less strong and less prosperous.”

    Full text of the letter follows:

    Dear President Trump,

    We are writing to express our deep concern over your Administration’s tariff policy and its harmful impact on U.S. national security. The tariffs announced this year will raise trade barriers to their highest level in more than a century, costing the average American household $4,900 per year, increasing inflation to as high as 5.5 percent and risking bankruptcy for small businesses across the country. Global stock markets have experienced wild fluctuations and companies have paused shipments to the United States, laid off workers and delayed new investments and expansion due to the uncertainty these tariffs have caused. Yet this decision has an additional consequence: it undermines longstanding U.S. alliances and partnerships and harms our national security interests. We urge you to assess the long-term national security implications of your short-sighted, impulsive tariff agenda.

    The April 2nd Executive Order has been deeply felt by partners and allies across the world. All NATO allies have been affected, in addition to Indo-Pacific partners whom the United States relies upon to deliver the “free and open Indo-Pacific” that Secretary of State and National Security Advisor Marco Rubio has continued to call for. However, the rationale for these tariffs remains unclear to both Americans and our allies. While the April 9th announcement to pause some tariffs and apparent willingness to negotiate was a positive step, it remains unclear what goals this negotiation is meant to achieve and thus what actions countries should be prepared to take. In addition, the ten percent universal tariff appears likely to remain in place, weakening relationships with our allies and partners.

    Some of our allies, arguably our most critical allies who have stood by us in our most challenging times, have announced economic counter measures against the United States. European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen has said the European Union is readying its “first package of countermeasures,” while Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has noted “we are going to fight these tariffs” after having warned that Canada’s “trade and security relations are too reliant on the United States. We must diversify.” We are also concerned that US-EU negotiations show no sign of progress, with reports that the Trump Administration refuses to engage in good faith with America’s largest trading partner.

    At the same time as the Administration is imposing new tariffs, we are also urging our European and Indo-Pacific partners to increase defense spending. The Administration has called on NATO allies to increase their defense spending to 5 percent of their gross domestic product and Taiwan to increase their defense spending to 10 percent; only to turn around and undermine such an effort by threatening a trade war that stifles economic growth and raises costs. We are already seeing reports that partners will have to diversify away from U.S. parts in weapons production and procurement and critical security partnerships, like AUKUS, could end up too expensive to pursue.

    The tariffs are also likely in conflict with our U.S. treaty commitments. For instance, the tariffs imposed on NATO members could be a violation of Article II of the North Atlantic Treaty, which calls on all NATO partners to “eliminate conflict in their international economic policies,” and “encourage economic collaboration.” The same language exists in our mutual defense treaty with Japan. The Administration must explain to how the tariff announcements are in accordance with U.S. treaty commitments. 

    Our networks of allies and partners are our greatest competitive advantage. We must work to foster greater unity and resolve to address the most pressing national security challenges together. Your administration’s policy approach is undermining such efforts. Strategic competition with the People’s Republic of China (PRC) will be far harder to win alone. As we learned in 2022, following Russia’s illegal full-scale invasion of Ukraine, we can impose significant economic pain when the United States, the European Union, and our Indo-Pacific partners act in unison. We are stronger together. And launching a trade war against our allies and partners undermines that strength. We urge you to rethink this harmful policy.  

    As the Senate considers the Administration’s fiscal year 2026 budget request, we will hold a number of hearings. We expect Administration officials to speak to the impact of U.S. tariff actions on our alliances and partnerships as part of that process. If your tariff tirade continues to spiral, “America First” may result in “America Alone,” leaving our citizens less safe and our Nation less strong and less prosperous.

    Sincerely,

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins Announces Farmers First Initiative, Approves Nebraska SNAP Waiver During Tour of Ag Businesses with Gov. Pillen

    Source: US State of Nebraska

    . Pillen

     

    LINCOLN, NE – Today, Governor Jim Pillen hosted U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins on a day-long visit that included three separate stops and two significant announcements. He was joined in the visits by Nebraska Department of Agriculture (NDA) Director Sherry Vinton and U.S. Congressman Adrian Smith.

    “I’m pleased that Sec. Rollins has had the opportunity to experience the depth and breadth of Nebraska agriculture and what our state is doing to help feed the world and save the planet,” said Gov. Pillen. “Today, she heard from a diverse group of producers, visited a typical multi-generational Nebraska family farm, and got a first-hand look at what sets our state apart for the future — value-added agriculture.  I’m glad we could make these connections and look forward to continuing the work that makes Nebraska the innovative agricultural leader it is, between crop, livestock and ethanol production.”

    The ag tour kicked off at the Cargill Bioscience 650-acre facility in Blair this morning. That facility is Cargill’s largest and directly employs approximately 600 Nebraskans while processing over 340,000 bushels of corn daily to produce products such as fuel grade ethanol, corn gluten meal and meat for poultry, pet food and cattle feed. The company also makes sweetener, corn syrup and other corn-based products such as enzymes, biopolymers, and amino acids.

    Upon arriving at Wholestone Farms in Fremont, Sec. Rollins took a few minutes to greet employees waiting inside. The group witnessed part of the plant’s hog processing operation and later gathered in the staff cafeteria with members of the media. There. Sec. Rollins signed off on Nebraska’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) waiver request, excluding soda and energy drinks from the list of approved purchases. Nebraska submitted its waiver in early April and is the first state in the nation to have its application approved by the USDA, effective Jan. 1, 2026.

    “Today’s waiver to remove soda and energy drinks from SNAP is the first of its kind, and it is a historic step to Make America Healthy Again. Under President Trump’s leadership, I have encouraged states to serve as the ‘laboratories of innovation.’ Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen and Governors in Iowa, Arkansas, Indiana, Kansas, West Virginia, and Colorado are pioneers in improving the health of our nation,” said Sec. Rollins.  

    “There’s absolutely zero reason for taxpayers to be subsidizing purchases of soda and energy drinks. SNAP is about helping families in need get healthy food into their diets, but there’s nothing nutritious about the junk we’re removing with today’s waiver. I’m grateful to have worked with Secretary Rollins and the Trump Administration to get this effort across the finish line. It is a tremendous step toward improving the health and well-being of our state. We have to act because we can’t keep letting Nebraskans starve in the midst of plenty,” said Gov. Pillen. 

    Gov. Pillen, Sec. Rollins, Rep. Smith and NDA Dir. Vinton wrapped up their tour of ag businesses with a stop in the afternoon at Ohnoutka Family Farm in Valparaiso. There, the group engaged in a roundtable with invited producers from across the state. Discussion hit on a variety of topics, from tariffs to grants, water quantity and quality, educating youth about agriculture and keeping generational farming going in Nebraska. Prior to the roundtable event, the group was greeted by youth from the local FFA chapter.

    Following the roundtable, Sec. Rollins made her second announcement – a policy initiative aimed at supporting small family farms. Called Farmers First, the program is part of the USDA’s Make Agriculture Great Again agenda and outlines 10 action items that aim to help the 86 percent of small family farms across the nation.

