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Category: United States of America

  • MIL-OSI USA: WATCH: ‘An Assault on Knowledge’ | Pingree Condemns GOP Cuts to Library of Congress

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

    Today, during the full Appropriations Committee markup of the Legislative Branch funding bill for Fiscal Year 2026, Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) condemned House Republicans’ proposed cuts to the Library of Congress, which she says threatens the preservation of our nation’s history and culture. [embedded content]

    “This is the largest library in the world. It is where some of our greatest treasures are held. It is the Library of Congress. It’s our library. It was set up for us for the time we need to do the research for the work that we need to do,” Pingree said in her opening remarks. “And it shows our belief in education, experience, and knowledge. […] It is all about understanding the importance of education and learning in the work that we do.”

    Pingree pointed to the Trump Administration’s pattern of attacking the arts, museums, and culture, including firing the Librarian of Congress, cuts to the Institution of Museum and Library Services, and the President’s proposed budget that would eliminate the National Endowment for the Humanities. She warned that by going along with the proposed cuts to the Library of Congress, the Appropriations Committee would be “colluding in that assault on knowledge.”

    A complete transcript of Pingree’s remarks is copied below. 

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    Thank you very much. Mr. Chair, I want to concur and associate myself with the remarks of so many of my colleagues. This is a terrible bill. It’s inadequate funding. It’s bad policy. And there are so many irresponsible cuts and programs that are being eliminated under this. 

    It also, as the member from Maryland so eloquently stated, really reduces the power of the Congress, and allowing us to abdicate so much of our responsibility to the Executive Branch, particularly, as you’ve heard others say, my colleagues in Florida, on these GAO cuts – our only legitimate way to have nonpartisan investigations. And we are also abdicating that responsibility. 

    But I too, like my colleague from South Carolina, want to focus on the Library of Congress and the important role it’s played in our work here and throughout time. And this ridiculous $90 million cut – 15% of the library’s budget, starting with the assault already on this institution by firing the great librarian, Carla Hayden, and losing her leadership and the great work she’s done for all of us.

    This is the largest library in the world. It is where some of our greatest treasures are held. It is the Library of Congress. It’s our library. It was set up for us for the time we need to do the research for the work that we need to do. I direct every visitor to Washington and to go to the Library of Congress. It’s one of the most magnificent buildings here on Capitol Hill and throughout the Capitol. 

    And it shows our belief in education and experience and knowledge throughout the building. The art displayed the symbolism in the building. It is all about understanding the importance of education and learning in the work that we do. It has Jefferson’s rough draft of the Declaration of Independence, and we all love the dinners that we attend at the Library of Congress. It’s one of the few bipartisan things we do. We sit next to each other. We talk about history, something that we can usually agree on, and we share that knowledge, and we share that experience, and we see the great treasures that are pulled out, usually just for us that night to look at it. It’s just recently acquired Stephen Sondheim’s papers, but that’s just one of the many items that is there.

    Every book is somehow represented in the Library of Congress. Many of you don’t know that I used to write knitting books, and I’m sure you would like to have volumes on your shelves right now. Just let me know. But the fact is, I can remember the day back in the 1980s when I got my Library of Congress number for the first book, and I just thought—long before I ever thought it would be in Congress—what an amazing experience this is to have my book in the Library of Congress. 

    We were so excited in the state of Maine in June when one of our Passamaquoddy elders, Dwayne Tomah, came to the Library of Congress because he was having the opportunity … Dwayne Tomah has been one of the Passamaquoddy who has done so much to preserve the language. And he was there to sing a song that had been retrieved from wax cylinders that were provided by an anthropologist in the 1890s. 

    But finally, through technology used by the Library of Congress, they were able to get the digital version of that song, and he could sing that version in the original language. Think about that treasure and how important that is to preserve the knowledge and the culture of that particular tribe. Singing a song that hadn’t been heard for 128 years. 

    That’s just one of the many things that happens there. And I just want to say, in the context of libraries, this is part of this administration’s assault on libraries and knowledge. They’ve already gutted the IMLS, the Institution of Museum and Library Service. They’ve gutted the National Endowment for the Humanities. These will both be zeroed out in the FY 26 budget request, although they haven’t been heard before us. But we will be colluding in that if we go along with this. 

    We’ve heard so much from our own libraries about the devastation of not having this funding that’s already been cut by DOGE. The attack on knowledge, the assault of this administration through their executive orders, on what is allowed in research and scholarship and how we talk about and treat history.

    This is us now in this cut colluding in that assault on knowledge that this administration is making. So, Congress should set its best example with its own library. We should not be cutting this account. We should not be getting swept up in the administration’s efforts. 

    I yield back, but I ask everybody to vote no on this budget. Or, as my colleague said, just throw this bill away and let’s start over.

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    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Pingree Amendment to Protect Seasonal Work Visas Gets Unanimous Support in Appropriations Committee, Approved in Homeland Funding Bill

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

    Maine First District Congresswoman Chellie Pingree’s bipartisan effort to safeguard H-2B visas was unanimously approved in the Homeland Security Appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2026. During today’s full Appropriations Committee markup of the bill, Pingree urged her colleagues to support her amendment, which she introduced with Congressman Andy Harris, M.D. (R-Md.), explaining how vital these seasonal work visas are to Maine businesses and tourism industry. 
    [embedded content]

    “We are going to have endless debate today, and it is all related to the fact that we don’t straighten out the situation that goes on in our country: the need for workers, the need to make sure that we have legal processes for people, and the need to make sure that farmers and hospitality industry and everyone else has all the people they need to do the job,” Pingree said. 

    Under the amendment, employers that have demonstrated a history of compliance with the H-2B program would have access to the highest number of visas issued to them over the past five years. 

    “I have examples of a family here, who had a family-owned seafood restaurant for 17 years,” Pingree continued. “They’ve been able to run their business [and] support local fishermen because they have H-2B workers. Motels, when they don’t have enough people, they close down a wing. They can’t be open for the season that they want because they don’t have enough people.”

    A transcript of Pingree’s remarks is available below.

    +++

    Thank you, Mr. Chair. I just want to thank my colleagues who have been working on some of these H-2B related issues, and make a few remarks about how they impact Maine. 

    First, I just want to say this is the Homeland Appropriations Committee, and we all have a lot of debate today related to immigration issues. And in my opinion, most of them go back to the fact that this Congress has been unwilling—during the period of time I’ve been here—to pass comprehensive immigration reform. Let’s just get that done. 

    We are going to have endless debate today, and it is all related to the fact that we don’t straighten out the situation that goes on in our country: the need for workers, the need to make sure that we have legal processes for people, and the need to make sure that farmers and hospitality industry and everyone else has all the people they need to do the job.

    I also want to concur, we shouldn’t be authorizing [this] on an appropriation committee, but we do, and we all use it when we can, because things like this are so vital. And this amendment comes up every year. And I’m always pleased to work with my colleague Mr. Harris and so many others, Mr. Cuellar who also have these concerns. Dutch [Ruppersberger], who used to be on the committee.

    If you have any kind of a seasonal industry, you know what we’re talking about. And this one also includes some agriculture, which is very much the same. So, I remind you all that I represent Maine. This is our summer season. I hope you’re all planning your August vacations, your opportunity to eat some lobster, have some wild blueberries, spend a little time on the ocean, and see our wonderful state.

    If you want, you can come in the winter, where we also have a seasonal industry of skiing and winter sports. So we’d love to have you either time. Tourism is our largest industry, and while we’re very proud of our agriculture, fishing, manufacturing, and the other things we do, we depend on tourism.

    And like so many other states, we don’t have enough people to do the jobs now. It’s a common summer job for kids. All my kids worked in the seasonal industry. I’ve worked in the seasonal industry. We’ve owned businesses in the seasonal industry. And the challenge is, while people say, ‘Oh, what a great summer job for kids,’ by the time it gets to August, they’re back to school, they’re back to sports. You can’t finish out the season.

    And we are thrilled that our tourists stay through October or come in even early November now, but we don’t have enough people to do the work. And I can list countless employers who come to visit me every year and say, what’s going to be the situation? How many workers? Will I be able to get the number of people that I need?

    I have examples of a family here, who had a family-owned seafood restaurant for 17 years. They’ve been able to run their business [and] support local fishermen because they have H-2B workers. Motels, when they don’t have enough people, they close down a wing. They can’t be open for the season that they want because they don’t have enough people.

    So without these visas that are so necessary, without these kinds of amendments that we have to sponsor, usually every year, because we’re always at odds with the system, we can’t do it. So I just want to support all the people who work on this. But I want to encourage us all to find an ultimate solution so that we’re not here every year authorizing on this committee—and also dealing with a hodgepodge solution to immigration reform.

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    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Hoyer Remarks on Ending the COLA Freeze for Members of Congress During Appropriations Markup

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

    WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (MD-05), Ranking Member of the Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) Appropriations Subcommittee, delivered remarks in response in support of an amendment to bring an end to the freeze of Cost-Of-Living-Adjustments (COLA) for Members of Congress at the House Appropriations Full Committee Markup of the FY26 Legislative Branch Bill markup. Below is a video and transcript of his remarks:

    Click here to watch a full video of his remarks:

    “I generally try to support righteous amendments, and so I compelled to support this amendment. Mr. Clyde, I’ve always impressed how much research you do – you with me? I’m complimenting you. (laughter erupts across the room) I know, Ms. Wasserman-Schultz is distracting, I understand that (more laughter), but the fact of the matter is, you always do your research and I wish the research would make the difference, but we know it doesn’t.

    “This is about politics. This is about fear of the public thinking that we have our hand in the cookie jar. Let me suggest to you, the more times we – and this will be the 16th time – we stop putting the hand in the cookie jar, the [objective] of the reform in 1989 was to make sure that members weren’t doing that, because you’re absolutely right. I never took payment for speeches. I thought that was a not too well-designed bribe, but I have always supported making sure that at least we stayed even. That’s all this COLA is, this is not a raise. Your purchasing power if you were here as long as the distinguished gentleman, former Chairman, Mr. Rogers and I have been here, has been reduced about 45% since 2009. Now you’ve noticed your grocery prices haven’t been frozen, your rent hasn’t been frozen here or at home – now maybe your mortgage has been frozen because you’ve had it for a long time. 

