NewzIntel.com

Category: United States of America

  • MIL-OSI Security: Former Banker Arrested for Allegedly Obtaining $2.7 Million in COVID Business-Relief Funds Using Stolen IDs of Disabled Persons

    Source: US FBI

    LOS ANGELES – A former Wells Fargo & Co. banker and his brother have been arrested on an eight-count federal grand jury indictment alleging they schemed to fraudulently obtain more than $2.7 million in taxpayer-funded COVID-19 relief funds and federally-guaranteed small business loans, including by submitting applications using the stolen identities of developmentally disabled persons who lived in long-term care facilities, the Justice Department announced today. 

    Norayr Madadi, 40, of Burbank, and Vazrik Madadi, 44, of Glendale, were arrested Wednesday morning.

    Both men are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, two counts of wire fraud, and three counts of money laundering. Norayr Madadi is separately charged with one count of aggravated identity theft and one count of making a false statement to a government agent.

    They pleaded not guilty at their arraignment Wednesday afternoon in United States District Court in Los Angeles. A federal magistrate judge ordered Norayr Madadi released on $25,000 bond, ordered Vazrik Madadi released on $50,000 bond, and scheduled a September 2 trial date.

    According to the indictment returned on June 17 and unsealed Wednesday, Norayr Madadi was a banker at Wells Fargo and opened fraudulent accounts in the names of shell companies and persons including using stolen and fictious identities.

    From March 2020 through April 2021, the defendants obtained millions in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program (EIDL) loans by submitting loan applications with false statements about revenues, operations, and employees. The defendants used fake and stolen identities to further the fraudulent scheme, including the stolen identities of two victims who are developmentally disabled and live in long-term care facilities.

    The Small Business Administration (SBA) and PPP participating lenders disbursed the loans into bank accounts controlled by the defendants, including the Wells Fargo bank accounts opened by Norayr Madadi. The Madadi brothers allegedly spent the loan proceeds at casinos, paying for luxury cars and jewelry, and cash withdrawals.

    Law enforcement believes the losses caused by this scheme are approximately $2.7 million.

    An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.

    If convicted, each defendant would face a statutory maximum sentence of 20 in federal prison for each wire fraud-related count and up to 10 years in federal prison for each money laundering count. Norayr Madadi would face up to five years in federal prison if convicted of the false statements count and would face a mandatory two-year consecutive prison term if convicted of the aggravated identity theft count.

    The FBI is investigating this matter. 

    Assistant United States Attorney Jason Pang of the General Crimes Section is prosecuting this case, with substantial assistance from Assistant United States Attorney Ryan Waters of the Asset Forfeiture and Recovery Section.

    Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at (866) 720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI USA: SBA Relief Still Available to Michigan Small Businesses and Private Nonprofits Affected by Excessive Rain and Flash Flooding

    Source: United States Small Business Administration

    ATLANTA – The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is reminding small businesses and private nonprofit (PNP) organizations in Michigan of the Aug. 11 deadline to apply for low interest federal disaster loans to offset economic losses caused by excessive rain and flash flooding occurring on July 9-10, 2024.  

    The disaster declaration covers the Michigan counties of Genesee, Lapeer, Macomb, Oakland, Sanilac, St. Clair and Tuscola.

    Under this declaration SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program is available to small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, nurseries and PNPs with financial losses directly related to the disaster. The SBA is unable to provide disaster loans to agricultural producers, farmers, or ranchers, except for small aquaculture enterprises.

    EIDLs are available for working capital needs caused by the disaster and are available even if the small business or PNP did not suffer any physical damage. The loans may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable, and other bills not paid due to the disaster.

    “Through a declaration by the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, SBA provides critical financial assistance to help communities recover,” said Chris Stallings, associate administrator of the Office of Disaster Recovery and Resilience at the SBA. “We’re pleased to offer loans to small businesses and private nonprofits impacted by these disasters.”  

    The loan amount can be up to $2 million with interest rates as low as 4% for small businesses and 3.25% for PNPs, with terms up to 30 years. Interest does not accrue, and payments are not due until 12 months from the date of the first loan disbursement. The SBA sets loan amounts and terms based on each applicant’s financial condition.

    To apply online visit sba.gov/disaster. Applicants may also call SBA’s Customer Service Center at (800) 659-2955 or email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov for more information on SBA disaster assistance. For people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.

    The deadline to return economic injury applications is Aug. 11, 2025.

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    About the U.S. Small Business Administration

    The U.S. Small Business Administration helps power the American dream of business ownership. As the only go-to resource and voice for small businesses backed by the strength of the federal government, the SBA empowers entrepreneurs and small business owners with the resources and support they need to start, grow or 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 Security: Previously Convicted Felon from Donora Pleads Guilty to Drug Trafficking and Firearm Charges

    Source: United States Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF)

    PITTSBURGH, Pa. – A resident of Donora, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty in federal court on July 9, 2025, to fentanyl and cocaine trafficking and the unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition, Acting United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced today.

    Tre Robert Goins, 31, pleaded guilty before Senior United States District Judge Joy Flowers Conti to possession with the intent to distribute quantities of fentanyl and cocaine and possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon. Goins will proceed to trial in August 2025 on an additional federal charge of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

    In connection with the guilty plea, the Court was advised that, on May 24, 2024, Goins fled from a traffic stop initiated by the City of Duquesne Police Department. Goins led law enforcement on a high-speed chase and crashed his vehicle, at which time, police recovered fentanyl, cocaine, and a loaded firearm, which had been reported stolen, from Goins’ car. Goins has multiple prior felony convictions for firearms. Federal law prohibits possession of a firearm or ammunition by a convicted felon.

    Judge Conti scheduled sentencing for October 22, 2025. The law provides for a maximum total sentence of up to 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $1 million, or both. Under the federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history of the defendant.

    Assistant United States Attorneys Kelly M. Locher and Katherine C. Jordan are prosecuting this case on behalf of the United States.
    Pending sentencing, Goins will remain in the custody of the United States Marshals Service.

    The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, City of Clairton and Duquesne police departments, and Elizabeth Township Police Department conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Goins.

    This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: New Haven Narcotics Distributor Sentenced to 28 Months in Federal Prison

    Source: US FBI

    David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that DEVARO TAYLOR, 35, of New Haven, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Omar A. Williams in Hartford to 28 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for distributing crack cocaine.

    According to court documents and statements made in court, in 2020, the FBI’s New Haven Safe Streets/Gang Task Force and New Haven Police Department conducted an investigation into narcotics trafficking and related criminal activity in and around New Haven.  Between September and December 2020, investigators made controlled purchases of crack cocaine from Taylor.  A court-authorized wiretap of Taylor’s phone revealed that he sold powder and crack cocaine to numerous drug customers in New Haven.

    Taylor was arrested on January 26, 2021.  On that date, a search of his residence revealed approximately 124 grams of cocaine, approximately 226 grams of crack cocaine, and $6,702 in cash.

    On December 7, 2021, Taylor pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute cocaine base (“crack”).

    This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nathaniel J. Gentile through the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Program.  Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Alongside Renters Rights Groups, Rep. Maxwell Frost Announces Two Bills to Empower Working Renters

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Maxwell Frost Florida (10th District)

    July 11, 2025

    Frost’s End Junk Fees for Renters Act and End Tenant Credit Screening Act Work to Breakdown Hurdles for Renters

    Watch the Press Conference Here

    ORLANDO, FL — As Florida and the country grapple with rising costs, a worsening economy, and a housing crisis, today Congressman Maxwell Alejandro Frost (FL-10) announced he was introducing two bills to empower working-class renters and dismantle the hurdles that have made it harder for too many to have a roof over their head.

    Frost’s End Junk Fees for Renters Act and End Tenant Credit Screening Act would crack down on the excessive and dishonest junk fees that millions of renters are charged when applying and every month thereafter by money-hungry landlords while also removing a major obstacle renters face when applying for housing by prohibiting landlords from using credit scores and consumer reports when screening potential tenants.

    Frost’s bills come as Florida and the U.S. face a housing affordability crisis that continues to squeeze working people and renters, too often forcing people to slip into homelessness at a time when cities are criminalizing folks who cannot afford to keep a roof over their heads.

    Frost, who was joined by local elected leaders, including State Rep. Anna Eskamani, and housing organizations and advocates, recently posted on the Orlando community Reddit page where he received hundreds of comments and dozens of stories from local folks who have been victimized by excessive and hidden fees from landlords or have been outright denied housing because of their credit scores. 

    “At a time when many people in Central Florida and across the country are struggling to make ends meet, we must remove the obstacles that prevent them from keeping a roof over their heads. Hidden fees and discriminatory credit screenings are major challenges for renters,” said Rep. Maxwell Frost. “These bills will help create a fairer, more equitable, and transparent rental market. If we want a future where everyone has access to stable, secure housing, then we must end junk fees. We must end discriminatory credit screenings. We must make housing a right, not a luxury. We’ve got a lot of work left to do for renters and to address the housing crisis, but these bills are an important first step to offer immediate relief.”

    The End Junk Fees for Renters Act is endorsed by the National Housing Law Project, National Low Income Housing Coalition, National Homelessness Law Center, National Alliance to End Homelessness, and National Consumer Law Center (on behalf of its low-income clients). The End Tenant Credit Screening Act is endorsed by the National Consumer Law Center (on behalf of its low-income clients).

    “Credit scores were never intended to gauge whether someone will be a good tenant. They’re designed to predict whether someone will be late paying a loan, not rent, which is a much higher-priority bill than a credit card. Given the current rental housing crisis, this practice makes a bad situation even worse. We applaud Congressman Frost for introducing a bill to put a stop to this unfair practice,” stated Chi Chi Wu, Director of Consumer Reporting and Data Advocacy at the National Consumer Law Center.

     

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    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Rep. Hoyle Joins Oregon Delegation to Urge Release of Critical Fishery Disaster Funding

    Source: US Representative Val Hoyle (OR-04)

    July 11, 2025

    Lawmakers press the Trump Administration to act quickly to unlock $7 million intended to help Oregon’s ocean commercial fishermen recover from significant economic losses from declining salmon populations

    For Immediate Release: July 11, 2025 

    EUGENE, OR – Oregon’s U.S. Representative Val Hoyle (OR-04), alongside U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley and Reps. Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), Andrea Salinas (OR-06), Maxine Dexter (OR-03), and Janelle Bynum (OR-05) pressed the Trump Administration to release the $7,050,722 that was allocated to Oregon for the catastrophic regional fishery disaster that was declared for the Oregon Chinook salmon commercial ocean fisheries in the state for 2018, 2019, and 2020.

    The Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission (PSMFC) resubmitted their spending plan for funds allocated by the U.S. Department of Commerce in October 2024, but their final revised application has gone without a response from the Trump Administration for the last several months, delaying much needed funding for Oregon’s fishermen.

    The Oregon lawmakers are urging Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought to promptly review and act upon the PSMFC’s application without further delay to help the state’s ocean commercial fishermen and coastal economies recover from the significant toll of declining salmon populations.

    “Oregon salmon and salmon fisheries are an invaluable cultural, economic, and ecological resource in our state. Salmon are highly valued by Native American tribes in the Pacific Northwest for cultural, subsistence, and economic benefits,” wrote the lawmakers.

    The impact salmon loss has on Oregon’s economy cannot be understated, as the state’s commercial fishing industry generates more than $640 million in economic activity each year, equivalent to 9,200 jobs.

    The lawmakers pressed this fact to Director Vought: “Additionally, the commercial salmon industry is a significant economic driver for rural communities on the Oregon Coast, generating millions of dollars in economic output. Sadly, our salmon fisheries have faced significant obstacles over the last decade which have resulted in significant fishery declines.”

    As the Oregon delegation continues to hear from concerned constituents in Oregon’s coastal communities and fisheries, they are requesting Director Vought provide responses to the following questions by August 1, 2025:

    1. Does the Office of Management and Budget require additional information to process the application submitted by the PSMFC?

    2. Will the Office of Management and Budget commit to promptly reviewing the application resubmitted by PSMFC in a timely manner and to apportion and obligate funding to the designated amount of $7,050,722 for the declared disaster?

    “We look forward to a timely disbursal of these critical funds to assist Oregon’s commercial salmon industry and await your response,” the lawmakers closed.

    Full text of the Oregon delegation’s letter can be found HERE.

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    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Congressman Issa: Take the Summer Reading Challenge from Second Lady Usha Vance

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Darrell Issa (CA-50)

    WASHINGTON, CA— Congressman Darrell Issa (CA-48) recently expressed his support for Second Lady, and San Diego native, Usha Vance’s 2025 Summer Reading Challenge. 

    “Reading a book opens a window into discovery, learning and imagination” said Congressman Issa. “I am proud to support Second Lady Vance’s Summer Reading Challenge and hope that all students in southern California can join this meaningful and exciting program by reading this summer.” 

    The Second Lady’s Summer Reading Challenge invites all children, grades K-8, to read 12 books between June 1 – September 5. For details on participation, please visit www.whitehouse.gov/read 

    Students who complete the challenge may submit their registration to both the Second Lady’s office and the office of Congressman Darrell Issa to receive recognition of this achievement. 

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    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Congressman Issa: Take the Summer Reading Challenge from Second Lady Usha Vance

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Darrell Issa (CA-50)

    WASHINGTON, CA— Congressman Darrell Issa (CA-48) recently expressed his support for Second Lady, and San Diego native, Usha Vance’s 2025 Summer Reading Challenge. 

    “Reading a book opens a window into discovery, learning and imagination” said Congressman Issa. “I am proud to support Second Lady Vance’s Summer Reading Challenge and hope that all students in southern California can join this meaningful and exciting program by reading this summer.” 

    The Second Lady’s Summer Reading Challenge invites all children, grades K-8, to read 12 books between June 1 – September 5. For details on participation, please visit www.whitehouse.gov/read 

    Students who complete the challenge may submit their registration to both the Second Lady’s office and the office of Congressman Darrell Issa to receive recognition of this achievement. 

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    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Congressman Issa: Take the Summer Reading Challenge from Second Lady Usha Vance

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Darrell Issa (CA-50)

    WASHINGTON, CA— Congressman Darrell Issa (CA-48) recently expressed his support for Second Lady, and San Diego native, Usha Vance’s 2025 Summer Reading Challenge. 

    “Reading a book opens a window into discovery, learning and imagination” said Congressman Issa. “I am proud to support Second Lady Vance’s Summer Reading Challenge and hope that all students in southern California can join this meaningful and exciting program by reading this summer.” 

    The Second Lady’s Summer Reading Challenge invites all children, grades K-8, to read 12 books between June 1 – September 5. For details on participation, please visit www.whitehouse.gov/read 

    Students who complete the challenge may submit their registration to both the Second Lady’s office and the office of Congressman Darrell Issa to receive recognition of this achievement. 

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    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Malliotakis Applauds Court Decision Rejecting 9/11 Plea Deal

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis (NY-11)

    (NEW YORK, NY) – Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis (NY-11) today issued the following statement in response to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit’s decision to strike down a plea deal that would have allowed 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his co-defendants to avoid the death penalty:

    “I applaud today’s decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals to rightly reject an outrageous plea deal that would have allowed the 9/11 mastermind and his accomplices to escape the death penalty. This ruling confirms what we’ve been saying all along: the Biden Administration never should have considered such a deal in the first place.

    The American people have waited more than two decades for justice. The families who lost loved ones, along with the first responders who continue to suffer, deserve full accountability for those who orchestrated the deadliest terrorist attack on our nation’s soil. It is time to move forward by setting a trial date and pursuing the death penalty to ensure these terrorists are finally held fully accountable for their crimes.”

    In 2024, Malliotakis was joined by 9/11 Families & First Responders Call for Justice to be Served Against 9/11 Terrorists.

