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Category: Taxation

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Uganda: Govt Unveils Shs72.3 Trillion Budget to Drive Full Monetisation of Economy


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    The Ministry of Finance Planning and Economic Development has unveiled a Shs72.136 trillion national budget for the 2025/2026 financial year, setting its sights on transforming every corner of the country into a hub of commercial activity.

    Presented by Finance Minister Matia Kasaija at the Kololo Ceremonial Grounds on Thursday, 12 June, 2025, the budget signals a strong shift towards full monetisation of Uganda’s economy, underpinned by commercial agriculture, industrialisation, digital transformation, and expanded access to markets.

    Speaking against the backdrop of a rapidly growing economy, Kasaija painted a picture of a Uganda ready to transition from resilience to acceleration.

    “The budget for next financial year, and over the medium term, is focused on people and wealth creation,” he said.

    Consequently, the theme of the financial year 2025/26 is: “Full Monetisation of Uganda’s Economy through Commercial Agriculture, Industrialisation, Expanding and Broadening Services, Digital Transformation and Market Access.’”

    The Shs72.3 trillion resource envelope represents one of the largest in Uganda’s history, with domestic revenue expected to contribute Shs37.2 trillion, roughly 60 percent of the total. The rest will be financed through borrowing and grants. The budget deficit is estimated at 7.6 percent of GDP.

    But Kasaija reassured Ugandans, stating that the government had a clear strategy to enhance domestic revenue mobilisation, widen the tax base, and strengthen tax administration.

    “Government plans to collect Shs37.2 trillion in domestic revenue next financial year,” he said, adding that focus would be placed on tackling smuggling, corruption at Uganda Revenue Authority (URA), and leveraging digital tools like the Electronic Fiscal Receipting and Invoicing System to plug leakages.

    Priority sectors such as health, education, agriculture, infrastructure, and tourism received large shares of the allocation.

    Healthcare emerged as a major beneficiary, with Shs5.87 trillion earmarked for next year. Kasaija detailed plans to functionalise Health Centre IVs, scale up e-health systems, and expand emergency medical services. He said the government had already delivered 20 digital X-ray machines and installed CT scanners in 14 out of 16 regional referral hospitals.

    “We are strengthening the National Ambulance and Emergency Care System,” he added.

    In education, the Minister allocated Shs5.04 trillion to support Universal Primary and Secondary Education, student loans, the construction of new seed schools, and improvements in teacher recruitment and digital inspections.

    Kasaija also confirmed the upcoming operationalisation of Bunyoro and Busoga universities, as well as continued investment in sports infrastructure ahead of African Champions Cup (CHAN) and African Cup of Nation (AFCON 2027).

    “In order to improve compliance with quality standards, Government digitised school inspections in all public schools and TVET institutions,” he said.

    Wealth creation programmes, a lifeline for millions of Ugandans received renewed commitment, with Shs2.43 trillion directed towards the Parish Development Model (PDM), Emyooga, the Uganda Development Bank (UDB), and other grassroots economic empowerment initiatives.

    Kasaija said the PDM alone would receive Shs .059 trillion in FY2025/2026, ensuring every parish continues to receive Shs100 million annually.

    “These investments are changing the lives of Ugandans by boosting household incomes, enhancing food security and creating employment opportunities,” he noted.

    He revealed that over 2.6 million Ugandans have already benefited from PDM funds, with investments spanning food crops, livestock, poultry, and microenterprises. To enhance efficiency and eliminate corruption, PDM operations have been fully digitised, using systems such as the WENDI and ZAIDI apps.

    On the industrial and agricultural front, the government committed Shs1.86 trillion to agro-industrialisation. This includes funding for agricultural research, irrigation schemes, fertilisers, extension services, and value addition. Kasaija highlighted the completion of 145 solar-powered irrigation schemes and the ongoing construction of 157 more.

    He singled out the Agricultural Credit Facility, now worth over Shs1 trillion in disbursements, as a key driver of agricultural transformation.

    “I have provided additional capital of Shs50 billion to the Agricultural Credit Facility next financial year, in addition to insurance that benefits all farmers including PDM beneficiaries.”

    Uganda’s industrial and energy ambitions were also prominently featured, with Kasaija announcing an allocation of Shs875.8 billion for mineral-based industrial development and oil and gas. The East African Crude Oil Pipeline is now 58 percent complete, and an agreement has been signed for the construction of a 60,000-barrel-per-day oil refinery. Once oil production starts in 2026, government expects annual revenues of US$1 to 2.5 billion.

