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  • MIL-OSI USA: Remarks by President Trump at Executive Order Signing

    US Senate News:

    Source: The White House
    For Immediate Release                            January 24, 2025
    REMARKS BY PRESIDENT TRUMP
    AT EXECUTIVE ORDER SIGNING
    Oval Office
    (January 23, 2025)
    3:10 P.M. EST
         THE PRESIDENT:  Hello, everybody.
         Q    Hello, sir.
         THE PRESIDENT:  You all set?  Okay.  Very good.
         I’m going to sign some executive orders.  They were very important in just about every case.  And we’ll go through the first one, please. 
         MR. SCHARF:  Sure.  Do you want to —
         MR. SACKS:  Yeah.  Mr. President, this is an executive order on crypto.  We’re going to be —
         MR. SCHARF:  That’s AI.  Sorry.
         MR. SACKS:  Oh, sorry.  We’re doing AI first.  Sorry.
         MR. SCHARF:  Yeah, AI.
         MR. SACKS:  Sir, this is an executive order on AI.  We’re forming — we’re — we’re basically announcing the administration’s policy to make America the — the world capital in artificial intelligence and to dominate and to lead the world in AI. 
         THE PRESIDENT:  Do you want to say your name — your full name and serial number?
         MR. SACKS:  Yeah, David Sacks, AI and crypto czar.
         THE PRESIDENT:  David is one of the greatest in the world at AI — most respected, probably, there is. 
         (The executive order is signed.)
         So, that should take us to the forefront, right?
         MR. SACKS:  Absolutely.  We got to win. 
         THE PRESIDENT:  Okay. 
         Thank you. 
         MR. SCHARF:  Thank you, sir.
         THE PRESIDENT:  And this, David, is?
         MR. SCHARF:  Crypto.
         MR. SACKS:  Yeah, this is the crypto EO.  We’re going to be forming a internal working group to make crypto — to make America the world capital on crypto under your leadership.
         THE PRESIDENT:  Which is really going up, right? 
         MR. SACKS:  Absolutely.
         (The executive order is signed.)
         THE PRESIDENT:  All right, David.  That’s for you.  (The president gives Mr. Sacks the signing pen.)  Thanks.
         MR. SACKS:  Thank you, sir.
         THE PRESIDENT:  You find them exciting?  They might not be exciting, but we’re going to make a lot of money for the country.  Okay?
         MR. SACKS:  Thank you, sir.
         THE PRESIDENT:  And so is David.  You have to check him out.  There is nobody like this guy.  They said, “How did you get David Sacks?  How did you do that?”  And he’s — he’s doing it for the country more than anything else.  So, we appreciate it, David.  Thank you very much.
         MR. SACKS:  Thank you, sir.
         MR. SCHARF:  This is an executive order establishing a presidential commission — an advisory commission on science and technology.
         THE PRESIDENT:  Good.
         (The executive order is signed.)
         Do you want to explain that a little bit?
         MR. SCHARF:  The basic idea is to get together top people from government to private-sector technology industry, as well as educational institutions, to make sure that America maintains its leadership position with respect to science and technology development in the years ahead.
         THE PRESIDENT:  Good.  That’s great.
         MR. SCHARF:  Next, sir, we have a presidential memorandum encouraging departments and agencies in your government, including the Department of the Interior, to promote federal recognition of the Lumbee Tribe of —
         THE PRESIDENT:  Ohh.
         MR. SCHARF:  — North Carolina.
         THE PRESIDENT:  I love the Lumbee Tribe.  So, this is their first big step, right?
         MR. SCHARF:  This would be a huge step for them, sir.
         THE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.  They were with me all the way.  They were great — North Carolina Lumbee Tribe.
         (The presidential memorandum is signed.)
         And we’ll send — you’ll send them a copy of that?
         MR. SCHARF:  Yes, sir.
         THE PRESIDENT:  They were great. 
         Okay?
         MR. SCHARF:  And, if you’d like, I could get them that pen, sir, as well.
         THE PRESIDENT:  Yeah, let’s do that.  (The president gives Mr. Scharf the signing pen.)
         MR. SCHARF:  Next, we have a set of pardons for peaceful pro-life protestors who were prosecuted by the Biden administration for exercising their First Amendment rights.
         THE PRESIDENT:  Do you know how many?
         MR. SCHARF:  I believe it’s 23, sir.
         THE PRESIDENT:  Twenty-three people that were prosecuted.  They should not have been prosecuted.  Man- of — many of them are — are elderly people.  They should not have been prosecuted.  This is a great honor to sign this.
         (The proclamation is signed.)
         They’ll be very happy.
         MR. SCHARF:  Thank you, sir.
         THE PRESIDENT:  So, they’re all in prison now?
         MR. SCHARF:  Some are.  Some are — are out of custody. 
         THE PRESIDENT:  It’s ridiculous.
         Okay?
         MR. SCHARF:  Lastly, sir, we have an executive order ordering the declassification of files relating to the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Senator Robert F. Kennedy, and the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
         THE PRESIDENT:  That’s a big one, huh?  A lot of people are waiting for this for a long — for years — 
         MR. SCHARF:  Yes, sir.
         THE PRESIDENT:  — for decades.  And everything will be revealed.
         (The executive order is signed.)
         Okay.  Give that to RFK, Jr.  (The president gives Mr. Scharf the signing pen.)
         MR. SCHARF:  Yes, sir.
         THE PRESIDENT:  Okay. 
         Okay.  Thank you very much.
         (Cross-talk.)
         Q    Mr. President — Mr. President, a U.S. judge temporarily blocked the birthright citizenship order.  Do you have any reaction to —
    THE PRESIDENT:  No.  Obviously, we’ll appeal it.  They put it before a certain judge — in Seattle, I guess, right?  And
    there’s no surprises with that judge. 
    Q    Mr. President, Senators Collins and Murkowski have now said they will vote against Pete Hegseth.  Are you worried about his confirmation, and your reaction?
    THE PRESIDENT:  No.  And no surprises there.  It’s too bad.  You know, it’s the way — the way it is.  Too bad. 
    Q    And when would you adjourn Congress to make recess appointments, Mr. President?
    THE PRESIDENT:  Well, I’d take a look at that.  I’d listen to John Thune.  He’s doing a fantastic job.  We’re moving along.  The Democrats are trying to delay government, as they always do.  They can’t help themselves.  Even John Ratcliffe, who’s very, very strong, very popular and liked by the Democrats — I guess, he gets a lot of Democrat votes — that’s taking a long time, and it shouldn’t be taking a long time. 
    They — they’re maxing everything out so they can delay everything as much as possible.
    Q    Does Senator Thune support an effort to use recess appointments if you choose to do that?
    THE PRESIDENT:  I’d be willing to use recess appointments.  It’s up to John.  We’ll see.  John Thune is a great guy, great senator, knows his stuff inside out and backwards.  But I would use recess appointments if he wants to do that.  Absolutely.
         (Cross-talk.)
    The Democrats are just delaying.  They always delay.
    Q    Mr. President, you spoke with the Saudi crown prince yesterday.
    THE PRESIDENT:  Who?
    Q    The Saudi crown prince.
    THE PRESIDENT:  Yes.
    Q    How was the — the call?
    THE PRESIDENT:  Great.  It was great.
    Q    And they said $600 million — billion dollar they can invest?
    THE PRESIDENT:  Six hundred.  I’ll ask them for a trillion. 
    Q    You said you’re going to ask them for a trillion.  Will Saudi Arabia be the first foreign country you will visit, since they’re investing that much money?
    THE PRESIDENT:  Well, if they do that, I would, yeah.
    Q    You would?
    THE PRESIDENT:  I would be glad to do that.  I did it, as you know, four years ago.  We did $450 billion — meaning the money all goes to American companies — and they purchased jets and they purchased computers and everything else.  And we did $450 billion, and I guess we’re at $600, $650.
    (Cross-talk.)
    And I’ll see if I can talk them into a trillion.
    Q    And on the Middle East again.  You showed great confidence in Steve Witkoff.  Why you said that you doubt that the ceasefire in Gaza will — will hold since you appraised his efforts?
    THE PRESIDENT:  Well, no, I think he’s great.  But it’s a very tricky place.  It’s very tricky.  And we’ll see.  And if it — if something does happen, they will not be happy. 
    Q    Sir, follow-up on that one.  In terms of Steve Witkoff, are you going to put him in charge of — of Iran strategy?  And do you want him talking directly with the Iranians?
    THE PRESIDENT:  No, but he — he certainly is somebody I would use.  He’s done a fantastic job.  He’s a great negotiator.  He’s a very good person, great — a very popular person.  Gets along with people.  I have great negotiators.  They — they have no personality whatsoever, and then I have some that do. 
    Steve has a wonderful way about him and people like him.  And even in this case, both sides like him, and he was able to make a deal.  That deal would have never been made without Steve. 
    The Biden people couldn’t make the deal.  They were working on it for a year and a half.  They couldn’t make a deal.  We got it done prior to the inauguration.  We said it has to be before the inauguration. 
    I mean, the deal should hold, but if it doesn’t hold, there’ll be a lot of problems.
    (Cross-talk.)
    Q    Related to your AI EO.  Just hours after you made that big Stargate announcement, Elon Musk tweeted that they don’t actually have the money.  Is that true?
    THE PRESIDENT:  I don’t know if they do, but, you know, they’re putting up the money.  The government is not putting up anything.  They’re putting up money.  They’re very rich people, so I hope they do. 
    And, I mean, Elon doesn’t like one of those people.  So, (inaudible).
    (Cross-talk.)
    Q    Are you worried that AI is going to replace many American jobs? 
    THE PRESIDENT:  No.
    Q    Does that worry you?
    THE PRESIDENT:  No, no.  It’s going to create tremendous numbers of jobs.  It’s going to also create a lot of benefits, medically, for cancer research and other things.  It’s going to have a huge positive impact.
    And, you know, we want to be ahead of China.  We’re, right now, way ahead of China.
    David Sacks is one of the all-time experts.  You know, that — people are amazed that he — you just met him.  I don’t know if he’s still here.
    MR. SACKS:  (Inaudible.)
    THE PRESIDENT:  There he is.
    But — but one of the most respected people in that world.  It’s a world.  That’s a whole different world. 
    And we’re ahead of China now because of what I’m doing, and I think it’s going to be very successful. 
    (Cross-talk.)
    Q    On NATO spending, please.  You just asked the Davos forum again that NATO countries should spend 5 percent of GDP on defense.
    THE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.
    Q    The United States don’t spend 5 percent.
    THE PRESIDENT:  Well, I — I don’t think so, no.
    Q    Do you think it should also apply to the United States?
    THE PRESIDENT:  We’re protecting them, you know?  They’re not protecting us.  We’re protecting them.  So, I don’t think we should be spending — I’m not sure we should be spending anything, but we should certainly be helping them.  But they should — they should up their 2 percent to 5 percent, yeah.
    Q    Mr. President — Mr. President, you said earlier during your speech at Davos that you would like to see interest rates come down.
    THE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.
    Q    How much would you like to see them come down?
    THE PRESIDENT:  A lot.
    Q    And will you talk with Powell?
    THE PRESIDENT:  I’d like to see them come down a lot, and oil prices will come down.  And when oil prices come down, everything is going to be cheaper for the American people — and actually for the world — but for the American people.  So, I’d like to see oil prices come down.
    And when the energy comes down, that’s going to knock out a lot of the inflation.  That’s going to automatically bring the interest rates down. 
    Q    Are you worried that it’s too much going on at once if you’re —
    Q    Mr. President, you said that you would demand —
    Q    Are you worried that there’s too much going on at once if you’re trying to bring interest rates down and —
    THE PRESIDENT:  No, no.
    Q    — get the economy back going?
    THE PRESIDENT:  No.  It just works that way.  I mean, it just economically works that way.  When the oil comes down, it’ll bring down prices, then you won’t have inflation, and then the interest rates will come down.  (Inaudible.)
    (Cross-talk.)
    Q    You said that you would demand that the interest rates come down. 
    THE PRESIDENT:  Well, I would put in —
    Q    Do you expect —
    THE PRESIDENT:  I would put in a strong statement.
    Q    Do you expect the Fed to listen to you?
    THE PRESIDENT:  Yeah. 
    Q    Are you going to talk to Powell about this and — bringing the rates down?
    THE PRESIDENT:  At — at the right time, I would.
    Q    Sir, do you plan to meet with any of the people you pardoned that were — participated in the January 6th, 2021, attack — do you plan to meet with any of them or meet with them at the White House?
    THE PRESIDENT:  I don’t know.  I’m sure that they probably would like to.  I did — I did them something important.  But what they did is they were protesting a crooked election.  And, you know, I mean, people understand that also.  And they were treated very badly.  Nobody’s been treated like that. 
    So, I’d be open to it, certainly.  I — I don’t know of anything like that, but I think they — they’re going to — meeting some of the congresspeople — congressmen, -women —
    Q    Have you spoken to them?
    THE PRESIDENT:  — who want to — want to meet.  But I’d certainly be open to it. 
    Q    Have you spoken to them since you issued the pardons?
    THE PRESIDENT:  I haven’t spoken to any of them yet, but I know they’re very happy. 
    (Cross-talk.)
    I gave them — I gave them their life back.  Their life was taken away from them unnecessarily and unfairly.  I gave them their life back.  So, I can imagine they probably would like to.
    Q    What did you mean when you said that Biden took bad advice in not pardoning himself yesterday? 
    THE PRESIDENT:  Well, he did.  I think he did, because he — he pardoned all these people that are crooked as hell.  Look, the congressmen, they’re crooked.  What they did is they destroyed evidence.  When you destroy evidence, especially criminally like that — they did it criminally. 
    And the reason they destroyed the evidence is because it proved that I was right.  They didn’t destroy evidence for no reason.  They destroyed it because they found many documents saying that I offered 10,000 soldiers.  If they had 500 soldiers or National Guard, there would have been no problem.  If they had 200, that would have been — I offered 10,000, if they needed them — there would have been no problem. 
    That’s been now totally disproven.  And it’s also been disproven by Nancy Pelosi’s daughter, who has her on tape saying it was her fault, that she has full responsibility for this. 
    But — and they have all that stuff.  They destroyed everything, and they go through a year and a half, two years of nonsense, they come up with tremendous evidence, and they destroyed evidence.
    And Schiff knew about it.  That’s why he’s on there.  He knew all about the destruction of evidence.  A lot of people said he’s the one that got them to do it.  And he’s a crooked guy — you know? — totally crooked politician.  And so, he’s pardoned, and some other people are pardoned. 
    And these are crooked politicians, every one of them.  Bennie Johnson [Thompson], what he did is incredible.  I mean, he was the leader of the committee, and he did it.  Cheney, Crying Adam Kinzinger, all of them — they destroyed evidence and deleted everything. 
    There’s nothing with — there’s no evidence now.  They’re crooked politicians, and they should be punished.  You know, that’s — even in a civil trial, you go to jail for a thing like that.  They destroyed every document, from what I understand — every document — because it proved that I was totally innocent. 
    Q    Do you plan to send up to 10,000 troops to the southern border, sir?
    THE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.  Oh, southern border?
    Q    Yes, the border. 
    THE PRESIDENT:  When you say “southern border” — when I said “10,000 troops,” I was referring to the Capitol. 
    Q    Oh, I see.  A- — and when does that —
    THE PRESIDENT:  No, no, you got it wrong.  I was referring — 
    Q    When do you plan —
    THE PRESIDENT:  — to the Cap- — 
    Q    When do you plan to do that?
    THE PRESIDENT:  I offered 10,000 troops to the Capitol before January 6th.
    Q    And as for the 1,500 at the southern border, sir, to clarify, what exactly do you want them to be doing right now?
    THE PRESIDENT:  Making sure that the border is safe and secure and that criminals don’t come into our country.
    Q    Mr. President, do you think that sanctions on Russia will force President Putin to negotiate?
    THE PRESIDENT:  I don’t know, but I think he should make a deal. 
    Q    Mr. President, does it bother you that Elon Musk criticized a deal that you made publicly, that he said — that he tweeted that?
    THE PRESIDENT:  No, it doesn’t.  He hates one of the people in the deal.  So — 
    Q    Have you spoken to him since then?
    THE PRESIDENT:  No, no.  I’ve — well, I’ve spoken Elon but —
    Q    Not about that? 
    THE PRESIDENT:  I’ve spoken to all of them, actually.
    No, no.  The people in the deal are very, very smart people.  But Elon, one of the people he happens to hate.  But I have certain hatreds of people too —
    Q    Sir —
    THE PRESIDENT:  — you know?
    Q    Sir, on China.  What do you think Xi Jinping can do on the Ukraine-Russia war? 
    THE PRESIDENT:  Which one?
    Q    Ukraine-Rus- — -Russia war.  What can Xi Jinping do about that?
    THE PRESIDENT:  China?
    Q    Yeah.
    THE PRESIDENT:  They have a lot of power over Russia.  They supply energy to Russia, and Russia supplies energy to them.  They supply other things to — you know, it — it’s really a very big trade.  It’s a very big trading partner.  But Russia supplies a lot of energy to China, China pays them a lot of money for that, and I think they have a lot of power over Russia.  So, I think Russia should want to make a deal. 
    Maybe they want to make a deal.  I think, from what I hear, Putin would like to see me, and we’ll meet as soon as we can.  I’d — I’d meet immediately.  Every day we don’t meet, soldiers are being killed in a battlefield, and that battl- — battlefield is like no battlefield since World War II.  That’s a —
    Q    You said that U- — Ukraine wants to —
    THE PRESIDENT:  And I have — I have pictures that you don’t want to see.  Soldiers are being killed on a daily basis at numbers that we haven’t seen in decades.  And it would be nice to end that war.  It’s a ridiculous war. 
    Q    You said that Ukraine is ready to make a deal.  Did President Zelenskyy tell you that at — personally?
    THE PRESIDENT:  Yeah, sure.  He’s ready to negotiate a deal.  He’d like to stop.  He’s a — he’s somebody that lost a lot of soldiers, and so did Russia — lost a lot.  I mean, Russia lost more soldiers.  They lost 800,000 soldiers.  Would you say that’s a lot?  I’d say it’s a lot.
    (Cross-talk.)
    Q    Mr. President, you said that you wanted to make Dr. King’s dream a reality.  What’s your response to his children and civil rights leaders who say that your DEI orders are a contradiction of his dream and could further drive racial disparities?
    THE PRESIDENT:  Well, I haven’t heard that. 
    Q    Mr. President, you put the Houthis back on the terror list.  How do you see the war in Yemen end now?
    THE PRESIDENT:  Well, we’ll see what happens, but they can’t shoot down our ships — the Houthis.
    Q    Yes.
    THE PRESIDENT:  And that — you can’t shoot down our ships or any ships, and that’s what they’ve been doing.  So, they’re on the terror list, and —
    Q    Mr. President —
    THE PRESIDENT:  — that’s not good for them.
    Q    Mr. President —
    Q    Sir, why did you revoke security protections for former Secretary of State Mi- — Mike Pompeo and — and Brian Hook?
    THE PRESIDENT:  Well, the same reason I do — when you, you know, have protection, you can’t have it for the rest of your life.  Do you want to have a large detail of people guarding people for the rest of their lives?  I mean, there’s risks to everything. 
    Q    Do you think a former presidents should (inaudible) —
    Q    Sir, would you support striking Iran’s nuclear facilities?
    THE PRESIDENT:  Say it? 
    Q    Would you support Israel, for example, striking Iran’s nuclear facilities?  Or do you — 
    THE PRESIDENT:  Well, I’m not going to answer that.
    Q    — believe in diplomacy?
    THE PRESIDENT:  Obviously, I’m not going to answer that question.  We’ll have to see.  I — I’m going to be meeting with various people over the next couple of days, and we’ll see.  But hopefully that can be worked out without having to worry about it.  It would be nice — it would really be nice if that could be worked out without having to go that further step. 
    Q    And who are you going to meet with, if I — if I may ask?
    THE PRESIDENT:  Well, I’d rather not say that, but very high-level people.  But hopefully that could be worked out. 
    You know, look, Iran, hopefully, will be — make a deal.  And if they don’t make a deal, I guess that’s okay too.
    Q    And, Mr. President, just to follow up, you said you think the Fed should listen to you.  Can you elaborate on why you think it should?
    THE PRESIDENT:  With regard to interest rates?
    Q    Correct, yes.
    THE PRESIDENT:  Because I think I know interest rates much better than they do, and I think I know it certainly much better than the one who’s primarily in charge of making that decision. 
    But, no, I’m guided by them very much, but if I disagree, I will let it be known.
    Q    Mr. President —
    Q    Sir, your tariffs planned for China and Mexico are much tougher — or the ones for Canada and Mexico are much tougher than the one for China.  Why is it softer for China?
    THE PRESIDENT:  Well, China is already paying a lot of tariffs because of me, and when you add them up, I would say, you know, they’re paying a lot.  They paid hundreds of billions of dollars.  They never paid 10 cents until I came along.  When I came along, they pay hundreds of — they’ve paid hundreds of billions of dollars.  Never paid anything.  And so, they’ve already started at a higher base.
    Q    Is February 1st —
    Q    Sir, about the border —
    Q    — the date for Chinese tariffs as well, sir?  February 1?  Or was that just Mexico and Canada?
    THE PRESIDENT:  It’s Mexico and Canada.  But we’ll — we’re talking about China too.  Look, China is sending us tremendous amounts of bad drugs: fentanyl — really bad stuff.  Most of it comes through Mexico.  And we’re losing, I s- — I think, 300,000 lives a year because of that.  People say 150, 100, 120.  I think 300,000 lives a year.  Those are old numbers.  The other — the lower number is a low number.  And we can’t have that.  They’ve got to stop sending it. 
    I had a deal with President Xi, but it was a deal that wasn’t followed up by Biden, of course, where they were going to issue the death penalty to people that make fentanyl, and that would have stopped it.  But we’ll have to stop it with tariffs. 
    Okay?  Thank you very much, everybody. 
    Q    So, is China (inaudible) —
    (Cross-talk.) 
    THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.  Thank you.  Thank you very much.  Appreciate it. 
    Q    Thank you, Mr. President.
    THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you. 
                             END                    3:30 P.M. EST