    In 2023, Malliotakis joined Texas Senator Ted Cruz in writing to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin urging the Department of Defense to scrap any possibility for a plea dealwith 9/11 terrorists that takes the death penalty off the table.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Americans Celebrate the One Big Beautiful Bill’s Transformational Policies

    US Senate News:

    Source: US Whitehouse
    A week after President Donald J. Trump signed the historic One Big Beautiful Bill into law, Americans across the country are celebrating its many benefits. From farmers securing their family legacies to service workers gaining financial breathing room, the bill’s bold policies will make a real difference in Americans’ lives.
    In Iowa, fifth-generation farmer Dennis Friest says it “feels like a weight has been lifted from his shoulders” now that the One Big Beautiful Bill prevents the death tax from hitting his farm: “One of my goals when I started farming was to be able to pass this farm onto the next generation, and I’m doing that. I feel very good about that.”
    In Georgia, a restaurant worker says No Tax on Tips will have countless benefits: “I believe it’s going to generate more spending around the town and maybe even travel in the future, or people can start saving and make bigger purchases along the way. I think it’s great.”
    In California, a waitress says No Tax on Tips will help her save for the future: “Over the previous years, I’ve owed quite a bit — so hopefully this can go into a college fund instead.”
    In South Carolina, Greenville County Coroner Mike Ellis says No Tax on Overtime will help his deputies better plan how to spend their money: “They work extremely hard and have an extremely tragic job — every one of them.”
    In Hawaii, a restaurant owner says No Tax on Tips will be a boon for his employees: “I think any amount of money saved will have great impact … that would affect absolutely every non-manager in the house. Everybody’s tipped here.”
    In Nevada, a service worker says No Tax on Tips will make a huge difference for hardworking people like her: “It definitely will be a couple of hundred dollars in our paychecks — which it goes far.”
    In Texas, a fourth-generation farmer says the pro-agriculture provisions in the One Big Beautiful Bill will be difference-maker: “We definitely need a strong safety net for America’s farmers.”
    In Michigan, a waitress says the extra money as a result of No Tax on Tips will help care for her four children: “It would either go towards them or towards my house bills.”
    In Wisconsin, the vice president of the state’s restaurant association says No Tax on Tips will have a direct impact on peoples’ lives: “Many of our folks are part-time, either supplemental income to the family or are students putting themselves through school … this will help them achieve their goals.”
    In Florida, a Miami bartender says No Tax on Tips will be a big help since tips are 90% of his income: “A little bit more money in the working people’s pocket, and that just allows us the opportunity to get to enjoy our cities a little bit more.”
    In Minnesota, a bartender praises No Tax on Tips: “Any more money on our checks is going to be better — that we don’t have to give to the government.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: On Senate Floor, Murray Slams Rescissions Package, Warning Against Senselessly Abandoning Communities at Home and Leadership Abroad

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Washington State Patty Murray

    FACT SHEET: Trump’s Rescission Package Would Gut Bipartisan Foreign Policy Investments

    FACT SHEET: Trump’s Rescission Package Would Devastate Local Public Radio, TV Stations Across America

    ICYMI: Vought Refuses to Rule Out More Illegal End-Runs Around Congress & Refuses to Detail How Trump Will Execute Cuts If Rescissions Bill Passes—Murray Urges Congress to Reject Package in its Entirety

    Murray on claims passing the bill is about fiscal responsibility: “You could cut the equivalent of this bill every single day, for an entire year, and it still would not match the cost of the billionaire tax cuts Republicans passed last week.”

    ***WATCH: Senator Murray’s floor remarks***

    Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, delivered the following remarks on the Senate floor laying out the devastation President Trump’s rescission package would cause for local news stations nationwide and their emergency preparedness systems and underscoring how it will gut bipartisan foreign policy investments, ceding America’s global leadership—all while doing nothing to get our “fiscal house in order.”

    Senator Murray’s remarks, as delivered, are below:

    [HYPOCRISY ON DEBTS, DEFICITS, AND “FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY”]

    “Mr. President, last week Republicans made the wrong kind of history. That is because, last week, they passed what may well be the single most expensive piece of legislation in the history of our country—all to help the rich and hurt the poor. This should go in the Guinness Book of World Records.

    “And let’s not forget, the history doesn’t end there. Because they passed the biggest bill in the history of the Senate with the biggest gimmick in the history of the Senate—basically saying that trillions of dollars in tax cuts for billionaires are free.

    “This farce is only getting worse—because do you know what Republicans are turning to now? Do you know what the next order of business in the Senate is? They are going to take up President Trump’s request to slash local news and bipartisan foreign policy investments, in order to ‘balance the debt.’

    “That is a serious case of amnesia. Republicans just saddled the national credit card with a $4 trillion in debt—that’s trillions with a ‘T’—so they could give massive tax breaks to the richest people in the country. And they would have added even more to that debt if they didn’t cut over a trillion in health care and nutrition assistance for millions of Americans.

    “But now that it is passed, now that they’ve saddled the next generation with loads of debt to help billionaire donors, many Republicans want to return to talking now about ‘getting the nation’s fiscal house in order.’

    “Are you kidding me? Do you really think we don’t remember what just happened last week? Well thank goodness for C-SPAN, and we all should review the tape.

    “One week ago, Republicans were pretending trillions in debt for tax giveaways to their corporate buddies and mega donors was nothing—literally nothing.

    “And now, these same Republicans say local news, which provides crucial information in emergencies, is just too expensive to support.

    “Now, these same Republicans say we just can’t afford to continue lifesaving aid that prevents famine and epidemics.

    “Even though—keep in mind—we are talking about a sum total of less than 0.14 percent of our overall federal budget.

    “The irony is almost as rich as the corporate CEOs who made out like bandits in that big, awful, mess Republicans passed last week.

    [DEVASTATING CUTS TO PUBLIC BROADCASTING]

    “And this rescissions package is not just bad because many Republicans are trying to have it both ways on deficits and debt now. It’s just plain ole bad on the substance. These cuts would hurt our communities, and they hurt our country. 

    “Let’s start with local news. Republicans are trying to rip away investments that support over 1,500 local public TV and radio stations. These are stations that serve rural areas, and they give them local news you simply can’t find anywhere else.

    “Coverage that matters to people like what community events are coming up, how the school board is preparing for next year, weather and market reports for our farmers, not to mention emergency alerts when a disaster strikes.

    “You do not have to look hard to find an example of how important it is we get disaster warnings right. When the devastating wildfires hit southern California earlier this year, public radio broadcasts let millions of people know how to stay safe. When Hurricane Helene battered North Carolina, a local public radio station was the only source of information for many people. And, of course, the recent tragedy in Texas, and the flooding in New Mexico.

    “These were incredibly deadly floods—my heart goes out to all the families who are affected, especially those who lost loved ones. And my deep gratitude goes out to the first responders. I’m committed to helping these communities recover. To coming together like we always do as a nation after tragedy.

    “And while we learn more about what they needed, one thing all of our communities need, is strong emergency response systems. And one thing I can tell you, when dangers arise cutting local news stations, silencing trusted sources that can push out important warnings when cell towers fail, and your home internet connection goes out—that won’t make anything better.

    “And Mr. President, don’t even get me started on how this rescissions bill will hurt free, educational programming for countless kids. We’re talking about shows kids and parents love. But after saddling our country with trillions in debt for billionaires, many Republicans are saying there’s just not a penny left for our kids.

    “‘Sorry—we’re going to feed Big Bird to the Fat Cats.’

    “That’s the message Republicans are sending. This isn’t quite how they’d put it on Sesame Street, but America knows that message is brought to you by the letters BS. And it is so dangerously short sighted.

    “Talk to any parent, they will warn you: If Republican cuts end up canceling free, high-quality programming that is thoughtfully developed to get kids thinking and grow their curiosity, there’s an alarming amount of low-quality junk to fill that void. Content that is instead, carefully engineered to keep kids watching, and shorten their attention spans. 

    “Actually, you know what? It makes sense. Maybe getting our kids hooked on brain-rot TV is part of the Republican plan. After all, if our children are watching PBS, they might learn to count. And if our kids learn to count how will Republicans ever convince anyone that trillions of dollars in tax cuts are free?

    [GUTTING BIPARTISAN FOREIGN POLICY INVESTMENTS]

    “I know, let’s not forget President Trump wants Senate Republicans to rip up investments they themselves—they themselves—helped secure to advance America’s global leadership. Apparently being the leader of the free world is now just too expensive.

    “The reality of the matter is that these are investments are investments that pay off for our own country. From supporting American farmers and companies who provide the food assistance that saves lives; to stopping dangerous viruses and epidemics while they are still far overseas before they have a chance to threaten American lives; to preventing conflict, avoiding chaos and crisis that can cause a dangerous spiral; to strengthening our ties with key partners and defending our interests in international organizations.

    “We don’t just make these investments because they are the right thing to do, we do it because it is the smart thing to do for America.

    “But it’s worth saying Mr. President, it’s the right thing to do as well. And it is unthinkably wrong that this president is willing to shell out trillions for some of the richest people in the world, only to turn around and say that less than a penny a day is too expensive to protect hundreds of thousands of little girls from HIV.

    “It is wrong for Republicans to say, ‘oh we’ve got to get those corporate executives a big bonus,’ only to turn around and say: ‘oh we don’t really have to worry about the work our farmers do to help those starving kids.’

    “It is also foolish to think this is just a luxury, or charitable work. Our farmers know better. Americans who contract infectious diseases abroad know better. The companies in our states who work overseas to stabilize conflict-affected communities alongside DOD, they know better. It is bad strategy and a surefire way to hand China the upper hand.

    “But we cannot lose sight of the fact that it is just plain wrong.

    “Let’s be clear, if they cut this funding Republicans will not just be turning America away from the world, they will be turning the world away from America.

    “Do Republicans really want to cause needless suffering, or slash bipartisan funding, and break commitments we already made together to save a quick buck? Is America’s credibility so cheap to them?

    “They talk about peace through strength as if they are carrying on Ronald Reagan’s legacy. Reagan spent about half-a-percent of our GDP on foreign assistance. Today we spend less than half that. 

    “And keep in mind, the cuts proposed here are really, they are a drop in the bucket compared to the tsunami of spending and tax giveaways Republicans just passed. I mean, you could cut every single penny the U.S. has spent of foreign assistance since World War II and it would not add up to the cost of the tax cuts Republicans passed last week.

    [UNDERMINING BIPARTISAN APPROPRIATIONS PROCESS]

    “And that’s all saying nothing about how pushing this through won’t just cut bipartisan investments, it will cut out the heart of the basic principles that make bipartisan deals possible.

    “How are we supposed to negotiate a bipartisan deal if Republicans will turn around and put it through the shredder in a partisan vote. This entire package next week should be rejected outright. There is nothing about it that is serious—except for the threat it poses to our communities.

    “To suggest, even for a second, Republicans are doing this to address the debt is laughable. And I encourage the American people to laugh at anyone who pretends as much. Because you could cut the equivalent of this bill every single day, for an entire year, and it still would not match the cost of the billionaire tax cuts Republicans passed last week.

    “So, to my Republican colleagues, instead of doing Trump’s dirty work, instead of doing Russell Vought’s bidding, let’s do our jobs. Reject these partisan cuts to bipartisan funding, turn our focus squarely to the job ahead—writing bipartisan full funding appropriations bills.

    “And you know what? If there’s a discrete pot of funding that is not being spent well, if there are cuts that makes sense to include, if there are things that need to be updated, things that need to be reformed, let’s a have a conversation about what makes sense to rescind and improve as we write those bills in committee—the way we’ve always done.

    “My Democratic colleagues and I have said for months we are willing to discuss rescissions in our bipartisan spending bills. We have done this in a bipartisan fashion for years—no matter who is in the White House, or which party has had the majority in either chamber. 

    “My commitment to Chair Collins and my colleagues on other side of the aisle remains the same. I’m willing to work with you to include rescissions in our bipartisan spending bills as we continue to work on the fiscal year 2026 process. 

    “Instead of moving forward with this partisan rescission package, let’s reject that package and have these discussions and work together. Let’s move forward on the bipartisan appropriations process and address all of those decision there.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: As School Year Nears, Reed, Whitehouse & Colleagues Demand Trump Admin. End Blockade on Funding for Afterschool Programs, K-12 Schools Across America

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Rhode Island Jack Reed

    WASHINGTON, DC – Approximately $30 million for Rhode Island public schools and educational programs is in limbo after the Trump Administration froze federal funding that had previously been approved by Congress.

    Today, U.S. Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) joined Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and twenty-nine colleagues in sending a letter to President Trump’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russ Vought and U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon demanding the immediate release of nearly $7 billion in funding for K-12 schools and adult literacy programs across America that the Trump administration abruptly let states and school districts know it would indefinitely block last week.

    The Trump Administration’s decision to withhold the funding has sent school districts nationwide scrambling to determine how they could fill the massive budget hole and whether they’ll have to lay off teachers or end after school programs in the coming weeks.

    Rhode Island faces the potential loss of nearly $30 million in federal education as a result of the abrupt cutoff of education funds by the Trump Administration and may be forced to end afterschool programs, specialized literacy programs, educator training, and support for English language learners as a result of this misguided executive maneuver.

    The funding was expected to be disbursed by the federal government on July 1 and impacts every school district across the state.

    Nationwide, school districts have already told parents to prepare backup options, and adult literacy programs have already been forced to lay off staff.

    “We are writing to demand an immediate end to the illegal withholding of nearly $7 billion in federal education formula grant funds our states and communities are expecting for the coming school year, which is set to begin in just a few weeks in some communities,” write the 32 U.S. Senators. “These funds were made available by the bipartisan Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025, signed into law on March 15, 2025. Yet, instead of supporting the tens of millions of students and adult learners intended to benefit from these investments, the administration has chosen to continue an unprecedented and opaque ‘programmatic review’ of these formula grant funds past the July 1, 2025, date these funds became available for allotment to states.”

    The lawmakers blasted the administration for its abrupt notice and illegal freeze of the funds, which has sent school districts and programs nationwide scrambling: “We are shocked by the continued lack of respect for states and local schools evidenced by this latest action by the administration.”

    They note that blocking funding for before and after school programs, as well as summer learning programs, is already hurting families nationwide: “By withholding these funds from states, the Department will impact programs for nearly 1.4 million students served by 10,000 summer and before and afterschool programs around the nation, which the Department’s latest performance report showed supported significant improvements in student attendance, grades, and teacher reports of student engagement in learning.  These centers also help working parents by providing a safe and productive place for their children to be after the school day ends and during the summer months. It is beyond comprehension why the administration would want to jeopardize these outcomes.”

    Warning of how denying these funds will cause schools to lay off teachers and cut back on teacher training, they write: “This rash decision will only worsen school working conditions and teacher shortages.”

    The lawmakers also detail how the move affects adult learners nationwide: “This pause could jeopardize services to more than 1.2 million adult learners working to develop foundational literacy and numeracy skills needed to enter and succeed in workforce training and health, financial, digital, and information literacy skills necessary for full participation in community and civic life. The withholding will have an even more significant impact on 12 states that rely on these funds for 70 to 75 percent of their adult education programs.”

    The Trump administration has confirmed it is blocking funding for the following programs—all of which are programs President Trump has requested to eliminate in his budget request, raising serious concerns about this administration’s intentions to simply impound the funding:

    1. Supporting Effective Instruction State Grants (Title II-A), which support professional development and other activities to improve the effectiveness of teachers and school leaders, including reducing class size.
    2. 21st Century Community Learning Centers (Title IV-B), which support high-quality before and after-school programs focused on providing academic enrichment opportunities for students.
    3. Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants (Title IV-A), which provide flexible funding for school districts for a wide range of activities including supporting STEM education, accelerated learning courses, college and career counseling, school-based mental health services, and improving school technology, among many others.
    4. English Language Acquisition (Title III-A), which supports language instruction to help English language learners become proficient in English.
    5. Migrant Education (Title I-C), which supports the educational needs of migratory children, including children of migrant and seasonal farmworkers.
    6. Adult Basic and Literacy Education State Grants (including Integrated English Literacy and Civics Education State Grants), which support adult education and literacy programs to provide the basic skills to help prepare adults and out-of-school youth for success in the workforce.

    In addition to Senators Murray, Reed, and Whitehouse, the letter was also signed by Senators Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Maize Hirono (D-HI), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-MD), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), John Fetterman (D-PA), Chris Coons (D-DE), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Chris Van Hollen (D-NM), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Ed Markey (D-MA), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Tina Smith (D-MN), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Gary Peters (D-MI), Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), and Jeff Merkley (D-OR).