    “But the fact of the matter is two things are going to occur, first of all, people won’t be able to run for Congress. Now, I want to tell the public, who presumably may be watching this, that I believe a large number of Members on the other side of the aisle from me support this COLA adjustment. Why? Because they’ve told me so. Now I was the number two leader for 20 years, and I have not kept track of the number of Members from across the aisle who came to me and said, ‘You’re going to be able to take care of this this year?’ And very frankly, for a lot of years I did, not unilaterally, however, with Mr. Blunt, Mr. Delay, with Mr. Cantor, with other leaders in your party.

    “We agreed that not having a COLA, making Members lose purchasing power, frankly, was not a good thing for us to do so that Members could stay as the ’89 reform meant them to be: independent and not required to seek other forms of income, legally or illegally. And I am so pleased that Mr. Clyde, I have an amendment to do the same thing.

    “I’m not going to offer it because we’re going to resolve it on this issue. Now, Mr. Valadao, I understand your problem. So we understand one another. I’m going to be honest. I tell people on my side, ‘If you’ve got a tough race, don’t vote for this.’ And the reason we’ve been able to do it, both sides did that. Mr. Cantor, Mr. Blunt, you had 40-30% of your people who didn’t ever vote for this. Why? Because we know it can be demagogued and we know it is demagogued. So, I tell people on my side, do not vote for this, because it will be a big issue in your campaign.

    “But there are a majority on both sides whom that will not affect, not because we don’t stand for election, because I’ve been for this since the day I got here, and I’m here now in my 23rd term so what we’re going to decide is a political question of whether we have the courage and the honesty, the intellectual honesty not to come to Hoyer or any other leader in the House and say, ‘boy, I hope you can get this done. I can’t vote for it, of course, but –’ that’s what this issue is about, and I understand some of you have tough issues.

    “Frankly, both sides go after the moderates every year. It’s why we have become more and more polarized. But this is something that we ought to do if we have self-respect for ourselves, for our institution and respect for our voters who themselves want a COLA. And if they’re retired, you damn well know you better have that COLA for Social Security or you’re in trouble. Why? Because they know if they don’t get that COLA adjustment, they lose standard of living. Why? Because prices go up. But if you are on a fixed income, and I know I’ve run out of time again. Now I will tell you, I hope I take my side. I can support this, but we’re not going to go empty into this dark night if you’re not there with us, I yield back.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: HILL, GOTTHEIMER, KEAN JR., LAWLER, AND MOSKOWITZ INTRODUCE BILL TO CRACK DOWN ON COUNTRIES THAT WRONGFULLY DETAIN AMERICANS

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman French Hill (AR-02)

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Rep. Hill (AR-02), Rep. Gottheimer (NJ-05), Rep. Kean Jr. (NJ-07), Rep. Lawler (NY-17), and Rep. Moskowitz (FL-23) introduced the Countering Wrongful Detention Act of 2025, which would create a designation for countries or nonstate actors that engage in the unlawful or wrongful detention of U.S. citizens and permanent residents, empowering the Secretary of State and Congress to hold them accountable.

    Rep. Hill said, “When Americans are wrongfully detained abroad, it’s not just a personal tragedy — it’s a direct attack on the United States. Those who wrongfully detain Americans must know that there will be real consequences for using U.S. citizens as political pawns. That’s why our bill gives the State Department the tools it needs to hold bad actors accountable while keeping Congress firmly engaged in the process. This bipartisan bill is a strong step toward protecting Americans by deterring and punishing them.”

    Rep. Gottheimer said, “As the United States faces increasing threats from foreign adversaries, protecting Americans abroad must remain a top priority. I am proud to help introduce the bipartisan Countering Wrongful Detention Act alongside Congressman Hill to ensure the State Department has the tools it needs to hold bad actors accountable.

    “This bipartisan bill will help bring home Americans wrongfully detained around the world and strengthen efforts to prevent future hostage taking. To those being held, and their families, our message is clear: we stand with you and we are fighting every day to bring you home.”

    Rep. Kean Jr. said, “My constituent, Sarah Moriarty, lost her fath

    er, Robert Levinson, after he was taken hostage by Iran in 2007. Her family spent years wondering where he was, not knowing if he was alive or if they would ever see him again. Sadly, far too many American families have lived through that same kind of fear and heartbreak.

    “Hostile regimes like Iran continue to use innocent Americans as bargaining chips, dehumanizing and mistreating them—and in some cases, even taking their lives. The Countering Wrongful Detention Act makes it clear that there will be consequences for this kind of behavior, and the United States will always go to great lengths to protect its citizens.”

    Rep. Lawler said, “As a co-lead on the Countering Wrongful Detention Act, I’m proud to be joining a bipartisan group of colleagues working to protect Americans held hostage by rogue nations as political pawns. This legislation will provide the State Department with the necessary tools to exert pressure while ensuring that Congress maintains accountability. American families deserve nothing less.”

    Rep. Moskowitz said, “For years, my constituent Bob Levinson was illegally, unjustly, and unacceptably held by the Iranian regime. Bad actors like these can’t detain Americans without cause and think they can get away with it. I’m helping lead the Countering Wrongful Detention Act because this bipartisan bill puts real tools in place that’ll crack down on this practice and send a strong, bipartisan signal that our government will hold accountable any state or nonstate actors who threaten Americans in this way.”

    Sarah (Levinson) Moriarty, Co-Founder of R. A. Levinson & Associates and Fellow, New America Future Security Program, said, “Since the introduction of PPD30 ten years ago, and the Robert A. Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage Taking Accountability Act in 2019, we have seen marked improvement in how our government handles the cases of American nationals held hostage by state and nonstate actors.

    “This important bipartisan legislation, coming at such a critical time when Americans continue to be taken on a weekly basis as political bargaining chips, is a giant leap forward in creating tangible deterrence that stops bad actors from continuing this horrific practice. Thank you to Representatives Hill, Gottheimer, Kean Jr., Lawler, and Moskowitz for their leadership on this issue.

    “We hope to see this legislation passed by Congress and swiftly signed into law, as we know it will help prevent so many Americans from falling victim to the suffering that my father, my family, my friends in the hostage community, and far too many others have experienced.”

    “The Foley Foundation supports the bipartisan introduction of this bill in the House of Representatives by Reps. Hill, Kean Jr, Lawler, Gottheimer, and Moskowitz to ensure hostile regimes that take American nationals for political leverage face greater and targeted consequences. We welcome oversight provisions to require public testimony or public reporting that will allow the American people to better understand the threat of international hostage-taking.” 

    Background:

    The bipartisan legislation creates a new authority for the Secretary of State to formally designate countries or nonstate actors as state sponsors of unlawful or wrongful detention, creating a deterrent framework similar to the existing state sponsors of terrorism designation. Once designated, the Secretary may impose a range of penalties on those governments, including diplomatic and economic consequences.

    The bill provides congressional oversight by requiring that all state sponsors of unlawful or wrongful detention designations expire unless Congress passes a joint resolution to approve them within six months. Congress would also have the authority to terminate a designation through a joint resolution, ensuring these decisions reflect the interests of the American people and are subject to public accountability.

    This legislation further directs the Secretary of State to brief Congress on whether the following countries should be designated under this new authority:

    • China
    • Russia
    • Iran
    • Afghanistan
    • Eritrea
    • Nicaragua
    • Syria
    • Venezuela
    • Belarus

    A one-pager on the Countering Wrongful Detention Act of 2025 is available HERE.

    The full text of the bill is available HERE.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Investigating Potential Seabed Minerals in the Aleutian Arc

    Source: US Geological Survey

    A USGS-led expedition in the Aleutian Arc off Alaska will provide critical information on energy resources, underwater earthquakes and other hazards, seafloor habitats, and biological resources, including key fisheries, as well as potential seabed minerals. Scientists are investigating potential hydrothermal mineral specimens on the seafloor. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Spare the Trees So Investors Can See the Forest: Remarks before the Executive Compensation Roundtable

    Source: Securities and Exchange Commission

    Good afternoon. Thank you to Chairman Atkins for convening today’s roundtable and thank you to the moderators and panelists for joining us to discuss this important topic. On a recent trip to Alaska, one of the most striking sights was the rich forests of Sitka spruces clustering on steep mountainsides climbing up from the sea. I quickly stowed my binoculars in favor of taking in the whole scene. Absent a distinguishing feature—a different tree type, an intriguing root system, a bald eagle perched on its branches, or a bear lurking in its shade—the grandeur of the forest is lost when focusing on any one tree. Trying not to lose sight of the forest for the trees in beautiful Alaska brings me back to the ugly reality of executive compensation disclosure. Over the years, executive compensation disclosure has become increasingly unwieldy and expensive and decreasingly useful. The SEC’s rules focus excessively on random trees rather than giving a realistic view of the forest. They direct readers’ attention to a set of executive compensation items that, largely, entertain the onlooker rather than educate the investor. Preparing the lengthy and complex disclosures eats up lots of resources—management time and attention, attorneys’ and accountants’ billable hours, and even trees as pages of disclosures pile up—and distort corporate decision-making.

    Done right, disclosure rules are one form of investor protection. Material information provided to prospective investors arms them with “a rational basis to evaluate [a company and] its securities.”[1] My primary question for today’s panels is whether our current disclosure rules on executive compensation accomplish that goal.

    Some executive compensation rules seem more responsive to the general public’s curiosity than a genuine investor need for material information. Painstakingly calculated tallies of perks, like rides on the corporate jet, housing allowances for overseas assignments, or car services give us a tiny window into executives’ lives, but do little to fill out an investor’s picture of the company. Lately, our rulemakings have taken a “more is better” approach to executive compensation disclosure. These tack-on rules to the growing alphabet of Item 402 of Reg S-K—we are almost all the way through the alphabet[2]—do not provide new information. Instead, these rules re-package and re-present data that investors mostly already have. Or they add details that are immaterial. Do investors even look at this “new” information? And if they do, are we confident it gives them a rational basis to evaluate a security’s price?

    Consider, for example, pay ratio disclosure and pay-versus-performance disclosure. In his statement of dissent on the pay ratio rule, then Commissioner Dan Gallagher noted that it could have been “marginally less useless” if it were limited to U.S. full-time employees.[3] While not a ringing endorsement of the rule or any of its possible permutations, his comment highlights that even with respect to a rule mandated by Congress as this rule was, the Commission retains some latitude to implement it in the best way possible. More recently, pursuant to another Dodd-Frank mandate, the Commission adopted the pay-versus-performance rule. The overarching feedback I hear on the rule is that it is a regulatory “tax” on public companies without a corresponding benefit for investors. Management, and the high-priced consultants and lawyers they hire, spend hours preparing the various narratives, tables, and graphs that produce nothing but yawns of disinterest from investors.