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: President Trump Announces Appointments to the White House Offices of Communications, Public Liaison, and Cabinet Affairs

    US Senate News:

    Source: The White House
    President Trump announced key appointments to the White House Office of Communications, Public Liaison, and Cabinet Affairs, which will be overseen by Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications and Public Liaison, and Cabinet Secretary Taylor Budowich.
     COMMUNICATIONS 
    President Trump previously announced the appointments of Assistant to the President and White House Communications Director Steven Cheung and Assistant to the President and Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. Today’s announcements include: Alex Pfeiffer will join the White House as a Deputy Assistant to the President and Principal Deputy Communications Director after previously serving as a Communications Adviser for the Trump-Vance 2024 Campaign and Communications Director for MAGA Inc. Pfeiffer previously served as an Investigative and Editorial Producer for Fox News’ Tucker Carlson Tonight. Kaelan Dorr will return to the White House as a Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Communications Director after serving as Senior Strategist and Spokesperson for MAGA Inc. Dorr previously served as Senior Advisor for Public Affairs at the Department of Treasury, Congressional Communications Director and Strategic Communications Advisor in the Executive Office of the President in the Trump Administration, Global Head of Marketing and Engagement for GETTR, Vice President of Communications for America First Policy Institute, and Chief Marketing Officer for Donald J. Trump for President. Harrison Fields will return to the White House as Special Assistant to the President and Principal Deputy Press Secretary, having previously served as Assistant Press Secretary in the Trump Administration. Fields has also served as Senior Advisor to Congressman Byron Donalds and Assistant Director of Media and Public Relations at The Heritage Foundation. Anna Kelly will join the White House as a Deputy Press Secretary after serving as National Press Secretary for the Republican National Committee. Previously, Kelly was Communications Director for Congressman Derrick Van Orden, Michels for Governor, and the Republican Party of Wisconsin. Kush Desai will serve as a Deputy Press Secretary after serving as Deputy Battleground States & Pennsylvania Communications Director at the Republican National Committee. Desai also served as Deputy Communications Director for the 2024 Republican National Convention and Communications Director for the Republican Party of Iowa. Ian Kelley will join the White House as Special Assistant to the President and War Room Director after serving as War Room Director for the Trump-Vance 2024 Campaign. Previously, Ian worked as Rapid Response Manager for the social media platform GETTR. Dylan Johnson will join the White House as Special Assistant to the President and Assistant Communications Director for Special Projects after serving as a Deputy Director of Communications for the Trump-Vance 2024 Campaign. Johnson previously served as the Campaign Manager for the Greitens for U.S. Senate campaign and was an Executive Producer for Just The News. Sonny Joy Nelson will join the White House as Special Assistant to the President and Media Affairs Director, after serving as Director of Media Affairs and Surrogates for the Trump-Vance 2024 Campaign. Previously, Nelson served as Director of Media Affairs for the social media platform GETTR, Booking Producer for Real America’s Voice, Director of Media Affairs for the Republican National Committee, and Associate Director of Strategic Communications for Donald J. Trump for President, Inc. Dan Boyle will join the White House as the White House Director of Research after serving as a Research Consultant on the Trump-Vance 2024 Campaign, and previously as Director of Research for MAGA Inc. Boyle previously served as the Research Director for Citizens United and as a Research Analyst for the Government Accountability Institute. Johanna Persing will join the White House as Cabinet Communications Director after playing an integral role in the Trump-Vance 2024 campaign’s surrogate operation, including leading the media booking operation at the 2024 Republican Convention in Milwaukee.  Persing previously served as the Deputy Communications Director for the Republican National Committee and as Communications Director for Congressman Ryan Costello. Charyssa Parent will join the White House as Congressional Communications Director after serving as the Communications Director for Senator Roger Marshall. Parent previously served as the Deputy Director of Communications for the House Republican Conference and as the Director of Broadcast Media for the Republican National Committee. Jacki Kotkiewicz will join the White House as Policy Communications Director after working as a Vice President at Argus Insight. Kotkiewicz previously served as the Director of Policy Research at the Republican National Committee and was a Research Analyst on the Trump 2020 campaign. Jake Schneider will join the White House as Rapid Response Director after serving as Rapid Response Director for the Trump-Vance Campaign. Schneider previously served as the Deputy Director of Rapid Response for the 2020 Trump campaign and as Communications Director and Press Secretary for Congresswoman Michelle Fischbach. 
    OFFICE OF PUBLIC LIAISON Jim Goyer will return to the White House as Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of the Office of Public Liaison. Goyer served President Donald J. Trump in his first Administration as Special Assistant to the President and Deputy Director of the Office of Public Liaison. Goyer previously served as Political Coordinator at the National Republican Senatorial Committee. Goyer is joining from Goldman Sachs, where he served as an Associate of Asset and Wealth Management.
    Lynne Patton will serve as Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of Minority Outreach, where she will be charged with ensuring that President Trump continues to build upon his historic Election Day support from Blacks, Latinos and Women.  Patton served as Senior Advisor on the Trump Campaign and has been one of the Trump family’s longest serving and most trusted aides.  Prior to joining the Trump campaign, Patton was the Regional Administrator for Federal Region II at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and Senior Advisor to Secretary Ben Carson.  At HUD, Lynne worked tirelessly to bring accountability, reform and results to some of the most challenging housing issues facing our country.  From championing the rights of underserved communities to exposing corruption and mismanagement within public housing systems, Lynne consistently fought for fairness and opportunity, earning her the bipartisan respect of industry peers and local elected officials alike.  Lynne’s deep connection to the issues affecting minority communities combined with her remarkable interpersonal skills, makes her the ideal person to lead this critical outreach effort.  She holds a B.S. from the University of Miami and attended Quinnipiac University, School of Law.  Brette Powell will return to the White House as Special Assistant to the President and Deputy Director of the Office of Public Liaison, having previously served for three years in the White House Management Office and the Advance Office in the Trump Administration. Powell previously served the President for four years through his Save America PAC and the Trump-Vance 2024 campaign as the Director of Strategic Political Stakeholder Engagement. Hailey Borden will return to the White House as Special Assistant to the President and Director of Business Outreach in the Office of Public Liaison, having previously served as Associate Director of the Office of Public Liaison in the Trump Administration. Borden previously was Director of Coalitions and Member Services on the House Committee on Small Business and is currently the Director of Business Coalitions for House Majority Whip Tom Emmer. Alex Flemister will return to the White House as Director of Strategic Initiatives in the Office of Public Liaison, having previously served as Associate Director in the Office of Public Liaison in the Trump Administration. Flemister previously worked for Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders on her campaign as Advisor and Director of Operations and worked in her official governor’s office as the Director of Office Appointments. Flemister is currently the Founder and President of The Flemister Group. CABINET AFFAIRS Lea Bardon will join the White House as a Special Assistant to the President and Director of Cabinet Affairs. Bardon previously served as Director of Development Operations at the America First Policy Institute. Bardon also served on President Trump’s reelection campaign in 2020 and as Executive Roundtable Manager at the Republican Attorneys General Association. Thomas Bradbury will join the White House as Associate Director for Policy. Bradbury is currently the Director of Advocacy and Policy at American Conservative Union (CPAC). Cami Connor will return to the White House as Associate Director for Agency Outreach, having previously served as Associate Director of Agency Outreach in the first Trump Administration. Connor currently serves on the Government Operations team at The Boeing Company.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA News: Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Directs Administration to Advance Lumbee Tribe Recognition

    Source: The White House

    DIRECTING PLAN FOR RECOGNITION OF LARGEST TRIBE EAST OF MISSISSIPPI RIVER: Today, President Donald J. Trump signed a Presidential Memorandum to the Secretary of the Interior to submit a plan to advance full federal recognition of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina.

    • The memorandum establishes that it is the policy of the United States to support federal recognition and full tribal benefits for the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina.
    • It directs the Secretary of the Interior to submit a plan to assist the Lumbee Tribe in obtaining full federal recognition through legislation or other available mechanisms, including the right to receive full federal benefits.  

    FULL FEDERAL RECOGNITION IS LONG OVERDUE:The Lumbee have long been recognized at the state and federal level, but further federal action is required for full federal recognition and the accompanying benefits and protections.

    • The State of North Carolina recognized the Lumbee Tribe in 1885, and in 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the 1956 Lumbee Act, which recognized the Lumbee but denied them some federal benefits.
    • Tribes can gain federal recognition by: (1) Act of Congress; (2) the Department of the Interior’s Office of Federal Acknowledgement process; or (3) federal court decision.
      • President Trump’s memorandum directs the Secretary of the Interior to analyze these legal pathways for advancing Lumbee recognition.
    • Federal recognition grants tribes’ certain governmental autonomy, land protections, and access to federal programs and services, like health care through the Indian Health Service.

    DELIVERING ON PROMISE TO SUPPORT RECOGNITION: President Trump promised to support federal recognition of the Lumbee Tribe.

    On September 23, 2024, President Trump stated: “Today, I’m officially announcing that, if I am elected in November, I will sign legislation granting the great Lumbee Tribe federal recognition that it deserves.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA News: Fact Sheet: Executive Order to Establish United States Leadership in Digital Financial Technology

    Source: The White House

    ENSURING U.S. LEADERSHIP IN DIGITAL FINANCIAL TECHNOLOGY: Today, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order to establish regulatory clarity for digital financial technology and secure America’s position as the world’s leader in the digital asset economy, driving innovation and economic opportunity for all Americans.

    • The Executive Order establishes the Presidential Working Group on Digital Asset Markets to strengthen U.S. leadership in digital finance.
      • The Working Group will be tasked with developing a Federal regulatory framework governing digital assets, including stablecoins, and evaluating the creation of a strategic national digital assets stockpile.
      • The Working Group will be chaired by the White House AI & Crypto Czar and include the Secretary of the Treasury, the Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the heads of other relevant departments and agencies.
      • The White House AI & Crypto Czar will engage leading experts in digital assets and digital markets to ensure that the actions of the Working Group are informed by expertise beyond the Federal Government.
    • The Executive Order directs departments and agencies with identifying and making recommendations to the Working Group on any regulations and other agency actions affecting the digital assets sector that should be rescinded or modified.
    • The Executive Order prohibits agencies from undertaking any action to establish, issue, or promote central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).
    • The Executive Order revokes the previous Administration’s Digital Assets Executive Order and the Treasury Department’s Framework for International Engagement on Digital Assets which suppressed innovation and undermined U.S. economic liberty and global leadership in digital finance.

    ELIMINATING REGULATORY OVERREACH ON DIGITAL ASSETS AND PROTECTING AMERICAN ECONOMIC LIBERTY: President Trump is fulfilling his promise to make the United States the “crypto capital of the planet.”

    • President Trump will help make the United States the center of digital financial technology innovation by halting aggressive enforcement actions and regulatory overreach that have stifled crypto innovation under previous administrations.
    • President Trump’s policy vision marks an unprecedented step towards welcoming in a new era for digital financial technology; one in which President Trump’s administration will work towards ensuring innovation thrives, regulatory frameworks are clear, and economic liberty is protected.
    • The growth of digital financial technology in America must remain unhindered by restrictive regulations or unnecessary government interference.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA News: Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Launches PCAST to Restore American Leadership in Science and Technology

    Source: The White House

    RENEWING AMERICAN LEADERSHIP IN CRITICAL AND EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES: Today, President Donald J. Trump announced the establishment of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) to spearhead American innovation and competitiveness in critical and emerging technologies.

    • PCAST will include up to 24 members, with representation from leading American scientists and technologists from industry, academia, and government.
    • The Assistant to the President for Science and Technology and the White House A.I. and Crypto Czar will co-chair PCAST.
    • PCAST will provide advice and evidence-based recommendations to the President to ensure that policies are informed by the latest scientific discoveries and technological advancements.
    • This council will champion bold investments in innovation, the elimination of bureaucratic barriers, and actions to help the United States remain the world’s premier hub for scientific and technological breakthroughs.

    FOCUSING SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY ON EXCELLENCE: President Trump is refocusing science and technology policy to emphasize results-driven excellence and merit-based achievement.

    • The United States must leverage its pioneering spirit to lead in transformative science and technology, reshaping industries and securing the nation’s leadership.
    • The pursuit of scientific truth is under threat from ideological agendas that prioritize group identity over individual merit, enforce conformity at the expense of innovative ideas, and inject politics into the heart of the scientific method.
    • These threats have not only distorted truth, but have eroded public trust, undermined the integrity of research, stifled innovation, and weakened America’s competitive edge.
    • PCAST will restore excellence by bringing together the brightest minds from academia, industry, and government to prioritize measurable results, foster innovation, and dismantle barriers to scientific progress.

    BUILDING ON SIGNIFICANT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY ACCOMPLISHMENTS: President Trump’s first administration laid a strong foundation for American technological leadership.

    • Launching national initiatives to drive innovation in critical technologies, including the American AI Initiative and the National Quantum Initiative, which prioritized research, strategic investments, and workforce development in transformative fields.
    • Advancing emerging technologies by crafting regulatory and non-regulatory frameworks for areas such as autonomous driving systems, unmanned aerial systems, and biotechnology, ensuring a balanced approach to innovation and safety.
    • Accelerating groundbreaking research and collaboration through initiatives like the National AI Research Resource, spectrum auctions to unlock valuable frequencies for 5G and innovation, and investments in world-leading supercomputing systems.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA News: Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Takes Action to Enhance America’s AI Leadership

    Source: The White House

    REMOVING BARRIERS TO AMERICAN AI INNOVATION: Today, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order eliminating harmful Biden Administration AI policies and enhancing America’s global AI dominance.

    • President Trump is fulfilling his promise to revoke Joe Biden’s dangerous Executive Order that hinders AI innovation and imposes onerous and unnecessary government control over the development of AI.
    • The Biden AI Executive Order established unnecessarily burdensome requirements for companies developing and deploying AI that would stifle private sector innovation and threaten American technological leadership.
    • Today’s executive order:
      • Revokes the Biden AI Executive Order which hampered the private sector’s ability to innovate in AI by imposing government control over AI development and deployment.
      • Calls for departments and agencies to revise or rescind all policies, directives, regulations, orders, and other actions taken under the Biden AI order that are inconsistent with enhancing America’s leadership in AI.