    Full text of the letter follows:

    Dear Director Vought and Secretary McMahon:

    We are writing to demand an immediate end to the illegal withholding of nearly $7 billion in federal education formula grant funds our states and communities are expecting for the coming school year, which is set to begin in just a few weeks in some communities. These funds were made available by the bipartisan Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025, signed into law on March 15, 2025. Yet, instead of supporting the tens of millions of students and adult learners intended to benefit from these investments, the administration has chosen to continue an unprecedented and opaque “programmatic review” of these formula grant funds past the July 1, 2025, date these funds became available for allotment to states. This delay not only undermines effective state and local planning for using these funds to address student needs consistent with federal education law, which often takes place months before these funds become available, but also flies in the face of the nation’s education laws which confers state and local educational agency discretion on permissible uses of federal formula grant funds.

    We are shocked by the continued lack of respect for states and local schools evidenced by this latest action by the administration. Late on June 30, 2025, the Department of Education (“Department”) informed states that it would not release fiscal year 2025 funds expected on July 1 before completing a “review” of six programs. The Department even noted ironically that it “remains committed to ensuring taxpayer resources are spent in accordance with the President’s priorities and the Department’s statutory responsibilities.” Apparently, the Department needs a refresher course on its statutory responsibilities.

    The Full-Year Continuing Appropriations law requires funds to be allocated under the terms and conditions of the fiscal year 2024 appropriations law. This includes a requirement that “$1,329,673,000 shall be for part B of title IV”, which is the authority for the Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Centers program. This authority requires the Secretary to allot funds to each state for subgrants for before, after, and summer school programming. The law further describes the allotment formula, authorized state and local activities, and other program requirements. By withholding these funds from states, the Department will impact programs for nearly 1.4 million students served by 10,000 summer and before and afterschool programs around the nation, which the Department’s latest performance report showed supported significant improvements in student attendance, grades, and teacher reports of student engagement in learning. These centers also help working parents by providing a safe and productive place for their children to be after the school day ends and during the summer months. It is beyond comprehension why the administration would want to jeopardize these outcomes.

    The Full-Year Continuing Appropriations law also requires the Department to use $890 million to carry out part A of title III of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. The purpose of the program is to ensure English learners (ELs) and immigrant students have access to the resources they need to attain English language proficiency and reach the same challenging academic standards as their English-proficient peers, which will prepare them to fully participate in society and the workforce as they grow older. Part A of title III specifies the allotment formula, permissible uses of funds and other program requirements for this program serving more than 5 million EL students enrolled in the nation’s public schools. Yet, the administration’s review will disrupt school hiring decisions and cause real and immediate harm to EL students.

    The Department issued preliminary allocations to states on May 29, 2025, stating that “The Full Year Appropriations and Extension Act, 2025 provides $629,600,400 for formula grants to States to carry out adult education and literacy activities.” Just more than a month later, the Department issued its curt memo indicating that the funds would not go out on July 1, 2025, as

    just promised in the May preliminary allocations. This pause could jeopardize services to more than 1.2 million adult learners working to develop foundational literacy and numeracy skills needed to enter and succeed in workforce training and health, financial, digital, and information literacy skills necessary for full participation in community and civic life. The withholding will have an even more significant impact on 12 states that rely on these funds for 70 to 75 percent of their adult education programs.

    The withholding also extends to more than $2 billion for Supporting Effective Instruction State Grants. According to the Department’s latest report, more than half of these funds are used for professional development for teachers and other educators, and nearly one-third of school districts used the funds to recruit, hire, and retain effective educators.12 Nearly $1.4 billion is being withheld for Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants and $375 million for Migrant Education programs. All these programs were funded in fiscal year 2024 and continued by the Full-Year Appropriations Act. This rash decision will only worsen school working conditions and teacher shortages.

    It is unacceptable that the administration is picking and choosing what parts of the appropriations law to follow, and you must immediately implement the entire law as Congress intended and as the oaths you swore require you to do. While the administration continues to deny federal funds to our states and local communities that they are expecting as the law requires, it has found time to move expeditiously to award funding to the Kennedy Center and acknowledged it is required to do so by the appropriations law. In its action here, the Department stated in a recent waiver proposal, “The waiver will allow the Department to issue a continuation award in FY 2025, as directed by Congress to the currently funded 84.351A AENP [Arts in Education National Program] project at an amount consistent with the amount awarded in FY 2024.” While it’s true the appropriations law requires such an action, it does so as well for billions in funding for state grants the Department recently informed states it will not release.

    The administration’s “programmatic review”—with no public information about what the review entails, what data the administration is examining, or a timeline for such review—appears to be an intentional delay that will result in school budget cuts in every State. In multiple statutes, Congress has prohibited the Federal government from directing or controlling state and local education decisions with these dollars. This programmatic review may be in violation of these longstanding and bipartisan prohibitions.

    We might be more inclined to believe the administration’s stated interest in ensuring federal funds were properly used if its actions to date didn’t tell a different story. The Department has impeded a review by the Office of Inspector General, which is charged with promoting the efficiency, effectiveness, and integrity of the Department’s programs and operations. Earlier this year, the administration terminated contracts for regional educational laboratories and grants required for comprehensive centers, which help states and districts use research and evidence in addressing local challenges of policy and practice. It has also halted evaluations of federal literacy programs, adult learning strategies, and strategies to help teens with disabilities transition from high school to college or work.

    We insist you immediately reverse your decision to illegally withhold federal education funding appropriated by Congress and provide the funds as the law requires. Such an action would represent a faithful execution of the law as required by the Constitution and a benefit to the tens of millions of students and adult learners that are intended to benefit from these federal education investments.

    Thank you for your attention to this matter.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: As School Year Nears, Reed, Whitehouse & Colleagues Demand Trump Admin. End Blockade on Funding for Afterschool Programs, K-12 Schools Across America

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Rhode Island Jack Reed

    WASHINGTON, DC – Approximately $30 million for Rhode Island public schools and educational programs is in limbo after the Trump Administration froze federal funding that had previously been approved by Congress.

    Today, U.S. Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) joined Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and twenty-nine colleagues in sending a letter to President Trump’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russ Vought and U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon demanding the immediate release of nearly $7 billion in funding for K-12 schools and adult literacy programs across America that the Trump administration abruptly let states and school districts know it would indefinitely block last week.

    The Trump Administration’s decision to withhold the funding has sent school districts nationwide scrambling to determine how they could fill the massive budget hole and whether they’ll have to lay off teachers or end after school programs in the coming weeks.

    Rhode Island faces the potential loss of nearly $30 million in federal education as a result of the abrupt cutoff of education funds by the Trump Administration and may be forced to end afterschool programs, specialized literacy programs, educator training, and support for English language learners as a result of this misguided executive maneuver.

    The funding was expected to be disbursed by the federal government on July 1 and impacts every school district across the state.

    Nationwide, school districts have already told parents to prepare backup options, and adult literacy programs have already been forced to lay off staff.

    “We are writing to demand an immediate end to the illegal withholding of nearly $7 billion in federal education formula grant funds our states and communities are expecting for the coming school year, which is set to begin in just a few weeks in some communities,” write the 32 U.S. Senators. “These funds were made available by the bipartisan Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025, signed into law on March 15, 2025. Yet, instead of supporting the tens of millions of students and adult learners intended to benefit from these investments, the administration has chosen to continue an unprecedented and opaque ‘programmatic review’ of these formula grant funds past the July 1, 2025, date these funds became available for allotment to states.”

    The lawmakers blasted the administration for its abrupt notice and illegal freeze of the funds, which has sent school districts and programs nationwide scrambling: “We are shocked by the continued lack of respect for states and local schools evidenced by this latest action by the administration.”

    They note that blocking funding for before and after school programs, as well as summer learning programs, is already hurting families nationwide: “By withholding these funds from states, the Department will impact programs for nearly 1.4 million students served by 10,000 summer and before and afterschool programs around the nation, which the Department’s latest performance report showed supported significant improvements in student attendance, grades, and teacher reports of student engagement in learning.  These centers also help working parents by providing a safe and productive place for their children to be after the school day ends and during the summer months. It is beyond comprehension why the administration would want to jeopardize these outcomes.”

    Warning of how denying these funds will cause schools to lay off teachers and cut back on teacher training, they write: “This rash decision will only worsen school working conditions and teacher shortages.”

    The lawmakers also detail how the move affects adult learners nationwide: “This pause could jeopardize services to more than 1.2 million adult learners working to develop foundational literacy and numeracy skills needed to enter and succeed in workforce training and health, financial, digital, and information literacy skills necessary for full participation in community and civic life. The withholding will have an even more significant impact on 12 states that rely on these funds for 70 to 75 percent of their adult education programs.”

    The Trump administration has confirmed it is blocking funding for the following programs—all of which are programs President Trump has requested to eliminate in his budget request, raising serious concerns about this administration’s intentions to simply impound the funding:

    1. Supporting Effective Instruction State Grants (Title II-A), which support professional development and other activities to improve the effectiveness of teachers and school leaders, including reducing class size.
    2. 21st Century Community Learning Centers (Title IV-B), which support high-quality before and after-school programs focused on providing academic enrichment opportunities for students.
    3. Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants (Title IV-A), which provide flexible funding for school districts for a wide range of activities including supporting STEM education, accelerated learning courses, college and career counseling, school-based mental health services, and improving school technology, among many others.
    4. English Language Acquisition (Title III-A), which supports language instruction to help English language learners become proficient in English.
    5. Migrant Education (Title I-C), which supports the educational needs of migratory children, including children of migrant and seasonal farmworkers.
    6. Adult Basic and Literacy Education State Grants (including Integrated English Literacy and Civics Education State Grants), which support adult education and literacy programs to provide the basic skills to help prepare adults and out-of-school youth for success in the workforce.

    In addition to Senators Murray, Reed, and Whitehouse, the letter was also signed by Senators Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Maize Hirono (D-HI), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-MD), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), John Fetterman (D-PA), Chris Coons (D-DE), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Chris Van Hollen (D-NM), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Ed Markey (D-MA), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Tina Smith (D-MN), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Gary Peters (D-MI), Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), and Jeff Merkley (D-OR).

    Full text of the letter follows:

    Dear Director Vought and Secretary McMahon:

    We are writing to demand an immediate end to the illegal withholding of nearly $7 billion in federal education formula grant funds our states and communities are expecting for the coming school year, which is set to begin in just a few weeks in some communities. These funds were made available by the bipartisan Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025, signed into law on March 15, 2025. Yet, instead of supporting the tens of millions of students and adult learners intended to benefit from these investments, the administration has chosen to continue an unprecedented and opaque “programmatic review” of these formula grant funds past the July 1, 2025, date these funds became available for allotment to states. This delay not only undermines effective state and local planning for using these funds to address student needs consistent with federal education law, which often takes place months before these funds become available, but also flies in the face of the nation’s education laws which confers state and local educational agency discretion on permissible uses of federal formula grant funds.

    We are shocked by the continued lack of respect for states and local schools evidenced by this latest action by the administration. Late on June 30, 2025, the Department of Education (“Department”) informed states that it would not release fiscal year 2025 funds expected on July 1 before completing a “review” of six programs. The Department even noted ironically that it “remains committed to ensuring taxpayer resources are spent in accordance with the President’s priorities and the Department’s statutory responsibilities.” Apparently, the Department needs a refresher course on its statutory responsibilities.

    The Full-Year Continuing Appropriations law requires funds to be allocated under the terms and conditions of the fiscal year 2024 appropriations law. This includes a requirement that “$1,329,673,000 shall be for part B of title IV”, which is the authority for the Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Centers program. This authority requires the Secretary to allot funds to each state for subgrants for before, after, and summer school programming. The law further describes the allotment formula, authorized state and local activities, and other program requirements. By withholding these funds from states, the Department will impact programs for nearly 1.4 million students served by 10,000 summer and before and afterschool programs around the nation, which the Department’s latest performance report showed supported significant improvements in student attendance, grades, and teacher reports of student engagement in learning. These centers also help working parents by providing a safe and productive place for their children to be after the school day ends and during the summer months. It is beyond comprehension why the administration would want to jeopardize these outcomes.

    The Full-Year Continuing Appropriations law also requires the Department to use $890 million to carry out part A of title III of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. The purpose of the program is to ensure English learners (ELs) and immigrant students have access to the resources they need to attain English language proficiency and reach the same challenging academic standards as their English-proficient peers, which will prepare them to fully participate in society and the workforce as they grow older. Part A of title III specifies the allotment formula, permissible uses of funds and other program requirements for this program serving more than 5 million EL students enrolled in the nation’s public schools. Yet, the administration’s review will disrupt school hiring decisions and cause real and immediate harm to EL students.

    The Department issued preliminary allocations to states on May 29, 2025, stating that “The Full Year Appropriations and Extension Act, 2025 provides $629,600,400 for formula grants to States to carry out adult education and literacy activities.” Just more than a month later, the Department issued its curt memo indicating that the funds would not go out on July 1, 2025, as

    just promised in the May preliminary allocations. This pause could jeopardize services to more than 1.2 million adult learners working to develop foundational literacy and numeracy skills needed to enter and succeed in workforce training and health, financial, digital, and information literacy skills necessary for full participation in community and civic life. The withholding will have an even more significant impact on 12 states that rely on these funds for 70 to 75 percent of their adult education programs.

    The withholding also extends to more than $2 billion for Supporting Effective Instruction State Grants. According to the Department’s latest report, more than half of these funds are used for professional development for teachers and other educators, and nearly one-third of school districts used the funds to recruit, hire, and retain effective educators.12 Nearly $1.4 billion is being withheld for Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants and $375 million for Migrant Education programs. All these programs were funded in fiscal year 2024 and continued by the Full-Year Appropriations Act. This rash decision will only worsen school working conditions and teacher shortages.

    It is unacceptable that the administration is picking and choosing what parts of the appropriations law to follow, and you must immediately implement the entire law as Congress intended and as the oaths you swore require you to do. While the administration continues to deny federal funds to our states and local communities that they are expecting as the law requires, it has found time to move expeditiously to award funding to the Kennedy Center and acknowledged it is required to do so by the appropriations law. In its action here, the Department stated in a recent waiver proposal, “The waiver will allow the Department to issue a continuation award in FY 2025, as directed by Congress to the currently funded 84.351A AENP [Arts in Education National Program] project at an amount consistent with the amount awarded in FY 2024.” While it’s true the appropriations law requires such an action, it does so as well for billions in funding for state grants the Department recently informed states it will not release.

    The administration’s “programmatic review”—with no public information about what the review entails, what data the administration is examining, or a timeline for such review—appears to be an intentional delay that will result in school budget cuts in every State. In multiple statutes, Congress has prohibited the Federal government from directing or controlling state and local education decisions with these dollars. This programmatic review may be in violation of these longstanding and bipartisan prohibitions.

    We might be more inclined to believe the administration’s stated interest in ensuring federal funds were properly used if its actions to date didn’t tell a different story. The Department has impeded a review by the Office of Inspector General, which is charged with promoting the efficiency, effectiveness, and integrity of the Department’s programs and operations. Earlier this year, the administration terminated contracts for regional educational laboratories and grants required for comprehensive centers, which help states and districts use research and evidence in addressing local challenges of policy and practice. It has also halted evaluations of federal literacy programs, adult learning strategies, and strategies to help teens with disabilities transition from high school to college or work.

    We insist you immediately reverse your decision to illegally withhold federal education funding appropriated by Congress and provide the funds as the law requires. Such an action would represent a faithful execution of the law as required by the Constitution and a benefit to the tens of millions of students and adult learners that are intended to benefit from these federal education investments.

    Thank you for your attention to this matter.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: As School Year Nears, Reed, Whitehouse & Colleagues Demand Trump Admin. End Blockade on Funding for Afterschool Programs, K-12 Schools Across America

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Rhode Island Jack Reed

    WASHINGTON, DC – Approximately $30 million for Rhode Island public schools and educational programs is in limbo after the Trump Administration froze federal funding that had previously been approved by Congress.

    Today, U.S. Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) joined Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and twenty-nine colleagues in sending a letter to President Trump’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russ Vought and U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon demanding the immediate release of nearly $7 billion in funding for K-12 schools and adult literacy programs across America that the Trump administration abruptly let states and school districts know it would indefinitely block last week.

