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Category: Politics

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Here’s why 3-person embryos are a breakthrough for science – but not LGBTQ+ families

    Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Jennifer Power, Principal Research Fellow, Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society, La Trobe University

    Last week, scientists announced the birth of eight healthy babies in the United Kingdom conceived with DNA from three people. Some headlines have called it “three-person IVF”.

    The embryo uses the DNA from the egg and sperm of the intended father and mother, as well as cells from the egg of a second woman (the donor).

    This process – known as mitochondrial replacement therapy – allows women with certain genetic disorders to conceive a child without passing on their condition.

    While it’s raised broader questions about “three-parent” babies, it’s not so simple. Here’s why it’s unlikely this development will transform the diverse ways LGBTQ+ people are already making families.

    What this technology is – and isn’t

    The UK became the first country in the world to allow mitochondrial donation for three-person embryos ten years ago, in 2015.

    In other countries, such donations are banned or strictly controlled. In Australia, a staged approach to allow mitochondrial donation was introduced in 2022. Stage one will involve clinical trials to determine safety and effectiveness, and establish clear ethical guidelines for donations.

    These restrictions are based on political and ethical concerns about the use of human embryos for research, the unknown health impact on children, and the broader implications of allowing genetic modification of human embryos.

    There are also concerns about the ethical or legal implications of creating babies with “three parents”.

    Carefully and slowly considering these ethical issues is clearly important. But it’s inaccurate to suggest this process creates three parents.

    First, the amount of DNA the donor provides is tiny, only 0.1% of the baby’s DNA. The baby will not share any physical characteristics with the donor.

    While it is significant that two women’s DNA has been used in creating an embryo, it doesn’t mean lesbian couples will be rushing to access this particular in vitro fertilisation (IVF) technology.

    This technique is only used for people affected by mitochondrial disease and is closely regulated. It is not available more widely and in Australia, is not yet available even for this use.

    Second, while biological lineage is an important part of many people’s identity and sense of self, DNA alone does not make a parent.

    As many adoptive, foster and LGBTQ+ parents will attest, parenting is about love, connection and everyday acts of care for a child.

    How do rainbow families use IVF?

    Existing IVF is already expensive and medically invasive. Many fertility services offer a range of additional treatments purported to aid fertility, but extra interventions add more costs and are not universally recommended by doctors.

    While many lesbian couples and single women use fertility services to access donor sperm, not everyone will need to use IVF.

    Less invasive fertilisation techniques, such as intrauterine insemination, may be available for women without fertility problems. This means inserting sperm directly into the uterus, rather than fertilising an egg in a clinic and then implanting that embryo.

    Same-sex couples who have the option to create a baby with a sperm donor they know – rather than from a register – may also choose home-based insemination, the proverbial turkey baster. This is a cheaper and more intimate way to conceive and many women prefer a donor who will have some involvement in their child’s life.

    In recent years, “reciprocal” IVF has also grown in popularity among lesbian couples. This means an embryo is created using one partner’s egg, and the other partner carries it.

    Reciprocal IVF’s popularity suggests biology does play a role for LGBTQ+ women in conceiving a baby. When both mothers share a biological connection to the child, it may help overcome stigmatisation of “non-birth” mothers as less legitimate.

    But biology is by no means the defining feature of rainbow families.

    LGBTQ+ people are already parents

    The 2021 census showed 17% of same-sex couples had children living with them; among female same-sex couples it was 28%. This is likely an underestimate, as the census only collects data on couples that live together.

    Same-sex couples often conceive children using donor sperm or eggs, and this may involve surrogacy. But across the LGBTQ+ community, there are diverse ways people become parents.

    Same-sex couples are one part of the LGBTQ+ community. Growing numbers of trans and non-binary people are choosing to carry a baby (as gestational parents), as well as single parents who use donors or fertility services. Many others conceive children through sex, including bi+ people or others who conceive within a relationship.

    While LGBTQ+ people can legally adopt children in Australia, adoption is not common. However, many foster parents are LGBTQ+.

    When they donate eggs or sperm to others, some LGBTQ+ people may stay involved in the child’s life as a close family friend or co-parent.

    Connection and care, not DNA

    While mitochondrial replacement therapy is a remarkable advance in gene technology, it is unlikely to open new pathways to parenthood for LGBTQ+ people in Australia.

    Asserting the importance of families based on choice – not biology or what technology is available – has been crucial to the LGBTQ+ community’s story and to rainbow families’ fight to be recognised.

    Decades of research now shows children raised by same-sex couples do just as well as any other child. What matters is parents’ consistency, love and quality of care.

    Jennifer Power receives funding from the Australian Department of Health, Disability and Aged Care and the Australian Research Council.

    – ref. Here’s why 3-person embryos are a breakthrough for science – but not LGBTQ+ families – https://theconversation.com/heres-why-3-person-embryos-are-a-breakthrough-for-science-but-not-lgbtq-families-261462

    MIL OSI –

    July 23, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: Chairman McCaul Delivers Opening Remarks at Task Force on Securing the Homeland for Special Events Inaugural Hearing

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Michael McCaul (10th District of Texas)

    WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) — chairman of the bipartisan Task Force on Enhancing Security for Special Events — held the task force’s first hearing, entitled “Lessons Learned: An examination of historic security incidents at mass gatherings.” Chairman McCaul highlighted several previous attacks on mass gatherings and emphasized the need for federal and state level cooperation in preventing future security incidents ahead of major events planned in the United States, including the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the 2028 Olympics. 

    Click to watch 

    Full Transcript of Opening Remarks: 

    I’d like to welcome everyone to this inaugural hearing of the bipartisan House Committee on Homeland Security’s Task Force on Enhancing Security for Special Events in the United States. In the coming decade, the United States will host millions of international travelers for several major national and international special events, including the FIFA World Cup, the celebration of the United States 250th birthday in 2026, and the Los Angeles Summer Olympics of 2028. 

    Though these events present an opportunity to showcase everything that makes America great, we cannot forget that our adversaries and other violent extremists will view these events as targets for inflicting mass casualties and generating fear.

    To that end, I’m honored to chair the task force and lead the committee’s efforts in investigating and conducting oversight of the security needs of these major national and international events. Our goal is to develop and advance legislative solutions that will enhance our preparedness and security posture against all threats, and I look forward to working with the ranking member of the task force, Mrs. Nelly Pou of New Jersey, and with all the members assigned to this task force to empower state and local law enforcement and other first responders to carry out their missions.

    As we prepare to secure the major events ahead, this task force must begin by learning from past failures both here and abroad. In the United States, we’ve seen deadly attacks at mass gatherings: the 1996 Olympic bombing in Atlanta and the 2025 New Year’s Day attack in New Orleans. Abroad, the 1972 Munich Olympics, which are still emblazoned in my mind, saw terrorist murder [11] Israeli athletes after exploiting security gaps. In addition, in 2015, ISIS launched coordinated attacks across Paris, killing 130. 

    These tragedies make clear the cost of complacency, and we owe it to the American people to confront these lessons and ensure we don’t repeat them. This hearing is the first step.

    Today’s historic focus will lead us to discuss and consider [events] like the instance of vehicular terrorism on January 1st of this year in New Orleans, the crowd security breach at the Copa América final game at Miami Hard Rock Stadium last year, and the Kansas City parade shooting early last year.

    We will also discuss the 2013 Boston Marathon Bombing, which occurred during my tenure as chairman of this committee. And, Commissioner Davis, it’s great to see you again. We worked well together in our oversight and investigating the activities following that tragedy to find a constructive outcome so that something like that couldn’t happen again. 

    So, we look forward to hearing from our witnesses on these challenges, what we can do better and more importantly, we want to know what more Congress and the federal government can do to strengthen security ahead of these major events.

    One clear lesson from the past attacks is the need for strong intelligence sharing. Our state and local law enforcement rely on timely information from the federal intelligence community, especially our fusion centers. With rising tensions in the Middle East and the threat of Iran backed actors operating inside the United States, raising awareness and coordination is critical to stopping potential attacks before they happen.

    Earlier this month, Congress passed — and the president signed into law — supplemental funding for the World Cup and the Los Angeles Olympics, which will be used in part to enhance information sharing. That same information sharing is critical in stopping human trafficking, which we see unfortunately all too well at these events. With millions of international visitors expected, criminal networks will look to exploit. 

    We also face a growing threat from drones. According to the NFL, there were over 2,800 drone incursions at stadiums during the 2023 season — a 4,000-percent increase from just five years prior. With minimal skill, bad actors can use these drones to launch attacks or create chaos. Yet most state and local agencies lack the authority to respond. We need to equip federal agencies so they can help the state agencies and close the gap to make these events safe. 

    We have a lot of work to do ahead of these events. I hope this hearing is a strong first step to ensure the incidents we discuss today will never happen again, and that the United States remains a global leader in providing safe and secure experiences for citizens and visitors alike. 

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

    July 23, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: SCHNEIDER STATEMENT ON PALESTINIAN-AMERICAN KILLED IN WEST BANK

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Brad Schneider (D-IL)

    WASHINGTON – Rep. Brad Schneider, co-chair and co-founder of the Abraham Accords Caucus and a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, released the following statement in response to the death of Palestinian-American Sayfollah Musallet, who was killed in a confrontation with Israeli settlers on July 11:

    “I am appalled and heartbroken by news of the killing of Sayfollah Musallet, a 20-year-old American citizen from Florida, by Israeli settlers in the West Bank. The attack took place in Area B as defined by the Oslo Accords, a space where Israel exercises security responsibility and no settlements may be constructed.

    “Palestinian militant attacks on Israelis and Israeli settler attacks on Palestinians are acts of terrorism. Terrorism is never justified.

    “As a lifelong and unyielding defender of Israel’s security, and a committed advocate for peace between Israelis and Palestinians, I’ve repeatedly called on the Israeli government to address the growing number of violent attacks by Israeli settlers in the West Bank. This violence is a threat to Israel’s security and a barrier to a better, peaceful future for Israelis, Palestinians and the region as a whole. 

    “Israel’s democracy, like all democracies, depends on the rule of law and its equal application to all citizens. Israeli authorities must fully investigate this incident and hold the perpetrators to account.”

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

    July 23, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: Rep. Chu and Senator Padilla and Colleagues Join Union Workers to Introduce Legislation to Protect Workers from Extreme Heat

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Judy Chu (CA2-27)

    Rep. Chu and Senator Padilla and Colleagues Join Union Workers to Introduce Legislation to Protect Workers from Extreme Heat

    WATCH: Rep. Chu’s remarks on pushing for enforceable workplace heat stress protections after hottest year on record

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, following yet another extreme heat wave in California, U.S. Representative Judy Chu (D-Calif.-28) and Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), joined by co-leads Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.-03), Senator Ed Markey (D-Mass.), and Rep. Alma Adams (D-N.C.-12), stood alongside union leaders, including Yaisy Villalobos of the United Farm Workers (UFW), Dorothy Bryant of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), and Roy Houseman of the United Steelworkers (USW) to announce their bipartisan, bicameral legislation to establish an enforceable federal workplace heat protection standard.

    To address the increasing risks from extreme temperatures, the lawmakers introduced the Asunción Valdivia Heat Illness, Injury, and Fatality Prevention Act, legislation to protect the safety and health of indoor and outdoor workers who are exposed to dangerous heat conditions in the workplace. The legislation would protect workers against occupational exposure to excessive heat by requiring the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to establish an enforceable federal standard to protect workers in high-heat environments with common sense measures like paid breaks in cool spaces, access to water, limitations on time exposed to heat, and emergency response for workers with heat-related illness. The bill would also direct employers to provide training for their employees on the risk factors that can lead to heat illness and guidance on the proper procedures for responding to symptoms.

    The bill is named in honor of Asunción Valdivia, who died in 2004 in California after picking grapes for 10 hours straight in 105-degree temperatures. Mr. Valdivia fell unconscious, but instead of calling an ambulance, his employer told Mr. Valdivia’s son to drive his father home. On his way home, he died of heat stroke at the age of 53. 

    Ever since the United Farm Workers first shared Asunción Valdivia’s story with her, Rep. Judy Chu has been a tireless advocate to protect workers from dangerous heat exposure. She helped pass into law a state heat standard for outdoor workers when she was in the California state legislature. And she will continue to introduce this federal legislation each session of Congress until workers finally have a federal law protecting them from heat-related illness, injury, or death while on the job.

    “As we continue to experience record-breaking summer heat waves, we’re also seeing a distressing increase in cases of workers collapsing and even losing their lives due to excessive heat. I will never forget people like Asunción Valdivia or Esteban Chavez Jr., who passed away in Pasadena, California in 2022 after a day of delivering packages in 90-degree heat in a truck without air conditioning. Unfortunately, their tragic deaths were entirely preventable,” said Representative Chu. “Whether on a farm, driving a truck, or working in a warehouse, workers like Asunción and Esteban keep our country running while enduring some of the most difficult conditions—often without access to water or rest. To protect our workforce and save lives, we must pass this bill into law and establish comprehensive and enforceable federal standards addressing heat stress on the job.”

    “Asunción Valdivia’s death was completely preventable, yet his story is sadly not unique. As the planet continues to grow hotter, there is still no federally enforceable heat safety standard for workers. That’s not just dangerous for the farm workers and construction workers who work all day outside in the sun — it’s also dangerous for the factory and restaurant workers in boiling warehouses and kitchens,” said Senator Padilla. “Every family deserves to know that even on the hottest day, their loved one will come back home. A national heat safety standard would provide that peace of mind and finally give workers the safety they deserve.”

    “This summer, Americans across the country are grappling with some of the hottest temperatures on record. Yet workers in this country still have no legal protection against excessive heat—one of the oldest, most serious, and most common workplace hazards. Heat illness affects workers in our nation’s fields, warehouses, and factories, and climate change is making the problem more severe every year,” said Ranking Member Scott, House Committee on Education and Workforce. “This legislation will require OSHA to issue a heat standard on a much faster track than the normal OSHA regulatory process. I was proud to advance this important bill in 2022, and I urge Chairman Walberg and Committee Republicans to do so again this Congress. Workers deserve nothing less, particularly as heat-related illnesses and deaths rise.”

    “Even as heat waves become more frequent, longer-lasting, and more severe, red state politicians are rolling back heat protections and child labor protections across the country. It’s not rocket science—you cannot be pro-worker if you are anti-heat protection,” said Senator Markey. “Our legislation would provide workers with basic, effective protections: access to water, access to shade, time limits on high heat exposure, and procedures for emergency medical response. Every worker deserves to know when they clock in that they will return home safe at the end of their shift.  The thermometer is rising and the clock is ticking. Republicans want to sacrifice working Americans. Let’s save our workers instead.”

    “As we face record temperatures, it has never been more important that we protect our workers facing extreme heat in the workplace,” said Representative Adams. “Last year, a North Carolina postal worker Wendy Johnson lost her life to heat illness after spending hours in the back of a postal truck on a 95-degree day with no air conditioning. Her death was entirely preventable, and Wendy should still be with us today. I’m proud to introduce this bill so we can honor her memory and ensure every worker has the protections from extreme heat that Wendy deserved.” 

    “From farmhands to construction workers, America’s essential workforce is doing important work while under extreme heat conditions,” said Senator Cortez Masto. “Temperatures continue to reach record highs in Nevada and across the United States. We must act now to protect our communities’ vital workers.”  