    ENHANCING AMERICA’S AI LEADERSHIP: The United States must act decisively to retain leadership in AI and enhance our economic and national security.

    • This Executive Order establishes the commitment of the United States to sustain and enhance America’s dominance in AI to promote human flourishing, economic competitiveness, and national security.
    • American development of AI systems must be free from ideological bias or engineered social agendas. With the right government policies, the United States can solidify its position as the leader in AI and secure a brighter future for all Americans.
      • The order directs the development of an AI Action Plan to sustain and enhance America’s AI dominance, led by the Assistant to the President for Science & Technology, the White House AI & Crypto Czar, and the National Security Advisor.
      • It further directs the White House to revise and reissue OMB AI memoranda to departments and agencies on the Federal Government’s acquisition and governance of AI to ensure that harmful barriers to America’s AI leadership are eliminated.

    CONTINUING PRIORITIZATION OF AI: President Trump has made American leadership in AI a priority and is now building on his actions during his first administration.

    • President Trump signed the first-ever Executive Order on AI in 2019 recognizing the paramount importance of American AI leadership to the economic and national security of the United States.
    • President Trump also took executive action in 2020 to establish the first-ever guidance for Federal agency adoption of AI to more effectively deliver services to the American people and foster public trust in this critical technology.
    • Today’s Executive Order builds upon these past successes and clears a path for the United States to act decisively to retain leadership in AI, rooted in free speech and human flourishing.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Gloucester County Man Sentenced to Six Years in Prison for Drug Conspiracy and Firearms Offenses

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    NEWARK, N.J. – A Gloucester County, New Jersey, man was sentenced to 72 months in prison for narcotics trafficking and firearms offenses, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.

    Javier Osorio, 44, of Deptford, New Jersey, was convicted on July 19, 2023, of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute heroin and cocaine, possession with the intent to distribute heroin, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon following a trial before U.S. District Judge Brian R. Martinotti, who imposed the sentence on Oct. 29, 2024, in Newark federal court.

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

    Osorio conspired with others to distribute cocaine and over one kilogram of heroin, which was recovered from his apartment. Osorio was arrested while driving with his conspirators from New Jersey to Brooklyn to sell an additional quantity of heroin, which was recovered from the vehicle. In addition to the drugs recovered from his apartment, law enforcement also recovered a loaded stolen firearm from under Osorio’s mattress.

    In addition to the prison term, Judge Martinotti sentenced Osorio to three years of supervised release.

    U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger credited special agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Cheryl Ortiz, with the investigation leading to the conviction. He also thanked the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Esther Suarez.

    The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney George L. Brandley of the Office’s Health Care Fraud Unit in Newark, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kendall Randolph of the Office’s Organized Crime/Gangs Unit in Newark.

    This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/ocdetf.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: East Helena man sentenced to more than 11 years in prison for trafficking fentanyl, methamphetamine

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    GREAT FALLS — An East Helena man who trafficked thousands of fentanyl pills and pounds of methamphetamine while also possessing firearms was sentenced on Oct. 29 to 11 years and four months in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said today.

    The defendant, Thomas Anthony Conley, 37, pleaded guilty in June to possession with intent to distribute meth and fentanyl.

    Chief U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris presided.

    “Thousands of fentanyl pills, pounds and pounds of meth, and multiple guns. A majority of the cases we prosecute include those elements, and I’m pleased to say virtually all of our cases result in federal prison sentences. This case is no different, and we will continue to aggressively prosecute dangerous drug traffickers with the goal that they have the same fate as Conley,” U.S. Attorney Laslovich said.

    In court documents, the government alleged that Conley possessed multiple firearms and was responsible for importing more than 20,000 fentanyl pills and dozens of pounds of meth into the state. In March and April 2023, law enforcement learned from sources that Conley was supplying meth and fentanyl in the Helena area. The investigation led to search warrants for Conley’s home and vehicles. Officers located several firearms and ammunition in one of his vehicles along with more than 17,000 fentanyl pills. Conley admitted he had worked with others to traffic large quantities of fentanyl pills and several dozen pounds of meth into Montana in the preceding months.

    The U.S. Attorney’s Office prosecuted the case. The Missouri River Drug Task Force, Southwest Drug Task Force, Montana Highway Patrol and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives conducted the investigation.

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

    XXX

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: New Jersey Man Convicted for Stealing COVID-19 Unemployment Benefits

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    TRENTON N.J. – A New York man was convicted for conspiring to illegally obtain over $570,000 in COVID-19 unemployment benefits, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced today.

    Jose Tavares, 37, of Englewood, New Jersey, was convicted on Oct. 28, 2024, on one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Tavares was convicted after a five-day jury trial before U.S. District Judge Robert Kirsch in Trenton federal court.

    Tavares’ conspirators, Yanira Abreu, 43, of Keasby, New Jersey, and Christopher Valerio, 34, of Perth Amboy, New Jersey, have each previously pleaded guilty and were sentenced by Judge Kirsch in the same scheme. 

    According to documents filed in this case:

    From July 2020 through February 2021, Tavares, Valerio, Abreu and others submitted fraudulent applications for unemployment insurance benefits to the New York Department of Labor (NYDOL) through fictitious online profiles that they created using personally identifiable information, including names, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers, of other individuals without their consent. Once the NYDOL processed and approved the fraudulent applications, Tavares and his conspirators obtained debit cards with illegally obtained funds totaling over $570,000, which they used for personal gain, including vacations, luxury retail purchases, and cosmetic surgery. 

    The wire fraud charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000, or twice the gross gain to the defendant or gross loss to the victim, whichever is greatest. Sentencing is scheduled for March 4, 2025.

    U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of Homeland Security Investigations Newark, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Spiros Karabinas; special agents of the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, Northeast Region, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Mellone, and postal inspectors of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Christopher A. Nielsen, Philadelphia Division, with the investigation leading to the verdict.

    The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew Stark and Benjamin D. Bleiberg of the Economic Crimes Unit in Newark.

    The District of New Jersey COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Strike Force is one of five strike forces established throughout the United States by the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate and prosecute COVID-19 fraud. The strike forces focus on large-scale, multi-state pandemic relief fraud perpetrated by criminal organizations and transnational actors. The strike forces are interagency law enforcement efforts, using prosecutor-led and data analyst-driven teams designed to identify and bring to justice those who stole pandemic relief funds. 

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

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Red Deer — Red Deer RCMP Crime Reduction Team arrest male and search residence

    Source: Royal Canadian Mounted Police

    On July 19, 2024, the Red Deer RCMP Crime Reduction Team (CRT) arrested and charged one individual following an investigation into a stolen vehicle.

    On July 19, 2024, Red Deer RCMP CRT were conducting patrols in the city when they located a motorcycle known to police to be stolen. CRT observed the driver of the stolen motorbike remove their helmet, at which time police were able to identify the individual as they are known to police. The individual ran away, dropping a backpack and cellphone. After a brief foot chase, police arrested the individual and seized the dropped items. As a result of the investigation, CRT obtained a search warrant for the suspect’s residence.

    At approximately 1:30 a.m., on July 20, 2024, Red Deer RCMP CRT, with the assistance of Red Deer RCMP General Investigation Section (GIS), Traffic Services, and Police Dog Services (PDS) executed a search warrant at a residence in the Waskasoo neighbourhood. As a result of the search, police seized two rifles, ammunition, multiple ID cards in various names, credit cards and fake ID cards.

    A 34-year-old individual, a resident of Red Deer, has been charged with 16 offences, including the following:

    • 6 various criminal weapons offences (possession of weapon contrary to order, unsafe storage of firearm, possession of firearm knowing unauthorized, possession of restricted firearm without licence)
    • Illegal possession or trafficking in government documents
    • Possession of property obtained by crime x4
    • Possess break-in instruments
    • Operation of a motor vehicle while impaired
    • Drive carelessly
    • Drive uninsured motor vehicle on highway

    Following a judicial interim release hearing, the individual was remanded in custody to appear in court at the Alberta Court of Justice in Red Deer with a next scheduled appearance was on Sept. 25, 2024.

    Red Deer RCMP Crime Reduction Team is committed to public safety and reducing crime in Red Deer through intelligence-led policing and proactive enforcement.

    If you have information regarding this event or any other suspicious or illegal activity within the City of Red Deer, please contact Red Deer RCMP at 403-406-2200. If you wish to remain anonymous, you can contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), online at www.P3Tips.com or by using the “P3 Tips” app available through the Apple App or Google Play Store. To report crime online, or for access to RCMP news and information, download the Alberta RCMP app through Apple or Google Play.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Labour’s first budget plugs £40 billion spending gap – experts react

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Linda Yueh, Fellow in Economics/Adjunct Professor of Economics, University of Oxford

    For the first time in 14 years, it was a Labour chancellor who delivered the UK budget. And for the first time ever, that chancellor was a woman. But Rachel Reeves faces an almighty task: plugging a £40 billion spending gap in the knowledge that pre-election promises not to raise the main taxes are still fresh in people’s memories.

    Growth was the buzzword of the election campaign – Reeves now had to lay her cards on the table. So here’s what our panel of experts made of the plans:

    More challenges for employers and small businesses

    Shampa Roy-Mukherjee, Associate Professor in Economics, University of East London

    The budget introduces £40 billion in tax hikes and, in some areas, spending cuts that will put pressure on the economy and business in particular. But it also reflects the government’s focus on economic growth, with policies intended to stabilise finances while addressing some of the concerns of small businesses.

    The chancellor has retained her commitment to preserve the rates of income tax, employee national insurance and VAT. But a notable change is the increase in employers’ national insurance contributions (NICs) from 13.8% to 15%.

    There was also a reduction in the secondary threshold, which is the amount at which the employer starts paying NI on each employee, from £9,100 to £5,000. Altogether this will raise £25 billion annually but will significantly impact many businesses that will now face higher wage bills.

    The national living wage is also rising by 6.7% to £12.21 per hour in April 2025, boosting incomes for about three million workers but again increasing costs for many businesses. These rising taxes and wage increases, alongside incoming employment regulations, will strain businesses, particularly in sectors with high labour demands.

    To offset some of these pressures, the employment allowance, which allows some smaller employers to reduce their NICs, has been raised from £5,000 to £10,500. The chancellor said that over 1 million employers will not see their NICs bill rise as a result.

    Small businesses in retail, hospitality and leisure, where profits have been hit as consumers struggle with the cost of living, will benefit from a 40% business rate relief on properties up to £110,000. Other supportive measures include a continued freeze on fuel duty, which will aid logistics and transport costs. Corporation tax remains fixed at 25%.

    A downpayment on growth – but probably not quickly

    Linda Yueh, Adjunct Professor of Economics, University of Oxford

    The chancellor declared that the government will “invest, invest, invest”. This is an important enabler of economic growth.

    But, the country’s creditors need reassuring, so Reeves also announced two new fiscal rules that aim to achieve that balance of allowing the government to borrow to invest (and generate growth), but not to pay for day-to-day spending.

    Specifically, the investment rule permits borrowing to invest and the stability rule requires day-to-day spending to be paid for by taxes. Both rules support the government’s growth aims while trying to reassure the country’s creditors that the borrowing will pay off by generating future growth – and also higher tax receipts with which to repay that borrowing.

    But spending watchdog the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has downgraded the UK’s GDP growth outlook from 2% to 1.8% in 2026, and to 1.5% in 2027 and 2028. The OBR’s forecast of slower growth highlights the impact of the £40 billion of tax increases, which dampens economic activity.

    This underscores the government’s challenge of investing to grow while at the same having to raise taxes to balance the books when it comes to its daily spending. In particular, the OBR’s assessment of slowing growth towards the middle of this parliament raises questions about how long it will take for the investment-fuelled growth to materialise.

    It may be that five years is still too short a period. Many physical investments require planning and those reforms could also take a while. Moreover, getting investment projects under way requires scoping, and private investors will want time to assess before joining the government in energy projects.

    But this budget is certainly a start on a much-needed growth strategy.

    Good news on public investment – emerging industries could benefit

    Phil Tomlinson, Professor of Industrial Strategy, University of Bath

    The key budget change related to the chancellor’s fiscal rules. By redefining how public debt is calculated, Reeves has been able to increase public investment by around £100 billion. The new fiscal rules have gone not as far as some economists have advocated – but they are a welcome step in the right direction.

    Investment was the core focus of the budget. For decades, the UK has suffered from low investment and weak productivity compared to other leading economies. Since 1990, the UK’s investment gap with the average across rich countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has been around £35 billion a year – the UK now ranks 28th of 31 OECD countries on business investment. British workers are using outdated kit and so are less productive. This has meant a stagnant economy and lower living standards.

    So, the budget’s plans to boost investment in the UK’s crumbling infrastructure and public services and to support the new industrial strategy are a positive move. The latter should see additional funding to support emerging tech industries, such as artificial intelligence, cyber and clean energy. And this public investment should “crowd in” additional private investment.

    Clean energy boost?
    StudioFI/Shutterstock

    In the long run, these investments should pay for themselves. For instance, the Office for Budget Responsibility estimates that a sustained increase in public investment of 1% of GDP increases that GDP by 0.5% after five years and more than 2% after ten to 15 years.

    The rise in employer national insurance contributions will increase business’s operating costs, especially those in the care and hospitality sectors. But paradoxically, in the long run, it may encourage some businesses (in sectors where it is feasible) to invest in new labour-saving capital equipment.



    Read more:
    Rachel Reeves is the UK’s first female chancellor. Here’s why that’s so significant

    More reaction to be published soon.

    Karen Bloor receives funding from the NIHR policy research programme to conduct responsive analysis for the Department of Health and Social Care,

    Phil Tomlinson receives funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) for Made Smarter Innovation: Centre for People-Led Digitalisation.

    Rachel Scarfe is a member of the Labour Party.

    Jonquil Lowe, Linda Yueh, and Shampa Roy-Mukherjee do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Labour’s first budget plugs £40 billion spending gap – experts react – https://theconversation.com/labours-first-budget-plugs-40-billion-spending-gap-experts-react-242509

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Video: UK Prime Minister’s Questions with British Sign Language (BSL) – 30 October 2024

    Source: United Kingdom UK Parliament (video statements)

    Prime Minister’s Question Time, also referred to as PMQs, takes place every Wednesday the House of Commons sits. It gives MPs the chance to put questions to the Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer MP, or a nominated minister.

    In most cases, the session starts with a routine ‘open question’ from an MP about the Prime Minister’s engagements. MPs can then ask supplementary questions on any subject, often one of current political significance.

    The Leader of the Opposition, Rishi Sunak MP, asks six questions and the leader of the second largest opposition party asks two. If another minister takes the place of the Prime Minister, opposition parties will usually nominate a shadow minister to ask the questions.

    Want to find out more about what’s happening in the House of Commons this week? Follow the House of Commons on:

    X/Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/HouseofCommons
    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ukhouseofcommons
    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ukhouseofcommons`

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

    MIL OSI Video –

  • MIL-OSI Video: UK Prime Minister’s Questions – 30 October 2024

    Source: United Kingdom UK Parliament (video statements)

    Watch Prime Minister’s Questions with BSL: https://youtu.be/lhbxI_qSyPQ

    Prime Minister’s Question Time, also referred to as PMQs, takes place every Wednesday the House of Commons sits. It gives MPs the chance to put questions to the Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer MP, or a nominated minister.

    In most cases, the session starts with a routine ‘open question’ from an MP about the Prime Minister’s engagements. MPs can then ask supplementary questions on any subject, often one of current political significance.

    The Leader of the Opposition, Rishi Sunak MP, asks six questions and the leader of the second largest opposition party asks two. If another minister takes the place of the Prime Minister, opposition parties will usually nominate a shadow minister to ask the questions.

    Want to find out more about what’s happening in the House of Commons this week? Follow the House of Commons on:

    X/Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/HouseofCommons
    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ukhouseofcommons
    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ukhouseofcommons

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHeGSsNli9U

    MIL OSI Video –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Sir Mark Walport reappointed as the Royal Society’s Trustee of the British Museum

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    The Secretary of State for Culture Media and Sport has reappointed Sir Mark Walport as the Royal Society Nominated Trustee for the British Museum for a four year term from 01 December 2024 to 30 November 2028.

    Sir Mark Walport

    Appointed from 01 December 2024 to 30 November 2028.

    Professor Sir Mark Walport is Vice President and Foreign Secretary of the Royal Society, Chair of the Kennedy Memorial Trust, and Trustee of the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation. He is the recently retired founding Chief Executive of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), which is responsible for the public funding of research and innovation.

    He was previously the Government Chief Scientific Adviser (GCSA) and Head of the Government Office for Science from 2013 to 2017. Before these, he was Director of the Wellcome Trust, Professor of Medicine and Head of the Division of Medicine at Imperial College London, and Founder Fellow and first Registrar of the Academy of Medical Sciences.

    Mark received a knighthood in the 2009 New Year Honours List for services to medical research and was elected a Fellow of The Royal Society in 2011 and an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 2017.

    Remuneration and Governance Code

    Trustees of the British Museum are not remunerated. This appointment has been made in accordance with the Cabinet Office’s Governance Code on Public Appointments. The appointments process is regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments. Under the Code, any significant political activity undertaken by an appointee in the last five years must be declared. This is defined as including holding office, public speaking, making a recordable donation, or candidature for election. Sir Mark Walport has not declared any significant political activity.

    Updates to this page

    Published 30 October 2024

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Sugemalimab approved to treat adult patients with non-small cell lung cancer     

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has today, 30 October, approved the medicine sugemalimab (Eqjubi) to treat adult patients with a type of lung cancer called ‘non-small cell lung cancer’. 

    Non-small cell lung cancer is the most common form of lung cancer, accounting for around 80 to 85 out of 100 cases. It can be one of three types: squamous cell carcinoma, adenocarcinoma or large-cell carcinoma. 

    Sugemalimab is a monoclonal antibody (a type of protein designed to recognise and attach to a specific target in the body). It works by attaching to the target called programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1). Cancer cells with PD-L1 may switch off some cells of the immune system. By blocking PD-1, sugemalimab stops the cancer switching off immune cells and increases the immune system’s ability to kill cancer cells.  