    The Trump Administration’s decision to withhold the funding has sent school districts nationwide scrambling to determine how they could fill the massive budget hole and whether they’ll have to lay off teachers or end after school programs in the coming weeks.

    Rhode Island faces the potential loss of nearly $30 million in federal education as a result of the abrupt cutoff of education funds by the Trump Administration and may be forced to end afterschool programs, specialized literacy programs, educator training, and support for English language learners as a result of this misguided executive maneuver.

    The funding was expected to be disbursed by the federal government on July 1 and impacts every school district across the state.

    Nationwide, school districts have already told parents to prepare backup options, and adult literacy programs have already been forced to lay off staff.

    “We are writing to demand an immediate end to the illegal withholding of nearly $7 billion in federal education formula grant funds our states and communities are expecting for the coming school year, which is set to begin in just a few weeks in some communities,” write the 32 U.S. Senators. “These funds were made available by the bipartisan Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025, signed into law on March 15, 2025. Yet, instead of supporting the tens of millions of students and adult learners intended to benefit from these investments, the administration has chosen to continue an unprecedented and opaque ‘programmatic review’ of these formula grant funds past the July 1, 2025, date these funds became available for allotment to states.”

    The lawmakers blasted the administration for its abrupt notice and illegal freeze of the funds, which has sent school districts and programs nationwide scrambling: “We are shocked by the continued lack of respect for states and local schools evidenced by this latest action by the administration.”

    They note that blocking funding for before and after school programs, as well as summer learning programs, is already hurting families nationwide: “By withholding these funds from states, the Department will impact programs for nearly 1.4 million students served by 10,000 summer and before and afterschool programs around the nation, which the Department’s latest performance report showed supported significant improvements in student attendance, grades, and teacher reports of student engagement in learning.  These centers also help working parents by providing a safe and productive place for their children to be after the school day ends and during the summer months. It is beyond comprehension why the administration would want to jeopardize these outcomes.”

    Warning of how denying these funds will cause schools to lay off teachers and cut back on teacher training, they write: “This rash decision will only worsen school working conditions and teacher shortages.”

    The lawmakers also detail how the move affects adult learners nationwide: “This pause could jeopardize services to more than 1.2 million adult learners working to develop foundational literacy and numeracy skills needed to enter and succeed in workforce training and health, financial, digital, and information literacy skills necessary for full participation in community and civic life. The withholding will have an even more significant impact on 12 states that rely on these funds for 70 to 75 percent of their adult education programs.”

    The Trump administration has confirmed it is blocking funding for the following programs—all of which are programs President Trump has requested to eliminate in his budget request, raising serious concerns about this administration’s intentions to simply impound the funding:

    1. Supporting Effective Instruction State Grants (Title II-A), which support professional development and other activities to improve the effectiveness of teachers and school leaders, including reducing class size.
    2. 21st Century Community Learning Centers (Title IV-B), which support high-quality before and after-school programs focused on providing academic enrichment opportunities for students.
    3. Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants (Title IV-A), which provide flexible funding for school districts for a wide range of activities including supporting STEM education, accelerated learning courses, college and career counseling, school-based mental health services, and improving school technology, among many others.
    4. English Language Acquisition (Title III-A), which supports language instruction to help English language learners become proficient in English.
    5. Migrant Education (Title I-C), which supports the educational needs of migratory children, including children of migrant and seasonal farmworkers.
    6. Adult Basic and Literacy Education State Grants (including Integrated English Literacy and Civics Education State Grants), which support adult education and literacy programs to provide the basic skills to help prepare adults and out-of-school youth for success in the workforce.

    In addition to Senators Murray, Reed, and Whitehouse, the letter was also signed by Senators Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Maize Hirono (D-HI), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-MD), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), John Fetterman (D-PA), Chris Coons (D-DE), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Chris Van Hollen (D-NM), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Ed Markey (D-MA), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Tina Smith (D-MN), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Gary Peters (D-MI), Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), and Jeff Merkley (D-OR).

    Full text of the letter follows:

    Dear Director Vought and Secretary McMahon:

    We are writing to demand an immediate end to the illegal withholding of nearly $7 billion in federal education formula grant funds our states and communities are expecting for the coming school year, which is set to begin in just a few weeks in some communities. These funds were made available by the bipartisan Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025, signed into law on March 15, 2025. Yet, instead of supporting the tens of millions of students and adult learners intended to benefit from these investments, the administration has chosen to continue an unprecedented and opaque “programmatic review” of these formula grant funds past the July 1, 2025, date these funds became available for allotment to states. This delay not only undermines effective state and local planning for using these funds to address student needs consistent with federal education law, which often takes place months before these funds become available, but also flies in the face of the nation’s education laws which confers state and local educational agency discretion on permissible uses of federal formula grant funds.

    We are shocked by the continued lack of respect for states and local schools evidenced by this latest action by the administration. Late on June 30, 2025, the Department of Education (“Department”) informed states that it would not release fiscal year 2025 funds expected on July 1 before completing a “review” of six programs. The Department even noted ironically that it “remains committed to ensuring taxpayer resources are spent in accordance with the President’s priorities and the Department’s statutory responsibilities.” Apparently, the Department needs a refresher course on its statutory responsibilities.

    The Full-Year Continuing Appropriations law requires funds to be allocated under the terms and conditions of the fiscal year 2024 appropriations law. This includes a requirement that “$1,329,673,000 shall be for part B of title IV”, which is the authority for the Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Centers program. This authority requires the Secretary to allot funds to each state for subgrants for before, after, and summer school programming. The law further describes the allotment formula, authorized state and local activities, and other program requirements. By withholding these funds from states, the Department will impact programs for nearly 1.4 million students served by 10,000 summer and before and afterschool programs around the nation, which the Department’s latest performance report showed supported significant improvements in student attendance, grades, and teacher reports of student engagement in learning. These centers also help working parents by providing a safe and productive place for their children to be after the school day ends and during the summer months. It is beyond comprehension why the administration would want to jeopardize these outcomes.

    The Full-Year Continuing Appropriations law also requires the Department to use $890 million to carry out part A of title III of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. The purpose of the program is to ensure English learners (ELs) and immigrant students have access to the resources they need to attain English language proficiency and reach the same challenging academic standards as their English-proficient peers, which will prepare them to fully participate in society and the workforce as they grow older. Part A of title III specifies the allotment formula, permissible uses of funds and other program requirements for this program serving more than 5 million EL students enrolled in the nation’s public schools. Yet, the administration’s review will disrupt school hiring decisions and cause real and immediate harm to EL students.

    The Department issued preliminary allocations to states on May 29, 2025, stating that “The Full Year Appropriations and Extension Act, 2025 provides $629,600,400 for formula grants to States to carry out adult education and literacy activities.” Just more than a month later, the Department issued its curt memo indicating that the funds would not go out on July 1, 2025, as

    just promised in the May preliminary allocations. This pause could jeopardize services to more than 1.2 million adult learners working to develop foundational literacy and numeracy skills needed to enter and succeed in workforce training and health, financial, digital, and information literacy skills necessary for full participation in community and civic life. The withholding will have an even more significant impact on 12 states that rely on these funds for 70 to 75 percent of their adult education programs.

    The withholding also extends to more than $2 billion for Supporting Effective Instruction State Grants. According to the Department’s latest report, more than half of these funds are used for professional development for teachers and other educators, and nearly one-third of school districts used the funds to recruit, hire, and retain effective educators.12 Nearly $1.4 billion is being withheld for Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants and $375 million for Migrant Education programs. All these programs were funded in fiscal year 2024 and continued by the Full-Year Appropriations Act. This rash decision will only worsen school working conditions and teacher shortages.

    It is unacceptable that the administration is picking and choosing what parts of the appropriations law to follow, and you must immediately implement the entire law as Congress intended and as the oaths you swore require you to do. While the administration continues to deny federal funds to our states and local communities that they are expecting as the law requires, it has found time to move expeditiously to award funding to the Kennedy Center and acknowledged it is required to do so by the appropriations law. In its action here, the Department stated in a recent waiver proposal, “The waiver will allow the Department to issue a continuation award in FY 2025, as directed by Congress to the currently funded 84.351A AENP [Arts in Education National Program] project at an amount consistent with the amount awarded in FY 2024.” While it’s true the appropriations law requires such an action, it does so as well for billions in funding for state grants the Department recently informed states it will not release.

    The administration’s “programmatic review”—with no public information about what the review entails, what data the administration is examining, or a timeline for such review—appears to be an intentional delay that will result in school budget cuts in every State. In multiple statutes, Congress has prohibited the Federal government from directing or controlling state and local education decisions with these dollars. This programmatic review may be in violation of these longstanding and bipartisan prohibitions.

    We might be more inclined to believe the administration’s stated interest in ensuring federal funds were properly used if its actions to date didn’t tell a different story. The Department has impeded a review by the Office of Inspector General, which is charged with promoting the efficiency, effectiveness, and integrity of the Department’s programs and operations. Earlier this year, the administration terminated contracts for regional educational laboratories and grants required for comprehensive centers, which help states and districts use research and evidence in addressing local challenges of policy and practice. It has also halted evaluations of federal literacy programs, adult learning strategies, and strategies to help teens with disabilities transition from high school to college or work.

    We insist you immediately reverse your decision to illegally withhold federal education funding appropriated by Congress and provide the funds as the law requires. Such an action would represent a faithful execution of the law as required by the Constitution and a benefit to the tens of millions of students and adult learners that are intended to benefit from these federal education investments.

    Thank you for your attention to this matter.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: As School Year Nears, Reed, Whitehouse & Colleagues Demand Trump Admin. End Blockade on Funding for Afterschool Programs, K-12 Schools Across America

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Rhode Island Jack Reed

    WASHINGTON, DC – Approximately $30 million for Rhode Island public schools and educational programs is in limbo after the Trump Administration froze federal funding that had previously been approved by Congress.

    Today, U.S. Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) joined Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and twenty-nine colleagues in sending a letter to President Trump’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russ Vought and U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon demanding the immediate release of nearly $7 billion in funding for K-12 schools and adult literacy programs across America that the Trump administration abruptly let states and school districts know it would indefinitely block last week.

    The Trump Administration’s decision to withhold the funding has sent school districts nationwide scrambling to determine how they could fill the massive budget hole and whether they’ll have to lay off teachers or end after school programs in the coming weeks.

    Rhode Island faces the potential loss of nearly $30 million in federal education as a result of the abrupt cutoff of education funds by the Trump Administration and may be forced to end afterschool programs, specialized literacy programs, educator training, and support for English language learners as a result of this misguided executive maneuver.

    The funding was expected to be disbursed by the federal government on July 1 and impacts every school district across the state.

    Nationwide, school districts have already told parents to prepare backup options, and adult literacy programs have already been forced to lay off staff.

    “We are writing to demand an immediate end to the illegal withholding of nearly $7 billion in federal education formula grant funds our states and communities are expecting for the coming school year, which is set to begin in just a few weeks in some communities,” write the 32 U.S. Senators. “These funds were made available by the bipartisan Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025, signed into law on March 15, 2025. Yet, instead of supporting the tens of millions of students and adult learners intended to benefit from these investments, the administration has chosen to continue an unprecedented and opaque ‘programmatic review’ of these formula grant funds past the July 1, 2025, date these funds became available for allotment to states.”

    The lawmakers blasted the administration for its abrupt notice and illegal freeze of the funds, which has sent school districts and programs nationwide scrambling: “We are shocked by the continued lack of respect for states and local schools evidenced by this latest action by the administration.”

    They note that blocking funding for before and after school programs, as well as summer learning programs, is already hurting families nationwide: “By withholding these funds from states, the Department will impact programs for nearly 1.4 million students served by 10,000 summer and before and afterschool programs around the nation, which the Department’s latest performance report showed supported significant improvements in student attendance, grades, and teacher reports of student engagement in learning.  These centers also help working parents by providing a safe and productive place for their children to be after the school day ends and during the summer months. It is beyond comprehension why the administration would want to jeopardize these outcomes.”

    Warning of how denying these funds will cause schools to lay off teachers and cut back on teacher training, they write: “This rash decision will only worsen school working conditions and teacher shortages.”

    The lawmakers also detail how the move affects adult learners nationwide: “This pause could jeopardize services to more than 1.2 million adult learners working to develop foundational literacy and numeracy skills needed to enter and succeed in workforce training and health, financial, digital, and information literacy skills necessary for full participation in community and civic life. The withholding will have an even more significant impact on 12 states that rely on these funds for 70 to 75 percent of their adult education programs.”

    The Trump administration has confirmed it is blocking funding for the following programs—all of which are programs President Trump has requested to eliminate in his budget request, raising serious concerns about this administration’s intentions to simply impound the funding:

    1. Supporting Effective Instruction State Grants (Title II-A), which support professional development and other activities to improve the effectiveness of teachers and school leaders, including reducing class size.
    2. 21st Century Community Learning Centers (Title IV-B), which support high-quality before and after-school programs focused on providing academic enrichment opportunities for students.
    3. Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants (Title IV-A), which provide flexible funding for school districts for a wide range of activities including supporting STEM education, accelerated learning courses, college and career counseling, school-based mental health services, and improving school technology, among many others.
    4. English Language Acquisition (Title III-A), which supports language instruction to help English language learners become proficient in English.
    5. Migrant Education (Title I-C), which supports the educational needs of migratory children, including children of migrant and seasonal farmworkers.
    6. Adult Basic and Literacy Education State Grants (including Integrated English Literacy and Civics Education State Grants), which support adult education and literacy programs to provide the basic skills to help prepare adults and out-of-school youth for success in the workforce.

    In addition to Senators Murray, Reed, and Whitehouse, the letter was also signed by Senators Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Maize Hirono (D-HI), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-MD), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), John Fetterman (D-PA), Chris Coons (D-DE), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Chris Van Hollen (D-NM), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Ed Markey (D-MA), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Tina Smith (D-MN), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Gary Peters (D-MI), Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), and Jeff Merkley (D-OR).

    Full text of the letter follows:

    Dear Director Vought and Secretary McMahon:

    We are writing to demand an immediate end to the illegal withholding of nearly $7 billion in federal education formula grant funds our states and communities are expecting for the coming school year, which is set to begin in just a few weeks in some communities. These funds were made available by the bipartisan Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025, signed into law on March 15, 2025. Yet, instead of supporting the tens of millions of students and adult learners intended to benefit from these investments, the administration has chosen to continue an unprecedented and opaque “programmatic review” of these formula grant funds past the July 1, 2025, date these funds became available for allotment to states. This delay not only undermines effective state and local planning for using these funds to address student needs consistent with federal education law, which often takes place months before these funds become available, but also flies in the face of the nation’s education laws which confers state and local educational agency discretion on permissible uses of federal formula grant funds.

    We are shocked by the continued lack of respect for states and local schools evidenced by this latest action by the administration. Late on June 30, 2025, the Department of Education (“Department”) informed states that it would not release fiscal year 2025 funds expected on July 1 before completing a “review” of six programs. The Department even noted ironically that it “remains committed to ensuring taxpayer resources are spent in accordance with the President’s priorities and the Department’s statutory responsibilities.” Apparently, the Department needs a refresher course on its statutory responsibilities.

    The Full-Year Continuing Appropriations law requires funds to be allocated under the terms and conditions of the fiscal year 2024 appropriations law. This includes a requirement that “$1,329,673,000 shall be for part B of title IV”, which is the authority for the Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Centers program. This authority requires the Secretary to allot funds to each state for subgrants for before, after, and summer school programming. The law further describes the allotment formula, authorized state and local activities, and other program requirements. By withholding these funds from states, the Department will impact programs for nearly 1.4 million students served by 10,000 summer and before and afterschool programs around the nation, which the Department’s latest performance report showed supported significant improvements in student attendance, grades, and teacher reports of student engagement in learning. These centers also help working parents by providing a safe and productive place for their children to be after the school day ends and during the summer months. It is beyond comprehension why the administration would want to jeopardize these outcomes.

    The Full-Year Continuing Appropriations law also requires the Department to use $890 million to carry out part A of title III of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. The purpose of the program is to ensure English learners (ELs) and immigrant students have access to the resources they need to attain English language proficiency and reach the same challenging academic standards as their English-proficient peers, which will prepare them to fully participate in society and the workforce as they grow older. Part A of title III specifies the allotment formula, permissible uses of funds and other program requirements for this program serving more than 5 million EL students enrolled in the nation’s public schools. Yet, the administration’s review will disrupt school hiring decisions and cause real and immediate harm to EL students.