    “Uganda currently saves up to US$72.8 million annually on fuel imports,” Kasaija said, citing the impact of the Uganda National Oil Company’s direct importation of petroleum products, which eliminated middlemen and reduced speculative pricing.

    Tourism, another pillar of the economy, was allocated Shs430 billion, with an additional Shs2.2 trillion indirectly supporting tourism infrastructure such as roads, ICT, and security.

    The government aims to position Uganda as a competitive MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions) destination in Africa, following recent successes. “Uganda now ranks 7th in Africa in MICE tourism,” Kasaija stated.

    Even as he celebrated Uganda’s achievements, such as coffee exports surging past US$1.83 billion and tourism earnings reaching US$1.52 billion, Kasaija called on Ugandans to embrace value addition and export diversification.

    “While it took the country more than a century to reach US$1 billion in annual coffee export earnings, it has taken just one year to double these earnings,” he said. “I therefore implore Ugandans to grow more coffee and, most importantly, add value to our coffee before we export it.”

    AUDIO: Minister Kasaija

    Kasaija expressed confidence in the direction the country is taking. With projected economic growth of 7 percent in FY2025/2026 and a GDP per capita increase to US$1,324, Uganda is moving steadily towards middle-income status.

    “The necessary foundation has already been established, the speed of economic transformation is destined to be faster in the medium term.” Kasaija concluded.

    Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Parliament of the Republic of Uganda.

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI USA: LEADER JEFFRIES: “IF THEY CAN ATTACK A SITTING SENATOR, JUST IMAGINE WHAT THEY HAVE IN STORE FOR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE”

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Hakeem Jeffries (8th District of New York)

    Tonight, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries appeared on MSNBC’s The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell to discuss the Trump administration’s unprecedented assault of Senator Alex Padilla:

    LAWRENCE O’DONNELL: Leading off our breaking news coverage tonight is House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries. Mr. Jeffries, thank you very much for joining us tonight. There is so much for you to consider for us. First of all, let’s begin with Governor Newsom and his big victory in court tonight. This decision that I’ve read by the judge just finds in the governor’s favor all the way through ordering the California National Guard back under the command of Gavin Newsom.

    LEADER JEFFRIES: It’s a big victory for the people of California, for the governor, for the rule of law and for democracy itself. Donald Trump had engaged in aggressive overreach. That was never a need for this deployment. Things were being managed by the LAPD, the California Highway Patrol, as well as local Los Angeles County sheriffs. We all object and reject any efforts to assault police officers, to be disruptive, to engage in unlawful and unruly behavior. That was not the issue here. The issue is, how do we make sure that we can continue to protect the peaceful assembly that is guaranteed by the United States Constitution as part of the right of every American to petition their government to try to get grievances redressed.

    LAWRENCE O’DONNELL: Judge Breyer, Charles Breyer, very carefully reviewed every single event that has happened there that could be called in any way close to violent, every single thing, every mango that was thrown, every bottle that was thrown, every fire in a dumpster that happened. The fires of those driverless cars that happened over the weekend. And he concluded that none of that was beyond the control of LAPD, and in fact, described exactly how local officials, local law enforcement, brought all of those situations under control relatively quickly, thereby proving just in terms of what actually has been happening in Los Angeles, that it was completely under control and no federal support was needed. So he has that finding, in addition to Donald Trump illegally ordered those troops to move into Los Angeles.

    LEADER JEFFRIES: It was an extremely meticulous decision, and this was all about political theater for Donald Trump. He doesn’t want the American people to lock in on the fact that he’s collapsing the economy. He’s failed to lower costs. The GOP Tax Scam is going to rip away healthcare for more than 16 million people, snatch food out of the mouths of children and seniors and veterans, all in service of giving their billionaire donors massive tax breaks. These are all deeply unpopular things. And so, Donald Trump wanted to create a massive distraction in this particular instance. If Donald Trump really believed that we were on the verge of insurrection, then he wouldn’t have attended a Broadway play last evening at the Kennedy Center. It would have been in the Situation Room. Instead, he was out on a night on the town. So this was a fraudulent thing that Donald Trump and his minions at the Department of Homeland Security had engaged in, and it’s now all been exposed in a meticulous decision by Judge Breyer.

    LAWRENCE O’DONNELL: I mean, you know, I said at the outset, when Donald Trump first sent the troops to Los Angeles, that this was specifically, specifically to try to get us to turn our cameras to Los Angeles and away from those senators walking down the halls in Washington who have not been able to come to an agreement on how to do the Trump budget bill in the Senate and to take the focus away from that bill. What are we going to find? What are voters going to find when they put their focus back on this bill and what this bill is trying to do to voters?