    “Welcoming Secretary Rollins to Nebraska alongside Governor Pillen provided a tremendous opportunity to showcase Nebraska’s world-leading livestock, crop, and biofuels producers,” said Rep. Smith, who represents the state’s third district. “As we mark 163 years since the signing of the Homestead Act, agriculture remains the economic driver of our state and the nation’s Heartland. USDA’s new Farmers First strategy will expand markets, deliver regulatory relief, promote long-term certainty, and ensure the accessibility of USDA resources for American farming families working tirelessly to feed and fuel the world. I will continue to work with Secretary Rollins and President Trump to unleash prosperity for generations to come.”

    Some of the efforts in the Farmers First initiative include: 

    • Streamlining Processes: Simplifying USDA applications, like the Emergency Commodity Assistance Program (ECAP), to reduce barriers for farmers

    • Credit and Land Access: Reforming loan programs and using tools like the Agricultural Land Easement (ALE) to help farmers buy and protect land

    • Farm Transitions: Calling on Congress to adjust tax policies, like expanding Section 179, to ease passing farms to the next generation

    • Market and Infrastructure: Prioritizing local farmers in procurement and reforming programs to ensure funds reach producers, not special interests

    • Labor Access: Working with other agencies to address labor shortages, including exploring visa reforms for agricultural workers

    • Risk Management: Making USDA programs simpler and launching a disaster portal for better access to assistance

    • Energy and Regulations: Supporting affordable energy and reviewing environmental permitting to lower costs for farmers

    “Our family-owned farms and ranches are at the heart of agriculture in America and are the backbone of the economy in states like Nebraska. Generations of producers have passed down the love of farming, strongly rooted values, and common-sense stewardship of our land and water to the next generation,” said Gov. Pillen. “I’m glad that Secretary Rollins and the USDA are highlighting the value and importance of family owned and small operations as part of our efforts to put Farmers First. I look forward to this tremendous initiative, and I am thrilled that she chose to launch it from a family farm right here in Nebraska.”

    More information about the Farmers First initiative can be found here:

    View the Farmers First: Small Family Farms Policy Agenda

    Cargill Tour

    Wholestone Tour

    Wholestone News Conference

    Ohnoutka Family Farm Roundtable

    Ohnoutka Family Farm News Conference

    Ohnoutka Family Farm

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Gov Pillen Joins Sec Rollins as She Approves First-in-the-Nation Waiver to Restrict Soda & Energy Drinks from Food Stamps in Nebraska

    Source: US State of Nebraska

    .S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins in Nebraska today as she signed the first-in-the-nation waiver to amend the statutory definition of food for purchase for Nebraska’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Effective January 1, 2026, taxpayers will no longer be subsidizing the purchase of soda or energy drinks in the State of Nebraska. 

    “There’s absolutely zero reason for taxpayers to be subsidizing purchases of soda and energy drinks. SNAP is about helping families in need get healthy food into their diets, but there’s nothing nutritious about the junk we’re removing with today’s waiver. I’m grateful to have worked with Secretary Rollins and the Trump Administration to get this effort across the finish line. It is a tremendous step toward improving the health and well-being of our state. We have to act because we can’t keep letting Nebraskans starve in the midst of plenty,” said Governor Jim Pillen.

    “Today’s waiver to remove soda and energy drinks from SNAP is the first of its kind, and it is a historic step to Make America Healthy Again. Under President Trump’s leadership, I have encouraged states to serve as the ‘laboratories of innovation.’ 

    Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen and Governors in Iowa, Arkansas, Indiana, Kansas, West Virginia, and Colorado are pioneers in improving the health of our nation,” said Secretary Rollins.  

    Prior to this waiver, SNAP recipients could buy anything except alcohol, tobacco, hot foods, and personal care products. This historic action adds soda and energy drinks to the list of products excluded from SNAP purchases in the state of Nebraska.

    As part of the Make America Healthy Again agenda, this historic action seeks to reverse alarming disease trends across the country. Prediabetes now affects one in three children ages 12 to 19; 40% of school-aged children and adolescents have at least one chronic condition; and 15% of high school students drink one or more sodas daily.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Recent spy scandals reveal how western allies are increasingly unreliable friends

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Robert Dover, Professor of Intelligence and National Security & Dean of Faculty, University of Hull

    Denmark’s foreign affairs minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen sounded surprised and emotional as he addressed a press conference on May 7. He announced he would call in the acting head of the US embassy in Copenhagen, Jennifer Hall Godfrey, over highly charged allegations that Washington has instructed its intelligence agencies to step up espionage on Greenland and Copenhagen.

    According to the Wall Street Journal, US intelligence operatives have been asked to collect information on Greenland’s politicians, independence activists and mining interests that could be leveraged in a potential purchase or coerced transfer of Greenland to the US.

    Greenland is a semi-autonomous Danish territory that Donald Trump has stated he would like to become part of the US. The US State Department has refused to comment on the allegations and the director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, said she was opening an investigation into leaks of classified information.

    This looks like a large powerful nation doing all it can to undermine an ally and fellow member of Nato, which is why the Danes are so affronted.

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

    The real surprise of the story is that it became so public. But this drama comes at a time of increasingly frosty relations between Denmark and the US, made worse by a visit by US vice-president, J.D. Vance, that didn’t go through diplomatic channels. Even before this, Danish supermarkets were marking US products so consumers could boycott them.

    In another case with some parallels to the Greenland spy saga with one ally spying on another, there has been reports of a newly uncovered Hungarian spy ring in Ukraine, collecting military data for Russia. Hungary said the reports were propaganda.

    Hungary is, in theory, aligned with Ukraine as a member of the EU and Nato. However, Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán has expressed sympathy for Russian agendas and has the closest relationship with Moscow of any current EU leader. Orbán has even repeatedly attempted to block EU aid to Ukraine.

    The alleged discovery of a Hungarian spy network may ramp up the creeping distrust of Hungary by other EU members and the sense of it becoming even more closely aligned with Russia.

    There has even been a recently reported example of spying going on among countries that are loosely considered allies. North Korean spies were recently caught spying on China, for example.

    The Greenland and Hungary episodes, particularly, shed light on how the world order is being remade. We are in the middle of this shift, with technology-enabled intelligence playing a significant part. These episodes demonstrate that governments who thought they were allies are quickly discovering they could be adversaries.



    Read more:
    How Donald Trump’s proposal to buy Greenland really went down in Denmark

    Regulation by revelation

    The US’s reported efforts at spying on Greenland and Denmark is a window into intelligence business.

    Intelligence efforts against allies are generally only curtailed when they become subject to a public scandal. Intelligence historian Richard Aldrich described this as “regulation by revelation”. The inquiries into these operations normally result in a light censure from politicians or judges, pledges not to repeat the offences and subsequent changes to processes.

    Denmark claims the US has been spying on Greenland.

    What will happen in the Greenland case is as yet unclear, particularly when the Trump administration has shown itself to be particularly immune from public, media and political challenge. The most effective challenge to hostile activity against Greenland could be any ramifications for international stock market sentiment, but even that is not guaranteed.

    The reliance of the US constitution and international law on participants behaving appropriately now looks strained under the Trump administration. The lack of restraint on US power may cause nations to rely more heavily on their own intelligence capabilities.

    Intelligence could, as a policy area, begin to mirror that of tariffs and trade as a way that the US can create further uncertainty among other nations about its foreign policy objectives.