    The Department issued preliminary allocations to states on May 29, 2025, stating that “The Full Year Appropriations and Extension Act, 2025 provides $629,600,400 for formula grants to States to carry out adult education and literacy activities.” Just more than a month later, the Department issued its curt memo indicating that the funds would not go out on July 1, 2025, as

    just promised in the May preliminary allocations. This pause could jeopardize services to more than 1.2 million adult learners working to develop foundational literacy and numeracy skills needed to enter and succeed in workforce training and health, financial, digital, and information literacy skills necessary for full participation in community and civic life. The withholding will have an even more significant impact on 12 states that rely on these funds for 70 to 75 percent of their adult education programs.

    The withholding also extends to more than $2 billion for Supporting Effective Instruction State Grants. According to the Department’s latest report, more than half of these funds are used for professional development for teachers and other educators, and nearly one-third of school districts used the funds to recruit, hire, and retain effective educators.12 Nearly $1.4 billion is being withheld for Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants and $375 million for Migrant Education programs. All these programs were funded in fiscal year 2024 and continued by the Full-Year Appropriations Act. This rash decision will only worsen school working conditions and teacher shortages.

    It is unacceptable that the administration is picking and choosing what parts of the appropriations law to follow, and you must immediately implement the entire law as Congress intended and as the oaths you swore require you to do. While the administration continues to deny federal funds to our states and local communities that they are expecting as the law requires, it has found time to move expeditiously to award funding to the Kennedy Center and acknowledged it is required to do so by the appropriations law. In its action here, the Department stated in a recent waiver proposal, “The waiver will allow the Department to issue a continuation award in FY 2025, as directed by Congress to the currently funded 84.351A AENP [Arts in Education National Program] project at an amount consistent with the amount awarded in FY 2024.” While it’s true the appropriations law requires such an action, it does so as well for billions in funding for state grants the Department recently informed states it will not release.

    The administration’s “programmatic review”—with no public information about what the review entails, what data the administration is examining, or a timeline for such review—appears to be an intentional delay that will result in school budget cuts in every State. In multiple statutes, Congress has prohibited the Federal government from directing or controlling state and local education decisions with these dollars. This programmatic review may be in violation of these longstanding and bipartisan prohibitions.

    We might be more inclined to believe the administration’s stated interest in ensuring federal funds were properly used if its actions to date didn’t tell a different story. The Department has impeded a review by the Office of Inspector General, which is charged with promoting the efficiency, effectiveness, and integrity of the Department’s programs and operations. Earlier this year, the administration terminated contracts for regional educational laboratories and grants required for comprehensive centers, which help states and districts use research and evidence in addressing local challenges of policy and practice. It has also halted evaluations of federal literacy programs, adult learning strategies, and strategies to help teens with disabilities transition from high school to college or work.

    We insist you immediately reverse your decision to illegally withhold federal education funding appropriated by Congress and provide the funds as the law requires. Such an action would represent a faithful execution of the law as required by the Constitution and a benefit to the tens of millions of students and adult learners that are intended to benefit from these federal education investments.

    Thank you for your attention to this matter.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: As School Year Nears, Reed, Whitehouse & Colleagues Demand Trump Admin. End Blockade on Funding for Afterschool Programs, K-12 Schools Across America

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Rhode Island Jack Reed

    WASHINGTON, DC – Approximately $30 million for Rhode Island public schools and educational programs is in limbo after the Trump Administration froze federal funding that had previously been approved by Congress.

    Today, U.S. Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) joined Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and twenty-nine colleagues in sending a letter to President Trump’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russ Vought and U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon demanding the immediate release of nearly $7 billion in funding for K-12 schools and adult literacy programs across America that the Trump administration abruptly let states and school districts know it would indefinitely block last week.

    The Trump Administration’s decision to withhold the funding has sent school districts nationwide scrambling to determine how they could fill the massive budget hole and whether they’ll have to lay off teachers or end after school programs in the coming weeks.

    Rhode Island faces the potential loss of nearly $30 million in federal education as a result of the abrupt cutoff of education funds by the Trump Administration and may be forced to end afterschool programs, specialized literacy programs, educator training, and support for English language learners as a result of this misguided executive maneuver.

    The funding was expected to be disbursed by the federal government on July 1 and impacts every school district across the state.

    Nationwide, school districts have already told parents to prepare backup options, and adult literacy programs have already been forced to lay off staff.

    “We are writing to demand an immediate end to the illegal withholding of nearly $7 billion in federal education formula grant funds our states and communities are expecting for the coming school year, which is set to begin in just a few weeks in some communities,” write the 32 U.S. Senators. “These funds were made available by the bipartisan Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025, signed into law on March 15, 2025. Yet, instead of supporting the tens of millions of students and adult learners intended to benefit from these investments, the administration has chosen to continue an unprecedented and opaque ‘programmatic review’ of these formula grant funds past the July 1, 2025, date these funds became available for allotment to states.”

    The lawmakers blasted the administration for its abrupt notice and illegal freeze of the funds, which has sent school districts and programs nationwide scrambling: “We are shocked by the continued lack of respect for states and local schools evidenced by this latest action by the administration.”

    They note that blocking funding for before and after school programs, as well as summer learning programs, is already hurting families nationwide: “By withholding these funds from states, the Department will impact programs for nearly 1.4 million students served by 10,000 summer and before and afterschool programs around the nation, which the Department’s latest performance report showed supported significant improvements in student attendance, grades, and teacher reports of student engagement in learning.  These centers also help working parents by providing a safe and productive place for their children to be after the school day ends and during the summer months. It is beyond comprehension why the administration would want to jeopardize these outcomes.”

    Warning of how denying these funds will cause schools to lay off teachers and cut back on teacher training, they write: “This rash decision will only worsen school working conditions and teacher shortages.”

    The lawmakers also detail how the move affects adult learners nationwide: “This pause could jeopardize services to more than 1.2 million adult learners working to develop foundational literacy and numeracy skills needed to enter and succeed in workforce training and health, financial, digital, and information literacy skills necessary for full participation in community and civic life. The withholding will have an even more significant impact on 12 states that rely on these funds for 70 to 75 percent of their adult education programs.”

    The Trump administration has confirmed it is blocking funding for the following programs—all of which are programs President Trump has requested to eliminate in his budget request, raising serious concerns about this administration’s intentions to simply impound the funding:

    1. Supporting Effective Instruction State Grants (Title II-A), which support professional development and other activities to improve the effectiveness of teachers and school leaders, including reducing class size.
    2. 21st Century Community Learning Centers (Title IV-B), which support high-quality before and after-school programs focused on providing academic enrichment opportunities for students.
    3. Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants (Title IV-A), which provide flexible funding for school districts for a wide range of activities including supporting STEM education, accelerated learning courses, college and career counseling, school-based mental health services, and improving school technology, among many others.
    4. English Language Acquisition (Title III-A), which supports language instruction to help English language learners become proficient in English.
    5. Migrant Education (Title I-C), which supports the educational needs of migratory children, including children of migrant and seasonal farmworkers.
    6. Adult Basic and Literacy Education State Grants (including Integrated English Literacy and Civics Education State Grants), which support adult education and literacy programs to provide the basic skills to help prepare adults and out-of-school youth for success in the workforce.

    In addition to Senators Murray, Reed, and Whitehouse, the letter was also signed by Senators Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Maize Hirono (D-HI), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-MD), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), John Fetterman (D-PA), Chris Coons (D-DE), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Chris Van Hollen (D-NM), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Ed Markey (D-MA), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Tina Smith (D-MN), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Gary Peters (D-MI), Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), and Jeff Merkley (D-OR).

    Full text of the letter follows:

    Dear Director Vought and Secretary McMahon:

    We are writing to demand an immediate end to the illegal withholding of nearly $7 billion in federal education formula grant funds our states and communities are expecting for the coming school year, which is set to begin in just a few weeks in some communities. These funds were made available by the bipartisan Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025, signed into law on March 15, 2025. Yet, instead of supporting the tens of millions of students and adult learners intended to benefit from these investments, the administration has chosen to continue an unprecedented and opaque “programmatic review” of these formula grant funds past the July 1, 2025, date these funds became available for allotment to states. This delay not only undermines effective state and local planning for using these funds to address student needs consistent with federal education law, which often takes place months before these funds become available, but also flies in the face of the nation’s education laws which confers state and local educational agency discretion on permissible uses of federal formula grant funds.

    We are shocked by the continued lack of respect for states and local schools evidenced by this latest action by the administration. Late on June 30, 2025, the Department of Education (“Department”) informed states that it would not release fiscal year 2025 funds expected on July 1 before completing a “review” of six programs. The Department even noted ironically that it “remains committed to ensuring taxpayer resources are spent in accordance with the President’s priorities and the Department’s statutory responsibilities.” Apparently, the Department needs a refresher course on its statutory responsibilities.

    The Full-Year Continuing Appropriations law requires funds to be allocated under the terms and conditions of the fiscal year 2024 appropriations law. This includes a requirement that “$1,329,673,000 shall be for part B of title IV”, which is the authority for the Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Centers program. This authority requires the Secretary to allot funds to each state for subgrants for before, after, and summer school programming. The law further describes the allotment formula, authorized state and local activities, and other program requirements. By withholding these funds from states, the Department will impact programs for nearly 1.4 million students served by 10,000 summer and before and afterschool programs around the nation, which the Department’s latest performance report showed supported significant improvements in student attendance, grades, and teacher reports of student engagement in learning. These centers also help working parents by providing a safe and productive place for their children to be after the school day ends and during the summer months. It is beyond comprehension why the administration would want to jeopardize these outcomes.

    The Full-Year Continuing Appropriations law also requires the Department to use $890 million to carry out part A of title III of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. The purpose of the program is to ensure English learners (ELs) and immigrant students have access to the resources they need to attain English language proficiency and reach the same challenging academic standards as their English-proficient peers, which will prepare them to fully participate in society and the workforce as they grow older. Part A of title III specifies the allotment formula, permissible uses of funds and other program requirements for this program serving more than 5 million EL students enrolled in the nation’s public schools. Yet, the administration’s review will disrupt school hiring decisions and cause real and immediate harm to EL students.

    The Department issued preliminary allocations to states on May 29, 2025, stating that “The Full Year Appropriations and Extension Act, 2025 provides $629,600,400 for formula grants to States to carry out adult education and literacy activities.” Just more than a month later, the Department issued its curt memo indicating that the funds would not go out on July 1, 2025, as

    just promised in the May preliminary allocations. This pause could jeopardize services to more than 1.2 million adult learners working to develop foundational literacy and numeracy skills needed to enter and succeed in workforce training and health, financial, digital, and information literacy skills necessary for full participation in community and civic life. The withholding will have an even more significant impact on 12 states that rely on these funds for 70 to 75 percent of their adult education programs.

    The withholding also extends to more than $2 billion for Supporting Effective Instruction State Grants. According to the Department’s latest report, more than half of these funds are used for professional development for teachers and other educators, and nearly one-third of school districts used the funds to recruit, hire, and retain effective educators.12 Nearly $1.4 billion is being withheld for Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants and $375 million for Migrant Education programs. All these programs were funded in fiscal year 2024 and continued by the Full-Year Appropriations Act. This rash decision will only worsen school working conditions and teacher shortages.

    It is unacceptable that the administration is picking and choosing what parts of the appropriations law to follow, and you must immediately implement the entire law as Congress intended and as the oaths you swore require you to do. While the administration continues to deny federal funds to our states and local communities that they are expecting as the law requires, it has found time to move expeditiously to award funding to the Kennedy Center and acknowledged it is required to do so by the appropriations law. In its action here, the Department stated in a recent waiver proposal, “The waiver will allow the Department to issue a continuation award in FY 2025, as directed by Congress to the currently funded 84.351A AENP [Arts in Education National Program] project at an amount consistent with the amount awarded in FY 2024.” While it’s true the appropriations law requires such an action, it does so as well for billions in funding for state grants the Department recently informed states it will not release.

    The administration’s “programmatic review”—with no public information about what the review entails, what data the administration is examining, or a timeline for such review—appears to be an intentional delay that will result in school budget cuts in every State. In multiple statutes, Congress has prohibited the Federal government from directing or controlling state and local education decisions with these dollars. This programmatic review may be in violation of these longstanding and bipartisan prohibitions.

    We might be more inclined to believe the administration’s stated interest in ensuring federal funds were properly used if its actions to date didn’t tell a different story. The Department has impeded a review by the Office of Inspector General, which is charged with promoting the efficiency, effectiveness, and integrity of the Department’s programs and operations. Earlier this year, the administration terminated contracts for regional educational laboratories and grants required for comprehensive centers, which help states and districts use research and evidence in addressing local challenges of policy and practice. It has also halted evaluations of federal literacy programs, adult learning strategies, and strategies to help teens with disabilities transition from high school to college or work.

    We insist you immediately reverse your decision to illegally withhold federal education funding appropriated by Congress and provide the funds as the law requires. Such an action would represent a faithful execution of the law as required by the Constitution and a benefit to the tens of millions of students and adult learners that are intended to benefit from these federal education investments.

    Thank you for your attention to this matter.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: As School Year Nears, Reed, Whitehouse & Colleagues Demand Trump Admin. End Blockade on Funding for Afterschool Programs, K-12 Schools Across America

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Rhode Island Jack Reed

    WASHINGTON, DC – Approximately $30 million for Rhode Island public schools and educational programs is in limbo after the Trump Administration froze federal funding that had previously been approved by Congress.

    Today, U.S. Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) joined Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and twenty-nine colleagues in sending a letter to President Trump’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russ Vought and U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon demanding the immediate release of nearly $7 billion in funding for K-12 schools and adult literacy programs across America that the Trump administration abruptly let states and school districts know it would indefinitely block last week.

    The Trump Administration’s decision to withhold the funding has sent school districts nationwide scrambling to determine how they could fill the massive budget hole and whether they’ll have to lay off teachers or end after school programs in the coming weeks.

    Rhode Island faces the potential loss of nearly $30 million in federal education as a result of the abrupt cutoff of education funds by the Trump Administration and may be forced to end afterschool programs, specialized literacy programs, educator training, and support for English language learners as a result of this misguided executive maneuver.

    The funding was expected to be disbursed by the federal government on July 1 and impacts every school district across the state.

    Nationwide, school districts have already told parents to prepare backup options, and adult literacy programs have already been forced to lay off staff.

    “We are writing to demand an immediate end to the illegal withholding of nearly $7 billion in federal education formula grant funds our states and communities are expecting for the coming school year, which is set to begin in just a few weeks in some communities,” write the 32 U.S. Senators. “These funds were made available by the bipartisan Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025, signed into law on March 15, 2025. Yet, instead of supporting the tens of millions of students and adult learners intended to benefit from these investments, the administration has chosen to continue an unprecedented and opaque ‘programmatic review’ of these formula grant funds past the July 1, 2025, date these funds became available for allotment to states.”

    The lawmakers blasted the administration for its abrupt notice and illegal freeze of the funds, which has sent school districts and programs nationwide scrambling: “We are shocked by the continued lack of respect for states and local schools evidenced by this latest action by the administration.”

    They note that blocking funding for before and after school programs, as well as summer learning programs, is already hurting families nationwide: “By withholding these funds from states, the Department will impact programs for nearly 1.4 million students served by 10,000 summer and before and afterschool programs around the nation, which the Department’s latest performance report showed supported significant improvements in student attendance, grades, and teacher reports of student engagement in learning.  These centers also help working parents by providing a safe and productive place for their children to be after the school day ends and during the summer months. It is beyond comprehension why the administration would want to jeopardize these outcomes.”

    Warning of how denying these funds will cause schools to lay off teachers and cut back on teacher training, they write: “This rash decision will only worsen school working conditions and teacher shortages.”

    The lawmakers also detail how the move affects adult learners nationwide: “This pause could jeopardize services to more than 1.2 million adult learners working to develop foundational literacy and numeracy skills needed to enter and succeed in workforce training and health, financial, digital, and information literacy skills necessary for full participation in community and civic life. The withholding will have an even more significant impact on 12 states that rely on these funds for 70 to 75 percent of their adult education programs.”