    According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 2024 was the warmest year on record for the United States. The past decade, including 2024, was the hottest on record, marking a decade of extreme heat that will only get worse. Heat-related illnesses can cause heat cramps, organ damage, heat exhaustion, stroke, and even death. Farm workers and construction workers suffer the highest incidence of heat illness. And no matter what the weather is outside, workers in factories, commercial kitchens, and other workplaces, including ones where workers must wear personal protective equipment (PPE), can face dangerously high heat conditions all year round. From 2011-2020, heat exposure killed at least 400 workers and caused nearly 34,000 injuries and illnesses resulting in days away from work; both are likely vast underestimates. The Washington Center for Equitable Growth estimates hot temperatures caused at least 360,000 workplace injuries in California from 2001 to 2018, or about 20,000 injuries a year. The failure to implement simple heat safety measures costs U.S. employers nearly $100 billion every year in lost productivity.

    The Asunción Valdivia Heat Illness, Injury, and Fatality Prevention Act has the support of a broad coalition of over 250 groups, including: Rural Coalition, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, AFL-CIO, UNITE HERE!, AFSCME, Communication Workers of America, Alianza Nacional de Campesinas, Sierra Club, United Farm Workers, Farmworker Justice, Public Citizen, National Employment Law Project, International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers, United Auto Workers, United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, Union of Concerned Scientists, United Steelworkers, National Council for Occupational Safety and Health, National Resources Defense Council, Service Employees International Union, American Lung Association, and Health Partnerships.

    “Every worker safety rule in America is written in blood,” said UFW President Teresa Romero. “The UFW has been fighting for heat safety protections for decades. Over 20 years later, Asuncion Valdivia’s death still hurts. There are so many other farm workers — many whose names we do not know — who have also been killed by extreme heat on the job in the years since. Enough is enough. Every farm worker deserves access to water, shade, and paid rest breaks — it’s past time for Congress get this done.”

    “Too many workers – including AFSCME members – have lost their lives on the job as a result of blistering heat waves and record-breaking temperatures,” said AFSCME President Lee Saunders. “As the number of heat-related illnesses and fatalities continue to rise, it is well past time we adopt nationwide safeguards to better protect the workers who maintain our infrastructure, keep our streets clean, harvest our food, and keep our economy moving. We at AFSCME thank Senator Padilla and Representative Chu for introducing the Asunción Valdivia Heat Illness, Injury, and Fatality Prevention Act, which will ensure essential workers who brave the heat can do their jobs safely and effectively, and most importantly, make it home alive.”

    “For the Steelworkers Union, we represent workers in manufacturing settings and in a host of other areas where not only is it hot outside, but the areas that they work around are as hot as up to 3,000 degrees and they must wear protective equipment. The Asunción Valdivia Heat, Illness, Injury, and Fatality Prevention Act is important because it will provide a basic standard for not just outdoor, but indoor workplaces as well to ensure that there is proper rest breaks and the ability to stay cool. The Steelworkers are absolutely supportive of this bill and are going to work with Republicans and Democrats to ensure that heat illness is the last thing a worker should worry about,” said Roy Houseman, Legislative Director of United Steelworkers. 

    “Everyone deserves safe working conditions, but powerful corporations have not done enough to protect their workers from hot working environments, exacerbated by the climate crisis,” said Liz Shuler, President of the AFL-CIO. “Extreme heat is increasingly causing indoor and outdoor workers to collapse or even die on the job, and our union family has already lost too many members to preventable, work-related heat illness. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) must issue a strong heat rule, not a weak one, to ensure workers have specific protections they need and to be able to raise unsafe working conditions without fear of retaliation.”

    “It’s long past time for meaningful legislation to protect Teamsters and other workers from the effects of prolonged heat exposure and dangerous heat levels while at work,” said Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien. “Paid breaks in cool spaces, access to water, and limitations on time exposed to heat are simple common sense steps that should be mandated immediately. Waiting to implement these measures is unacceptable and will result in the further loss of lives.” 

    “Workers in America are facing unprecedented dangers from climate-driven heat and extreme weather, and things are only getting worse. It is far past time for a strong national standard to protect workers from illness and death caused by exposure to extreme heat. The provisions mandated in this bill, including temperature triggers, acclimatization, water, shade and paid rest breaks, would save countless lives. They represent a common sense and common decency approach that employers could quickly adopt. American workers deserve no less, and they urgently need it. Today, OSHA is in the final stage of issuing a final rule on this issue. It is imperative that the rule maintain the integrity and high standards called for in the Asuncíon Valdivia Heat Illness, Injury, and Fatality Prevention Act. We applaud Senators Padilla, Markey, and Cortez Masto and Representatives Chu, Adams, and Scott, as well as the dozens of Senators and Congresspersons who have joined them in this long effort. It’s time to bring a high quality, protective standard to the finish line for American workers,” said Ernesto Archila, Climate and Financial Regulation Policy Director, Public Citizen.

    “Every summer high temperature records get broken in states across the country, and while public health officials urge residents to stay inside and stay safe millions of workers have to report for work. From fields to warehouses, airports to schools, construction sites to manufacturing plants, and many more industries, too many workers are at risk of not getting home safely at the end of the day due to exposure to heat on the job. We know how to prevent these dangers. In fact, both outdoor and indoor workers in states like Oregon, California, and Maryland have strong, enforceable protections in place already. And in Washington, Colorado, and Minnesota at least some categories of workers are being kept safe from heat. But millions labor in other states where there are no protections; worker safety is left to the federal government in these states, and absent strong rules workers are left to protect themselves and hope for the best. We must extend workplace protections from heat to all workers. The National Employment Law Project thanks Senator Padilla and Representative Chu, as well as the dozens of Senators and Congresspersons who have cosponsored the Asunción Valdivia Heat Illness, Injury, and Fatality Prevention Act of 2025,” said Anastasia Christman, Senior Policy Analyst, National Employment Law Project.

    This bill is originally cosponsored by 90 House Members, including Rep. Bobby Scott (VA-03)*, Rep. Alma Adams (NC-12)*, Rep. Gabe Amo (RI-01), Rep. Yassamin Ansari (AZ-03), Rep. Nanette Barragán (CA-44), Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), Rep. Julia Brownley (CA-26), Rep. Nikki Budzinski (IL-13), Rep. Andre Carson (IN-07), Rep. Troy A. Carter, Sr. (LA-02), Rep. Greg Casar (TX-35), Rep. Sean Casten (IL-06), Rep. Kathy Castor (FL-14), Rep. Joaquin Castro (TX-20), Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (FL-20), Rep. Yvette D. Clarke (NY-09), Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, II (MO-05), Rep. Angie Craig (MN-02), Rep. Danny K. Davis (IL-07), Rep. Diana DeGette (CO-01), Rep. Rosa DeLauro (CT-03), Rep. Suzan DelBene (WA-01), Rep. Chris Deluzio (PA-17), Rep. Debbie Dingell (MI-06), Rep. Lloyd Doggett (TX-37), Rep. Sarah Elfreth (MD-03), Rep. Lois Frankel (FL-22), Rep. Maxwell Alejandro Frost (FL-10), Rep. Sylvia Garcia (TX-29), Rep. Jesús G. “Chuy” García (IL-04), Rep. Daniel Goldman (NY-10), Rep. Jimmy Gomez (CA-34), Rep. Josh Gottheimer (NJ-05), Rep. Al Green (TX-09), Rep. Jahana Hayes (CT-05), Rep. Steven Horsford (NV-04), Rep. Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Rep. Henry C. “Hank” Johnson, Jr. (GA-04), Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (IL-08), Rep. Rick Larsen (WA-02), Rep. Michael Lawler (NY-17), Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández (NM-03), Rep. Mike Levin (CA-49), Rep. Stephen Lynch (MA-08), Rep. Seth Magaziner (RI-02), Rep. John Mannion (NY-22), Rep. Lucy McBath (GA-06), Rep. Betty McCollum (MN-04), Rep. Morgan McGarvey (KY-03), Rep. Jim McGovern (MA-02), Rep. LaMonica McIver (NJ-10), Rep. Grace Meng (NY-06), Rep. Kweisi Mfume (MD-07), Rep. Gwen Moore (WI-04), Rep. Seth Moulton (MA-06), Rep. Frank J. Mrvan (IN-01), Rep. Kevin Mullin (CA-15), Rep. Jerrold Nadler (NY-12), Rep. Donald Norcross (NJ-01), Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC), Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), Rep. Ilhan Omar (MN-05), Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06), Rep. Jimmy Panetta (CA-19), Rep. Chellie Pingree (ME-01), Rep. Mark Pocan (WI-02), Rep. Delia Ramirez (IL-03), Rep. Jamie Raskin (MD-08), Rep. Luz Rivas (CA-29), Rep. Raul Ruiz (CA-25), Rep. Andrea Salinas (OR-06), Rep. Linda Sanchez (CA-38), Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-05), Rep. Hillary Scholten (MI-03), Rep. Adam Smith (WA-09), Rep. Melanie Stansbury (NM-01), Rep. Marilyn Strickland (WA-10), Rep. Mark Takano (CA-39), Rep. Shri Thanedar (MI-13), Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (MS-02), Rep. Dina Titus (NV-01), Rep. Rashida Tlaib (MI-12), Rep. Paul Tonko (NY-20), Rep. Norma Torres (CA-35), Rep. Derek T. Tran (CA-45), Rep. Juan Vargas (CA-52), Rep. Marc Veasey (TX-33), Rep. Nydia M. Velazquez (NY-07), Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-25), and Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12).

     A one-pager on the Asunción Valdivia Heat Illness, Injury, and Fatality Prevention Act is available here.

    A section-by-section of the bill is available here.

    Full text of the bill is available here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

    July 23, 2025

  • MIL-Evening Report: ICJ climate crisis ruling: Will world’s top court back Pacific-led call to hold governments accountable?

    By Jamie Tahana in The Hague for RNZ Pacific

    In 2019, a group of law students at the University of the South Pacific, frustrated at the slow pace with which the world’s governments were moving to address the climate crisis, had an idea — they would take the world’s governments to court.

    They arranged a meeting with government ministers in Vanuatu and convinced them to take a case to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the United Nations’ top court, where they would seek an opinion to clarify countries’ legal obligations under international law.

    Six years after that idea was hatched in a classroom in Port Vila, the court will today (early Thursday morning NZT) deliver its verdict in the Dutch city of The Hague.

    More than 100 countries – including New Zealand, Australia and all the countries of the Pacific – have testified before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), alongside civil society and intergovernmental organisations. Image: UN Web TV/screengrab

    If successful — and those involved are quietly confident they will be — it could have major ramifications for international law, how climate change disputes are litigated, and it could give small Pacific countries greater leverage in arguments around loss and damage.

    Most significantly, the claimants argue, it could establish legal consequences for countries that have driven climate change and what they owe to people harmed.

    “Six long years of campaigning have led us to this moment,” said Vishal Prasad, the president of Pacific Island Students Fighting Climate Change, the organisation formed out of those original students.

    “For too long, international responses have fallen short. We expect a clear and authoritative declaration,” he said.

    “[That] climate inaction is not just a failure of policy, but a breach of international law.”

    More than 100 countries — including New Zealand, Australia and all the countries of the Pacific — have testified before the court, alongside civil society and intergovernmental organisations.

    And now today they will gather in the brick palace that sits in ornate gardens in this canal-ringed city to hear if the judges of the world’s top court agree.

    What is the case?
     The ICJ adjudicates disputes between nations and issues advisory opinions on big international legal issues.

    In this case, Vanuatu asked the UN General Assembly to request the judges to weigh what exactly international law requires states to do about climate change, and what the consequences should be for states that harm the climate through actions or omissions.

    Over its deliberations, the court has heard from more than 100 countries and international organisations hoping to influence its opinion, the highest level of participation in the court’s history.

    That has included the governments of low-lying islands and atolls in the Pacific, which say they are paying the steepest price for a crisis they had little role in creating.

    These nations have long been frustrated with the current mechanisms for addressing climate change, like the UN COP conferences, and are hoping that, ultimately, the court will provide a yardstick by which to measure other countries’ actions.

    Vanuatu’s Minister of Climate Change Ralph Regenvanu . . . “This may well be the most consequential case in the history of humanity.” Image: IISD-ENB

    “I choose my words carefully when I say that this may well be the most consequential case in the history of humanity,” Vanuatu’s Minister for Climate Change Ralph Regenvanu said in his statement to the court last year.

    “Let us not allow future generations to look back and wonder why the cause of their doom was condoned.”

    But major powers and emitters, like the United States and China, have argued in their testimonies that existing UN agreements, such as the Paris climate accord, are sufficient to address climate change.

    “We expect this landmark climate ruling, grounded in binding international law, to reflect the critical legal flashpoints raised during the proceedings,” said Joie Chowdhury, a senior attorney at the US-based Centre for International Environmental Law (which has been involved with the case).

    “Among them: whether States’ climate obligations are anchored in multiple legal sources, extending far beyond the Paris Agreement; whether there is a right to remedy for climate harm; and how human rights and the precautionary principle define States’ climate obligations.”

    Pacific youth climate activist at a demonstration at COP27 in November 2022 . . . “We are not drowning. We are fighting.” Image: Facebook/Pacific Islands Students Fighting Climate Change

    What could this mean?
     Rulings from the ICJ are non-binding, and there are myriad cases of international law being flouted by countries the world over.

    Still, the court’s opinion — if it falls in Vanuatu’s favour — could still have major ramifications, bolstering the case for linking human rights and climate change in legal proceedings — both international and domestic — and potentially opening the floodgates for climate litigation, where individuals, groups, Indigenous Peoples, and even countries, sue governments or private companies for climate harm.

    An advisory opinion would also be a powerful precedent for legislators and judges to call on as they tackle questions related to the climate crisis, and give small countries a powerful cudgel in negotiations over future COP agreements and other climate mechanisms.

    “This would empower vulnerable nations and communities to demand accountability, strengthen legal arguments and negotiations and litigation and push for policies that prioritise prevention and redress over delay and denial,” Prasad said.

    In essence, those who have taken the case have asked the court to issue an opinion on whether governments have “legal obligations” to protect people from climate hazards, but also whether a failure to meet those obligations could bring “legal consequences”.

    At the Peace Palace today, they will find out from the court’s 15 judges.

    “[The advisory opinion] is not just a legal milestone, it is a defining moment in the global climate justice movement and a beacon of hope for present and future generations,” said Vanuatu Prime Minister Jotham Napat in a statement ahead of the decision.

    “I am hopeful for a powerful opinion from the ICJ. It could set the world on a meaningful path to accountability and action.”

    This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

    July 23, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: Rep. Mann Introduces Legislation to Strengthen Agricultural Supply Chain

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

    WASHINGTON, D.C. –  Today, U.S. Representative Tracey Mann (KS-01) led 16 of his colleagues in introducing legislation to remove regulatory roadblocks for heavy vehicle operators when renewing their commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs). The Seasonal Agriculture CDL Modernization Act enables seasonal drivers to renew their CDL online while providing greater flexibility in the types of commercial vehicles they can operate. As the American Trucking Association estimates a national truck driver shortage of 115,000 by the end of 2025, Rep. Mann’s legislation reforms the Farm-Related Restricted Commercial Driver’s License program by allowing states to develop an online registration and renewal system for farm-related service providers, enabling drivers to more easily renew their seasonal license.

    “Successfully feeding, clothing, and fueling the world doesn’t stop when crops are harvested,” said Rep. Mann. “The entire agriculture supply chain relies on timely and reliable delivery every step of the way from production to consumption. If our nation’s farmers, ranchers, and agricultural producers can’t access the machinery they need to operate their farms or transport their products to storage, it would be impossible for them to fulfill their calling or deliver products to consumers. Our bill strengthens the entire agricultural supply chain by enacting commonsense reforms that make it easier for farm-service drivers to simply do their jobs and serve customers and consumers. Food security is national security that we can and should protect by removing regulatory burdens.”