    Read more:
    US and Russia squabble over Arctic security as melting ice opens up shipping routes

    Technology makes it easy

    But another factor in contemporary intelligence is that nations can now spy on each other much more easily. Technical capabilities are getting cheaper and easier to use.

    For instance, communications intercepts, satellite imagery and open source data-analysis spying methods are cheaper than ever before. These approaches offer more insight, because of the development of machine analytics and the ready availability of computing power and data storage.

    So, allies will continue to spy on allies because they are able to. That ability drives a demand, even in peace time, to know what other national leaders, and their public, are thinking and doing.

    Nations will also aggressively spy at the moment because the world is particularly unstable, and on the edge of conflict in many regions. Understanding where conflicts might erupt, why and with what force and consequence is essential to any nation’s defence posture.

    Nations only know what equipment to buy, what resources to stockpile and how many people to employ in their militaries with this insight. Intelligence is as much about avoiding surprise as it is creating the circumstances to surprise others. In this sense, intelligence is just another tool of statecraft.

    Most nations have spied on their allies for as long as they have been able. During the cold war the US purchased the Swiss encrypted communications company Crypto AG and sold hundreds of secure communications devices with weakened security, which allowed it to listen in on the countries that were using it and gain intelligence

    This type of operation was the forerunner of the widespread intelligence practices of the US National Security Agency, which is in charge of collecting information for counter intelligence purposes, in recent years.

    For Denmark, the challenges of working with its allies through Nato, while defending Greenland, are increasingly complex. Meanwhile, the EU will also be concerned about what Hungary is sharing with its other “friends”. International allies and alliances are increasingly untrustworthy as part of 2025 tectonic shifts in global geopolitics. The recent revelations are just part of that moving picture.

    Robert Dover has previously received funding from the AHRC around the subject of lessons learned from intelligence operations.

    – ref. Recent spy scandals reveal how western allies are increasingly unreliable friends – https://theconversation.com/recent-spy-scandals-reveal-how-western-allies-are-increasingly-unreliable-friends-256353

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: UK film and TV boom hides a crisis that threatens the whole industry – new report

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Andrew Philip, Lecturer in Filmmaking and Knowledge Exchange Fellow, University of Reading

    Judging by the recent success of UK productions like Adolescence and Baby Reindeer, you might assume that the UK film and television industry is flourishing. And indeed, spending on production has risen dramatically in the last year, a boom which is expected to continue through to 2026.

    Unfortunately, our new report highlights a workforce crisis that raises serious questions about the future of the UK screen industry. And Donald Trump’s recent threat to impose tariffs on non-US films adds to the grim situation, throwing the industry’s vulnerability into stark relief.

    We carried out extensive interviews with 29 participants from across the sector who painted a bleak picture of overwork, financial instability, discrimination and barriers to career progression.

    Charities supporting the sector have already noted that the industry has a longstanding retention problem – the so-called “leaky pipeline”. But our report highlights that economic volatility in the UK and elsewhere is worsening financial and working conditions so much that the film and television industry risks a debilitating loss of its most valuable resource: freelancers.

    This article is part of our State of the Arts series. These articles tackle the challenges of the arts and heritage industry – and celebrate the wins, too.

    Long gaps between jobs are widening, and even experienced freelancers with long careers are struggling to make ends meet. Currently there is no publicly available data on numbers entering and leaving the industry, but companies have reported worsening skills shortages, not due to poor recruitment, but because people are leaving in response to worsening conditions.

    As many as two thirds of screen freelancers are considering leaving the industry within the next five years. Since just under 50% of the film production workforce is freelance, such a large-scale exodus would seriously damage our domestic screen industry.

    That industry contributes £13.48 billion to the UK economy, and its talent on-screen and behind the cameras is world-renowned, so why is this crisis happening at all?

    Boom and bust

    The key change has been a reduction in domestic investment by UK-based public service broadcasters in tandem with increased investment from US-based studios and streamers.

    While a recent boom in international investment led to a rapid expansion in UK film and TV infrastructure and a corresponding acute shortage of workers, it also inflated the costs of production, which has proved unaffordable to traditional domestic commissioners. Without consistent local productions, the UK market is exposed to international disruptions like never before.

    Since the deregulation of the TV sector in the 1990s, the UK’s screen industry has relied on a high proportion of freelance workers. This model provided flexibility in a thriving domestic industry boasting some of the world’s most skilled talent and specialist infrastructure to match.

    A shift in the 2000s towards international workflows in production and post-production fuelled by competitive tax incentives transformed the UK film and TV industry into a global operation. Coupled with healthy domestic competition, the UK’s film and TV industry soared.

    But more recently, this globalised business model has been tested by an extended period of economic volatility that has left experienced talent out of work.

    First came the COVID lockdowns. Then a post-pandemic boom as companies moved to refill their schedules, took UK film and TV production to a record high in 2021.

    But then industrial action by US writers and actors in 2023 brought many UK productions to a halt. Once the strike was over, falling subscriptions numbers led to market volatility for streaming giants, who immediately tightened their budgets and slowed investment in UK-based productions.

    High inflation – partly caused by the influx of international money – led many domestic companies to slash their commissioning budgets. By the middle of 2024, plans to build new studios in the UK were being put on hold and more than half the workforce were still unemployed.

    As one worker told us: “I’ve got friends who’ve been out of work for a year … they’re having to sell their houses and these are experienced, serious producers.” Another contributor told us how: “So many people I know at the moment are looking elsewhere for work completely outside of the industry.”

    And another interviewee said: “There have been some unfortunate casualties along the way, some people simply haven’t had the income or the interest to sustain a living and and they’ve got to do what comes first, which is earn a wage that lets them survive.”

    Until recently, a healthy domestic broadcasting industry helped provide consistent work opportunities for freelancers. But at the same time as production costs have risen, broadcasters’ revenue from advertising – and for the BBC, from the licence fee – has fallen.

    The effect has been a precipitous 22% drop in domestic high-end television commissions in 2024, alongside a 50% decrease in international co-productions. UK broadcasters no longer have the financial capacity to plug the gap in the periods when international investors cut back.

    In effect, the domestic industry has become dominated by, and heavily reliant on, a handful of international players led by unpredictable economic interests and global market fluctuations. It’s no coincidence that the two most notable recent British success stories, Adolescence and Baby Reindeer, are produced by Netflix, which has the financial resources British broadcasters lack.

    And despite the presence of the streamers, inflated costs are making it harder for producers to make programmes with British subject matter. Patrick Spence, the executive producer of the hugely successful Mr Bates vs. the Post Office, has said he wouldn’t even try to make the show today.

    To make matters worse, productions funded by international finance (that might have been funded by UK broadcasters in the past) bring little subscription or licensing profits back to the domestic industry.

    As our research shows, this constellation of issues means freelancers face extreme financial insecurity like never before, alongside increasingly poor working practices as production companies try to cut costs and, in some cases, promote too early where experienced staff are missing. It is little wonder that so many are considering leaving the sector.

    If significant numbers do leave the sector, there will no longer be a supply of skilled workers to meet the demands of an uptick in productions – and the US firms will go elsewhere, leaving only a depleted domestic industry in financial crisis.

    Netflix has already made a thinly veiled threat to seek out more competitive territories in the event of a levy on streamers. We could expect a similar decision if they find that the skilled talent they count on in the UK is no longer available.