    The Trump administration has confirmed it is blocking funding for the following programs—all of which are programs President Trump has requested to eliminate in his budget request, raising serious concerns about this administration’s intentions to simply impound the funding:

    1. Supporting Effective Instruction State Grants (Title II-A), which support professional development and other activities to improve the effectiveness of teachers and school leaders, including reducing class size.
    2. 21st Century Community Learning Centers (Title IV-B), which support high-quality before and after-school programs focused on providing academic enrichment opportunities for students.
    3. Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants (Title IV-A), which provide flexible funding for school districts for a wide range of activities including supporting STEM education, accelerated learning courses, college and career counseling, school-based mental health services, and improving school technology, among many others.
    4. English Language Acquisition (Title III-A), which supports language instruction to help English language learners become proficient in English.
    5. Migrant Education (Title I-C), which supports the educational needs of migratory children, including children of migrant and seasonal farmworkers.
    6. Adult Basic and Literacy Education State Grants (including Integrated English Literacy and Civics Education State Grants), which support adult education and literacy programs to provide the basic skills to help prepare adults and out-of-school youth for success in the workforce.

    In addition to Senators Murray, Reed, and Whitehouse, the letter was also signed by Senators Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Maize Hirono (D-HI), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-MD), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), John Fetterman (D-PA), Chris Coons (D-DE), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Chris Van Hollen (D-NM), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Ed Markey (D-MA), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Tina Smith (D-MN), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Gary Peters (D-MI), Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), and Jeff Merkley (D-OR).

    Full text of the letter follows:

    Dear Director Vought and Secretary McMahon:

    We are writing to demand an immediate end to the illegal withholding of nearly $7 billion in federal education formula grant funds our states and communities are expecting for the coming school year, which is set to begin in just a few weeks in some communities. These funds were made available by the bipartisan Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025, signed into law on March 15, 2025. Yet, instead of supporting the tens of millions of students and adult learners intended to benefit from these investments, the administration has chosen to continue an unprecedented and opaque “programmatic review” of these formula grant funds past the July 1, 2025, date these funds became available for allotment to states. This delay not only undermines effective state and local planning for using these funds to address student needs consistent with federal education law, which often takes place months before these funds become available, but also flies in the face of the nation’s education laws which confers state and local educational agency discretion on permissible uses of federal formula grant funds.

    We are shocked by the continued lack of respect for states and local schools evidenced by this latest action by the administration. Late on June 30, 2025, the Department of Education (“Department”) informed states that it would not release fiscal year 2025 funds expected on July 1 before completing a “review” of six programs. The Department even noted ironically that it “remains committed to ensuring taxpayer resources are spent in accordance with the President’s priorities and the Department’s statutory responsibilities.” Apparently, the Department needs a refresher course on its statutory responsibilities.

    The Full-Year Continuing Appropriations law requires funds to be allocated under the terms and conditions of the fiscal year 2024 appropriations law. This includes a requirement that “$1,329,673,000 shall be for part B of title IV”, which is the authority for the Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Centers program. This authority requires the Secretary to allot funds to each state for subgrants for before, after, and summer school programming. The law further describes the allotment formula, authorized state and local activities, and other program requirements. By withholding these funds from states, the Department will impact programs for nearly 1.4 million students served by 10,000 summer and before and afterschool programs around the nation, which the Department’s latest performance report showed supported significant improvements in student attendance, grades, and teacher reports of student engagement in learning. These centers also help working parents by providing a safe and productive place for their children to be after the school day ends and during the summer months. It is beyond comprehension why the administration would want to jeopardize these outcomes.

    The Full-Year Continuing Appropriations law also requires the Department to use $890 million to carry out part A of title III of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. The purpose of the program is to ensure English learners (ELs) and immigrant students have access to the resources they need to attain English language proficiency and reach the same challenging academic standards as their English-proficient peers, which will prepare them to fully participate in society and the workforce as they grow older. Part A of title III specifies the allotment formula, permissible uses of funds and other program requirements for this program serving more than 5 million EL students enrolled in the nation’s public schools. Yet, the administration’s review will disrupt school hiring decisions and cause real and immediate harm to EL students.

    The Department issued preliminary allocations to states on May 29, 2025, stating that “The Full Year Appropriations and Extension Act, 2025 provides $629,600,400 for formula grants to States to carry out adult education and literacy activities.” Just more than a month later, the Department issued its curt memo indicating that the funds would not go out on July 1, 2025, as

    just promised in the May preliminary allocations. This pause could jeopardize services to more than 1.2 million adult learners working to develop foundational literacy and numeracy skills needed to enter and succeed in workforce training and health, financial, digital, and information literacy skills necessary for full participation in community and civic life. The withholding will have an even more significant impact on 12 states that rely on these funds for 70 to 75 percent of their adult education programs.

    The withholding also extends to more than $2 billion for Supporting Effective Instruction State Grants. According to the Department’s latest report, more than half of these funds are used for professional development for teachers and other educators, and nearly one-third of school districts used the funds to recruit, hire, and retain effective educators.12 Nearly $1.4 billion is being withheld for Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants and $375 million for Migrant Education programs. All these programs were funded in fiscal year 2024 and continued by the Full-Year Appropriations Act. This rash decision will only worsen school working conditions and teacher shortages.

    It is unacceptable that the administration is picking and choosing what parts of the appropriations law to follow, and you must immediately implement the entire law as Congress intended and as the oaths you swore require you to do. While the administration continues to deny federal funds to our states and local communities that they are expecting as the law requires, it has found time to move expeditiously to award funding to the Kennedy Center and acknowledged it is required to do so by the appropriations law. In its action here, the Department stated in a recent waiver proposal, “The waiver will allow the Department to issue a continuation award in FY 2025, as directed by Congress to the currently funded 84.351A AENP [Arts in Education National Program] project at an amount consistent with the amount awarded in FY 2024.” While it’s true the appropriations law requires such an action, it does so as well for billions in funding for state grants the Department recently informed states it will not release.

    The administration’s “programmatic review”—with no public information about what the review entails, what data the administration is examining, or a timeline for such review—appears to be an intentional delay that will result in school budget cuts in every State. In multiple statutes, Congress has prohibited the Federal government from directing or controlling state and local education decisions with these dollars. This programmatic review may be in violation of these longstanding and bipartisan prohibitions.

    We might be more inclined to believe the administration’s stated interest in ensuring federal funds were properly used if its actions to date didn’t tell a different story. The Department has impeded a review by the Office of Inspector General, which is charged with promoting the efficiency, effectiveness, and integrity of the Department’s programs and operations. Earlier this year, the administration terminated contracts for regional educational laboratories and grants required for comprehensive centers, which help states and districts use research and evidence in addressing local challenges of policy and practice. It has also halted evaluations of federal literacy programs, adult learning strategies, and strategies to help teens with disabilities transition from high school to college or work.

    We insist you immediately reverse your decision to illegally withhold federal education funding appropriated by Congress and provide the funds as the law requires. Such an action would represent a faithful execution of the law as required by the Constitution and a benefit to the tens of millions of students and adult learners that are intended to benefit from these federal education investments.

    Thank you for your attention to this matter.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: As School Year Nears, Reed, Whitehouse & Colleagues Demand Trump Admin. End Blockade on Funding for Afterschool Programs, K-12 Schools Across America

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Rhode Island Jack Reed

    WASHINGTON, DC – Approximately $30 million for Rhode Island public schools and educational programs is in limbo after the Trump Administration froze federal funding that had previously been approved by Congress.

    Today, U.S. Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) joined Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and twenty-nine colleagues in sending a letter to President Trump’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russ Vought and U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon demanding the immediate release of nearly $7 billion in funding for K-12 schools and adult literacy programs across America that the Trump administration abruptly let states and school districts know it would indefinitely block last week.

    The Trump Administration’s decision to withhold the funding has sent school districts nationwide scrambling to determine how they could fill the massive budget hole and whether they’ll have to lay off teachers or end after school programs in the coming weeks.

    Rhode Island faces the potential loss of nearly $30 million in federal education as a result of the abrupt cutoff of education funds by the Trump Administration and may be forced to end afterschool programs, specialized literacy programs, educator training, and support for English language learners as a result of this misguided executive maneuver.

    The funding was expected to be disbursed by the federal government on July 1 and impacts every school district across the state.

    Nationwide, school districts have already told parents to prepare backup options, and adult literacy programs have already been forced to lay off staff.

    “We are writing to demand an immediate end to the illegal withholding of nearly $7 billion in federal education formula grant funds our states and communities are expecting for the coming school year, which is set to begin in just a few weeks in some communities,” write the 32 U.S. Senators. “These funds were made available by the bipartisan Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025, signed into law on March 15, 2025. Yet, instead of supporting the tens of millions of students and adult learners intended to benefit from these investments, the administration has chosen to continue an unprecedented and opaque ‘programmatic review’ of these formula grant funds past the July 1, 2025, date these funds became available for allotment to states.”

    The lawmakers blasted the administration for its abrupt notice and illegal freeze of the funds, which has sent school districts and programs nationwide scrambling: “We are shocked by the continued lack of respect for states and local schools evidenced by this latest action by the administration.”

    They note that blocking funding for before and after school programs, as well as summer learning programs, is already hurting families nationwide: “By withholding these funds from states, the Department will impact programs for nearly 1.4 million students served by 10,000 summer and before and afterschool programs around the nation, which the Department’s latest performance report showed supported significant improvements in student attendance, grades, and teacher reports of student engagement in learning.  These centers also help working parents by providing a safe and productive place for their children to be after the school day ends and during the summer months. It is beyond comprehension why the administration would want to jeopardize these outcomes.”

    Warning of how denying these funds will cause schools to lay off teachers and cut back on teacher training, they write: “This rash decision will only worsen school working conditions and teacher shortages.”

    The lawmakers also detail how the move affects adult learners nationwide: “This pause could jeopardize services to more than 1.2 million adult learners working to develop foundational literacy and numeracy skills needed to enter and succeed in workforce training and health, financial, digital, and information literacy skills necessary for full participation in community and civic life. The withholding will have an even more significant impact on 12 states that rely on these funds for 70 to 75 percent of their adult education programs.”

    The Trump administration has confirmed it is blocking funding for the following programs—all of which are programs President Trump has requested to eliminate in his budget request, raising serious concerns about this administration’s intentions to simply impound the funding:

    1. Supporting Effective Instruction State Grants (Title II-A), which support professional development and other activities to improve the effectiveness of teachers and school leaders, including reducing class size.
    2. 21st Century Community Learning Centers (Title IV-B), which support high-quality before and after-school programs focused on providing academic enrichment opportunities for students.
    3. Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants (Title IV-A), which provide flexible funding for school districts for a wide range of activities including supporting STEM education, accelerated learning courses, college and career counseling, school-based mental health services, and improving school technology, among many others.
    4. English Language Acquisition (Title III-A), which supports language instruction to help English language learners become proficient in English.
    5. Migrant Education (Title I-C), which supports the educational needs of migratory children, including children of migrant and seasonal farmworkers.
    6. Adult Basic and Literacy Education State Grants (including Integrated English Literacy and Civics Education State Grants), which support adult education and literacy programs to provide the basic skills to help prepare adults and out-of-school youth for success in the workforce.

    In addition to Senators Murray, Reed, and Whitehouse, the letter was also signed by Senators Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Maize Hirono (D-HI), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-MD), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), John Fetterman (D-PA), Chris Coons (D-DE), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Chris Van Hollen (D-NM), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Ed Markey (D-MA), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Tina Smith (D-MN), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Gary Peters (D-MI), Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), and Jeff Merkley (D-OR).

    Full text of the letter follows:

    Dear Director Vought and Secretary McMahon:

    We are writing to demand an immediate end to the illegal withholding of nearly $7 billion in federal education formula grant funds our states and communities are expecting for the coming school year, which is set to begin in just a few weeks in some communities. These funds were made available by the bipartisan Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025, signed into law on March 15, 2025. Yet, instead of supporting the tens of millions of students and adult learners intended to benefit from these investments, the administration has chosen to continue an unprecedented and opaque “programmatic review” of these formula grant funds past the July 1, 2025, date these funds became available for allotment to states. This delay not only undermines effective state and local planning for using these funds to address student needs consistent with federal education law, which often takes place months before these funds become available, but also flies in the face of the nation’s education laws which confers state and local educational agency discretion on permissible uses of federal formula grant funds.

    We are shocked by the continued lack of respect for states and local schools evidenced by this latest action by the administration. Late on June 30, 2025, the Department of Education (“Department”) informed states that it would not release fiscal year 2025 funds expected on July 1 before completing a “review” of six programs. The Department even noted ironically that it “remains committed to ensuring taxpayer resources are spent in accordance with the President’s priorities and the Department’s statutory responsibilities.” Apparently, the Department needs a refresher course on its statutory responsibilities.

    The Full-Year Continuing Appropriations law requires funds to be allocated under the terms and conditions of the fiscal year 2024 appropriations law. This includes a requirement that “$1,329,673,000 shall be for part B of title IV”, which is the authority for the Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Centers program. This authority requires the Secretary to allot funds to each state for subgrants for before, after, and summer school programming. The law further describes the allotment formula, authorized state and local activities, and other program requirements. By withholding these funds from states, the Department will impact programs for nearly 1.4 million students served by 10,000 summer and before and afterschool programs around the nation, which the Department’s latest performance report showed supported significant improvements in student attendance, grades, and teacher reports of student engagement in learning. These centers also help working parents by providing a safe and productive place for their children to be after the school day ends and during the summer months. It is beyond comprehension why the administration would want to jeopardize these outcomes.

    The Full-Year Continuing Appropriations law also requires the Department to use $890 million to carry out part A of title III of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. The purpose of the program is to ensure English learners (ELs) and immigrant students have access to the resources they need to attain English language proficiency and reach the same challenging academic standards as their English-proficient peers, which will prepare them to fully participate in society and the workforce as they grow older. Part A of title III specifies the allotment formula, permissible uses of funds and other program requirements for this program serving more than 5 million EL students enrolled in the nation’s public schools. Yet, the administration’s review will disrupt school hiring decisions and cause real and immediate harm to EL students.

    The Department issued preliminary allocations to states on May 29, 2025, stating that “The Full Year Appropriations and Extension Act, 2025 provides $629,600,400 for formula grants to States to carry out adult education and literacy activities.” Just more than a month later, the Department issued its curt memo indicating that the funds would not go out on July 1, 2025, as

    just promised in the May preliminary allocations. This pause could jeopardize services to more than 1.2 million adult learners working to develop foundational literacy and numeracy skills needed to enter and succeed in workforce training and health, financial, digital, and information literacy skills necessary for full participation in community and civic life. The withholding will have an even more significant impact on 12 states that rely on these funds for 70 to 75 percent of their adult education programs.

    The withholding also extends to more than $2 billion for Supporting Effective Instruction State Grants. According to the Department’s latest report, more than half of these funds are used for professional development for teachers and other educators, and nearly one-third of school districts used the funds to recruit, hire, and retain effective educators.12 Nearly $1.4 billion is being withheld for Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants and $375 million for Migrant Education programs. All these programs were funded in fiscal year 2024 and continued by the Full-Year Appropriations Act. This rash decision will only worsen school working conditions and teacher shortages.

    It is unacceptable that the administration is picking and choosing what parts of the appropriations law to follow, and you must immediately implement the entire law as Congress intended and as the oaths you swore require you to do. While the administration continues to deny federal funds to our states and local communities that they are expecting as the law requires, it has found time to move expeditiously to award funding to the Kennedy Center and acknowledged it is required to do so by the appropriations law. In its action here, the Department stated in a recent waiver proposal, “The waiver will allow the Department to issue a continuation award in FY 2025, as directed by Congress to the currently funded 84.351A AENP [Arts in Education National Program] project at an amount consistent with the amount awarded in FY 2024.” While it’s true the appropriations law requires such an action, it does so as well for billions in funding for state grants the Department recently informed states it will not release.

    The administration’s “programmatic review”—with no public information about what the review entails, what data the administration is examining, or a timeline for such review—appears to be an intentional delay that will result in school budget cuts in every State. In multiple statutes, Congress has prohibited the Federal government from directing or controlling state and local education decisions with these dollars. This programmatic review may be in violation of these longstanding and bipartisan prohibitions.