    More concerning than the direct costs of producing executive compensation disclosures are the costs that arise from the distortion of corporate behavior in response to executive compensation disclosure mandates. Perhaps a company opts for a compensation scheme that is less effective at aligning incentives because of the way such a scheme will be reflected under SEC disclosure rules that do not necessarily represent economic reality. Or perhaps a company opts not to provide security for its executives because it appears in a laundry list of examples of perks in a 2006 Commission release that incidentally declines to define what a perk is.[4] Now may be time for the Commission to return to a more nuanced approach to personal security disclosure that considers the context in which those measures are provided.[5] Some companies have even gone so far as to eliminate perks altogether while offsetting such “cost-saving” measures with increases to base salaries. Executive compensation disclosure, along with other disclosures, should reflect rather than direct corporate actions.

    The age-old philosophical question is whether a falling tree makes a sound when nobody is around to hear it. The more relevant and less philosophical question for today’s discussion is if the disclosures we are mandating do not provide investors a rational basis to assess a company, why mandate them at all? I look forward to hearing from today’s moderators and panelists about how we can improve our executive compensation mandates so that they serve investors.

     

    [1] Alan B. Levenson, The Role of the SEC as a Consumer Protection Agency, 27 Bus. Law. 61, 62  (1971) (“The economic justification for disclosure as the keystone of investor protection lies in the belief that material corporate and financial information disseminated to prospective investors provides a rational basis to evaluate securities and this is a necessary precondition to efficient markets.”).

    [2] Executive compensation disclosure mandates run from Regulation S-K 402(a) to 402(x).

    [5] Disclosure of Management Remuneration, 43 Fed. Reg. 6,060, 6,063 (Feb. 13, 1978) (“The taking of various security measures for the protection of executives may not result in any remuneration to such executive if the individual’s life has been threatened because of his position in the company or if the company reasonably believes that the individual’s safety is in jeopardy.”), https://archives.federalregister.gov/issue_slice/1978/2/13/6057-6065.pdf#page=4.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Hawley Applauds Judiciary Committee for Approving Missouri District Judge Nominees

    US Senate News:

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

    Thursday, June 26, 2025

    Today, U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) applauded the Judiciary Committee approving the nominations of four Missourians President Trump has tapped to serve as district judges for Missouri. 
    “This morning, the Senate Judiciary Committee sent four outstanding Missourians—whom President Trump tapped as his first judicial nominees—to the Senate floor for a final vote. My state has waited four long years for these judges, and I look forward to them serving Missouri with the highest distinction. To Josh Divine, Maria Lanahan, Zachary Bluestone, and Cris Stevens—congratulations are in order,” said Senator Hawley.
    The nominees are:
    Joshua M. Divine, to be United States District Judge for the Eastern and Western Districts of Missouri
    Maria A. Lanahan, to be United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Missouri
    Zachary M. Bluestone, to be United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Missouri
    Cristian M. Stevens, to be United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Missouri
    These judicial positions had been vacant throughout the Biden Administration. Senator Hawley worked with President Trump and the White House to make sure the Missouri appointments were prioritized.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Vermont Congressional Delegation Announces $5.8 Million Investment to Modernize Patrick Leahy Burlington International Airport 

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont)
    WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Vermont Congressional Delegation, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.), and Representative Becca Balint (VT-AL), announced a $5.8 million grant from the Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which will assist with expansion and modernization improvements to the Patrick Leahy Burlington International Airport (BTV). The funds are made possible by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The award will support the reconstruction of the airport’s second-floor corridor and the replacement of four jet bridges to increase accessibility and safety for passengers. 
    “This federal investment in infrastructure enhances the travel experience for both Vermonters and visitors alike and is vital to supporting our state’s economy and vibrant tourism industry. This funding will provide important modernization improvements at the Patrick Leahy Burlington International Airport to improve the traveler experience and safety for everyone traveling to and from the Green Mountain State,” said the Vermont Congressional Delegation. “We’re proud that the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law continues to boost economic growth and generate good-paying jobs in Vermont.” 
    “Thanks to the continued support of our federal delegation, we are able to meet the moment for our passengers and our region. As we approach potential record-breaking passenger numbers, the most direct flights in our history, and growing demand for safe, modern airport travel experiences, these federal investments are absolutely critical to the continued success of Leahy BTV. This funding ensures we can keep pace with that demand and deliver the world-class airport experience Vermonters and visitors deserve,” said Nic Longo, C.M., Director of Aviation, Patrick Leahy Burlington International Airport. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Padilla, Raskin Introduce Bicameral Bill to Cut Off Federal Contracts to Gun Dealers Whose Firearms Are Consistently Linked to Violent Crime

    US Senate News:

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

    Padilla, Raskin Introduce Bicameral Bill to Cut Off Federal Contracts to Gun Dealers Whose Firearms Are Consistently Linked to Violent Crime

    Legislation would bar government contracts with bad-apple dealers whose guns are overrepresented in violent crime data
    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Representative Jamie Raskin (D-Md.-08), Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, introduced a bicameral bill to prevent the federal government from contracting with federally licensed firearms dealers (FFLs) that have a documented history of selling guns that are frequently used to commit violent crimes.
    Existing federal law requires FFLs that have sold 25 or more guns over the course of a single year that are subsequently traced to violent crimes within three years of their sale to report additional information on their sales practices under ATF’s Demand 2 program to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF). The Clean Hands Firearm Procurement Act would leverage this ATF data to identify the small number of FFLs that are consistently and dramatically overrepresented in criminal activity and render them ineligible for federal contracts.
    “Far too often, lucrative federal contracts are inexplicably awarded to firearm dealers who have been linked to dangerous crime,” said Senator Padilla. “The federal government should not be doing business with repeat offenders who are fueling our national gun violence epidemic. Our commonsense legislation aims to combat senseless and preventable gun violence by ensuring that gun dealers keep guns from falling into the wrong hands.”
    “The federal government should not be rewarding gun dealers whose inventory keeps ending up at crime scenes,” said Ranking Member Raskin. “The Clean Hands Firearm Procurement Act prevents federal agencies from contracting with firearm dealers who have a documented history of selling guns that are used in violent crimes. I’m proud to team up with Senator Padilla on this bicameral, commonsense bill to ensure taxpayer dollars aren’t supporting bad-apple gun dealers.”
    “Year after year, a small percentage of firearms dealers are the source of the vast majority of guns quickly diverted to crimes, yet some are awarded federal contracts. The Clean Hands Firearm Procurement Act will ensure that dealers that supply large numbers of crime guns do not have the privilege of doing business with the federal government, and that only responsible actors in the gun industry receive coveted federal procurement contracts. Brady thanks Representative Raskin and Senator Padilla for introducing this important legislation and for their continued commitment to ending the American gun violence epidemic,” said Mark Collins, Director of Federal Policy for Brady.
    The ATF established the Demand 2 Program over two decades ago to improve its clearance rate for tracing firearms used in crimes. Crime gun tracing, administered by the National Tracing Center, establishes the chain of custody of firearms recovered by law enforcement agencies in criminal investigations, from their importer or manufacturer to their first retail purchase at an FFL, creating critical investigative links between a suspect and a recovered firearm.
    The Clean Hands Firearm Procurement Act is endorsed by the following groups: Brady, Community Justice Action Fund, Everytown, GIFFORDS, Jewish Democratic Council of America, and the National Council of Jewish Women.
    The bill is cosponsored by Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).
    Senator Padilla is a strong advocate for commonsense, lifesaving gun safety reforms. Earlier this year, Padilla co-led the bicameral reintroduction of the Assault Weapons Ban of 2025, legislation to reinstate a nationwide ban on military-style assault weapons. He also led 18 Senators in introducing the Age 21 Act, legislation to raise the minimum age to purchase assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines from 18 to 21, the same age requirement that already applies to purchasing handguns from federally licensed dealers. In June 2022, Padilla voted to pass the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, the most significant gun safety legislation in almost 30 years. In 2023, Padilla joined 27 of his Senate colleagues in reintroducing the Keep Americans Safe Act, renewing efforts to ban the importation, sale, manufacturing, transfer, or possession of gun magazines that hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition.
    Full text of the bill is available here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Wyden, Colleagues Slam Republicans Over Gutting Tribal Energy Program and Energy Tax Credits

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore)
    June 26, 2025
    More than 100 tribes have signed onto letters calling for the Senate to protect the tribal energy programs and clean energy tax credits
    Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Martin Heinrich, D-N.M. and Brian Schatz, D-Hawai’i, today released the following statement on Republicans’ reconciliation bill that harms Tribal communities in Oregon and nationwide:
    “As extreme heat strains the grid and leaves thousands without power, Senate Republicans are pushing a bill that would hike costs and worsen energy shortages. Their plan slashes investments in the new energy sources we need to meet demand and keep prices down.”
    “The bill is particularly harmful to Tribal Nations, pulling the rug out from under projects that would strengthen their energy sovereignty and power local communities. Together, the Tribal Energy Loan Guarantee Program and our Inflation Reduction Act’s clean energy tax credits have cleared pathways and removed significant barriers for Tribes to finance and build their own resilient energy infrastructure. More than 100 Tribes have advocated to protect these programs, which are already creating high-quality jobs, increasing energy security, and building economic opportunity in Indian Country and across the nation. We are also committed to taking additional steps to level the playing field for Tribal communities and cut the red tape that has limited their access to these energy programs.”
    “The Big, Beautiful Betrayal isn’t about energy dominance or making life affordable for working families. It’s about cutting essential programs that benefit people from all walks of life to pay for tax cuts for billionaires.”
    More than 100 Tribes have signed onto letters to Wyden, Heinrich, and Schatz expressing the importance of the Tribal Energy Loan Guarantee Program and the clean energy provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act to continue empoweringTribal energy development.
    The Tribal letters are here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Senator Murkowski Presses OMB Director Vought on Importance of Public Broadcasting for Alaska