     Julian Beach, MHRA Interim Executive Director of Healthcare Quality and Access, said:

    Enabling safe access to high quality, safe and effective medicines is a key priority for us. 

    We’re assured that the appropriate regulatory standards of safety, quality and effectiveness for the approval of this new formulation have been met. 

    As with all products, we will keep its safety under close review.

    Sugemalimab is given to the patient in a hospital or clinic under the supervision of an experienced doctor. The patient’s doctor will give them sugemalimab through an infusion (drip) into a vein over 60 minutes every 3 weeks.  

    Clinical trials showed that sugemalimab in combination with platinum-based chemotherapy was more effective than placebo (a dummy treatment) in patients with Stage 4 metastatic lung cancer. The main measure of effectiveness was survival without worsening (progression) of the cancer. Patients who had sugemalimab treatment lived on average 9.0 months without the disease getting worse, compared with 4.9 months for patients who did not receive sugemalimab.  

    During clinical studies, common side effects included a decreased number of red blood cells that carry oxygen around your body, increased blood levels of liver enzymes, sugar, triglycerides, and cholesterol, decreased blood levels of calcium, potassium, sodium and thyroid hormone, increased levels of protein in the urine, and numbness, tingling or decreased sensation in part of the body. 

    As with any medicine, the MHRA will keep the safety and effectiveness of sugemalimab under close review.  Anyone who suspects they are having a side effect from this medicine are encouraged to talk to their doctor, pharmacist or nurse and report it directly to the Yellow Card scheme, either through the website (https://yellowcard.mhra.gov.uk/) or by searching the Google Play or Apple App stores for MHRA Yellow Card.    

    Notes to editors    

    • The new marketing authorisation was granted on 30 October 2024 to CStone Pharmaceuticals  

    • This product was submitted and approved via a National procedure.  

    • More information can be found in the Summary of Product Characteristics and Patient Information leaflets which will be published on the MHRA Products website within 7 days of approval.  

    • The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is responsible for regulating all medicines and medical devices in the UK by ensuring they work and are acceptably safe.  All our work is underpinned by robust and fact-based judgements to ensure that the benefits justify any risks.  

    • The MHRA is an executive agency of the Department of Health and Social Care.  

    • For media enquiries, please contact the newscentre@mhra.gov.uk, or call on 020 3080 7651.

    Updates to this page

    Published 30 October 2024

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Congressman Krishnamoorthi Testifies Before Senate Judiciary Committee on the Role PBMs Play in Driving Prescription Drug Costs and Independent Pharmacy Closings

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi (8th District of Illinois)

    CHICAGO – Today, Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary during a field hearing in Chicago on lowering prescription drug costs for Americans. Chaired by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin (D-IL), the hearing included several members of the Illinois Congressional Delegation along with state and local leaders discussing how stronger industry oversight, fairer market competition, and increased cooperation between the government and health care sector can make prescription drugs more affordable for patients. During his testimony, Congressman Krishnamoorthi highlighted how Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) act as middlemen between patients and drug companies, driving up prices and squeezing out local and independent pharmacies.

    “Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) are raising drug costs for Americans and shutting down countless independent pharmacies,” Congressman Krishnamoorthi said. “The egregious business practices of PBMs harm patients and make it more difficult for our constituents to access the medications they need. I will continue to do everything in my power to pass much-needed PBM reform legislation. I want to thank Senator Durbin for his leadership in holding today’s hearing and all my colleagues who participated for their shared commitment to lowering prescription drug costs for all Americans.”

    In recent years, PBMs have tightened their grip on the prescription drug market, positioning themselves as middlemen between drug companies and patients. This position allows them to negotiate drug prices that maximize their profits and drive up medication costs for Americans. PBMs also undermine local and independent pharmacies by imposing clawbacks and direct and indirect remuneration (DIR) fees, specifically targeting the roughly 20 percent of pharmacies not owned by a PBM. These practices have left 73 percent of Illinois counties in a pharmacy desert, forcing patients to travel farther for essential medication. In 2024 alone, over 2,000 local and independent pharmacies across the U.S. have closed due to these pressures. 

    Congressman Krishnamoorthi has been a leader in fighting against PBMs during his time in Congress, including introducing the bipartisan Pharmacist Audit and Compensation Transparency (PhACT) Act this month that would direct the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to investigate PBMs and make recommendations to increase transparency and fairness that benefit patients. Congressman Krishnamoorthi has also introduced several other bipartisan pieces of legislation aimed at reigning in the power of PBMs, such as the PBM Sunshine and Accountability Act and the Neighborhood Options for Patients Buying Medicines (NO PBMs) Act. Both of these bills would establish new public reporting requirements and increase transparency into how PBMs set prices.

    The Congressman’s full testimony is available here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Rep. Roy issues statement on SCOTUS ruling on noncitizen voting

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Chip Roy (R-TX)

    Washington, D.C. – Representative Chip Roy (TX-21) issued the following statement after Wednesday’s Supreme Court ruling:

    “The Supreme Court order today allowing Virginia to remove 1500 non-citizen voters from its rolls was the only defensible position — despite the Biden-Harris administration objections and 3 leftist justices opposing. But it shouldn’t even be an issue. The Republican House passed my legislation — the SAVE Act, H.R. 8281 — in July to require proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections and ensure states protect their voter rolls through Election Day.”

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Remarks of Commissioner Summer K. Mersinger at ISDA’s Annual Legal Forum

    Source: US Commodity Futures Trading Commission

    Good morning and thank you to ISDA for inviting me to join today’s conference.  It is an honor to speak to all of you this morning.  Before I begin, I need to provide my standard disclaimer:  The views I express are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views of my fellow commissioners, of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC” or “Commission”), or of the United States Government.

    As the fall weather begins to set in, the days become shorter and colder, and the leaves change colors, it is a time to reflect on how far we have come throughout the year and to prepare for where we must go as winter and the new year approach.  In that vein, I want to speak today about enforcement and a few ideas for improvement.

    Expressing Dissent

    Over the past few weeks, I have had several opportunities to speak with professionals from a variety of industries on numerous topics.  While I always value these discussions, I was surprised by how many times people asked me:  “Are you enjoying the job?”  Usually, I am quick to answer, “Of course I enjoy the job.”  The work we do at the CFTC is interesting, impactful, and important.  I am constantly learning, and there is never a dull day.

    I started to wonder, though, if there was a reason people were frequently asking me this question.  Maybe it was my body language; maybe I was not smiling enough; or maybe I have spent too much time with my teenage daughters and have adopted their surly demeanor.  But then it occurred to me—maybe they read my recent dissenting statements.  I have issued quite a few dissenting statements in the past few weeks[1], and I guess you could say I sounded a little frustrated, maybe even disgruntled.

    Well, I am here to tell you that despite my dissenting statements, I do enjoy my job, and I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to serve as a commissioner at the CFTC—even on Friday afternoons when multiple enforcement matters appear in my inbox, and I realize that the shortest memo is a mere hundred plus pages long.

    I read every page of every document upon which I am asked to vote.  As one of five Presidentially-nominated and Senate-confirmed commissioners, I believe that it is my responsibility to do so because my fellow commissioners and I are the ones ultimately accountable for the charges we bring, the cases we settle, and the results of the CFTC’s enforcement program—and for balancing enforcement with all the other critical daily functions performed by the agency.

    As was wisely stated in the 51st Federalist Paper, “If men were angels, no government would be necessary.”[2]  And we all know that men (and women) are not angels.  Thus, government—including its enforcement function—is necessary.  Vigorous enforcement is a vital part of carrying out the CFTC’s mission.

    I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge the agency’s enforcement team and reaffirm my commitment to a robust enforcement program.  I am proud of the tireless work of the CFTC’s Division of Enforcement (“DOE”), whose experienced and conscientious attorneys, investigators, and other staff members are dedicated to identifying, prosecuting, and sanctioning those who violate the Commodity Exchange Act (“CEA”) and the CFTC’s rules.  But, like everything we do in life, we should look for opportunities to improve.

    Chasing Trendlines

    As most of you know, a large number of the CFTC’s enforcement actions are settled during the month—sometimes the week—before the end of the government’s fiscal year on September 30th.

    This September crunch is frustrating to all involved and potentially harmful to the agency’s agenda.  First, it diverts the agency’s attention from its other important responsibilities, as matters requiring Commissioners’ attention from other divisions are postponed and deferred.  Second, it incentivizes those hoping to settle with the CFTC to wait until the fiscal year-end, knowing the agency will be eager to get another point on the board before the clock runs out and that the resulting settlement will draw less public attention as just one of the myriad cases being announced at the same time.  Third, such a crunch diminishes the time for decision making and increases the risk of promulgating faulty interpretations of the CEA and CFTC regulations.  Wrongdoing occurs year-round.  Our enforcement docket should reflect that.

    After the close of each fiscal year, the CFTC’s Division of Enforcement publishes an Annual Report that typically proclaims success based on “headline stats,” such as the number of cases filed and the amount of monetary sanctions imposed during the previous fiscal year.[3]

    I believe it is time for the agency to stop prioritizing volume.  Rather than focus on making the current fiscal year statistics better than the previous year’s, the agency should concentrate on where improvements can be made in our regulatory oversight functions to prevent pervasive violations and should devote more resources to educating market participants and the general public on how to avoid becoming victims of fraudulent behavior.

    Enforcement Should be a Last Resort

    That said, I believe there is certainly a role for enforcement.  But enforcement should be the last resort to achieving compliance, not the first.  Yes, in cases of fraud, manipulation, and other willful violations of the law, enforcement is critical to punish wrongdoers and to deter misconduct by others.  But in other cases, oversight of the derivatives markets and market participants by the agency’s Division of Clearing and Risk (“DCR”), Division of Market Oversight (“DMO”), and Market Participants Division (“MPD”) can achieve compliance more effectively and efficiently than bringing a costly, time-consuming, resource-intensive, and backward-looking enforcement action.

    Clear and Workable Rules as the Foundation

    Where CFTC regulations are vague, the agency should not leverage these provisions to drive annual statistics.  Instead, we must communicate our expectations by writing clear, sensible, and workable rules, so that we can fairly require compliance with those obligations.

    Enforcement is but one tool available to the agency.  Our ability to achieve compliance with the CEA and the CFTC’s rules will be enhanced if we consider the underlying reasons for non-compliance and contemplate the most effective means of addressing that non-compliance, in particular cases.  Where the underlying reason is an unclear expectation, the onus is on the CFTC to revise its regulations accordingly.

    Appropriately Employing Settlement Authority

    It is no secret that most CFTC enforcement actions settle without litigation.  While such settlements enable us to achieve our enforcement objectives while conserving our scarce resources to root out and prosecute other violations, vague settlements cause confusion and undermine our efforts to achieve compliance.

    When settling, the CFTC issues an order that sets out the agency’s findings about what the settling party did and how it violated the law.  These orders are not binding precedents as a matter of law.  However, since they reflect a statement of the agency’s thinking, the public may understandably consider them as precedents—and the agency often cites them as persuasive authority in future cases, too.

    But remember:  No court has decided on the legal theories as applied to the particular facts that the CFTC includes in its settlement orders.  The legal theories advanced in settlement orders should not push the bounds of the agency’s authority.  Such orders should avoid theories that are novel, that are arguably beyond the limits of the CEA and its implementing regulations, or that are likely to raise additional questions or issues.  Otherwise, the agency risks creating regulatory expectations that become difficult to follow.

    Incentivizing Cooperation

    To foster voluntary compliance with the law and to provide transparency into certain aspects of enforcement determinations regarding penalties, we must further unwind the layers around how we recognize and credit those who self-report, offer cooperation during the enforcement process, and undertake remediation.

    First, a company is currently only eligible for a civil monetary penalty (“CMP”) credit for self-reporting if it makes its disclosure to DOE rather than to one of the CFTC’s oversight divisions (i.e., DCR, DMO, or MPD).[4]  This requirement is an unnecessary layer that unduly restricts self-reporting credit.  A self-report to an oversight division serves the agency’s interests by enabling that division to work with the company on compliance on a going-forward basis, while also referring the matter to DOE where appropriate to investigate whether an enforcement action is warranted for any violations that may have been committed.  To limit self-reporting credit to disclosures directly to DOE is to elevate form over substance.

    Second, if a company self-reports, substantially cooperates, and appropriately remediates, a reduced CMP should not be the only potential outcome.  Where a company has identified the problem, disclosed it to CFTC staff, analyzed the situation, provided a report of its findings to CFTC staff, and engaged in steps to address the problem—it has essentially performed many of the CFTC’s functions.  And such cooperation and remediation often come at a significant expense, which may include hiring an independent compliance consultant or monitor to investigate the company’s practices and procedures, to recommend improvements, and to ensure that remediation is completed.

    Of course, an enforcement action may be appropriate in these cases to assure that the company will complete its remediation and will report to DOE on the status of those remediation efforts.  But given that compliance objectives are being achieved often with fewer agency resources, substantial penalties may not be necessary.

    The Way Forward

    As I mentioned earlier, I am committed to strong enforcement at the CFTC, and I am proud of our Enforcement Division.  The agency’s enforcement professionals do an exemplary job in safeguarding the integrity of U.S. derivatives markets and those who use them.  However, there are opportunities for strategic reform.

    My hope is that today begins a conversation about the path ahead for enforcement at the CFTC.

    Thank you so much for your time today, and I wish you all a safe and fun Halloween.

    I would like to thank ISDA once again for inviting me and would be happy to answer audience questions.

    [1] Dissenting Statement of Commissioner Summer K. Mersinger Regarding cryptoiminerstrade.com, Expert Stocks Zone, FalconForexBot, and swiftminingexpert.com (Sept. 24, 2024), available at https://www.cftc.gov/PressRoom/SpeechesTestimony/mersingerstatement092424; Dissenting Statement of Commissioner Summer K. Mersinger Regarding Settlement With Piper Sandler Hedging Services, LLC (Sept. 23, 2024), available at https://www.cftc.gov/PressRoom/SpeechesTestimony/mersingerstatement092324; Dissenting Statement of Commissioner Summer K. Mersinger Regarding Settlement with Uniswap Labs (Sept. 4, 2024), available at https://www.cftc.gov/PressRoom/SpeechesTestimony/mersingerstatement090424.

    [2] The Federalist Papers, No. 51 (Feb. 8, 1788).

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Fiscal Affairs Department’s 60th Anniversary Conference: “60 Years of FAD: The Fiscal Affair Continues”

    Source: International Monetary Fund

    The Fiscal Affairs Department (FAD) of the IMF will celebrate 60 years since it was formed in 1964 with a one-day conference, “60 Years of FAD: The Fiscal Affair Continues,“ on November 4, 2024, in Washington D.C., USA.

    Even as prospects for a global soft landing have improved, fiscal policy continues to struggle with legacies of high debt and deficits, while facing new challenges. Risks to public finances are acute, reflecting the pressures of aging societies, industrial policies, geopolitical tensions, the needs of a greener and more equitable society and now, the threat to labor from AI technologies. Lower medium-term growth prospects have worsened debt dynamics and compounded the risks to fiscal sustainability. Fiscal policy challenges are especially acute in low-income countries, where financing is scarce and limits the ability of governments to support economic and human development.

    In this context, the conference will bring together fiscal policy experts, senior policy makers, and former and current IMF staff. They will look back at the contributions of FAD to the global fiscal policy discourse and its service to the membership. They will discuss the likely evolution of sovereign debt market and the role that public policy can play in making AI beneficial for workers and growth. And they will look ahead to the challenges that will emerge for fiscal policy in the future, and the choices fiscal policymakers will face, especially in low-income and fragile countries. The conference will also be an occasion to celebrate the evolution and impact of FAD’s capacity development (CD) from serving a small section of the membership to covering nearly every corner of the world.

    Agenda

    8:30 A.M. Coffee and refreshments
    9:00 A.M. Opening remarks. Gita Gopinath, First Deputy Managing Director of the IMF, introduced by Vítor Gaspar, Director, Fiscal Affairs Department, IMF.
    9:15 – 10:30 A.M. Sovereign Debt
     Moderator: Ceyla Pazarbasioglu, Director, Strategy, Policy and Review Department, IMF
    Panelists:

    S. Ali Abbas  (Deputy Director, Fiscal Affairs Department, IMF)

    S. Ali Abbas is a deputy director in the IMF’s Fiscal Affairs Department where he supervises the sovereign debt and governance workstreams, and oversees the department’s review of Fund programs in emerging and developing economies, with a focus on Sub-Saharan Africa. He was previously IMF mission chief for the United Kingdom and Jordan, and deputy chief of the Debt Policy Division in the IMF’s Strategy Policy and Review Department. He has been closely involved in several complex Fund programs, and has led reforms to the IMF’s exceptional access lending and debt sustainability frameworks. In 2019, he co-edited Sovereign Debt: A Guide for Economists and Practitioners (OUP), with Alex Pienkowski and Kenneth Rogoff, adding to his earlier published work on post-GFC fiscal policy, the euro area sovereign debt crisis, international tax competition, state contingent debt instruments, fiscal policy and the current account, and government securities markets. Ali is a Rhodes scholar from Pakistan and holds a doctorate in economics from Oxford. He also served as an Overseas Development Institute fellow to the Tanzanian Treasury during 2000–02.

    Carlo Cottarelli (Former Director Fiscal Affairs Department, IMF)

    Carlo Cottarelli, a citizen of Italy, after receiving degrees in economics from the University of Siena and the London School of Economics, worked at the Bank of Italy, ENI and the IMF. He was FAD Director in 2008-13, Commissioner for Public Spending in Italy in 2013-14, IMF Executive Director in 2014-17. He taught at Bocconi University and he is currently Director of the Observatory on the Italian Public Accounts of the Catholic University of Milan, where he also teaches a course of Fiscal Macroeconomics In 2021 he was awarded the honor of First Class Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic.