    We might be more inclined to believe the administration’s stated interest in ensuring federal funds were properly used if its actions to date didn’t tell a different story. The Department has impeded a review by the Office of Inspector General, which is charged with promoting the efficiency, effectiveness, and integrity of the Department’s programs and operations. Earlier this year, the administration terminated contracts for regional educational laboratories and grants required for comprehensive centers, which help states and districts use research and evidence in addressing local challenges of policy and practice. It has also halted evaluations of federal literacy programs, adult learning strategies, and strategies to help teens with disabilities transition from high school to college or work.

    We insist you immediately reverse your decision to illegally withhold federal education funding appropriated by Congress and provide the funds as the law requires. Such an action would represent a faithful execution of the law as required by the Constitution and a benefit to the tens of millions of students and adult learners that are intended to benefit from these federal education investments.

    Thank you for your attention to this matter.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: As School Year Nears, Reed, Whitehouse & Colleagues Demand Trump Admin. End Blockade on Funding for Afterschool Programs, K-12 Schools Across America

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Rhode Island Jack Reed

    WASHINGTON, DC – Approximately $30 million for Rhode Island public schools and educational programs is in limbo after the Trump Administration froze federal funding that had previously been approved by Congress.

    Today, U.S. Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) joined Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and twenty-nine colleagues in sending a letter to President Trump’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russ Vought and U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon demanding the immediate release of nearly $7 billion in funding for K-12 schools and adult literacy programs across America that the Trump administration abruptly let states and school districts know it would indefinitely block last week.

    The Trump Administration’s decision to withhold the funding has sent school districts nationwide scrambling to determine how they could fill the massive budget hole and whether they’ll have to lay off teachers or end after school programs in the coming weeks.

    Rhode Island faces the potential loss of nearly $30 million in federal education as a result of the abrupt cutoff of education funds by the Trump Administration and may be forced to end afterschool programs, specialized literacy programs, educator training, and support for English language learners as a result of this misguided executive maneuver.

    The funding was expected to be disbursed by the federal government on July 1 and impacts every school district across the state.

    Nationwide, school districts have already told parents to prepare backup options, and adult literacy programs have already been forced to lay off staff.

    “We are writing to demand an immediate end to the illegal withholding of nearly $7 billion in federal education formula grant funds our states and communities are expecting for the coming school year, which is set to begin in just a few weeks in some communities,” write the 32 U.S. Senators. “These funds were made available by the bipartisan Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025, signed into law on March 15, 2025. Yet, instead of supporting the tens of millions of students and adult learners intended to benefit from these investments, the administration has chosen to continue an unprecedented and opaque ‘programmatic review’ of these formula grant funds past the July 1, 2025, date these funds became available for allotment to states.”

    The lawmakers blasted the administration for its abrupt notice and illegal freeze of the funds, which has sent school districts and programs nationwide scrambling: “We are shocked by the continued lack of respect for states and local schools evidenced by this latest action by the administration.”

    They note that blocking funding for before and after school programs, as well as summer learning programs, is already hurting families nationwide: “By withholding these funds from states, the Department will impact programs for nearly 1.4 million students served by 10,000 summer and before and afterschool programs around the nation, which the Department’s latest performance report showed supported significant improvements in student attendance, grades, and teacher reports of student engagement in learning.  These centers also help working parents by providing a safe and productive place for their children to be after the school day ends and during the summer months. It is beyond comprehension why the administration would want to jeopardize these outcomes.”

    Warning of how denying these funds will cause schools to lay off teachers and cut back on teacher training, they write: “This rash decision will only worsen school working conditions and teacher shortages.”

    The lawmakers also detail how the move affects adult learners nationwide: “This pause could jeopardize services to more than 1.2 million adult learners working to develop foundational literacy and numeracy skills needed to enter and succeed in workforce training and health, financial, digital, and information literacy skills necessary for full participation in community and civic life. The withholding will have an even more significant impact on 12 states that rely on these funds for 70 to 75 percent of their adult education programs.”

    The Trump administration has confirmed it is blocking funding for the following programs—all of which are programs President Trump has requested to eliminate in his budget request, raising serious concerns about this administration’s intentions to simply impound the funding:

    1. Supporting Effective Instruction State Grants (Title II-A), which support professional development and other activities to improve the effectiveness of teachers and school leaders, including reducing class size.
    2. 21st Century Community Learning Centers (Title IV-B), which support high-quality before and after-school programs focused on providing academic enrichment opportunities for students.
    3. Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants (Title IV-A), which provide flexible funding for school districts for a wide range of activities including supporting STEM education, accelerated learning courses, college and career counseling, school-based mental health services, and improving school technology, among many others.
    4. English Language Acquisition (Title III-A), which supports language instruction to help English language learners become proficient in English.
    5. Migrant Education (Title I-C), which supports the educational needs of migratory children, including children of migrant and seasonal farmworkers.
    6. Adult Basic and Literacy Education State Grants (including Integrated English Literacy and Civics Education State Grants), which support adult education and literacy programs to provide the basic skills to help prepare adults and out-of-school youth for success in the workforce.

    In addition to Senators Murray, Reed, and Whitehouse, the letter was also signed by Senators Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Maize Hirono (D-HI), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-MD), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), John Fetterman (D-PA), Chris Coons (D-DE), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Chris Van Hollen (D-NM), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Ed Markey (D-MA), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Tina Smith (D-MN), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Gary Peters (D-MI), Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), and Jeff Merkley (D-OR).

    Full text of the letter follows:

    Dear Director Vought and Secretary McMahon:

    We are writing to demand an immediate end to the illegal withholding of nearly $7 billion in federal education formula grant funds our states and communities are expecting for the coming school year, which is set to begin in just a few weeks in some communities. These funds were made available by the bipartisan Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025, signed into law on March 15, 2025. Yet, instead of supporting the tens of millions of students and adult learners intended to benefit from these investments, the administration has chosen to continue an unprecedented and opaque “programmatic review” of these formula grant funds past the July 1, 2025, date these funds became available for allotment to states. This delay not only undermines effective state and local planning for using these funds to address student needs consistent with federal education law, which often takes place months before these funds become available, but also flies in the face of the nation’s education laws which confers state and local educational agency discretion on permissible uses of federal formula grant funds.

    We are shocked by the continued lack of respect for states and local schools evidenced by this latest action by the administration. Late on June 30, 2025, the Department of Education (“Department”) informed states that it would not release fiscal year 2025 funds expected on July 1 before completing a “review” of six programs. The Department even noted ironically that it “remains committed to ensuring taxpayer resources are spent in accordance with the President’s priorities and the Department’s statutory responsibilities.” Apparently, the Department needs a refresher course on its statutory responsibilities.

    The Full-Year Continuing Appropriations law requires funds to be allocated under the terms and conditions of the fiscal year 2024 appropriations law. This includes a requirement that “$1,329,673,000 shall be for part B of title IV”, which is the authority for the Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Centers program. This authority requires the Secretary to allot funds to each state for subgrants for before, after, and summer school programming. The law further describes the allotment formula, authorized state and local activities, and other program requirements. By withholding these funds from states, the Department will impact programs for nearly 1.4 million students served by 10,000 summer and before and afterschool programs around the nation, which the Department’s latest performance report showed supported significant improvements in student attendance, grades, and teacher reports of student engagement in learning. These centers also help working parents by providing a safe and productive place for their children to be after the school day ends and during the summer months. It is beyond comprehension why the administration would want to jeopardize these outcomes.

    The Full-Year Continuing Appropriations law also requires the Department to use $890 million to carry out part A of title III of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. The purpose of the program is to ensure English learners (ELs) and immigrant students have access to the resources they need to attain English language proficiency and reach the same challenging academic standards as their English-proficient peers, which will prepare them to fully participate in society and the workforce as they grow older. Part A of title III specifies the allotment formula, permissible uses of funds and other program requirements for this program serving more than 5 million EL students enrolled in the nation’s public schools. Yet, the administration’s review will disrupt school hiring decisions and cause real and immediate harm to EL students.

    The Department issued preliminary allocations to states on May 29, 2025, stating that “The Full Year Appropriations and Extension Act, 2025 provides $629,600,400 for formula grants to States to carry out adult education and literacy activities.” Just more than a month later, the Department issued its curt memo indicating that the funds would not go out on July 1, 2025, as

    just promised in the May preliminary allocations. This pause could jeopardize services to more than 1.2 million adult learners working to develop foundational literacy and numeracy skills needed to enter and succeed in workforce training and health, financial, digital, and information literacy skills necessary for full participation in community and civic life. The withholding will have an even more significant impact on 12 states that rely on these funds for 70 to 75 percent of their adult education programs.

    The withholding also extends to more than $2 billion for Supporting Effective Instruction State Grants. According to the Department’s latest report, more than half of these funds are used for professional development for teachers and other educators, and nearly one-third of school districts used the funds to recruit, hire, and retain effective educators.12 Nearly $1.4 billion is being withheld for Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants and $375 million for Migrant Education programs. All these programs were funded in fiscal year 2024 and continued by the Full-Year Appropriations Act. This rash decision will only worsen school working conditions and teacher shortages.

    It is unacceptable that the administration is picking and choosing what parts of the appropriations law to follow, and you must immediately implement the entire law as Congress intended and as the oaths you swore require you to do. While the administration continues to deny federal funds to our states and local communities that they are expecting as the law requires, it has found time to move expeditiously to award funding to the Kennedy Center and acknowledged it is required to do so by the appropriations law. In its action here, the Department stated in a recent waiver proposal, “The waiver will allow the Department to issue a continuation award in FY 2025, as directed by Congress to the currently funded 84.351A AENP [Arts in Education National Program] project at an amount consistent with the amount awarded in FY 2024.” While it’s true the appropriations law requires such an action, it does so as well for billions in funding for state grants the Department recently informed states it will not release.

    The administration’s “programmatic review”—with no public information about what the review entails, what data the administration is examining, or a timeline for such review—appears to be an intentional delay that will result in school budget cuts in every State. In multiple statutes, Congress has prohibited the Federal government from directing or controlling state and local education decisions with these dollars. This programmatic review may be in violation of these longstanding and bipartisan prohibitions.

    We might be more inclined to believe the administration’s stated interest in ensuring federal funds were properly used if its actions to date didn’t tell a different story. The Department has impeded a review by the Office of Inspector General, which is charged with promoting the efficiency, effectiveness, and integrity of the Department’s programs and operations. Earlier this year, the administration terminated contracts for regional educational laboratories and grants required for comprehensive centers, which help states and districts use research and evidence in addressing local challenges of policy and practice. It has also halted evaluations of federal literacy programs, adult learning strategies, and strategies to help teens with disabilities transition from high school to college or work.

    We insist you immediately reverse your decision to illegally withhold federal education funding appropriated by Congress and provide the funds as the law requires. Such an action would represent a faithful execution of the law as required by the Constitution and a benefit to the tens of millions of students and adult learners that are intended to benefit from these federal education investments.

    Thank you for your attention to this matter.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: As School Year Nears, Reed, Whitehouse & Colleagues Demand Trump Admin. End Blockade on Funding for Afterschool Programs, K-12 Schools Across America

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Rhode Island Jack Reed

    WASHINGTON, DC – Approximately $30 million for Rhode Island public schools and educational programs is in limbo after the Trump Administration froze federal funding that had previously been approved by Congress.

    Today, U.S. Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) joined Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and twenty-nine colleagues in sending a letter to President Trump’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russ Vought and U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon demanding the immediate release of nearly $7 billion in funding for K-12 schools and adult literacy programs across America that the Trump administration abruptly let states and school districts know it would indefinitely block last week.

    The Trump Administration’s decision to withhold the funding has sent school districts nationwide scrambling to determine how they could fill the massive budget hole and whether they’ll have to lay off teachers or end after school programs in the coming weeks.

    Rhode Island faces the potential loss of nearly $30 million in federal education as a result of the abrupt cutoff of education funds by the Trump Administration and may be forced to end afterschool programs, specialized literacy programs, educator training, and support for English language learners as a result of this misguided executive maneuver.

    The funding was expected to be disbursed by the federal government on July 1 and impacts every school district across the state.

    Nationwide, school districts have already told parents to prepare backup options, and adult literacy programs have already been forced to lay off staff.

    “We are writing to demand an immediate end to the illegal withholding of nearly $7 billion in federal education formula grant funds our states and communities are expecting for the coming school year, which is set to begin in just a few weeks in some communities,” write the 32 U.S. Senators. “These funds were made available by the bipartisan Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025, signed into law on March 15, 2025. Yet, instead of supporting the tens of millions of students and adult learners intended to benefit from these investments, the administration has chosen to continue an unprecedented and opaque ‘programmatic review’ of these formula grant funds past the July 1, 2025, date these funds became available for allotment to states.”

    The lawmakers blasted the administration for its abrupt notice and illegal freeze of the funds, which has sent school districts and programs nationwide scrambling: “We are shocked by the continued lack of respect for states and local schools evidenced by this latest action by the administration.”

    They note that blocking funding for before and after school programs, as well as summer learning programs, is already hurting families nationwide: “By withholding these funds from states, the Department will impact programs for nearly 1.4 million students served by 10,000 summer and before and afterschool programs around the nation, which the Department’s latest performance report showed supported significant improvements in student attendance, grades, and teacher reports of student engagement in learning.  These centers also help working parents by providing a safe and productive place for their children to be after the school day ends and during the summer months. It is beyond comprehension why the administration would want to jeopardize these outcomes.”

    Warning of how denying these funds will cause schools to lay off teachers and cut back on teacher training, they write: “This rash decision will only worsen school working conditions and teacher shortages.”

    The lawmakers also detail how the move affects adult learners nationwide: “This pause could jeopardize services to more than 1.2 million adult learners working to develop foundational literacy and numeracy skills needed to enter and succeed in workforce training and health, financial, digital, and information literacy skills necessary for full participation in community and civic life. The withholding will have an even more significant impact on 12 states that rely on these funds for 70 to 75 percent of their adult education programs.”

    The Trump administration has confirmed it is blocking funding for the following programs—all of which are programs President Trump has requested to eliminate in his budget request, raising serious concerns about this administration’s intentions to simply impound the funding:

    1. Supporting Effective Instruction State Grants (Title II-A), which support professional development and other activities to improve the effectiveness of teachers and school leaders, including reducing class size.
    2. 21st Century Community Learning Centers (Title IV-B), which support high-quality before and after-school programs focused on providing academic enrichment opportunities for students.
    3. Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants (Title IV-A), which provide flexible funding for school districts for a wide range of activities including supporting STEM education, accelerated learning courses, college and career counseling, school-based mental health services, and improving school technology, among many others.
    4. English Language Acquisition (Title III-A), which supports language instruction to help English language learners become proficient in English.
    5. Migrant Education (Title I-C), which supports the educational needs of migratory children, including children of migrant and seasonal farmworkers.
    6. Adult Basic and Literacy Education State Grants (including Integrated English Literacy and Civics Education State Grants), which support adult education and literacy programs to provide the basic skills to help prepare adults and out-of-school youth for success in the workforce.

    In addition to Senators Murray, Reed, and Whitehouse, the letter was also signed by Senators Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Maize Hirono (D-HI), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-MD), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), John Fetterman (D-PA), Chris Coons (D-DE), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Chris Van Hollen (D-NM), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Ed Markey (D-MA), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Tina Smith (D-MN), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Gary Peters (D-MI), Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), and Jeff Merkley (D-OR).

    Full text of the letter follows:

    Dear Director Vought and Secretary McMahon:

    We are writing to demand an immediate end to the illegal withholding of nearly $7 billion in federal education formula grant funds our states and communities are expecting for the coming school year, which is set to begin in just a few weeks in some communities. These funds were made available by the bipartisan Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025, signed into law on March 15, 2025. Yet, instead of supporting the tens of millions of students and adult learners intended to benefit from these investments, the administration has chosen to continue an unprecedented and opaque “programmatic review” of these formula grant funds past the July 1, 2025, date these funds became available for allotment to states. This delay not only undermines effective state and local planning for using these funds to address student needs consistent with federal education law, which often takes place months before these funds become available, but also flies in the face of the nation’s education laws which confers state and local educational agency discretion on permissible uses of federal formula grant funds.