    The next bust may already be in sight thanks to President Trump’s proposed tariffs on “foreign-made” films. Though such a levy would be difficult to implement and would cause as much harm to the US industry as it would its global partners, it’s not hard to imagine it having a chilling effect on commissioning in the UK.



    Read more:
    Why Trump’s plans for tariffs on foreign films probably won’t have a happy ending

    Structural change needed

    So what can be done? The introduction of a new programme of tax breaks for productions made in the UK, initiated by the Conservatives and ratified by the Labour government, has been rightly celebrated. However, industry experts predict these will not solve the financial sustainability of a homegrown industry.

    MPs have called on the government to go further in its support for the UK independent film and high-end television sectors, to provide a counterbalance to the fluctuations in investment in big budget fare, and to appoint a freelance commissioner to protect workers rights.

    We wait to hear whether the government will take up its recommendations, and bring us closer to other countries, such as France, that have protected their domestic workforce by negotiating specific investment agreements with the major US streamers.

    In our report, we argue that a minister for self-employed and precarious workers working across government departments is the only way to ensure that the appropriate measures can be achieved to address the challenges freelancers now face.

    Better data on freelancer movements will help policy makers and industry to understand the effects of changes to the domestic industry, to help better secure that workforce for future growth as part of the government’s Invest 2035 growth plans.

    We also recommend better data for freelancers themselves: a central source of information on taxation, employment rights, training, funding and the other resources they need to thrive in this challenging landscape.

    These are only the first steps to lessen the immediate risk of losing a substantial section of the skilled workforce that is the engine of the UK industry, preparing the ground for the much larger structural shifts that are needed. Participants in our research at different stages of their career repeatedly insisted that the industry needs root and branch care to overcome the extreme cycles of feast and famine.

    Protecting the cultural value of the UK’s screen industry goes far beyond making economic sense. The sector forms a major part of the country’s diverse national identity and projects a global image that is literally priceless.

    Andrew Philip receives funding for his screen industries research from the Arts & Humanities Research Council through the University of Reading’s Impact Acceleration Account programme.

    Lisa Purse receives funding for her screen industries research from the Arts & Humanities Research Council through the University of Reading’s Impact Acceleration Account programme.

    – ref. UK film and TV boom hides a crisis that threatens the whole industry – new report – https://theconversation.com/uk-film-and-tv-boom-hides-a-crisis-that-threatens-the-whole-industry-new-report-255986

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Falling back into the shadows? How to keep internal displacement on the humanitarian agenda

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Megan Bradley, Full Professor, Political Science and International Development Studies, McGill University

    The international humanitarian system is in freefall. Following the dramatic funding cuts initiated by Donald Trump’s administration in the United States, deliveries of essential food, medicines and clean water to those in need have halted and stockpiles are dwindling. Aid agencies are scrambling to figure out how to do less with less, even as global needs are mounting.



    Read more:
    The growing threat to U.S. democracy will literally cost lives

    Those displaced inside their own countries, as a result of conflict or natural disaster, have been particularly hard hit by this upheaval.

    Internally displaced persons already fall through the cracks of the humanitarian system, despite dramatically outnumbering those who cross borders as refugees.

    Worldwide, there are an estimated 43.7 million refugees, compared to 83.4 million internally displaced people. Yet media coverage still focuses on those fleeing their country as refugees, while internally displaced people remain less visible and beholden to national governments that have the primary responsibility to assist them.

    Some governments, such as Ukraine’s, work hard to meet this challenge but need outside support. In countries like Myanmar and Afghanistan, governments are complicit in displacing their own citizens, necessitating stronger international leadership.

    The UN’s central role

    The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) was established to protect and assist refugees. But from as early as the 1970s — as a result of calls from the UN General Assembly to address displacement crises — it has also become a leading entity in the international response to internally displaced persons.

    Advocacy from the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons (established in the early 1990s), and more recently from the UN Secretary-General’s High Level Panel on Internally Displaced Persons and the work of the Office of the UN Special Advisor on Solutions to Internal Displacement, has also promoted increased attention to the issue and advocated workable solutions.

    This progress is now at risk in the face of U.S. humanitarian aid cuts.

    The danger today is not that the UNHCR and other humanitarian leaders will treat internally displaced people as unimportant or undeserving of help. Instead, ground could be lost through a return to the UNHCR’s traditional, narrow refugee mandate. Responsibility for internally displaced persons could be shirked as many UN agencies are also under stress.

    This will further increase the marginalization of internally displaced people and expose them to heightened levels of insecurity, poverty and disease.

    The UNHCR is far from the only international organization involved with internally displaced persons. The International Organization for Migration is another important player, particularly in natural disasters, and other agencies, including the UN Development Programme, support longer-term development solutions.

    Yet the UNHCR is the core protection agency for those who are forcibly displaced and its leadership is critical to ensuring a comprehensive response to both refugees and those displaced within their own country’s borders.

    Difficult choices

    In the face of a 30 per cent reduction in operating expenses in its headquarters and regional bureaus, the UNHCR faces some agonizing choices. But these cuts must not produce a competition between internally displaced persons and refugees in humanitarian assistance.

    Experience has shown that effective responses must consider displacement dynamics not only across but also within borders — especially since many refugees are internally displaced before they seek safety abroad and many face internal displacement if they return to their countries of origin.

    The good news is that the UNHCR remains committed to supporting inter-agency co-operation on solutions for internally displaced people, following up on the work of the Office of the UN Special Advisor.

    However, the head of the UNHCR has not yet publicly and clearly reaffirmed his agency’s commitment to standing up for internally displaced people alongside refugees in this moment of flux in the humanitarian sector.

    The need for strong leadership

    As the UNHCR reduces its commitments and shrinks its operations, there could be a void of senior leadership on internal displacement at headquarters and in the field. This means the agency’s response may be determined by regional and country directors with different levels of comfort with and commitment to internally displaced persons.

    The irony is that the UNHCR routinely calls for governments dealing with internal displacement crises to clearly allocate responsibility for effective responses. Today’s budget crisis is no excuse for the UNHCR not to walk its own talk.

    In the face of declining resources but mounting humanitarian needs, the UNHCR and its donors should prioritize preserving their investment in strengthened, reliable and rights-based responses to internally displaced persons — not only for the sake of these citizens, but also as an integral element of a comprehensive response to refugee situations.



    Read more:
    Ethiopia’s war may have ended, but the Tigray crisis hasn’t

    The UNHCR should recognize and insist that refugee response requires an effective response to those displaced internally and vice versa. As a core part of this approach, the agency should also enhance its support for local efforts led by internally displaced people themselves, recognizing they can be, and have been, at the forefront of more effective solutions to their displacement.

    The UNHCR’s funding cuts are putting the agency in a pared-down holding pattern until the next high commissioner of the organization is chosen later this year. A key criterion for selecting the next leader should be their vision for sustaining engagement with internally displaced persons alongside refugees in this moment of global turmoil.

    Megan Bradley receives funding from SSHRC.

    Jennifer Welsh receives funding from the Social Science and Research Council of Canada and the European Research Council.