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Alaska Lisa Murkowski
    06.26.25
    Washington, DC – Yesterday, U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), senior member of the Appropriations Committee, spoke with the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Russell Vought. The Director appeared before the committee that was tasked with considering the rescissions package championed by President Trump, which rescinds $9.4 billion in funding previously appropriated by Congress. Senator Murkowski pressed Vought on the importance of public broadcasting in rural Alaska.
    Watch the Senator’s full remarks here.
    The full transcript of the interaction is below.
    TRANSCRIPT
    Murkowski: Thank you for appearing today to answer our questions, whether it’s on the specifics of this rescission package, to where this all might be headed with the Impoundment Control Act.
    I think probably to a number, every one of us is supportive of PEPFAR and the intent of that program. I think we all recognize that most of everything we do around here isn’t entirely perfect, and we try to do as good as we can and improve it every single opportunity that we have.
    I’m going to ask you some questions with regards to Corporation for Public Broadcasting, but just kind of from a more general perspective, it is absolutely the administration’s right to send us rescissions. It’s our right as a Congress to then figure out whether or not we’re going to support them.
    But, I am going to strongly, strongly push back against my colleague here on this side of the aisle, Senator Kennedy in his comments, basically saying that all we have anymore when it comes to appropriations are CRs (Continuing Resolutions), which are a miserable option, and rescissions. I refuse that. I reject that. And I think that not only we as appropriators on this committee should reject that, but we as members of the Senate, members of the Congress, should reject that.
    It’s pretty clear in Article One (of the U.S. Constitution) what it is that we’re supposed to be doing when it comes to the power of the purse, appropriations. We have a responsibility. And administrator, you have aptly pointed out that maybe in some of these areas, we have failed, because I think many of the initiatives that you have specifically cited to our constituents would probably say that’s not what was intended. But, this is our role here in the Congress and as appropriators, to again, assert our role and our responsibility.
    I don’t object to the fact that you have come to this hearing today to present your review. That’s absolutely fair and legitimate. But I want us as senators, I want us as members of the Legislative Branch to make sure that we are being faithful and have fidelity to our requirements under the Constitution as well.
    So, I want to ask about public broadcasting in the time that I have here. You have said that, and it’s more specific to NPR, I think, but you said that basically it’s all political. I am going to give you a little bit of a bird’s eye view of what I consider to be not political when it comes to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and the role that they play in my state. I’ve got kind of a memo here from CoastAlaska, which is our Alaska Public Media, outlining the various public media stations around the state of Alaska. I would like for permission that they be included as part of the record.
    Chair Collins: Without objection.
    Murkowski: But there’s 22 different stations that are listed here, and they’re everywhere from 24% of their annual budget to 70% in Sand Point, in communities that are relatively small but have extraordinary reach. In Barrow, the station up there covers some 95,000 miles when the fiber optic cable was severed by ice about six or seven months ago. That has still not been repaired. It’s public broadcasting that is beaming out to the communities out there to keep those people connected. Right now, we’ve got wildfires that are raging in the Interior part of the state, and so at Fort Yukon and McGrath, it is just our public radio stations that are providing the updates to get people into safe areas.
    Senator Rounds mentioned the very important role that we see with regards to our Tribes. We have more than 60 Tribal stations that [are] served out of KNBA that would be disproportionately impacted, where they offer emergency alerts, vital community connections.
    So I’m going through their concerns because, almost to a number, they’re saying that they will go under if [Corporation of] Public Broadcasting funds are no longer available to them. And you’ve indicated that, well, they’re going to have time to readjust their budget, because it’s not going to be this fiscal year, that’s going to be impacted. When you have a community like Sand Point out in the Aleutian Islands, where 70% of their budget comes from [Corporation of] Public Broadcasting, or in, let’s just say, Wrangell, because I’m going to be going there in a few days, 50% of their budget comes from [Corporation of] Public Broadcasting. There’s no way to recalibrate, there is no safety valve for them.
    So, Administrator, I’ve run out of time to ask my question, but I hope you feel the urgency that I’m trying to express on the on behalf of the people in rural Alaska, and I think in many parts of rural America, where this is their lifeline. This is where they get the updates on that landslide, this is where they get the updates on the wildfires that are coming their way. And so, how they will be able to not only get the emergency alerts that they need, but also the weather reporting to make sure that that fisherman out in Unalaska can go out safely, so that these communities can be connected when the deadly landslide has come through.
    I know Senator Rounds has asked for specific help with regards to the Tribes, but mine is much bigger, and I think we’re not necessarily alone, we’re just a little more extreme in the ask.
    Vought: Senator, thanks for the comment, and we’ll definitely work with you throughout the process if it’s not in Fiscal Year [20]26. I think we’re to the point for decades we’ve had concerns with the extent to which [Corporation of] Public Broadcasting was funding content that was run contrary to the American people, and we’ve got to get to the point where we can finally deal with that. And we believe we put forward a proposal that gives a run rate to be able to deal with that. But I certainly want to work with you throughout the various opportunities that we have moving forward.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Senator Murray Calls on White House to Reverse Reported Hiring of Anti-Vax Conspiracy Theorist Lyn Redwood to CDC

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Washington State Patty Murray
    ICYMI: Murray Calls for Kennedy to Reinstate Fired ACIP Members or Delay Meeting Until New Members Appropriately Vetted; Calls Out Elevation of Conspiracy Theorist like Redwood
    ICYMI: At HELP Hearing, Senator Murray Presses CDC Nominee on Commitment to Scientific Integrity, Vaccine Access, as RFK Jr. Fires ACIP Members, Pushes Vaccine Conspiracies
    Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), a senior Member and former Chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, issued the following statement in response to news reports that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) planned to hired notorious anti-vaccine extremist Lyn Redwood, former longtime President of RFK Jr.’s Children’s Health Defense, to help oversee vaccine safety.
    “Republicans and Democrats should both be deeply disturbed by the news that our government plans to appoint another anti-vax extremist to allegedly help oversee vaccine safety at our nation’s premier public health agency. This is as disturbing as it gets, and we cannot become numb to it. I’m calling on the White House to immediately reverse this decision. This White House must not give more conspiracy theorists like Redwood a platform to disseminate even more dangerous lies about vaccines—she’s going to get kids killed because their parents will be too afraid to protect their children against preventable diseases like Measles.
    “Vaccines work—they are safe, effective, and lifesaving. We cannot allow a few truly deranged individuals to distort the plain truth and facts around vaccines so badly. I know that my Republican colleagues know this is wrong—now is not the time to be silent. Kids’ lives are on the line. Anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist Lyn Redwood has no place serving as a health advisor at CDC—or anywhere in the Department.” 
    Senator Murray forcefully opposed the nomination of notorious anti-vaccine activist RFK Jr. to be Secretary of HHS, and she has long worked to combat vaccine skepticism and highlight the importance of scientific research and vaccines. Murray was also a leading voice against the nomination of Dr. Dave Weldon to lead CDC, repeatedly speaking up about her serious concerns with the nominee immediately after their meeting. In 2019, Senator Murray co-led a bipartisan hearing in the HELP Committee on vaccine hesitancy and spoke about the importance of addressing vaccine skepticism and getting people the facts they need to keep their families and communities safe and healthy. Ahead of the 2019 hearing, as multiple states were facing measles outbreaks in under-vaccinated areas, Murray sent a bipartisan letter with former HELP Committee Chair Lamar Alexander pressing Trump’s CDC Director and HHS Assistant Secretary for Health on their efforts to promote vaccination and vaccine confidence.
    Senator Murray has been a leading voice in Congress against RFK Jr.’s dismantling of HHS and attacks on America’s public health infrastructure, raising the alarm over HHS’ unilateral reorganization plan and slamming the closure of the HHS Region 10 office in Seattle and the CDC’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Spokane Research Laboratory. Senator Murray has sent oversight letters and hosted numerous press conferences and events to lay out how the administration’s reckless gutting of HHS is risking Americans’ health and safety and will set our country back decades, and lifting up the voices of HHS employees who were fired for no reason and through no fault of their own.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Senator Murray Statement on SCOTUS Ruling Against Planned Parenthood in Medina v. PPSAT

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Washington State Patty Murray
    ICYMI: Murray, Congressional Democrats File Amicus Brief Supporting Planned Parenthood South Atlantic in Medina v. PPSAT
    ICYMI: Senator Murray Statement on Ruling that Republicans Can’t Block Marketplace Plans from Covering Abortion Care in Budget Reconciliation Bill
    In Murray-led forum for Dobbs anniversary this week, Senator Murray laid out how defunding Planned Parenthood is part of Republicans’ strategy for a Backdoor Nationwide Abortion Ban
    Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), a senior member and former Chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, released the following statement in response to the Supreme Court’s decision in Medina v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic. The Court found there is no private right of action for people to challenge South Carolina’s decision to end Planned Parenthood’s participation in South Carolina’s Medicaid program:
    “The Supreme Court just gave the green light for Republican-led states to defund Planned Parenthood, which will have disastrous consequences for women across the country who rely on Planned Parenthood centers for basic health care—often in areas where there is no other place to receive care they can afford.
    “This decision is devastating for millions of low-income women whose access to birth control, cancer screenings, and other essential health care they receive at Planned Parenthood is now in jeopardy. It is a tremendous blow to women who rely on Medicaid and their ability to see the health care provider of their choosing.
    “Make no mistake: this attack on Planned Parenthood is happening for no other reason than because Republican anti-abortion extremists are foaming at the mouth to shut down access to abortion care any way they can, no matter the consequences.
    “Republicans are full steam ahead on ripping away women’s health care, whether it’s through the courts or through legislation like their Big Ugly Reconciliation Bill seeking to block Planned Parenthood from receiving federal Medicaid funding. The Republican agenda is to force women to stay pregnant no matter what and to make health care more expensive and less accessible for working people. I’ll keep fighting every way I can to defend Planned Parenthood and the health care women across this country depend on.”
    Senator Murray led Congressional Democrats in an amicus brief in March supporting Planned Parenthood and urging the Supreme Court to affirm the Fourth Circuit’s decision that Medicaid beneficiaries have the right to choose among qualified health care providers, including Planned Parenthood. Senator Murray has been a leading voice raising the alarm over Republicans’ efforts to defund Planned Parenthood as part of their reconciliation bill (the One Big Beautiful Bill Act), organizing press conferences and speaking out repeatedly about the widespread harm the provision would cause. The provision to defund Planned Parenthood in Republicans’ legislation would threaten the closure of 200 health centers across the country and rip away care from 1.1 million patients—and cost an estimated $261 million over the next decade.
    Senator Murray is a longtime leader in the fight to protect and expand access to reproductive health care and abortion rights, and she has led Congressional efforts to fight back after the Supreme Court’s disastrous decision overturning Roe v. Wade. Murray has introduced more than a dozen pieces of legislation to protect reproductive rights from further attacks, protect providers, and help ensure women get the care they need; Murray has led efforts to push for passage of these bills on the floor multiple times. Last January, on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, Murray led her colleagues in hosting a “State of Abortion Rights” briefing with women who have suffered firsthand from Republican abortion bans, and last June, she chaired a HELP Committee hearing titled “The Assault on Women’s Freedoms: How Abortion Bans Have Created a Health Care Nightmare Across America.” Recently, Murray helped lead efforts to force Republicans on the record on votes to protect access to contraception and access to IVF (twice), and she led her colleagues in raising the alarm about the threat a second Trump administration poses to reproductive rights and abortion access in every state, as outlined in Project 2025.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Senator Murray Presses Air Force Secretary on Servicemembers’ Access to Child Care, Discrimination Against Women Servicemembers