    LEADER JEFFRIES: You know, Brendan Boyle, the top Democrat in the House on the Budget Committee, has done a tremendous job of pointing out, one, this is the largest cut to Medicaid in American history, on top of the largest cut to nutritional assistance in American history, all in service of trying to bring about the largest set of tax breaks for billionaires in American history. It’s extraordinary. And they are going to increase the debt and the deficit by trillions of dollars, force our children and grandchildren to pay for it. And as a result of this one big ugly bill, hospitals will close, nursing homes will shut down, community based health clinics are not going to be able to operate. People are going to die because of the lack of being able to receive the medical service that they need. And so Trump is certainly trying to hide the ball from the American people. But this is a disgusting abomination. And the more the American people learn about the GOP Tax Scam, the worse it gets for them.

    LAWRENCE O’DONNELL: Senator Alex Padilla obviously became the news of the day in Washington when that video spread of him being attacked like that in a federal building, a completely secure federal building, that you have to go through metal detectors and have an appointment to get into. Here’s the United States Senator in a federal building being attacked by federal agents, with a Cabinet Secretary looking on, lying about California while that was happening. Where were you when you first saw that video and what was your reaction, maybe holding your phone in your hand looking at that video?

    LEADER JEFFRIES: It was disgusting when the news broke. I was on the Hill, we were preparing for a series of votes on the Floor of the House. And when you looked at the video, first of all, to know Senator Padilla, he is just a kind and decent person, a salt-of-the-earth type of individual. He has an extraordinary story, humble beginnings, eventually became an engineer at MIT, educated, and then walked away from what could have been a very lucrative career in order to serve his community and ultimately his state. And to see him assaulted in this fashion, manhandled, and then for the Secretary to lie about it, and the Department of Homeland Security, these people have zero credibility. And so the California Delegation, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, every single part of the House Democratic Caucus stands in solidarity with Senator Padilla. If they can attack a sitting Senator in his home state in this fashion, just imagine what they have in store for the American people. That’s why all of us should be concerned. All of us need to push back, and all of us need to stand up for the principle that in the United States of America, there are no kings.

    LAWRENCE O’DONNELL: Senator Padilla has insisted that this story is not about him, it’s what it means to the rest of us. It’s what it means about the people who the ICE agents and the federal agents are going after every day. Let’s listen to what Senator Padilla said when he came out of that federal building after being the– becoming the first United States Senator in history to be manhandled, pushed by federal agents, thrown to the ground and handcuffed for speaking. That has never happened before in American history. Let’s listen to what Senator Padilla said when he emerged from the federal building today.

    SENATOR PADILLA (VIDEO): I came to the press conference to hear what she had to say, to see if I could learn any new additional information. And at one point, I had a question. And let me emphasize, the right for people to peacefully protest and to stand up for their First Amendment rights, for our fundamental rights. I was there peacefully. At one point I had a question and so I began to ask a question. I was almost immediately forcibly removed from the room. I was forced to the ground and I was handcuffed. I was not arrested. I was not detained. I will say this, if this is how this administration responds to a Senator with a question, if this is how the Department of Homeland Security responds to a Senator with a question, you can only imagine what they’re doing to farmworkers, to cooks, to day laborers out in the Los Angeles community and throughout California and throughout the country. Pero una gran pregunta es esta: si esta es la reacción a un senador con una pregunta, imagínense lo que están haciendo con cocineros, jornaleros, campesinos y otros inmigrantes no violentos en la comunidad de Los Ángeles, en otras áreas de el estado de California y en el país.

    LAWRENCE O’DONNELL: Leader Jeffries that statement about imagine, just imagine what they’re doing to other people if this is what they do to the United States senators does seem to be the lesson of the day.

    LEADER JEFFRIES: It’s incredibly powerful words from Senator Padilla. I think it’s one of the reasons why there was such a visceral reaction on the Hill both because we know him to be such a good man and this is just an example of how out of control the Trump administration is at this point. We’ve seen an unprecedented assault on the economy, on healthcare, on Social Security and of course, on the rule of law, on the American way of life, on democracy itself. But that’s why it’s going to be important for all of us to continue to show up and speak up and stand up, push back aggressively against the Trump administration, their extremism against Donald Trump and his minions in Congress who are nothing more than a Reckless Rubber Stamp for his extreme agenda. And we’ll continue to do that in the Congress, in the courts, and in communities all across the country.