    – ref. Falling back into the shadows? How to keep internal displacement on the humanitarian agenda – https://theconversation.com/falling-back-into-the-shadows-how-to-keep-internal-displacement-on-the-humanitarian-agenda-255856

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI USA: ICYMI:NPR’s Morning Edition: Sen. Peter Welch calls on Trump administration to get Israel to end Gaza aid blockade

    US Senate News:

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

    40+ Senators co-sponsor Welch’s resolution calling for an immediate end to the blockade of humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza
    WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) today joined Leila Fadel on National Public Radio’s (NPR) Morning Edition to discuss the starvation crisis in Gaza and his new Senate Resolution demanding the Trump Administration uses all diplomatic tools at its disposal to bring an end to the blockade of food and lifesaving humanitarian aid.

    “It is absolutely appalling what is happening to innocent Palestinians in Gaza. There are 14,000 babies, according to the U.N., that could die in the next 48 hours if aid is not getting in. Children are now literally dying of starvation while being held by their mother or their father. And the 72 days of blockade by the Netanyahu government—of no food, no water, no medicine—is catastrophic. And the famine that people are experiencing is also catastrophic, and it’s a very brutal process and a terrifying way to die. And Israel, as having control over Gaza, has an obligation internationally, to get food and medicine in to the people that need it.”

    ■■■

    “This is not about practical and political reason—this is about people who are starving, needing food and needing water. And the notion that the Netanyahu government can use starvation—withholding food and water, withholding medicine—as a tool of the military campaign, violates international law. It’s completely wrong. We should condemn it, just as I condemn Hamas for what it’s done.  Starvation is not a legitimate tool of warfare.”

    ■■■

    “I want aid to flow. It’s really very, very simple…The United States has a role to play here, and Congress has a role to play. The idea that we’re accepting this, we’re turning our head the other way as if this is not happening, is wrong.”

    Listen here:

    Last week, Senator Welch led his Senate colleagues in introducing a resolution calling on the Trump Administration to use all diplomatic tools at its disposal to bring an end to the blockade of food and lifesaving humanitarian aid to address the needs of civilians in Gaza. In their resolution, the Senators express grave concern about the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza, including the imminent starvation of tens of thousands of children. The resolution now has the support of more than 40 Senators.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Attorney General Wilson applauds Trump order restoring safety in federal prisons, ends Obama-Biden era transgender proceduresRead More

    Source: US State of South Carolina

    (COLUMBIA, S.C.) – South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson today praised President Donald Trump’s Executive Order requiring federal prisons to house inmates based on their biological sex and ending years of taxpayer-funded transgender procedures for federal prisoners. 

    “Prisons are for accountability and consequences, not to serve as playgrounds for leftist social experiments,” said Attorney General Wilson. “President Trump is doing what the radical left refuses to do: stand up for law and order, defend women, and reject the dangerous nonsense that’s turning our justice system into a joke. If you commit a crime, you don’t get to rewrite biology or demand special treatment. The American people are fed up, and this Executive Order puts a stop to the madness.” 

    The Executive Order halts the use of taxpayer dollars for elective transgender procedures, including hormone therapies and surgeries for federal inmates. It also requires that biologically male inmates be housed in male-only facilities, addressing growing concerns over assaults, coercion, and privacy violations in women’s prisons. 

    Earlier this month, Attorney General Wilson joined 24 other state attorneys general in a friend-of-the-court brief defending the administration’s authority to keep prisons safe and reject unproven, taxpayer-funded treatments. The brief emphasized the real danger of placing men in women’s housing and the lack of any constitutional right to gender-transition procedures behind bars. 

    Wilson reaffirmed South Carolina’s commitment to working with national leaders to resist policies that undermine safety and public trust in institutions. 

    “Enough is enough,” Wilson said. “We’re drawing the line. We won’t stand by while leftist ideology tramples basic biology, endangers women, and wastes taxpayer dollars.” 

    You can read the full brief here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Speaker Johnson: Failure is Simply Not an Option

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

    WASHINGTON — This morning, at the weekly House Republican Leadership press conference, Speaker Johnson highlighted the key policy provisions in budget reconciliation and continued to advocate for swift passage of President Trump’s agenda and the One Big Beautiful Bill.

    “Nothing in Congress is ever easy, especially when you have small margins. But we are going to land this plane and deliver this, and we’re proud what we’ve accomplished together,” Speaker Johnson said. “Every member of the Conference can be proud of this legislation.”

    Watch the Speaker’s full remarks here

    On implementing President Trump’s America First agenda:

    From the outset of the budget reconciliation process, we have sought to enact President Trump’s full agenda, not just parts of it. And that’s why we call it the one big, beautiful bill, because really, everything is sandwiched into this. The American people were sick of wasteful spending and high inflation and open borders and weakness on the world stage. And you know what we’re working towards right now? The opposite of all those things, President Trump has used his executive authority in historic ways to stop much of the bleeding, but Congress has a role and a responsibility to step in at this stage to stitch up and mend those wounds for good, and that’s what this legislation is about. We cannot leave the American people waiting or wanting. The one big, beautiful Bill enshrines into law and funds President Trump’s promises.

    On building consensus and maintaining Republican unity:

    Our House Budget Resolution gave instructions to 11 separate committees in the House to write their portions of the budget reconciliation bill, and they did it right on target. Every instructed committee exceeded those targets, in fact, that they were given through our resolution. That means the committees that were told to spend have spent less, and the committees that were told to save, actually found more savings than they were they were targeting, and the bill delivered more than $1.5 trillion in savings mandated by the budget resolution. That is historic. There has never been anything like it before, and we’re proud to deliver it.

    This is a whole of Congress response to a whole of government problem and the results of all this work for over a year has now come to fruition. Every House Republican has engaged in the process. The White House has been involved, as you saw most recently within the last hour. The Senate has been involved. Constituent groups from around the country made their voices heard, and that’s why, as the Whip said, nearly 1,000 organizations have issued enthusiastic public endorsements about this legislation.

    On House Democrats supporting the largest tax hike in American history:

    Despite the overwhelming popularity of so many of these provisions in this bill, the guys on the other side, the Congressional Democrats, have refused to engage with us in this process at all. They’re not going to vote for anything that I just listed for you. And make no mistake about it, this week they’re going to vote for the largest increase in taxes in American history. They’re going to vote against border security, against American energy dominance, and against broadly popular policies such as work requirements to shore up Medicaid.

    By passing this legislation, wages will increase as much as $11,600, take home pay for the typical American family with two kids will increase by $13,300 a year. As many as 4.2 million full time equivalent jobs will be created because of this legislation. But if we fail, here’s the alternative, here’s what the Democrats are going to vote for. Every American citizen seen a 22% tax hike, 26 million businesses would see a tax increase to 43%, we’d lose nearly 6 million jobs in the economy and about a trillion dollars in GDP by some estimates. The Border Patrol and ICE would lack the resources to detain and deport criminal illegal aliens, and 1.4 million illegals would continue to receive taxpayer funding of health care.

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Video: EU Reaffirms Support for Ukraine as Trump Re-Enters Global Stage Amid Russia Tensions

    Source: European Commission (video statements)

    The EU’s position on the war in Ukraine hasn’t changed and neither has its commitment to peace. As President Trump re-engages and global conversations continue, European leaders are standing firm. President Zelensky has once again made clear he’s ready to do what it takes to achieve a ceasefire. But with no signs of willingness from the Kremlin, the EU is moving forward with a fresh set of sanctions aimed at cutting off the funds fueling Russia’s aggression. 
     