    Joining Rep. Mann in introducing the Seasonal Agriculture CDL Modernization Act are Reps. Jeff Hurd (CO-03), Ron Estes (KS-04), Randy Feenstra (IA-04), Brad Finstad (MN-01), Mark Messmer (IN-08), Derek Schmidt (KS-02), Buddy Carter (GA-01), Troy Nehls (TX-22), Jack Berman (MI-01), John Rose (TN-06), Adrian Smith (NE-03), Mike Flood (NE-01), David Kustoff (TN-08), Craig Goldman (TX-12), Tim Burchett (TN-02), and Bruce Westerman (AR-04).

    “This bill delivers commonsense wins that will make it easier for the ag sector to keep essential goods moving,” said Rep. Flood. “By streamlining the CDL process and clarifying federal definitions, we’re reducing red tape without compromising safety. This is a smart step toward strengthening our nation’s ag supply chain.”

    “The work of Hoosier farmers never stops as they feed Americans and the world,” said Rep. Messmer. “I am proud to support Congressman Mann’s bill to get government red tape out of the way and let farmers do what they do best!”

    The Seasonal Ag CDL Modernization Act is supported by the Kansas Association of Wheat Growers, Kansas Corn Growers Association, Kansas Grain and Feed Association, Kansas Farm Bureau, Kansas Sorghum Producers, Kansas Soybean Association, Agribusiness Association of Iowa, Agribusiness Association of Kentucky, Agribusiness Council of Indiana, Agricultural Council of Arkansas, Agricultural Retailers Association, Agriculture Transportation Coalition, American Cotton Shippers Association, American Farm Bureau Federation, American Feed Industry Association, American Honey Producers Association, American Malting Barley Association, Council of Producers & Distributors of Agrotechnology, Far West Agribusiness Association, Farm Credit Council, Florida Fertilizer & Agrichemical Association, Georgia Agribusiness Council, Idaho Grain Producers Association, Kansas Agribusiness Retailers Association, Michigan Agri-Business Association, Minnesota Crop Production Retailers, Mississippi Agricultural Industry Council, Missouri Agribusiness Association, Montana Agricultural Business Association, National Aquaculture Association, National Association of Wheat Growers, National Barley Growers Association, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, National Corn Growers Association, National Cotton Council, National Council of Farmer Cooperatives, National Grain and Feed Association, National Grange, National Farmers Union, National Milk Producers Federation, National Pork Producers Council, National Sunflower Association, National Sorghum Producers, Nebraska Agri-Business Association, Nebraska Cooperative Council, North American Millers’ Association, North American Renderers Association, North Carolina AgriBusiness Council, North Dakota Agricultural Association, North Dakota Grain Dealers Association, Louisiana Ag Industries Association, Ohio AgriBusiness Association, Pet Food Institute, Rocky Mountain Agribusiness Association, South Dakota Agri-Business Association, Southern Crop Production Association, Texas Ag Industries Association, Texas Grain & Feed Association, The Fertilizer Institute, USA Rice, U.S. Canola Association, US Rice Producers Association, Virginia Agribusiness Council, Washington Association of Wheat Growers, Wisconsin Agri-Business Association, Wyoming Ag Business Association and the Wyoming Wheat Growers Association.

    “This important legislation, championed by Representative Tracey Mann and the original co-sponsors, provides critical support for agricultural retailers who deliver essential products and services to our farms and livestock operations,” said Richard Gupton, the Senior Vice President of Public Policy for the Agricultural Retailers Association. “By modernizing outdated regulations, this bill empowers retailers to operate more efficiently and reliably, strengthening the entire agricultural supply chain and helping our rural communities thrive. Additionally, by allowing for increased load capacities, the proposal helps alleviate the industry’s chronic driver shortage, enabling businesses to make fewer trips with the same workforce and ensuring that essential goods reach their destinations in a timely manner.”

    “The Agriculture Transportation Coalition has long recognized that there is nothing we produce in agriculture in the United States that cannot be sourced somewhere else in the world,” said Peter Friedmann, Executive Director of the Agriculture Transportation Coalition. “If we are unable to transport and deliver affordably and dependably, our international customers will buy from those other countries, and US farmers, ranchers, processors will lose those sales. The international agriculture supply chain begins at the farms here in the United States. The need to enhance transport efficiency at the very beginning of the supply chain, namely the harvest at the field, has never been greater. The Seasonal Agriculture CDL Modernization Act, will advance this essential component of the domestic and international export supply chain, to keep our agriculture competitive in the global and domestic marketplace. The AgTC strongly supports this bill.”

    “As America’s oldest grassroots agriculture and rural life advocacy organization, the National Grange appreciates Representative Mann taking the lead on the Seasonal Ag CDL Modernization Act,” said Burton Eller, Executive Director of National Grange. “The seasonal ag CDL is a critical link in the success of our harvest chain in rural America.”

    “The Seasonal Ag CDL Modernization Act is a major win for the Wisconsin Agri-Business Association and its members,” said Grace Howe, Executive Director of the Wisconsin Agri-Business Association. “By extending the restricted seasonal CDL period and aligning licensing with the calendar year, it provides agribusinesses with more flexibility during peak planting and harvest seasons. This change reduces administrative burdens, streamlines compliance with federal and state rules, and ensures a more reliable seasonal workforce, and ultimately saving time, cutting costs, and supporting smoother operations across Wisconsin’s ag supply chain.”

    “The Pet Food Institute (PFI), whose members make the vast majority of dog and cat food and treats in the U.S., supports Rep. Tracey Mann (R-Kan.) in proposing updates to the Farm-Related Service Industries Restricted CDL program that will set a new federal definition for implements of husbandry,” said PFI’s president and CEO, Dana Brooks. “U.S. pet food is predominantly made with ingredients produced on American farms, and pet food manufacturing is a major contributor to agricultural and rural economies. We recognize that modern agriculture depends on a broad array of vehicles and equipment to operate efficiently, to innovate and to continue producing safe, quality food for people and pets.”

    “Montana agricultural businesses and producers already face major challenges, from weather and drought to delays getting product across our borders,” said Tanner Hoversland, Montana Agricultural Business Association Board Chair. “Legislation like the Seasonal Ag CDL Modernization Act is good government policy that makes improvements to this essential licensing process, and removes burdens instead of throwing up more roadblocks, especially for our rural operators. The Montana Agricultural Business Association and its members are grateful to Rep. Mann for introducing this commonsense proposal.”

    ###

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

    MIL OSI USA News –

    July 23, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: Reed & Justice Introduce Bipartisan Strengthening Local Food Security Act

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Rhode Island Jack Reed
    WASHINGTON, DC – In an effort to strengthen the nation’s food supply chain network, bolster economic opportunities for local farmers and food producers, and increase access to fresh, local nutritious food in underserved communities and schools, U.S. Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Jim Justice (R-WV) teamed up to introduce the Strengthening Local Food Security Act (S. 2338).
    This new bill would create a permanent grant program for state and tribal governments to procure local foods for distribution to nearby hunger relief programs and schools.
    The bipartisan proposal would leverage government procurement and purchasing power to increase access to locally-sourced, fresh, healthy, and nutritious food in underserved communities and schools and in turn, help family farmers, fishermen, and local food producers grow their markets. This grant program would:
    Support local economic development by creating new access to the hunger relief market for local farmers and fishermen, creating a new, reliable stream of orders for small, beginning, and underserved farmers, ranchers, and fishers, giving these businesses the financial security to invest and further expand.
    Strengthen our domestic agriculture supply chain by investing in local food distribution. The bill would help build local businesses that support durable and resilient local food systems.
    Combat food insecurity by providing fresh, nutritious, local food to underserved communities and schools, feeding more families and helping ease the strain on the hunger relief system.
    “Food prices are up and food banks are experiencing rising demand. We’ve got to feed those in need. The Strengthening Local Food Security Act makes family farmers and fishermen part of the solution, putting fresh, healthy food on the table in a cost-effective manner that strengthens the local economy too,” said Senator Jack Reed. “This bill will feed students and families and plant seeds of economic development for farmers, fishermen, and others throughout the nation’s food supply chain.”
    “In West Virginia, we know the value of hard work and locally grown food. The Strengthening Local Food Security Act helps our farmers, ranchers, and fishermen get more of their local food onto more tables. It puts money back into our communities and keeps people fed. That’s a win-win all around. I look forward to working to get this done for our local producers, food banks, and schools,” Senator Jim Justice said.
    The Strengthening Local Food Security Act is supported by a wide range of farmers, food hubs, coalitions, and business networks from across the country, including the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, National Farmers Union, the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture, and the Farm Credit Council.
    In Rhode Island, the bill is supported by several leading organizations, including: the Rhode Island Community Food Bank, Farm Fresh Rhode Island, and the Rhode Island Food Policy Council.
    “At a time when we’re serving more people than ever before, this type of legislation is critical, both for Rhode Island families and for our state’s economy,” said Melissa Cherney, incoming CEO of the Rhode Island Community Food Bank. “We’re honored to support Senator Reed’s bill.”
    “It’s always a good time to invest in Rhode Island’s farmers. This bill will increase fairness by opening valuable wholesale markets to our smaller-scale producers. Even better, it does so while supporting the state’s economy and feeding our communities,” said Nessa Richman, Network Director of the Rhode Island Food Policy Council.
    “Over 40 percent of people in Rhode Island do not have enough to eat. This bill helps to address that issue by partnering with local farmers as part of the solution. Farm Fresh RI is excited by the opportunity to strengthen the agricultural supply chain, support local economic development and provide nutritious food to children and food insecure families,” said Jesse Rye, Executive Director of Farm Fresh Rhode Island.
    “Farm Credit applauds Senators Reed and Justice for their leadership in introducing the Strengthening Local Food Security Act of 2025. This bill is a strategic investment in American agriculture—supporting farmers, strengthening supply chains, and helping schools and communities access locally produced food. This bill will help boost regional economies and improve food security across the country,” said Christy Seyfert, President and CEO, Farm Credit Council.

    MIL OSI USA News –

    July 23, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: Cornyn, Coons, Colleagues Introduce Bill to Protect State and Local Judges

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Texas John Cornyn

    WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators John Cornyn (R-TX), Chris Coons (D-DE), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), and Josh Hawley (R-MO) today introduced the Countering Threats and Attacks on Our Judges Act, which would establish a State Judicial Threat Intelligence and Resource Center to provide technical assistance, training, and threat monitoring for state and local judges and court personnel:

    “With threats against judges and their families increasing at an alarming rate, more must be done to protect them,” said Sen. Cornyn. “This legislation would establish a much-needed resource center to identify and respond to bad actors, ensuring our nation’s courts and the Americans who work in them every day are safe.”

    “Public servants should be able to do their jobs free from threats to themselves or their families – and that includes our state and local judges,” said Sen. Coons. “Our nation has seen increasing political violence that has too often ended in tragedy – threatening those just trying to serve their country and threatening our democratic system built on respect for the rule of law. I’m proud this bipartisan bill unanimously passed the Senate last year and I look forward to working with my colleagues to get this bill to the president’s desk.”

    “Judges perform a critical community service at every level of our justice system,” said Sen. Moran. “Regardless of how a judge rules on a case, any form of harassment or intimidation is unacceptable. In response to growing threats and attacks against members of the judiciary, this legislation would provide needed resources and support to local law enforcement tasked with protecting judges and courthouses.”

    “Online mobs have increasingly lobbed violent threats against judges, including in Rhode Island, for ruling against the Trump administration.  Judges and court officials must be able to conduct their work without fearing for their lives or their family’s safety,” said Sen. Whitehouse. “This timely bipartisan bill would bolster security at courthouses and judges’ homes to help protect the integrity of our judicial system.  We also need to make sure that orchestration of threats is properly investigated.”

    “We’re seeing an alarming surge of dangerous threats and actions targeting judges across this nation – stoking the flames of violence towards public servants and their families,” said Sen. Shaheen. “Our bipartisan legislation offers a commonsense solution to this troubling trend by establishing a State Judicial Threat Intelligence and Resource Center to implement enhanced security measures to keep judges, their families and their staff out of harm’s way.”

    U.S. Representatives Michael McCaul (TX-10) and Lucy McBath (GA-06) introduced companion legislation in the House.

    Background:

    The Countering Threats and Attacks on Our Judges Act would create a State Judicial Threat Intelligence and Resource Center to:

    • Provide technical assistance to state and local judges and court personnel around judicial security;
    • Provide physical security assessments for courts, homes, and other facilities where judicial officers and staff conduct court-related business;
    • Conduct research to identify, examine, and advance best practices around judicial security;
    • And be housed within the existing State Justice Institute, a private nonprofit and nonpartisan corporation established by Congress in 1984.

    The legislation is supported by the Conference of Chief Justices (CCJ), Conference of State Court Administrators (COSCA), Council of Chief Judges of the State Courts of Appeal (CCJSCA), National Association for Presiding Judges and Court Executive Officers (NAPCO), National District Attorneys Association (NDAA), National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ), National Center for State Courts (NCSC), American Judges Association (AJA), National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ), and National Center for State Courts (NCSC).

    MIL OSI USA News –

    July 23, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Asian Development Outlook (ADO) July 2025: Slower Growth Amid Tariffs and Uncertainty

    Source: Asia Development Bank

    Tariffs and trade uncertainty are dampening the outlook for developing Asia and the Pacific, with growth forecasts downgraded to 4.7% for 2025 and 4.6% for 2026. Risks include renewed tariff hikes, geopolitical tensions, and further property market weakness in the People’s Republic of China.

    MIL OSI Economics –

    July 23, 2025

  • MIL-Evening Report: Auckland is NZ’s ‘primate city’ but its potential remains caged in by poor planning and vision

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Timothy Welch, Senior Lecturer in Urban Planning, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau

    Getty Images

    The recent report comparing Auckland to nine international peer cities delivered an uncomfortable truth: our largest city is falling behind, hampered by car dependency, low-density housing and “weak economic performance”.

    The Deloitte State of the City analysis was no surprise to anyone who has watched successive governments treat the city as a problem to manage, rather than an engine to fuel.

    The report’s findings were stark: Auckland rates 82nd out of 84 cities globally for pedestrian friendliness, and its car-dependent transport system is more carbon-intensive and slower to decarbonise than peer cities.

    This is the direct result of decades of planning failures, including what urban researchers call the 1970s “great down-zoning” which halved central Auckland’s housing capacity.

    This isn’t just Auckland’s problem. When we mismanage what geographers call a “primate city,” it reveals our fundamental misunderstanding of how modern economies work.

    The concept of the primate city was formalised by geographer Mark Jefferson in 1939. Such cities are defined as being “at least twice as large as the next largest city and more than twice as significant”.

    Auckland fits this definition perfectly. With more than 1.7 million people, it is over four times larger than Christchurch or the greater Wellington region. The city accounts for 34% of New Zealand’s population and is projected to hit 40% of the working-age population by 2048.

    Auckland contributes 38% of New Zealand’s gross domestic product and its per-capita GDP is 15% higher than the rest of the country’s. Its most productive area, the central business district, enjoys a 40% productivity premium over the national average.

    To economists, these numbers represent the “agglomeration benefits” research shows primate cities generate. It is the economic effect of combining businesses, talent and infrastructure.

    Yet New Zealand systematically underinvests in the very place generating this outsized economic contribution.

    A pattern of infrastructure failure

    Auckland’s infrastructure deficit follows a predictable pattern. The City Rail Link, while progressing, has grown from an initial budget of NZ$2-3 billion to $5.5 billion, with opening delayed until 2026.