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Washington State Patty Murray
    ***WATCH: Senator Murray’s exchange with Secretary Meink***
    Washington, D.C. – Today—at a Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee hearing to review the Air Force budget request–Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, questioned Air Force Secretary Troy Meink and Chief of Staff of the Air Force, General David Allvin on the future of tanking missions within the Air Force and at Fairchild Airforce Base in Washington state, the reversal of policies aimed at increasing child care services across the Air Force and the reversal of a policy that allowed women aircrew members to fly during early stages of pregnancy.
    [KC-46As]
    Senator Murray began by asking about the potential of the Fairchild Air Base receiving Boeing KC-46A, the Air Force’s newest aerial refueling tanker produced in Everett, Washington. “Mr. Secretary, as I’m sure you are aware as a former KC-135 navigator yourself, our Air Force currently does not have the refueling capacity it needs to sustain operations in important strategic theaters. Fairchild Air Force Base in my home state of Washington is home to one of the Air Force’s largest air refueling wings, and its proximity to the Arctic and the Indo-Pacific makes it a very key strategic launching point.”
    “Now, the existing KC-46A contract only has a few years remaining. When does the Air Force plan to award the next tanker production contract?” Senator Murray asked.
    “I’ll take for the record and get back to you on the date when we were planning on awarding. But we are, it is definitely a focus of ours. We agree we have to maintain and continue to build out the tanker fleet to maintain the capability, as just demonstrated over the weekend. It’s a critical part of our architecture,” responded Secretary Meink.
    “And you can’t even give me an approximate—within a year, within months, within days?” Senator Murray pressed.
    General Allvin responded, “I would have to yield to the acquisition folks to figure out when that decision is going to be made. We understand that we’re on the cusp of the end of the contract—existing contract 183—for the for the current KC-46. That evaluation is on undergoing. I would say within months, we’ll be able to understand when that date would be—it’s exact date.”
    “All right. And what remains to be done to address the remaining category I deficiencies in the KC-46A contract?” asked Senator Murray.
    “They are working very hard. They’re drawing those down to a few. Obviously, we still have a couple with the remote visualization system. The 2.0 version of that—that should be completed. That’s really the long pole of intent for all of them. That should be done by the fourth quarter of 27’. We also have a crimp drain valve issue that’s being worked. We also have one where they call it the ‘stuck-boom,’ where it can only refuel—there’s one aircraft that can’t refuel, and that’s the A-10. But largely, those are—they keep it from being full capability, but they’re refueling just about everything. Including several of the capabilities that happened last weekend. So, it’s still a capable aircraft, we just need to keep working,” replied General Allvin.
    Senator Murray responded, “Okay, and if you could just stay in touch with my office as you get closer on those details.”
    [CHILD CARE COVERAGE]
    Senator Murray turned her questioning to the Trump Administration’s abrupt changes to policies aimed at recruiting and increasing wages for childcare workers in the Department of Defense’s Child Development Centers (CDC): “Over the past few years, policies to help recruit staff for child development centers on military bases have led to lower wait times, especially in the Air Force. In fact, in 2024, the Air Force wait list dropped below 3,000 children—we worked really hard to get it there, and that was the lowest since the Air Force began tracking it back in 2018. But after Trump’s hiring freeze on civilian employees at DOD, several Air Force Bases have been forced to reduce their child care services, and the child care wait list has now ballooned to over 4,000 kids. That is really unacceptable to me. That would leave our military families—and parents who are putting their lives on the line for our country—really scrambling to find child care. And in many places, CDCs are their only real option for child care.”
    Senator Murray asked, “So, Mr. Secretary, what is the Air Force doing to make up for the CDC staff shortages?”
    “We’re very aware of the issue, Senator. And it is a priority for us to fix, and we are looking at that. Talked about it just yesterday with the team. I think there is a plan to start addressing the shortfall in staffing. General Allvin do you have any more details that?” Secretary Meink turned the question to General Alvin.
    “Thank you, Mr. Secretary. Senator, what I would add to that is—your point is exactly right. We worked very hard, and we got the critical caregivers at the level. During this initial deferred resignation program, we kept all the providers, they were not authorized to go. But some of the back staff, the support staff, was authorized to go. And so, because of that we were we had to close a couple classrooms here and there and reduce that. I believe that is going to be faster to rehire than it would be to get the care provider. So, I think that’s where—” said General Allvin.
    Senator Murray replied, “If you can stay in touch with my office on how you’re progressing, on that—what you’re doing—I would appreciate it.”
    [DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN AIRCREW MEMBERS]
    Senator Murraymoved on to address the reversal of an Air Force policy allowing pregnant aircrew members to fly early in their pregnancy, stripping pregnant aircrew members from moving forward in their careers. “Over the past few months, we’ve seen the Trump administration start to systematically dismantle DOD’s ability to welcome all who wish to serve. And I am particularly concerned about attacks on women servicemembers—from health care to firing senior leadership. And in April, the Air Force suddenly reversed its policy allowing women aircrew members to fly during early stages of pregnancy. That policy aligned with FAA pregnancy guidelines, was widely applauded when it was made in 2022, and then the Trump administration eliminated it without any explanation. That reversal really forces women to choose between advancing their careers and starting their families, and it drastically reduces women’s opportunities to develop expertise in really highly technical roles for our Air Force.” 
    “I want to ask, what data supported the Trump administration’s decision to prohibit women from flying in non-combat environments during early stages?” asked Senator Murray.
    General Allvin responded, “That was an Air Force policy change. So that would be on us in the Air Force. And the difference is that even though you talk about the alignment with FAA, the change was to high-G, high-performance aircraft. That was the change in 2022—to enable them to pursue waivers to fly for those for those high-G and high-performance aircraft. And the idea was to increase readiness. Because increasing readiness, having more opportunities for everyone to fly in those high-performance aircraft. What we did, we looked at the data from 2019 to 2022 and saw how many waivers were being pursued, how many waivers were being granted between that time, and then between 2022 and 2025. So two, three-year periods, and saw no real difference in the amount of time being requested or given for those in high performance aircraft. So, because of that—there was no real increase in waivers from those two periods and the risk was still there. It was an unknown risk that we just reverted to, really closer to what the other services have been.”
    Senator Murray pressed, “Well, that’s not the same as the FAA guidelines. Were there any specific cases or incidences that raised this medical concern?”
    “It was just the lack of increased readiness without the ability to fully understand the risk. And that was not FAA. That was for the high-G, high-performing aircraft. Which the FAA does not really have those guidelines specific to,” General Allvin replied.
    Senator Murray responded, “Well, I just have to say that—what’s a woman supposed to do? Do a pregnancy test before she takes a flight?”
    General Allvin said, “We can give you the full paper. This is not just totally restrictive. It’s more aligned with the other services as well.”
    Senator Murray responded, “Well, I have looked at the policy, and I am concerned. I haven’t seen the data. You have some, give it to me. If there are specific examples, give it to me. But I do not think that we should discriminate against women service members. And I would really ask you to consider reversing this.”
    General Allvin replied, “We’ll provide you all the data behind it.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Hickenlooper Cheers Senate Passage of Bipartisan Colorado River Conservation Bill

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator John Hickenlooper – Colorado
    Program supports Colorado River water users as they explore innovative strategies to conserve water
    Bipartisan bill extends Conservation Pilot Program through 2026
    WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper cheered Senate passage of his bipartisan Colorado River Basin System Conservation Extension Act. The bill extends the System Conservation Pilot Program, which supports voluntary water conservation projects to manage drought on the Colorado River. U.S. Senators John Barrasso, Michael Bennet, Cynthia Lummis, and John Curtis are cosponsors of the bill. Representative Harriet Hageman leads the House version of the bill. 
    The bill now needs to pass the House before it gets signed into law. 
    “We don’t need to sit around waiting for a silver bullet while the Colorado River runs dry,” said Hickenlooper. “It will take every tool at our disposal to keep water flowing to all seven basin states. Voluntary conservation is a big part of that. We’re committed to getting this bill across the finish line.”
    This legislation extends the pilot program through 2026 as Colorado River Basin states, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, and other stakeholders continue discussions on potential long-term water management once current operational rules expire in 2026. The pilot program will help the Upper Basin examine water management strategies that can help water users manage prolonged and severe drought.
    Hickenlooper and Barrasso’s bipartisan Colorado River Basin Conservation Act,which reauthorized the System Conservation Pilot Program through 2024, was signed into law in the Fiscal Year 2023 omnibus government funding bill. In 2023, the System Conservation Pilot Program received $125 million, made possible by the Inflation Reduction Act, to enable the Bureau of Reclamation, in partnership with the Upper Colorado River Commission, to implement the System Conservation Pilot Program.
    The Bureau of Reclamation’s authorization to spend SCPP funds expired in December 2024. In 2024, the Colorado River Basin System Conservation Extension Act passed the Senate, but stalled in the House. Funding for the program must be renewed in 2025 for it to continue. 
    As governor, Hickenlooper helped negotiate the 2019 Colorado River Basin Drought Contingency Plan, which helped protect critical levels at Lake Powell and Lake Mead and ensured continued compliance with the 1922 Colorado River Compact. 
    Full text of the bill is available HERE.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: ICE executes federal search warrant at Buckeye Fire Equipment Company

    Source: US Immigration and Customs Enforcement

    KINGS MOUNTAIN, N.C. — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations special agents, in collaboration with federal, state and local law enforcement partners, executed a federal search warrant at Buckeye Fire Equipment Company June 25 as part of an active, ongoing criminal investigation. This operation specifically focused on serious allegations of aggravated identity theft and potential federal crimes.