    It’s a difficult path but Europe is staying the course: defending peace, supporting Ukraine, and pushing for a fair and lasting end to the war.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VroemCVTNLs

    MIL OSI Video –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Durbin Meets With Associate Attorney General Nominee Ahead Of Confirmation Hearing

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Illinois Dick Durbin
    May 19, 2025
    WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today released the following statement after meeting with Stanley Woodward, President Trump’s nominee to be the Associate Attorney General of the U.S. Department of Justice:
    “The Department of Justice is reeling from turmoil, as extremist loyalists dismantle longstanding programs and protections to appease the President. DOJ is causing a mass exodus of key staff, canceling hundreds of millions of dollars in grants, and reassigning what little staff is left to bolster the President’s illegal mass deportation scheme—and none of it makes our country safer.
    “The Associate Attorney General oversees many crucial offices and programs under threat. I shared as much with Mr. Woodward, and I look forward to hearing more from him under oath.”
    The Associate Attorney General oversees the Civil Division, Civil Rights Division, Antitrust Division, Tax Division, Environment and Natural Resources Division, Office of Justice Programs, Office on Violence Against Women, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, Office for Access to Justice, Office of Information Policy, Community Relations Service, United States Trustees Program, and Foreign Claims Settlement Commission.
    -30-

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Durbin Exposes The Costs Of Republicans; “One, Big, Beautiful Bill,” Slams Republicans For Slashing Medicaid, Snap To Pay For Tax Breaks For Billionaires

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Illinois Dick Durbin
    May 19, 2025
    In a speech on the Senate floor, Durbin spoke about the real costs of passing the Republicans’ “one, big, beautiful bill,” including 13.7 million Americans potentially losing health care coverage
    WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) delivered a speech on the Senate floor exposing congressional Republicans’ reconciliation bill for what it truly is – legislation that will pay for tax breaks for billionaires at the expense of 13.7 million Americans’ health care coverage.  In his remarks, Durbin reiterated that Republicans’ “one, big, beautiful bill” will further push the American Dream out of reach for working families.
    “Let me tell you a story.  It’s one of the oldest in our country.  It’s the story of the American Dream.  It’s one of perseverance, where anyone, regardless of their background or circumstances, can achieve success and upward mobility through hard work and determination.  It means a job that pays a fair wage, a school that prepares our kids for a better life, a doctor who sees you when you are sick, and a roof over your head at night,” Durbin began.
    “[Republicans’ reconciliation bill] dismantles the American Dream and strips our institutions of essential services that help the most vulnerable people in our country.  All so the ultimate goal can be served… to give major tax breaks to wealthy people,” Durbin said.  “If you don’t have time to read the more than 1,000 pages of these cuts in this reconciliation bill, let me give you a shortened version.  It isn’t pretty.  Billionaires will win.  And American families will lose.”
    In order to finance massive tax cuts, Republicans are proposing $880 billion in cuts to Medicaid.  Earlier this month, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released a report showing that Republicans’ plan would result in 13.7 million Americans losing their health insurance, marking the largest Medicaid cut in history.  These cuts will damage Americans’ ability to access health care as Medicaid covers nearly half of all births, two-thirds of nursing homes residents, and the majority of patients with mental health counseling.  Further, children’s hospitals and rural hospitals depend on Medicaid funding to remain operational.  If Medicaid funding is slashed, these hospitals are in danger of closing.
    “President Trump asked Republicans in Congress to provide a massive giveaway to the richest Americans, and they want to use programs like Medicaid, food and nutrition programs, and medical research funding as a piggy bank for these tax cuts for wealthy people… Medicaid insures one in four people in my home state of Illinois… 3.4 million people on Medicaid, including 1.5 million children,” Durbin continued.
    “Knowing how unpopular it is to deprive Americans of health care, for months, Republicans have said, ‘Democrats have it all wrong.  We’re not cutting Medicaid benefits.  We’re simply focusing on ‘waste, fraud, and abuse.’  Now, if there is a program that’s wasteful or fraudulent, put me in line to do something about it… But that’s not what’s happening here, and I’m afraid my colleagues on the other side of the aisle know it,” Durbin said.  “With their plan, Republicans are taking a chainsaw to our health care system and ripping health insurance away.”
    “The reconciliation plan of the Republicans buries eligible patients in complex paperwork requirements that will wrap them in so much red tape they will never get the care they need.  Just think if you have a serious illness and you have to go through a high stakes government red tape gauntlet, another government form, another telephone recording when you need a helping hand,”Durbin said.
    In addition to eviscerating Medicaid funding, Republicans’ will also gut SNAP, cutting up to $290 billion from the program, the largest cut to anti-hunger funding in the country’s history.
    “Republicans are also targeting food and nutrition programs like SNAP, [which] 40 million Americans rely on to put on the table, including nearly two million in Illinois,” Durbin said.  “That’s right.  Republicans are looking to take food off the tables of seniors and children so they can pay for their beautiful billionaire tax cuts.  It is shameful.”
    While Republicans are also expanding tax exemptions for the richest Americans, they refuse to expand the child tax credit to lift millions of children out of poverty.  However, Democrats have long supported an extension of the child tax credit and successfully passed a provision to extend it in the American Rescue Plan, leading to a historic 5.2 percent reduction in child poverty, the lowest level on record.
    “In their bill, Republicans give huge tax breaks to multibillion-dollar corporations.  They exempt up to $28 million in taxes from estates where the wealthiest Americans pass on to their children.  In the same breath, they fail to expand the child tax credit, which is one of the most effective tools to reduce poverty and put money back in the pockets of working families,” Durbin said.
    “Republicans are also planning to eliminate the clean energy tax credits enacted in Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act, which would derail efforts to strengthen U.S. energy security and lower costs.  This would hurt American families and small businesses by hitting them with higher energy bills and the loss of nearly 800,000 jobs over the next five years,” Durbin said.  “Some states could see double-digit percentage increases in electricity bills, which means hundreds of dollars out of Americans’ pockets each year.”
    Claiming to be fiscally responsible, Republicans have tried to downplay the harm of their “one, big, beautiful bill,” yet the legislation will add more than $3 trillion to the national deficit.
    “Just a few hours ago, the White House claimed that their reckless plan ‘does not add to the deficit’… but in reality, it explodes the deficit under the guise of fiscal responsibility.  The White House and Republican reconciliation plan would add $3.3 trillion to the nation’s deficit over the next 10 years,” Durbin said.  “America’s small businesses, workers, farmers, and families are hurting because of this Administration’s tariffs while the President continues to weaken America’s credibility and alienate us from our biggest trading partners.”
    However, some conservative Republicans are not satisfied with draining Medicaid and SNAP funding, excluding the child tax credit, eliminating clean energy tax credits, and adding more than $3 trillion to the deficit.  To garner more support in his caucus, Speaker Johnson has suggested moving up the implementation of red tape requirements for Medicaid coverage from the originally proposed 2029 to 2027. 
    “It is reported that they [Speaker Johnson and the House Freedom Caucus] discussed accelerating the plan to condition Medicaid health coverage on red tape requirements.  These were originally set for 2029, they now want to end people’s insurance as soon as possible… as well as a quicker phase-out of clean energy tax credits that were put into law as part of the Inflation Reduction Act,”Durbin said.  “That’s right.  The package isn’t bad enough for conservative Republicans to support, so they are considering making it even worse for American families.”
    Durbin concluded his remarks by calling on his Republican colleagues to recognize the harm this bill will do to health care access and the well-being of children and working families. 
    “I’ve heard my colleagues give speeches about tough choices.  Well, let me tell you, choosing to line the pockets of people like Elon Musk while cutting life-saving medical research isn’t tough, it’s shameful,” Durbin said. 
    “American families aren’t asking for special treatment.  They’re asking for a fair shot at the American Dream.  They’re asking us to remember this country works best when we invest in its people.  We need four Republicans with the good sense to join Democrats and say ‘no’ to this disaster,” Durbin concluded.
    Video of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here.
    Audio of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here.
    Footage of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here for TV Stations.
    -30-