    LAWRENCE O’DONNELL: In any other presidency, I would expect you to be getting briefed very soon, if not already, about what has happened on Israel’s strike against Iran tonight. Have you been briefed in any way by the intelligence services about what is happening tonight?

    LEADER JEFFRIES: I have not received an extensive briefing. There was minimal outreach from the administration, but I do expect sooner rather than later that we will receive a more comprehensive briefing about the state of affairs and the situation that exists. I mean, one of the things that Donald Trump, of course, promised on day one of his presidency, in addition to lowering the cost of living that, of course, has not happened. He talked about ending the war in Ukraine. That hasn’t happened. Talked about restoring peace to the Middle East. That has not happened. And so the whole Trump presidency has been a complete failure characterized by chaos, cruelty and corruption. And, you know, I’m hopeful that cooler heads will prevail in the Middle East and the situation is de-escalated. We certainly believe that Iran should never be allowed to become nuclear capable. They are an enemy not just to Israel, but to the United States and to the free world. But we also want to see a reduction in hostilities.

    LAWRENCE O’DONNELL: House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, thank you very much for joining us in our breaking news coverage tonight on this important night.

    LEADER JEFFRIES: Thank you, Lawrence.

    LAWRENCE O’DONNELL: Thank you.

    The full interview can be watched here.

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Grassley Discusses Trade Deals, 45Z and Tax Cut Extensions with Treasury Secretary Bessent

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Iowa Chuck Grassley

    WASHINGTON – During a Senate Finance Committee hearing today, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), a senior member and former chairman of the committee, questioned Department of the Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent about the importance of finalizing trade deals to provide certainty and the need for Treasury to work with Congress and farmer-led organizations to get 45Z regulations right for farmers. Grassley also talked about the importance of extending the 2017 Trump Tax Cuts for the middle-class and strengthening the pro-growth reforms that incentivize business investment.

    Video and excerpts from Grassley’s questions follow.

    [embedded content]

    VIDEO

    On Trade Certainty:

    “I’ve made clear that I support President Trump’s goals of getting better trade deals for U.S. producers. I’ve heard from many industries and businesses in Iowa. Each one of them [is] in a very unique position due to the tariffs, but all express one common concern – and that’s the need for certainty around trade.

    “I’ve spoken with several Trump administration officials and nominees about the importance of finalizing two or three deals to provide some certainty around trade. So, would you agree that trade deals need some certainty and that at the same time, provide fair market access for U.S. goods would benefit the economy and provide much needed markets?”

    On 45Z Regulations and Farmers:

    “The Senate Finance Committee has been working on what will soon be the 45Z Clean Fuels Production Tax Credit. Implementing this credit properly is important for the biofuels industry and especially for farmers.

    “The Biden administration failed to meaningfully address 45Z regulations. They put some out for comment, but not much beyond that. But the regulations it released for the 40B Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) credit demonstrated that Treasury officials in that administration knew nothing about farming.  

    “Prior to issuing rules governing 45Z, we need everyone in the Trump administration to take some time to learn a thing or two about how farming works. So, this is kind of a question of working ahead, looking after the president signs this bill, and regulations are going to be written on 45Z. Would you be willing to work with congressional colleagues, farmer-led organizations and even this senator to make sure that we get regulations under 45Z that work for farmers?”

    Extending 2017 Trump Tax Cuts:

    “The 2017 tax law provided tax relief across all incomes with a focus on the middle-class. Just as important, the law included pro-growth reforms to incentivize business investment, boosting production and leading to higher wages.

    “A study published by the National Bureau of Economic Research found the 2017 law boosted investment 20 percent. What will making the 2017 tax law permanent mean in terms of economic growth, job creation and wage growth?”

    -30-?

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Bean Celebrates Passage of Rescissions Act

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Aaron Bean Florida (4th District)

    WASHINGTON—Founder and co-chair of the DOGE Caucus, U.S. Congressman Aaron Bean (FL-04), released the following statement after House Republicans approved the Trump Administration’s recessions request to cut $9.4 billion in wasteful spending identified by DOGE. Replay Congressman Bean’s speech in support of the bill here.

    Upon passage, Congressman Bean said, “Taxpayers deserve an efficient, accountable government. H.R. 4, the Rescissions Act of 2025, cuts reckless, politically biased spending identified by DOGE and takes a critical step toward fiscal health. House Republicans are ready to restore responsibility—I urge the Senate to act swiftly. Let’s go get’em!” 