    Christoph Trebesch (Professor, Kiel University)

    Christoph Trebesch is a professor at the Kiel Institute for the World Economy and the University of Kiel. His research focuses on international finance and macroeconomics as well as political economy and geopolitics. His research has been published in leading economic journals such as the American Economic Review, the Quarterly Journal of Economics, and the Journal of Political Economy, and is regularly cited in international media, including the New York Times, the Financial Times, and the Wall Street Journal. He directs the CEPR Policy Network on “International Lending and Sovereign Debt” and co-directs the CEPR Network on “Geoeconomics”, for which he organizes an annual high-level conference on geopolitics and economics. He is also the creator of the widely referenced “Ukraine Support Tracker” on military and financial aid flows to Ukraine. In 2023, he was awarded an ERC Consolidator Grant, one of the most prestigious research recognitions in Europe.
    10:30 – 11:00 AM The Surge in FAD’s Capacity Development Delivery (A/V) Moderators:

    Katherine Baer (Deputy Director, Fiscal Affairs Department, IMF)

    Katherine Baer is a Deputy Director in the IMF’s Fiscal Affairs Department (FAD). She oversees FAD’s work in the areas of taxation and public financial management, supervises Capacity Development (CD) delivery in all fiscal areas to countries in the Middle East, North Africa and Centra Asia, oversees FAD’s strategy to strengthen fiscal policies and institutions in the Fragile and Conflict-Affected States, and manages the department’s work on fiscal issues from a gender perspective. Her career at the IMF has focused on strengthening fiscal policies and institutions in member countries across all regions and income levels, and in countries experiencing economic crises. She has been an economist in the U.S. Treasury and an assistant commissioner in the Mexican Tax Administration. She also worked at the World Bank on public finance reforms in Latin America and the Caribbean at the height of the region’s debt crisis in the 1980s. Ms. Baer has many publications relating to public finance and holds a Ph.D. from Cornell University.

    Juan Toro (Deputy Director, Fiscal Affairs Department, IMF)

    Juan Toro is Deputy Director of the IMF’s Fiscal Affairs Department (FAD), in charge of: managing FAD budget, relationship with development partners, overseeing governance and operations of FAD’s capacity development (CD), coordinating FAD’s CD to Europe, and coordinating FAD TA on sustainable development goals. He previously was Assistant Director in charge of the IMF’s revenue administration CD to Europe, Asia, Middle East, and Central Asia.

    He has led and participated in IMF TA missions in taxation in more than 40 countries and has authored and contributed to several analytical papers in taxation. Before joining the IMF in 2007, he was the Commissioner of the Chilean Tax Administration (Servicio de Impuestos Internos, SII) from 2002 to 2006.
    11.00 – 11:30 A.M. Coffee break
    11:30 A.M. – 12:45 P.M. FAD in the Global Discourse
    Moderator: Ruud De Mooij , Deputy Director, Fiscal Affairs Department, IMF
    Panelists:

    Zainab Ahmed (Alternate Executive Director, World Bank)

    Alternate Executive Director from Nigeria from July 2023 to October 2024. A Nigerian national representing – Angola, Nigeria, and South Africa (EDS25). Prior to joining the WBG, Ms. Ahmed has served a:- Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning (2018- 2023); Minister of State, Ministry of Budget and National Planning (2015 – 2018); Chair of the board of Trustees of the African Union Peace Fund (2019 – 2023). Member of the International Board, Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) (2016 – 2019); Executive Secretary and National Coordinator, Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) (2010 – 2015); and Managing Director, Kaduna Investment Company Ltd (2009 – 2010).

    Abdulelah Alrasheedy (Deputy Minister of Macro-Fiscal Policies, Ministry of Finance, Saudi Arabia)

    Dr. Abdulelah AlRasheedy is the Deputy Minister for Macro-Fiscal Policies at Ministry of Finance (MOF). Before being named Deputy Minister in March 2024, Dr. AlRasheedy was Assistant Deputy Minister for Macroeconomic Policies Analysis and Acting as General Supervisor of Policy and Consultation Assistant Deputyship.
    Prior to joining Ministry of Finance, Dr. Abdulelah spent 12 years with Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) most recently as Manager of Economic Modeling Division and was SAMA Representative at The International Financial Architecture Working Group.
    Dr. Abdulelah earned a Ph.D.  in economics and statistics from University of Missouri, where he was a Research Scholar at the Global Institute for Sustainable Prosperity.
    In addition to being a Deputy Minister, he is a board member of King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy. Also a Ministry of Finance Representative for Financial Sustainability Board. 

    Adam Posen (President, Peterson Institute of International Economics)
    Mark Sobel (U.S. Chairman, OMFIF)

    Mark Sobel is currently US Chair at OMFIF.  He served  nearly four decades at the US Treasury, including as Deputy Assistant Secretary for International and Monetary Affairs from 2000-2015, a position in which he led the Department’s work in preparing G7 and G20 Finance Minister and Central Bank Governor meetings, formulating US positions in the IMF, and coordinating the work of Treasury and regulatory agencies in the Financial Stability Board.  He was also chief US financial negotiator in the G20 from 2008-2015, including for the 2009 London Economic Summit.  From 2015 through early 2018, he was US representative at the IMF. 
    12:45 – 1:00 P.M. FAD Montage (A/V)
    A look back at FAD through the decades.
    1:00 – 2:15 P.M. Lunch (by invitation)
    2:15 – 3:30 P.M. Public Policy for AI
    Moderator: Era Dabla-Norris, Deputy Director, Fiscal Affairs Department, IMF
    Panelists:

    Simon Johnson (Professor, MIT Sloan School of Management & 2024  Nobel Prize Winner in Economics )

    Simon Johnson is the Ronald A. Kurtz (1954) Professor of Entrepreneurship the MIT Sloan School of Management, where he is head of the Global Economics and Management group. At MIT, he is also co-director of the Shaping the Future of Work Initiative and a Research Affiliate at Blueprint Labs. In 2007-08, Johnson was chief economist and director of the Research Department at the International Monetary Fund. He currently co-chairs the CFA Institute Systemic Risk Council with Erkki Liikanen. In February 2021, Johnson joined the board of directors of Fannie Mae, where he is vice chair of the audit committee and a member of the risk and capital committee. Johnson’s most recent book, with Daron Acemoglu, Power and Progress: Our 1000-Year Struggle Over Technology and Prosperity, explores the history and economics of major technological transformations up to and including the latest developments in Artificial Intelligence.
    2024 Nobel prize laureate in economic sciences “for studies of how institutions are formed and affect prosperity”

    Branko Milanovic (Professor, City University of New York)

    Research professor at the Graduate Center, City University of New York and senior scholar at The Stone Center on Socio-economic Inequality; Visiting Professor at the Institute for International Inequalities at LSE; was lead economist in World Bank Research Department for almost 20 years and senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington. Milanovic’s main area of work is income inequality, in individual countries and globally, as well as historically among pre-industrial societies. His most recent books are Global inequality: a new approach for the age of globalization which deals with economic and political issues of globalization, and Capitalism, Alone that contrasts inequality and class formation in societies of liberal and political capitalism. In October 2023, he published Visions of Inequality that looks at how income distribution was studied by the most famous economists over the past 200 years. Milanovic was awarded (jointly with Mariana Mazzucato) the 2018 Leontieff Prize.

    Christine Qiang (Global Director, Digital Transformation Global Department, World Bank)
    3.30 – 4:00 P.M. Coffee break
    4:00 – 5:15 P.M. The Future of Fiscal Policy
    Moderator: Vítor Gaspar Director, Fiscal Affairs Department, IMF
    Panelists:

    Jason Furman (Professor, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University)

    Jason Furman is the Aetna Professor of the Practice of Economic Policy jointly at Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) and the Department of Economics at Harvard University. Furman engages in public policy through research, writing and teaching in a wide range of areas including U.S. and international macroeconomics, fiscal policy, labor markets and competition policy. Previously Furman served eight years as a top economic adviser to President Obama, including serving as the 28th Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers from August 2013 to January 2017, acting as both President Obama’s chief economist and a member of the cabinet. In addition to articles in scholarly journals and periodicals, Furman is a regular contributor to the Wall Street Journal and Project Syndicate and the editor of two books on economic policy. Furman holds a Ph.D. in economics from Harvard University.

    Ilan Goldfajn (President, Inter-American Development Bank)

    He was elected president of the IDB in November 2022, after serving as director of the Western Hemisphere Department at the International Monetary Fund. Previously, he was governor of the Banco Central do Brasil (2016-2019), where he led several modernization reforms, including promoting financial inclusion through Brazil’s fast digital payment system. He has also held several academic positions and high-ranking roles in Brazil’s financial sector.  In 2017, he was elected Central Banker of the Year by The Banker magazine.  Mr. Goldfajn holds a doctorate in economics from MIT, and master’s degree in economics from the Pontificia Universidade and has taught economics at universities in Brazil and the U.S. He is fluent in four languages.

    Mick Keen (Professor, Tokyo University)

    Michael Keen was formerly Deputy Director of the Fiscal Affairs Department at the International Monetary Fund. He is now Ushioda Fellow at the University of Tokyo. Michael was President of the International Institute of Public Finance from 2003 to 2006, awarded the CESifo Musgrave Prize in 2010, and in 2018 received from the National Tax Association of the United States its most prestigious award, the Daniel M. Holland Medal for distinguished lifetime contributions to the study and practice of public finance. His most recent book, Rebellion, Rascals and Revenues (with Joel Slemrod), aims to use history and humor to convey basic tax principles to a wider audience.
    5:15 P.M. Closing remarks
    Vítor Gaspar (Director, Fiscal Affairs Department )
    6:00 P.M. Adjourn

    Conference Organizing Committee: Katherine Baer (Deputy Director, FAD), Mitali Das (Advisor, FAD), and Andrew Okello (Deputy Division Chief, FAD).

    Conference Coordinators: Agnese de Leo (Administrative Coordinator), Harsha Padaruth (Administrative Coordinator), Luciana Marcelino (Administrative Coordinator) Martha Gaytan Frettlohr (Administrative Coordinator), Sahara De la Torre (Administrative Coordinator), and Sheetal Prasad (Senior Administrative Coordinator) – all FAD.

    The conference (which is in-person only) is open to all Fund employees and invited external guests (registration is required of external guests who will all receive a link to the registration form). Please note that the deadline for registration for this conference is October 25th, 2024. Registered external guests will be required to present photo identification on entering the IMF at 1900 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington D.C. For questions regarding the conference, please email FAD_60th_anniversary@imf.org

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Congressman Robert Garcia Urges Support for Superfund Designation of Exide Technologies and Impacted Communities in Vernon, California

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

    Washington, D.C. – Today, Congressman Robert Garcia (CA-42) sent a letter to the head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) urging support for adding Exide Technologies, Inc., in Vernon, California, to the National Priorities List (NPL), a key step towards a final Superfund Designation. The letter highlights the need for federal resources to facilitate a long-term comprehensive cleanup of the affected communities and to secure environmental justice for the residents of Southeast Los Angeles. Congressman Garcia emphasized that any federal cleanup must address soil, air, and other pollution sources, in addition to groundwater. He also called for improved community engagement and outreach, particularly targeting renters and Spanish speakers. To read the full letter, click here.

    Excerpts of the letter can be found below. 

    “Dear Administrator Regan,

    Thank you for your commitment to addressing critical threats to human health and the environment. I am writing in support of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed addition of Exide Technologies, Inc., in Vernon, California to the National Priorities List (NPL) and the federal resources necessary for a long-term, comprehensive cleanup of the affected communities.

    One of my first actions in Congress was writing with our California Senators on February 13, 2023, to urge you to designate this as a Superfund site. In our letter, we highlighted that, ‘the severity of the crisis, the failure of past remediation efforts to create healthy communities, and the risk to public health requires assistance from the EPA and the resources available under the Superfund program.’ Additionally, I directly raised this issue with you during a July 10, 2024, hearing of the Oversight and Accountability Committee.

    For decades, Exide Technologies released dangerously high levels of lead, trichloroethylene (TCE), a known human carcinogen, and other toxic substances in the air, water, and soil of the residential cities and neighborhoods surrounding Vernon—notably Maywood, Commerce, East Los Angeles, and Boyle Heights, California. The impact of this environmental degradation has been most severe in historically underserved, Latino communities.

    There are no safe levels of lead for any family or child. As you know, lead is a potent toxicant linked to severe behavioral, developmental, and educational impacts, and it is also a contributor to high blood pressure and heart disease. The federal government’s intervention is essential to fully correct the failures of past remediation efforts and to resolve this crisis.

    The Southeast L.A. communities I represent deserve the basic right to a clean, safe environment—not just groundwater. If your investigation confirms soil lead contamination above background levels linked to the Exide site, it is essential that the EPA collaborates with the community to implement a cleanup plan aligned with California’s lead contamination standard of 80 parts per million.

    The time has come for decisive federal action to rectify these long-standing environmental injustices. I stand ready to collaborate with the EPA to ensure a comprehensive resolution to this crisis and to help bring about a future where every resident can live without the threat of pollution in their homes, air, and water.”

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: CoRWM visits Wylfa nuclear power station

    Source: United Kingdom – Government Statements

    Members met on Anglesey to learn more about the potential new nuclear development at its Closed and Open Plenary meetings.

    A sketch of Wylfa by CoRWM member Stephen Tromans (non-irradiated graphite on paper).

    On 11 and 12 September 2024, CoRWM members met on the beautiful island of Yns Mon (Anglesey) for its Closed and Open Plenary meetings. Some of the hardier members of the Committee were able to swim in the less than tropical waters of Trearddur Bay between working sessions. As well as our regular business, we had an excellent presentation from Sasha Wynn Davies, chair of the Wales Nuclear Forum.  North Wales has a strong nuclear heritage and is part of the “nuclear arc” of Cumbria, Lancashire, Cheshire and North Wales. The power station at Wylfa was a crucial source of employment on Anglesey and Sasha left us in no doubt that the future economic and social well-being of the island is bound up with potential new nuclear development at that site, whether at gigawatt scale or with small modular reactors, or both.

    After our Open Plenary meeting, we were privileged to visit Wylfa, at the invitation of the site manager Stuart Law. Stuart and the site waste manager Adele Brooksbank gave us an excellent overview of the issues involved in decommissioning and waste management before taking us on an illuminating tour. It was opportune to make the visit for two reasons: first as a helpful complement to our visit to Trawsfynydd last year, another Magnox station, but a very different one; and secondly since the last visit by CoRWM members to Wylfa was in January 2015, almost 10 years ago. Much has happened since then including the consignment of the last batch of Magnox fuel to Sellafield for reprocessing in September 2019. It is greatly to the credit of the site management that defuelling was undertaken and completed so that Sellafield was not kept waiting for the fuel., and moreover that the site was able to reshuffle fuel between reactors to accommodate the earlier delays in Sellafield’s readiness to receive spent fuel. The site has also completed the difficult job of dealing with a number of badly corroded fuel elements affected by a water leak into the dry store in the past.

    This location of Wyla on the north coast of Anglesey was chosen for a nuclear power station because of its geological stability and easy access from the sea for construction materials. The proximity of seawater was important for cooling its twin nuclear reactors, the last and largest of the Magnox type. Construction began in 1963 and the station fed its first electricity into the supply grid in 1971. A high-voltage power line was built across Anglesey to transport the electricity. A considerable portion of the output, up to 255 MW, was consumed by the nearby Anglesey Aluminium smelting plant.

     Wylfa was the last of the ten Magnox power stations to be built and the second constructed with a pre-stressed concrete vessel. Construction began in 1963  at a cost of £740 million and commercial operation commenced in 1971. Its twin reactors and associated turbo-generators had a generating capacity of up to 980 megawatts (electrical) [MW(e)]. It was the largest of the Magnox stations and its massive scale was very apparent on our site tour. Over its life from 1971 to 2015, Wylfa produced 232 TW hours of electricity, a very significant contribution to the UK’s power needs.

    It is proposed to have the site ready for a period of care and maintenance by 2037, which will leave just the reactors and dry store cells. However, critically, achieving that goal will depend on reliable funding. In particular, certainty of funding is necessary because of the long lead in times to projects because of the need to comply with procurement legislation. It was clear that in some cases better, storage facilities are needed for waste, with some wastes having to be stored in makeshift locations. While this is not unsafe, it is certainly sub-optimal in terms of handling and access.  Considerable use was made of asbestos as a cheap building material during construction in the 1960s, and this will present its own challenges in achieving a state of passive safety for the remaining buildings.

    In terms of waste disposal offsite, we were interested to hear of the cessation of shipments to the LLWR at Drigg, in favour of commercial licensed landfills and incinerators. Since 2007, government policy and strategy has sought to divert wastes away from the LLWR where alternative routes are available, as LLWR itself is seen as a valuable national resource and subject to increasing space constraints. Also, the Wylfa environmental permit was varied to allow a wider range of suitable disposal routes. The site will generate about 3,000 tonnes of graphite, currently packed as tightly as possible for a core design, and which once dismantled and packaged for a GDF will have an increased volume of 2.6. This illustrates graphically the future demands on space in a GDF from this particular waste stream.

    Finally we had an interesting visit to the control room for the twin reactors. The enormous size of Wylfa’s cores gave inherent stability against transients, i.e. changes in the coolant system temperature, or pressure, caused by changes in power output, by evening out fluctuations. This will have been beneficial in terms of waste production, and may be a factor to bear in mind with a generation of smaller reactors in the offing. It was also interesting to hear (at least for those of us more technically minded) that some fuel had been in low flux regions of the core for 22 years: this must presumably have been beneficial in terms of spent fuel arisings relative to the 11 outages that will have happened during that time. Also, online refuelling at Wylfa may well have enabled greater fidelity in fuel discharge and hence less spent fuel volume. This does illustrate an important linkage between reactor design and operation and spent fuel generation.

    This useful visit left us with plenty to consider in our ongoing work. We were impressed that Stuart Law had worked at Wylfa for 32 years and his pride in both the history and current phase of the site, together with his intimate knowledge, were apparent. The challenge at Wylfa and of course other Magnox and AGR sites will be maintaining those levels of commitment and practical knowledge as the current generation of management retires.

    Updates to this page

    Published 30 October 2024

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Secretary-General’s press encounter at the end of his visit in Colombia [bilingual, scroll down for Q+A]

    Source: United Nations secretary general

    Ladies and gentlemen of the media.

    I thank President Petro for hosting the United Nations Biodiversity Conference in Cali. 