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Tonko Calls Out EPA Administrator Zeldin for Slashing Protections to Environment & Public Health

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

    WASHINGTON, DC — Congressman Paul D. Tonko, Ranking Member of the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment, today questioned Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin during an Environment Subcommittee hearing on the EPA’s Fiscal Year 2026 budget.

    Listen to Rep. Tonko’s opening remarks HERE and see below as prepared for delivery.

    President Trump’s Fiscal Year 2026 budget request for EPA has been called “problematic,” “an unserious proposal,” and “maybe a bridge too far to be achievable.”

    These were the reactions of Republican Appropriators last week, and I expect you will hear even less charitable reviews from Democrats on this Subcommittee today.

    This proposal includes a 55% reduction from FY25 levels, resulting in agency funding levels not seen since the mid-1980s.

    If enacted, this would fundamentally dismantle the EPA as we know it and cripple the agency’s ability to carry out its core mission of protecting the air we breathe and the water we drink.

    The request includes devastating cuts that will undermine states’ efforts to protect public health and carry out their obligations, including a $2.46 billion reduction to the State Revolving Funds for water infrastructure and a $1 billion reduction for categorical grants, which are critical to supporting staffing of state environmental agencies.

    I believe this is part of a disturbing trend we are seeing to force more costs onto state governments, as is being done with the proposed cuts to Medicaid in the majority’s reconciliation bill.

    Similar to these funding cuts, earlier this year the Administration expressed a desire to reduce EPA staffing levels by 65%, which would return the agency to 1971 personnel levels — the agency’s second year in existence.

    It is not credible to suggest that the agency can fulfill its statutory requirements — including all the major environmental laws and amendments to those laws that have been enacted since the 1970s — with these proposed staffing levels.

    Cuts of this magnitude would not only hollow out the agency’s expertise and capacity, but they are insensitive to the public servants who have dedicated their lives to supporting the agency’s mission.

    And it is worth reminding everyone of what that mission is: To protect human health and the environment.

    In just a few short months, I believe the agency, under Administrator Zeldin’s leadership, has lost sight of this mission.

    Mr. Zeldin launched the “Powering the Great American Comeback” initiative focused on American energy, auto manufacturing, and artificial intelligence dominance.

    And broadly speaking, I am not necessarily opposed to aspects of that agenda, but I also do not believe it is the appropriate role for our nation’s environmental regulator to be leading this effort.

    Because EPA’s contributions to those goals more or less translate to how can we reduce environmental protections and enforcements of those protections for the benefit of energy producers, the auto industry, and Big Tech, even if ordinary Americans will pay the price by breathing harmful air pollution, drinking contaminated water, and being exposed to dangerous chemicals.

    We have already seen a slew of agency actions that will result in greater pollution and reduce our scientific capacity to understand how that pollution will impact Americans’ health and well-being.

    This includes reconsidering rules that protect Americans from pollution from power plants, vehicles, and industrial facilities, and weakening standards to keep PFAS out of our drinking water.

    Each of these public health protections up for reconsideration went through robust rulemaking processes and economic analyses, which found that every one of these rules delivers greater benefits to the American people, in public health and economic benefits, than they cost.

    I am also concerned by EPA’s efforts to terminate previously awarded grants without producing any evidence of fraud, waste, or abuse.

    For each of those awards, the previous administration carried out competitive selection processes based upon requirements enacted by Congress.

    Whether or not Administrator Zeldin personally believes Congress was wasting taxpayer dollars when it directed EPA to carry out those funding opportunities is irrelevant.

    No Administrator should be the sole arbitrator of what is a good use of Congressionally-directed taxpayer dollars, and yet we have seen billions of dollars impounded without justification.

    Finally, I am very concerned by reports that EPA is planning to eliminate the Energy Star program, which is a voluntary, non-regulatory labeling program with strong support from industry and consumers.

    Energy Star has been incredibly effective at supporting American manufacturing, enabling people to lower energy bills, and reducing strain on our electricity system.

    This seems obviously in line with the President’s energy and economic agenda, and yet, there may be an effort underway to terminate the program.

    If we cannot even find common ground on a broadly popular, voluntary, low-cost program to benefit consumers, I have serious doubts that we will be able to find anything to agree upon this year.

    Mr. Administrator, I appreciate you being here, and I hope we can work together to ensure that your agency and this committee have a productive, transparent relationship that honors the critical public health and scientific mission of the EPA.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Warner & Kaine Warn: Republican Effort to Gut Clean Energy Investments Will Endanger Virginia Jobs, Increase Costs for Virginia Households

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Virginia Tim Kaine
    WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) today condemned Republican-led efforts to roll back key provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) as part of their proposed budget reconciliation bill to cut taxes for the wealthiest Americans. The senators warned that the GOP’s plan would jeopardize thousands of clean energy jobs, threaten billions in private investment, and raise energy costs for families across the Commonwealth. 
    “The Inflation Reduction Act has already delivered significant clean energy investments to Virginia, supporting more than 20,000 jobs and positioning our Commonwealth as a leader in the clean energy economy,” said Warner and Kaine. “Rolling back these investments would not only endanger these jobs but also hinder our progress toward a more sustainable and affordable energy future. We must protect the investments that are creating jobs and lowering costs for Virginians. The Republican plan puts our economic future at risk.”
    According to anew report from the Joint Economic Committee, since the Inflation Reduction Act passed, 21,642 new Virginia jobs have been announced at manufacturing, utility electricity, and industrial facilities that can receive tax cuts through the law. These announced may now be in jeopardy because of uncertainty around President Trump and congressional Republicans’ plans to rollback energy tax cuts in the Inflation Reduction Act.
    The report also includes new calculations finding that a typical Virginia household can save between $510 and $1,190 on energy costs annually through the tax cuts for home and appliance upgrades supported by the Inflation Reduction Act.
    Read the full Joint Economic Committee report here.
    Warner and Kaine have been sounding the alarm about the effects of the GOP plan on Virginia if Republicans in Congress continue to insist on gutting vital programs in order to pay for tax breaks for the richest Americans. Last week, they noted that more than 262,000 Virginians are expected to lose their health insurance under the cuts being proposed by President Trump and Republicans in Congress.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Senator Collins Questions HHS Secretary Kennedy on Elimination of LIHEAP