    BACKGROUND

    The DOGE Caucus has long advocated for Congress to enact the cuts identified by DOGE and continues to work with the White House on future rescissions. 

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Quigley Hosts Transparency Panel Discussion, “What’s Next in Transparency: 119th Congress”

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Mike Quigley (IL-05)

    On Tuesday, U.S. Representative Mike Quigley (IL-05), Chair of the Congressional Transparency Caucus, hosted “What’s Next in Transparency: 119th Congress.” Moderated by Law360 Reporter Courtney Bublé, the panel discussion included three government accountability experts.

    As the Founder and Chair of the Congressional Transparency Caucus, Quigley has spent 16 years in Congress leading bipartisan efforts to increase honesty and trust in government.

    “The cost of corruption is dollars, but the real cost of corruption is the loss of public trust. That trust has been on steady decline for the last 20 years,” shared Quigley in his opening remarks. “If we can improve the openness in communication between the government and the people, we can build a government that works better for the people.”

    The panel’s experts represented a diverse range of views across the political spectrum, including the Freedom of the Press Foundation, the National Taxpayers Union, and Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW).

    “Another thing we need to pay attention to is the destruction of records and agencies discontinuing the practice of maintaining certain records,” said Lauren Harper, Daniel Ellsberg Chair on Government Secrecy at the Freedom of the Press Foundation. “You can not get a FOIA response if an agency has destroyed those documents. Or if it has opted to stop creating those records.”

    “[Members who commit crimes] don’t lose their pensions until they’re finally convicted. That means many can sit in jail, and appeal, and still collect their taxpayer-funded pension,” said Demian Brady, Vice President of Research at the National Taxpayers Union. “The last piece of transparency we need for that is from the Office of Personnel Management, but they haven’t answered my emails since 2020.”

    “Sunlight in government is essential to a functioning democracy,” said Jason Powell, Policy Director at CREW. “As part of DOGE’s efforts to reshape the government, on April 1st the CDC’s entire FOIA office was suspended without prior notice or without a plan for how the statutorily required work would continue. The CDC is now not able to respond to new [FOIA] requests, existing requests, or make statutorily-required proactive disclosures.”

    To watch a recording of the event, click here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: ICE arrests 4 illegal aliens during random worksite enforcement outreach at D-Hand Car Wash in Connecticut

    Source: US Immigration and Customs Enforcement

    SOUTHINGTON, Conn. — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations Hartford, along with Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations, conducted a random worksite enforcement outreach at the D-Hand Car Wash in Southington, Connecticut, June 9. Agents administratively arrested four illegal alien employees from Guatemala who were in the United States without authorization.

    “Ensuring compliance with federal employment laws is crucial to maintaining a fair and competitive business environment,” said HSI New England Special Agent in Charge Michael J. Krol. “Businesses, such as D-Hand, that employ unauthorized workers not only undermine the integrity of our immigration system but also gain an unfair advantage over law-abiding companies. HSI is committed to identifying and addressing these violations to protect both the legal workforce and honest businesses.”

    ICE is tasked with enforcing the business community’s compliance with federal employment eligibility requirements and has the responsibility to conduct comprehensive worksite enforcement initiatives targeting employers who violate employment laws. During these operations, any alien determined to be in violation of U.S. Immigration laws may be subject to arrest, detention, and, if removal by final order, removal from the United States.

    Members of the public with information about suspected immigration violations or related criminal activity are encouraged to contact the ICE Tip Line at 866-DHS-2-ICE (866-347-2423) or submit information online via the ICE Tip Form.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Senator Markey, Health, Labor Leaders, Educators, Climate Advocates Host Virtual Teach-In on Trump Administration’s Cuts to Critical Funding

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Massachusetts Ed Markey

    Health Care and Food Justice Cuts | Climate and Education Cuts

    Washington (June 12, 2025) – Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), a member of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee and the Environment and Public Works Committee, yesterday hosted virtual teach-ins on Republicans’ proposed cuts to health care, food security, education, and climate initiatives as part of their Big Billionaire Bill (also called budget reconciliation). Senator Markey, Representative Summer Lee (PA-12), and advocates discussed how these cuts would mean people lose their jobs, their health care, their ability to feed their families, and put the future of our country at risk—all to guarantee tax breaks for billionaires. The budget bill is currently being debated by Senate Republicans after House Republicans passed the Big Billionaire Bill in May.