    I congratulate Colombia on the excellent organization of this COP.

    I also thank the people of Colombia for their warm welcome, we all felt very much at home.

    The world has come to Cali to make peace with nature. 

    Let me be clear: we are facing an existential crisis.

    Temperatures are climbing higher and higher. 

    We are losing more and more species – forever. 

    We are poisoning our waters. 

    And treating nature as a disposable asset.

    Human activities have already altered three-quarters of Earth’s land surface and two-thirds of its waters.

    And no country, rich or poor, is immune to this devastation. 

    To survive, humanity must make peace with nature. 

    We must transform our economic models – shifting our production and consumption to nature-positive practices. 

    Renewable energy, sustainable supply chains and zero-waste policies are not optional. 

    They must become the default option for both governments and businesses.

    Dear friends,

    The good news is that we have a plan: 
    The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, adopted two years ago.

    But nature cannot wait for its implementation any longer. 

    This is what this COP is about:

    Turning promises into action. 

    We have seen good progress, and I want to thank everyone for their efforts. 

    But with less than two days of negotiations left to go, we need to accelerate. 

    I want to highlight three priorities.

    First – Cali must spark a new era for ambitious national biodiversity plans.

    As of today, a majority of countries have national targets that align with the Global Biodiversity Framework.

    I urge every Member State to follow suit and align these national plans with their adaptation plans and updated climate Nationally Determined Contributions – due early next year.

    We must also reach an agreement on a strengthened monitoring and transparency framework to ensure accountability and move forward together.

    Second – we must leave Cali with concrete plans to unlock new funding and share the benefits from the use of genetic resources.

    This means capitalizing the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund.

    I thank the countries and regions that pledged an additional 163 million US dollars this week.

    But if we are to deliver the Global Biodiversity Framework in full, we need much more. 

    We must make sure we are able to mobilize 200 billion dollars annually by 2030 from all sources – domestic, international, public and private.

    Developed countries must lead the way and provide at least 20 billion dollars per year – by next year – to support developing countries, in particular the Least Developed Countries and Small Island States, in their conservation and restoration efforts.

    Businesses profiting from nature must also contribute to its protection and restoration.
    This includes operationalizing a mechanism for sharing the benefits from the use of the Digital Sequence Information on Genetic Resources – in a clear, fair and efficient way.

    Third – we must recognize, involve, and protect those who guard our natural heritage. 

    Indigenous Peoples and local communities possess vital knowledge of biodiversity conservation. 

    And in this region, People of African descent are key custodians of natural resources. 

    They must all be at the center of our decisions, not on the sidelines.

    In Cali, we must agree on the proposal to establish a new permanent body for Indigenous peoples and local communities within the Convention on Biological Diversity – ensuring their voices are heard at every step across the work of the Convention.

    The clock is ticking.

    The survival of our planet’s biodiversity – and our own survival – are on the line.

    We don’t have a moment to lose.  

    Señoras y señores de la prensa, 

    Mientras el mundo se reúne en este hermoso país para comprometerse a hacer la paz con la naturaleza, aprovecho la oportunidad para reafirmar nuestro compromiso con la paz en Colombia.  

    Me complace estar de nuevo en Colombia en este momento propicio para cerrar los dolorosos capítulos de guerra y consolidar este ejemplo de paz ante el país y el mundo.

    Saludo los esfuerzos renovados del Presidente Petro y su gobierno para acelerar la implementación del Acuerdo Final de Paz – incluso mediante el Plan de Choque que se enfoca en aspectos concretos para mejorar la calidad de vida en los territorios priorizados.

    Asimismo, reconozco el compromiso firme de la otra parte firmante – los que fueron combatientes de las FARC-EP.  

    Estos antiguos adversarios trabajan hoy como socios en la construcción de la paz.   

    Llegando con avances y desafíos a su octavo aniversario, este histórico Acuerdo debe de mantenerse en el centro de los esfuerzos de consolidación de la paz.   

    El Acuerdo sigue siendo la hoja de ruta principal para romper con los ciclos de violencia en Colombia. 

    Y también para enfrentar las causas estructurales de esta violencia mediante el compromiso de llevar la presencia integral del Estado a las regiones históricamente olvidadas. 

    Una presencia que conlleva seguridad, oportunidades de desarrollo y gobernanza inclusiva.  

    No debe haber más demora para que los dividendos de paz lleguen a todos los territorios. A todos aquellos pueblos que todavía esperan que se concrete la promesa de paz. 

    Asegurar la justicia para las víctimas también es impostergable. 

    Reconozco la noble y valiente labor del sistema pionero de justicia transicional creado por el Acuerdo. Y animo a que avance.  

    La Paz Total impulsada por el gobierno nacional es un objetivo loable. 

    Las iniciativas de diálogo, a pesar de los desafíos, buscan ampliar la paz en el país de manera complementaria al Acuerdo de Paz. 

    Aconsejo no dejarse desviar del camino del diálogo.

    Estos diálogos son oportunidades para acabar con la violencia que sigue azotando a las poblaciones de regiones que también son claves para la implementación del Acuerdo de Paz. 

    Especialmente a las comunidades Indígenas y Afrocolombianas, a los desplazados y confinados por los grupos armados, a las mujeres víctimas de la violencia sexual y a los niños y niñas reclutados en la guerra.

    Hoy, mi llamado al pueblo colombiano es de perseverar. 

    Que trabajen juntos para que sea un esfuerzo nacional, compartido.  

    Les quiero recordar que Colombia nunca estará sola en sus esfuerzos por la paz. 

    Será un honor seguir acompañando a Colombia en su camino hacia la paz, a través de la Misión de Verificación de la ONU y las agencias y programas del equipo de país.

    Cuenten siempre con mi apoyo y mi solidaridad con Colombia, así como con mi profunda gratitud por la confianza que han otorgado a las Naciones Unidas. 

    Estaremos siempre al lado de Colombia. 
     
    Question: Muchas gracias Secretario. Quiero trasladarle una pregunta de muchas delegaciones acá y es ¿Cómo vio usted la presencia en la COP16 del Canciller venezolano Yván Gil, lo cuestionan muchas delegaciones -más de la mitad- incluso usted, que le ha exigido que publique las actas de las elecciones y esto no cayó nada bien aquí su presencia. Lo vimos incluso a usted distante del Canciller Gil. Si bien la diversidad y la protección de la naturaleza debe abarcar la mayor cantidad de actores posibles, ¿Cómo vio usted la presencia de Venezuela aquí en la COP16?
     
    Answer: Hay dos aspectos distintos. En primer lugar, la opinión que formamos sobre la forma como se transcurrieron las elecciones, la ausencia de una transparencia adecuada y el hecho que hay muchos gobiernos que aún no han reconocido el gobierno de Venezuela. La otra parte es el mecanismo del funcionamiento de las organizaciones multilaterales y en particular de las COPs. Y en las COPs hay una acreditación en que los que están, participan desde que la misión del país los acredite. Esta es una práctica que no podemos cambiar porque es la práctica establecida estatutariamente, pero eso no invalida la opinión que podemos tener sobre lo que pasó en Venezuela.

    Question: [Inaudible] – AFP. There are five years left to achieve the coming Montreal Objective Framework – to have them reversed by biodiversity laws by 2030.  Here the focus is mainly on resource mobilization. Is that the correct approach? Is it really the fight over finance that will determine the success of the [Global Biodiversity Framework Fund] GBF.  Is it the fight over finance that is key to determine the success of GBF? Or is it something else? 

    Answer: I think the most important thing in it – and that is the reason my presence in this COP – is to change what has been the permanent neglect of biodiversity, namely when compared with our efforts in relations to climate change. 

    We need, first of all, to accept the concept that we are facing three existential crises: climate change, biodiversity and pollution, namely plastics. 

    But they are all interlinked and indivisible.  So, the central question is to make sure that we are able to put biodiversity as the center of our concerns in all aspects of policy and strategy and financing as we are putting climate change.

    Obviously, finance is essential, but finance is not enough. What we need is a political priority at government levels. Political priorities at multilateral institution levels, and the clear commitment of the Private Sector to be involved in order to make sure that we understand that without defeating the biodiversity crisis, we will not defeat the climate crisis, we will not defeat the pollution crisis, and we will condemn our world to a situation of extreme poverty in the natural environments and this is totally unacceptable. 

    So, we must bring the attention of the people of the government, the institutions, and the Private Sector to the centrality of biodiversity in the context of our environmental processes.

    Question: Sir, this is Stella Paul from IPS news (Inter Press Service News).  Our overarching theme here is making peace with nature, but at the time, when we are seeing increasing impact of war and conflict on biodiversity across the world, starting from Ukraine to all the way to Palestine and we are not seeing enough discussion of that in a formal way, even at the COP, how do you think that we can make peace with nature? Thank you. 

    Answer: Well, we need peace with nature, and we need peace among ourselves. That is the reason I’ve been asking for in line with the Charter, in line with international law, and in line with the General Assembly resolutions. That is why we have been asking for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, releasing all hostages and massive humanitarian aid to Gaza. That is why we have been asking for peace in Lebanon and peace that respects Lebanese sovereignty and Lebanese territorial integrity and paves the way for a political solution. That is why we have been asking for peace in Sudan, where an enormous tragedy exists. And, obviously, we need to make peace in nature, but we need to make peace among ourselves because wars have one of the most devastating impacts – wars have some of the most devastating impacts on biodiversity on climate and on pollution. 

    Thank you so much. At the back there, Le Monde.  Thank you.

    Question: Hi [inaudible] for Le Monde. Many issues of the negotiations are still unresolved, and many Ministers are leaving tonight. Are you worried this COP could fail or at least not be as successful as is should?

    Secretary-General: I have to say that I met with the five groups. And I heard a large number of ministers talk. And I felt that there was a huge will to find a successful result and a huge will to compromise on the pending issues. So, I’m quite optimistic that it will be possible to reach a consensus and not a consensus on the consensus, but the consensus that paves the way for progress after the COP in the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Framework

    Question: Secretario, Silvia Patiño de W Radio Colombia. Usted estuvo ayer reunido con el Presidente Gustavo Petro y el presidente le planteó la posibilidad de cambiar el mecanismo a través del cual la ONU mide la cantidad de hectáreas de cultivos de coca en Colombia. ¿La ONU está dispuesta a eso? Porque el Presiente además planteó hace algunas semanas la posibilidad de comprar los cultivos de coca a los campesinos para tratar de enfrentar el tema de narcotráfico. A la ONU ¿le suena, le gusta, le parece esta idea en torno al tráfico de drogas?
     
    Answer: Hay convenciones sobre drogas y la ONU está vinculada a esas convenciones. Pero creo que es importante abrir la puerta a una reflexión muy seria en un mundo donde vemos que desafortunadamente el tráfico de drogas es simultáneo con el tráfico de armas, de muchos otras formas incluso de tráfico de mujeres, hombres y niños. Y que ese tráfico está minando en muchos países la estructura del Estado, por la corrupción generada.
     
    Entonces creo que el apelo del Presidente Petro a una reflexión sobre los mecanismos que hoy tenemos en relación con el combate al narcotráfico y en relación con la droga, creo que el apelo que es hecho a una reflexión sobre la eficacia sobre los mecanismos que tenemos es un apelo que debe ser escuchado. Yo no conozco en detalle el proyecto, pero si la compra es hecha para después ser utilizada de una forma positiva, ¿puede impedir el tráfico no?

    Si eso puede garantizar que haya una neutralización de esa producción y que esa producción no alimente al tráfico. Pero naturalmente el objetivo nuestro tiene que ser un objetivo de preservar la salud de la gente de todo el mundo. Muchas gracias.

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: 2024 road construction season wraps up, improving safety across PEI

    Source: Government of Canada News (2)

    News release

    Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, October 30, 2024 — Repairs and upgrades to roads and bridges in Prince Edward Island were made possible after a combined investment of over $7 million from the federal and provincial governments through the Canada Community-Building Fund and the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program.

    Today’s announcement highlights upgrades to roads and bridges that improve safety across the province and support housing development. These projects, including upgrades to intersections, roads and bridges, new traffic lights and storm sewers, will be completed by the end of 2024.

    The Canada Community-Building Fund is a permanent source of funding that reaches communities across Canada, supports local infrastructure priorities and helps to build complete, inclusive and sustainable communities with affordable and accessible housing. From roads and bridges, to public transit and water treatment systems, reliable and modern infrastructure provides communities with opportunities to grow and develop today so that communities are  resilient and strong.

    The Rural and Northern Communities Infrastructure Stream of the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program helps communities provide more efficient and reliable energy sources, improve roads and community infrastructure, and improve internet connectivity.

    Today’s announcement builds on the $14.2 million announced in February 2024 for other road improvements aimed at increasing safety across the Island. 

    Quotes

    “These repairs and upgrades to roads and bridges across the Island are essential to keeping them safe for the folks who depend on them. We will continue to work with all orders of government and local partners to strengthen our infrastructure and build stronger and more resilient communities.”

    The Honourable Lawrence MacAulay, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, on behalf of the Honourable Sean Fraser, Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities

    “Investments in transportation infrastructure and a balanced plan for road work has made this a very productive highway construction season across the province. In collaboration with our construction contractors, Islanders and PEI’s economy benefits from safer and improved roads.” 

    The Honourable Ernie Hudson, Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure, Prince Edward Island

    Quick facts

    • The Canada Community-Building Fund (CCBF) is a permanent, indexed source of funding provided up front, twice a year, to provinces and territories, who, in turn, flow this funding to local governments and other entities to support local infrastructure priorities. 

    • In 2024-25, the CCBF is delivering over $2.4 billion to more than 3,600 communities across the country. 

    • Canada and Prince Edward Island are committed to working together and with communities to address Canada’s housing supply challenges. As such, annual reporting will demonstrate how the CCBF is supporting housing outcomes in Prince Edward Island.

    • The CCBF has 19 project eligibility categories, including capacity building, water and wastewater, highways and roads, and public transit.

    • The federal government is investing $1,397,696 through the Rural and Northern Communities Infrastructure stream of the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program and the Government of Prince Edward Island is investing $1,397,696.

    • This stream supports projects that increase access to more efficient and reliable energy sources, improve community infrastructure, and improve internet connectivity for rural and northern communities.

    • Including today’s announcement, 23 infrastructure projects under the Rural and Northern Communities Infrastructure stream have been announced in Prince Edward Island, with a total federal contribution of more than $78.8 million and a total provincial/territorial contribution of more than $49 million.

    • The funding announced today builds on the federal government’s work through the Atlantic Growth Strategy to create well-paying jobs and strengthen local economies.

    Related products

    Associated links

    Contacts

    For more information (media only), please contact:

    Sofia Ouslis
    Press Secretary
    Office of the Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities
    Sofia.ouslis@infc.gc.ca

    Media Relations
    Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada
    613-960-9251
    Toll free: 1-877-250-7154
    Email: media-medias@infc.gc.ca
    Follow us on X, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn
    Web: Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada

    Stacey Miller
    Department of Transportation and Infrastructure
    Prince Edward Island
    902-218-2103
    samiller@gov.pe.ca

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Public invited to celebrate SR 26 passing lanes project ribbon cutting in Whitman County, Wednesday, Oct. 30

    Source: Washington State News 2

    COLFAX – A celebratory ribbon cutting is taking place on Wednesday, Oct. 30, to mark the completion and grand opening of four new passing lanes on State Route 26 between Dusty and Colfax. The public is invited to attend the ribbon-cutting at 11 a.m. at the Palouse Empire Fairgrounds. State and local officials and regional transportation partners will join representatives from the Washington State Department of Transportation to mark the occasion.

    Improving safety

    The four new passing lanes are part of the Connecting Washington funding package passed by the legislature in 2015. The passing lanes add locations for vehicles needing to pass slower vehicles safely. The SR 26 corridor is heavily traveled by students at Washington State University and local agricultural vehicles. The new passing lanes now give safe locations for travelers to pass vehicles, with two passing lanes westbound and two located in the eastbound direction.

    State Route 26 passing lanes ribbon cutting details:

    When:  11 a.m. to noon, Wednesday, Oct. 30, with official remarks and ribbon cutting beginning at 11 a.m.

    Where:  Palouse Empire Fairgrounds, State Route 26 and Fair Grounds Road.

    Details:  The ribbon cutting will celebrate the completion of the four new passing lanes constructed on State Route 26 between Dusty and Colfax. Members of the public and media are invited to commemorate the occasion. The ceremony event will feature speeches from local state representatives, WSDOT, the Palouse Regional Planning Transportation Organization and WSU. 

    Directions:  If traveling from US 195, people should turn west onto State Route 26, go approximately 4 miles to Fair Grounds Road, then turn right into the fairgrounds parking lot.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI: LECTRA: First nine months of 2024: revenues and EBITDA continued to grow, despite the degraded environment

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    First nine months of 2024: revenues and EBITDA continued to grow, despite the degraded environment

    • Revenues: 394.2 million euros (+10%)*
    • EBITDA before non-recurring items: 68.5 million euros (+16%)*

            
    *At actual exchange rates

         
    In millions of euros July 1 – September 30 January 1 – September 30
      2024(1) 2023 2024(1) 2023
    Revenues 131.9 118.7 394.2 358.3
    Change at actual exchange rates (in %) 11%   10%  
    EBITDA before non-recurring items(2) 26.2 23.9 68.5 59.2
    Change at actual exchange rates (in %) 10%   16%  
    EBITDA margin before non-recurring items
    (in % of revenues)    		 19.9% 20.1% 17.4% 16.5%
    Income from operations before non-recurring items (2) 15.7 16.4 37.3 36.7
    Change at actual exchange rates (in %) -5%   2%  
    Net income(3) 10.1 11.0 21.2 24.9
    Free cash flow before non-recurring items (2) 21.6 15.5 49.9 32.1
             

    (1)  The 2024 amounts include Launchmetrics since January 23, 2024
    (2)  The definition for performance indicators appears in the September 30, 2024 Financial Report
    (3)  In 2023, net income included the impact of non-recurring income of 2.6 million euros

    Paris, October 30, 2024. Today, Lectra’s Board of Directors, chaired by Daniel Harari, reviewed the consolidated financial statements for the third quarter and the first nine months of 2024, which have not been reviewed by the Statutory Auditors. To facilitate the analysis of the Group’s results in its new scope, the accounts of Lectra excluding Launchmetrics (the “Lectra 2023 scope”) and those of Launchmetrics are analyzed separately.