    Light rail was cancelled entirely after years of planning. A second harbour crossing has been studied for decades without a shovel hitting dirt. Each represents billions in opportunity costs while congestion worsens.

    This goes well beyond project mismanagement. It is a deep structural problem.

    The Infrastructure Commission-Te Waihanga identifies a $210 billion national infrastructure shortfall, with Auckland bearing a disproportionate burden despite generating a disproportionately high level of revenue.

    International research by the OECD shows successful countries treat metropolitan regions as engines of national growth, not a burden.

    The ‘Wellington problem’

    Public policy expert Ian Shirley called it the “Wellington Problem”: the way Auckland’s governance became an obsession for politicians and bureaucrats based in Wellington.

    The tension dates to 1865 when the capital was moved from Auckland to Wellington, establishing a pattern where political power was deliberately separated from economic power.

    Auckland loses an estimated $415.35 million annually in GST collected on rates. This goes to Wellington and into government revenue rather than being reinvested locally. Central government properties in Auckland, worth $36.3 million in rates, are exempt from payment while still using Auckland’s infrastructure.

    When Auckland speaks with “one voice” through its unified council, Wellington responds with legislative overrides.

    The recent National Land Transport Programme, for example, cut Auckland’s transport funding by $564 million. Mayor Wayne Brown said the government’s transport policy “makes zero sense for Auckland”.

    Learning from others

    The contrast with international approaches reveals just how counterproductive New Zealand’s approach has been.

    London has an integrated Transport for London authority with congestion charging powers, generating £136 million annually for reinvestment. Paris is investing more than €35 billion in the Grand Paris Express transit project.

    Japan’s “Quality Infrastructure Investment” principles include ¥13.2 trillion in regional infrastructure investment. Australia’s A$120 billion infrastructure programme explicitly recognises its largest cities contribute over 50% of GDP and require proportional investment.

    Research has shown excessive urban concentration in one country can create problems. But denying the primate city resources only leads to a “deterioration in the quality of life” that drags down the entire national economy.

    The solution lies in making strategic investments that maximise the benefits of agglomeration while managing any negative costs to the national economy.

    Growing pains

    Auckland isn’t a problem to be managed, it is an asset to be leveraged. Every successful developed economy has learned this lesson. Paris generates 31% of France’s GDP and gets treated accordingly.

    Seoul produces 23% of South Korea’s output and receives massive infrastructure investment. Tokyo drives Japan’s economy.

    The international evidence is unambiguous: countries that strategically invest in their primate cities achieve higher productivity growth and maintain competitive advantages.

    Auckland doesn’t need sympathy or special treatment. It needs what every primate city in every successful economy gets: infrastructure investment proportional to its economic contribution, governance structures that reflect its scale, and political leadership that understands agglomeration economics.

    The question isn’t whether Auckland is too big. The question is whether New Zealand is big enough to nurture its primate city.

    Timothy Welch does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Auckland is NZ’s ‘primate city’ but its potential remains caged in by poor planning and vision – https://theconversation.com/auckland-is-nzs-primate-city-but-its-potential-remains-caged-in-by-poor-planning-and-vision-261176

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

    July 23, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Transcript – ABC RN Breakfast with Sally Sara

    Source: Murray Darling Basin Authority

    SALLY SARA, HOST: Legislation aimed at stripping funding from child care centres that fail to meet minimum standards will be introduced to the Federal Parliament today here in Canberra. Child care safety has been pushed to the top of the agenda following a string of shocking allegations of child abuse. In the latest development, lawyers for former child care worker Joshua Dale Brown have told a Melbourne court yesterday they expect the alleged child abuser will be hit with further charges on top of the more than 70 he already faces. Jess Walsh is the Federal Minister for Early Childhood Education and Senator for Victoria. She joined me a short time ago.

    SENATOR DR JESS WALSH, MINISTER FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION AND MINISTER FOR YOUTH: Thanks for having me, Sally.

    SARA: Tell me about this legislation that’s going to be introduced today. What’s in it exactly?

    WALSH: We’re introducing tough new legislation today, Sally. I think people have been hearing a lot about the safety issues facing children and their families in early childhood education, and this legislation will give us a tough new lever to make sure that children are kept safe in our early learning settings. What it will allow us to do for the first time is withdraw Commonwealth funding from those providers who fail to put child safety ahead of profits.

    SARA: And so, what is the threshold there, what sort of incident or systemic incidents would need to happen in a child care centre for the Government to withhold funding?

    WALSH: Yes, we are looking at serious repeat offenders here when it comes to breaching our National Quality Standard when it comes to serious incidents and when it comes to complaints. So, services and providers who are failing to meet the standards that children need and the families, that families expect, they’re the services and providers that we’re looking at with this legislation.

    SARA: To be clear, are we talking about centres failing to meet expectations or will funding only be withheld if there’s been an actual incident there?

    WALSH: So the legislation gives us the ability to put all of that information and for the secretary of my department to make a decision to identify those repeat offenders, those providers, those services that persistently and consistently fail to meet standards and fail to keep our children safe. From there, there are a number of steps that the legislation gives us. We can start by issuing a show-cause notice as to why that provider, that service, should maintain their Commonwealth funding through the Child Care Subsidy. And we can make that show-cause notice public. We think that is a really strong step that will drive change. At that point, we think that those providers who are doing the wrong thing regularly will make the investments that they need to keep our children safe.

    SARA: Yeah, I wanted to ask you about that transparency for families who are trying to make decisions about the safety of their infants, of their kids, in the middle of all of this. What kind of information will be available so that parents can make an informed decision?

    WALSH: Yeah, that’s right, Sally, and I do want to reassure families that the vast majority of early childhood and education providers are meeting and exceeding our National Quality Standard, over 90 per cent. We are talking here about a minority of repeat offenders, a real minority of providers here. If families are in the services of those repeat offenders, they will be notified when we issue show-cause notices.

    SARA: What about the public generally? If I’ve got a child and I’m looking at that centre, will I know that something’s happened there?

    WALSH: Yes, those notices will be public. But you’re also raising a bigger issue there, Sally, about the next tranche of work that is underway as well, which is the child safety package that we’re putting together with education ministers who are meeting in just a couple of weeks’ time. So there are measures beyond this legislation as well. When education ministers come together, we want to announce the first-ever nationwide register of early childhood educators. We want to do work on mandatory child safe training, and we also want to provide much more transparent information to parents, so they know what the quality is and whether there are any issues in the services that they’re thinking about or currently sending their children to.

    SARA: So, at the moment, can parents see the quality assessments of child care centres?

    WALSH: Yes. What they can see is the national quality rating. They can see that.

    SARA: Can you see the reports of inspections?

    WALSH: You can’t see at the moment, Sally, compliance issues that may have been taken against your provider. And we think that families have the right to know if there are issues in their services. That’s one of the big pieces of work that we’re doing with the states and territories. And I do want to say, Sally, we’re working shoulder to shoulder with the states and territories on what we see as being a really strong and significant package to bring forward on quality and safety in early learning.

    SARA: So, we’re talking, I guess, with an assumption here that with information, parents can make an informed choice or decision, but in plenty of parts of the country, particularly in regional areas, there is no other centre. Is this part of the problem – the demand exceeds the supply of child care? What do parents do if there are concerns about their only centre?

    WALSH: So, if we get this right, Sally, this is going to drive more investment in quality, safe early learning. We are giving ourselves a big stick to wield here in being able to stop providers from opening more services, and indeed to be able to shut down existing services. We don’t expect that it will get to that because we expect, as soon as those providers get those show cause notices, that they will make the investment that children and families need to provide that quality and safe early learning.

    SARA: Is there a concern, though, that investors and companies might not want to come into this sector, given there’s going to be more regulation and compliance costs money for child care operators?

    WALSH: Well, there needs to be more regulation, Sally. I think we’ve been really open that the current sector settings are not strong enough to keep children safe. We’ve seen that in the really distressing reports that we’ve had. That’s why strong action is needed. And there are really two sets of actions we’re taking. One is the legislation that we’re introducing this week into the Parliament today, and that will allow us to withdraw Commonwealth funding from those providers who don’t do the right thing. And the second part of the action is the big package of reforms we’re working on with the states and territories.

    SARA: Labor’s already had control in the previous term of government, three years – why weren’t these measures put in place during the previous term?

    WALSH: I think we’ve been really open, Sally, that more needed to be done over a period of time.

    SARA: Did the Government fall short in your view?

    WALSH: I think we’ve been open that more needed to be done, and we’ve had recommendations for many years, almost a decade, that have sat there, and we are expediting those recommendations. One of the recommendations that’s been there for a while is that we do need to know where our early childhood educators are actually working. That’s why we want to develop the first-ever nationwide register of early childhood educators.

    SARA: When will that come into effect?

    WALSH: So, we’re having our next meeting, a stand-alone meeting, an urgent meeting of education ministers from around the country. We’ll have more to say about that then. What we’re working towards is getting agreement that all states and territories will participate in that nationwide register. We do need information about where our educators are working. We do need to know whether there are red flags that are being raised.

    SARA: But just to bring you back to the question, when will that be in place?

    WALSH: So, Sally, we have a meeting in just a couple of weeks’ time. We are working really hard on that register. We’ll have –

    SARA: By the end of the year, do you think?

    WALSH: We’ll have more to say on that, Sally, in a couple of weeks.  It is an absolutely urgent item that we are all working on.

    SARA: Jess Walsh, Federal Minister for Early Childhood Education and Senator for Victoria, thank you very much for your time this morning.

    WALSH: Thanks, Sally.
     

    MIL OSI News –

    July 23, 2025

  • MIL-Evening Report: UK bans Gaza protest group – could the same thing happen in Australia?

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Shannon Bosch, Associate Professor (Law), Edith Cowan University

    More than 100 people were arrested in the United Kingdom on the weekend for supporting Palestine Action, a protest group that opposes Britain’s support of Israel.

    Palestine Action was recently proscribed as a terrorist organisation, placing it in the same category as Hamas, al-Qaeda and Islamic State.

    Many of those arrested were simply holding signs that read: “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action”. They were predominantly aged over 60.

    In recent weeks, an 83-year-old vicar, a former government lawyer and various pensioners have been taken into custody and could be jailed for up to 14 years if found guilty of belonging to the protest group.

    Simply holding a sign or wearing a T-shirt with the words “Palestine Action” could be punishable with a six-month jail term.

    The protesters say they refuse to be silenced:

    If we cannot speak freely about the genocide that is occurring […], if we cannot condemn those who are complicit in it […] then the right to freedom of expression has no meaning, and democracy and human rights in this country are dead.

    Police arresting protestors calling for the terrorism ban to be overturned.

    So what is Palestine Acton and why is “middle England” up in arms over its designation as a terrorist group?

    Activist network

    Palestine Action is a UK-based activist network founded in 2020 with the stated aim of “ending global participation in Israel’s genocidal and apartheid regime”.

    The group views the British government as complicit in Israeli war crimes in Gaza. It also aspires to halt UK arms exports through disruptive protests and vandalism.

    Members have generally targeted Israeli-linked businesses, such as defence company Elbit Systems, by damaging equipment or blocking entrances.

    Supporters include grassroots activists, civil liberties advocates, health professionals, clergy and prominent figures such as Pink Floyd musician Roger Waters.

    Serious concerns

    Palestine Action was officially proscribed in the UK on July 5, after campaigners sprayed paint into the engines of two Voyager aircraft at an air force base.

    The final vote was overwhelming: 385 MPs supported the ban, while just 26 opposed it.

    Under the Terrorism Act 2000, membership, support, or public endorsement of a proscribed group is a criminal offence punishable by sentences up to 14 years.

    The UK government argues the group’s actions exceeded legal protest and raised serious security concerns.

    Since then, scores of people have been searched and arrested at rallies in support of Palestine Acton.

    Blurring the lines

    Critics, including Amnesty International, civil liberties groups and The Guardian editorial board warn the ban blurs the line between non-violent civil disobedience and terrorism. They argue it also threatens democratic dissent through a statutory abuse of power.

    Counter-terrorism laws permit extraordinary interference in due process and other fundamental human rights protections. Consequently, they must always be used with the highest degree of restraint.

    The UK already had legislation in place to deal with criminal damage and violent disorder.

    United Nations legal and human rights experts have spoken out against treating the actions of protesters who damage property without the intent to injure people as terrorism:

    According to international standards, acts of protest that damage property, but are not intended to kill or injure people, should not be treated as terrorism.

    Abuse of power

    Designating Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation appears to be aimed at curtailing free expression, the assembly and association of those who support the protest action against Israel’s war on Gaza.

    Placing it in the same legal category as Hamas seems designed to reduce public sympathy for the group.

    Palestine Action is challenging its proscription in the UK High Court. Lawyers for the group argue the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre has assessed the vast majority of its activities to be lawful:

    On nature and scale, the home secretary [Yvette Cooper] accepts that only three of Palestine Action’s at least 385 actions would meet the statutory definition of terrorism […] itself a dubious assessment.

    The lawyers further argue proscription was “repugnant” and an “authoritarian abuse of power”.

    Australian version?

    There are no indications from the intelligence community that any direct affiliate of Palestine Action (UK) operates in Australia.

    However, there are pro-Palestinian activist organisations, including a Palestine Action Group Sydney, which is part of the Australian Palestine Advocacy Network (APAN).

    Broader solidarity movements such as Students for Palestine, are active in protests on university campuses and against arms shipments to Israel.

    Domestic terrorism powers

    Traditional boundaries between “activism”, “extremism”, “hate-crime” and “terrorism” are rapidly blurring in Australia.

    The attorney general may list (“proscription” is a UK term) any organisation as a “terrorist organisation” if they are satisfied it is “advocating terrorism”. This would mean criminalising the expression of support, instruction, or praise of terrorist acts or offences.

    The latest addition to the 31-member list is Terrorgram, an online terrorism advocacy chatroom.

    Australia’s extensive definition of “terrorist act”, currently under review, expressly excludes

    advocacy, protest, dissent or industrial action and which is not intended to cause serious or life-endangering harm or death or to create a serious risk to the safety or health of the public.

    This suggests an Australian version of a Palestine Action undertaking similar conduct to its UK cousin would not meet the legal threshold for listing.

    However, the recent Terrorgram listing makes reference to advocacy for “attacks on minority groups, critical infrastructure and specific individuals”.

    This suggests the UK and Australian governments are becoming more aligned in interpreting “violent” protest to include violence against property, rather than just against people.

    Short of listing, a significant suite of investigative, coercive and preventative executive exists that could be deployed if a similar organisation appears in Australia.

    The authors 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. UK bans Gaza protest group – could the same thing happen in Australia? – https://theconversation.com/uk-bans-gaza-protest-group-could-the-same-thing-happen-in-australia-261562

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

    July 23, 2025

  • MIL-Evening Report: Climate disasters are pushing people into homelessness – but there’s a lot we can do about it

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Timothy Heffernan, Lecturer in Anthropology, Australian National University

    Almost half of all Australian properties are at risk of bushfire, while 17,500 face risk of coastal erosion. By 2030, more than 3 million will face riverine flood risk.

    Meanwhile, housing demand continues to outpace supply. With climate-related disasters projected to increase in frequency and severity, the task of ensuring safe and adequate housing for all Australians remains a challenge.

    In other words, disasters are worsening the housing shortage, rendering more people at risk of homelessness.

    There is growing consensus in the homelessness and emergency management sectors that Australia needs a national policy response.

    We must ensure secure and safe housing options are a disaster planning priority.