    As a result of the initial investigation, 30 people were arrested onsite.

    “This operation underscores HSI’s unwavering commitment to protecting the integrity of our nation’s financial and identification systems. Identity fraud is not a victimless crime — it fuels a range of criminal activity and puts innocent people at risk,” said HSI Charlotte Special Agent in Charge Cardell T. Morant, who also oversees North and South Carolina. “Working alongside our law enforcement partners, HSI will continue to pursue those who exploit these systems for personal gain and hold them accountable under federal law.”

    The following agencies participated in the operation: ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations, the FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, CBP’s Air and Marine Operations, IRS Criminal Investigations, the Social Security Administration’s Office of Inspector General, the North Carolina National Guard, the DEA, the ATF, King’s Mountain Police, the Gaston County Sheriff’s Department and the Gaston County Police Department.

    If you or someone you know has information related to financial crimes, contact law enforcement using the online tip form. Your cooperation is vital in helping protect vulnerable individuals and ensuring accountability.

    For more information about HSI’s work, follow us on X at @HSI_Charlotte.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Cantwell Announces Plan to Introduce Bill Authorizing Trade Agreement Negotiations With the Middle East

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Washington Maria Cantwell

    06.26.25

    Cantwell Announces Plan to Introduce Bill Authorizing Trade Agreement Negotiations With the Middle East

    ‘I believe we need more diplomatic solutions for the region, and I think trade could be a part of that,’ says Cantwell during Washington (DC) International Trade Association roundtable; Under bill from top Dem on the Commerce Committee, partner countries would need to join the Abraham Accords, support nuclear nonproliferation, and coordinate export controls

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and senior member of the Senate Finance Committee, announced a plan to introduce legislation to authorize the administration to pursue negotiations of a trade agreement with the Middle East during a roundtable forum hosted by the Washington International Trade Association (WITA). The agreement would be focused on the information communications technology supply chain.

    “This week, obviously, the U.S. engaged in strikes on Iran to prevent it from developing a nuclear weapon, and the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas remains tenuous.

    “I believe we need more diplomatic solutions for the region, and I think trade could be a part of that,” Sen. Cantwell said.

    “Many countries in the Middle East want to diversify their economies and are interested in developing artificial intelligence. I will be introducing legislation to authorize the negotiations of a Middle East trade agreement, an agreement focused on information communication technology. It was built upon what Senators McCain and Baucus introduced 22 years ago to create a Middle East trade preference program in support of the U.S.-Middle East free trade area. I happened to travel to that area with them to talk about this.

    “The legislation that I’m considering would have requirements that partner countries join the Abraham Accords, normalize diplomatic relations with Israel, support reconstruction of Gaza, join in the efforts to support nuclear nonproliferation, and coordinate strong export controls.

    “I think these are the approaches that we should be taking in alliance-building.”

    Sen. Cantwell announced the details of her proposed legislation during a WITA-hosted forum at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, D.C., alongside former U.S. Trade Representatives Carla Hills (served under President George H.W. Bush) and Susan Schwab (served under President George W. Bush). Nasim Fussell, VP of Trade and International Policy at Business Roundtable, served as moderator.

    Video of the hourlong roundtable is HERE; a transcript of Sen. Cantwell’s opening remarks is HERE.

    Sen. Cantwell is a longtime champion of free trade and opening up new global markets. In April, she introduced the bipartisan Trade Review Act of 2025 to reaffirm Congress’ key role in setting and approving U.S. trade policy, and reestablish limits on the president’s ability to impose unilateral tariffs. Her bill has since picked up 12 additional cosponsors – an equal mix of Republicans and Democrats – and been endorsed by multiple major U.S. business organizations, including the National Retail Federation, which is the largest retail trade association in the world. House members also introduced a bipartisan companion bill, which is also cosponsored by an equal number of Republicans and Democrats.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: VIDEO: Capito Commends Air Force and Space Force Leaders on Successful Iran Strikes

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for West Virginia Shelley Moore Capito

    [embedded content]

    Click here or on the image above to watch Senator Capito’s questions. 

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, questioned Secretary of the U.S. Air Force Troy Meink, Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force, General David Allvin, and Chief of Space Operations, General B. Chance Saltzman during a hearing to review the president’s budget request for Fiscal Year 2026 for the U.S. Air Force and Space Force. 

    HIGHLIGHTS:

    ON AIR NATIONAL GUARD UNITS IN WEST VIRGINIA:

    SENATOR CAPITO: “We do have some great units [in West Virginia], Airlift Wings, the 130th and the 167th that have been called on numerous times throughout my years of service [in Congress]. I’m very grateful to them and for the role that they play.” 

    ON THE SUCCESSFUL STRIKES IN IRAN: 

    SENATOR CAPITO: “General Caine just gave a press conference right before we came and really methodically worked through the preparation and the talent that we needed to do that. I want to give you a chance to give your version…on where you see that and what kind of training was necessary.” 

    GENERAL ALLVIN: “Every one of those people, every one of those airmen that was a part of that mission, they may not have fully understood the geostrategic impact it had, but they knew that was their job to do and they knew that the mission depended on them…So what this was was a fantastic success…Military primacy does not happen overnight. This is one of those where we’re so proud of all the work we put in ahead of time. And this manifestation is another demonstration that the Air Force makes the ridiculously complex look routine, but that doesn’t come without effort. Thank you for letting me expound on that.” 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Bipartisan Leadership Statement on Member Security

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

    Bipartisan Leadership Statement on Member Security

    Washington, June 26, 2025

    WASHINGTON — Today, Speaker Mike Johnson and Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries released the following joint statement:

    “We had a very productive meeting and recognize the urgency of acting quickly, decisively, and in a bipartisan manner to ensure the safety and security of all Members and their families.

    “Chairman Bryan Steil and Ranking Member Joe Morelle of the Committee on House Administration will convene immediately with the leadership of the relevant committees of jurisdiction to aggressively chart the path forward and implement change.”

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Highway Speed Cameras leave roadways after pilot program completed in Spokane, Skagit counties

    Source: Washington State News 2

    OLYMPIA – A pilot program to encourage drivers to slow down concludes this week as two Highway Speed Cameras leave Interstate 90 and I-5 after more than two months on the roadway.

    The cameras gathered speed data and generated courtesy notices, not fines, which were mailed to the registered owners of vehicles that were photographed driving over the speed limit.

    Earlier this week, cameras in eastern and western Washington were picked up from the following locations:

    • Southbound I-5 between Cook and Bow Hill roads in Skagit County.
    • Eastbound I-90 near Liberty Lake between the Liberty Lake and State Line interchanges in Spokane County.

    Since the safety program’s start on April 10, more than 16,000 notices were mailed encouraging drivers to reduce speeds. As required by the Legislature, the letters also shared information about the cost of a potential speeding ticket.

    A safety tool

    The Washington State Department of Transportation partnered with the Washington Traffic Safety Commission and Washington State Patrol for the program. The goal is to reduce the number of crashes by encouraging drivers to slow down. 

    In 2024, 728 people were killed on Washington roadways. While that number dropped slightly from 2023, it’s still far above pre-pandemic averages. 

    The cameras identified several instances of excessive speeds, with 277 notices for vehicles averaging 100 mph or more through the three-mile monitoring areas. On state highways alone, there were 368 fatal or serious injury collisions in 2024 where speeding was cited as a factor, and that does not include local roadway crashes. 

    Last year speeding was a factor in 34% of fatal crashes, according to the Washington Traffic Safety Commission. 

    “When you drive at safe speeds, you’re protecting families, neighbors and the people working to maintain our roads,” said Washington Traffic Safety Commission Program Manager Dr. Janine Koffel. 

    The program was paid for with $1 million from the Legislature. People can learn more about the cameras at an online open house and share feedback. WSDOT will now analyze the data from the cameras, review public feedback and report back to the Legislature. A preliminary report will be ready in early July and a final report this fall.

    Work Zone Speed Camera Program

    The Highway Speed Camera program differs from the Work Zone Speed Camera Program, which continues enforcement in active road construction work zones throughout the state. The Work Zone Speed Camera Program uses mobile cameras that rotate to various road construction zones around the state, capturing images of speeding vehicles. 

    Three cameras are currently rotating through multiple construction zones. Six cameras are expected to be operating later this summer. Currently, the first Work Zone Speed Camera infraction is $0, but beginning in July 2026, the Legislature increased that to $125. The second and subsequent infractions are and will remain $248.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Essex County Man Charged in Bank Fraud Conspiracy

    Source: US FBI

    NEWARK, N.J. – An Essex County resident was charged for his role in a bank fraud conspiracy, United States Attorney Alina Habba announced.

    Isiah J. Jordan, 27, is charged by criminal complaint with one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and one count of bank fraud. He made his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Leda Dunn Wettre and was released on $100,000 bond.     

    According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:          

    Jordan was part of a multi-person scheme to steal checks from the mail and deposit those checks into bank accounts controlled by his co-conspirators. For example, in June 2023, Company-1 mailed out a business check for over $50,000. That check was stolen and altered by Jordan and his co-conspirators such that the payee information on the original check was changed so that the check could be deposited into an account controlled by the conspirators. Then in July 2023, after the stolen check cleared, Jordan and his co-conspirators withdrew the money from the account and split the proceeds.   

    Jordan and his coconspirators then continued to actively recruit other members to participate in and join the conspiracy. Specifically, they recruited individuals who had long-standing bank accounts to continue the scheme of depositing stolen checks and withdrawing the funds before the bank or the victims whose checks were stolen were aware of the illegal activity. 

    The bank fraud conspiracy and the bank fraud charges both carry a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a maximum fine of $1,000,000.      

    U.S. Attorney Habba credited special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Stefanie Roddy in Newark, and the New Jersey State Police, under the direction of Colonel Patrick J. Callahan, with the investigation. 

    The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Casey S. Smith of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division and Thomas S. Kearney of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Special Prosecutions Division in Newark.

    The charges and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

                                                               ###     

    Defense counsel: John Yauch, New Jersey    

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI: Stifel Reports May 2025 Operating Data

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    ST. LOUIS, June 26, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE: SF) today reported selected operating results for May 31, 2025, in an effort to provide timely information to investors on certain key performance metrics. Due to the limited nature of this data, a consistent correlation to earnings should not be assumed.

    Ronald J. Kruszewski, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said, “In May, recruiting and market appreciation drove a 3% increase in total client assets and a 4% increase in fee-based assets. Client money market and insured product levels decreased less than 1% during the month primarily due to lower Smart Rate balances as Sweep balances experienced a slight decline. Investment banking activity was negatively impacted by increased market volatility in April, but we have seen momentum increase and our pipelines build throughout the quarter as markets have stabilized. As a result, we anticipate investment banking revenue in the quarter to be down approximately 10% from the second quarter of 2024 but we remain cautiously optimistic for the full year 2025.”

    Selected Operating Data (Unaudited)
      As of   % Change
    (millions) 5/31/2025 5/31/2024 4/30/2025   5/31/2024 4/30/2025
    Total client assets $501,357 $465,959 $485,551   8% 3%
    Fee-based client assets $199,078 $176,461 $190,545   13% 4%
    Private Client Group fee-based client assets $173,557 $154,544 $166,029   12% 5%
    Bank loans, net (includes loans held for sale) $21,204 $19,822 $21,536   7% (2)%
    Client money market and insured product (1) $25,827 $26,230 $26,073   (2)% (1)%

    (1) Includes Sweep deposits, Smart Rate deposits, Third-party Bank Sweep Program, and Other Sweep cash.

    Company Information

    Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE: SF) is a financial services holding company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, that conducts its banking, securities, and financial services business through several wholly owned subsidiaries. Stifel’s broker-dealer clients are served in the United States through Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated, including its Eaton Partners and Miller Buckfire business divisions; Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Inc.; and Stifel Independent Advisors, LLC; in Canada through Stifel Nicolaus Canada Inc.; and in the United Kingdom and Europe through Stifel Nicolaus Europe Limited. The Company’s broker-dealer affiliates provide securities brokerage, investment banking, trading, investment advisory, and related financial services to individual investors, professional money managers, businesses, and municipalities. Stifel Bank and Stifel Bank & Trust offer a full range of consumer and commercial lending solutions. Stifel Trust Company, N.A., and Stifel Trust Company Delaware, N.A., offer trust and related services. To learn more about Stifel, please visit the Company’s website at www.stifel.com. For global disclosures, please visit www.stifel.com/investor-relations/press-releases.

    Media Contact: Neil Shapiro (212) 271-3447 | Investor Contact: Joel Jeffrey (212) 271- 3610 | www.stifel.com/investor-relations

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Trupanion to Host 2025 Annual Investor Day on September 17

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    SEATTLE, June 26, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Trupanion, Inc. (Nasdaq: TRUP), a leader in medical insurance for cats and dogs, will host its Annual Investor Day on Wednesday, September 17, 2025. This annual event is designed to be the best opportunity for Trupanion shareholders and guests to understand Trupanion’s achievements and challenges over the past year and its strategic vision going forward.

    Management remarks are expected to commence shortly after 9:00 am Pacific Time. The event will feature presentations and extensive Q&A with the teams responsible for leading the execution of the Company’s strategic growth plan.

    Registration can be found here or on the events portion of Trupanion’s investor relations website found here.

    About Trupanion

    Trupanion is a leader in medical insurance for cats and dogs throughout the United States, Canada, and certain countries in Continental Europe with over 1,000,000 pets currently enrolled. For over two decades, Trupanion has given pet owners peace of mind so they can focus on their pet’s recovery, not financial stress. Trupanion is committed to providing pet parents with the highest value in pet medical insurance with unlimited payouts for the life of their pets. With its patented process, Trupanion is the only North American provider with the technology to pay veterinarians directly in seconds at the time of checkout. Trupanion is listed on NASDAQ under the symbol “TRUP”. The company was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in Seattle, WA. Trupanion policies are issued, in the United States, by its wholly owned insurance entity American Pet Insurance Company and, in Canada, by Accelerant Insurance Company of Canada or GPIC Insurance Company. Policies are sold and administered in Canada by Canada Pet Health Insurance Services, Inc. dba Trupanion 309-1277 Lynn Valley Road, North Vancouver, BC V7J 0A2 and in the United States by Trupanion Managers USA, Inc. (CA license No. 0G22803, NPN 9588590). Canada Pet Health Insurance Services, Inc. is a registered damage insurance agency and claims adjuster in Quebec #603927. For more information, please visit trupanion.com.

    Contacts

    Laura Bainbridge, Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications
    Gil Melchior, Director, Investor Relations
    Investor.Relations@trupanion.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Duckworth Introduces Bill to Prevent Trump from Misusing Our Military to Police Their Fellow Americans

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Illinois Tammy Duckworth
    June 26, 2025
    [WASHINGTON, D.C.] – Today, combat Veteran and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) introduced legislation that aims to curb Donald Trump’s egregious misuse of the military in civilian law enforcement capacities and keep our nation’s servicemembers focused on their core mission of protecting and defending Americans from foreign threats abroad. The Military in Law Enforcement Accountability Act would reform gray areas in laws that Trump is exploiting to deploy members of our military to police their fellow Americans, diverting taxpayer dollars and attention away from the military’s core mission and undermining the Administration’s own stated goal to focus our military on warfighting. Along with Duckworth, this legislation is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) and Dick Durbin (D-IL).
    “The unjustified, un-American deployment of our military into our cities is pulling resources and attention away from our Armed Forces’ core missions to the detriment of our national security,” said Senator Duckworth. “This egregious abuse of our military did not start in California—it’s been a plan since Trump’s first day in office. And with every executive order he’s signed to ‘use national security assets for law and order,’ the Administration continues to blur the lines between our military and law enforcement. Enough is enough—my legislation would curb the misuse of our military for civilian law enforcement, help protect and restore public trust in our Armed Forces and preserve Americans’ civil rights.”
    The Trump Administration’s deployment of American servicemembers to California is just the latest in a deliberate, systematic and dangerous politicized campaign to reorient our military away from warfighting and toward intimidating Americans in their own communities. Beginning on his first day in office, Trump signed a series of executive orders redirecting the Defense Department’s priorities toward supporting domestic law enforcement, including one in April that tells the Department to “use national security assets for law and order.” The legislation introduced today would have made it harder for the Trump Administration to argue that it is legal on Title 10 orders for the military to operate in American neighborhoods because they are only in support roles to law enforcement.
    Senator Duckworth’s Military in Law Enforcement Accountability Act would draw a brighter line between the military and civilian law enforcement in the United States by:
    Restricting and Enhancing Oversight over Indirect Military Support to Civilian Law Enforcement: Reforming sections of Title 10 Chapter 15 to prohibit indirect military support to civilian law enforcement except in specific emergency circumstances and requiring Congressional approval for any dedication of military or defense assets for that purpose when it lasts longer than 14 days. This reform limits permissible indirect support to only the following scenarios: humanitarian crises; natural disasters; public health emergencies; attacks on critical infrastructure; nuclear attacks; domestic terrorist incidents and preparations for a major U.S. event, in which the domestic response needs are expected to exceed the capacity of civilian law enforcement.
    Prohibiting Dual-Hat Roles between Defense and Civilian Law Enforcement: Prohibiting individuals from simultaneously holding any position in the Department of Defense and in any civilian law enforcement entity, except if they are members of the Reserves and National Guard and hold law enforcement roles in their civilian capacities only.
    Strengthening Requirements for Self-Identification of Armed Forces or Federal Law Enforcement within the United States: Changing 10 USC 723 to expand the conditions under which members of the Armed Forces or Federal law enforcement are required to visibly display their identifier and name of their organization to include all scenarios involving support to civil authorities, not just under “civil disturbances” only.
    Duckworth joined U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA) and the entire Senate Democratic Caucus in demanding that President Trump immediately withdraw all military forces from Los Angeles and cease all threats to deploy the National Guard or active-duty service members to American cities. And, while questioning the Commandant of the Marine Corps during a hearing this month, Duckworth slammed the Trump Administration’s deployment of 700 Marines into Los Angeles. The Senator said, “I don’t condone violence or property destruction, but using active-duty Marines this way sets a dangerous precedent that risks damaging public trust in our military and politicizing a military force that must remain mission-focused. President Trump is asking Marines to be away from their families for a situation that the President himself said was ‘simmering, but not very much.’”
    -30-

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Recently-Retired Veterans Crisis Line Responder Tells Duckworth How Veterans’ Services Were Hurt by Trump Administration’s Mass Layoffs

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Illinois Tammy Duckworth
    June 26, 2025
    Former VCL responder called the firings of VCL employees a “failure of leadership”
    [WASHINGTON, D.C.] – U.S. Senator and combat Veteran Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) this week questioned a recently-retired Veterans Crisis Line (VCL) responder about her experiences working at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) following the Trump Administration’s wrongful termination of VCL workers as part of their purge of the federal workforce. During the hearing, the former VCL responder shared that the Administration’s mass firings caused delayed services to Veterans, directly contradicting VA Secretary Doug Collins’ repeated claims that the VCL’s services to our nation’s heroes were not affected by the mass layoffs. Video of the Q&A exchange can be found on Duckworth’s YouTube.
    “It was extremely troubling to hear testimony that not only verifies Veterans Crisis Line services were, in fact, delayed by the Administration’s indiscriminate mass firings—but also that VCL employees did not receive proper guidance to ensure services weren’t diminished for our Veterans after the reduction in force,” said Senator Duckworth. “Secretary Collins has been evasive and misleading about the quality of the VCL’s services in the wake of the VA’s layoffs. Let’s be clear: all VCL employees are mission critical. We need to be hiring and training more people to work on the VCL—not firing them and then lying about it.”
    During her questioning, Duckworth explained to the VCL responder how she heard directly from VCL employees who were fired that their supervisors were not aware of their terminations until after they were final. Upon hearing this, the VCL responder replied, “That is a failure of leadership.”
    “To strengthen suicide prevention services for Veterans—especially this critical hotline—Congress needs honest and transparent feedback from VA leadership, including a comprehensive quantitative and qualitative data analysis of VCL performance and operations in the wake of the indiscriminate mass terminations,” continued Senator Duckworth. “We have yet to see this Administration, which claims that addressing Veteran suicide is a top priority, take accountability. The only way to end Veteran suicide is to work together, and I implore Secretary Collins to provide the long-awaited information that Congress needs to do its job and remedy this failure of leadership.”
    Duckworth has repeatedly called out Secretary Collins for denying the Trump Administration inflicted any damage on the VCL. In March, Duckworth led her fellow Democratic colleagues in demanding answers from President Donald Trump and VA Secretary Collins on their indiscriminate purge of VA workers, including VCL staff. The group of lawmakers called on Trump and Secretary Collins to immediately outline how many Veterans and VA employees have been fired since the start of this Administration and to tell the truth about how the VCL has been impacted by these terminations.
    In April, Duckworth slammed a senior official from the VA after he failed to publicly commit to rehiring VCL workers who were wrongfully fired in Trump-Musk layoffs. After the first VA purge laid off workers with the VCL—including several Veterans—Duckworth successfully pushed the Trump Administration to reinstate these devoted public servants that work to support our Veterans in their darkest moments.
    Last month, Duckworth introduced the Protecting Veterans in Crisis Act to help safeguard the VCL for the brave Veterans who depend on it by increasing transparency and strengthening Congress’s oversight of this lifeline.
    Additionally, Duckworth and U.S. Senator Andy Kim (D-NJ) are leading the push for the Protect Veteran Jobs Act, legislation that would reinstate the thousands of Veterans who were fired in the Trump-Musk layoffs. Duckworth and Kim subsequently introduced their legislation as an amendment to Republicans’ slush fund continuing resolution. Republicans shamefully blocked it from passing.
    -30-

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Rep. Gabe Vasquez Statement on Vote Against H.R. 875

    Source: US Representative Gabe Vasquez’s (NM-02)

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – On June 26, 2025, U.S. Representative Gabe Vasquez (NM-02) issued the following statement on his vote against H.R. 875, the Protect Our Communities From DUI Act.