    “It’s simple: Republicans want to rip health care from 16 million people, tear food away from hungry families, cut off access to education for working class Americans, kill jobs, raise energy bills, and slash efforts to make our air and water cleaner– all to pay for tax cuts for billionaires. They want to do this through hard-to-understand processes, back-room negotiations, and by lying to the American public about what these cuts will do,” said Senator Markey. “I am using every opportunity I can to guarantee people know Republicans are voting against their livelihoods, their lives, and their future if they support this bill. We have the power to stop these cuts. We cannot agonize – we must organize to end this big billionaire boondoggle once and for all. Our future depends on it.”

    “There’s nothing beautiful about forcing families to choose between taking their kids to the doctor or feeding them—but that’s exactly what this budget bill would do if it lands on Trump’s desk. Drastic cuts to healthcare like Medicaid and food assistance like SNAP will hurt millions of people in Western Pennsylvania and across the country,” said Representative Lee. “The power of the people is always greater than the people in power, and in this moment, we must all use our power to pressure Republicans to vote no and put the people first—not the billionaires, not the corporate profiteers, and not the oligarchs in the White House. Lives literally depend on it.”

    “The Republican agenda is clear: raise costs on hardworking families and rip coverage away from millions. If they are successful in making the largest cuts to health care in history, 16 million Americans will lose coverage, all to fund tax breaks for billionaires and big corporations. These Republican attacks on Americans’ health care are as extreme as they are unpopular, and we must do everything we can to stop them from wreaking havoc on this country’s health care system. No one should lose access to life-saving care and coverage just so the ultra-rich can pay less in taxes,” said Anne Shoup, Senior Advisor, Protect Our Care.

    “The Senate must vote ‘NO’ on any budget bill that cuts or weakens SNAP and takes food away from millions of children, older adults, and people with disabilities. Period,” said Salaam Bhatti, SNAP director at the Food Research & Action Center (FRAC). “SNAP is one of the most effective programs out there, fueling the health and well-being of families, as well as our economy. Simply put, a strong and productive country is only possible when everyone has access to food. We urge Senators to oppose any cut to SNAP and instead work towards building a nation free from hunger.”

    “I’ve seen the faces of the people this bill will hurt. I think about the mothers trying to stretch every dollar to keep the lights on, the laid-off workers who need help to get back on their feet, the kids who will go without health care, and the retirees who will go to bed hungry because they can’t afford groceries,” said Zab Martinez, an AFSCME member and Medicaid and SNAP eligibility specialist from Dane County, Wisconsin. “We cannot let this bill pass. I urge you to speak up, write your senators, and demand that they stand with working families, not for billionaire tax giveaways.”

    “Republicans’ Billionaire Tax Scam will take health care away from millions, food out of the mouths of children, and raise costs for everyday families all to give trillions in tax breaks to the wealthy and large corporations. This is a dangerous and irresponsible piece of legislation designed to benefit the richest Americans, while everyday families suffer – and we are going to continue to uplift the voices of the bipartisan majority of Americans who overwhelmingly oppose this harmful bill,” said Michael Linden, Director of Families Over Billionaires.

    “Why would Republicans in Washington gut the basic needs kids and disabled Americans rely on to get by when the cost of groceries and housing are going up? To give the wealthy a tax break. It’s an outrage, which is why over 60% of Americans who hear anything about congressional Republican’s Big Beautiful Betrayal hate it. Now is the time for citizens to learn the consequences of the congressional Republican plan and spread the word so we can stop this Medicaid massacre dead in its tracks,” said Joe Radosevich, Counselor at the Center for American Progress (CAP).

    “Rather than protect Medicare and Medicaid, this bill cuts them, denying healthcare to 14 million people. Rather than strengthen public education, it weakens it. Rather than feeding poor families, it rips food out of their mouths. Education is an opportunity agent, and federal supports should not be used as a piggy bank to defund our already underfunded public schools. The bill includes $20 billion for a reckless school voucher program in the guise of a tax shelter for the well-off. Vouchers syphon crucial funds away from public schools into private hands. They are directly responsible for some of the largest student achievement drops ever recorded and mostly go to parents with kids already in private school,” said Randi Weingarten, President of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT).

    “We have 1,600 workers at Ultium and their jobs are going to be at risk. These are good UAW jobs making $30 an hour, and this bill is going to threaten that. It could have a dramatic impact on the auto industry, on dozens of investments across the entire country,” said David Green, Director of United Auto Workers (UAW) Region 2B. “If we don’t use our voices, they’re going to continue to take them away from us. And we have to fight for what’s right. And I am always going to be on the front line fighting for good union jobs with benefits because that’s how we move this country forward and that’s how we build the middle class.”