    Like ‘living a disaster every day’

    Climate disasters displace 22,261 Australians on average each year. People with the lowest incomes make up 80% of this. The very poorest 3%, despite being small, make up 14% of displaced households.

    Australia is not alone. Globally, 70% of internal displacement in 2024 resulted from disasters, often disproportionately affecting low socioeconomic areas.

    Loss of housing affects everything from a person’s health and employment to education and relationships. One person who’d experienced disaster-related housing loss said it was like

    living a disaster every day, but without the assistance and support given to most disaster survivors.

    Renters, rough sleepers and people living in unattached dwellings are most vulnerable.

    Slipping through the cracks

    The catastrophic Northern Rivers floods in 2022 provide an instructive example.

    The floods rendered over 3,500 homes uninhabitable and more than 8,000 were damaged. Over 1,400 people were displaced and offered emergency accommodation by the New South Wales government.

    The total number of people experiencing homelessness post-floods remains unclear. This is due to existing overcrowding and because people left the area or became uncontactable.

    Recent research colleagues and I conducted with homeowners and renters, commissioned by the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute, examined 17 people’s experiences of securing shelter after disaster.

    In Lismore, a key barrier was poor communication and increased competition for rental housing. One person told us:

    The real estate basically dropped the ball after a month. I had to chase them up, and the return of my bond and all that. […] I applied for ten different properties and never heard back. […] I ended up sourcing my own accommodation, a camper trailer, and camped out at the local showgrounds.

    For renters, the disaster couldn’t have come at a worse time. A preexisting rental crisis across the region meant the private market was already tight.

    Homeowners, by contrast, were able to use insurance to cover transitional housing costs or were eligible for several funding sources to repair properties. This highlights a policy emphasis toward homeowners.

    In this context, people can slip through the cracks, increasing the risk of homelessness.

    Post-disaster housing can compound vulnerability

    Temporary shelters – such as crisis shelters, motels, short-term rentals, pods, cabins and caravans – can be a stop-gap against the risk of homelessness after disaster. However, temporary shelter comes with trade-offs and downsides.

    Crisis and commercial options can be damaged during disaster, limiting their use. Pod villages provide mass shelter but are costly, slow to deliver, and there’s often no meaningful plan for people to transition out of them.

    Some 18 months after the 2022 Northern Rivers floods, 1,021 people were still living in temporary pod villages and 257 people remained in caravans.

    Rent is not usually charged. When relied on beyond the immediate term, this can compound vulnerability by creating gaps in people’s rental history.

    A NSW government audit found 724 households were on the waitlist for temporary housing a year after the floods, though this list was rarely updated.

    Overall, relatively few households have secured long-term housing solutions. This year, four pod villages will be demobilised amid the region’s ongoing rental crisis.

    This comes at a time when Australia is facing a shortfall of 640,000 social and affordable homes.

    Around 110,000 requests for homelessness services go unassisted annually.

    A national framework is needed

    In 2024, a national symposium, convened by the Australian Red Cross, Homelessness Australia and UNSW Sydney’s HowWeSurvive initiative, brought together 125 professionals from the housing, homelessness, emergency management, government and academic sectors.

    The report, released in June 2025, called for a national framework focused on disasters, housing and homelessness.

    Several policies deal separately with these areas at the Commonwealth, state and territory levels. A unified approach, however, would reposition shelter after disaster from a stop-gap to a central part of disaster planning.

    The aim is to strengthen housing options before a natural hazard occurs and prevent disaster-related homelessness.

    Australia needs a coordinated strategy and taskforce to align housing, homelessness, and disaster policies and programs. Homelessness planning should be part of disaster planning, and vice versa, to ensure housing type and tenure does not place people at risk of homelessness when disaster strikes.

    This requires going beyond just linking displaced households with crisis services.

    We must plan for each stage of housing before and after a disaster and anticipate diverse needs, especially for renters and those at risk of homelessness.

    Responses should be trauma-informed and able to adapt individual experiences.

    Now is the time to act – before the next disaster strikes.

    This article was developed with the Australian Red Cross and Homelessness Australia, co-facilitators of the Housing, Homelessness and Disasters National Symposium held in Melbourne in 2024. The symposium was supported by National Shelter and the Community Housing Industry Association, and event funding was provided by the Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation.

    Timothy Heffernan has received funding from the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI), the NSW government and the National Health and Medical Research Council. He is an Honorary Research Fellow at HowWeSurvive, UNSW Sydney.

    – ref. Climate disasters are pushing people into homelessness – but there’s a lot we can do about it – https://theconversation.com/climate-disasters-are-pushing-people-into-homelessness-but-theres-a-lot-we-can-do-about-it-259149

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

    July 23, 2025

  • MIL-OSI China: China strengthens disability support systems in 14th Five-Year Plan period

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

    A sign language interpreter works at a press conference held by the State Council Information Office (SCIO) in Beijing, capital of China, July 22, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]

    Millions of people living with disabilities have seen their lives improve as China made major strides in accessibility, inclusion and support during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025).

    At a press conference held in Beijing on Tuesday, senior officials from the China Disabled Persons’ Federation (CDPF) outlined the major achievements in disability support during the period and shared new goals for the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030).

    “The enrollment rate of children and adolescents with disabilities in compulsory education in China has reached 97 percent, with over 30,000 disabled students entering universities each year,” said Cheng Kai, chairman of the CDPF, at the press conference.

    The next five-year plan is set to prioritize high-quality development in the disability sector, according to the press conference.

    Learning and earning

    According to Cheng, China’s education system for individuals with disabilities has undergone further improvement. Currently, 75,800 students with disabilities study in secondary vocational schools nationwide, while 59,800 attend regular high schools.

    Li Dongmei, vice chair of the federation, noted that a special campaign was launched to equip school campuses with assistive devices, benefiting nearly 100,000 students with disabilities. Standardized textbooks have been developed for special schools, as well as sign-language textbooks for nine subjects.

    Financially, in 2025, the per capita subsidy for students with disabilities receiving compulsory education was increased to more than 7,000 yuan (about 980 U.S. dollars) per year. Those whose families have financial difficulties are eligible to receive 12 years of free education from primary school to senior high school.

    With stronger educational and financial support, individuals with disabilities are better equipped to enter the workforce. The annual net income of families with disabled members in China grew at an average rate of 6.9 percent per year from 2020 to 2023, roughly matching the pace of the country’s GDP growth, according to Cheng.

    During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, more than 400,000 persons with disabilities were newly employed every year, Li said. The employment rate of the disabled population grew by nearly 5 percentage points.

    Better access, better care

    The participation rate of persons with disabilities in China’s basic medical insurance has remained above 95 percent. Meanwhile, over 90 percent of persons with disabilities in China are covered by basic pension insurance for both urban and rural residents, said Cheng.

    By June 2025, living allowances for the disabled in financial difficulty and nursing subsidies for the severely disabled had benefited 11.88 million and 16.4 million, respectively.

    A total of 10.5 million persons with disabilities are covered by the country’s subsistence allowance system, Cheng added.

    Public services have also been enhanced to improve the lives of persons with disabilities. A nationwide campaign for barrier-free home renovations benefited 1.28 million households with severely disabled members during the period, surpassing the original target of 1.1 million, Cheng said.

    China is also exploring the use of advanced technologies such as smart bionic hands and guide robots to improve the well-being of persons with disabilities, ensuring that scientific and technological progress benefits this community.

    Zhou Changkui, chairperson of the Board of Executive Directors of the CDPF, said that the federation and some other governmental departments have jointly issued a guiding document to promote the use of technology in supporting persons with disabilities. It is also collaborating with universities, research institutes and high-tech companies to boost the development of relevant technologies and industries.

    Toward a fairer, smarter future

    As China charts a path for the 15th Five-Year Plan, the emphasis on high-quality development in the disability sector remains central, with a focus on stronger support systems and innovation-driven solutions.

    A key focus will be improving livelihood security for persons with disabilities. Efforts will include refining basic, inclusive, and guaranteed social protection systems, as well as better support for persons with disabilities in rural areas, said Zhou.

    Public services will also see significant upgrades. Zhou noted that long-term care for the severely disabled and rehabilitation programs for children with autism will be expanded in the 15th Five-Year Plan period.

    Zhou said that to safeguard equal rights, China will revise and step up enforcement of key disability-related laws. Enhanced legal services and stronger judicial protections will help ensure that persons with disabilities can fully enjoy fairness and justice.

    Moreover, during the upcoming 15th Five-Year Plan period, China will continue to promote the application of artificial intelligence and other cutting-edge technologies to serve persons with disabilities, and ensure that advanced technologies better meet their needs, according to Zhou.

    The plan will also highlight cultural and spiritual wellbeing. Community-based sports and cultural programs will be expanded, while greater support will be extended to persons with disabilities in artistic creation and cultural industries. As Zhou emphasized, achieving a better life for people living with disabilities means enriching both body and spirit. 

    MIL OSI China News –

    July 23, 2025

  • MIL-OSI China: Chinese scientist details first planned Mars sample-return mission Tianwen-3

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

    Photo released on June 11, 2021 by the China National Space Administration (CNSA) shows a selfie of China’s first Mars rover Zhurong with the landing platform. [Photo/Xinhua]

    China’s first Mars sample-return mission, Tianwen-3, is scheduled for launch around 2028, with the goal of returning no less than 500 grams of Martian samples to Earth by around 2031, according to the mission’s chief scientist.

    Hou Zengqian, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and chief scientist of the Tianwen-3 mission, together with his collaborators, recently published an article in Nature Astronomy, systematically outlining the overall plan and scientific objectives of the mission for the first time.

    “The mission will be a critical step in China’s planetary exploration. We hope to provide the international community with an unprecedented opportunity to understand Mars,” Hou said.

    The Tianwen-3 mission will involve two launches, and the spacecraft will take seven to eight months to reach Mars. It will operate on Mars for about one year and then return to Earth, with the entire process spanning over three years, according to Hou.

    Life on the Red Planet?

    “We aim to unravel the mystery of whether life ever existed on Mars,” Hou said.

    He introduced three primary scientific objectives for the Tianwen-3 mission: searching for potential signs of life on Mars, including biomarkers, fossils and archaea; studying the evolution of Mars’ habitability, such as changes in water, atmosphere and oceans; and investigating the geological structure and evolutionary history of Mars, from surface features to internal dynamics.

    These three objectives are interconnected. The origination of life requires a habitable environment, the proliferation of life evolves in tandem with the environment, and habitability is closely linked to geological processes, Hou explained.

    To address these objectives, nine research themes have been established, covering aspects such as life-related elements, environmental conditions and geology, in order to “enhance our understanding of this Earth-like planet in our solar system,” Hou said.

    How will samples be collected?

    The mission’s engineering team has preliminarily designed three sampling methods: surface scooping, deep drilling and drone-assisted collection to ensure sample diversity and scientific value.

    Tianwen-3 will not carry a Mars rover. Instead, it will use a drone to collect samples from locations within several hundred meters of the landing site, Hou said.

    He noted that Tianwen-3 will be the first mission internationally to conduct 2-meter-deep drilling for sample collection on Mars.

    Previously, NASA’s Perseverance rover collected shallow surface samples, and will rely on a follow-up mission to return them to Earth. In contrast, Tianwen-3 aims to accomplish both sampling and return in a single mission.

    Hou emphasized that planetary protection is a major issue in deep space exploration, and that contamination control is a critical challenge that must be addressed. Strict measures are required to prevent the contamination of Mars by the spacecraft and the potential contamination of Earth’s biosphere by Martian samples.

    China will adhere strictly to the planetary protection policies of the Committee on Space Research to safeguard Mars from terrestrial contamination and protect Earth from potential Martian life, ensuring authentic and reliable scientific results, Hou said.

    The Tianwen-3 mission will establish a complete chain in the sample preservation process, from collection and sealing on Mars to transportation and analysis on Earth. Additionally, a high-security Mars sample laboratory will be constructed, featuring ultra-clean and biosafety areas, where returned samples will undergo strict sterilization, unsealing, processing and biological risk assessment, Hou said.

    Where will samples be sourced?

    “The selection of the landing site on Mars is crucial, as it directly impacts the achievement of the mission’s scientific objectives. From an initial pool of over 80 candidate sites, we have narrowed it down to 19, and by the end of 2026, three final candidate sites will be selected,” Hou said.

    This selection must balance engineering constraints and scientific priorities. Due to engineering limitations, the landing site must be located between 17 degrees and 30 degrees north latitude on Mars. Scientifically, the site should offer the highest potential to harbor and preserve traces of life, the scientist said.

    This is akin to mineral exploration on Earth — it requires the establishment of theories and models to guide predictions, and to then search for a needle in the haystack.

    Similarly, identifying a suitable landing site requires a study of the conditions needed for the emergence, proliferation and preservation of life, and the development of predictive models, Hou noted.

    If there is or was life on Mars, it would be or have been the result of the interplay of multiple factors, such as liquid water, atmosphere, temperature, magnetic field and internal structure. An ideal landing site should meet the requirements for habitability and life development, Hou said.

    Open collaboration

    China has adopted a fully open and collaborative approach to the Tianwen-3 mission, from the formulation of scientific goals and the development of payloads to the joint research to be conducted on returned samples.

    “We aim to build a global platform for scientific collaboration through planetary exploration, advancing humanity’s shared scientific endeavors,” Hou said.

    “During the scientific goal-setting phase, we hosted an international conference, inviting global experts to participate in the discussion. For payloads, China issued an international call for proposals. After the samples are returned, China will open access to international scientists, provided safety is ensured,” Hou said.

    He added that some key technologies for the Tianwen-3 mission remain under development. The scientific team is leveraging Martian observational data to advance landing-site selection. Meanwhile, to achieve its primary scientific objectives, the team is intensifying full-chain research on the search for life on Mars.

    Liu Jizhong, chief designer of the Tianwen-3 mission, said in an earlier interview that the retrieval of samples from Mars is the most technically challenging space exploration mission since the Apollo program, and such a retrieval has never been realized.

    To meet this goal, Chinese space engineers have to tackle key tasks such as collecting samples on the Martian surface, taking off from the Red Planet, rendezvousing in the Mars orbit, and protecting the planet from contamination, Liu explained.

    The entire process of the mission plan is very complex, involving 13 phases and utilizing in-situ and remote-sensing detection technologies. 

    MIL OSI China News –

    July 23, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: SBA Offers Relief to Arkansas Small Businesses, Private Nonprofits and Residents Affected by April Storms and Flooding

    Source: United States Small Business Administration

    SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced the availability of low interest federal disaster loans to Arkansas small businesses, private nonprofits and residents affected by severe storms, tornadoes and flooding occurring April 2‑22. The SBA issued a disaster declaration in response to a request received from Gov. Sarah Sanders on July 18.

    The disaster declaration includes the Arkansas counties of Cross, Hempstead, Lawrence and Little River.

    Businesses and nonprofits are eligible to apply for business physical disaster loans and may borrow up to $2 million to repair or replace disaster-damaged or destroyed real estate, machinery and equipment, inventory, and other business assets.

    Homeowners and renters are eligible to apply for home and personal property loans and may borrow up to $100,000 to replace or repair personal property, such as clothing, furniture, cars, and appliances. Homeowners may apply for up to $500,000 to replace or repair their primary residence.

    Applicants may be eligible for a loan increase of up to 20% of their physical damages, as verified by the SBA, for mitigation purposes. Eligible mitigation improvements include insulating pipes, walls and attics, weather stripping doors and windows, and installing storm windows to help protect property and occupants from future disasters.

    SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program is available to eligible small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, nurseries and private nonprofit organizations impacted by financial losses directly related to this disaster. The SBA is unable to provide disaster loans to agricultural producers, farmers, or ranchers, except for aquaculture enterprises.

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

    “One distinct advantage of SBA’s disaster loan program is the opportunity to fund upgrades reducing the risk of future storm damage,” said Chris Stallings, associate administrator of the Office of Disaster Recovery and Resilience at the SBA. “I encourage businesses and homeowners to work with contractors and mitigation professionals to improve their storm readiness while taking advantage of SBA’s physical damage loans.”

    Interest rates are as low as 4% for businesses, 3.625% for nonprofits and 2.75% for homeowners and renters, with terms up to 30 years. Interest does not begin to accrue and payments are not due until 12 months from the date of the first loan disbursement. The SBA sets loan amounts and terms based on each applicant’s financial condition.

    The SBA encourages applicants to submit their loan applications promptly. Applications will be prioritized in the order they are received, and the SBA remains committed to processing them as efficiently as possible.

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

    The deadline to return physical damage applications is Sept. 22, 2025. The deadline to return economic injury applications April 22, 2026.

    ###

    About the U.S. Small Business Administration

    The U.S. Small Business Administration helps power the American dream of business ownership. As the only go-to resource and voice for small businesses backed by the strength of the federal government, the SBA empowers entrepreneurs and small business owners with the resources and support they need to start, grow, expand their businesses, or recover from a declared disaster. It delivers services through an extensive network of SBA field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations. To learn more, visit www.sba.gov.

    MIL OSI USA News –

    July 23, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: At Nomination Hearing, Warren Secures Agreement from Trump Treasury Nominee to Work on Raising Deposit Insurance Limits for Business Transaction Accounts

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Massachusetts – Elizabeth Warren
    July 22, 2025
    “Raising FDIC insurance limits is a common-sense policy that levels the playing field for the small and mid-sized banks that actually lend to small businesses.”
    Watch here (YouTube)
    Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), member of the Senate Finance Committee and Ranking Member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, secured an agreement from Jonathan McKernan, nominee to be Undersecretary of the Treasury for Domestic Finance, on working together towards increasing the limit for deposit insurance for business transaction accounts to help level the playing field in our banking system. Republican Senator James Lankford had a similar exchange with Mr. McKernan at the hearing, underscoring the bipartisan interest in deposit insurance reform.
    Below is the full transcript of Ranking Member Warren’s questioning with McKernan:
    Ranking Member Warren: FDIC insurance is limited to $250,000. Above that, customers with bigger deposits are supposed to wait in line and hope they can recover a portion of their funds when a bank fails.
    In March 2023, Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank blew up, creating the third- and fourth-largest bank failures in U.S. history. In order to prevent additional bank runs and a full-blown financial crisis, the Fed, FDIC, and Treasury took the extraordinary step of guaranteeing all—ALL—uninsured deposits at those banks. That meant that huge companies, like the venture capital firm Sequoia, crypto company Circle, and electronics company Roku, had billions of dollars in deposits and they didn’t lose a penny. FDIC made good on all of it.
    Now I want to contrast that with what Senator Lankford said about the treatment of two small bank failures in Oklahoma and Texas in the years after SVB crashed. Local small businesses, like pharmacies, grocery stores, and construction companies that kept payroll and other money at these community banks, got $250,000 in FDIC coverage and lost millions of dollars of the uninsured balance.
    People understand which banks will—and won’t—get bailed out if there’s trouble. In the week following SVB’s crash, $100 billion in deposits left smaller banks, while the largest 25 banks saw $120 billion in new deposits.
    Mr. McKernan, you were a Board Member at the FDIC in 2023 when SVB and Signature collapsed and you saw some of these dynamics up close. Has it become clear to the market that, in the event of failure, depositors at giant banks will get fully reimbursed while depositors at small banks may not?
    Jonathan McKernan: Senator I was at the FDIC during those events. What I would say is, by law, uninsured depositors are at risk of loss. There has been a developing market expectation to the contrary at least with respect to large banks. The events around SVPB and signature may have reinforced that market expectation
    Warren: Mr. McKernan, can you explain the implications of this two-tier system on both the banking system and broader economy?
    McKernan: As the Secretary said, he is focused on the mainstream. What that means as a practical matter for me is it will focus on community banks and on every main street there is a community bank all too often that is a community bank under pressure whether from a mounting compliance burden or this market perception that may advantage the largest banks. So I think a central issue for financial regulation is how we ensure community banks continue to play a role in the financial system of the future
    Warren: One way to help level the playing field is to increase deposit insurance limits for business transaction accounts – bank accounts that businesses use to make payroll and rent. Banks that benefit from the increase would pay for this expanded coverage ahead of time through their regular deposit insurance premiums.
    This would help smaller banks compete. It also would require big banks to start paying for some of the insurance coverage they’ve been implicitly receiving for free. If small and mid-sized businesses are protected, this could also limit the government’s impulse to bail out giant banks whenever trouble hits.
    Mr. McKernan, this idea has received broad bipartisan support. Do you believe that Congress should increase deposit insurance limits for business transaction accounts?
    McKernan: Senator, as I was discussing with Senator Lankford, the Secretary has spoken on this and expressed a real interest in exploring an increase in the cap on deposit insurance for business, payment accounts, that would obviously require legislation, that would require congressional action. But I did recently discuss this issue with him. He’s heard this issue over and over again from many, many community banks that he’s met with inside the Treasury and outside the Treasury. The bottom line here is the Secretary would be very eager to see legislation to that effect to move the cap up on deposit insurance for business and community banks.
    Warren: Will you work with me and Chairman Scott on the Banking Committee to get this done?
    McKernan: Yes, Senator.
    Warren: Great. The giant banks don’t need another subsidy. Raising FDIC insurance limits is a common-sense policy that levels the playing field for the small and mid-sized banks that actually lend to small businesses.

    MIL OSI USA News –

    July 23, 2025

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Advocacy – Government’s Jewish Muslim ‘Harmony Initiative’ helps Israeli campaign to redefine Palestine conflict – PSNA

    Source: Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa (PSNA)

    The Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa says a just-signed government-produced ‘Harmony Initiative’ will help in Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu’s recently announced ‘Eighth War Front’.

    This is an Israeli government propaganda campaign to present Israel’s brutal assault on Palestinians as a response to global antisemitism.

    Netanyahu has likened Israel’s worldwide ‘information war’ to its physical attacks on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, neighbouring Arab countries, and Iran.

    The Israeli aim is to silence its overseas critics.

    Some Jewish and Muslim groups have signed onto the ‘Harmony Initiative’ which describes its purpose as to foster ‘positive relationships’ and set up a Muslim-Jewish Council.

    The government says it wants to avoid what it calls ‘domestic impacts resulting from overseas conflicts’.

    But PSNA CO-Chair Maher Nazzal says that is code for the government trying to defuse protest against Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

    “You can’t see any references in this ‘Harmony Initiative’ to supporting the implementation of international humanitarian law or the Universal Declaration of Human Rights for example.”

    “Instead, we get the Muslim-Jewish Council having an obligation to ‘publicly challenge expressions of hate’.”

    “There will be some people sitting on that Council who believe any expressed support of Palestinian rights is hate speech. One of the ‘Harmony Initiative’ signatories is the Holocaust Foundation.  The Holocaust Foundation is funded by the Israeli embassy.”

    “If you put various government moves together, there is a clear agenda to stifle criticism of Israel.”

    “Amendments to the Terrorism Suppression Act 2002 are under secret consultation, but with a clear signal that the recent draconian suppression of free speech on Palestine we have just seen in the UK is very much a model on the list for us too.”

    “The Human Rights Commissioner, a self-confessed Israel supporter, wants to appoint an Antisemitism Envoy because they have one in Australia.  But the antisemitism test they are using there is a list of examples of criticising Israel.”

    Nazzal says he can understand why some community groups in Aotearoa New Zealand have signed on to the ‘Harmony Initiative’.  

    “The Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand for instance, quite rightly believe that if they are not on this ‘Muslim-Jewish Council’ then the government would simply create and appoint another Muslim body to purportedly represent Muslims.  That would leave FIANZ with no input.”

    Maher Nazzal
    Co-chair
    Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

    July 23, 2025

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Trade – NZ-UAE trade deal a boost to export and investment – ExportNZ

    Source: BusinessNZ

    ExportNZ welcomes news of the United Arab Emirates Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement Legislation Amendment Bill passing into law last night, saying it marks the next step forward in seeing the Agreement between New Zealand and UAE provide a boost to exporters.
    Executive Director Joshua Tan says recent engagements with exporters nationwide proves there is plenty of interest from businesses to explore opportunities in the UAE.
    “The UAE is a fast-moving, high-value market with demand for exactly the kinds of quality, sustainable, and trusted products and services New Zealand is known for.
    “We not only see opportunities for exporting products and services to the UAE, but also fostering investment opportunities in New Zealand. We are excited about the potential for growth in the New Zealand-Emirati economic relationship.
    “ExportNZ acknowledges the hard work of our government officials and the Minister for Trade & Investment for moving quickly to conclude and pass this high-quality agreement. We look forward to notification of when the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement will come into force for exporters to begin leveraging.”
    The BusinessNZ Network including BusinessNZ, EMA, Business Central, Business Canterbury and Business South, represents and provides services to thousands of businesses, small and large, throughout New Zealand.

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

    July 23, 2025

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Federated Farmers Statement on Greenpeace

    Source: Federated Farmers

    Federated Farmers Statement: Greenpeace vandals must lose charitable status

    Federated Farmers is renewing its call for Greenpeace to be stripped of its charitable status immediately, following the extreme activist group’s latest illegal publicity stunt.

    “Greenpeace need to be held accountable for their repeated illegal activity and the spread of harmful misinformation,” Southland Federated Farmers president Jason Herrick says.
    “How can they be recognised as a charity when they’re breaking all kinds of laws trespassing on private property, vandalising public property, and intimidating the community?
    “Last night’s vandalism of the world-famous trout statue in Gore reinforces why these activists need to lose their status as a charity. I think it’s a total abuse of charitable status.”
    Herrick says Greenpeace’s vandalism of the statue and welcome sign is a shameless attempt to divide the small rural community and spread anti-farming propaganda.
    “These activists are total cowards who are slinking around in the shadows vandalising property under the cover of darkness,” Herrick says.
    “There’s a reason they’ve done this at night. They knew it was dodgy behaviour – and that they’d never get away with it in Gore during daylight hours.
    “We’re a tight-knit community down here in Southland. Farming plays a huge role in not only our local economy, but in our social fabric too.
    “There’s no way we’re going to put up with this nonsense. Greenpeace should hang their heads in shame.”
    In April, Federated Farmers called for the Government to immediately strip Greenpeace of its charitable status after the group’s illegal occupation of Port Taranaki.
    Charitable status in New Zealand is intended to support organisations that advance public benefit through education, relief of poverty, and other recognised charitable purposes.
    Under the Charities Act, organisations must operate for the public good and not primarily serve political or advocacy purposes.
    Herrick says he sees Greenpeace’s ongoing illegal activity as clear evidence that it no longer meets these criteria for charitable status.
    “There are plenty of amazing, honest charities doing fantastic work out there – but Greenpeace is not one of them.
    “It’s become little more than an extreme activist group that’s disrupting legitimate businesses and spreading harmful misinformation – repeatedly and deliberately.”
    Federated Farmers lodged a formal complaint with Charities Services in April, requesting a formal inquiry into Greenpeace’s conduct and eligibility for charitable status.
    A copy was also sent to Community and Voluntary Sector Minister Hon Louise Upston and Minister of Internal Affairs Hon Brooke van Velden.
    The complaint focuses on Greenpeace’s repeated involvement in premeditated unlawful protest activity.
    That includes the 2024 protest at Fonterra’s Te Rapa dairy factory where seven individuals were arrested, and last year’s occupation of Straterra’s Wellington office, where five were arrested during a staged lockdown.
    “We urge Charities Services to act decisively on our existing complaint and strip Greenpeace of its charitable status quickly,” Herrick says.
    “I can’t see any way they meet the requirements for registration under the Charities Act 2005.
    “Hardworking Kiwi taxpayers should not be forced to subsidise their illegal attacks and extremist political agendas through tax breaks for their donors.
    “Law-breaking groups cannot hide behind charitable privileges while threatening livelihoods with misinformation about farming.”
    Herrick says it’s not just Greenpeace that needs to be held accountable for how it’s operating as a charity.
    “I think Charities Services and the Government need to be held accountable too and answer some tough, but fair, questions about how this rort of the rules is being allowed to continue.
    “There is absolutely no way Greenpeace should be allowed to constantly break the law and still be recognised as a charity.”

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

    July 23, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: UK Economy – UK borrowing blow makes tax hikes ‘inevitable’ – deVere Group

    Source: deVere Group

    July 22 2025 – UK government borrowing came in higher than forecast in June, a setback for Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves that has markets jittery and households bracing for tax hikes.

    “Gilt yields climbed on the news—and so should awareness among individuals with UK assets. The time to protect your wealth is now,” says Nigel Green, CEO of global financial advisory giant deVere Group.

    In a sharp warning, he responds to today’s ONS data showing public sector borrowing reached £20.7bn last month—£3.5bn more than expected and the highest June figure outside of the pandemic era.

    “This borrowing shock is the flashing red light on the dashboard. The UK is headed toward a fiscal squeeze, and the Chancellor has limited room to manoeuvre. That makes tax rises not just likely—but, in our view, inevitable.”

    The increase in borrowing was driven by higher interest payments on inflation-linked debt and ballooning public spending, which has outpaced gains in tax revenues.

    The data raises questions about how the government can stick to its fiscal rules without turning to new or increased taxes.

    “Markets are already reacting. Gilts dropped and yields jumped, which is a clear signal that investors expect tougher measures ahead. And that usually means taxes—stealth or otherwise—will be deployed to stabilise the books.”

    With debt interest payments nearly doubling year-on-year in June and pressure mounting from backbench MPs for wealth and tourist taxes, Nigel Green says the direction of travel is now unambiguous.

    “The political noise is getting louder. Whether it’s capital gains, pension reliefs, property, or new forms of wealth taxation, something has to give.

    “The Chancellor has ruled out reopening departmental budgets, which narrows the options dramatically.”

    He warned that investors, business owners, and anyone with UK assets should not wait to react after the Autumn Budget.

    “By the time tax policy changes are announced, it’s often too late to respond effectively. The smart move is to plan proactively—now. When fiscal gaps this size appear, governments act fast, and retrospectively.”

    With borrowing at £57.8bn already this financial year and the Office for Budget Responsibility forecasting a potential £30bn hole in public finances by year-end, the deVere CEO says the government’s fiscal hand is being forced.

    “There’s no free money left. We’re past the era of cheap borrowing and blank-cheque economics. Markets want discipline. Voters want services. That tension will be resolved through taxation.”

    “Those with investment portfolios, property, pensions or inheritances tied to the UK need to assess their exposure and consider future-proofing strategies. This is smart wealth management.”

    Despite the political pledge to avoid day-to-day borrowing, the numbers tell a different story. The Treasury is borrowing more, not less, and paying more for it, not less.

    “Inflation-linked bonds and rising rates have made it brutally expensive to finance the national debt. That’s going to reshape the economic agenda—and likely your personal finances with it.”

    The chief executive called on clients and individuals to get ahead of potential tax changes now, while options remain open and planning is still effective.

    “Tax hikes can be disguised, delayed, or dressed up as reform—but they’re still tax hikes. We expect movement on capital gains, inheritance tax, and pension rules in particular, and we believe it would be reckless to assume otherwise.”

    He concludes: “We’re urging those with UK ties—whether you live in Britain, invest here, or hold assets here—to speak to advisors urgently.

    “Mitigating tax exposure takes time, insight, and action. This isn’t about headlines, it’s about protecting what you’ve built.”

    About deVere Group:
    deVere Group is one of the world’s largest independent advisors of specialist global financial solutions to international, local mass affluent, and high-net-worth clients.  It has a network of offices around the world, more than 80,000 clients, and $14bn under advisement.

    MIL OSI – Submitted News –

    July 23, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: Klobuchar Opening Remarks at Spotlight Forum on the Consumer Product Safety Commission

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn)
    Klobuchar Opening Remarks at Spotlight Forum on the Consumer Product Safety Commission
    WATCH KLOBUCHAR’S FULL REMARKS HERE
    WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) gave the following remarks at a spotlight forum she hosted titled “Buyers Beware: Attacks on Nation’s Product Safety Watchdog Threaten Americans’ Safety.”  
    Testifying at the forum was Don Mays, Product Safety Expert; Jonathan Midgett, PhD, Former CPSC Consumer Ombudsman; Austin Schlick, Former CPSC General Counsel and Executive Director; R. David Pittle, Former CPSC Commissioner; Alan Korn, Executive Director of Abbey’s Hope Charitable Foundation; Trista Hamsmith, founder of Reese’s Purpose; and Brett Horn, founder of Charlie’s House. 
     Senator Klobuchar: Well, thank you so much, Senator Blumenthal. I’m really impressed by this group, that knows a lot about what they’re talking about, and we need to hear from you today. 
    I think I’ve always figured, and maybe this is from my days as a prosecutor, but the first responsibility of government is to protect the people of America, and not only from foreign and domestic threats, but also from … unsafe products. 
    For over 50 years, the CPSC Commissioners have done just that, working on a bipartisan basis to ensure Americans feel confident about the safety and the reliability of their products. Last year alone, the CPSC negotiated the recall of 153 million unsafe items and conducted more than 4,100 in-depth investigations. 
    I have grown to value the CPSC through various administrations. My first experience was the toy issue. A little boy in Minnesota, Mom, bought some Reebok tennis shoes, and there was a charm in there as a little gift, and he swallowed it, and he didn’t die, actually, by choking, he died over a period of days because there was lead in the toy, and it went into his system. And from there, I got to as a brand new Senator, work on the Consumer Product Safety bill that was passed with a really strong vote, and we saved a whole lot of lives, and that was during the Bush administration. 
    Then you move forward, and the work that we’ve all done together on everything from Ikea dressers to airbags to, really, finally, for me, a little girl named Abbey Taylor who died by just going into a kiddie swimming pool. And I worked then, along with several others, to pass the Virginia Graeme Baker Act, which made very clear that you have to have safe pool drains. That bill was then implemented by someone; you can’t just pass a bill and say, “Hey, we did it,” and that was the CPSC, which engaged in education efforts around the country. And maybe one of my favorite moments as a Senator was a few years back when we had the Commissioners before us in the Commerce Committee, and I asked if there had been any deaths since then, 10 years had passed, and they said “not one,” and we were literally having a handful of kids die every year or get maimed because of these pool drains, and I think that’s just such a great example of the work that goes on.
    So I’ve always seen this as bipartisan; the work we’ve done, it was one of the most interesting things and positive things we did on the Commerce Committee. And I’m very concerned to partisan up this CPSC, whose mission is just about a far away from partisanship as you can get, makes no sense, and so I’m so glad that we are, Senator Blumenthal, thank you, and that we are going to hear from all of you today about why we need a strong CPSC and that we shouldn’t be making it partisan. Thank you.
    Klobuchar has long been a leader in consumer protection.  
    In 2023, Klobuchar’s legislation to protect children from furniture tip-over injuries was signed into law. The STURDY Act strengthens furniture safety standards to prevent children from being injured by fatal furniture tip-overs. Each year, nearly 10,000 children go to the emergency room (ER) as a result of furniture tip-over injuries.
    Klobuchar also spearheaded regulating lead in consumer products as a part of the 2008 Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA), which set stringent standards for levels of lead in children’s toys. 
    In 2007, Klobuchar’s legislation, the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act, was signed into law. The law mandated that all public pools install safe drain covers preventing suction entrapment, established a voluntary grant program for states to promote pool and spa safety, and created a national public education campaign to raise awareness about drowning prevention. 
    Video is available HERE.

    MIL OSI USA News –

    July 23, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: Booker Blasts Third Circuit Court of Appeals Decision On AB5207, “Moral Failing”

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for New Jersey Cory Booker

    NEWARK, N.J. – This afternoon, U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, issued the following statement:

    “Attaching a profit motive to imprisonment is a moral failing and wholly inconsistent with our obligation to guarantee just and fair outcomes for all detained people. Today’s decision by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals allows private prisons to profit from immigrant detention contracts, hindering the state legislature’s power to protect New Jerseyans from predatory, greedy, and abusive private prison companies. This decision perpetuates a perverse incentive to fill beds that put corporate profits over human costs and undermines the will of New Jerseyans whose democratically-elected officials passed this legislation. Our communities deserve better, and it is in these moments that we must continue to fight for our neighbors and advocate for an end to for-profit detention.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

    July 23, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: Vermont Delegation Meets with Dylan Collins, Demands Accountability for Targeted Attack Against International Journalists in Lebanon 

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont)
    WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) today met with Dylan Collins, a Vermonter and video journalist for the Agence France-Presse (AFP) news agency, who was attacked and wounded by Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) while reporting in Southern Lebanon. Representatives for Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Representative Becca Balint (D-VT-At Large) also attended the meeting.  
    The Vermont Congressional Delegation released the following statement of support for Mr. Collins:  
    “For two years, we have sought accountability for Dylan Collins, a Vermonter who was wounded in a targeted attack on international journalists in southern Lebanon by Israeli Defense Forces. A Reuters journalist was killed instantly, AFP’s Christina Assi suffered catastrophic injuries, including losing her right leg, and Mr. Collins and four others were wounded by shrapnel. Multiple credible independent investigations indicate that the attack by Israeli soldiers was a deliberate targeting of individuals who were clearly identified as journalists.  
    “We have demanded answers from both the Biden and Trump Administrations. The United States government has a responsibility to investigate and obtain accountability for an attack on an American citizen. This Administration has yet to recognize this obligation to Mr. Collins. Our delegation will continue to seek accountability for this shocking misuse of lethal force through legislation, including restrictions on taxpayer-funded weapons for Israel.” 
    Independent investigations conducted by Reuters, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Agence France-Presse (AFP), and others have concluded that the IDF’s October 2023 attack on international journalists, including Dylan Collins, in southern Lebanon was targeted and deliberate. 
    Nine American citizens, including Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, have been killed by IDF forces or settlers since 2022. The killings have been met by a lack of accountability from the Israeli government and a pattern of indifference by the U.S. government. These failures have contributed to an unacceptable culture of impunity when it comes to ensuring accountability for the deaths of Americans, journalists, and tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians in the West Bank, Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria. 
    Reports by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) have revealed that at least 186journalists and media workers have been killed in Gaza, the West Bank, Israel, and Lebanonsince the conflict began on October 7, 2024, making it the deadliest period for journalists since CPJ began gathering data in 1992. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

    July 23, 2025

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Cutting-edge personalised treatments, made while you wait, will deliver specialised care to patients more quickly

    Source: United Kingdom – Government Statements

    Press release

    Cutting-edge personalised treatments, made while you wait, will deliver specialised care to patients more quickly

    New regulations effective today will make it faster and easier for cutting-edge cancer treatments and personalised gene therapies to be made right where patients are treated.

    Patients will receive faster access to life-saving, personalised treatments made at their hospital, clinic or near their homes instead of waiting weeks for therapies manufactured hundreds of miles away, under new UK legislation that comes into force today (23 July).

    This world first regulations, introduced by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), allows breakthrough personalised medicines to be prepared in small or individual batches – bringing care closer to the patient.

    A cancer patient could now have their immune cells collected, modified to fight their specific cancer, and returned within days rather than months. A child with a rare genetic disorder could receive a freshly prepared therapy with only minutes of shelf life, made and given on the spot.

    The change will cut waiting times where every hour counts, help free up NHS beds, and improve access to innovative therapies that were previously out of reach.

    Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said:

    “This world-first legislation is a game-changer for patients. Cancer treatments tailored in days, not months. Life-saving therapies made at your bedside, not hundreds of miles away.

    “Our Plan for Change promised to build an NHS fit for the future. Today we’re delivering on that pledge by bringing cutting-edge care directly to patients when they need it most.

    “We are turning around our NHS with waiting lists at their lowest for two years – this type of therapy means patients can be treated and return home more quickly.”

    Science Minister Lord Vallance said:

    “This world-first framework gives the NHS and innovators a clear, safe way to bring advanced treatments from the lab to the patient’s bedside. It’s a powerful example of how smart regulation can help more patients benefit from the best of British science.

    “We’re determined to clear the path for more health innovation of this sort. Our recently-published Life Sciences Sector Plan sets out our clear vision to do just that – with a view to unlocking growth, investment, and delivering a stronger, prevention-focused healthcare system.”

    MHRA Chief Executive Lawrence Tallon said:

    “Patients will now receive highly personalised treatments more quickly and nearer to their bedside, with the same rigorous standards as all medicines.

    “This is especially important where every hour matters, or where a treatment is so specific it simply can’t be made in advance.

    “It’s a landmark moment that opens the door to a future where highly personalised treatment – made for one person, in one place, at one time – becomes part of routine care.

    “The UK is leading the world in this next generation of medical innovation, and as the UK regulator for medicines and medical devices, we’re determined to play our role in providing the supportive regulatory framework to help our health partners and medicines innovators bring can bring these new treatments to patients.”

    From months to days

    Until now, personalised treatments such as CAR-T cancer therapy had to be sent to specialised manufacturing facilities often far away, causing long delays. In some cases, patients became too unwell to receive the therapy in time, or the medicine’s short shelf life meant it couldn’t be delivered at all.

    Hospitals were only able to offer these treatments through complicated, one-off arrangements, creating uncertainty for patients and doctors about whether treatment could go ahead.

    From today, hospitals, ambulances and local care settings in the UK have a pathway to carry out the final manufacturing steps for these personalised or time-sensitive treatments on-site, using clear, regulated protocols. This mirrors how chemotherapy or antibiotics are prepared locally, but with the same strict safeguards for more advanced therapies. A central control site will provide detailed instructions and oversight, while hospitals complete the process closer to the patient.

    Supporting care closer to home

    The legislation also supports the use of mobile manufacturing units – offering a safer alternative for patients too unwell to travel, or whose weakened immune systems mean hospital visits carry extra risk.

    This change enables care to be delivered where it’s most appropriate, including community settings or even at home, supporting the NHS ambition, as set out in the 10 Year Health Plan for England, to expand ‘hospital at home’ models such as virtual wards.

    Backed by law – and leading the world

    The legislation, known as The Human Medicines (Amendment) (Modular Manufacture and Point of Care) Regulations 2025, makes the UK the first country in the world to introduce a dedicated legal framework for medicines made at the point of care.

    Following strong support during the public consultation, the framework covers a broad range of innovative products, including cell and gene therapies, tissue-engineered treatments, 3D printed products, blood products, and medicinal gases.

    To support implementation, the MHRA published detailed guidance earlier this year and has worked closely with other UK regulators, the NHS, industry, academics and healthcare professionals to ensure clarity around how the legislation applies in practice. Today, the MHRA has added information on how to apply for a decentralised manufacture designation. Companies can also access MHRA scientific advice at any stage of development.

    The move strengthens the UK’s leadership in safe, decentralised manufacturing and is expected to boost research, trials and patient access to cutting-edge treatments. The MHRA is also working internationally to support similar changes in other countries, recently being centrally involved in the first global workshop on point-of-care manufacturing, through the International Coalition of Medicines Regulatory Authorities (ICMRA).

    Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult Chief Executive Matthew Durdy said:

    “This change demonstrates how the MHRA is leading in the UK’s commitment to being at the forefront of modern healthcare, innovation and regulation. The MHRA has recognised that some practices are better with more flexibility, and that in a technology enabled world which allows better training, information and communication, flexibility can be enabled without compromising safety.

    “This is not just a step forward for innovative medicines such as cell and gene therapies, it is a step towards enabling truly personalised medicine. We applaud this change introduced by the MHRA and look forward to a future where more patients can receive therapeutics tailored to their needs, quickly, cost-effectively and sustainably.”

    NHS England National Director for Specialised Commissioning John Stewart said:

    “The NHS in England was the first health system in Europe to adopt personalised cancer medicines and has since built a strong track record as an early leader in the use of potentially curative gene therapies.

    “The advanced treatments of today, will become the everyday healthcare of tomorrow, and forward-thinking regulatory changes like this will help enable the NHS to evolve patient care to deliver complex treatments to more people, in more places.”  

    Notes to editors 

    1. The regulations will take effect across the UK from 23 July 2025. For more information, visit The Human Medicines (Amendment) (Modular Manufacture and Point of Care) Regulations 2025
    2. Supporting guidance and updates can be accessed at Decentralised manufacture hub – GOV.UK
    3. Products manufactured at the point of care are eligible for support through the MHRA ILAP pathway, which is in place to accelerate time to market and facilitate patient access.
    4. Government response to consultation on proposals to support the regulation of medicines manufactured at the Point of Care – GOV.UK
    5. 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. 
    6. The MHRA is an executive agency of the Department of Health and Social Care. 
    7. For media enquiries, please contact the newscentre@mhra.gov.uk, or call on 020 3080 7651.

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    Published 23 July 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

    July 23, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: Kennedy applauds USDOT lease agreement for National Center of Excellence for LNG Safety in Lake Charles

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator John Kennedy (Louisiana)

    WASHINGTON – Senator John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, issued the following statement applauding the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) for entering into a 20-year lease agreement with McNeese State University in Lake Charles, La., the location of the PHMSA National Center of Excellence for Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Safety (the Center). McNeese was chosen as the Center’s site earlier this year. The lease will start on August 1, 2025.

    “LNG production is one of the most critical ways our nation can unleash our energy dominance and protect our national security, and Louisiana is leading the way. I’m proud to see the U.S. Department of Transportation take this major step forward in building our National Center of Excellence for LNG Safety in Lake Charles. This Center will be a game changer for our region and be the tip of the spear for LNG innovation, operations, and safety in the U.S.,” said Kennedy. 

    “Louisiana is at the heart of America’s growing LNG revolution. There is no better place to locate our Center of Excellence to ensure we safely transport this critical energy source,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy.

    The Protecting our Infrastructure of Pipelines and Enhancing Safety (PIPES) Act of 2020 required PHMSA to establish that the National Center of Excellence for LNG Safety improve the federal government’s LNG facility expertise, serve as an information repository on best practices for LNG facilities, and facilitate collaboration among LNG stakeholders. 

    “We are excited to reach another important milestone in the construction of the Center, which will be a hub for advancing U.S. LNG safety,” said PHMSA Acting Administrator Ben Kochman. 

    “We are thrilled to finalize the long-term lease with PHMSA for a location on our McNeese campus. This project has been in the works for over two years, and it would not have been possible without the tireless efforts of Senator Kennedy and his staff, our partners in Washington, D.C., and our colleagues at the University of Louisiana. We believe having PHMSA right here in Lake Charles—working alongside us—will serve as a powerful catalyst for securing the future of our region’s vital industries,” said Dr. Wade Rousse, President, McNeese State University.

    Kennedy has long fought for the National Center of Excellence for LNG Safety and its presence in southwest Louisiana.

    • In 2020, Kennedy inserted a provision into the PIPES Act requiring the Center to be located in Louisiana. The PIPES Act, including Kennedy’s addition, became law as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021.
    • In May 2024, Kennedy questioned then-Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg during the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and Related Agencies (THUD Appropriations). In response to Kennedy’s questions, Buttigieg confirmed that the Center would be located in Lake Charles, La.
    • During a May 2025 THUD Appropriations hearing, Kennedy questioned Secretary Duffy and confirmed that McNeese State University would be the site of the new Center. McNeese State University is the first undergraduate institution in the U.S. to offer a certificate program in the LNG Business and already hosts its own LNG Center of Excellence.

    PHMSA and other federal agencies, including the U.S. Coast Guard, Department of Energy, and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, have worked together to ensure the Center is focused on its mission of making the U.S. the leader in LNG operations. 

    Additional information about the National Center of Excellence for LNG Safety is available on PHMSA’s website.

    MIL OSI USA News –

    July 23, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: Brownley, Espaillat, Carbajal Demand Accountability from ICE Regarding California Immigration Enforcement Operations

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

    Washington, DC – Today, Congresswoman Julia Brownley (D-CA) joined Congressman Adriano Espaillat (D-NY), Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC), and Congressman Salud Carbajal (D-CA) in a letter to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Acting Director Todd Lyons expressing serious concern about large scale immigration raids conducted across multiple counties in California during the week of July 8-12:

    “According to multiple reports, ICE agents conducted large-scale, coordinated raids—many targeting agricultural sites—resulting in the detention of hundreds of individuals, most of whom are long-time community members and workers, including U.S. citizens. These operations appear to have involved aggressive tactics, including warrantless intrusions, racial profiling, and denial of access to counsel. Such actions raise significant constitutional, legal, and humanitarian concerns,” wrote the lawmakers.

    In their letter, the Members requested detailed information about the enforcement operations in question, including how many individuals were detained and are being held, and whether ICE is adhering to humanitarian and legal detention standards.

    The lawmakers also requested information on how ICE will adhere to the temporary restraining order (TRO) issued by a federal judge in Vasquez Perdomo v. Noem, which bans ICE officials from detaining individuals based on their appearance or ethnicity; speaking Spanish or speaking English with an accent; their presence at a particular location; or the work they do.

    The TRO further requires ICE to only detain individuals based on a reasonable suspicion that they are in violation of immigration law — a reasonable suspicion not based on any of the factors listed above — and to provide adequate access to legal assistance to individuals who are detained.

    “My district, which encompasses most of Ventura County, was recently the site of one of the largest ICE operations in the country, resulting in more than 360 detentions in a single day. The troubling way these raids have been carried out throughout California raises serious concerns about the tactics used by federal agents and their disregard for due process and the rule of law,” said Congresswoman Brownley. “This is not about public safety — it’s about instilling fear. These actions lack transparency, accountability, and basic respect for the legal rights of every person in this country. My Democratic colleagues and I are continuing to work to hold this administration accountable and to ensure that our immigration policies reflect our values and our commitment to justice.”

    “The Trump administration’s zeal to reach a million deportations in a year — a meaningless, arbitrary number — is pushing ICE agents to trample basic constitutional and human rights,” said Congressman Espaillat. “It’s also putting the federal government at odds with the social and economic well-being of our communities. The Trump administration needlessly changed the rules of the game overnight and everyone is paying the price, starting with the irreplaceable skilled laborers who grow our food.”

    “The Trump administration is using immigration enforcement as a political weapon, targeting working families to score political points,” said Congressman Carbajal. “This is not how you keep people safe. In fact, this kind of chaos only makes communities more insecure. I’ll continue working with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus to push back on ICE and the Trump administration’s cruel and inhumane immigration enforcement tactics.”

    The full letter can be found here and below: 

    The Honorable Kristi Noem
    Secretary
    U.S. Department of Homeland Security
    2707 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave., SE
    Washington, DC 20528-0525

    Mr. Todd M. Lyons
    Acting Director
    U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
    500 12th Street, SW
    Washington, DC 20536-5010

    Dear Secretary Noem and Acting Director Lyons,

    We write to express serious concern regarding the recent series of enforcement actions reportedly carried out by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) across multiple counties in California, including Ventura, Santa Barbara, Monterey, and Kern, among others, during the week of July 8–12, 2025.

    According to multiple reports, ICE agents conducted large-scale, coordinated raids—many targeting agricultural sites—resulting in the detention of hundreds of individuals, most of whom are long-time community members and workers, including U.S. citizens. These operations appear to have involved aggressive tactics, including warrantless intrusions, racial profiling, and denial of access to counsel. Such actions raise significant constitutional, legal, and humanitarian concerns.

    These enforcement actions also target individuals who are essential to local and state economies. The immigrant workers detained during these raids are overwhelmingly hard-working individuals who contribute daily to California’s agricultural industry and food supply chain. Many have lived in the United States for decades, raising families and building deep ties in their communities. Targeting these essential workers not only harms families but disrupts vital economic sectors that depend on their labor and dedication.

    In light of these events, and in view of the Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) issued on July 11, 2025, in Vasquez Perdomo v. Noem, we respectfully request the following detailed information about these enforcement operations:

    • How many individuals were detained during ICE operations in California from July 8 to July 12, 2025?
    • Where are those individuals currently being held? Please provide facility names and addresses.
    • Are individuals in your custody being provided with reliable access to basic needs? Please include when they are being provided water, food, sanitation, and hygiene.
    • What was the legal basis for the initial stops, arrests, and detentions, particularly in light of the court’s prohibition on reliance upon race, ethnicity, language, or occupation as justification?
    • Were administrative warrants obtained and presented prior to entering any private areas, including worker housing or vehicles? Please include a copy of the warrant.
    • Did ICE coordinate or communicate with any local or state law enforcement agencies during the planning or execution of these operations? If so, please detail the nature and scope of that cooperation.
    • How will ICE adjust its operational practices in California in light of the court’s TRO, which restricts stops lacking individualized suspicion and mandates access to legal counsel?

    We also request confirmation that individuals currently detained, as a result of these raids, are being granted regular and confidential access to legal representation, in accordance with the court’s ruling.

    Furthermore, we want to reiterate that Members of Congress have both the constitutional authority and the responsibility to conduct oversight of federal agencies, including ICE. This includes the right to observe enforcement operations and inspect detention facilities without prior notice, as affirmed by federal law and agency policy. Any attempt to obstruct congressional access during enforcement activities or to withhold information from elected representatives will be regarded as a serious violation of that duty and rights.

    These raids have caused widespread fear and disruption across communities, and they raise deeply troubling questions about ICE’s commitment to due process and constitutional norms. As Members of Congress, we will be closely monitoring any future enforcement actions to ensure they comply with federal court orders, respect individual rights, and uphold the rule of law.

    Thank you for your attention to this urgent matter. We respectfully request a response by July 25, 2025.

    ###

    Issues: 119th Congress, Immigration, Local Issues

    MIL OSI USA News –

    July 23, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: ICYMI: GOP Senator Reveals the ‘Dirty’ Secret to Trump’s Make America Healthy Again Movement

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Kansas Roger Marshall

    Washington – U.S. Senator Roger Marshall, M.D. (R-Kansas) sat down with Fox News Digital to discuss the nearly 30 bipartisan bills he has proposed for his Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) legislative package. Senator Marshall is the chairman of the MAHA Caucus.
    Read the full article HERE or below:
    GOP Senator Reveals the ‘Dirty’ Secret to Trump’s Make America Healthy Again Movement
    Alex Miller
    Fox News Digital
    July 18, 2025
    For one lawmaker, the path to making Americans healthier starts in the dirt.
    Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., has styled himself as an early adopter of the Make America Healthy Again movement, a political slogan born on the 2024 campaign trail that has since seen major companies tweak their products to nix artificial additives.
    But Marshall sees the initiative, commonly known as MAHA, as one that can start sooner than switching the oil in deep friers or swapping out high-fructose corn syrup for cane sugar in soda.
    He has his own four pillars of MAHA, which include dialing up efficiency in agriculture; healthier, more nutrient-rich food; affordable access to primary care healthcare; and addressing mental health challenges among young people.
    But it all starts below the surface with soil health.
    “Soil is a dirty topic, you know, pun intended,” Marshall told Fox News Digital in an interview.
    MAHA diehards and farmers are, at a surface level, at odds with one another, he said. For example, returning to an entirely organic food production process devoid of fertilizers would create healthier food, but also crank up the costs on consumers and strain farmland.
    Earlier in the week, Marshall held a roundtable with Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to try and bridge that gap.
    “Soil health seems to be the common ground,” he said. “So healthy soil meets healthy food meets healthy people. Rather than MAHA telling these farmers what you can and can’t do, we wanted to say, ‘What’s our goal here?’ If we have the same goals, then we’re going to figure this out. Well, the goal is healthy soil.”
    Getting those two in a room together, along with experts on regenerative agriculture, which is a more holistic approach to farming that targets soil health by restoring and enhancing ecosystems, is just a part of his plan.
    He also intends to drop a massive package of bills that is divided up into categories that echo his four pillars, including legislation geared toward health care, mental health, nutrition and agriculture.
    Among the nearly 30 bills and amendments in the package is one Marshall is particularly keen to see codified. The Plant Biostimulant Act would spur usage of organisms that can be placed into the soil and that latch onto the roots of plants that absorb nitrates and more water, he said.
    The bill ties in directly with his passion for regenerative agriculture, which uses fewer fertilizers, water and other status-quo farming techniques to produce healthier foods on more sustainable farmland, which, in turn, would yield a cheaper, more nutritious diet for Americans.
    “It’s growing more with less,” he said.
    Among the various, bipartisan pieces of legislation from both chambers are bills that would push mobile cancer screenings with grant funding, add mental health warnings for kids scrolling through social media, require more transparency in food ingredients, expansion of employer healthcare coverage for chronic diseases, and measures that would allow bleeding edge soil health technology and processes to be considered conservation practices and eligible for Farm Bill funding, among others.
    Most bills need to get 60 votes to pass in the Senate, Marshall noted, and that led to a desire to incorporate as many bipartisan measures in the package as possible. It’s also a topic that, in spite of the political polarization in Washington, “unites us, rather than divides us.”
    Still, with President Donald Trump in office, he sees the chance for the measures to pass as a kind of now or never moment.
    “We’re seeing a time in our lives where the incidence of cancer, the age of cancer, is growing younger and younger, the age of Alzheimer’s onset is growing younger and younger, and we believe it’s an inflammatory reaction to the food that we’re eating that leads to all that,” he said.
    “We think heart disease, hypertension, is really an inflammatory reaction… to the food we’re eating and the constantly high sugar levels in our blood system,” he continued. “So absolutely, I think, seize the moment. This is it.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

    July 23, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: Welch Calls Trump’s Decision to Withdraw from UNESCO Uninformed and Ill-Conceived

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont)
    WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) today submitted a Statement for the Congressional Record excoriating President Trump for withdrawing from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). In his statement, Senator Welch called the withdrawal from UNESCO ill-conceived, and warned this move will allow the Chinese government to expand its influence in the United Nations.  
    Read Senator Welch’s Statement for the Congressional Record below:  
    “Mr. President, of all the uninformed, ill-conceived, and self-inflicted errors of this Administration, the just-announced decision to withdraw from UNESCO stands out.   
    “The justification given by the State Department spokeswoman was a recitation of outdated, vague, and inaccurate criticisms of an organization that has seen dramatic reforms over the past seven years under the outstanding leadership of Director General Audrey Azoulay. Since her initial appointment in 2017, Director General Azoulay has made numerous trips to Washington to meet with leaders in the Congress and the Administration. I have heard consistently positive reactions to her leadership of UNESCO by Republicans and Democrats alike, including regarding UNESCO’s efforts to address antisemitism.   
    “Given Director General Azoulay’s success in focusing UNESCO on its mission of promoting international cooperation and peace in a manner consistent with democratic values and human rights and dignity, one can only conclude that the Administration officials behind this short-sighted decision never bothered to do their homework. Or they were guided purely by Project 2025’s mindless opposition to multilateralism, regardless of the facts. As far as I am aware they did not bother to consult anyone in Congress, including those who have regularly engaged with Director General Azoulay and her professional staff.   
    “Mr. President, most Republicans and Democrats have long recognized that it is far better for the United States to be in the room, rather than remain outside and cede our influence to those who don’t share our interests or values. The Chinese Government is looking for any opportunity to expand its influence in the United Nations, and UNESCO is no exception. We rejoined UNESCO in 2023 after a five-year absence, and now we are withdrawing again. It sends a terrible message that the United States can no longer be counted on. It is a message the Chinese will applaud.” 

    MIL OSI USA News –

    July 23, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: Congressman Russell Fry (SC-07) Introduces Legislation to Codify President Trump’s Executive Order on Showerheads

    Source:

    Congressman Russell Fry (SC-07) Introduces Legislation to Codify President Trump’s Executive Order on Showerheads

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Russell Fry (SC-07) introduced the Saving Homeowners from Overregulation With Exceptional Rinsing (SHOWER) Act, a bill to codify President Trump’s clear and consistent definition of “showerhead” and put an end to the federal government’s overregulation of household water fixtures.

    Under the 2016 Trump Administration, the Department of Energy (DOE) rightly clarified that each nozzle in a multi-head shower system could be treated as a separate showerhead, each allowed to flow at up to 2.5 gallons per minute (GPM), consistent with the original intent of the 1992 Energy Policy Act.

    But in 2021, the Biden Administration reversed course, reinstating a burdensome interpretation that limited the combined flow of all nozzles in a system to 2.5 GPM—effectively reducing water pressure and restricting consumer choice. That rule was widely criticized as overreach and emblematic of a broader regulatory agenda targeting everyday household appliances.

    President Trump issued an Executive Order in April of 2025 directing DOE to eliminate the Biden-era rule, and DOE followed through in May by repealing the restrictive definition entirely. The SHOWER Act now ensures this rollback is enshrined in law and cannot be reversed by future administrations.

    Specifically, the bill:

    • Codifies the definition of “showerhead” using the ASME A112.18.1–2018 industry standard.

    • Clarifies that each individual nozzle in a multi-nozzle unit may operate independently at up to 2.5 GPM.

    • Excludes safety showerheads used for emergency purposes.

    • Directs the DOE to revise existing regulations within 180 days to reflect the updated statutory definition.

    • Prevents future reinterpretations that would restrict water flow and limit consumer options.

    “Washington bureaucrats have gone too far in dictating what happens in Americans’ own homes,” said Congressman Fry. “The SHOWER Act is a smart fix that reaffirms each shower nozzle is just that—its own showerhead—and should be treated accordingly under the law. This is about defending consumer choice, pushing back on regulatory overreach, and standing up for commonsense policy.”

    “For far too long federal regulations and red tape have limited consumer choice and forced Americans to live with limited water pressure,” said Chairman Guthrie. “Low pressure showers waste time and increase water usage. By codifying how different nozzles are categorized, the SHOWER Act offers a commonsense fix that will allow households to choose what meets their needs, not what Washington mandates.  Thank you to Representative Fry for leading this legislation and for your work to deliver results for consumers across the country.” 

    Full text of the bill can be found HERE.

    Congressman Fry serves on both the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the House Judiciary Committee. To stay up to date with Congressman Fry and his work for the Seventh District, follow his official Facebook, Instagram, and X pages and visit his website at fry.house.gov.

    MIL OSI USA News –

    July 23, 2025
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