    The detailed 2024 vs 2023 comparisons are based on actual exchange rates, except for the Lectra 2023 scope stated on a like-for-like basis.

    1. Q3 2024

    The macroeconomic and geopolitical environment experienced further degradation in the third quarter but with heterogeneous situations across different geographical markets and market sectors.

    This situation resulted in a cautious position on the part of the Group’s customers in their investment decisions, resulting in a negative effect, particularly on orders for new systems.

    However, driven by both the integration of Launchmetrics and the improvement in the Group’s fundamentals –growth in recurring revenues, higher gross profit, growth in EBITDA before non-recurring items and near-coverage of all fixed costs through recurring activity– Q3 2024 revenues (131.9 million euros) and EBITDA before non-recurring items (26.2 million euros) increased significantly (by 11% and 10%, respectively). The EBITDA margin before non-recurring items stood at 19.9%.

    Lectra 2023 scope

    Orders for perpetual software licenses, equipment and accompanying software, and non-recurring services (32.2 million euros) were stable compared to Q3 2023.

    The annual value of new subscriptions for software came to 2.6 million euros, up 17% compared to Q3 2023.

    Q3 2024 revenues came to 120.8 million euros, up 3% compared Q3 2023. EBITDA before non-recurring items was 23.5 million euros and EBITDA margin before non-recurring items stood at 19.5% (-0.5 percentage point).

    1. FIRST NINE MONTHS OF 2024

    Revenues for the first nine months of 2024 were 394.2 million euros, up 10%, with the following breakdown: 111.3 million euros in revenus from new systems (28% of total revenues, down 5%) and 282.9 million euros in recurring revenues (72% of total revenues, up 18%), including 56.4 million euros in SaaS revenue (14% of total revenues, multiplied by 2.6)

    Gross profit came to 281.6 million euros, up 13% compared to the first nine months of 2023, and the gross profit margin came to 71.4%, up 1.7 percentage points.

    EBITDA before non-recurring items totalled 68.5 million euros, up 16%, and the EBITDA margin before non-recurring items rose to 17.4%, up 0.9 percentage point.

    Consolidated income from operations before non-recurring items amounted to 37.3 million euros, up 2%. This included a 16.8 million euros charge for amortization of intangible assets arising from acquisitions made since 2021, including 7.4 million euros for Launchmetrics.

    Considering this amortization, the increase in financial expenses and an income tax charge of 10.0 million euros, net income totalled 21.2 million euros. Net income for the first nine months of 2023 (24.9 million euros) included the impact of a non-recurring income of 2.6 million euros in Q3 2023.

    Free cash flow before non-recurring items came to 49.9 million euros, up sharply from 32.1 million euros in the first nine months of 2023.

    As of September 30, 2024, the Group has a particularly robust balance sheet, with consolidated shareholders’ equity of 332.7 million euros, a negative working capital requirement of 8.7 million euros and net financial debt of 41.0 million euros after payment of the first tranche of the acquisition of Launchmetrics, i.e., 77.0 million euros.

    Lectra 2023 scope

    In the first nine months of 2024, orders for perpetual software licenses, equipment and accompanying software, and non-recurring services (106.3 million euros) were stable compared to the same period in 2023. The annual value of new software subscription orders came to 8.0 million euros, up 4% compared to the first nine months of 2023.

    Revenues amounted to 364.0 million euros, up 2% compared to the first nine months of 2023.

    EBITDA before non-recurring items was 63.2 million euros, up 8%, and the EBITDA margin before non-recurring items came to 17.4%, up 1.0 percentage point compared to 2023.

    1. BUSINESS TRENDS AND OUTLOOK

    In its financial report on the fourth quarter and full year 2023, published on February 14, 2024, Lectra reiterated its long-term vision, as well as the objectives of its 2023-2025 strategic roadmap and its ambitions for 2025: revenues of 600 million euros, of which 400 million euros in recurring revenues, including 90 million euros in SaaS revenues, and an EBITDA margin before non-recurring items exceeding 20%.

    The Group also stated that while the substantial improvement in the fundamentals of the Group’s business model in 2023 would have a positive impact on 2024 results, persistent macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainties could continue to weigh on investment decisions by its customers.

    On February 14, the Group reported its objectives for 2024, before including the Launchmetrics acquisition (i.e., for the Lectra 2023 scope): to achieve revenues in the range of 480 to 530 million euros (+2% to +12%) and EBITDA before non-recurring items in the range of 85 to 107 million euros (+10% to +40%).

    The Group also reported that Launchmetrics revenues (for the consolidation period from January 23 to December 31, 2024) were projected to be in the range of 42 to 46 million euros, with an EBITDA margin before non-recurring items of more than 15%.

    These scenarios were prepared based on the closing exchange rates on December 29, 2023, and particularly $1.10/€1.

    Given the results for the first nine months of 2024, full year revenues and EBITDA before non-recurring items are expected to reach the lower end of the indicated ranges.

    The 2024 Annual Financial Report, as well as the Management Discussion and Analysis of Financial Conditions and Results of Operations and the financial statements for the first nine months of 2024 are available on lectra.com. Q3 and the first nine months of 2024 earnings will be published on October 30, 2024.

    About Lectra

    A major player in the fashion, automotive and furniture markets, Lectra contributes to the development of Industry 4.0 with boldness and passion, fully integrating Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) into its global strategy.The Group offers industrial intelligence solutions – software, cutting equipment, data analysis solutions and associated services – that facilitate the digital transformation of the companies it serves. In doing so, Lectra helps its customers push boundaries and unlock their potential. The Group is proud to state that its 3,000 employees are driven by three core values: being open-minded thinkers, trusted partners and passionate innovators. Founded in 1973, Lectra reported revenues of 478 million euros in 2023. The company is listed on Euronext, where it is included in the following indices: CAC All Shares, CAC Technology, EN Tech Leaders and ENT PEA-PME 150. For more information, visit lectra.com.

    Lectra – World Headquarters: 16–18, rue Chalgrin • 75016 Paris • France
    Tel. +33 (0)1 53 64 42 00 – www.lectra.com
    A French Société Anonyme with capital of €37,832,965 • RCS Paris B 300 702 305

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    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Global: What Labour’s first budget means for wages, businesses, the NHS and plans to grow the economy – experts explain

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Linda Yueh, Fellow in Economics/Adjunct Professor of Economics, University of Oxford

    For the first time in 14 years, it was a Labour chancellor who delivered the UK budget. And for the first time ever, that chancellor was a woman. But Rachel Reeves faces an almighty task: plugging a £40 billion spending gap in the knowledge that pre-election promises not to raise the main taxes are still fresh in people’s memories.

    Growth was the buzzword of the election campaign – Reeves now had to lay her cards on the table. So here’s what our panel of experts made of the plans:

    More challenges for employers and small businesses

    Shampa Roy-Mukherjee, Associate Professor in Economics, University of East London

    The budget introduces £40 billion in tax hikes and, in some areas, spending cuts that will put pressure on the economy and business in particular. But it also reflects the government’s focus on economic growth, with policies intended to stabilise finances while addressing some of the concerns of small businesses.

    The chancellor has retained her commitment to preserve the rates of income tax, employee national insurance and VAT. But a notable change is the increase in employers’ national insurance contributions (NICs) from 13.8% to 15%.

    There was also a reduction in the secondary threshold, which is the amount at which the employer starts paying NI on each employee, from £9,100 to £5,000. Altogether this will raise £25 billion annually but will significantly impact many businesses that will now face higher wage bills.

    The national living wage is also rising by 6.7% to £12.21 per hour in April 2025, boosting incomes for about three million workers but again increasing costs for many businesses. These rising taxes and wage increases, alongside incoming employment regulations, will strain businesses, particularly in sectors with high labour demands.

    To offset some of these pressures, the employment allowance, which allows some smaller employers to reduce their NICs, has been raised from £5,000 to £10,500. The chancellor said that over 1 million employers will not see their NICs bill rise as a result.

    Small businesses in retail, hospitality and leisure, where profits have been hit as consumers struggle with the cost of living, will benefit from a 40% business rate relief on properties up to £110,000. Other supportive measures include a continued freeze on fuel duty, which will aid logistics and transport costs. Corporation tax remains fixed at 25%.

    Higher wages for three million, but it could cost more to get the bus to work

    The biggest change for those on low incomes was an increase in the national minimum wage (for 18 to 20-year-olds) of 16.3%, from £8.60 to £10 an hour, and an increase in the national living wage (for employees aged 21 and over) of 6.7%, from £11.44 to £12.21, from April 2025. This will lead to a pay rise for more than 3 million workers.

    Business associations warn that this will cause job losses, particularly in hospitality and the care sector, where many employees earn the minimum wage. But a large body of research has not found a negative effect of minimum wages on employment.

    There is some evidence that earlier minimum wage rises caused an increase in the number of zero-hours contracts in social care, as firms tried other ways to reduce wages. However, the new employment rights bill introduced earlier in October would limit the use of zero-hours contracts in this scenario.

    The budget could have an indirect effect on pay packets though. The effect of the change to employer NICs will be greater in sectors with more low-paid workers, such as hospitality, and employer associations have warned that it will risk jobs. There is also some evidence that in the long term, firms pass some of these costs on to employees by reducing their wages.

    However, the minimum wage increase will reduce the capacity for firms to reduce wages. And any long-term effect would also be offset by lower income taxes that will come after 2028 when the chancellor has said she will increase the threshold at which people starting paying tax.

    So if wages and profits fall because of increased contributions, then the amount Reeves raises will be lower than expected, because income and corporation tax receipts will be hit.

    Another indirect factor affecting incomes is the cost of getting to work. The fuel duty freeze will continue, but the bus fare cap will increase from £2 to £3. Lower-paid workers and jobseekers are much more likely to use the bus than those with higher incomes, who are more likely to drive, but the cost of bus travel increased much more than the cost of train travel or petrol over the last parliament.

    At the next stop they’re putting up bus fares.
    Mistervlad/Shutterstock

    The fare cap reversed some of this increase, and some evidence shows that it led to more people travelling by bus. But the new £3 cap will only last until the end of 2025, which may be too soon to see much effect.

    A downpayment on growth – but probably not quickly

    Linda Yueh, Adjunct Professor of Economics, University of Oxford

    The chancellor declared that the government will “invest, invest, invest”. This is an important enabler of economic growth.

    But, the country’s creditors need reassuring, so Reeves also announced two new fiscal rules that aim to achieve that balance of allowing the government to borrow to invest (and generate growth), but not to pay for day-to-day spending.

    Specifically, the investment rule permits borrowing to invest and the stability rule requires day-to-day spending to be paid for by taxes. Both rules support the government’s growth aims while trying to reassure the country’s creditors that the borrowing will pay off by generating future growth – and also higher tax receipts with which to repay that borrowing.

    But spending watchdog the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has downgraded the UK’s GDP growth outlook from 2% to 1.8% in 2026, and to 1.5% in 2027 and 2028. The OBR’s forecast of slower growth highlights the impact of the £40 billion of tax increases, which dampens economic activity.

    This underscores the government’s challenge of investing to grow while at the same having to raise taxes to balance the books when it comes to its daily spending. In particular, the OBR’s assessment of slowing growth towards the middle of this parliament raises questions about how long it will take for the investment-fuelled growth to materialise.

    It may be that five years is still too short a period. Many physical investments require planning and those reforms could also take a while. Moreover, getting investment projects under way requires scoping, and private investors will want time to assess before joining the government in energy projects.

    But this budget is certainly a start on a much-needed growth strategy.

    Good news on public investment – emerging industries could benefit

    Phil Tomlinson, Professor of Industrial Strategy, University of Bath

    The key budget change related to the chancellor’s fiscal rules. By redefining how public debt is calculated, Reeves has been able to increase public investment by around £100 billion. The new fiscal rules have gone not as far as some economists have advocated – but they are a welcome step in the right direction.

    Investment was the core focus of the budget. For decades, the UK has suffered from low investment and weak productivity compared to other leading economies. Since 1990, the UK’s investment gap with the average across rich countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has been around £35 billion a year – the UK now ranks 28th of 31 OECD countries on business investment. British workers are using outdated kit and so are less productive. This has meant a stagnant economy and lower living standards.

    So, the budget’s plans to boost investment in the UK’s crumbling infrastructure and public services and to support the new industrial strategy are a positive move. The latter should see additional funding to support emerging tech industries, such as artificial intelligence, cyber and clean energy. And this public investment should “crowd in” additional private investment.

    Clean energy boost?
    StudioFI/Shutterstock

    In the long run, these investments should pay for themselves. For instance, the Office for Budget Responsibility estimates that a sustained increase in public investment of 1% of GDP increases that GDP by 0.5% after five years and more than 2% after ten to 15 years.

    The rise in employer national insurance contributions will increase business’s operating costs, especially those in the care and hospitality sectors. But paradoxically, in the long run, it may encourage some businesses (in sectors where it is feasible) to invest in new labour-saving capital equipment.



    Read more:
    Rachel Reeves is the UK’s first female chancellor. Here’s why that’s so significant

    The NHS gets a cash injection – but it may not go that far

    Karen Bloor, Professor of Health Economics and Policy, University of York

    Amid all the gloomy pre-budget talk of tough choices and economic problems, would the government’s plans to improve the NHS cheer up the country (England, at least)? Not entirely.

    On the plus side, the chancellor promised a generous spending increase of £22.6 billion in the year 2025 to 2026, with £3.1 billion on capital investment. But solving the problems of the NHS is not just about money, and there will be difficult decisions to come.

    Meanwhile, increases in employers’ national insurance contributions, while raising funds, will also have a big impact on the NHS, which employs over 1.5 million people. So the additional spending may be less than it appears.

    The new government has said it has three main priorities for healthcare in England: moving care from hospitals to the community, moving resources from treatment to prevention, and changing systems from analogue to digital. None of these ideas are new, and there are good reasons why they haven’t happened already.

    Expanding primary and community care often does not translate into reduced demand for hospital services – in fact, it can do the opposite, by uncovering previously unmet needs. And successive governments have failed to address long-standing problems in social care, which is crucial to addressing pressures on the NHS. A successful NHS means people living longer, but often with long-term health problems.

    Returns on investment in preventing illness can be substantial, but they vary widely, and can be difficult to achieve. This is particularly true when it comes to interventions needing individual behaviour change, such as increasing exercise or cutting down on alcohol. Even when clearly positive, they take a very long time to generate cost savings.

    And there are other aspects of the chancellor’s plans which could arguably harm public health. Abolition of winter fuel payments for example, could affect the health of older people on low incomes.

    Rising bus fares could affect people’s ability to attend appointments, and the controversial two-child benefit cap, which can affect child health remains in place.

    Finally, while technology should improve the efficiency of services, people need care from people. Capital investment – in scanners, radiotherapy machines and diagnostics – will need to be matched by the cost of the professionals who operate them and interpret their findings.

    More reaction to be published soon.

    Karen Bloor receives funding from the NIHR policy research programme to conduct responsive analysis for the Department of Health and Social Care,

    Phil Tomlinson receives funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) for Made Smarter Innovation: Centre for People-Led Digitalisation.

    Rachel Scarfe is a member of the Labour Party.

    Jonquil Lowe, Linda Yueh, and Shampa Roy-Mukherjee do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. What Labour’s first budget means for wages, businesses, the NHS and plans to grow the economy – experts explain – https://theconversation.com/what-labours-first-budget-means-for-wages-businesses-the-nhs-and-plans-to-grow-the-economy-experts-explain-242509

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI USA: N.M. Delegation Welcomes Over $4 Million From the Infrastructure Law to Enhance Safety, Reduce Delays at Railway Crossings, and Grow Local Economies in Clovis and San Juan County