    “I have and will continue to support effective, bipartisan ways to secure our border,” said Vasquez. “But I will not support stunts that undermine our democracy. Today, American citizens are being wrongly deported, and this bill will lead to the haphazard deportation of more legal residents and citizens, workers, and parents across this country.”

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Feenstra Votes to Deport Illegal Immigrants Convicted of Driving while Drunk

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

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra (R-Hull) voted for, and the U.S. House of Representatives passed, the Jeremy and Angel Seay and Sergeant Brandon Mendoza Protect Our Communities from DUIs Act to bar illegal immigrants from entering the United States if they have committed or been convicted of a drunk driving offense and makes a DUI a deportable offense.

    “According to the Iowa Department of Public Safety, 35% of Iowa’s fatal car accidents involved an impaired driver in 2022,” said Rep. Feenstra. “It’s why I voted to deport illegal immigrants convicted of driving while drunk so that we keep our kids, law enforcement officers, and communities safe. Back in 2016, the illegal immigrant who killed 21-year-old Iowan, Sarah Root, was driving drunk, and should have never been in our country. Drunk driving is already a serious issue that claims too many lives; there is no need to exacerbate the situation.”

    In January, President Trump signed the Laken Riley Act into law, which includes Feenstra’s bill – Sarah’s Law – to detain without bail and punish illegal immigrants who harm or kill American citizens.

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Rep. Mann Commends President Trump’s Effort to Secure Peace Through Strength

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Tracey Mann (Kansas, 1)

    [embedded content]

    CLICK HERE to download Rep. Mann’s remarks.

    CLICK HERE to watch Rep. Mann’s remarks on YouTube.

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Representative Tracey Mann (KS-01) took to the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives to commend President Trump’s efforts in maintaining peace through strength in the Middle East. Over the weekend, President Trump and the U.S. military successfully conducted targeted strikes against Iran’s nuclear enrichment facilities while keeping the safety of Americans and U.S. troops at the forefront of the mission. President Trump successfully brokered a ceasefire between Iran and Israel in the days following the strikes.

    Rep. Mann’s Remarks as Prepared:

    Mr. Speaker, thanks to the leadership of President Trump, America and the world are safer today than we were a week ago. Iran, the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism, is no longer on the verge of obtaining a nuclear weapon and now they have agreed to a ceasefire with Israel. President Trump is fulfilling his campaign promise to make America safe again. Promises made, promises kept.

    Americans want peace through strength, and that is what President Trump is committed to. For far too long, administrations in Washington, D.C. have created red lines that were crossed without consequence, agreed to deals with Iran that the regime disregarded, and concerned themselves more with appeasement than protecting American interests. President Trump took a different approach.

    For months, President Trump has urged Iran to make a deal. He has been clear—there is no world where Iran, whose leadership chants, “Death to America, Death to Israel,” will be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon. Ever. That is not up for debate. President Trump is restoring America’s leadership

    on the world stage and fighting tirelessly to keep Americans safe both at home and abroad.

    This past week, President Trump showed that he is not willing to let America be strung along or taken advantage of. After Iran refused to accept a deal and continued to wreak havoc in the region through its proxy organizations, President Trump carried out targeted, strategic strikes to prevent the pending threat of Iran’s nuclear enrichment program. He was also clear: attacks on U.S. forces will not be tolerated, and there will be grave consequences for such action. That is what leadership looks like, and I applaud President Trump for putting America first.

    Audrey and I are grateful that our brave servicemen and women were not harmed in the strikes and continue to pray for the safety of our troops and Americans in the region. The world is safer today because of President Trump, and we pray that the Lord would continue to give him wisdom and discernment as he leads our nation and continues to work on bringing down tensions in the Middle East. God bless President Trump, God bless our troops, and God bless America.

    ###

     

    For more information about Representative Mann, visit: www.mann.house.gov.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Brownley Statement on Procedural Vote to Table Impeachment Motion

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Julia Brownley (D-CA)

    Washington, DC – Today, Congresswoman Julia Brownley (D-CA) issued the following statement on the vote to table the impeachment motion against President Donald Trump.

    “I have voted to impeach President Donald Trump two times, and each time, the reasoning behind those decisions was grounded in facts, flagrant breaches of public trust, and this President’s repeated refusal to uphold the Constitution and the will of the American people. I am steadfast in my belief that Donald Trump remains a clear and present danger to our democracy and must be held fully accountable for his actions.

    “This week’s resolution was introduced abruptly and only allowed for less than an hour between its introduction and the vote, leaving no room for sufficient discourse and failing to meet the scrupulous standards that have been set for impeachment proceedings. My vote — along with that of House Democratic leadership, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee Jamie Raskin, and the majority of my Democratic colleagues — was not a vote on whether to impeach Donald Trump, but rather, a procedural vote to table a hastily filed resolution that lacked the careful consideration such a serious matter demands. 

    “I remain more committed than ever to defending the integrity of our democratic institutions and to delivering real accountability, not through performative gestures, but through meaningful and effective actions.”

    ###

    Issues: 119th Congress

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Dr. Bruce T. Liang Reappointed Dean of UConn School of Medicine

    Source: US State of Connecticut

    The University of Connecticut has reappointed Dr. Bruce T. Liang to a third five-year term as dean of its UConn School of Medicine, effective July 1, 2025.

    Liang has served in this UConn leadership role since 2015, in addition to serving UConn Health and his heart patients as a cardiovascular physician-scientist at the Pat and Jim Calhoun Cardiology Center of UConn Health.

    Dean Liang speaking with UConn Provost Anne D’Alleva on April 23 at the launch event for the ‘Because of UConn’ Campaign, the largest in University history. (Peter Morenus/UConn Photo)

    “His continued leadership reflects the strong foundation he has built and the significant progress achieved over the past decade,” shared UConn Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Anne D’Alleva in her announcement.

    Liang is applauded for leading the School of Medicine through a period of meaningful growth and advancement. During his last five-year term alone, he oversaw the full implementation of the MDelta curriculum, which has enriched the educational experience for students and improved outcomes. The School has also expanded its class size, exceeding the initial targets set by Bioscience Connecticut, a state investment launched in 2011 to position Connecticut as a leader in biomedical research and innovation. In addition, Liang led the development of a Science Strategy Plan aligned with the University’s priorities, recruited exceptional faculty, and helped drive an increase in NIH funding. In fact, under Liang’s leadership the medical school has received record-breaking research grant funding of over $100 million year after year. Plus, collaborative partnerships with Jackson Laboratories and Connecticut Children’s have deepened, further elevating the School’s research profile.

    UConn’s medical school proudly remains the top contributor to Connecticut’s health care workforce, with many graduates staying in the state to practice. Its Graduate Medical Education programs have robustly grown and now rank in the top 10% nationally. The School is also a significant producer of many new scientists and public health experts.

    Dr. Bruce T. Liang delivering his 2025 Commencement address to the graduating medical students in the Class of 2025. (Thomas Hurlbut Photography)

    Liang has also strengthened community service programs, securing major grants, supporting the Urban Service Track, Area Health Education Center, Health Career Opportunity Programs, and Office of Multicultural and Community Affairs, as well as expanding care access through clinics serving immigrants in the state.

    During his past term as dean, Liang also served as Interim CEO of UConn Health, for more than two years, guiding the institution through a key leadership transition with professionalism, growth, integrity, and a clear commitment to the university’s mission.

    “Please join me in congratulating Dr. Liang on his reappointment and thanking him for his continued service to UConn Health and the University of Connecticut,” said D’Alleva.

    “Thank you to the Provost, the University of Connecticut, and UConn Health for once again entrusting me to take our amazing medical school and its people, along with their innovative medicine, medical education, and research to even greater pinnacles,” said Liang. “It makes me so proud to be reappointed to serve as your dean for a third time— and to be a UConn Husky.”

    Liang is an internationally recognized cardiologist and researcher and national leader in academic medicine. He has been consistently named one of America’s Top Doctors and Best Doctors in America for cardiovascular disease care. His cutting-edge translational research contributions have advanced scientific knowledge about heart disease. His latest research investigations have developed a new potential medication for advanced heart failure patients. His research has been continuously funded since 1986 by the NIH, the American Heart Association, and the U.S. Department of Defense.

    Dr. Liang applauding the research poster of a public health student trainee at UConn School of Medicine. (Photo by Tharun Palla/Public Health Sciences)

    In addition to serving as the longtime dean of UConn School of Medicine, he is the Ray Neag Distinguished Professor of Cardiovascular Biology and Medicine. Before joining the UConn Health faculty in 2002, for 13 years he served the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine as associate professor of medicine and pharmacology. Liang received his bachelor’s degree from Harvard in biochemistry and molecular biology and his medical degree from Harvard Medical College. He completed his internal medicine internship and residency training at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and cardiology fellowship training at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

    He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), American College of Cardiology, and the American Heart Association, and is an elected member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation, the Association of University Cardiologists, the Council on Clinical Cardiology and Basic Cardiovascular Sciences, and the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering.

    MIL OSI USA News –