    “The energy tax credits on the chopping block during this budget reconciliation process have been utilized by school districts all over the country to install renewable energy projects from roof-top solar arrays to ground-source heat pumps, saving millions of tax-payer dollars on utility bills. These savings can be used to increase teacher salaries and build resilience in communities as schools produce their own power and lighten the load on the energy grid, all while moving us toward a more equitable future powered by clean, renewable energy. In Nevada alone, Washoe County School District is set to receive a $1.7 million check for just one school and Clark County School District, the nation’s 5th largest, has at least five solar eligible projects, including an array on Northeast Career and Technical Academy that is also training future solar installers.  Please urge your Senators to save energy tax credits in their version of the budget reconciliation bill,” said Liz Becker, IRA Campaign Coordinator of the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada (PLAN).

    “The big bad boondoggle bill puts West Virginian communities, especially those most vulnerable to pollution, at risk. With cuts to programs that would facilitate a fair economic transition in Appalachia, such as a grant program to replace gas vehicles with electric vehicles and clean energy tax credits, West Virginians are losing out on the chance for safe and good-paying jobs. Furthermore, cuts to air monitoring, greenhouse gas emission data collection, and environmental review resources make our communities less safe and informed about the air we breathe and the water we drink. West Virginians have suffered with generations of corporate pollution and economic exploitation, and this bill would roll back a critical chance to escape the cycle of environmental injustice on which this country was built,” said Dani Parent, Co-executive Director of West Virginia Citizen Action.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: East Granby Woman Admits $1.1 Million Pandemic Relief Program Scheme

    Source: United States Department of Justice (National Center for Disaster Fraud)

    David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Harry Chavis, Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation in New England, announced that KAREN GASTON, 44, of East Granby, waived her right to be indicted and pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Sarah F. Russell in New Haven to offenses stemming from a scheme to defraud COVID-19 pandemic relief programs of more than $1.1 million.

    In March 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act provided emergency financial assistance to Americans suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.  One source of relief provided by the CARES Act was the authorization of forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and certain other expenses through the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”).  The PPP was overseen by the U.S. Small Business Administration (“SBA”), and individual PPP loans were issued by private lenders, which received and processed PPP applications and supporting documentation, and then made loans using the lenders’ own funds, which were guaranteed by the SBA.  The CARES Act also authorized SBA to distribute Economic Injury Disaster Loans (“EIDLs”), which provided working capital to eligible small businesses, including sole proprietors, to meet operating expenses.

    According to court documents and statements made in court, in 2020, Gaston controlled certain entities including LNK, Elegant Clinical, Ruby Red LLC, and Diamond Shine LLC.  LNK and Diamond Shine LLC were operational, but shared resources and employees.  Ruby Red LLC had only one client and Gaston was its sole employee.   Elegant Clinical was no longer operational.  Beginning in approximately April 2020, Gaston submitted loan applications to the PPP and EIDL programs that falsely represented the status of the operations, resources, and employees of these entities.  She also filed loan applications at separate financial institutions in order to disguise the true nature of her criminal activity.

    Specifically, Gaston’s loan applications falsely represented that her businesses were all active and operating concerns; falsely represented the number of employees and the amount of wages purportedly paid by the businesses; included copies of fraudulent tax returns and tax related documents; and falsely represented that a family member, used as an applicant on an application, was a part owner of one of her entities.

    Gaston received $1,163,910 in PPP and EIDL loan funds through this scheme.  Instead of using the funds for payroll or other operating expenses, she spent the money on personal expenditures, including travel, food, luxury home goods, expensive jewelry, cars, and paying off her home mortgage.

    Gaston pleaded guilty to wire fraud, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years, and making illegal monetary transactions, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years.

    Gaston has agreed to make full restitution.  She also has agreed to the forfeiture of a ring she purchased in July 2020 from the jeweler Harry Winston for $39,521.63.

    Gaston is released on a $100,000 bond pending sentencing, which is not scheduled.

    This investigation has been conducted by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael S. McGarry.

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

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: USAID Official and Three Corporate Executives Plead Guilty to Decade-Long Bribery Scheme Involving Over $550 Million in Contracts; Two Companies Admit Criminal Liability for Bribery Scheme and Securities Fraud

    Source: United States Attorneys General 1

    Four men, including a government contracting officer for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and three owners and presidents of companies, have pleaded guilty for their roles in a decade-long bribery scheme involving at least 14 prime contracts worth over $550 million in U.S. taxpayer dollars.