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-New Mexico)
    ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), and U.S. Representatives Teresa Leger Fernández (D-N.M.), Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.), and Gabe Vasquez (D-N.M.) welcomed a combined $4,570,920 for two projects in New Mexico from the U.S. Department of Transportation to strengthen the nation’s supply chain, reduce costs, and grow New Mexico’s economy.  
    $4,000,000 will help San Juan County and the Navajo Nation complete the planning for a proposed freight rail line connecting Farmington and Gallup.  
    $570,920 will help the City of Clovis enhance safety and reduce traffic delays at two railway crossings. 
    “Thanks to our Infrastructure Law, we’re delivering the funds needed to kick-start planning for a freight rail line from Farmington to Gallup and improve railway crossings in Clovis. Combined, these investments will strengthen our nation’s supply chain, grow local economies, lower transportation costs, create high-quality jobs New Mexicans can build their families around, and improve safety for our communities,” said Heinrich. “I’m pleased to welcome these federal investments, and I remain committed to securing more investments to connect rural communities to the abundant opportunities ahead.” 
    “Across our state, New Mexicans rely daily on our railways for travel and to keep our economy running,” said Luján. “Thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, this $4.5+ million in federal funding will deliver much-needed railway safety enhancements in Clovis and help construct a new rail line within the Navajo Nation to expand regional rail service in Northwestern New Mexico. I’m proud to welcome these two grants that will both boost railway service and drive economic development for Clovis, the Navajo Nation, and their surrounding communities. I will continue to fight to bring federal dollars home to New Mexico to improve the safety, efficiency, and reliability of passenger and freight rail.” 
    “Every time I go to the Four Corners, local leaders emphasize the importance of connecting the region with rail. The Four Corners area is a major economic center of our state, and the funding we’re announcing today is the beginning of our work to make sure our rail infrastructure is ready to meet that potential across San Juan and McKinley Counties,” said Leger Fernández. “I am happy that this funding also includes improvements to safety and efficiency of freight in Clovis. With the support of the CRISI program, we can begin the critical work needed to build stronger connections and drive growth in rural New Mexico.” 
    “I am thrilled about the recent allocation of two significant federal grants from the Federal Railroad Administration’s CRISI program, which will greatly enhance rail safety and connectivity in New Mexico,” said Stansbury. “These two grants reflect our commitment to investing in infrastructure prioritizing safety and economic growth. I am grateful for the support from the Federal Railroad Administration and look forward to seeing these projects come to fruition as we work together to build a safer New Mexico!” 
    “Federal investments like this bring vital safety and economic benefits to communities across New Mexico. With this funding, we’re improving railway safety, cutting down delays, and connecting New Mexicans to opportunities that drive economic growth and quality jobs,” said Vasquez. “Thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we are building a stronger, safer transportation network. I’m proud to welcome this funding to bring more jobs and opportunities to our rural communities.” 
    “The award of grant funding takes a prospective freight rail line study further than any study in the past and is further proof of the importance of collaboration between tribal, local, state, and federal partners to open doors to economic opportunities. We are appreciative of assistance from New Mexico’s federal delegation and excited for future economic growth opportunities in San Juan County and the Four Corners region,” said John T. Beckstead, San Juan County Commission Chairman. 
    “The Federal CRISI Grant brings San Juan County and the City of Farmington one step closer to having competitive transportation and economic development. This is an important step in growing our regional economy,” said Tim Gibbs, Four Corner Economic Development CEO. 
    The grants are awarded through the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Railroad Administration’s Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) Program, which provides funding for projects that improve the safety, efficiency, and reliability of intercity passenger and freight rail. The CRISI Program received significant, additional investments from the Infrastructure Law – legislation passed by Democrats in the N.M. Congressional Delegation.  
    The N.M. Delegation sent a letter of support to the U.S. Department of Transportation supporting the grant for San Juan County that is being announced today. This grant will prepare the Four Corners Rail Project for final design proposals and planning. 
    In May 2020, Heinrich and Luján wrote a letter of support for San Juan County’s application for a Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) Grant,  which applicants of the CRISI Program are required to be approved for.  
    Members of the N.M. Delegation sent a letter of support to the U.S. Department of Transportation urging the support of the grant for the City of Clovis that is being announced today. This grant will enhance safety and reduce traffic delays at two railway crossings including modifications to the Norris Street railroad crossing and construction of a new grade-separated crossing at MLK Jr. Boulevard.  
    Below is a breakdown of the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Railroad Administration funding:  
    Project Name 
    Recipient 
    Award Amount 
    Project Description 
    Clovis, N.M. Corridor Improvement Project 
    City of Clovis 
    $ 570,920 
    The proposed project was selected for Project Development and includes activities for one grade crossing separation and improvements to a second at-grade crossing along the BNSF Railway line in Clovis, New Mexico. The project aligns with the selection criteria by enhancing safety and improving system and service performance as the project will reduce blocked crossings. The City of Clovis and BNSF Railway will contribute the 53 percent non-Federal match. This project qualifies for the statutory set-aside for projects in Rural Areas. 
    Four Corners Freight Rail Project 
    San Juan County 
    $ 4,000,000 
    The proposed project was selected for Project Development and includes activities to develop a new rail line to connect the Farmington, New Mexico Area to the BNSF Railway corridor near Gallup across San Juan County and McKinley County, New Mexico. The proposed project is a partnership between San Juan County, the Navajo Nation, and the New Mexico Department of Transportation, and most of the project is located within the Navajo Nation. The project aligns with the selection criteria by enhancing resilience and improving system and service performance as the project will provide a viable freight transportation modal alternative to highway trucking, opportunities to simplify the supply chain, and enable new, rail-dependent economic development opportunities thereby imparting benefits to the Navajo Nation and surrounding communities. San Juan County will contribute the 20 percent non-Federal match. This project qualifies for the statutory set-aside for projects in Rural Areas. 
     For more information from San Juan County on the proposed Four Corners Rail Project, please click here. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Lankford Calls Out Department of Energy for Creating Database for Religious Accommodations

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Oklahoma James Lankford

    OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – Senator James Lankford (R-OK) sent a letter to the Department of Energy following a notice from the Department establishing new system of records for medical and non-medical accommodations requests, which may violate First Amendment rights.  

    “While I understand the Department’s intent to manage accommodation requests effectively, I am deeply concerned that collecting detailed records on an individual’s sincerely held religious beliefs and practices—alongside other personal and sensitive information—poses a significant threat to the privacy and religious freedoms of federal employees. The federal government has an obligation to protect religious liberty, ensuring that individuals are not subject to unnecessary scrutiny or invasive data collection that could deter them from exercising their constitutionally protected rights,” Lankford wrote in the letter.

    You can read the full letter HERE or below:

    Dear Ms. Dunkin,

    I write to express my strong opposition to the Department of Energy’s recent notice regarding the establishment of a new system of records, DOE-47, Reasonable Accommodation Requests Records (89 FR 78854). This system, which would collect and store information concerning employees and applicants requesting medical or religious accommodations, represents a grave violation of religious liberty as protected under the First Amendment and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA).

    While I understand the Department’s intent to manage accommodation requests effectively, I am deeply concerned that collecting detailed records on an individual’s sincerely held religious beliefs and practices—alongside other personal and sensitive information—poses a significant threat to the privacy and religious freedoms of federal employees. The federal government has an obligation to protect religious liberty, ensuring that individuals are not subject to unnecessary scrutiny or invasive data collection that could deter them from exercising their constitutionally protected rights.

    The proposed system also risks creating an environment in which employees may feel compelled to disclose private details about their faith or religious practices in order to justify their accommodation requests. This can lead to potential religious discrimination or bias in the workplace. Furthermore, the inclusion of categories such as religious leaders’ contact information and details on specific religious practices only deepens the potential for abuse or misuse of this data.

    In light of these serious concerns, I urge the Department of Energy to reconsider the implementation of DOE-47 in its current form. I ask the Department to consider alternative ways to ensure reasonable accommodations are granted without compromising the privacy and religious liberties of federal employees.

    Thank you for your attention to this critical issue. I look forward to your response.

    In God We Trust,

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: New funding to fix the NHS: here’s how it will be spent

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    The Chancellor has announced 40,000 more appointments each week to cut NHS waiting lists.

    The NHS needs both investment and reform. As part of the Autumn Budget 2024, the government has allocated our most valued public service an extra £25.7 billion over this year and next. 

    This is the biggest increase in NHS spending since 2010, excluding COVID-19 years. 

    It includes funding to reduce waiting times by supporting the NHS to deliver an extra 40,000 elective appointments a week. Elective appointments are appointments planned in advance, such as knee replacements. 

    Since July, the government has invested an additional £1.8 billion to support this. 

    These extra appointments will help reduce waiting times. This is part of our plan to make sure patients wait no longer than 18 weeks from their referral to getting treatment.  

    The Budget also includes:  

    • £1.5 billion to fund new surgical hubs which will help build capacity for over 30,000 additional procedures, and more than 1.25 million additional diagnostic tests (which use CT or MRI scanners) 

    • £70 million to invest in new radiotherapy machines to improve cancer treatment 

    • Over £2 billion for NHS technology and digital improvements to increase productivity and save staff time 

    • Over £600 million increase in local government spending to support social care  

    • £26 million to open new mental health crisis centres 

    Our long-term plans for the NHS  

    Looking beyond this Budget, the government will publish a 10-year health plan for the NHS in spring 2025.  

    This will set out the long-term vision for fixing the NHS.  

    Change NHS: submit your own ideas for how to fix the NHS

    Updates to this page

    Published 30 October 2024

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: A Budget to fix the foundations and deliver change for Wales

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Chancellor takes long-term decisions to restore stability, rebuild Britain and protect working people across Wales.

    HM Treasury

    • Chancellor takes long-term decisions to restore stability, rebuild Britain and protect working people across Wales.
    • No change to working people’s payslips as employee national insurance and VAT stay the same, but businesses and the wealthiest asked to pay their fair share.
    • Record £21 billion for the Welsh Government in 2025/26 includes £1.7 billion through the Barnett formula.
    • Funding for freeports, City and Growth Deals and coal tips to fire up growth and deliver good jobs across Wales.

    The Chancellor has delivered a Budget to fix the foundations to deliver on the promise of change after a decade and a half of stagnation. She set out plans to rebuild Britain, while ensuring working people across Wales don’t face higher taxes in their payslips. The UK Government was handed a challenging inheritance; £22 billion of unfunded in-year spending pressures, debt at its highest since the 1960s, an unrealistic forecast for departmental spending, and stagnating living standards.

    This Budget takes difficult decisions to restore economic and fiscal stability, so that the UK Government can invest in the economic future of Wales and lay the foundations for growth across the UK as its number one mission.

    The Chancellor announced that the Welsh Government will be provided with a £21 billion settlement in 2025/26 – the largest in real terms in the history of devolution. This includes a £1.7 billion top-up through the Barnett formula, with £1.5 billion for day-to-day spending and £250 million for capital investment.

    Secretary of State for Wales Jo Stevens said:

    This Budget has delivered for Wales for the first time in a generation.

    The biggest settlement since devolution will provide a record boost to spending for the Welsh Government to support public services like the NHS while thousands of working people across Wales will benefit from today’s increases to their wages.

    Little more than a week after the anniversary of Aberfan disaster it is fitting that we have committed £25m to make coal tips safe. It is testament to the new relationship between the UK and Welsh government, based on cooperation, respect and delivery.

    We will also drive economic growth and support our world-leading Welsh industries with Investment Zones, Freeports and funding for communities across Wales.

    We have prioritised money to support our steel communities, with nearly £100m to support workers and businesses.

    This Budget delivers on what’s important to the people of Wales, and shows the difference we can make when two governments work together for the benefit of all.

    Protecting working people and living standards

    While fixing the inheritance requires tough decisions, the Chancellor has committed to protecting the living standards of working people. The decisions taken by the Chancellor to rebuild public finances enable the UK Government to deliver on its pledge to not increase National Insurance or VAT on working people in Wales, meaning they will not see higher taxes in their payslip.

    • The National Living Wage will increase from £11.44 to £12.21 an hour from April 2025. The 6.7% increase – worth £1,400 a year for a full-time worker – is a significant move towards delivering a genuine living wage.
    • The National Minimum Wage for 18 to 20-year-olds will also see a record rise from £8.60 to £10 an hour.
    • Working people will benefit from these increases, with there estimated to be over 70,000 minimum wage workers in Wales in 2023.
    • The Chancellor has made the decision to protect working people in Wales from being dragged into higher tax brackets by confirming that National Insurance Contributions thresholds will be unfrozen from 2028-29 onwards.
    • The Chancellor is also protecting motorists by freezing fuel duty for one year – a tax cut worth £3 billion, with the temporary 5p cut extended to 22 March 2026. This will benefit an estimated 2.1 million people in Wales, saving the average car driver £59, vans £126 and Heavy Goods Vehicles £1,079 next year.
    • To support Welsh pubs and smaller brewers in Wales, the UK Government is cutting duty on qualifying draught products by 1p, which represent approximately 3 in 5 alcoholic drinks sold in pubs. This measure reduces duty bills by over £70 million a year, cutting duty on an average strength pint in a pub by a penny. The relief available to small producers will be updated to help smaller brewers and cidermakers.  
    • Over 600,000 Welsh pensioners will benefit from a 4.1% increase to their new or basic State Pension in April 2025. This is an additional £470 a year for those on the new State Pension and an additional £360 a year for those on the basic State Pension.
    • Households eligible for Pension Credit will get £465 a year more for single pensioners and up to £710 a year more for couples due to a 4.1% increase in the Pension Credit Standard Minimum Guarantee, benefitting 80,000 pensioners in Wales.
    • Around 1.1 million families in in Wales will see their working-age benefits uprated in line with inflation – a £150 gain on average in 2025-26.
    • Reducing the maximum level of debt repayments that can be deducted from a household’s Universal Credit payment each month from 25% to 15% will benefit a Welsh family by over £420 a year on average.
    • The weekly earnings limit for Carer’s Allowance will be increased by £45 a week from April next year, expanding support to more carers in Wales and helping them balance work and caring responsibilities. This is the largest ever increase to the earnings limit and provides certainty for carers with a commitment that the earnings limit will increase with the National Living Wage in the future.

    Rebuilding Britain

    This UK Government will not make a return to austerity and will instead boost investment to rebuild Britain and lay the foundations for growth in Wales. This includes £160 million of targeted funding for the Welsh Government, of which £150 million is in capital investment.

    • The UK Government will deliver £88 million for City and Growth Deals, unlocking growth and investment across Wales.
    • The government also confirms £80 million funding for the Port Talbot / Tata Steel Transition Board, with work already underway to support workers and businesses affected by decarbonisation at Tata Steel.
    • £29 million of funding will be provided to the Welsh Government for the necessary build costs of border facilities in Holyhead and Pembrokeshire.
    • Essential work being undertaken by the Welsh Government to keep disused coal tips maintained and safe will be supported by £25 million of funding in 2025/26.
    • The Budget gives certainty to local leaders and investors, confirming funding for the Investment Zones and Freeports programmes across the UK – including the Celtic Freeport where tax sites will be operational from next month.
    • The Chancellor committed the UK Government to working closely with the Welsh Government on the Industrial Strategy, 10-year infrastructure strategy and the National Wealth Fund – to ensure the benefits of these are felt UK-wide and as part of the relationship reset between governments. These will mobilise billions of pounds of investment in the UK’s world-leading clean energy and growth industries.
    • Under-served parts of Wales will benefit from the rollout of digital infrastructure enabled by over £500 million of UK-wide investment in Project Gigabit and the Shared Rural Network.
    • A corporate tax roadmap will provide businesses with the stability and certainty they need to make long-term investment decisions and support our growth mission. It confirms our competitive offer, with the lowest Corporate Tax rate in the G7 and generous support for investment and innovation.
    • The UK Government will also proceed with implementing the 45%/40% rates of the theatre, orchestra, museum and galleries tax relief from 1 April 2025 to provide certainty to businesses in Wales’ thriving cultural sector.

    Repairing public finances

    The Chancellor has made clear that, whilst protecting working people with measures to reduce the cost of living, there would be difficult decisions required. The Budget will ask businesses and the wealthiest to pay their fair share while making taxes fairer. This will go directly towards fixing the foundations of the UK economy.

    • The rate of Employers’ National Insurance will increase by 1.2 percentage points, to 15%. The Secondary Threshold – the level at which employers start paying national insurance on each employee’s salary – will reduce from £9,100 per year to £5,000 per year.
    • The smallest businesses will be protected as the Employment Allowance will increase to £10,500 from £5,000, allowing Welsh firms to employ four National Living Wage workers full time without paying employer national insurance on their wages.
    • Capital Gains Tax will increase from 10% to 18% for those paying the lower rate, and 20% to 24% for those paying the higher rate.
    • To encourage entrepreneurs to invest in their businesses Business Asset Disposal Relief (BADR) will remain at 10% this year, before rising to 14% on 6 April 2025 and 18% from 6 April 2026-27.
    • The lifetime limit of BADR will be maintained at £1 million. The lifetime limit of Investors’ Relief will be reduced from £10 million to £1 million.
    • The OBR say changes to CGT will raise over £2.5 billion a year and the UK will continue to have the lowest CGT rate of any European G7 country.
    • Inheritance Tax thresholds will be fixed at their current levels for a further two years until April 2030. More than 90% of estates each year will be outside of its scope. From April 2027 inherited pensions will be subject to Inheritance Tax. This removes a distortion which has led to pensions being used as a tax planning vehicle to transfer wealth rather than their original purpose to fund retirement.
    • From April 2026, agricultural property relief and business property relief will be reformed. The highest rate of relief will continue at 100% for the first £1 million of combined business and agricultural assets, fully protecting the majority of businesses and farms. It will reduce to 50% after the first £1 million. Reforms will affect the wealthiest 2,000 estates each year. Inheritance Tax reforms in total are predicted by the OBR to raise £2 billion to support stability.
    • From 2026-27 Air Passenger Duty (APD) for short and long-haul flights will increase by 13% to the nearest pound, a partial adjustment to account for previous high inflation. For economy passengers, this means a maximum £2 extra per short haul flight and tickets for children under the age of 16 remain exempt from APD. APD for larger private jets will be increased by a further 50%.

    The Budget also announced a package of measures that disincentivise activities that cause ill health, by:

    • Renewing the tobacco duty escalator which increases all tobacco duty rates by RPI+2% plus an above escalator increase to hand rolling tobacco (totalling RPI+12%).  
    • Introducing a new vaping duty at a flat rate of 22p/ml from October 2026, accompanied by a further one-off increase in tobacco duty to maintain financial incentive to choose vaping over smoking. 
    • To help tackle obesity and other harms caused by high sugar intake, the Soft Drinks Industry Levy will increase to account for inflation since it was last updated in 2018, and the duty will rise in line with inflation every year going forward.
    • The UK Government will also uprate alcohol duty in line with RPI on 1 February 2025, except for most drinks in pubs.

    The UK Government has set out the next steps to deliver its tax manifesto commitments in the July Statement. Having consulted on the final policy details where appropriate, this Budget delivers the UK Government’s manifesto commitments to raise revenue to pay for First Steps, with reforms that are underpinned by fairness, and tackle tax avoidance by:  

    • A new residence-based regime will replace the current non-dom regime from April 2025 and will be designed to attract investment and talent to the UK.
    • Offshore trusts will no longer be able to be used to shelter assets from Inheritance Tax, and there will be transitional arrangement in place for people who have made plans based on current rules.
    • The planned 50% reduction for foreign income in the first year of the new regime will be removed.
    • Reforms to the non-dom regime will raise a total of £12.7 billion according to the OBR.
    • The tax treatment of carried interest will be reformed by first increasing the Capital Gains Tax rates on carried interest to 32% and then, from April 2026, moving to a revised regime – with bespoke rules to reflect the characteristics of the reward.
    • The UK Government will also introduce 20% VAT on education and boarding services provided for a charge by private schools from 1 January 2025.

    The Chancellor also doubled down on fiscal responsibility through two new fiscal rules that put the public finances on a sustainable path and prioritise investment to support long-term growth, and new principles of stability. Spending Reviews will be held every two years, setting plans for at least three years to ensure public services are always planned and improve value for money. 

    One major fiscal event per year will give families and businesses stability and certainty on tax and spending changes, while giving the Welsh Government greater clarity for in its own budget-setting.  A Fiscal Lock will also ensure no future government can sideline the OBR again.

    Updates to this page

    Published 30 October 2024

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –