NewzIntel.com

Category: Taxation

  • MIL-OSI USA: Governor Polis, Department of Revenue, and Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment Team Up to Help Save Coloradans Money

    Source: US State of Colorado

    State to send Coloradans information about tax credits they might be eligible to claim

    DENVER — This year, Governor Jared Polis, the Colorado Department of Revenue, and the Department of Public Health and Environment collaborated on an innovative initiative to share ways to save money.

    Starting today, the state is sending mailers to about 47,000 taxpayers who may be eligible for certain state and federal tax credits to encourage them to file. As part of an innovative partnership with a major commercial provider of online tax preparation software, the mailers highlight specific state tax credits for tax year 2024, including:

    • Colorado Child Tax Credit, which gives money back to Colorado families, up to $1,200 per child younger than six.
    • Colorado Earned Income Tax Credit, which gives money back to Colorado workers, up to $3,915.
    • Family Affordability Tax Credit, which gives money back to Colorado families with children younger than 17, up to $3,200 per child.

    “Coloradans can save thousands of dollars by claiming these credits,” said Governor Polis. “My administration is laser-focused on supporting families and children and ensuring that Colorado remains one of the best places to live, work, and raise a family.”

    Executive Director Heidi Humphreys, Department of Revenue highlighted the work to save Coloradans time and money.

    “Whether it is helping Coloradans save money on their taxes or save time with DMV2GO and TAX2GO, the Department of Revenue is committed to serving state residents,” Humphreys said.

    To possibly receive any of these credits, taxpayers must file a Colorado tax return and claim the credits. Coloradans who have already filed a tax return can still amend their returns to receive the credits.

    This is the third year the State of Colorado has contacted taxpayers by mail about potential ways to save through tax credits. Taxpayers may be eligible even if they do not usually file taxes.

    “Far too many families miss out on tax credits simply because they don’t know they’re eligible,” said Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment Executive Director Jill Hunsaker Ryan. “By expanding outreach and providing clear, accessible information, we’re ensuring more Coloradans can claim the money they’ve earned. These tax credits can make a real difference in affording essentials like food, housing, and childcare.”

    The State wishes to thank Gary Community Ventures and the New Practice Lab for their work in developing this mailer.

    INDIVIDUAL INCOME TAX RETURNS

    How to file

    • Online – The Taxation Division encourages taxpayers to file electronically to reduce processing time and the potential for errors as well as issues in transit. Taxpayers can currently file with one of the many third-party vendors who offer certified electronic income tax filing products. Income tax processing will be available on Revenue Online in the coming days.
    • By mail – Instructions about filing State income tax are available on each form.

    The tax filing deadline for tax year 2024 is April 15, 2025; however, the state offers an automatic six-month extension for filing as long as payment obligations are satisfied by April 15.

    How to save money
    The Taxation Division’s new online tax benefits information hub can help taxpayers save potentially thousands of dollars. Found at Tax.Colorado.gov/SaveMoney, the new online resource offers tax benefits information in an easy-to-understand format and is organized into four high-impact tax groups: families and individuals, seniors and retirees, charitable contributions and climate-friendly.

    These four groups house dozens of tax credits and subtractions available to eligible taxpayers. Many of these credits are refundable and can benefit qualifying individuals and businesses, even if they have little or no state tax liability.

    The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s Get Ahead Colorado/Hacia Adelante Colorado websites are another essential resource for helping families maximize their tax refunds by providing free, reliable tax information and connections to free tax filing services and support. A new Colorado-specific Tax Credit Calculator makes it easy for individuals to determine their eligibility for valuable tax credits, ensuring more money stays in their pockets. Visit GetAheadColorado.org to learn more.

    Useful information
    Up-to-date information, including the status of state income tax refunds, is at Tax.Colorado.gov — just click on the “Where’s My Refund” banner. Taxpayers can call the Taxpayer Helpline by phone at (303) 238-7378, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Please note, translation services are available upon request. To physically visit a Service Center for help, please schedule an appointment. Taxpayers who need low or no-cost help filing state income tax returns should visit Tax.Colorado.gov/Community-Tax-Help for additional resources.

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    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: National Sales Director for New York-Based Mobile Diagnostic Company Pleads Guilty to Kickback Scheme

    Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation FBI Crime News (b)

    BOSTON – A New York-based national sales director pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston to conspiring to offer and pay kickbacks to doctors in exchange for ordering medically unnecessary brain scans.

    David Fuhrmann, 60, of Port Jefferson, N.Y. pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the Anti-Kickback Statute. U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton scheduled sentencing for July 10, 2025.

    From at least June 2013 through at least September 2020, Fuhrmann conspired with others, including two managers for a mobile medical diagnostics company that performed transcranial doppler (TCD) scans, to enter into kickback agreements with various doctors. Fuhrmann and his co-conspirators agreed to offer and pay doctors kickbacks based on the number of TCD ultrasounds the doctors ordered. Some doctors were paid in cash and others by check. Fuhrmann and his co-conspirators created rental and administrative service agreements. On paper, these agreements made it appear as if doctors were compensated for the TCD company’s use of space and administrative resources based on fair market value and not based on the volume or value of referrals. These agreements were shams that hid the true nature of the arrangement of paying per test.  

    According to the charging documents, the scheme resulted in fraudulent bills of approximately $70.6 million to Medicare.  

    The charge of conspiracy to violate the Anti-Kickback Statute provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

    United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Roberto Coviello, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General; Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; Thomas Demeo, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation Division, Boston Field Office; Kelly M.  Lawson, Acting Regional Director, U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration, Boston Regional Office; Ketty Larco-Ward, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Boston Division; and Christopher Algieri, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General, Northeast Field Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Howard Locker and Mackenzie Queenin of the Health Care Fraud Unit are prosecuting the case.
     

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Hinson Introduces Bill Codifying Trump Admin EO Targeting Waste, Fraud, and Abuse

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Ashley Hinson (IA-01)

    Washington, D.C. — Today, Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA) introduced the Protecting American Taxpayers from Wasteful Spending Act, which would codify President Trump’s executive order from March 25th, 2025, promoting financial integrity, transparency, and efficiency by improving the Department of the Treasury’s ability to screen for improper payments and fraud, track transactions, and manage the government’s disbursements.

    “It is absurd the federal government wastes up to $521 billion – that’s right, billion, – in taxpayer dollars each year in improper payments. That’s hundreds of billions of your tax dollars flushed down the drain without swamp bureaucrats blinking an eye. President Trump’s Executive Order to prevent improper payments is a great step to end this abuse, and my bill will make this effort permanent to ensure your hard-earned tax dollars are not wasted.” – Congresswoman Ashley Hinson

    Background:

    The Government Accountability Office (GAO) estimates the Federal Government loses between $233 billion and $521 billion annually to fraud due to inadequate data and outdated systems.

    The Protecting American Taxpayers from Wasteful Spending Act codifies President Trump’s Executive Order (EO) 14249 (90 Fed. Reg. 14011) to protect America’s bank account against fraud, waste, and abuse.

    Executive Order 14249 (90 Fed. Reg. 14011):

    • Directs the Treasury Department in consultation with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to establish pre-certification and pre-award verification procedures that all agencies should comply with for payments made by the Treasury on behalf of agencies.
      • These procedures include ensuring full funds are available prior to obligations, verifying payee and payment information, and confirming that specific funds are used for the appropriate purposes.
    • Minimizes administrative barriers to accessing data to prevent fraud and improper payments, and to verify payment information to the extent permitted by the law.
    • Directs agencies to consolidate financial systems.
    • Centralizes disbursing authority within the Treasury Department by reducing non-treasury disbursing offices (NTDO).
    • Requires agencies to submit compliance plans detailing their strategies for transitioning disbursing authority, updating and integrating systems with Treasury Department, transmitting information on improper payments to Treasury Department, and verifying payment information.

    This bill was first covered by Washington Examiner here. Full bill text can be found here.

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    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Huizenga to IRS: Let’s Encourage Innovation in Southwest Michigan, Not Stifle It

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Bill Huizenga (MI-02)

    Today, Congressman Bill Huizenga (R-MI) sent a letter to the IRS urging fair treatment of the research credit that many businesses across Southwest Michigan use to innovate and grow. Recently, the IRS has unnecessarily scrutinized the use of the research credit while also making the filing process itself more intrusive and overly complex. Specifically, the Biden Administration IRS implemented changes to filing Form 6765, placing undue burdens on businesses to prove they conducted research. As a result of changes to Form 6765, businesses will be forced to track employee time and expenses by “business component,” thereby increasing audit risks, requiring costly system upgrades, and ultimately reducing the value of the credit all while disincentivizing research and innovation.

    “Innovators are the driving force behind America’s global competitiveness and quality of life at home. Consistent with President Trump’s pro-growth agenda, we cannot allow a government agency to stifle the groundbreaking research and growth of job creators. In addition to rescinding new Form 6765, I recommend that, in its overall approach, the IRS adhere to Congressional intent…” wrote Congressman Huizenga. “I am confident that the sentiment expressed in this letter would help ensure that the research credit truly serves its Congressionally intended purpose of fostering a competitive, innovative economy.”

    Congressman Huizenga acknowledged his eagerness to work with President Trump’s IRS to address this matter, which if properly addressed, could incentivize large investments in critical research and development in the United States for wide range of industries including manufacturers, researchers, semiconductors, engineers, drug makers, designers, and any other business that would be eligible for this tax credit. The National Association of Manufacturers also issued a statement of support for Congressman Huizenga’s actions.

    “R&D is the lifeblood of the manufacturing industry—and manufacturers perform 53% of all private-sector R&D in the U.S. Yet the industry’s ability to pursue life-changing and live-saving research is seriously threatened by new IRS compliance requirements that will make it more difficult to claim the R&D tax credit,” said Charles Crain, Managing Vice President of Policy, National Association of Manufacturers. “Manufacturers appreciate Rep. Huizenga’s leadership in calling on the IRS to rescind these damaging changes, and we encourage both Congress and the IRS to ensure that the tax code fully supports manufacturers’ efforts to drive innovation here in the U.S.”  

    You can read Congressman Huizenga’s letter to the IRS here or below:

    Acting Commissioner Krause:

    I write to request that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) rescind the new Form 6765, “Credit for Increasing Research Activities,” issued on December 12, 2024, and the associated instructions. Additionally, I must raise concerns about the IRS’s overall approach to administering the research tax credit, including how the IRS has been handling amended returns for research credit claims, conducting research credit audits, and taking research credit cases to court.

    For decades, as Congress intended, American businesses’ use of the research credit has helped drive our nation’s leadership in innovation. Congress never intended for a government agency to stifle the groundbreaking research and growth of job creators. In fact, the Conference Agreement accompanying the 1999 extension of the research tax credit stated, “The conferees also are concerned about unnecessary and costly taxpayer recordkeeping burdens and reaffirm that eligibility for the credit is not intended to be contingent on meeting unreasonable recordkeeping requirements.”[1] 

    While the Internal Revenue Code and Treasury regulations echo this intent on various accounts, my constituent businesses—particularly in the manufacturing sector —continue to raise concerns about the IRS challenging, and in some cases litigating, the adequacy of taxpayers’ documentation to substantiate qualified research expenses. At a time when nearly every industry has faced rising input costs across the board, the IRS should not be seeking to make the research credit more difficult, time-consuming, and costly to claim.

    The new Form 6765, originally issued during the Biden Administration, introduces new and extensive requirements to prove that a business’s activities qualify as research, track employee time at very granular levels, and document expenses to “business components.”  This places a heavy compliance cost on businesses of all sizes – from large operations to smaller ones seeking to grow. For example, new Sections E and G ask taxpayers to detail quantitative and qualitative information at a business component level, even though neither the Code nor the regulations require a taxpayer to provide qualified research expenses (QREs) by business component (“project”). Furthermore, it would be common for a given business to be developing hundreds or even thousands of business components annually.

    The requirements in the new Form 6765 not only impose additional administrative hurdles, but also increase the likelihood of errors, resulting in potential audits or penalties. Businesses would now have to incur additional, significant expenditures for:

    • Systems such as employee time tracking and project cost accounting for non-wage expenses, and
    • External advisors to navigate these convoluted requirements, further reducing the net benefit of the credit.

    Moreover, there would be a significant cost associated with the valuable time lost due to the added administrative burden of employees, such as scientists and engineers, having to enter related information into time tracking systems on a regular, recurring basis.

    Innovators are the driving force behind America’s global competitiveness and quality of life at home. Consistent with President Trump’s pro-growth agenda, we cannot allow a government agency to stifle the groundbreaking research and growth of job creators. In addition to rescinding new Form 6765, I recommend that, in its overall approach, the IRS adhere to Congressional intent instead of focusing on litigating and challenging legitimate research credit claims – as it has done in the past. I am confident that the sentiment expressed in this letter would help ensure that the research credit truly serves its Congressionally intended purpose of fostering a competitive, innovative economy.

    Thank you for your attention to this matter. I stand ready to work with you to address these issues and I look forward to receiving your response.


    [1] Rept. No. 106-478 at p. 132 (November 17, 1999).

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Texas Man Sentenced to More Than Five Years in Prison for Oxycodone Conspiracy and Structuring Cash Transactions

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    BOSTON – A Texas man was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Boston for a drug conspiracy involving the distribution of oxycodone pills across Southeastern Massachusetts and beyond.

    Christan Russell, 33, of Tomball, Texas was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper to 70 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. Russell has also been ordered to pay a fine of $30,000. In October 2024, Russell pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute oxycodone pills and structuring cash transactions. Russell was indicted by a federal grand jury in August 2023 along with five co-conspirators.

    Between approximately February 2023 and July 2023, Russell supplied oxycodone pills to co-conspirator Kenneth Veiga, who then redistributed those oxycodone pills to Austin Gonsalves and John Campbell. Russell obtained these pills from a variety of sources in the Houston, Texas area. On March 13, 2023 Russell traveled from Houston to Boston to meet with Veiga where they met in a hotel room in Rhode Island that Russell rented. During that meeting, Russell supplied oxycodone pills to Veiga and Veiga provided cash in exchange. On March 14, 2023, Russell engaged in four structured cash deposits at ATMs in the Boston area. For each of these deposits, Russell orchestrated the deposit to be less than $10,000 in an attempt to evade the bank from reporting the deposit to the Internal Revenue Service.

    Veiga pleaded guilty and in July 2024, was sentenced to 60 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. Gonsalves pleaded guilty and in May 2024 was sentenced to 41 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. In January 2025, Campbell was sentenced to four years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release.

    United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Stephen Belleau, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division; Colonel Geoffrey D. Noble, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; Thomas Demeo, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Boston Field Office; and Ketty Larco-Ward, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Boston Division made the announcement today. Special assistance was provided by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives; U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service; Barnstable County Sheriff’s Office; and the Barnstable, Dennis, Bourne, Mashpee, Yarmouth, Sandwich and Falmouth Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorneys John T. Mulcahy and Samuel R. Feldman of the Criminal Division and Alexandra Amrhein of the Asset Forfeiture Unit are prosecuting the case.

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

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI USA: April is Second Chance Month: Exploring North Dakota’s Collaborative Approach to Reentry Success for Justice-Involved Individuals

    Source: US State of North Dakota

    Reentering society after incarceration presents a host of challenges, from securing stable housing and employment to accessing health care and recovery resources. In North Dakota, a robust partnership between multiple state agencies and community organizations is making a tangible difference in the lives of justice-involved individuals. Through collaboration between the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (DOCR), North Dakota Health and Human Services (HHS), Job Service North Dakota (JSND), the North Dakota Department of Transportation (NDDOT), and various community partners, providers, nonprofits and faith-based organizations, reentry efforts are more coordinated and effective than ever before.

    “Reentry isn’t just about leaving incarceration—it’s about having the right support in place to build a stable future,” said Reentry and Recovery Commissioner Jonathan Holth. “By working together, we’re creating stronger pathways for people to succeed.”

    In recognition of Second Chance Month this April, here’s a deeper look into the collaborative network supporting reentry success and an effort to reduce new victims of crime in North Dakota.

    Breaking Down Barriers

    DOCR’s reentry initiatives are built on the principle that successful reintegration requires a network of support. Affordable housing, overcoming the stigma of a criminal record, and maintaining engagement with support services post-release are ongoing hurdles this public-private network collaborates on together to address. By bridging gaps in housing, employment, healthcare, and recovery services, these initiatives aim to reduce recidivism and promote long-term success. The commitment of these agencies and organizations ensures that justice-involved individuals have the tools they need to rebuild their lives.

    According to DOCR Reentry Manager Robyn Schmalenberger there’s both an evidence-based approach and personalized aspect to support reentry success for each individual.

    “Every person has a different pathway into the choices they make, and every person is going to have somewhat of a different pathway out of it,” said Schmalenberger. “This underscores the need for flexible, personalized services and support systems.”

    The Power of Partnerships

    DOCR Community Resource Manager Travis Collins joins Schmalenberger in supporting DOCR and the state’s reentry efforts. Collins underscores the importance of early intervention as a key factor in reentry success for justice-involved individuals.
    “By bringing services into the facilities, we’re not just preparing people for release—we’re helping them build relationships and access the resources they need to succeed from day one,” said Collins.

    Collins’ work includes numerous initiatives to connect with external businesses and organizations. For example, he regularly hosts resource fairs held inside correctional facilities. These events connect individuals with service providers before release, easing their transition back into the community.

    HHS is one agency that plays a significant role in a variety of initiatives by sending team members into correctional facilities to establish these early connections with individuals, increasing the likelihood of post-release follow-through with programs that support housing, job training and medical care.

    NDDOT plays a crucial role in ensuring individuals leaving incarceration have proper identification. Without a state-issued ID, securing employment, housing, and other essential services becomes significantly more difficult. NDDOT staff visit correctional facilities to process ID applications before release, reducing barriers and helping individuals transition more smoothly into society.

    Healthcare

    Ensuring access to healthcare upon release is a critical component of successful reentry. Through a collaborative effort between DOCR and HHS, incarcerated individuals can apply for Medicaid before their release. For eligible participants, this ensures uninterrupted access to essential medical and behavioral health services. This proactive approach helps individuals secure necessary medications, continue treatment for chronic conditions, and access mental health or substance use support as they transition back into the community. By eliminating gaps in coverage, this initiative reduces the risk of health-related setbacks that could contribute to recidivism, promoting stability and long-term success.

    Employment Support

    JSND plays a vital role in supporting both justice-involved individuals and the employer community. Through career readiness classes, JSND support reentry by providing essential job search skills, including resume building, interview techniques, and strategies for addressing justice involvement. Within 90 days of release, participants can attend job fairs to connect with potential employers. Those who complete the Career Readiness class and meet specific criteria may be referred by DOCR to the Job Placement Pilot Program (JP3). Launched in July 2023, JP3 helps individuals secure and retain employment by providing assessments, goal planning, and support services to remove barriers to work. Additional programs, such as the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), offer training for in-demand jobs in North Dakota.

    JSND’s efforts are yielding strong results, with program participants achieving employment rates of 75-80%. Data through September 2024 shows that individuals who complete the program earn an average of $9,480 per quarter—significantly higher than those who did not complete it ($2,928) or those who never enrolled ($3,902).

    “The positive impact of this program is evident, not just for individuals but for North Dakota’s workforce as a whole,” said Amy Arenz, JSND Bismarck workforce center manager.

    To further support employers, JSND offers resources such as Federal Bonding, the Work Opportunity Tax Credit, and funding for on-the-job training. Additionally, JSND provides education on hiring justice-involved individuals, recently hosting the webinar, “Breaking Barriers: Hiring Justice-Involved Individuals,” where experts and employers shared insights on creating second-chance employment opportunities for a stronger workforce and community.

    The HHS Vocational Rehabilitation program partners with DOCR to support individuals preparing for release by offering vocational assessments, job search training, and career counseling. Services begin three to six months before release to ensure a smooth transition into employment.

    Additionally, DOCR’s Rough Rider Industries (RRI) program provides incarcerated individuals with employment and skill-building opportunities. Those who engage in RRI for at least six months have a significantly lower recidivism rate of 7.9%, compared to the overall DOCR recidivism rate of 37.2%.

    Child Support

    North Dakota Child Support, administered through HHS, recognizes the financial challenges that can arise when a parent is incarcerated and unable to earn income. To support successful re-entry and reduce long-term barriers, HHS pursued a law change that ensures that a parent’s child support obligation is automatically terminated if they are sentenced to 180 days or more. This change helps parents reintegrate and regain financial stability upon release, ultimately benefiting their children in the long run.

    Additionally, an HHS agency rule provides a six-month adjustment period after release before child support obligations are reinstated, allowing time for parents to secure employment and establish financial stability. These updates aim to create a fair and supportive path forward for families while balancing the needs of both parents and children.

    JSND administers the Parental Responsibility Initiative for the Development of Employment (PRIDE) working with individuals referred from child support who are non-custodial parents. This program helps individuals obtain employment or better paying jobs to meet child support obligations.

    Housing, Basic Needs and Recovery Support

    Helping individuals secure stable housing to prevent homelessness upon reentry is another critical dimension of wellness that supports success.

    The Recovery Housing Assistance Program (RHAP) is an HHS state-funded program that provides up to 12 weeks of housing expenses for individuals in recovery, paid directly to participating providers, to help them access safe and stable living environments. Working with a network of approved RHAP providers, the program aims to increase the number of supportive recovery housing environments available in North Dakota, establish and reinforce evidence-based best practices in recovery housing, reduce homelessness, expand individual options for recovery experiences, and provide housing stability, which indirectly impacts employment.

    Recovery housing aims to provide a safe, structured, and supportive environment with peer support, access to community resources, and opportunities for personal growth and recovery.

    Launched in 2018, Free Through Recovery (FTR) is a partnership between HHS and DOCR. The program is designed to increase access to recovery support services for individuals engaged with the criminal justice system who have behavioral health concerns. Participants engage with a Care Coordinator and Peer Support Specialist who help them identify their needs and find creative, effective ways to meet them. Peer support specialists—many of whom have lived experience—serve as mentors, offering guidance and motivation as individuals rebuild their lives.

    Heather Brandt, HHS manager behavioral health community supports, emphasizes the role of recovery services in successful reintegration.

    “Having stable housing and recovery support in place can be the difference between success and returning to the system,” noted Brandt. “Our goal is to create a bridge that helps people find the services and supports.”

    Faith-based organizations and nonprofits also play a vital role in this ecosystem, offering support services, mentorship, and community-based reentry meals at places like Trinity Lutheran Church. DOCR also hosts reentry simulations to give policymakers and community members a firsthand look at the challenges faced by individuals upon release, highlighting the need for structured support systems.

    “Collaboratively, all of these programs are foundational to supporting basic needs, critical dimensions of wellness and overall success,” said Schmalenberger. “Through collaboration, we’re not just reducing recidivism—we’re giving people real opportunities to rebuild their lives.”

    DOCR Director Colby Braun echoed this sentiment.

    “When people return to our communities with the right resources in place, it benefits everyone as it leads to stronger families, safer communities, and better outcomes for all. Successful reentry is more than the success of an individual, it is the success of a community. This is public safety,” said Braun.

    For more information on North Dakota’s reentry initiatives, visit docr.nd.gov.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: South Dakota and Colorado Men Convicted of Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine Across the State of South Dakota Including the Crow Creek Reservation

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    SIOUX FALLS – United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced that a jury has convicted Christopher Spider, a/k/a “House”, age 45 of South Dakota and Lance Brunsting, age 56, of Colorado, of Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance following a four-day jury trial in federal district court in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The verdict was returned on March 27, 2025.

    The charges carry a mandatory minimum of 10 years and up to life in custody and/or a $10,000,000 fine, mandatory minimum of five years and up to life of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.

    Christopher Spider was also convicted of Tampering with a Witness. That charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years imprisonment and/or a $250,000 fine, a possibility of up to three years of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.

    Spider and Brunsting were indicted by a federal grand jury in August 2023.

    Brunsting and Spider, along with numerous other individuals, conspired to distribute hundreds of pounds of methamphetamine throughout the state of South Dakota.

    Spider, a resident of Crow Creek, was responsible for distributing approximately 30 pounds of methamphetamine throughout the Crow Creek Indian Reservation during his involvement in the conspiracy. While under Indictment for the offense, Spider sent a letter to another witness attempting to intimidate the witness into changing her testimony at trial. The letter was reported to law enforcement and Spider was subsequently indicted for Witness Tampering.

    Brunsting, a resident of Denver, Colorado, was responsible for assisting in the weighing, packaging, and ultimate distribution of approximately 100 pounds of methamphetamine. Brunsting made a trip to South Dakota alongside another co-conspirator where he assisted in selling approximately 41 pounds of methamphetamine throughout the state of South Dakota and into Minnesota.

    “Christopher Spider and Lance Brunsting were involved in one of the largest methamphetamine conspiracies in South Dakota history,” said U.S. Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell. “Our office was able to successfully prosecute the large-scale drug conspiracy thanks to the exceptional collaborative and investigative efforts of our federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement partners. Last week’s convictions represent a crucial step toward bringing these individuals to justice for the roles they played in bringing hundreds of pounds of illegal narcotics into our South Dakota communities.”

    The Drug Enforcement Administration provided the following statement: “The two individuals convicted last week are responsible for inflicting immeasurable harm on members of our South Dakota communities,” Drug Enforcement Administration Omaha Division Acting Special Agent in Charge Rafael Mattei said. “Their arrest and conviction should serve as a warning to drug traffickers that the combined efforts of state, local and federal law enforcement will bring those pushing these dangerous substances to justice.”

    This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration (including the Rocky Mountain Field Division, Omaha Field Division, Mexico City Country Office, Los Angeles Field Division, Special Operations Division), as well as South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, Sioux Falls Area Drug Task Force, FBI, South Dakota Highway Patrol, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, IRS Criminal Investigation team, El Paso Intelligence Center, and collaboration received from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado, Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S. Marshals Service, Minnehaha County Sheriff’s Office, Sioux Falls Police Department, Mitchell Police Department, Denver Police Department, Las Vegas Metro Police Department, Worthington Police Department, Brookings Police Department, Brookings Sherriff’s Department, Rock County Sheriff’s Office, Lake Superior Violent Offender Task Force, Central Minnesota Violent Offender Task Force,  Minnesota River Valley Drug Task Force, and the Colorado Department of Corrections. Assistant U.S. Attorney Paige Petersen prosecuted the case.

    A presentence investigation was ordered and a sentencing date has been set for June 16, 2025. The defendants were remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service. 

     

     

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI: First Merchants Corporation to Report First Quarter 2025 Financial Results, Host Conference Call and Webcast

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    MUNCIE, Ind., April 03, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — First Merchants Corporation (Nasdaq:FRME) will report first quarter 2025 financial results on April 24, 2025. The Corporation will host a first quarter 2025 earnings conference call and webcast at 11:30 a.m. (ET) on Thursday, April 24, 2025.

    To access via phone, participants will need to register using the following link where they will be provided a phone number and access code: (https://register-conf.media-server.com/register/BI4ae3a07cb07a47258d30e4f3dba2448b)

    In order to view the webcast and presentation slides, please go to (https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/uqvoojku) during the time of the call. A replay of the webcast will be available until April 24, 2026.  

    About First Merchants Corporation

    First Merchants Corporation is a financial holding company headquartered in Muncie, Indiana. The Corporation has one full-service bank charter, First Merchants Bank. The Bank also operates as First Merchants Private Wealth Advisors (as a division of First Merchants Bank).

    First Merchants Corporation’s common stock is traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market System under the symbol FRME. Quotations are carried in daily newspapers and can be found on the company’s Internet web page (http://www.firstmerchants.com).

    FIRST MERCHANTS and the Shield Logo are federally registered trademarks of First Merchants Corporation.

    For more information, contact:
    Nicole M. Weaver, Vice President and Director of Corporate Administration
    765-521-7619
    http://www.firstmerchants.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Security: St. Johns County Man Pleads Guilty To Tax Fraud

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Jacksonville, Florida – United Staes Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe announces that Daniel Tharp has pleaded guilty to the willful failure to pay taxes. Tharp faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

    According to court records, Tharp was the managing director for Hangar X Holdings, LLC, where he had the corporate responsibility to collect and account for the company’s trust fund taxes, which included income taxes, Medicare taxes, and Social Security taxes withheld from the company’s employees’ pay. From October 2014 through December 2019, the company paid wages to employees and withheld these trust fund taxes. Tharp, however, knowingly and intentionally failed to pay this money to the IRS. In total, Tharp caused the company to fail to pay over $1.2 million in such taxes.

    This case was investigated by IRS—Criminal Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney John Cannizzaro. 

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI: Drone Surveying Market One of The Fastest Growing Segments of the Drone Industry as Revenue Opportunity Climbs

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    PALM BEACH, Fla., April 03, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — FN Media Group News Commentary – The US Drone Surveying Market has been the Global Market Leader in recent years and is expected to continue for years to come. The US has been the market leader in the drone industry since the start of the drone revolution. Across industries, companies have employed drones for their day-to-day operations. Industries such as pharmaceuticals, mining, real estate, and agriculture are some of the prominent end-use industries for the drone surveying market. According to an industry report, the US drone surveying market is expected to witness double-digit market growth in the forecast period and is expected to reach a valuation of US$ 2540.0 million by the end of 2033. The construction and mining industry is expected to be the market leader in the demand for drone surveying services. Increased spending from governments and rising demand for residential and commercial spaces would add a significantly high pace to the overall drone surveying demand in the US. The report said; “Why Land Survey Commands Largest Market Share? The drone land survey as a service is a common one among all industries. The demand for land surveys arises from sectors such as construction, mining, energy, real estate, public administration, and agriculture among others. That is why land survey services contribute most to the drone survey company’s revenue. The drone land survey holds around 53% of the total market share in the drone survey industry. With the help of drone land surveys, companies/institutions get their desired datasets which ultimately help them in making informed decisions. For example, a land survey for infrastructure development can help companies and planning and development by providing required 3D maps or images. It is expected that the land survey market to remain the top revenue contributor for drone survey service providers.”   Active Companies in the drone industry today include ZenaTech, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZENA), Archer Aviation Inc. (NYSE: ACHR), Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: PLTR), EHang (NASDAQ: EH), Red Cat Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: RCAT).

    Fact.MR continued: “Construction Industry to Contribute Most to the Drone Surveying Service Demand. The spending on infrastructural development has been all-time high across the major economies of the world. The market players are taking the help of drone service providers in different stages of planning and development. Drone surveying companies provide services for the use of town planning, land record digitalization, urban city development, and other development-related services. With the help of drones, companies are able to cover increased areas (acres of land/area) within no time, and with precise and accurate data. These collected images and data can be easily converted into meaningful output, which can be useful in the planning and development of urban towns. Drone surveying has been very useful for the construction industry by providing important insights with minimal cost and improved efficiency.”

    ZenaTech (NASDAQ:ZENA) Closes Second Southeast Region Acquisition, Wallace Surveying Corporation, Set to Become the Third Acquisition to Power Its National Drone as a Service (DaaS) Business – ZenaTech, Inc. (FSE: 49Q) (BMV: ZENA) (“ZenaTech”), a technology company specializing in AI (Artificial Intelligence) drone, Drone-as-a-Service (DaaS), enterprise SaaS and Quantum Computing solutions, announces that it has closed the acquisition of Wallace Surveying Corporation (“Wallace”) of West Palm Beach, Florida, a well-established land survey company with thirty years of experience. Wallace provides construction and land development surveys delivering accurate and reliable data that supports project planning and design for developers, contractors, engineers, and architect customers.

    This is ZenaTech’s second acquisition in the Southeast region as part of a larger national roll-up strategy to disrupt the land survey industry by accelerating the use of drones for speed and accuracy benefits. The acquisition also further powers the Company’s national Drone as a Service, or DaaS, business as the third US acquisition set to provide access to the ZenaDrone 1000 and the IQ series. These multifunction drones are set to provide a variety of services including power line inspections, precision agriculture, law enforcement, and search and rescue for natural disasters such as hurricanes.

    “Wallace Surveying Corporation is well respected in the South Florida business community with longstanding existing customer relationships. Its team brings considerable expertise toward our goal of innovating land surveys at scale leveraging advanced drone data collection, data management, mapping and digital deliverables. This acquisition is another step towards our vision to create a national DaaS business, bringing AI drone efficiencies and precision to a variety of legacy verticals and manual tasks,” said CEO Shaun Passley, Ph.D.

    ZenaTech’s Drones as a Service or DaaS model is similar to Software as a Service (SaaS), but instead of providing software solutions over the Internet, the company will offer ZenaDrone solutions and services on a subscription or pay-per-use basis. Customers can conveniently access drones for eliminating manual or time-consuming tasks achieving more precision, such as for surveying, inspections, security and law enforcement, or farming precision agriculture applications, without having to buy, operate, or maintain the drones themselves.

    The DaaS business model offers customers such as government agencies, real estate developers, construction firms, farmers or energy companies reduced upfront costs as there is no need to purchase expensive drones, as well as convenience, as there is no need to manage maintenance and operation. The model also offers scalability to use more often or less often based on business needs and enables access to advanced drone technology sensors or attachments like spraying, without the need for specialized training.

    Accurate land surveys are essential for the planning, designing, and executing of roads, bridges, and building projects for cities, commercial, and residential projects, and are required for legal purposes. Remotely piloted drones with an array of sensors and cameras, LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), and GPS systems for capturing high-resolution pictures and data are revolutionizing the land survey industry gathering aerial data across expansive terrains in a matter of hours instead of weeks or months using more traditional photogrammetry methods. Continued… Read this full release by visiting: https://www.financialnewsmedia.com/news-zena/.

    In Additional ZENA News: ZenaTech’s (NASDAQ:ZENA) 2024 Financial Results Shows Revenue and Assets Increase.

    2024 Financial Results:

    • As of December 31, 2024, and consistent with its recent 6K filing, ZenaTech’s 2024 full-year revenue increased by 7% to $1.96 million as compared to $1.82 million for the full year of 2023 (all figures in $Cdn. dollars)
    • Comprehensive loss for the period was ($4.04 million) versus ($.251 million) last year due to increased one-time costs of listing on Nasdaq Capital Market from lawyers, accountants, auditors, financial advisor (investment banker) and other going public expenses
    • Assets have increased over 110% to $34.6 million at year-end 2024, up from $16.4 million at year-end 2023. This is due to the company’s acquisition of three patents, and a total of four software companies. In addition, the company has signed multiple Letters of Intent (LOIs) as part of an acquisition strategy that will tremendously increase future revenue
    • Liabilities continue to be low, having increased $3.7 million to $12.8 million at year-end 2024 from $9.1 million at year-end 2023
    • The Company’s ratio of debt to total capitalization is 31%, which is well within the accepted standard of less than 50%
    • ZenaTech’s existing cash and funds available through lines of credit will be sufficient to finance the next 12 months of the company’s operations. We anticipate that cash generated internally, and lines of credit will be sufficient to fund our drone development and acquisitions
    • Additional information is available from ZenaTech’s 6K filing on the SEC EDGAR website. The company will be filing its 20F by the due date, which is April 30, 2024, for Private Foreign Issuers. Continued… Read this full release by visiting: https://www.zenatech.com/newsroom/.

    Other recent developments in the drone/aviation industries include:

    Archer Aviation Inc. (NYSE: ACHR) and Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: PLTR) recently announced a partnership today to build the AI foundation for the future of next-gen aviation technologies. For decades, the aviation industry has made only incremental improvements, constrained by legacy technology and a dominant duopoly in commercial aviation. With the rapid acceleration of AI, as well as breakthroughs in distributed electric propulsion, the industry is now poised for change.

    The two plan to leverage Palantir Foundry and AIP to accelerate the scaling of Archer’s aircraft manufacturing capabilities at its facilities in Georgia and Silicon Valley, with the intent to advance the development of software solutions to drive innovation across the entire value chain.

    This would include the development of next-gen software utilizing AI to improve a range of aviation systems, including air traffic control, movement control and route planning, with the goal of improving efficiency, safety and affordability across the industry.

    Archer and Palantir will formalize this partnership later today during a signing ceremony between Palantir co-founder and CEO, Alex Karp, and Archer founder and CEO, Adam Goldstein, at Palantir’s AIPCon.

    EHang (NASDAQ: EH), the world’s leading Urban Air Mobility (UAM) technology platform company, recently announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Guangdong EHang General Aviation Co., Ltd. (“EHang General Aviation”), and its joint venture company in Hefei, Hefei HeYi Aviation Co., Ltd. (“HeYi Aviation”), have been granted the first batch of Air Operator Certificates (“OC”) for civil human-carrying pilotless aerial vehicles by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (“CAAC”).

    This milestone officially marks the launch of China’s human-carrying flight era in the low-altitude economy, allowing citizens and consumers to purchase flight tickets for low-altitude tourism, urban sightseeing, and diverse commercial human-carrying flight services at related operation sites in Guangzhou and Hefei. In the future, operators will also gradually expand into more other scenarios such as urban commuting based on operational conditions legally and compliantly. The issuance of the first batch of OCs sets a new benchmark for the low-altitude economy and urban air mobility and further unleashing a more powerful vitality of the new-quality productive forces.

    Red Cat Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: RCAT), a drone technology company integrating robotic hardware and software for military, government, and commercial operations, recently reported its financial results for the 2024 Transition Period (as of December 31, 2024 and the eight months then ended) and provides a corporate update.

    “Red Cat’s partnerships and global expansion strategy is already yielding strong results. Over the past few months, we’ve introduced the Black Widow and Edge 130 drones to key international markets, including the Middle East, Asia Pacific, and soon Latin America,” said Jeff Thompson, Red Cat CEO. “This momentum underscores growing global interest in our Family of Systems. The ongoing development of Black Widow for the U.S. Army’s SRR Program of Record, bolstered by AI partners like Palantir and Palladyne, we’re not only meeting immediate defense needs—we’re ensuring our warfighters and allies are well equipped for rapidly-evolving battlefield.”

    About FN Media Group:

    At FN Media Group, via our top-rated online news portal at www.financialnewsmedia.com, we are one of the very few select firms providing top tier one syndicated news distribution, targeted ticker tag press releases and stock market news coverage for today’s emerging companies. #tickertagpressreleases #pressreleases

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    DISCLAIMER: FN Media Group LLC (FNM), which owns and operates FinancialNewsMedia.com and MarketNewsUpdates.com, is a third party publisher and news dissemination service provider, which disseminates electronic information through multiple online media channels. FNM is NOT affiliated in any manner with any company mentioned herein. FNM and its affiliated companies are a news dissemination solutions provider and are NOT a registered broker/dealer/analyst/adviser, holds no investment licenses and may NOT sell, offer to sell or offer to buy any security. FNM’s market updates, news alerts and corporate profiles are NOT a solicitation or recommendation to buy, sell or hold securities. The material in this release is intended to be strictly informational and is NEVER to be construed or interpreted as research material. All readers are strongly urged to perform research and due diligence on their own and consult a licensed financial professional before considering any level of investing in stocks.  All material included herein is republished content and details which were previously disseminated by the companies mentioned in this release. FNM is not liable for any investment decisions by its readers or subscribers. Investors are cautioned that they may lose all or a portion of their investment when investing in stocks. For current services performed FNM has been compensated fifty one hundred dollars for news coverage of the current press releases issued by ZenaTech, Inc. by the Company. FNM HOLDS NO SHARES OF ANY COMPANY NAMED IN THIS RELEASE.

    This release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended and such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. “Forward-looking statements” describe future expectations, plans, results, or strategies and are generally preceded by words such as “may”, “future”, “plan” or “planned”, “will” or “should”, “expected,” “anticipates”, “draft”, “eventually” or “projected”. You are cautioned that such statements are subject to a multitude of risks and uncertainties that could cause future circumstances, events, or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements, including the risks that actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, and other risks identified in a company’s annual report on Form 10-K or 10-KSB and other filings made by such company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. You should consider these factors in evaluating the forward-looking statements included herein, and not place undue reliance on such statements. The forward-looking statements in this release are made as of the date hereof and FNM undertakes no obligation to update such statements.

    Contact Information:

    Media Contact email: editor@financialnewsmedia.com – +1(561)325-8757

    SOURCE: FN Media Group

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Centri Capital Conference Scheduled for April 2025 at Nasdaq in NYC

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    NEW YORK, April 03, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — via InvestorWire — Centri Business Consulting, LLC, a highly respected accounting and advisory firm, is pleased to announce the Centri Capital Conference, an exclusive event designed for investment bankers, private equity investors, venture capitalists, and other capital markets participants. The event will take place on Tuesday, April 22, 2025, at Nasdaq in New York City.

    With an insights-packed agenda featuring in-depth company presentations from C-suite leaders, high-powered meetings, and a distinguished roster of industry experts, this exclusive event will bring together hundreds of attendees from across the investment community. Invited experts will share invaluable perspectives on leveraging technology-driven growth opportunities while navigating broader market volatility.

    This invite-only event will explore a diverse range of topics across the rapidly evolving global capital markets. The conference is especially well-timed following Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s recent remarks on the “highly uncertain environment.” While the FOMC projects additional rate cuts in 2025, concerns about inflation, weakening consumer sentiment, geopolitical instability, increasing trade restrictions, and the rising likelihood of global conflicts continue to shape market conditions.

    Michael Aiello, CEO & Managing Partner of Centri, stated: “The Centri Capital Conference is instrumental in fostering collaborative relationships between seasoned capital market professionals searching for new opportunities and innovative companies seeking access to risk capital, market exposure, and long-term strategic partnerships. We’ve curated an incredible lineup of presenting companies and expert speakers who will provide valuable insights on the future of the capital markets. It is a must-attend event in the deal space.”

    The conference will feature a curated lineup of 50+ high-growth companies spanning healthcare, life sciences, disruptive technology, and other rapidly expanding sectors. Attendees will have access to one-on-one meetings, gaining unique market insights, exploring synergies, and discussing future business roadmaps.

    Christopher Mora, Chief Revenue Officer, Partner, and Capital Markets Practice Leader at Centri, added: “The Centri Capital Conference is designed to maximize business productivity by creating an environment primed for networking, knowledge-sharing, and building lasting connections to support long-term growth.”

    Attendees will also engage directly with renowned thought leaders and seasoned experts through a series of dynamic panel discussions:

    • IPO Market: Trends, Pathway to Success, and Lessons Learned featuring J.D. Moriarty, CEO, ICR & Jay Heller, Head of Capital Markets, Nasdaq
    • Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Dynamics: Shaping the Future of Capital Markets featuring Edward McGee, CFO, Grayscale Investments
    • Cutting Through the Hype: How Growth-Stage Investors & Company CEOs Can Leverage AI featuring Mike Ryan, CEO, Bulletpoint Network
    • Market Disruptors: Capital Strategies for Innovative Companies featuring Sean McGann, Managing Director, Cantor Fitzgerald
    • Investment Trends: Venture Capital and Private Credit featuring John Pennett, Partner in Charge of Technology and Life Sciences Practice, EisnerAmper
    • Global Dynamics: Navigating Economic and Regulatory Shifts featuring Derek Dostel, Partner, Davis Polk

    The event will conclude with an evening reception, providing attendees with a relaxed environment to connect with industry peers and fellow professionals.

    As a premier event in the financial landscape, the Centri Capital Conference offers unparalleled education, networking, and collaborative opportunities, making it a must-attend for investors and executives active in the capital markets.

    Companies and investors interested in presenting, attending, or sponsoring the Centri Capital Conference can register here.

    About Centri Business Consulting, LLC

    Centri Business Consulting provides the highest quality advisory consulting services by being reliable and responsive to its clients’ needs. The firm specializes in financial reporting, internal controls, technical accounting research, valuation, mergers & acquisitions, tax, CFO and HR advisory services for companies of various sizes and industries. From complex technical accounting transactions to monthly financial reporting, Centri’s professionals offer the specialized expertise, and multilayered skill sets necessary to ensure projects are completed timely and accurately.

    About IBN

    IBN consists of financial brands introduced to the investment public over the course of 18+ years. With IBN, we have amassed a collective audience of millions of social media followers. These distinctive investor brands aim to fulfill the unique needs of a growing base of client-partners. IBN will continue to expand our branded network of highly influential properties, leveraging the knowledge and energy of specialized teams of experts to serve our increasingly diversified list of clients.
    Through our Dynamic Brand Portfolio (DBP), IBN provides: (1) access to a network of wire solutions via InvestorWire to reach all target markets, industries and demographics in the most effective manner possible; (2) article and editorial syndication to 5,000+ news outlets; (3) Press Release Enhancement to ensure maximum impact; (4) full-scale distribution to a growing social media audience; (5) a full array of corporate communications solutions; and (6) total news coverage solutions.
    For more information, please visit https://www.InvestorBrandNetwork.com
    Please see full terms of use and disclaimers on the InvestorBrandNetwork website applicable to all content provided by IBN, wherever published or re-published: http://IBN.fm/Disclaimer

    About Centri Business Consulting, LLC

    Centri Business Consulting provides the highest quality advisory consulting services to its clients by being reliable and responsive to their needs. Centri provides companies with the expertise they need to meet their reporting demands. Centri specializes in financial reporting, internal controls, technical accounting research, valuation, mergers & acquisitions, and tax, CFO and HR advisory services for companies of various sizes and industries. From complex technical accounting transactions to monthly financial reporting, our professionals can offer any organization the specialized expertise and multilayered skillsets to ensure the project is completed timely and accurately.

    Corporate Communications

    IBN
    Austin, Texas
    www.InvestorBrandNetwork.com
    512.354.7000 Office
    Editor@InvestorBrandNetwork.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: SoftServe Partners with Google Cloud to Accelerate AI & Data Solution Development Worldwide

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    AUSTIN, Texas, April 03, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — With 73% of large companies globally saying they need to overhaul their data strategies to unlock AI’s value in a recent report by SoftServe, a premier IT consulting and digital services provider, the company today announced a new partnership with Google Cloud to accelerate development of AI-powered solutions and data initiatives.

    What does this mean for enterprise clients and the market?
    Siloed data slows productivity and creates inefficiencies. This multi-year agreement with Google Cloud will include investments in data solution development to accelerate implementations of next-gen products like Google Agentspace that can help clients speed time-to-value for the AI solutions SoftServe builds in collaboration with Google Cloud.

    Additionally, SoftServe will partner with Google Cloud on:

    • Deep-research initiatives: Developing the latest resources and access to technologies for clients to tap into transformational data initiatives and the next stages of AI, such as agentic AI and physical AI
    • Skill development: Fostering collaboration to elevate capabilities enabling clients to benefit from highly skilled delivery experts to drive progress and ingenuity
    • Supercharged industry value: Ensuring alignment between data frameworks, Google Cloud’s trusted platform, and SoftServe’s industry excellence in fields such as financial services, healthcare, manufacturing, and retail

    “SoftServe’s partnership with Google Cloud is the first step toward a streamlined partnership model that puts our clients at the center of data and AI innovations,” said Volodymyr Semenyshyn, Chief Revenue Officer at SoftServe. “AI continues to be the pinnacle of our solution development, which makes this partnership enable better benefits for enterprises seeking AI solutions, reduced implementation costs, and ROI validation. By working with Google Cloud, SoftServe can deliver better outcomes to clients on a global scale.”

    “Agentic AI presents significant opportunities for businesses to optimize data utilization and drive growth,” said Colleen Kapase, VP Channels & Partner Programs at Google Cloud. “By leveraging Google Cloud’s advanced AI and data tools, SoftServe can deliver specialized solutions that help customers address industry-specific challenges and drive tangible business transformation.”

    This agreement comes ahead of SoftServe’s presence at Google NEXT 2025, happening April 9-11 in Las Vegas, NV. SoftServe will showcase three enticing demos – the Gen AI Retail Shopping Assistant, Gen AI Intelligent Video Monitoring, and Gen AI Industrial Assistant – in booth #940 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center. Learn more at this link.

    Software is a Premier level Partner for Google Cloud in the Service Engagement Model and holds Specializations in Generative AI, Machine Learning, and Cloud Migration. SoftServe is also now listed as a Strategic Services Partner (SSP) under the new strategic partnership agreement with Google Cloud.

    To learn more about SoftServe’s partnership with Google Cloud, please visit this website.

    ABOUT SOFTSERVE
    SoftServe is a premier IT consulting and digital services provider. We expand the horizon of new technologies to solve today’s complex business challenges and achieve meaningful outcomes for our clients. Our boundless curiosity drives us to explore and reimagine the art of the possible. Clients confidently rely on SoftServe to architect and execute mature and innovative capabilities, such as digital engineering, data and analytics, cloud, and AI/ML.

    Our global reputation is gained from more than 30 years of experience delivering superior digital solutions at exceptional speed by top-tier engineering talent to enterprise industries, including high tech, financial services, healthcare, life sciences, retail, energy, and manufacturing. Visit our website, blog, LinkedIn, Facebook, and X (Twitter) pages for more information.

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: MidCap Financial Investment Corporation Schedules Earnings Release and Conference Call for Quarter Ended March 31, 2025

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    NEW YORK, April 03, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — MidCap Financial Investment Corporation (NASDAQ: MFIC) (the “Company”) announced today that it will report results for the quarter ended March 31, 2025, after the closing of the Nasdaq Global Select Market on Monday, May 12, 2025.

    The Company will also host a conference call on Tuesday, May 13, 2025, at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time. All interested parties are welcome to participate in the conference call by dialing (800) 225-9448 approximately 5-10 minutes prior to the call; international callers should dial (203) 518-9708. Participants should reference either MidCap Financial Investment Corporation Earnings or Conference ID: MFIC0513 when prompted. A simultaneous webcast of the conference call will be available to the public on a listen-only basis and can be accessed through the Events Calendar in the Shareholders section of our website at www.midcapfinancialic.com. Following the call, you may access a replay of the event either telephonically or via audio webcast. The telephonic replay will be available approximately two hours after the live call and through June 3, 2025, by dialing (800) 727-1367; international callers should dial (402) 220-2669. A replay of the audio webcast will also be available later that same day. To access the audio webcast please visit the Events Calendar in the Shareholders section of our website at www.midcapfinancialic.com.

    About MidCap Financial Investment Corporation

    MidCap Financial Investment Corporation (NASDAQ: MFIC) is a closed-end, externally managed, diversified management investment company that has elected to be treated as a business development company (“BDC”) under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “1940 Act”). For tax purposes, the Company has elected to be treated as a regulated investment company (“RIC”) under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”). The Company is externally managed by Apollo Investment Management, L.P., an affiliate of Apollo Global Management, Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries, a high-growth global alternative asset manager. The Company’s investment objective is to generate current income and, to a lesser extent, long-term capital appreciation. The Company primarily invests in directly originated and privately negotiated first lien senior secured loans to privately held U.S. middle-market companies, which the Company generally defines as companies with less than $75 million in EBITDA, as may be adjusted for market disruptions, mergers and acquisitions-related charges and synergies, and other items. To a lesser extent, the Company may invest in other types of securities including, first lien unitranche, second lien senior secured, unsecured, subordinated, and mezzanine loans, and equities in both private and public middle market companies. For more information, please visit www.midcapfinancialic.com.

    Forward-Looking Statements

    This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, statements as to our future operating results; our business prospects and the prospects of our portfolio companies; the impact of investments that we expect to make; our contractual arrangements and relationships with third parties; the dependence of our future success on the general economy and its impact on the industries in which we invest; the ability of our portfolio companies to achieve their objectives; our expected financings and investments; the adequacy of our cash resources and working capital; and the timing of cash flows, if any, from the operations of our portfolio companies.

    We may use words such as “anticipates,” “believes,” “expects,” “intends,” “will,” “should,” “may” and similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements are based on currently available operating, financial and competitive information and are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from our historical experience and our present expectations. Statements regarding the following subjects, among others, may be forward-looking: the return on equity; the yield on investments; the ability to borrow to finance assets; new strategic initiatives; the ability to reposition the investment portfolio; the market outlook; future investment activity; and risks associated with investing in real estate assets, including changes in business conditions and the general economy. Undue reliance should not be placed on such forward-looking statements as such statements speak only as of the date on which they are made. We do not undertake to update our forward-looking statements unless required by law.

    Contact

    Elizabeth Besen
    Investor Relations Manager
    MidCap Financial Investment Corporation
    (212) 822-0625
    ebesen@apollo.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Enovix To Acquire Korean Battery Cell Facility to Bolster Manufacturing

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    FREMONT, Calif., April 03, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Enovix Corporation (Nasdaq: ENVX), a global high-performance battery company, today announced the acquisition of battery cell manufacturing assets from SolarEdge, located in South Korea. The acquisition will expand the company’s manufacturing footprint and help position Enovix to meet growing demand in the defense industry. The transaction is expected to close in April 2025, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.

    Enovix will be acquiring a battery cell manufacturing facility from SolarEdge that is approximately 330,000 square feet, as well as battery cell development and manufacturing equipment. The SolarEdge facility has been operating for over 20 years. The facility to be acquired is directly adjacent to the company’s existing facility in Nonsan City, South Korea. Enovix plans to hire certain members of the SolarEdge Korea team including personnel in the manufacturing, quality, R&D and process engineer departments. The acquisition is expected to expand Enovix’s manufacturing capacity and expedite scaled production.

    “Better batteries are in high demand for many of the economy’s most critical industries, and Enovix is committed to building longer-lasting and more effective batteries that improve the world we live in,” said Dr. Raj Talluri, Enovix CEO and president. “By expanding our battery production facility in Korea we believe we will be able to simplify our supply chain, accelerate the pace of innovation and address the growing list of use cases for defense, industrial and consumer electronics customers.”

    Enovix’s sales from batteries manufactured in its Korea facility are projected to increase in 2025 and 2026 facilitated in part by this acquisition which is expected to improve gross margins going forward. The company also now forecasts a higher sales mix from this facility going to defense and industrial applications.

    “From its inception, Enovix has focused on breakthrough battery innovation and operational excellence,” said T.J. Rodgers, Enovix chairman. “This acquisition is a step in advancing that mission at scale as it will ensure greater control over quality and strengthen our ability to deliver solutions to a wider range of customers more efficiently.”

    Forward-Looking Statements

    This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, about us and our industry that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements generally relate to future events or our future financial or operating performance and can be identified by words such as anticipate, believe, continue, could, estimate, expect, intend, may, might, plan, possible, potential, predict, should, would and similar expressions that convey uncertainty about future events or outcomes. Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, our expectations regarding, and the timing of, the acquisition of battery cell manufacturing assets from SolarEdge; our expectations about, and our ability to respond to, market and customer demand; our customers’ releases of products using our batteries; our financial and business performance; projected improvements in our manufacturing, commercialization and R&D activities; our expectations regarding, and our ability to realize, the benefits of the acquisition, including our ability to expand our manufacturing footprint, the transaction’s ability to position us to meet growing demand in the defense industry, our expectation that the acquisition will expand our manufacturing capacity and expedite scaled production; our ability to simplify our supply chain, accelerate the pace of innovation and address the growing list of use cases for defense, industrial and consumer electronics customers, the projected increase in battery sales in 2025 and 2026 facilitated in part by the acquisition, gross margin improvements expected from the transaction, and our revised forecasts of higher sales mix from this facility going to defense and industrial applications; our ability to realize synergies from the acquisition, including the ability to accelerate product development and deliver products to a wider range of customers more efficiently. Actual results and outcomes could differ materially from these forward-looking statements as a result of certain risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, the satisfaction of applicable closing conditions and the consummation of the contemplated transactions relating to the acquisition, our ability to realize the benefits of and synergies from the acquisition, including those listed above, market acceptance of our products, the impact of technological development and competition, and global economic conditions. For additional information on these risks and uncertainties and other potential factors that could affect our business and financial results or cause actual results to differ from the results predicted, please refer to our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), including in the “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” sections of our most recently filed annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and other documents that we have filed, or that we will file, with the SEC. Any forward-looking statements made by us in this release speak only as of the date on which they are made and subsequent events may cause these expectations to change. We disclaim any obligations to update or alter these forward-looking statements in the future, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

    About Enovix
    Enovix is on a mission to deliver high-performance batteries that unlock the full potential of technology products. Everything from IoT, mobile, and computing devices, to vehicles and headsets, needs a better battery. The company has developed an innovative, materials-agnostic approach to building a higher performing battery without compromising safety, and it partners with OEMs worldwide to usher in a new era of user experiences.

    Enovix is headquartered in Silicon Valley with facilities in India, Korea and Malaysia. For more information visit www.enovix.com and follow the company on LinkedIn.

    Investor Contact:
    Enovix Corporation
    Robert Lahey
    Email: ir@enovix.com

    Media Contact:
    Bateman Agency for Enovix
    Kaelyn Attridge 
    Email: enovix@bateman.agency

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Drone Surveying Industry Witnessing Continuous Technological Advancements Generating Rising Revenue Opportunity

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    PALM BEACH, Fla., April 03, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — FN Media Group News Commentary – The drone surveying market is witnessing increased demand for its services across different industries. The survey done by drones has multiple benefits in comparison to the traditional way of surveys such as lower cost, reduced time, and improved end results. According to Fact.MR, a market research and competitive intelligence provider, the global drone surveying market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 19.3% during the forecast period of 2023 to 2033. The report said; “The drone covers a larger area within less amount of time and money for a survey if compared with the traditional or conventional way of surveys. Since the data is captured and generated with actual imagery, it also brings better transparency in the end result. All these benefits have resulted in increased demand from governments and real estate development companies for drone surveying services. The drone surveying service providers are entering into partnerships with companies and the government to carry out surveys on their behalf for the planning and development of urban areas and townships. The image and data collected from the drone surveys are more accurate and can be converted into meaningful output as per the requirements. This helps governments and infrastructure development companies in different stages of planning in township development, urban planning, and land surveys. The continuous advancement of technology in the drone market has led to increased demand for their products and services. The services or task performed by a drone has significantly improved in the last few years which has ultimately resulted in improved demand.” Active Companies in the drone industry today include ZenaTech, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZENA), Ondas Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: ONDS), AgEagle Aerial Systems Inc. (NYSE: UAVS), Unusual Machines, Inc. (NYSE American: UMAC), AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVAV).

    Fact.MR concluded; “The industries catered to by drones have also increased significantly. Earlier most of the demand for drones was from agriculture and public administration, now it has increased to infrastructure development, mining, energy, education, and transportation among others. Now a mining company can easily calculate/measure the area covered for the mining, or the stockpile volume with the help of drone surveys. It is expected that in the coming years, the drone surveying industry will witness continuous technological advancement, resulting in the expansion of service offerings.”

    ZenaTech (NASDAQ:ZENA) Closes Second Southeast Region Acquisition, Wallace Surveying Corporation, Set to Become the Third Acquisition to Power Its National Drone as a Service (DaaS) Business – ZenaTech, Inc. (FSE: 49Q) (BMV: ZENA) (“ZenaTech”), a technology company specializing in AI (Artificial Intelligence) drone, Drone-as-a-Service (DaaS), enterprise SaaS and Quantum Computing solutions, announces that it has closed the acquisition of Wallace Surveying Corporation (“Wallace”) of West Palm Beach, Florida, a well-established land survey company with thirty years of experience. Wallace provides construction and land development surveys delivering accurate and reliable data that supports project planning and design for developers, contractors, engineers, and architect customers.

    This is ZenaTech’s second acquisition in the Southeast region as part of a larger national roll-up strategy to disrupt the land survey industry by accelerating the use of drones for speed and accuracy benefits. The acquisition also further powers the Company’s national Drone as a Service, or DaaS, business as the third US acquisition set to provide access to the ZenaDrone 1000 and the IQ series. These multifunction drones are set to provide a variety of services including power line inspections, precision agriculture, law enforcement, and search and rescue for natural disasters such as hurricanes.

    “Wallace Surveying Corporation is well respected in the South Florida business community with longstanding existing customer relationships. Its team brings considerable expertise toward our goal of innovating land surveys at scale leveraging advanced drone data collection, data management, mapping and digital deliverables. This acquisition is another step towards our vision to create a national DaaS business, bringing AI drone efficiencies and precision to a variety of legacy verticals and manual tasks,” said CEO Shaun Passley, Ph.D.

    ZenaTech’s Drones as a Service or DaaS model is similar to Software as a Service (SaaS), but instead of providing software solutions over the Internet, the company will offer ZenaDrone solutions and services on a subscription or pay-per-use basis. Customers can conveniently access drones for eliminating manual or time-consuming tasks achieving more precision, such as for surveying, inspections, security and law enforcement, or farming precision agriculture applications, without having to buy, operate, or maintain the drones themselves.

    The DaaS business model offers customers such as government agencies, real estate developers, construction firms, farmers or energy companies reduced upfront costs as there is no need to purchase expensive drones, as well as convenience, as there is no need to manage maintenance and operation. The model also offers scalability to use more often or less often based on business needs and enables access to advanced drone technology sensors or attachments like spraying, without the need for specialized training.

    Accurate land surveys are essential for the planning, designing, and executing of roads, bridges, and building projects for cities, commercial, and residential projects, and are required for legal purposes. Remotely piloted drones with an array of sensors and cameras, LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), and GPS systems for capturing high-resolution pictures and data are revolutionizing the land survey industry gathering aerial data across expansive terrains in a matter of hours instead of weeks or months using more traditional photogrammetry methods. Continued… Read this full release by visiting: https://www.financialnewsmedia.com/news-zena/

    In Additional ZENA News: ZenaTech’s (NASDAQ:ZENA) 2024 Financial Results Shows Revenue and Assets Increase.

    2024 Financial Results:

    • As of December 31, 2024, and consistent with its recent 6K filing, ZenaTech’s 2024 full-year revenue increased by 7% to $1.96 million as compared to $1.82 million for the full year of 2023 (all figures in $Cdn. dollars)
    • Comprehensive loss for the period was ($4.04 million) versus ($.251 million) last year due to increased one-time costs of listing on Nasdaq Capital Market from lawyers. accountants, auditors, financial advisor (investment banker) and other going public expenses
    • Assets have increased over 110% to $34.6 million at year-end 2024, up from $16.4 million at year-end 2023. This is due to the company’s acquisition of three patents, and a total of four software companies. In addition, the company has signed multiple Letters of Intent (LOIs) as part of an acquisition strategy that will tremendously increase future revenue
    • Liabilities continue to be low, having increased $3.7 million to $12.8 million at year-end 2024 from $9.1 million at year-end 2023
    • The Company’s ratio of debt to total capitalization is 31%, which is well within the accepted standard of less than 50%
    • ZenaTech’s existing cash and funds available through lines of credit will be sufficient to finance the next 12 months of the company’s operations. We anticipate that cash generated internally, and lines of credit will be sufficient to fund our drone development and acquisitions
    • Additional information is available from ZenaTech’s 6K filing on the SEC EDGAR website . The company will be filing its 20F by the due date, which is April 30, 2024, for Private Foreign Issuers. Continued… Read this full release by visiting: https://www.zenatech.com/newsroom/

    Other recent developments in the drone industry include:

    Ondas Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: ONDS), a leading provider of private industrial wireless networks and commercial drone and automated data solutions, recently announced that it has secured a $3.2 million purchase order from a governmental entity in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The new order supports the continued buildout of urban autonomous drone infrastructure in the UAE and expands the existing Optimus drone network, which is operated by the local government as part of its broader Safe and Smart City initiatives.

    “We are witnessing the network effect of the Optimus drone network in UAE,” said Eric Brock, Chairman and CEO of Ondas Holdings. “The effectiveness of the Optimus System and its ability to reduce response times of emergency units have been proven during our operations there, and this order further validates the system’s value. We are proud to support the UAE’s leadership in Drone as First Responder (DFR) technology, which is also developing in the US. We believe that our Optimus system is the most mature and robust platform in the market and certified for such critical security operations. We look forward to replicating this success in other cities around the world.”

    AgEagle Aerial Systems Inc. (NYSE: UAVS), a leading provider of best-in-class unmanned aerial systems (UAS), sensors and software solutions for customers worldwide in the commercial and government verticals, recently provided a corporate update and announces its financial results for the year ended December 31, 2024.

    AgEagle CEO Bill Irby commented, “2024 was a defining year for AgEagle. We secured three of the largest orders in our history while implementing significant strategic cost reductions that have strengthened our foundation for long-term sustainable growth. We assembled an exceptional leadership team with deep expertise in scaling technology companies, optimizing operations, and executing aggressive sales strategies. Combined with a leaner expense structure, record demand, and a growing product portfolio, we believe we are well positioned to expand our customer base, secure new partnerships, and leverage our innovative drone technologies to capitalize on emerging opportunities in the burgeoning global UAS market.

    AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVAV) recently announced that its stockholders have approved the issuance of AV common stock in connection with the Company’s pending acquisition of BlueHalo LLC (“BlueHalo”) at a Special Meeting of Stockholders held earlier today.

    “Stockholder approval marks an important milestone as we move forward with the acquisition of BlueHalo and accelerate our transformation into the leading next-generation defense technology company,” said Wahid Nawabi, AV chairman, president, and chief executive officer. “Together, AV and BlueHalo will drive agile innovation and deliver integrated, all-domain solutions designed to redefine the future of defense and address the most important priorities and needs of our nation and allies around the globe. We thank stockholders for their continued support and look forward to closing this transaction and unlocking new opportunities for growth and value creation.”

    Unusual Machines, Inc. (NYSE American: UMAC), a drone and drone components manufacturer, recently announced it filed its Form 10-K with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024 and provided the following letter to its shareholders from CEO Allan Evans.

    Dear Shareholders, This shareholder letter follows the completion of our fiscal year 2024. This is our first year being public. It has been an excellent fourth quarter and an incredible year. We continue to see great interest in the company and receive questions from shareholders. We would like to take this opportunity to provide context and deeper insights into our operations and what these represent for Unusual Machines’ future.

    Unusual Machines revenue for the fourth quarter revenue was over $2.0 million which represents a sequentially quarter over quarter increase of approximately 31%. This is our best revenue quarter of all time (again) and was done while improving gross margins slightly to 28%. With the launch of our Blue Framework products, approximately 15% of our Q4 revenue was from enterprise sales. Our total revenue of $5.65M for FY2024 exceeded our target of $5M for 2024 by 13%. This growth was achieved without customer concentration as no single customer represented more than 5% of our total revenue for 2024.

    About FN Media Group:
    At FN Media Group, via our top-rated online news portal at www.financialnewsmedia.com, we are one of the very few select firms providing top tier one syndicated news distribution, targeted ticker tag press releases and stock market news coverage for today’s emerging companies. #tickertagpressreleases #pressreleases

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    DISCLAIMER: FN Media Group LLC (FNM), which owns and operates FinancialNewsMedia.com and MarketNewsUpdates.com, is a third party publisher and news dissemination service provider, which disseminates electronic information through multiple online media channels. FNM is NOT affiliated in any manner with any company mentioned herein. FNM and its affiliated companies are a news dissemination solutions provider and are NOT a registered broker/dealer/analyst/adviser, holds no investment licenses and may NOT sell, offer to sell or offer to buy any security. FNM’s market updates, news alerts and corporate profiles are NOT a solicitation or recommendation to buy, sell or hold securities. The material in this release is intended to be strictly informational and is NEVER to be construed or interpreted as research material. All readers are strongly urged to perform research and due diligence on their own and consult a licensed financial professional before considering any level of investing in stocks. All material included herein is republished content and details which were previously disseminated by the companies mentioned in this release. FNM is not liable for any investment decisions by its readers or subscribers. Investors are cautioned that they may lose all or a portion of their investment when investing in stocks. For current services performed FNM has been compensated fifty one hundred dollars for news coverage of the current press releases issued by ZenaTech, Inc. by the Company. FNM HOLDS NO SHARES OF ANY COMPANY NAMED IN THIS RELEASE.

    This release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended and such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. “Forward-looking statements” describe future expectations, plans, results, or strategies and are generally preceded by words such as “may”, “future”, “plan” or “planned”, “will” or “should”, “expected,” “anticipates”, “draft”, “eventually” or “projected”. You are cautioned that such statements are subject to a multitude of risks and uncertainties that could cause future circumstances, events, or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements, including the risks that actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, and other risks identified in a company’s annual report on Form 10-K or 10-KSB and other filings made by such company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. You should consider these factors in evaluating the forward-looking statements included herein, and not place undue reliance on such statements. The forward-looking statements in this release are made as of the date hereof and FNM undertakes no obligation to update such statements.

    Contact Information:
    Media Contact email: editor@financialnewsmedia.com – +1(561)325-8757

    SOURCE: FN Media Group

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Global: From business exports to veteran care − here’s what some of the 35,000 federal workers in the Philadelphia region do

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Todd Aagaard, Professor of Law, Villanova School of Law

    Federal layoffs have affected employees at Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia. Ryan Collerd/AFP via Getty Images

    Layoffs of federal employees and cutbacks to federal agencies have direct consequences for the Philadelphia area.

    I am a law professor at Villanova University outside Philadelphia, and my research focuses on the work of the administrative agencies that compose the federal government.

    I believe that understanding the federal government’s presence in the Philly metro area can highlight some of the potential consequences in our region for the rapid changes currently underway.

    Over 65,000 federal employees in PA

    More than 80% of federal civilian employees work outside of the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia. There are about 66,000 federal employees in Pennsylvania and 35,000 in Philadelphia.

    Over a dozen federal agencies have offices in the Philadelphia region. These include the Internal Revenue Service, Army Corps of Engineers, Agricultural Marketing Service, Food and Drug Administration, Economic Development Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs, Federal Transit Administration and the Census Bureau.

    Here are some examples of the broad variety of services that federal employees in the Philadelphia region provide to the public.

    Services to businesses

    Several federal agencies in the Philadelphia area provide expertise, advice and resources for businesses.

    For example, the U.S. Commercial Service, part of the Commerce Department, has an office in Philadelphia and assists U.S. businesses with exporting their products for international markets.

    The Small Business Administration, which has a district office in King of Prussia, provides resources and support for small businesses.

    And the Economic Development Administration operates a regional office in Philadelphia that distributes federal funds for construction, workforce training, manufacturing, disaster relief and other purposes.

    Benefits for retirees and veterans

    Other federal agencies administer government benefits programs. The Social Security Administration disburses benefits for retirees and the disabled, providing more than US$13 billion in benefits to almost 8 million people in the Philadelphia region each month.

    About 3,800 Pennsylvanians work for the Social Security Administration in offices located around the state.

    The Department of Veterans Affairs operates the Corporal Michael J. Crescenz Medical Center in West Philadelphia. The center provides primary and specialty health care for veterans.

    Statewide in Pennsylvania, about 17,000 federal employees work for the Veterans Health Administration. Another 1,500 work for the Veterans Benefits Administration, which provides veterans with education and training, home loans, life insurance and pensions.

    Census data collection

    The Census Bureau operates an office in Philadelphia to collect and disseminate data in a region that stretches from Tennessee to Pennsylvania.

    The Census Bureau conducts the constitutionally mandated census of the U.S. population every 10 years, as well as an economic census of businesses every five years, and numerous surveys about communities, health, housing, crime, education and more.

    In addition, regional census employees answer questions from local media, work with local organizations to encourage participation in censuses and surveys, and educate the public about census data. This work is of particular importance because census data determines how federal funding is allocated.

    Military logistics

    The Defense Logistics Agency’s Troop Support Command is headquartered in Northeast Philadelphia. Troop Support is responsible for creating and maintaining military supply chains. This includes securing food, clothing, equipment and medical supplies.

    It is also responsible for procuring medals and ribbons for military awards, such as the Medal of Honor.

    About 5,000 federal employees, many of them military veterans, work for the Defense Logistics Agency in Pennsylvania.

    Bridges, dams and seawalls

    The Army Corps of Engineers has operated its district headquarters in Philadelphia since 1866.

    In addition to its role in supporting the military, the Corps of Engineers also constructs and maintains civil works projects. Its first civil works project in the Philadelphia region was the construction of a breakwater near Cape Henlopen, Delaware, in 1829.

    These days, employees of the district inspect and maintain bridges, operate flood control dams, build beachfill and seawall projects along coastlines and maintain 500 miles of navigation channels.

    The vast majority of federal civilian employees don’t work in D.C.
    Carol M. Highsmith/Library of Congress Domain

    National historical sites

    The National Park Service manages numerous historical sites and parks in the Philadelphia region, including the Independence National Historical Park, Valley Forge National Historical Park, Edgar Allan Poe National Historic Site, the Flight 93 National Memorial and the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area.

    At these locations, National Park Service personnel educate visitors, maintain facilities, protect park resources and keep the public safe.

    Environmental cleanup

    The Environmental Protection Agency is perhaps best known as an environmental regulator, enforcing limits on air and water pollution and toxic substances. But it also is active in other areas, such as cleaning up contaminated sites in the Philadelphia area through the Superfund program.

    EPA’s National Priorities List includes almost 40 contaminated sites in Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties. For example, EPA manages the cleanup of the Philadelphia Navy Yard in South Philadelphia, where part of the Navy Yard had historically been used to dispose of waste from ships. EPA’s cleanup has remediated the onsite landfill and prevents contamination from seeping into the Delaware River.

    EPA also supervises the cleanup in Havertown of the site of a former wood treatment operation that contaminated the soil and groundwater with the highly toxic chemical pentachlorophenol, or PCP. Because of the cleanup, part of the contaminated site is now a widely used YMCA that serves the recreational and fitness needs of the community.

    Tax help

    The Internal Revenue Service, another agency known for its enforcement activities, also provides services in the Philadelphia area to support taxpayers. These include, for example, taxpayer assistance centers in Horsham, King of Prussia, Media and Philadelphia.

    The IRS also has a Taxpayer Advocate Service office in Philadelphia. The Taxpayer Advocate Service is an independent office that advocates for taxpayers who are having difficulties with the IRS.

    Read more of our stories about Philadelphia and Pennsylvania.

    Todd Aagaard is a visiting fellow at Resources for the Future in addition to his faculty position at Villanova University. From 1999 to 2007, he served as an attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice.

    – ref. From business exports to veteran care − here’s what some of the 35,000 federal workers in the Philadelphia region do – https://theconversation.com/from-business-exports-to-veteran-care-heres-what-some-of-the-35-000-federal-workers-in-the-philadelphia-region-do-251457

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI USA: U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services, February 2025

    Source: US Bureau of Economic Analysis

    The U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis announced today that the goods and services deficit was $122.7 billion in February, down $8.0 billion from $130.7 billion in January, revised.

    U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services Deficit
    Deficit: $122.7 Billion  –6.1%°
    Exports: $278.5 Billion  +2.9%°
    Imports: $401.1 Billion     0.0%°

    Next release: Tuesday, May 6, 2025

    (°) Statistical significance is not applicable or not measurable. Data adjusted for seasonality but not price changes

    Source: U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis; U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services, April 3, 2025

    Exports, Imports, and Balance (exhibit 1)

    February exports were $278.5 billion, $8.0 billion more than January exports. February imports were $401.1 billion, less than $0.1 billion less than January imports.

    The February decrease in the goods and services deficit reflected a decrease in the goods deficit of $8.8 billion to $147.0 billion and a decrease in the services surplus of $0.8 billion to $24.3 billion.

    Year-to-date, the goods and services deficit increased $117.1 billion, or 86.0 percent, from the same period in 2024. Exports increased $24.0 billion or 4.6 percent. Imports increased $141.2 billion or 21.4 percent.

    Three-Month Moving Averages (exhibit 2)

    The average goods and services deficit increased $14.8 billion to $117.1 billion for the three months ending in February.

    • Average exports increased $1.6 billion to $271.8 billion in February.
    • Average imports increased $16.5 billion to $389.0 billion in February.

    Year-over-year, the average goods and services deficit increased $50.1 billion from the three months ending in February 2024.

    • Average exports increased $10.2 billion from February 2024.
    • Average imports increased $60.3 billion from February 2024.

    Exports (exhibits 3, 6, and 7)

    Exports of goods increased $8.3 billion to $181.9 billion in February.

      Exports of goods on a Census basis increased $6.2 billion.

    • Industrial supplies and materials increased $3.0 billion.
      • Nonmonetary gold increased $3.2 billion.
      • Fuel oil decreased $1.0 billion.
    • Capital goods increased $2.7 billion.
      • Computer accessories increased $0.9 billion.
      • Civilian aircraft increased $0.5 billion.
    • Automotive vehicles, parts, and engines increased $1.6 billion.
      • Passenger cars increased $1.0 billion.
      • Trucks, buses, and special purpose vehicles increased $0.6 billion.
    • Other goods decreased $1.3 billion. (See the “Notice” for more information.)

      Net balance of payments adjustments increased $2.1 billion.

    Exports of services decreased $0.4 billion to $96.5 billion in February.

    • Transport decreased $0.3 billion.
    • Travel decreased $0.3 billion.
    • Government goods and services decreased $0.2 billion.
    • Financial services increased $0.2 billion.

    Imports (exhibits 4, 6, and 8)

    Imports of goods decreased $0.5 billion to $328.9 billion in February.

      Imports of goods on a Census basis decreased $0.6 billion.

    • Industrial supplies and materials decreased $4.2 billion.
      • Finished metal shapes decreased $2.6 billion.
      • Nonmonetary gold decreased $1.3 billion
    • Consumer goods increased $2.4 billion.
      • Cell phones and other household goods increased $1.5 billion.
      • Pharmaceutical preparations increased $1.2 billion.
    • Capital goods increased $1.0 billion.
      • Computers increased $0.7 billion.
      • Medical equipment increased $0.5 billion.
      • Civilian aircraft decreased $0.7 billion.

      Net balance of payments adjustments increased $0.1 billion.

    Imports of services increased $0.5 billion to $72.2 billion in February.

    • Travel increased $0.2 billion.
    • Charges for the use of intellectual property increased $0.1 billion.

    Real Goods in 2017 Dollars – Census Basis (exhibit 11)

    The real goods deficit decreased $6.9 billion, or 4.8 percent, to $135.4 billion in February, compared to a 4.4 percent decrease in the nominal deficit.

    • Real exports of goods increased $4.9 billion, or 3.4 percent, to $147.9 billion, compared to a 3.6 percent increase in nominal exports.
    • Real imports of goods decreased $2.0 billion, or 0.7 percent, to $283.3 billion, compared to a 0.2 percent decrease in nominal imports.

    Revisions

    Revisions to January exports

    • Exports of goods were revised up $0.8 billion.
    • Exports of services were revised down $0.2 billion.

    Revisions to January imports

    • Imports of goods were revised down $0.1 billion.
    • Imports of services were revised up $0.1 billion.

    Goods by Selected Countries and Areas: Monthly – Census Basis (exhibit 19)

    The February figures show surpluses, in billions of dollars, with South and Central America ($4.8), Netherlands ($4.1), United Kingdom ($3.4), Hong Kong ($2.4), Belgium ($0.8), Brazil ($0.4), and Saudi Arabia ($0.2). Deficits were recorded, in billions of dollars, with European Union ($30.9), China ($26.6), Switzerland ($18.8), Mexico ($16.8), Ireland ($14.0), Vietnam ($12.4), Taiwan ($8.7), Germany ($8.1), Canada ($7.3), India ($5.6), Japan ($5.2), Italy ($5.1), South Korea ($4.5), Malaysia ($3.1), Australia ($2.1), France ($1.5), Singapore ($1.1), and Israel ($0.7).

    • The deficit with Switzerland decreased $4.0 billion to $18.8 billion in February. Exports increased $0.7 billion to $2.5 billion and imports decreased $3.3 billion to $21.3 billion.
    • The balance with the United Kingdom shifted from a deficit of $0.5 billion in January to a surplus of $3.4 billion in February. Exports increased $3.3 billion to $9.5 billion and imports decreased $0.6 billion to $6.1 billion.
    • The deficit with the European Union increased $5.4 billion to $30.9 billion in February. Exports decreased $2.3 billion to $29.9 billion and imports increased $3.2 billion to $60.8 billion.

    All statistics referenced are seasonally adjusted; statistics are on a balance of payments basis unless otherwise specified. Additional statistics, including not seasonally adjusted statistics and details for goods on a Census basis, are available in exhibits 1-20b of this release. For information on data sources, definitions, and revision procedures, see the explanatory notes in this release. The full release can be found at www.census.gov/foreign-trade/Press-Release/current_press_release/index.html or www.bea.gov/data/intl-trade-investment/international-trade-goods-and-services. The full schedule is available in the Census Bureau’s Economic Briefing Room at www.census.gov/economic-indicators/ or on BEA’s website at www.bea.gov/news/schedule.

    Next release: May 6, 2025, at 8:30 a.m. EDT
    U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services, March 2025

    Notice

    Impact of Canada Border Services Agency’s (CBSA) Release of CBSA Assessment and Revenue Management (CARM)

    The CBSA introduced a new accounting system (CARM) on October 21, 2024. As a result, importers in Canada have experienced delays in filing shipment information. These delays affected the compilation of statistics on U.S. exports of goods to Canada for September 2024 through February 2025, which are derived from data compiled by Canada through the United States – Canada Data Exchange. A dollar estimate of the filing backlog is included in estimates for late receipts and, following the U.S. Census Bureau’s customary practice for late receipt estimates, is included in the export end-use category “Other goods” as well as in exports to Canada. This estimate will be replaced with the actual transactions reported by the Harmonized System classification in June 2025 with the release of “U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services, Annual Revision.” Until then, please refer to the supplemental spreadsheet “CARM Exports to Canada Corrections,” which provides a breakdown of the late receipts by 1-digit end-use category for statistics through 2024. This spreadsheet will be updated as late export transactions are received to reflect reassignments from the initial “Other goods” category to the appropriate 1-digit end-use category. Any 2025 impacts will be revised in June 2026.

    If you have questions or need additional information, please contact the Census Bureau, Economic Indicators Division, International Trade Macro Analysis Branch, on 800-549-0595, option 4, or at eid.international.trade.data@census.gov.

    Upcoming Updates to Goods and Services

    With the releases of the “U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services” report (FT-900) and the FT-900 Annual Revision on June 5, 2025, statistics on trade in goods, on both a Census basis and a balance of payments (BOP) basis, will be revised beginning with 2020 and statistics on trade in services will be revised beginning with 2018. The revised statistics for goods on a BOP basis and for services will also be included in the “U.S. International Transactions, 1st Quarter 2025 and Annual Update” report and in the international transactions interactive database, both to be released by BEA on June 24, 2025.

    Revised statistics on trade in goods will reflect:

    • Corrections and adjustments to previously published not seasonally adjusted statistics for goods on a Census basis.
    • End-use reclassifications of several commodities.
    • Recalculated seasonal and trading-day adjustments.
    • Newly available and revised source data on BOP adjustments, which are adjustments that BEA applies to goods on a Census basis to convert them to a BOP basis. See the “Goods (balance of payments basis)” section in the explanatory notes for more information.

    Revised statistics on trade in services will reflect:

    • Newly available and revised source data, primarily from BEA surveys of international services.
    • Corrections and adjustments to previously published not seasonally adjusted statistics.
    • Recalculated seasonal adjustments.
    • Revised temporal distributions of quarterly source data to monthly statistics. See the “Services” section in the explanatory notes for more information.

    A preview of BEA’s 2025 annual update of the International Transactions Accounts will be available in the Survey of Current Business later in April 2025.

    If you have questions or need additional information, please contact the Census Bureau, Economic Indicators Division, International Trade Macro Analysis Branch, on (800) 549-0595, option 4, or at eid.international.trade.data@census.gov or BEA, Balance of Payments Division, at InternationalAccounts@bea.gov.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Medicare Advantage is covering more and more Americans − some because they don’t get to choose

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Grace McCormack, Research scientist of Health Policy and Economics, University of Southern California

    Since the mid-2000s, the Medicare system has dramatically transformed. Enrollment in Medicare Advantage – the private alternative to the traditional Medicare program administered by the government – has more than quadrupled. It now accounts for the majority of Medicare enrollment.

    Employers, including state government agencies, are helping drive this growth in Medicare Advantage sign-ups. The increase in people on Medicare Advantage plans burdens taxpayers and means more patients can be denied doctor-ordered care.

    At the same time, it is often difficult for people enrolled in Medicare Advantage to switch to traditional Medicare.

    Medicare insures people 65 or older and some who are younger and disabled. Attracted by lower premiums and co-pays and the promise of extra benefits, many over-65 Medicare beneficiaries are voluntarily choosing Medicare Advantage, often switching away from traditional Medicare when they’re relatively young and healthy.

    At the same time, many private and state employers have shifted their retirement plans so that the health benefit employees have earned counts only toward Medicare Advantage plans that replace traditional Medicare.

    We are health care policy experts who study Medicare, including what’s driving the changes in employer health care subsidies and why health care choices may be difficult for many people.

    Vanishing choices

    As of early 2025, health care subsidies for retired state employees in 13 states don’t include traditional Medicare supplement plans. The subsidies apply only to Medicare Advantage plans.

    In the private sector, just over half of large employers that offer Medicare Advantage have used it to replace traditional Medicare instead of offering their employees a choice.

    When private and state employers drop the option for the Medigap insurance that supplements rather than replaces traditional Medicare, retirees must choose a fully privatized Medicare Advantage plan or pay the full cost of a supplemental Medigap plan on their own. Medigap lowers or removes traditional Medicare’s co-pays and deductibles.

    When a person first enrolls in Medicare, Medigap costs US$30 to $400 a month, depending on coverage and location. But in most states, it can cost more if a person switches into the plan after the first year. There are some protections for people whose employer-sponsored plans change or are canceled. Enrollees should contact their local State Health Insurance Assistance Program advisers to understand their options.

    Altogether, 54% of people using Medicare are now using the private Medicare Advantage program, an increase from 8 million to 33 million between 2007 and 2024.

    Changing times

    After President Lyndon B. Johnson signed Medicare into law in 1965, older Americans usually received health insurance through the government-administered traditional Medicare health insurance program. The Medigap private insurance for co-pays and deductibles was standardized in 1980.

    Today, a person signing up for Medicare also has, on average, more than 30 Medicare Advantage plan options – privately run alternatives to traditional Medicare and Medigap. The two largest providers, UnitedHealthcare and Humana, administered nearly half of all Medicare Advantage plans in 2024.

    Navigating the current Medicare system can be overwhelming, and the Medicare Advantage option is expensive for taxpayers. As policymakers continue to weigh potential reforms, it’s important to understand why Medicare Advantage has become so popular, who is enrolling in Medicare Advantage, and what aspects of Medicare Advantage plans may be important to them.

    Switching into Medicare Advantage

    The bulk of Medicare Advantage’s rapid growth has come from people switching from traditional Medicare into Medicare Advantage: In 2021 alone, over 7% of Americans covered by traditional Medicare switched to Medicare Advantage, but only 1.2% of those with Medicare Advantage coverage switched to traditional Medicare.

    This growth mirrors the privatization of Medicaid, the federal and state health insurance program for people with low income. About 74% of beneficiaries are now enrolled in private Medicaid plans. With Medicaid, people generally don’t have a choice – they are usually switched to a private plan by their state governments.

    But for Medicare, the privatization trend is not so simple.

    Compared with traditional Medicare, Medicare Advantage plans are, on average, paid more by the taxpayer-funded Medicare system for covering each enrollee. Advantage plans also have more flexibility to limit their medical costs by restricting provider networks and requiring prior authorization.

    The extra benefits of Medicare Advantage

    Some of these extra funds result in higher profits for insurers, but they also partially finance benefits that are not part of regular Medicare.

    These benefits include limits to out-of-pocket costs traditionally offered by the supplemental Medigap plans and dental, hearing and vision coverage that Medicare doesn’t provide.

    In the past decade, lawmakers have introduced several bills to add this coverage, but Congress has not passed any of them.

    Medicare beneficiaries give many reasons for choosing their health plan. The most common reasons are different for people covered by traditional Medicare versus Medicare Advantage. Of people who have traditional Medicare coverage, 40% prefer to have more doctors and hospitals to choose from. A similar percentage of those with Medicare Advantage cite extra benefits or limits on out-of-pocket costs.

    Economic insecurity and advertising

    These financial protections and extra benefits are important for some older adults, given high rates of poverty and economic insecurity among people who are 65 or older. Though these supplemental benefits may not be very accessible, a quarter of surveyed beneficiaries said they were a primary reason for enrolling in Medicare Advantage. An additional fifth cited lower out-of-pocket costs.

    Medicare Advantage plans also typically include a low-cost drug plan that people who opt for traditional Medicare pay for separately as Part D.

    Compared with a traditional Medicare plan that doesn’t include a supplemental Medigap plan to limit premiums and co-pays, Medicare Advantage’s premiums and co-pays contribute to an estimated 18% to 24% lower out-of-pocket spending.

    Brokers, agents and advertisements also play an important role in which plans people choose. In a survey of people who have Medicare coverage, one-third said they used an agent or broker to choose a plan. Of those living below the federal poverty line, 12% said they relied on advertising.

    While these sources can inform beneficiaries about the many options, many policymakers have raised concerns about misleading marketing steering people into plans that don’t serve their needs. Brokers and agents may have more incentive to guide patients to Medicare Advantage because they are paid more for enrolling people in fully privatized plans than in the Medigap and Part D plans that supplement traditional Medicare.

    Retirement benefits shifted to Medicare Advantage

    Changes in retirement benefits are also contributing to the growth in Medicare Advantage.

    A majority of state employee health care retirement benefits include Medicare Advantage plans. And in 13 states, the health care benefit for retired state employees does not include a choice of Medigap: Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Michigan, Missouri, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

    In the private sector, the share of employers offering retirement health care benefits to their employees has declined since the 1990s: Only 21% of large employers offer those benefits today compared with 66% in 1988. But among private employers that still offer retirement health care benefits, those offering Medicare Advantage more than doubled between 2017 and 2024, from 26% to 56%.

    Just over half of large employers that offer Medicare Advantage have used it to replace regular Medicare instead of offering their employees a choice. This means that to remain in traditional Medicare, retirees would have to give up an employer subsidy that covers all or part of the Medicare Advantage premium and pay the full Medigap premium.

    Private employers that still offer subsidized health care insurance as a retirement benefit but offer only Medicare Advantage include IBM and AT&T.

    Employers cite the shift as a necessary response to rising health care costs, though many retirees have protested the trend. Medicare Advantage premiums are generally cheaper than Medigap premiums, saving employers money, in exchange for retirees potentially being denied care more often. New York City employees successfully prevented the switch.

    Stuck in Medicare Advantage

    For many Medicare beneficiaries, switching to Medicare Advantage is a one-way street because most states don’t offer switchers the guaranteed issue and community rating protections for Medigap supplemental coverage plans that people get when initially signing up for Medicare. These protections prevent people from being denied coverage or charged a higher price for preexisting conditions.

    This increased cost in most states of switching back to regular Medicare after age 66½ – especially for people with serious health conditions – may reduce the number of people who do so. But some switch despite the cost.

    Meanwhile, 5% of people who used Medicare Advantage plans in 2024 had to find a new one in 2025 because of a plan being discontinued. There is a silver lining, however: For the first 63 days after their coverage ends, people in failed plans can choose traditional Medicare plus a Medigap supplement with the guaranteed issue protection that in most states applies only during the first year of Medicare eligibility.

    Thirteen states and more than half of employers who offer a retiree health benefit have narrowed their benefit subsidy and only offer Medicare Advantage. This replaces traditional Medicare with a privately administered plan, removing the choice of Medigap, a supplement to traditional Medicare.
    SDI Productions/E+ via Getty images

    Who is enrolling in Medicare Advantage?

    Medicare Advantage growth has been particularly strong among people with low incomes and among racial and ethnic minorities.

    While the share of Americans enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans has grown nationwide, the program’s popularity still varies geographically. Today, the share of Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in Medicare Advantage ranges from 2% in Alaska to 63% in Alabama, Connecticut and Michigan.

    Although an increasing share of people in rural regions have enrolled in Medicare Advantage, they are still less likely to enroll in Medicare Advantage and more likely to return from Medicare Advantage to traditional Medicare than their urban counterparts.

    Switching from traditional Medicare to Medicare Advantage is more common among relatively healthy people who use less health care than expected. This trend, known as “favorable selection,” means the Medicare Advantage companies are enrolling healthier people. The Medicare system pays Medicare Advantage plans based on the expected rather than actual medical costs. This contributes to the overpayment of Medicare Advantage plans.

    These switching patterns suggest that among people who have illnesses such as diabetes, Medicare Advantage is potentially more appealing if they already face barriers to health care access or are in better health. These barriers are particularly common among racial and ethnic minorities in both traditional Medicare and Medicare Advantage.

    What Medicare Advantage enrollment growth means

    We believe that the Medicare Advantage program needs to be reformed. The high payments to Medicare Advantage providers have likely helped fund their explosive growth, exacerbating the financing issues that cost taxpayers US$83 billion a year.

    Medicare Advantage enrollment has grown particularly quickly among vulnerable populations. Many older Medicare beneficiaries are living below or near the poverty line, and a decreasing share of them are receiving subsidized retirement benefits.

    This has led some people to give up access to preferred providers or even treatments to spend less out of pocket on health care by enrolling in Medicare Advantage.

    Others who can afford extra premiums and who want more access pay extra for supplemental Medigap coverage alongside traditional Medicare. A Wall Street Journal investigation found a pattern of some Medicare Advantage patients switching to traditional Medicare when their health care expenses grew.

    In some ways, this resembles the tiered or “topped-up” health care system advocated for by some economists, where people receive a baseline plan, and those who want more coverage and can afford it pay for a more generous “topped-up” plan. Given the size and differing needs of the Medicare population, such a system can potentially be a cost-effective way to ensure health care access and financial protections.

    But it also creates inequalities in access, especially if the baseline plan is much worse than the “topped-up” plan.

    In addition, taxpayers pay more rather than less for someone enrolled in Medicare Advantage – the less expensive baseline plan that provides less health care. They pay less for someone enrolled in traditional Medicare plus additional supplemental insurance plans – the “topped-up” option.

    For Medicare to remain solvent, reforms will likely have to reduce what the federal government spends on Medicare, either by avoiding Medicare Advantage plan overpayments or making structural changes to how the plans are paid.

    We believe it’s important that, throughout any reform, people have access to an affordable plan that ensures access to health care. Projections show that under the current payment system, reductions in payments from the Medicare system to Medicare Advantage providers would likely lead to only modest decreases in plan generosity, though given the vulnerability of many who use Medicare Advantage, this would have to be monitored carefully.

    It’s also important for policymakers to consider improving traditional Medicare, whether that be allowing for an out-of-pocket maximum or covering at least the same degree of dental, vision or other benefits currently offered only under Medicare Advantage.

    This article is part of an occasional series examining the U.S. Medicare system.

    Past articles in the series:

    Medicare vs. Medicare Advantage: Sales pitches are often from biased sources, the choices can be overwhelming, and impartial help is not equally available to all

    Taxpayers spend 22% more per patient to support Medicare Advantage – the private alternative to Medicare that promised to cost less

    Grace McCormack receives funding from the Commonwealth Fund and Arnold Ventures.

    Victoria Shier receives funding from the National Institutes of Health.

    – ref. Medicare Advantage is covering more and more Americans − some because they don’t get to choose – https://theconversation.com/medicare-advantage-is-covering-more-and-more-americans-some-because-they-dont-get-to-choose-251796

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI: YieldMax™ Launches Semiconductor Portfolio Option Income ETF (CHPY)

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    CHICAGO and MILWAUKEE and NEW YORK, April 03, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — YieldMax™ announced the launch today of the following ETF:

    YieldMax™ Semiconductor Portfolio Option Income ETF (NYSE Arca: CHPY)

    CHPY Overview

    CHPY is an actively managed ETF that seeks current income and capital appreciation via direct investments in a select portfolio of 15-30 Semiconductor Companies. CHPY aims to generate current income through an options portfolio on Semiconductor Companies and/or Semiconductor ETFs.

    CHPY Equity Portfolio

    CHPY seeks capital appreciation via direct investments in its portfolio of 15-30 Semiconductor Companies. To enable CHPY to effectively implement its options strategies (see below), CHPY’s Adviser evaluates the liquidity of a potential company’s common stock and the liquidity of its options contracts. Any dividend paid by its Semiconductor Companies will contribute to CHPY’s income generation.

    CHPY Options Portfolio

    CHPY seeks to generate current income primarily by writing (selling) options contracts on some or all of its Semiconductor Companies. Depending on the Adviser’s outlook, it will select one or more options strategies that it believes will best provide CHPY with current income while generally also attempting to participate in a portion of the share price increases experienced by its Semiconductor Companies. Further, depending on the Adviser’s assessment of one or more of the Semiconductor Companies options contracts (e.g., they are insufficiently liquid or too costly), CHPY may employ options strategies on a Semiconductor ETF. By strategically entering and exiting options positions, the Adviser seeks to enhance CHPY’s income potential.

    CHPY Distribution Schedule

    CHPY is the newest member of the YieldMax™ ETF family and like all YieldMax™ ETFs, CHPY aims to deliver current income to investors. With respect to distributions, CHPY aims to make distributions on a weekly basis and its first weekly distribution is expected to be announced on April 16, 2025.

    Why Invest in CHPY?

    • CHPY seeks to generate income, which is not dependent on the value of its portfolio of Semiconductor companies.
    • CHPY seeks to participate in some of the potential share price gains experienced by its Semiconductor Companies.

    Please see the table below for distribution information for all outstanding YieldMax™ ETFs.

    ETF
    Ticker    1    		 ETF Name Distribution
    Frequency    		 Distribution
    per Share    		 Distribution
    Rate    2,4    		 30-Day
    SEC Yield3    		 ROC5
    GPTY YieldMax™ AI & Tech Portfolio Option Income ETF Weekly $0.2668 34.48% 0.00% 100.00%
    LFGY YieldMax™ Crypto Industry & Tech Portfolio Option Income ETF Weekly $0.4189 59.51% 0.00% 100.00%
    QDTY YieldMax™ Nasdaq 100 0DTE Covered Call Strategy ETF Weekly $0.2638 30.79% 0.00% 37.26%
    RDTY YieldMax™ R2000 0DTE Covered Call Strategy ETF Weekly $0.3351 35.84% 0.00% 78.96%
    SDTY YieldMax™ S&P 500 0DTE Covered Call Strategy ETF Weekly $0.2723 30.85% 0.00% 65.95%
    ULTY YieldMax™ Ultra Option Income Strategy ETF Weekly $0.0916 76.60% 2.10% 97.00%
    YMAG YieldMax™ Magnificent 7 Fund of Option Income ETFs Weekly $0.0971 32.97% 69.89% 28.54%
    YMAX YieldMax™ Universe Fund of Option Income ETFs Weekly $0.1781 67.58% 96.57% 0.00%
    BIGY YieldMax™ Target 12™ Big 50 Option Income ETF Monthly $0.4582 12.00% 0.71% 0.00%
    SOXY YieldMax™ Target 12™ Semiconductor Option Income ETF Monthly $0.4266 11.97% 0.26% 0.00%
    ABNY YieldMax™ ABNB Option Income Strategy ETF Every 4 weeks $0.3665 37.42% 3.62% 0.00%
    AIYY YieldMax™ AI Option Income Strategy ETF Every 4 weeks $0.3221 84.22% 4.89% 2.09%
    AMDY YieldMax™ AMD Option Income Strategy ETF Every 4 weeks $0.2765 45.01% 2.97% 93.13%
    AMZY YieldMax™ AMZN Option Income Strategy ETF Every 4 weeks $0.4177 33.06% 4.40% 0.00%
    APLY YieldMax™ AAPL Option Income Strategy ETF Every 4 weeks $0.3440 29.51% 3.44% 87.26%
    BABO YieldMax™ BABA Option Income Strategy ETF Every 4 weeks $0.7578 50.30% 1.92% 0.00%
    CONY YieldMax™ COIN Option Income Strategy ETF Every 4 weeks $0.4381 70.66% 4.42% 94.62%
    CRSH YieldMax™ Short TSLA Option Income Strategy ETF Every 4 weeks $0.6458 128.93% 1.79% 98.10%
    CVNY YieldMax™ CVNA Option Income Strategy ETF Every 4 weeks $2.9684 96.98% 2.44% 99.08%
    DIPS YieldMax™ Short NVDA Option Income Strategy ETF Every 4 weeks $0.5851 61.20% 2.36% 96.87%
    DISO YieldMax™ DIS Option Income Strategy ETF Every 4 weeks $0.2879 26.29% 4.03% 51.26%
    FBY YieldMax™ META Option Income Strategy ETF Every 4 weeks $0.5506 43.57% 4.38% 0.00%
    FEAT YieldMax™ Dorsey Wright Featured 5 Income ETF Every 4 weeks $0.6925 24.82% 108.54% 0.00%
    FIAT YieldMax™ Short COIN Option Income Strategy ETF Every 4 weeks $0.9240 131.85% 1.73% 98.90%
    FIVY YieldMax™ Dorsey Wright Hybrid 5 Income ETF Every 4 weeks $0.7092 24.88% 69.37% 0.00%
    GDXY YieldMax™ Gold Miners Option Income Strategy ETF Every 4 weeks $0.6394 51.98% 2.77% 0.00%
    GOOY YieldMax™ GOOGL Option Income Strategy ETF Every 4 weeks $0.3284 35.52% 4.67% 0.00%
    JPMO YieldMax™ JPM Option Income Strategy ETF Every 4 weeks $0.3717 29.57% 4.01% 42.17%
    MARO YieldMax™ MARA Option Income Strategy ETF Every 4 weeks $1.4783 89.99% 4.90% 95.22%
    MRNY YieldMax™ MRNA Option Income Strategy ETF Every 4 weeks $0.1827 87.97% 4.65% 94.71%
    MSFO YieldMax™ MSFT Option Income Strategy ETF Every 4 weeks $0.3337 27.08% 3.75% 0.00%
    MSTY YieldMax™ MSTR Option Income Strategy ETF Every 4 weeks $1.3775 81.94% 0.50% 97.54%
    NFLY YieldMax™ NFLX Option Income Strategy ETF Every 4 weeks $0.6020 46.46% 3.58% 59.10%
    NVDY YieldMax™ NVDA Option Income Strategy ETF Every 4 weeks $0.7874 65.47% 4.01% 100.00%
    OARK YieldMax™ Innovation Option Income Strategy ETF Every 4 weeks $0.3210 53.55% 3.51% 71.26%
    PLTY YieldMax™ PLTR Option Income Strategy ETF Every 4 weeks $5.3257 117.62% 2.78% 97.91%
    PYPY YieldMax™ PYPL Option Income Strategy ETF Every 4 weeks $0.3521 33.82% 4.19% 0.00%
    SMCY YieldMax™ SMCI Option Income Strategy ETF Every 4 weeks $1.9742 120.52% 3.01% 0.00%
    SNOY YieldMax™ SNOW Option Income Strategy ETF Every 4 weeks $0.8119 66.34% 3.01% 0.00%
    XYZY YieldMax™ XYZ Option Income Strategy ETF Every 4 weeks $0.5014 58.85% 6.32% 91.68%
    TSLY YieldMax™ TSLA Option Income Strategy ETF Every 4 weeks $0.4638 68.19% 3.87% 94.16%
    TSMY YieldMax™ TSM Option Income Strategy ETF Every 4 weeks $0.5772 49.86% 3.61% 93.02%
    WNTR* YieldMax™ Short MSTR Option Income Strategy ETF Every 4 weeks – – – –
    XOMO YieldMax™ XOM Option Income Strategy ETF Every 4 weeks $0.2950 25.83% 3.18% 77.73%
    YBIT YieldMax™ Bitcoin Option Income Strategy ETF Every 4 weeks $0.4357 55.47% 1.52% 97.70%
    YQQQ YieldMax™ Short N100 Option Income Strategy ETF Every 4 weeks $0.4483 33.43% 3.08% 92.77%


    Performance data quoted represents past performance and is no guarantee of future results. Investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate so that an investor’s shares, when sold or redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost and current performance may be lower or higher than the performance quoted above. Performance current to the most recent month-end can be obtained by calling     (833) 378-0717.

    Note: DIPS, FIAT, CRSH, YQQQ and WNTR are hereinafter referred to as the “Short ETFs.”

    Distributions are not guaranteed.   The Distribution Rate and 30-Day SEC Yield are not indicative of future distributions, if any, on the ETFs. In particular, future distributions on any ETF may differ significantly from its Distribution Rate or 30-Day SEC Yield. You are not guaranteed a distribution under the ETFs. Distributions for the ETFs (if any) are variable and may vary significantly from period to period and may be zero. Accordingly, the Distribution Rate and 30-Day SEC Yield will change over time, and such change may be significant.

    Investors in the Funds will not have rights to receive dividends or other distributions with respect to the underlying reference asset(s).

    *The inception date for WNTR is March 26, 2025.

    1  All YieldMax™ ETFs shown in the table above (except YMAX, YMAG, FEAT, FIVY and ULTY) have a gross expense ratio of 0.99%. YMAX, YMAG and FEAT have a Management Fee of 0.29% and Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses of 0.99% for a gross expense ratio of 1.28%. FIVY has a Management Fee of 0.29% and Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses of 0.59% for a gross expense ratio of 0.88%. “Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses” are indirect fees and expenses that the Fund incurs from investing in the shares of other investment companies, namely other YieldMax™ ETFs. ULTY has a gross expense ratio after the fee waiver of 1.30%. The Advisor has agreed to a fee waiver of 0.10% through at least February 28, 2026. 

    2The Distribution Rate shown is as of close on April 2, 2025. The Distribution Rate is the annual distribution rate an investor would receive if the most recent distribution, which includes option income, remained the same going forward. The Distribution Rate is calculated by annualizing an ETF’s Distribution per Share and dividing such annualized amount by the ETF’s most recent NAV. The Distribution Rate represents a single distribution from the ETF and does not represent its total return. Distributions may also include a combination of ordinary dividends, capital gain, and return of investor capital, which may decrease an ETF’s NAV and trading price over time. As a result, an investor may suffer significant losses to their investment. These Distribution Rates may be caused by unusually favorable market conditions and may not be sustainable. Such conditions may not continue to exist and there should be no expectation that this performance may be repeated in the future.

    3  The 30-Day SEC Yield represents net investment income, which excludes option income, earned by such ETF over the 30-Day period ended March 31, 2025, expressed as an annual percentage rate based on such ETF’s share price at the end of the 30-Day period.

    4  Each ETF’s strategy (except those of the Short ETFs) will cap potential gains if its reference asset’s shares increase in value, yet subjects an investor to all potential losses if the reference asset’s shares decrease in value. Such potential losses may not be offset by income received by the ETF. Each Short ETF’s strategy will cap potential gains if its reference asset decreases in value, yet subjects an investor to all potential losses if the reference asset increases in value. Such potential losses may not be offset by income received by the ETF.

    5  ROC refers to Return of Capital. The ROC percentage is the portion of the distribution that represents an investor’s original investment.

    Each Fund has a limited operating history and while each Fund’s objective is to provide current income, there is no guarantee the Fund will make a distribution. Distributions are likely to vary greatly in amount.

    Standardized Performance

    For YMAX, click here. For YMAG, click here. For TSLY, click here. For OARK, click here. For APLY, click here. For NVDY, click here. For AMZY, click here. For FBY, click here. For GOOY, click here. For NFLY, click here. For CONY, click here. For MSFO, click here. For DISO, click here. For XOMO, click here. For JPMO, click here. For AMDY, click here. For PYPY, click here. For XYZY, click here. For MRNY, click here. For AIYY, click here. For MSTY, click here. For ULTY, click here. For YBIT, click here. For CRSH, click here. For GDXY, click here. For SNOY, click here. For ABNY, click here. For FIAT, click here. For DIPS, click here. For BABO, click here. For YQQQ, click here. For TSMY, click here. For SMCY, click here. For PLTY, click here. For BIGY, click here. For SOXY, click here. For MARO, click here. For FEAT, click here. For FIVY, click here. For LFGY, click here. For GPTY, click here. For CVNY, click here. For SDTY, click here. For QDTY, click here. For RDTY, click here. For WNTR, click here.

    Important Information

    This material must be preceded or accompanied by the prospectus. For all prospectuses, click here.

    Tidal Financial Group is the adviser for all YieldMax™ ETFs.

    THE FUND, TRUST, AND ADVISER ARE NOT AFFILIATED WITH ANY UNDERLYING REFERENCE ASSET.

    Risk Disclosures

    Investing involves risk. Principal loss is possible.

    Referenced Index Risk. The Fund invests in options contracts that are based on the value of the Index (or the Index ETFs). This subjects the Fund to certain of the same risks as if it owned shares of companies that comprised the Index or an ETF that tracks the Index, even though it does not.

    Indirect Investment Risk. The Index is not affiliated with the Trust, the Fund, the Adviser, or their respective affiliates and is not involved with this offering in any way. Investors in the Fund will not have the right to receive dividends or other distributions or any other rights with respect to the companies that comprise the Index but will be subject to declines in the performance of the Index.

    Russell 2000 Index Risks. The Index, which consists of small-cap U.S. companies, is particularly susceptible to economic changes, as these firms often have less financial resilience than larger companies. Market volatility can disproportionately affect these smaller businesses, leading to significant price swings. Additionally, these companies are often more exposed to specific industry risks and have less diverse revenue streams. They can also be more vulnerable to changes in domestic regulatory or policy environments.

    Call Writing Strategy Risk. The path dependency (i.e., the continued use) of the Fund’s call writing strategy will impact the extent that the Fund participates in the positive price returns of the underlying reference asset and, in turn, the Fund’s returns, both during the term of the sold call options and over longer periods.

    Counterparty Risk. The Fund is subject to counterparty risk by virtue of its investments in options contracts. Transactions in some types of derivatives, including options, are required to be centrally cleared (“cleared derivatives”). In a transaction involving cleared derivatives, the Fund’s counterparty is a clearing house rather than a bank or broker. Since the Fund is not a member of clearing houses and only members of a clearing house (“clearing members”) can participate directly in the clearing house, the Fund will hold cleared derivatives through accounts at clearing members.

    Derivatives Risk. Derivatives are financial instruments that derive value from the underlying reference asset or assets, such as stocks, bonds, or funds (including ETFs), interest rates or indexes. The Fund’s investments in derivatives may pose risks in addition to, and greater than, those associated with directly investing in securities or other ordinary investments, including risk related to the market, imperfect correlation with underlying investments or the Fund’s other Index (or ETFs that track the Index’s performance)holdings, higher price volatility, lack of availability, counterparty risk, liquidity, valuation and legal restrictions.

    Options Contracts. The use of options contracts involves investment strategies and risks different from those associated with ordinary Index (or ETFs that track the Index’s performance) securities transactions. The prices of options are volatile and are influenced by, among other things, actual and anticipated changes in the value of the underlying instrument, including the anticipated volatility, which are affected by fiscal and monetary policies and by national and international political, changes in the actual or implied volatility or the reference asset, the time remaining until the expiration of the option contract and economic events.

    Distribution Risk. As part of the Fund’s investment objective, the Fund seeks to provide current income. There is no assurance that the Fund will make a distribution in any given period. If the Fund does make distributions, the amounts of such distributions will likely vary greatly from one distribution to the next. Additionally, monthly distributions, if any, may consist of returns of capital, which would decrease the Fund’s NAV and trading price over time.

    High Index (or Index ETF) Turnover Risk. The Fund may actively and frequently trade all or a significant portion of the Fund’s holdings. A high Index (or Index ETF) turnover rate increases transaction costs, which may increase the Fund’s expenses.

    Liquidity Risk. Some securities held by the Fund, including options contracts, may be difficult to sell or be illiquid, particularly during times of market turmoil.

    Non-Diversification Risk. Because the Fund is “non-diversified,” it may invest a greater percentage of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers than if it was a diversified fund.

    New Fund Risk. The Fund is a recently organized management investment company with no operating history. As a result, prospective investors do not have a track record or history on which to base their investment decisions.

    Price Participation Risk. The Fund employs an investment strategy that includes the sale of call option contracts, which limits the degree to which the Fund will participate in increases in value experienced by the underlying reference asset over the Call Period.

    Inflation Risk. Inflation risk is the risk that the value of assets or income from investments will be less in the future as inflation decreases the value of money. As inflation increases, the present value of the Fund’s assets and distributions, if any, may decline.

    Single Issuer Risk. Issuer-specific attributes may cause an investment in the Fund to be more volatile than a traditional pooled investment which diversifies risk or the market generally. The value of the Fund, which focuses on an individual security (ARKK, TSLA, AAPL, NVDA, AMZN, META, GOOGL, NFLX, COIN, MSFT, DIS, XOM, JPM, AMD, PYPL, SQ, MRNA, AI, MSTR, Bitcoin ETP, GDX®, SNOW, ABNB, BABA, TSM, SMCI, PLTR, MARA, CVNA), may be more volatile than a traditional pooled investment or the market as a whole and may perform differently from the value of a traditional pooled investment or the market as a whole.

    Risk Disclosures (applicable only to GPTY)

    Artificial Intelligence Risk. Issuers engaged in artificial intelligence typically have high research and capital expenditures and, as a result, their profitability can vary widely, if they are profitable at all. The space in which they are engaged is highly competitive and issuers’ products and services may become obsolete very quickly. These companies are heavily dependent on intellectual property rights and may be adversely affected by loss or impairment of those rights. The issuers are also subject to legal, regulatory and political changes that may have a large impact on their profitability. A failure in an issuer’s product or even questions about the safety of the product could be devastating to the issuer, especially if it is the marquee product of the issuer. It can be difficult to accurately capture what qualifies as an artificial intelligence company.

    Technology Sector Risk. The Fund will invest substantially in companies in the information technology sector, and therefore the performance of the Fund could be negatively impacted by events affecting this sector. Market or economic factors impacting technology companies and companies that rely heavily on technological advances could have a significant effect on the value of the Fund’s investments. The value of stocks of information technology companies and companies that rely heavily on technology is particularly vulnerable to rapid changes in technology product cycles, rapid product obsolescence, government regulation and competition, both domestically and internationally, including competition from foreign competitors with lower production costs. Stocks of information technology companies and companies that rely heavily on technology, especially those of smaller, less-seasoned companies, tend to be more volatile than the overall market. Information technology companies are heavily dependent on patent and intellectual property rights, the loss or impairment of which may adversely affect profitability.

    Risk Disclosure (applicable only to MARO)

    Digital Assets Risk: The Fund does not invest directly in Bitcoin or any other digital assets. The Fund does not invest directly in derivatives that track the performance of Bitcoin or any other digital assets. The Fund does not invest in or seek direct exposure to the current “spot” or cash price of Bitcoin. Investors seeking direct exposure to the price of Bitcoin should consider an investment other than the Fund. Digital assets like Bitcoin, designed as mediums of exchange, are still an emerging asset class. They operate independently of any central authority or government backing and are subject to regulatory changes and extreme price volatility.

    Risk Disclosures (applicable only to BABO and TSMY)

    Currency Risk: Indirect exposure to foreign currencies subjects the Fund to the risk that currencies will decline in value relative to the U.S. dollar. Currency rates in foreign countries may fluctuate significantly over short periods of time for a number of reasons, including changes in interest rates and the imposition of currency controls or other political developments in the U.S. or abroad.

    Depositary Receipts Risk: The securities underlying BABO and TSMY are American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”). Investment in ADRs may be less liquid than the underlying shares in their primary trading market.

    Foreign Market and Trading Risk: The trading markets for many foreign securities are not as active as U.S. markets and may have less governmental regulation and oversight.

    Foreign Securities Risk: Investments in securities of non-U.S. issuers involve certain risks that may not be present with investments in securities of U.S. issuers, such as risk of loss due to foreign currency fluctuations or to political or economic instability, as well as varying regulatory requirements applicable to investments in non-U.S. issuers. There may be less information publicly available about a non-U.S. issuer than a U.S. issuer. Non-U.S. issuers may also be subject to different regulatory, accounting, auditing, financial reporting and investor protection standards than U.S. issuers.

    Risk Disclosures (applicable only to GDXY)

    Risk of Investing in Foreign Securities. The Fund is exposed indirectly to the securities of foreign issuers selected by GDX®’s investment adviser, which subjects the Fund to the risks associated with such companies. Investments in the securities of foreign issuers involve risks beyond those associated with investments in U.S. securities.

    Risk of Investing in Gold and Silver Mining Companies. The Fund is exposed indirectly to gold and silver mining companies selected by GDX®’s investment adviser, which subjects the Fund to the risks associated with such companies.

    The Fund invests in options contracts based on the value of the VanEck Gold Miners ETF (GDX®), which subjects the Fund to some of the same risks as if it owned GDX®, as well as the risks associated with Canadian, Australian and Emerging Market Issuers, and Small-and Medium-Capitalization companies.

    Risk Disclosures (applicable only to YBIT)

    YBIT does not invest directly in Bitcoin or any other digital assets. YBIT does not invest directly in derivatives that track the performance of Bitcoin or any other digital assets. YBIT does not invest in or seek direct exposure to the current “spot” or cash price of Bitcoin. Investors seeking direct exposure to the price of Bitcoin should consider an investment other than YBIT.

    Bitcoin Investment Risk: The Fund’s indirect investment in Bitcoin, through holdings in one or more Underlying ETPs, exposes it to the unique risks of this emerging innovation. Bitcoin’s price is highly volatile, and its market is influenced by the changing Bitcoin network, fluctuating acceptance levels, and unpredictable usage trends.

    Digital Assets Risk: Digital assets like Bitcoin, designed as mediums of exchange, are still an emerging asset class. They operate independently of any central authority or government backing and are subject to regulatory changes and extreme price volatility. Potentially No 1940 Act Protections. As of the date of this Prospectus, there is only a single eligible Underlying ETP, and it is an investment company subject to the 1940 Act.

    Bitcoin ETP Risk: The Fund invests in options contracts that are based on the value of the Bitcoin ETP. This subjects the Fund to certain of the same risks as if it owned shares of the Bitcoin ETP, even though it does not. Bitcoin ETPs are subject, but not limited, to significant risk and heightened volatility. An investor in a Bitcoin ETP may lose their entire investment. Bitcoin ETPs are not suitable for all investors. In addition, not all Bitcoin ETPs are registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940. Those Bitcoin ETPs that are not registered under such statute are therefore not subject to the same regulations as exchange traded products that are so registered.

    Risk Disclosures (applicable only to the Short ETFs)

    Investing involves risk. Principal loss is possible.

    Price Appreciation Risk. As part of the Fund’s synthetic covered put strategy, the Fund purchases and sells call and put option contracts that are based on the value of the underlying reference asset. This strategy subjects the Fund to certain of the same risks as if it shorted the underlying reference asset, even though it does not. By virtue of the Fund’s indirect inverse exposure to changes in the value of the underlying reference asset, the Fund is subject to the risk that the value of the underlying reference asset increases. If the value of the underlying reference asset increases, the Fund will likely lose value and, as a result, the Fund may suffer significant losses.

    Put Writing Strategy Risk. The path dependency (i.e., the continued use) of the Fund’s put writing (selling) strategy will impact the extent that the Fund participates in decreases in the value of the underlying reference asset and, in turn, the Fund’s returns, both during the term of the sold put options and over longer periods.

    Purchased OTM Call Options Risk. The Fund’s strategy is subject to potential losses if the underlying reference asset increases in value, which may not be offset by the purchase of out-of-the-money (OTM) call options. The Fund purchases OTM calls to seek to manage (cap) the Fund’s potential losses from the Fund’s short exposure to the underlying reference asset if it appreciates significantly in value. However, the OTM call options will cap the Fund’s losses only to the extent that the value of the underlying reference asset increases to a level that is at or above the strike level of the purchased OTM call options. Any increase in the value of the underlying reference asset to a level that is below the strike level of the purchased OTM call options will result in a corresponding loss for the Fund. For example, if the OTM call options have a strike level that is approximately 100% above the then-current value of the underlying reference asset at the time of the call option purchase, and the value of the underlying reference asset increases by at least 100% during the term of the purchased OTM call options, the Fund will lose all its value. Since the Fund bears the costs of purchasing the OTM calls, such costs will decrease the Fund’s value and/or any income otherwise generated by the Fund’s investment strategy.

    Counterparty Risk. The Fund is subject to counterparty risk by virtue of its investments in options contracts. Transactions in some types of derivatives, including options, are required to be centrally cleared (“cleared derivatives”). In a transaction involving cleared derivatives, the Fund’s counterparty is a clearing house rather than a bank or broker. Since the Fund is not a member of clearing houses and only members of a clearing house (“clearing members”) can participate directly in the clearing house, the Fund will hold cleared derivatives through accounts at clearing members.

    Derivatives Risk. Derivatives are financial instruments that derive value from the underlying reference asset or assets, such as stocks, bonds, or funds (including ETFs), interest rates or indexes. The Fund’s investments in derivatives may pose risks in addition to, and greater than, those associated with directly investing in securities or other ordinary investments, including risk related to the market, imperfect correlation with underlying investments or the Fund’s other portfolio holdings, higher price volatility, lack of availability, counterparty risk, liquidity, valuation and legal restrictions.

    Options Contracts. The use of options contracts involves investment strategies and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. The prices of options are volatile and are influenced by, among other things, actual and anticipated changes in the value of the underlying reference asset, including the anticipated volatility, which are affected by fiscal and monetary policies and by national and international political, changes in the actual or implied volatility or the reference asset, the time remaining until the expiration of the option contract and economic events.

    Distribution Risk. As part of the Fund’s investment objective, the Fund seeks to provide current income. There is no assurance that the Fund will make a distribution in any given period. If the Fund does make distributions, the amounts of such distributions will likely vary greatly from one distribution to the next.

    High Portfolio Turnover Risk. The Fund may actively and frequently trade all or a significant portion of the Fund’s holdings.

    Liquidity Risk. Some securities held by the Fund, including options contracts, may be difficult to sell or be illiquid, particularly during times of market turmoil.

    Non-Diversification Risk. Because the Fund is “non-diversified,” it may invest a greater percentage of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers than if it was a diversified fund.

    New Fund Risk. The Fund is a recently organized management investment company with no operating history. As a result, prospective investors do not have a track record or history on which to base their investment decisions.

    Price Participation Risk. The Fund employs an investment strategy that includes the sale of put option contracts, which limits the degree to which the Fund will participate in decreases in value experienced by the underlying reference asset over the Put Period.

    Single Issuer Risk. Issuer-specific attributes may cause an investment in the Fund to be more volatile than a traditional pooled investment which diversifies risk or the market generally. The value of the Fund, for any Fund that focuses on an individual security (e.g., TSLA, COIN, NVDA, MSTR), may be more volatile than a traditional pooled investment or the market as a whole and may perform differently from the value of a traditional pooled investment or the market as a whole.

    Inflation Risk. Inflation risk is the risk that the value of assets or income from investments will be less in the future as inflation decreases the value of money. As inflation increases, the present value of the Fund’s assets and distributions, if any, may decline.

    Risk Disclosures (applicable only to CHPY)

    Semiconductor Industry Risk. Semiconductor companies may face intense competition, both domestically and internationally, and such competition may have an adverse effect on their profit margins. Semiconductor companies may have limited product lines, markets, financial resources or personnel. Semiconductor companies’ supply chain and operations are dependent on the availability of materials that meet exacting standards and the use of third parties to provide components and services.

    The products of semiconductor companies may face obsolescence due to rapid technological developments and frequent new product introduction, unpredictable changes in growth rates and competition for the services of qualified personnel. Capital equipment expenditures could be substantial, and equipment generally suffers from rapid obsolescence. Companies in the semiconductor industry are heavily dependent on patent and intellectual property rights. The loss or impairment of these rights would adversely affect the profitability of these companies.

    Risk Disclosures (applicable only to YQQQ)

    Index Overview. The Nasdaq 100 Index is a benchmark index that includes 100 of the largest non-financial companies listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market, based on market capitalization.

    Index Level Appreciation Risk. As part of the Fund’s synthetic covered put strategy, the Fund purchases and sells call and put option contracts that are based on the Index level. This strategy subjects the Fund to certain of the same risks as if it shorted the Index, even though it does not. By virtue of the Fund’s indirect inverse exposure to changes in the Index level, the Fund is subject to the risk that the Index level increases. If the Index level increases, the Fund will likely lose value and, as a result, the Fund may suffer significant losses. The Fund may also be subject to the following risks: innovation and technological advancement; strong market presence of Index constituent companies; adaptability to global market trends; and resilience and recovery potential.

    Index Level Participation Risk. The Fund employs an investment strategy that includes the sale of put option contracts, which limits the degree to which the Fund will benefit from decreases in the Index level experienced over the Put Period. This means that if the Index level experiences a decrease in value below the strike level of the sold put options during a Put Period, the Fund will likely not experience that increase to the same extent and any Fund gains may significantly differ from the level of the Index losses over the Put Period. Additionally, because the Fund is limited in the degree to which it will participate in decreases in value experienced by the Index level over each Put Period, but has significant negative exposure to any increases in value experienced by the Index level over the Put Period, the NAV of the Fund may decrease over any given period. The Fund’s NAV is dependent on the value of each options portfolio, which is based principally upon the inverse of the performance of the Index level. The Fund’s ability to benefit from the Index level decreases will depend on prevailing market conditions, especially market volatility, at the time the Fund enters into the sold put option contracts and will vary from Put Period to Put Period. The value of the options contracts is affected by changes in the value and dividend rates of component companies that comprise the Index, changes in interest rates, changes in the actual or perceived volatility of the Index and the remaining time to the options’ expiration, as well as trading conditions in the options market. As the Index level changes and time moves towards the expiration of each Put Period, the value of the options contracts, and therefore the Fund’s NAV, will change. However, it is not expected for the Fund’s NAV to directly inversely correlate on a day-to-day basis with the returns of the Index level. The amount of time remaining until the options contract’s expiration date affects the impact that the value of the options contracts has on the Fund’s NAV, which may not be in full effect until the expiration date of the Fund’s options contracts. Therefore, while changes in the Index level will result in changes to the Fund’s NAV, the Fund generally anticipates that the rate of change in the Fund’s NAV will be different than the inverse of the changes experienced by the Index level.

    YieldMax™ ETFs are distributed by Foreside Fund Services, LLC. Foreside is not affiliated with Tidal Financial Group, or YieldMax™ ETFs.

    © 2025 YieldMax™ ETFs

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Prospect Capital’s Credit Ratings Reaffirmed Investment Grade by Egan-Jones Ratings Company

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    NEW YORK, April 03, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Prospect Capital Corporation (NASDAQ: PSEC) (“Prospect”, “our”, or “we”) today announced that Egan-Jones Ratings Company (“Egan-Jones”) has reaffirmed Prospect’s investment grade issuer and institutional notes credit ratings at BBB, and preferred stock credit ratings at BBB-.

    “We are very pleased that Egan-Jones has reaffirmed our issuer investment grade credit rating as well as investment grade credit ratings for our institutional notes and preferred stock,” said Grier Eliasek, President and Chief Operating Officer at Prospect.

    “We believe these investment grade credit ratings reflect the strength of Prospect’s solid franchise, long term performance, and low leverage,” said Mr. Eliasek.

    “We continue to execute our investment portfolio rotation strategy to emphasize first lien senior secured lending, with over 95% of originations in our first two quarters of fiscal 2025 comprising first lien senior secured loans,” said Mr. Eliasek.

    About Prospect Capital Corporation
    Prospect is a business development company lending to and investing in private businesses. Prospect’s investment objective is to generate both current income and long-term capital appreciation through debt and equity investments.

    Prospect has elected to be treated as a business development company under the Investment Company Act of 1940. Prospect has elected to be treated as a regulated investment company under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.

    Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
    This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, whose safe harbor for forward-looking statements does not apply to business development companies. Any such statements, other than statements of historical fact, are highly likely to be affected by other unknowable future events and conditions, including elements of the future that are or are not under our control, and that we may or may not have considered; accordingly, such statements cannot be guarantees or assurances of any aspect of future performance. Actual developments and results are highly likely to vary materially from any forward-looking statements. Such statements speak only as of the time when made, and we undertake no obligation to update any such statement now or in the future.

    For further information, contact:
    Grier Eliasek, President and Chief Operating Officer
    grier@prospectcap.com
    Telephone (212) 448-0702

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Use of e-governance and e-courts in Income Tax Appellate Tribunal

    Source: Government of India

    Use of e-governance and e-courts in Income Tax Appellate Tribunal

    Over 26,000 appeals and applications were filed electronically through e-filing portal up to 28.02.2025

    Court rooms at new office premises of ITAT, Delhi and Lucknow benches have also been equipped with the state-of-the-art video conferencing infrastructure

    State-of-the-art video conferencing infrastructure facilitating uninterrupted virtual/hybrid hearings

    Posted On: 03 APR 2025 4:06PM by PIB Delhi

    The e-filing portal has been launched in the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) for facilitating electronic filing of appeals, applications, petitions and documents, by the stakeholders. The e-filing portal continues to gain the acceptance of the stakeholders. Over 26,000 appeals and applications were filed electronically through e-filing portal before various benches of ITAT during the year, up to 28.02.2025. The provision of free and high-speed internet at various benches has been provided through Optical Fiber Cable (OFC), for access by all stakeholders. The Court rooms at new office premises of ITAT, Delhi and Lucknow benches have also been equipped with the state-of-the-art video conferencing infrastructure to provide better hybrid/virtual hearing experience to the stakeholders. The upgradation of infrastructure including installation of latest equipment is also being enabled continuously for facilitating uninterrupted virtual/hybrid hearings.

    In compliance with the directions of the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India, ITAT has implemented hybrid / virtual hearings at all Benches, in letter and spirit, which facilitates litigants to attend hearing of their cases virtually. The benches of ITAT are not declining the requests of the parties for virtual hearings. For the period from July 2023 to December 2024, a total 1,22,302 hearings of appeals have been conducted through video conferencing before various Benches of ITAT.

    This information was given by the Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Law and Justice and Minister of State in the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs Shri Arjun  Ram Meghwal in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha today.

    *****

    Samrat/Allen

    (Release ID: 2118248) Visitor Counter : 54

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025: Benefits of the Bill

    Source: Government of India

    Posted On: 03 APR 2025 4:16PM by PIB Delhi

    Introduction

    What is Waqf

    The concept of ‘Waqf’ is rooted in Islamic laws and traditions. It refers to an endowment made by a Muslim for charitable or religious purposes, such as building mosques, schools, hospitals, or other public institutions. Another defining feature of a Waqf is that it’s inalienable- which means it cannot be sold, gifted, inherited or encumbered. Therefore, once a property is divested from the waqif, i.e., the creator of a waqf, it vests in God and as per Islamic belief since God is ever lasting, so is the ‘waqf property’.

    Addressing Longstanding Issues

    The Waqf (Amendment) Bill aims to address issues such as –

     

    1. Lack of transparency in Waqf property management
    2. Incomplete surveys and mutation of Waqf land records
    3. Insufficient provisions for women’s inheritance rights
    4. Large number of prolonged litigations including encroachment. In 2013, there were 10,381 pending cases which have now increased to 21,618 cases.
    5. Irrational power of the Waqf Boards in declaring any property as waqf land based on their own inquiry.
    6. Large number of disputes related to government land declared as aqf.
    7. Lack of proper accounting and auditing of Waqf properties.
    8. Administrative inefficiencies in waqf management. ‘
    9. Improper treatment to Trust properties.
    10. Inadequate representation of stakeholders in Central Waqf Council and State Waqf Boards.        

     

    Modernizing the Waqf Bill

    The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025 aims to streamline the management of Waqf properties, with provisions to safeguard heritage sites and promote social welfare.

    1. Non-Muslim properties declared as Waqf– The Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2025 aims to streamline Waqf property management while safeguarding heritage sites and individual property rights. Various states have seen disputes over Waqf property claims, leading to legal battles and community concerns. As of data from September 2024, across 25 States/ UTs Waqf Boards, a total of 5973 government properties have been declared as Waqf properties. Some examples of the same:

     

    • Tamil Nadu: A farmer in Thiruchenthurai village was unable to sell his land due to the Waqf Board’s claim over the entire village. This unexpected requirement prevented him from selling his land to repay a loan for his daughter’s wedding.
    • Govindpur Village, Bihar: In August 2024, The Bihar Sunni Waqf Board’s claim over an entire village in August 2024 affected seven families, leading to a case in the Patna High Court. The case is sub-judice.
    • Kerala: In September 2024, around 600 Christian families in Ernakulam district are contesting the Waqf Board’s claim over their ancestral land. They have appealed to the Joint Parliamentary Committee.
    • Karnataka: In 2024, Farmers protested after the Waqf Board designated 15,000 acres in Vijayapura as Waqf land. Disputes also arose in Ballari, Chitradurga, Yadgir, and Dharwad. The government, however, assured that no evictions would take place.
    • Uttar Pradesh: Complaints have been raised against alleged corruption and mismanagement by the State Waqf Board.

    Further, the Joint Committee on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill (JCWAB) had also received some communications regarding unlawful claim of properties by Waqf Boards, some of which are as under:

    • Karnataka (1975 & 2020): 40 Waqf properties were notified, including farmlands, public spaces, government lands, graveyards, lakes, and temples.
    • The Punjab Waqf Board has claimed land belonging to the Education Department in Patiala.

    Additionally, MoHUA (Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs) informed the JPC during their presentation in September 2024, that 108 properties under control of Land and Development Office, 130 properties under control of Delhi Development Authority and 123 properties in the public domain were declared as Waqf properties and brought into litigation.

    1. Rights of Muslim Women and Legal Heirs– The Bill also seeks to improve the economic and social status of Muslim women, particularly widows and divorced women, by promoting self-help groups (SHGs) and financial independence programs.

    Additionally, the Bill aims at achieving the following for the benefit for Muslim women-

    • Transparency in Waqf Management – Digitizing waqf records to curb corruption.
    • Legal Aid & Social Welfare – Establishing legal support centers for family disputes and inheritance rights.
    • Cultural & Religious Identity – Strengthening cultural preservation and interfaith dialogue.

    Women’s involvement ensures transparency and directs Waqf resources towards:

    • Scholarships for Muslim girls
    • Healthcare and maternity welfare
    • Skill development and microfinance support for women entrepreneurs
    • Vocational training in fields like fashion design, healthcare, and entrepreneurship
    • Establishing legal aid centers for inheritance disputes and domestic violence cases
    • Pension schemes for widows

     

    1. Upliftment of the Poor

    Waqf plays a crucial role in serving religious, charitable, and social welfare needs, especially for the underprivileged. However, its impact has often been reduced due to mismanagement, encroachment, and lack of transparency. Some key benefits of Waqf for the Poor:

     

    1. Digitization for Transparency and Accountability
    • A centralized digital portal will track Waqf properties, ensuring better identification, monitoring, and management.
    • Auditing and accounting measures will prevent financial mismanagement and ensure funds are used only for welfare purposes.
    1. Increased Revenue for Welfare and Development
    • Preventing misuse and illegal occupation of Waqf lands will boost revenue for Waqf Boards, allowing them to expand welfare programs.
    • Funds will be allocated to healthcare, education, housing, and livelihood support, directly benefiting the economically weaker sections.
    • Regular audits and inspections will promote financial discipline and strengthen public confidence in Waqf management.

     

    1. Addressing Administrative Challenges–

    The Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2025 aims to improve governance by:

    • Enhancing transparency in property management.
    • Streamlining coordination between Waqf Boards and local authorities.
    • Ensuring stakeholder rights are protected.

     

    1. Empowerment of Backward classes & other sects of Muslim communities: The Bill aims at making the Waqf Board more inclusive having representation from different Muslim sects for better Waqf governance and decision-making-
    • The Bill mandates inclusion of one member each from Bohra and Aghakhani communities in State/UT Waqf Boards, if they have functional Auqaf.
    • Also, the Board will have representation from Muslims belonging to backward classes apart from Shia and Sunni members.
    • Includes two or more elected members from municipalities or Panchayats, strengthening local governance in waqf affairs.
    • The Board/CWC will have two non-Muslim members excluding the ex-officio members.

    Conclusion:

    The Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2025 establishes a secular, transparent, and accountable system for Waqf administration. While Waqf properties serve religious and charitable purposes, their management involves legal, financial, and administrative responsibilities that require structured governance. The role of Waqf Boards and the Central Waqf Council (CWC) is not religious but regulatory, ensuring legal compliance and safeguarding public interest. By introducing checks and balances, empowering stakeholders, and improving governance, the Bill sets a progressive and fair framework for Waqf administration in India.

    Kindly find the pdf file 

    ****

    Santosh Kumar/ Ritu Kataria/ Kritika Rane

     

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    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Garamendi and Beatty Reintroduce Legislation to Address Affordable Housing Crisis

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman John Garamendi – Representing California’s 3rd Congressional District

    WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Reps John Garamendi (D-CA-08) and Joyce Beatty (D-OH-03) reintroduced the bicameral HOME Investment Partnerships Reauthorization and Improvement Act to address America’s housing crisis. 

    Since 1992, the state of California has received over $5.7 billion from the HOME program as it built or preserved 125,167 homes benefiting 48,499 families. This bill will increase the amount of federal funds available for the HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME) at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Companion legislation in the U.S. Senate is led by Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (NV). 

    “While Republicans are cutting critical housing funding and evicting families, Democrats are focused on building new homes for working Americans,” said Representative Garamendi. “The Bay Area is facing a housing crisis where minimum wage workers must work nearly 96 hours a week to afford a modest one-bedroom apartment. This is unacceptable. This bill reauthorizes the HOME Investment Partnerships Program to provide states and local governments with the funding to construct and rehabilitate affordable rental housing and provide homeownership opportunities for working families. I’m thankful to Senator Cortez Masto for introducing the companion legislation in the Senate, and we will work every day to ensure this bill passes.” 

    “For over thirty years, the HOME program has provided critical funding for states to tackle the ever-growing housing crisis that is afflicting our country,” said Congresswoman Beatty. “From young professionals looking to grow their family, to seniors that need critical home repairs, hardworking Ohioans deserve safe, affordable housing – and this legislation makes it possible. I am proud to join Senator Cortez Masto and Congressman Garamendi in counteracting Republican-led attempts to cut critical housing funding for the American people. Instead, this legislation authorizes ample funding for the HOME program for the next five years; powering Ohio housing equality forward.” 

    The HOME program is the largest federal block grant to state and local governments to create affordable housing for low-income households. Since 1992, HOME has supported a wide variety of housing needs, from financing new construction and home repairs to funding down payment and rental assistance. It also provides additional funding to housing developments financed by the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, helping the program serve more extremely low-income people including seniors, veterans, those experiencing homelessness, and people with disabilities. 

    The program was last reauthorized in 1994 and needs critical updates to better address today’s housing crisis. 

    This bill, the HOME act, would: 

    • Authorize $5 billion in HOME funding for fiscal year 2025 and boost the funding for the program five percent annually through 2029. This legislation would address chronic underfunding of the affordable housing investment program.
    • Improve HOME’s ability to provide down payment assistance to homebuyers and home repair assistance to homeowners.
    • Enable HOME funds to support Community Land Trusts and other shared equity homeownership programs.
    • Increase access to HOME funds for nonprofits and provide state and local governments loan guarantee options that would allow them to leverage their future HOME funds for investments today. 

    The legislation is cosponsored by Senators Angela Alsobrooks (MD), John Fetterman (PA), Michael Bennet (CO), Jacky Rosen (NV), Tina Smith (MN), and Chris Van Hollen (MD), and Representatives Yassamin Ansari (AZ-03), Shontel Brown (OH-11), Julia Brownley (CA-26), Salud Carbajal (CA-24), Andre Carson (IN-7), Judy Chu (CA-28), Dwight Evans (PA-3), Bill Foster (IL-11), Sylvia Garcia (TX-29), Jimmy Gomez (CA-34), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC), Ilhan Omar (MN-5), Emilia Sykes (OH-13), Rashida Tlaib (MI-12), Juan Vargas (CA-52), Nydia Velázquez (NY-7), and Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12). 

    The bill is also supported by the National Council of State Housing Agencies, Institute of Real Estate Management, National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals, National Association of Realtors, Enterprise Community Partners, National Apartment Association, National Multifamily Housing Council, National NeighborWorks Association, National Community Development Association, National Alliance of Community Economic Development Associations, National Association of Local Housing Finance Agencies, Council of State Community Development Agencies, National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development, Local Initiatives Support Corporation, Grounded Solutions Network, and Habitat for Humanity. 

    You can find the full bill text HERE.

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: House Passes Rep. Chu’s Legislation to Provide Tax Filing Relief to Victims of Natural Disasters

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

    VIDEO: Rep. Chu’s Floor remarks before passage of H.R. 517, Filing Relief for Natural Disasters Act

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 517, Filing Relief for Natural Disasters Act, introduced by Reps. Judy Chu (CA-28) and David Kustoff (TN-08) by a vote of 388-0. 

    This bill would provide relief for impacted taxpayers in states that have issued state-level disaster declarations. Currently, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has the authority to postpone filing deadlines in the event of a presidentially-declared federal disaster, but this does not extend to state-level emergencies.

    Each year, states like California declare state-level emergencies for disasters like wildfires, floods, or earthquakes. Under current law, Californians are not eligible for federal filing relief for these disasters until they’re also declared by the President of the United States. Those declarations can take days or even weeks, which was the case in 2020 after devastating wildfires, including the Bobcat Fire in the San Gabriel Mountains, ravaged the state. That means taxpayers who just suffered a disaster might face two separate tax deadlines for state and federal returns. This legislation would ensure that victims can get the instantaneous federal filing relief they need to recover from natural disasters as soon as the Governor declares a state-level emergency. 

    “While President Biden immediately declared a federal disaster for the Los Angeles fires that devastated my district in January, that was unusually fast. That means that if disaster strikes during filing season, taxpayers run the risk of missing federal filing deadlines through no fault of their own. And, there may be serious natural disasters that affect taxpayers’ ability to file, but don’t ever get declared as a federal disaster,” said Rep. Chu.

    “Our bill solves these problems by giving Treasury and the IRS authority to postpone federal filing deadlines in response to a request by a governor that has declared a state-level disaster. And, it would double the minimum duration of these filing extensions from 60 to 120 days. 

    “I am proud that our bipartisan bill passed the House, and I continue to urge my colleagues to work with me to support the victims of January’s Los Angeles Fires, including the Eaton Fire in my district, by passing a supplemental disaster appropriations package with no strings attached.” 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Rep. Estes Reintroduces Legislation to Protect American Taxpayers

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Ron Estes (R-Kansas)

    Today, Rep. Ron Estes (R-Kansas), joined by every Ways and Means Republican, reintroduced the Unfair Tax Prevention Act to discourage foreign countries from attacking U.S. jobs and tax revenues through the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)’s Pillar 2 so-called Under Taxed Profit Rule (UTPR) surtax. The bill ensures that if a country moves forward with a UTPR surtax on American workers and businesses, the United States will impose a reciprocal tax measure that will apply as long as the foreign country’s unfair tax remains in place.
     
    “When it comes to international taxes, the United States should put American businesses and the U.S. Treasury first – a departure from the Biden administration’s policies of putting America last,” said Rep. Estes. “The OECD and their so-called Under Taxed Profit Rule in Pillar 2 is a disgraceful surtax that disproportionately impacts U.S. job creators and our country’s economic competitiveness by targeting our companies for foreign treasuries’ gains. Ways and Means Republicans stand behind President Trump, who has clearly stated that he will protect American interests in any global tax negotiations, in defending our tax base from unfair extraterritorial taxes by foreign countries. Our allies and partners should take note – abandon the UTPR surtax.”
     
    Background
    The Unfair Tax Prevention Act defends Americans from unfair taxation by foreign countries with a reciprocal tax measure for any country that decides to target Americans under the guise of the OECD deal:

    • Defines “foreign-owned extraterritorial tax regime entities” (FETR entities) as foreign-controlled entities connected with entities operating in jurisdictions with extraterritorial taxes aimed at U.S. business operations, including the UTPR surtax. 
    • Strengthens anti-avoidance rules in the U.S. base erosion and anti-abuse tax (BEAT), by eliminating the 3% base erosion percentage floor and the $500 million gross receipts test for FETR entities.
    • Revokes the ability of FETR entities to disregard certain service payments and payments subject to withholding taxes, and treats 50% of cost of goods sold as a base erosion tax benefit.
    • Accelerates the scheduled BEAT rate increase and tax credit changes for FETR entities.

    For years Rep. Estes has been sounding the alarm and pushing back against the OECD’s global tax scheme, and outside organizations, like the Federation of German Industries (BDI) and the American Free Enterprise Chamber of Commerce, agree. Earlier this week, he commented on reports that Treasury delivered a memo to the White House in response to President Donald Trump’s Jan. 20 executive action on OECD. In January, Rep. Estes praised President Trump’s executive actions rejecting the OECD tax deal. On that same day, he also joined Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith (R-Missouri) in introducing the Defending American Jobs and Investment Act. Earlier that month he published an op-ed in London’s Telegraph outlining U.S. opposition to the OECD deal. He previously published an op-ed with MP Priti Patel on the OECD Pillar Two tax scheme, led a letter to Treasury demanding accountability and traveled with Ways and Means colleague to Germany and France to discuss Pillar Two with European leaders. He also introduced legislation to impose reciprocal taxes on countries that use the OECD deal to impose unfair taxes on U.S. business and raid the U.S. tax base in the last Congress. Earlier, he penned an op-ed in The Hill outlining the concerns with the OECD deal and published a Bloomberg op-ed with Rep. Randy Feenstra (R-Iowa) highlighting how the OECD tax deal would harm the United States.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Kaine, Klobuchar & Warner Issue Statement Following Passage of Their Bill to Undo Trump’s Canada Tariffs

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Virginia Tim Kaine
    WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), and Mark R. Warner (D-VA) released the following statement after the Senate passed their bill in a 51-48 vote to undo President Trump’s tariffs on Canadian goods, which amount to a 25 percent tax on goods imported from one of America’s top trading partners and closest allies. The tariffs are part of a broader tariff strategy that the White House has admitted will extort $6 trillion in revenue from the American people, which would be the largest tax hike in U.S. history:
    “Working Americans want costs to go down, not a tax hike in the form of nonsensical tariffs. We sent a powerful message with this vote: we will not stand idly by while President Trump launches a needless trade war with Canada that will raise costs for families, hurt American businesses, and damage our relationship with one of our closest trading partners and allies. We thank our colleagues on both sides of the aisle who voted against Trump’s deranged mission to bypass Congress to enact these new taxes, and will do all that we can to build pressure on our colleagues in the U.S. House of Representatives to take up this legislation.”
    The legislation was cosponsored by U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Angus King (I-ME), Chris Coons (D-DE), Rand Paul (R-KY), Peter Welch (D-VT), and Andy Kim (D-NJ).
    The legislation was endorsed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the AFL-CIO, the United Steelworkers (USW), the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE), the National Retail Federation (NRF), the North America’s Building Trades Unions, the Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors’ National Association (SMACNA), the U.S. Conference of Mayors, Foreign Policy for America (FP4A), National Taxpayers Union, Taxpayers Protection Alliance, and Advancing American Freedom.
    Senator Kaine would like to thank his Economic Policy Legislative Assistant Paul Lapointe.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: WATCH: Padilla Proposes Resolution on the Floor to Limit the Use of Tariffs to Offset Republicans’ Tax Cuts

    US Senate News:

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

    WATCH: Padilla Proposes Resolution on the Floor to Limit the Use of Tariffs to Offset Republicans’ Tax Cuts

    WATCH: Padilla demands transparency from Republicans’ partisan budget planWASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), a member of the Senate Budget Committee, spoke on the Senate floor to propose a concurrent resolution to limit President Trump’s use of tariffs to offset $5.3 trillion in Republicans’ tax cuts for the wealthy. The resolution would simply demand basic transparency by requiring that any tariff used to offset tax cuts for the wealthy be explicitly written into the Republicans’ partisan reconciliation bill. Senator Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) objected to the resolution, which required unanimous consent to pass.
    In his remarks, Padilla blasted President Trump’s sweeping global tariffs, which will raise costs across the board for millions of working-class families. He called out Trump’s comments last week that he “couldn’t care less” if tariffs raise prices for American consumers. Padilla also highlighted the staggering hypocrisy of Republicans’ cuts to critical services like Medicaid, nutrition assistance, and public education while trying to pass trillions in tax cuts for billionaires.
    Full text of Senator Padilla’s resolution is available here.
    Key Excerpts:
    We have finally made it to Donald Trump’s promised and self-proclaimed “Liberation Day.” But here’s what I also observe. The stock market is down since the beginning of the year. The cost of everything from groceries to housing continues to rise. Americans’ retirement funds have shrunk. And the chances of a recession is up. That sure doesn’t feel like a liberation to me.
    Donald Trump campaigned on a promise to “lower prices on day one” of his Administration. But he’s done the exact opposite. His policies and his rhetoric are raising the cost of living for hundreds of millions of Americans.
    Let’s be clear: a tariff is a tax on the American people — plain and simple. Trump’s tariffs equate to the biggest tax hike on Americans in decades.
    American companies will have to pay more to import goods. And in turn, the American people will have to pay more to buy those products. Donald Trump knows this. It’s not that he doesn’t know; it’s that he doesn’t care. And those aren’t my words — they’re his.
    If nothing else, the Republican party’s economic plan has been consistent. They want to bleed the working class to benefit the rich. And they’re gonna lie to our faces as they try to do it. That’s unacceptable.
    My resolution would simply require that they be transparent with the American people. It would require that any tariff used to offset tax cuts for the wealthy must be explicitly written into the text of the Republican reconciliation bill. If Republicans want to increase prices on hardworking Americans to give handouts to billionaires, then own it. You should not be allowed to hide behind President Trump as you do it.
    Be transparent. Be honest. Put these price increases into the bill. Tell the American people what you really stand for. Because when Americans ask why their grocery bills and their energy bills and all their other bills go up, they deserve to know why — and they deserve to know who caused it. And then we’ll see who’s really on the side of the working class.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Ahead of Vote on Resolution to Undo Trump’s Taxes on Canadian Goods, Shaheen Highlights the Devastating Consequences for Small Businesses on Senate Floor

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for New Hampshire Jeanne Shaheen

    (Washington, DC) – Following President Trump’s announcement of sweeping new tariffs, U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) took to the Senate floor to highlight the devastating economic impacts that President Trump’s tariffs and trade war will have on American families and the economy. The speech came ahead of a vote on U.S. Senator Tim Kaine’s (D-VA) joint resolution with U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Mark R. Warner (D-VA) to end Trump’s tariffs on Canada. Some estimates have shown that Trump’s tariffs could raise costs for the average American household by up to $2,000 per year. You can watch Senator Shaheen’s speech here. 

    Key quotes from Senator Shaheen:

    • “On Monday I visited a bakery in Derry, New Hampshire, that may have to go out of business due to what President Trump is proposing on tariffs on Canada. […] Mr. Chatila said to me, and I quote, ‘When I came, this was the American dream, which is why we built it. But now you see it in front of your eyes. It’s just melted like ice.’” 
    • “Imposing tariffs against Canada is not the way to fight fentanyl and other drugs. This kind of legislation, like the HALT Fentanyl Act, is something that is going to have much more of an impact.” 
       
    • “The message to the American people from this administration is increasingly clear: they do not care about you and what your needs are.”
    • “He is taxing all of the goods that people buy every day and what he doesn’t tell you is that the reason he’s doing this is so that he can give more money to provide tax cuts for the top 1% of the income earners in the country, so the billionaires.”

    You can read Shaheen’s remarks as delivered below:

    I came to the floor to join my colleagues because I am so concerned about the damaging impact of President Trump’s tariff taxes—and I call them taxes because that’s what they really are—about those tariffs particularly on Canada, although we heard today that he’s announced a number of others.

    On Monday, I’ve been hearing from a lot of small businesses in New Hampshire, but on Monday I visited a bakery in Derry, New Hampshire, that may have to go out of business due to what President Trump is proposing on tariffs on Canada. 

    Now, the owner of Chatila’s Bakery moved to the United States 36 years ago.

     He’s a cardiologist and with his brother, a PhD. Scientist, they’re from Lebanon. 

    He became a citizen.

    He raised his family and sent his daughter to college, and he and his brother got interested in sugar free desserts and candies because their mother was diabetic. 

    So he spent the last 36 years building his business, and now he might have to sell his factory because of the trade war that President Trump has started with Canada. 

    Chatila’s Bakery makes sugar free desserts.

    They get some of their ingredients from Canada. 

    All of those ingredients are now more expensive and while I was there, he showed me a fuel bill he had just gotten, that said that because of the tariffs, his fuel bill was going up. 

    But more important than that, 85% of his business comes from exporting to Canadian customers. 

    Most of his sales contracts in Canada were canceled after these tariffs went into effect last month.

    So he says he’s going to lose between $400,000 and $500,000 this year in the business. 

    Now, President Trump says he’s worried about trade imbalances and that he wants to support exporters.

     Well, here is an American small business and an exporter and because of what this president is doing with his reckless trade war, this small business owner might go out of business.

    So Mr. Chatila said to me, and I quote, “When I came, this was the American dream, which is why we built it. But now you see it in front of your eyes. It’s just melted like ice.”

    And I asked him what he would like to ask President Trump if he had the opportunity, and he said his question was to the president, “What do you want me to do? If you really care about your country, why don’t you support small businesses which are the backbone of every community?”

     I think that said it about as well as anybody I’ve heard. 

    And we know, sadly, that his business is not the only one. 

    Many of our small businesses in New Hampshire are reliant on travel and tourism. 

    I’ve heard from businesses across our state about Canadian tourists canceling plans already, about bookings that they rely on that are not going to come through.

    Last week, we saw that airline tickets for travelers coming from Canada this summer are down more than 70% from this time last year. 

    That represents lost business for my constituents and for businesses and communities across this country. 

    All of this will put their businesses at risk, and it will do so when they are also facing higher costs for inputs because of these tariff taxes.

    Two weeks ago, I visited a bus company, runs bus lines between the seacoast of New Hampshire and Boston and New York. 

    They’re facing $500,000 in added costs because of these tariffs and now, on top of that, he stands to lose business because fewer people are visiting the United States—He also goes between the seacoast and Logan Airport.

    All of that because the president has damaged the relationship we have with one of our closest allies.

    It doesn’t make sense to me. 

    What is the logic of antagonizing those allies and partners that we rely on? 

    And lest anyone forget, the president is claiming that the flow of fentanyl from Canada justifies all this.

    Well, fentanyl and other drugs are serious issues, and I’ve spent much of my time in the Senate doing what I can to help stop those drugs from entering the United States and to getting help for those who need it.

    Just last month, the Senate passed the HALT Fentanyl Act, which is legislation that I co-sponsored along with a lot of my colleagues, which would permanently schedule fentanyl related substances. 

    Imposing tariffs against Canada is not the way to fight fentanyl and other drugs. 

    This kind of legislation, like the HALT Fentanyl Act, is something that is going to have much more of an impact.

    CBP statistics show that all the fentanyl seized along the northern border from the beginning of 2022 until now is 71 pounds. 

    Now, that’s a lot of fentanyl, and that could kill a lot of people, so I don’t endorse that by any means. 

    But you compare that with the 67,966 pounds that have been seized along the US-Mexico border for the same period of time.

    Wouldn’t it make more sense to focus on where most of this fentanyl is coming from? 

    Instead of imposing tariffs, we should be working cooperatively with our allies and partners, and Canada has taken a number of steps to crack down and to stop drugs from coming into the United States. 

    The tariffs that are in place before today are likely to raise costs by nearly $2,000 for the average household.

    That’s money many families in New Hampshire and across this country can’t afford to pay when they’re trying to cover the cost of groceries, of housing, of child care, of energy, all of those things that President Trump, when he was running for president, said he was going to address.

    I’ve heard from many New Hampshire families about how these tariffs will raise prices for keeping their homes warm, for putting gas in their cars.

    And now the Trump administration has reportedly fired the entire staff of the LIHEAP program that helps families and seniors heat their homes when they can’t afford to pay. 

    The message to the American people from this administration is increasingly clear: they do not care about you and what your needs are. 

    So voting for Senator Kaine’s resolution presents an opportunity for Congress to help Americans who are worried about higher costs.

    I intend to vote for this resolution to end the tariffs on Canada, to lower costs for Americans and to help our small businesses and I hope all my colleagues will do the same. 

    Now, I just want to add that in the last hour, President Trump announced a new tax of 10% on everything Americans import with far higher taxes on many countries.

    Everything from the EU will now face a 20% tax. 

    Japan and South Korea 25%. 

    I mean, again, the rationale for why we are going after our allies and partners makes no sense. 

    And this is a tremendous tax increase on American business and families. 

    Likely the largest peacetime tax increase in U.S. history. 

    This new Trump tariff tax will add at least another $3,000 to the costs for an average household.

    And again, this president promised he was going to lower costs for families.

    This does nothing to do that. 

    He is taxing all of the goods that people buy every day and what he doesn’t tell you is that the reason he’s doing this is so that he can give more money to provide tax cuts for the top 1% of the income earners in the country, so the billionaires. 

    I don’t think this tax increase is going to help the small business owner I visited on Monday, or the families in my state and across this country who are trying to afford groceries, and I intend to vote to end those tariffs on Canada today when I have the opportunity. 

    I hope my colleagues will join me.

    Thank you.

    Senator Shaheen is leading efforts in Congress to mitigate the harmful impacts of President Trump’s tariffs. Earlier today, Shaheen released a statement condemning President Trump’s announcement that he will impose 10 percent tariffs on all imported goods, with far higher taxes on many more countries at midnight. In January, Shaheen introduced the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes on Imported Goods Act which would limit the president’s ability to leverage sweeping tariffs that increase costs for American consumers and families. Her effort to pass this bill by unanimous consent was blocked by Senate Republicans. In recent weeks, Shaheen has traveled across the Granite State to visit businesses including Chatila’s Bakery, C&J, DCI Furniture, Mount Cabot Maple and American Calan Inc. to hear directly from Granite Staters impacted by the looming tariffs.   

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Congressman Guthrie Presents Local Students with 2024 Congressional App Challenge Awards

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Brett Guthrie (2nd District Kentucky)

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02) presented winning Louisville area student groups awards for the 2024 Congressional Art Competition. The Congressional App Challenge allows middle and high school students to compete with peers in their own Congressional District by creating and exhibiting their software applications, or “apps,” for mobile, tablet, or computer devices on a platform of their choice.

    “I am so proud to see the hard work and thoughtfulness that our local students put into the designing their apps,” said Congressman Guthrie. “In total, more than 30 student groups from across our district showcased immense ingenuity in their submissions. From developing ways to increase access to mental health resources, to improving physical health, to deepening an individuals’ relationship with God, these students solved real-world problems using modern technology. I know that all these students have a bright future ahead and our nation is in good hands with the next generation!”

    Photos from yesterday’s event can be found here.

    OVERALL SECOND PLACE: Serenity by Sharvil Saxena from Dupont Manual High School. This app is designed to improve a user’s mental health by including guided daily meditations, a mood tracker, an Artificial Intelligence (AI) chatbox to provide real-time emotional support, and a built-in interface to connect individuals with professional mental health providers as needed.

    OVERALL THRID PLACE: Personalized Intelligent Fitness & Nutrition Assistant by Manit Gupta & Bhavit Gupta from DuPont Manual High School & Meyzeek Middle School. This app works to educate users and improve health outcomes by developing individualized exercise routines, dietary recommendations based on available food, and data tracking to detect potential health issues.

    MIDDLE SCHOOL FIRST PLACE: Mindful Memory by Ava Zernickow from Hebron Middle School. Mindful Memory is an educational app designed to provide resources for family and loved ones of dementia patients as well as being directly used by individuals living with mild cases of dementia to help them navigate the illness. 

    MIDDLE SCHOOL SECOND PLACE: Chosen by Callie Pryor from Hebron Middle School. This app provides information and resources about the adoption process for families looking to expand their family through adoption. 

    MIDDLE SCHOOL THIRD PLACE: Just Breathe by Mia Johnson, Leela Schroerlucke, Philippa Bryant and Elaine Paul from Hebron Middle School. This app provides tools and resources to middle and high school students to navigate daily stress and anxiety.

    MIDDLE SCHOOL FOURTH PLACE: Mind Bible by Katie Ousley & Evelyn Kardols from Hebron Middle School. This app is designed to further teenagers’ relationship with God by providing educational opportunities about the Bible and Christianity.

    The Congressional App Challenge was established by Members of the U.S. House of Representatives in 2014 and is a nationwide event intended to engage students’ creativity and encourage their participation in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) fields. Eligibility is limited to students currently enrolled in middle or high school and either reside or attend school in the district. The overall first place submission will be invited to the #HouseofCode Showcase in Washington D.C. later this Spring.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Doggett, Davis, Kelly, Feenstra Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Improve Financial Assistance for College

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Lloyd Doggett (D-TX)

    Contact: Alexis.Torres@mail.house.gov

    Washington, D.C. – U.S. Representatives Lloyd Doggett (D-TX), senior member of the House Ways and Means Committee, Danny K. Davis (D-IL), ranking member of the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Worker and Family Support, Mike Kelly (R-PA), Chairman of the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Tax, and Randy Feenstra (R-IA) introduced the bipartisan Tax-Free Pell Grants Act to remove a financial and logistical barrier impairing students from securing higher education opportunities. Specifically, the legislation expands the usage of Pell Grants on a tax-free basis, improves coordination with the American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC), and ensures students do not lose out on any AOTC benefits. An incredibly timely solution as ongoing cuts to postsecondary institutions and research labs across the country result in lost revenue and financial gaps in operating costs, potentially leading to increases in tuition and fees for students and their families.

    “Everyone deserves a chance at success, and we should be simplifying our tax code to unlock more support for students interested in going to college but who may need a little financial help to get there,” said Rep. Doggett. “This legislation would also expand eligible expenses under the existing tax credit to include computers and childcare, which for many is essential to achieving their dreams and growing our economy.”

    “Education is fundamental to our democracy,” said Rep. Davis. “I am proud to join Representatives Doggett, Kelly, and Feenstra in leading this bill that helps low-income students get the most from the American Opportunity Tax Credit. In my District, relatively few taxpayers use the AOTC because many attend community colleges and can’t claim their childcare and computer costs. Ensuring that students can fully benefit from the AOTC credit without worry about being taxed on the Pell grant helps educate our citizenry and strengthen them economically.” 

    “Pell Grants are an important way for more lower-income Americans to get an education and work toward a successful career,” said Rep. Mike Kelly (R-PA), Chairman of the Ways & Means Subcommittee on Tax. “More than 216,000 Pennsylvania students benefitted from Pell Grants last year. I’m again proud to join Congressman Doggett on this bipartisan legislation that will expand what these grants can be used for – including child care and computers — so many more Americans, particularly single mothers, have the ability to access higher education to achieve long-term financial stability for themselves and their families.”

    “I have long supported Pell Grants because they offer academic opportunities to our students and ensure that Iowans who might otherwise skip higher education because of the cost can pursue advanced studies. These grants are an important investment in the next generation of leaders, farmers, innovators, and entrepreneurs who will support our communities and power our economy forward,” said Rep. Feenstra. “However, current law still requires some students to pay taxes on their Pell Grants, reducing the financial support that these grants are intended to provide. That’s why I’m glad to help introduce legislation to make Pell Grants completely tax-free so that our kids can focus on their studies without worrying about the cost.”

    While Pell Grant awards used to pay for tuition and fees are already treated as tax-free income, any portion of a Pell Grant used for other education-related items like living expenses is taxed. Currently, using Pell Grants to cover tuition reduces potential AOTC eligibility and creates complications for students in maximizing their educational benefits. As a result, many students simply forgo the AOTC, leaving an estimated hundreds of millions of dollars unclaimed each year. By increasing compatibility with the AOTC, we can ensure that Pell Grants are not treated as taxable income, even if they are used for non-tuition education expenses.

    Since enacted in 2009, the AOTC has helped millions pay for college, and more than a decade ago, Rep. Doggett authored provisions to ensure the tax credit allows a tax cut of up to $10,000 on education expenses, such as tuition, textbooks and fees. The AOTC covers up to $2,500 in annual college tuition, fees, and other education-related expenses — 40% of the credit, up to $1,000, is refundable. With more than 3 million undergraduate students in the United States being parents—nearly one in five college students—access to affordable childcare can be the difference between completing a degree program or not. The Tax-Free Pell Grants Act meets this need by adding childcare and computer costs as qualifying expenses for the AOTC.

    Endorsing organizations: American Association of Community Colleges, American Association of State Colleges and Universities, American Council on Education, Association of American Universities, Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, and the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities.

    The bill text is available here.

    MIL OSI USA News –