    We are shocked by the continued lack of respect for states and local schools evidenced by this latest action by the administration. Late on June 30, 2025, the Department of Education (“Department”) informed states that it would not release fiscal year 2025 funds expected on July 1 before completing a “review” of six programs. The Department even noted ironically that it “remains committed to ensuring taxpayer resources are spent in accordance with the President’s priorities and the Department’s statutory responsibilities.” Apparently, the Department needs a refresher course on its statutory responsibilities.

    The Full-Year Continuing Appropriations law requires funds to be allocated under the terms and conditions of the fiscal year 2024 appropriations law. This includes a requirement that “$1,329,673,000 shall be for part B of title IV”, which is the authority for the Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Centers program. This authority requires the Secretary to allot funds to each state for subgrants for before, after, and summer school programming. The law further describes the allotment formula, authorized state and local activities, and other program requirements. By withholding these funds from states, the Department will impact programs for nearly 1.4 million students served by 10,000 summer and before and afterschool programs around the nation, which the Department’s latest performance report showed supported significant improvements in student attendance, grades, and teacher reports of student engagement in learning. These centers also help working parents by providing a safe and productive place for their children to be after the school day ends and during the summer months. It is beyond comprehension why the administration would want to jeopardize these outcomes.

    The Full-Year Continuing Appropriations law also requires the Department to use $890 million to carry out part A of title III of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. The purpose of the program is to ensure English learners (ELs) and immigrant students have access to the resources they need to attain English language proficiency and reach the same challenging academic standards as their English-proficient peers, which will prepare them to fully participate in society and the workforce as they grow older. Part A of title III specifies the allotment formula, permissible uses of funds and other program requirements for this program serving more than 5 million EL students enrolled in the nation’s public schools. Yet, the administration’s review will disrupt school hiring decisions and cause real and immediate harm to EL students.

    The Department issued preliminary allocations to states on May 29, 2025, stating that “The Full Year Appropriations and Extension Act, 2025 provides $629,600,400 for formula grants to States to carry out adult education and literacy activities.” Just more than a month later, the Department issued its curt memo indicating that the funds would not go out on July 1, 2025, as

    just promised in the May preliminary allocations. This pause could jeopardize services to more than 1.2 million adult learners working to develop foundational literacy and numeracy skills needed to enter and succeed in workforce training and health, financial, digital, and information literacy skills necessary for full participation in community and civic life. The withholding will have an even more significant impact on 12 states that rely on these funds for 70 to 75 percent of their adult education programs.

    The withholding also extends to more than $2 billion for Supporting Effective Instruction State Grants. According to the Department’s latest report, more than half of these funds are used for professional development for teachers and other educators, and nearly one-third of school districts used the funds to recruit, hire, and retain effective educators.12 Nearly $1.4 billion is being withheld for Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants and $375 million for Migrant Education programs. All these programs were funded in fiscal year 2024 and continued by the Full-Year Appropriations Act. This rash decision will only worsen school working conditions and teacher shortages.

    It is unacceptable that the administration is picking and choosing what parts of the appropriations law to follow, and you must immediately implement the entire law as Congress intended and as the oaths you swore require you to do. While the administration continues to deny federal funds to our states and local communities that they are expecting as the law requires, it has found time to move expeditiously to award funding to the Kennedy Center and acknowledged it is required to do so by the appropriations law. In its action here, the Department stated in a recent waiver proposal, “The waiver will allow the Department to issue a continuation award in FY 2025, as directed by Congress to the currently funded 84.351A AENP [Arts in Education National Program] project at an amount consistent with the amount awarded in FY 2024.” While it’s true the appropriations law requires such an action, it does so as well for billions in funding for state grants the Department recently informed states it will not release.

    The administration’s “programmatic review”—with no public information about what the review entails, what data the administration is examining, or a timeline for such review—appears to be an intentional delay that will result in school budget cuts in every State. In multiple statutes, Congress has prohibited the Federal government from directing or controlling state and local education decisions with these dollars. This programmatic review may be in violation of these longstanding and bipartisan prohibitions.

    We might be more inclined to believe the administration’s stated interest in ensuring federal funds were properly used if its actions to date didn’t tell a different story. The Department has impeded a review by the Office of Inspector General, which is charged with promoting the efficiency, effectiveness, and integrity of the Department’s programs and operations. Earlier this year, the administration terminated contracts for regional educational laboratories and grants required for comprehensive centers, which help states and districts use research and evidence in addressing local challenges of policy and practice. It has also halted evaluations of federal literacy programs, adult learning strategies, and strategies to help teens with disabilities transition from high school to college or work.

    We insist you immediately reverse your decision to illegally withhold federal education funding appropriated by Congress and provide the funds as the law requires. Such an action would represent a faithful execution of the law as required by the Constitution and a benefit to the tens of millions of students and adult learners that are intended to benefit from these federal education investments.

    Thank you for your attention to this matter.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Fort Myers Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Federal Prison for Robbing Convenience Stores at Gunpoint

    Source: US FBI

    Fort Myers, Florida – U.S. District Judge Sheri Polster Chappell has sentenced Kevoun Najae Watts (22, Fort Myers) to 10 years in federal prison for Hobbs Act robbery and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. The court also ordered Watts to forfeit the firearm and ammunition used in the offenses. Watts pleaded guilty on February 26, 2025.

    According to court documents, Watts admitted to robbing a gas station and a convenience store at gunpoint on July 31, 2024, in Fort Myers.

    This case was investigated by the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, the Fort Myers Police Department, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark Morgan.

    This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Secretary Noem Protects American Taxpayers Against Wasteful Contracts While Revolutionizing Coast Guard for the 21st Century

    Source: US Department of Homeland Security

    “This Administration is unwavering in its commitment to the American taxpayer”

    WASHINGTON – Today, United States Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced the partial termination of a wasteful shipbuilding contract to protect American taxpayer dollars while revolutionizing the United States Coast Guard for the 21st century.

    “This Administration is unwavering in its commitment to the American taxpayer and to a strong, ready Coast Guard,” said a Senior Homeland Security official. “We cannot allow critical shipbuilding projects to languish over budget and behind schedule. Our Coast Guard needs modern, capable vessels to safeguard our national and economic security, and we will ensure every dollar is spent wisely to achieve that mission. This action redirects resources to where they are most needed, ensuring the Coast Guard remains the finest, most-capable maritime service in the world.”

    As part of that commitment, the Coast Guard is reviewing contracts which are failing to meet delivery agreements. An existing Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC) contract with Eastern Shipbuilding Group (ESG) has been slow to deliver four OPCs, harming the U.S.’s defense capabilities and wasting American’s hard-earned money. In light of that, Secretary Noem partially canceled ESG’s contract for two out of the four OPCs expected from ESG in Panama City, Florida because it was not an effective use of taxpayer money.

    ESG’s delivery of OPC 1 was initially due in June 2023 but will now be completed by the end of 2026 at the earliest. ESG missed its April 2024 delivery for OPC 2. The Coast Guard stopped work on OPCs 3 and 4 after ESG notified the service earlier this year they could not fulfill their contractual duty to deliver all four OPCs without unabsorbable loss. The money saved will redirected to ensure it’s actually benefiting the Coast Guard.

    Due to decades of neglect by previous Administrations and Congress, the Coast Guard has been underfunded, underequipped, and ignored for too long. President Donald Trump is ending that era of neglect with the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill and Force Design 2028 – Homeland’s plan to transform the Coast Guard into a more agile, capable fighting force. Now, a massive injection of nearly $25 billion is coming to the Coast Guard.

    The Coast Guard’s goal is to procure 25 OPCs — and that has not changed. The Coast Guard remains intent on acquiring and delivering the full OPC class as fast as possible to address the Nation’s security and safety needs.

    The OPC fleet will complement the capabilities of the Service’s National Security Cutters, Fast Response Cutters and Polar Security Cutters as an essential element of the Nation’s layered maritime security strategy. They will be especially critical to the counter-drug and migrant interdiction missions along the southeast border.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Hawley Reintroduces Bill Banning Chinese Ownership of American Land, Homes

    US Senate News:

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

    Thursday, July 10, 2025

    Today, U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) reintroduced legislation to ban Chinese corporations and individuals associated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from owning American agricultural land and homes. The Senator’s introduction of the Protecting Our Farms and Homes from China Act comes after the Trump Administration recently unveiled its National Farm Security Action Plan, a comprehensive strategy to respond to this challenge and protect our farmland and food supply chains.
    “China’s ownership of U.S. farmland poses a direct threat to American interests,”said Senator Hawley. “We should never let our nation’s greatest adversary have access to our vital resources, including our housing supply. That’s why I’m reintroducing legislation to protect American assets from the CCP once and for all.”
    According to the USDA, Chinese entities own around 278,000 acres of agricultural land across the country, a total that has spiked 350 percent since 2010. The ownership of so much acreage by our nation’s greatest geopolitical adversary undermines the integrity of our food supply and creates unacceptable national security risks, particularly given the proximity of much of this land to sensitive military installations.
    The Protecting Our Farms and Homes from China Act would:
    Prohibit Chinese corporations and individuals affiliated with the CCP from acquiring or leasing United States’ agricultural land;
    Prohibit Chinese corporations and individuals associated with the CCP from purchasing residential real estate in the United States for a period of at least two years, with an option for the President to renew the prohibition biennially;
    Require Chinese corporations and individuals affiliated with the CCP to divest ownership of United States’ agricultural land and residential real estate within one year;
    Establish civil fines and criminal penalties for noncompliance, including forfeiture.
    Read the full bill here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Rep. Mike Kelly statement ahead of anniversary of attempted assassination of President Trump in Butler, Pa.

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

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly (R-PA) released this statement ahead of the one-year anniversary of the attempted assassination of President Donald J. Trump in Kelly’s hometown of Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13, 2024.

    “As we reflect on the tragic events that unfolded in Butler, Pennsylvania one year ago this weekend, may we pray for the Comperatore family as they continue to heal, for David Dutch and James Copenhaver who were injured, and for President Trump who continues to serve our great nation despite not one, but two assassination attempts. In the wake of tragedy, the Butler community remains united and stronger than ever,” said Rep. Kelly. “In the year since the attempted assassination of President Trump, Congress has taken significant steps to investigate the events of July 13. Our Task Force produced nearly 40 recommendations to modernize the Secret Service and to better protect America’s leaders. I continue to work with Director Curran and the agency as my colleagues in Congress and I put these recommendations into action. Like many in the Butler community, I still have questions about everything that led up to, and unfolded on, July 13. May we continue to pursue the truth to get the American people the answers they deserve.”

    BACKGROUND

    Following the assassination attempt, Rep. Kelly was named Chairman of the Task Force on the Attempted Assassination of Donald J. Trump. In their final report published in December 2024, the Task Force produced nearly 40 actionable recommendations related to the July 13 events and overarching structural changes the Secret Service should consider.

    The Task Force also:

    • Conducted 46 transcribed interviews (TI’s)
    • Reviewed nearly 20,000 pages of documents
    • Held a dozen briefings with relevant agencies and officials, including Secret Service, FBI, ATF, and others.
    • Visited sites in Butler, West Palm Beach, and the FBI laboratory to review evidence in Quantico, Virginia

    You can read the Task Force’s final report here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Rep. Mike Kelly statement ahead of anniversary of attempted assassination of President Trump in Butler, Pa.

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

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly (R-PA) released this statement ahead of the one-year anniversary of the attempted assassination of President Donald J. Trump in Kelly’s hometown of Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13, 2024.

    “As we reflect on the tragic events that unfolded in Butler, Pennsylvania one year ago this weekend, may we pray for the Comperatore family as they continue to heal, for David Dutch and James Copenhaver who were injured, and for President Trump who continues to serve our great nation despite not one, but two assassination attempts. In the wake of tragedy, the Butler community remains united and stronger than ever,” said Rep. Kelly. “In the year since the attempted assassination of President Trump, Congress has taken significant steps to investigate the events of July 13. Our Task Force produced nearly 40 recommendations to modernize the Secret Service and to better protect America’s leaders. I continue to work with Director Curran and the agency as my colleagues in Congress and I put these recommendations into action. Like many in the Butler community, I still have questions about everything that led up to, and unfolded on, July 13. May we continue to pursue the truth to get the American people the answers they deserve.”

    BACKGROUND

    Following the assassination attempt, Rep. Kelly was named Chairman of the Task Force on the Attempted Assassination of Donald J. Trump. In their final report published in December 2024, the Task Force produced nearly 40 actionable recommendations related to the July 13 events and overarching structural changes the Secret Service should consider.

    The Task Force also:

    • Conducted 46 transcribed interviews (TI’s)
    • Reviewed nearly 20,000 pages of documents
    • Held a dozen briefings with relevant agencies and officials, including Secret Service, FBI, ATF, and others.
    • Visited sites in Butler, West Palm Beach, and the FBI laboratory to review evidence in Quantico, Virginia

    You can read the Task Force’s final report here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Senator Collins Welcomes Bowdoin Student as a Summer Intern in Her Washington Office

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Maine Susan Collins
    Published: July 11, 2025

    Click HERE for a high-resolution photo
    Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Susan Collins announced that Nelson Dorsey, a student-athlete at Bowdoin College, has been awarded a summer internship in her Washington office. 
    “Nelson’s academic achievements and his commitment as a student-athlete are a testament to his drive and dedication,” said Senator Collins. “I am confident that he will make valuable contributions to Maine during his internship.”
    Nelson is a rising sophomore at Bowdoin, where he is majoring in Government and Legal Studies, and Psychology. He is a worship leader for the Bowdoin Christian Students Alliance and will also be the starting running back on the football team next year.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Senator Collins Welcomes Islesboro Native as a Summer Intern in Her Washington Office

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Maine Susan Collins
    Published: July 11, 2025

    Click HERE for a high-resolution photo
    Washington, D.C.  – U.S. Senator Susan Collins announced that Charles Jagger, an Islesboro native, has been awarded a summer internship in her Washington office.  Charles is a graduate of Islesboro Central School.
    “Charles is a dedicated student whose strong academic background makes him well-suited for this role serving the people of Maine,” said Senator Collins. “I am glad to welcome him to my Washington office to assist my staff with important legislative work.”
    Charles is a rising senior at Wheaton College in Massachusetts, where he is majoring in Finance. On campus, he is co-president of the Investment and Business networking clubs. Upon graduation, Charles plans to work in the finance sector or fiscal policy industry.
    Maine students who are interested in applying for future sessions of the internship program can do so through Senator Collins’ website at: https://www.collins.senate.gov/services/students.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Senator Collins Welcomes Kennebunk Native as a Summer Intern in Her Washington Office

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Maine Susan Collins
    Published: July 11, 2025

    Click HERE for a high-resolution photo
    Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Susan Collins announced that Renee Bergeon, a Kennebunk native, has been awarded a summer internship in her Washington office.  Renee is a graduate of Kennebunk High School.
    “It is a pleasure to give Mainers an opportunity to serve their state,” said Senator Collins. “Renee has a strong work ethic and impressive leadership skills. I am glad she will have the opportunity to learn more about the legislative process through this internship.”
    Renee is a rising junior at the George Washington University, where she is majoring in International Affairs, concentrating in Security Policy. On campus, she is the President of the Rotary-sponsored Rotaract Club. Upon graduation, Renee plans to pursue a career in security policy.
    Maine students who are interested in applying for future sessions of the internship program can do so through Senator Collins’ website at: https://www.collins.senate.gov/services/students.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Senator Collins Welcomes Gorham Native as a Summer Intern in Her Washington Office

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Maine Susan Collins
    Published: July 11, 2025

    Click HERE for a high-resolution photo
    Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Susan Collins announced that Charles Hubbard, a Gorham native, has been awarded a summer internship in her Washington office. Charles is a graduate of Gorham High School.
    “I am delighted to welcome Charles to my Washington, D.C., office,” said Senator Collins. “Charles is very diligent in his work, and I am pleased that he will have the opportunity to see the legislative process firsthand as well as serve his fellow Mainers.”
    Charles graduated from the University of Maine, where he majored in Political Science. Charles plans to continue his education and pursue a career in law.
    Maine students who are interested in applying for future sessions of the internship program can do so through Senator Collins’ website at: https://www.collins.senate.gov/services/students.

    MIL OSI USA News –