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Maine Susan Collins
    Click HERE to watch and HERE to download.
    Washington, D.C. – At a hearing to review the Fiscal Year 2026 budget request for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), U.S. Senator Susan Collins, Chair of the Appropriations Committee, questioned HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. on the proposed elimination of the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). 
    During the Q&A, Secretary Kennedy committed to funding LIHEAP if appropriated by Congress for Fiscal Year (FY) 2026.
    At the urging of Senator Collins, HHS released more than $400 million in FY 2025 funding for LIHEAP earlier this month.  Maine has received $41.6 million in FY 2025 LIHEAP funding.
    Q&A with Secretary Kennedy:
    Senator Collins:
    The LIHEAP program, which we’ve talked about, is absolutely vital for thousands of older Mainers and low-income families.  It helps them avoid the constant worry of having to choose between keeping warm, buying essential foods and medications, and other basic necessities.
    Now, I was pleased to see the release of the rest of the Fiscal Year 2025 funds, but the Administration’s new budget seeks to eliminate what is truly a critical program.
    Will you work with this Committee in trying to restore LIHEAP so that we can avoid, literally, seniors and low-income families not being able to keep warm in the winter?
    Secretary Kennedy:
    Yeah, absolutely, and I’m from New England myself.  My brother, for 40 years, has run Citizens Energy, which provides low-cost home heating oil to families in New England.  And so many people have come to me over the years and said to me, thank you, your brother saved my life because I didn’t have to choose between food and heat.
    I was on the Navajo reservation three weeks ago, and Navajo President Buu Nygren said to me, at this point, if we cut LIHEAP, Navajo will die from it.  So, I understand the critical historical importance of this program.
    President Trump’s rationale and OMB’s rationale is that President Trump’s energy policies are going to lower the cost of energy so that everybody will get lower cost heating oil, and in that case, this program would simply be another subsidy to the fossil fuel industry.
    If that doesn’t happen, and Congress chooses to appropriate the money, I, of course, will spend it.  I’ve already directed the spending of $400 million in this year’s budget.  Do that, and I will work with you to make sure that those families do not suffer in that way.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Warren, Sanders, Wyden Open Investigation Into Whether Paramount Is Engaging in Bribery With Trump for Approval of $8 Billion Megamerger

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Massachusetts – Elizabeth Warren
    May 20, 2025
    Yesterday, President of CBS News, Subsidiary of Paramount, Departed Amid Tensions with Trump and Paramount Global Chair Shari Redstone
    “If Paramount officials make these concessions in a quid pro quo arrangement to influence President Trump or other Administration officials, they may be breaking the law.”
    Text of Letter (PDF)
    Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) wrote to Shari Redstone, Chair of Paramount Global (Paramount), with concerns regarding whether Paramount may be engaging in potentially illegal conduct involving the Trump Administration in exchange for approval of its megamerger with Skydance Media (Skydance).
    In October 2024, President Trump, in his capacity as a private citizen, sued Paramount subsidiary CBS over alleged “partisan and unlawful acts of election and voter interference.” In March 2025, CBS filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, calling the suit “an affront to the First Amendment and … without basis in law or fact.” Now, Paramount appears to be walking back its commitments to defend CBS’s First Amendment rights. Paramount is reportedly in talks to settle the lawsuit, with President Trump potentially profiting from the settlement.
    The senators are pushing Paramount to answer why the company has suddenly changed its tune with respect to the lawsuit, concerned that it may be because Paramount and Skydance’s agreement to merge for $8 billion hinges on the Trump Administration’s Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which has an opportunity to block it. 
    “Paramount appears to be attempting to appease the Administration in order to secure merger approval,” wrote the senators. 
    In addition to reportedly attempting to settle the suit, Paramount also appears to have begun meddling with CBS’s content, “presumably in order to screen it for content that could anger the Trump Administration.”
    A 60 Minutes correspondent told viewers, “Our parent company Paramount is trying to complete a merger. The Trump Administration must approve it. Paramount began to supervise our content in new ways.” This has prompted CBS resignations, including by the CBS News President, Wendy McMahon, who resigned just yesterday.
    “If Paramount officials make these concessions in a quid pro quo arrangement to influence President Trump or other Administration officials, they may be breaking the law,” wrote the senators.
    Under the federal bribery statute, it is illegal to corruptly give anything of value to public officials to influence an official act. To determine whether Paramount is acting in accordance with anti-bribery laws, the senators are requesting answers from the company.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: NEW DATA: More than 36,000 Granite Staters Would Lose Health Insurance Under Republican Leaders’ Proposed Cuts

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for New Hampshire Maggie Hassan

    WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan, Ranking Member of the Joint Economic Committee, and Senator Jeanne Shaheen today highlighted new data from the Joint Economic Committee – Minority showing that an estimated 36,856 Granite Staters would lose health insurance as a result of President Trump and Congressional Republicans’ proposed cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act. House Republicans are expected to call a vote on their proposal later this week. 

    “President Trump and Congressional Republicans are pushing forward with their plan to give billionaires and corporate special interests more tax breaks – all paid for by taking health coverage away from more than 36,000 Granite Staters and adding trillions to the national debt,” said Senators Hassan and Shaheen. “This new analysis makes clear that if this backward plan passes into law, it will be even harder for thousands of Granite Staters to afford the health care that they need.” 

    The Committee calculations are based on the latest numbers available, including from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office’s analysis released this month about the draft legislation put forward by Republicans. The new Committee fact sheet is available here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Warner & Kaine Warn Republican Effort to Gut Clean Energy Investments will Endanger Virginia Jobs, Increase Costs for Virginia Households

    US Senate News:

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

    WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (D-VA) today condemned Republican-led efforts to roll back key provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) as part of their proposed budget reconciliation bill to cut taxes for the wealthiest Americans. The senators warned that the GOP’s plan would jeopardize thousands of clean energy jobs, threaten billions in private investment, and raise energy costs for families across the Commonwealth.

    “The Inflation Reduction Act has already delivered significant clean energy investments to Virginia, supporting more than 20,000 jobs and positioning our Commonwealth as a leader in the clean energy economy,” said Sens. Warner and Kaine. “Rolling back these investments would not only endanger these jobs but also hinder our progress toward a more sustainable and affordable energy future. We must protect the investments that are creating jobs and lowering costs for Virginians. The Republican plan puts our economic future at risk.”

    According to a new report from the Joint Economic Committee, since the Inflation Reduction Act passed, 21,642 new Virginia jobs have been announced at manufacturing, utility electricity, and industrial facilities that can receive tax cuts through the law. These announced may now be in jeopardy because of uncertainty around President Trump and congressional Republicans’ plans to rollback energy tax cuts in the Inflation Reduction Act.

    The report also includes new calculations finding that a typical Virginia household can save between $510 and $1,190 on energy costs annually through the tax cuts for home and appliance upgrades supported by the Inflation Reduction Act.

    Read the full Joint Economic Committee report here.

    Warner and Kaine have been sounding the alarm about the effects of the GOP plan on Virginia if Republicans in Congress continue to insist on gutting vital programs in order to pay for tax breaks for the richest Americans. Last week, they noted that more than 262,000 Virginians are expected to lose their health insurance under the cuts being proposed by President Trump and Republicans in Congress.

    MIL OSI USA News –