    • Roderick Watson, 57, of Woodstock, Maryland, who worked as a USAID contracting officer, pleaded guilty to bribery of a public official;
    • Walter Barnes, 46, of Potomac, Maryland, the owner and president of PM Consulting Group LLC doing business as Vistant (Vistant), a certified small business under the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) 8(a) contracting program, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery of a public official and securities fraud;
    • Darryl Britt, 64, of Myakka City, Florida, the owner and president of Apprio, Inc. (Apprio), a certified small business under the SBA 8(a) contracting program, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery of a public official; and
    • Paul Young, 62, of Columbia, Maryland, the president of a subcontractor to Vistant and Apprio, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery of a public official.

    In addition, Apprio and Vistant, both of which contracted with USAID, have agreed to admit criminal liability and enter into three-year deferred prosecution agreements (DPAs) in connection with criminal informations filed today in the District of Maryland. As part of these resolutions, both Apprio and Vistant admitted to engaging in a conspiracy to commit bribery of a public official and securities fraud. The DPAs entered into with Apprio and Vistant require each company to, among other obligations, provide ongoing cooperation with and disclosures to the Justice Department, implement a compliance and ethics program, and report to Justice Department regarding remediation and implementation of these compliance measures.

    “The defendants sought to enrich themselves at the expense of American taxpayers through bribery and fraud,” said Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Their scheme violated the public trust by corrupting the federal government’s procurement process. Anybody who cares about good and effective government should be concerned about the waste, fraud, and abuse in government agencies, including USAID. Those who engage in bribery schemes to exploit the U.S. Small Business Administration’s vital economic programs for small businesses — whether individuals or corporations acting through them — will be held to account.” 

    “Watson was entrusted to serve the interests of the American people — not his own — and his criminal actions for his own personal gain undermine the integrity of our public institutions,” said U.S. Attorney Kelly O. Hayes for the District of Maryland. “Public trust is a hallmark of our nation’s values, so corruption within a federal government agency is intolerable. This office, along with our law enforcement partners, will continue to pursue and prosecute corruption at every level to ensure accountability and protect public trust.”

    “The guilty pleas reflect the FBI’s unwavering commitment to holding accountable all those who abuse the authority and responsibility of public service,” said FBI Criminal Investigative Division Acting Assistant Director Darren Cox. “The actions of the defendants in this scheme serve to erode public trust. The FBI is focused on rebuilding this trust and protecting American taxpayers from corruption through investigations such as these.”

    “Corruption in government programs will not be tolerated. Watson abused his position of trust for personal gain while federal contractors engaged in a pay-to-play scheme,” said Acting Assistant Inspector General for Investigations Sean Bottary of the USAID Office of Inspector General (USAID-OIG). “USAID-OIG is firmly committed to rooting out fraud and corruption within U.S. foreign assistance programs. Today’s announcement underscores our unwavering focus on exposing criminal activity, including bribery schemes by those entrusted to faithfully award government contracts. We appreciate our longstanding partnership with the Department of Justice in holding accountable those who defraud American taxpayers.”    

    “Watson exploited his position at USAID to line his pockets with bribes in exchange for more than $550 million in contracts. While he helped three company owners and presidents bypass the fair bidding process, he was showered with cash and lavish gifts,” said Chief Guy Ficco of IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI). “Through its financial crime investigations, IRS-CI works to protect taxpayer dollars and ensure government funds are awarded based on merit — not corruption. In close coordination with our law enforcement partners, IRS-CI helped put an end to their greed and criminal conduct. Now, Watson and his co-conspirators will face justice.”

    Overview of Bribery Scheme

    According to court documents, beginning in 2013, Watson, while a USAID contracting officer, agreed with Britt to receive bribes in exchange for using Watson’s influence to award contracts to Apprio. As a certified small business under the SBA 8(a) contracting program, which helps socially and economically disadvantaged businesses, Apprio could access lucrative federal contracting opportunities through set-asides and sole-source contracts exclusively available to eligible contractors without a competitive bid process.

    Vistant was a subcontractor to Apprio on one of the contracts awarded through Watson’s influence. After Apprio graduated from the SBA 8(a) program and it was no longer eligible to be a prime contractor for new contracts with USAID under this program, the scheme shifted so that Vistant became the prime contractor and Apprio became the subcontractor on USAID contracts awarded through Watson’s influence between 2018 and 2022.

    During the scheme, Britt and Barnes paid bribes to Watson that were often concealed by passing them through Young, who was the president of another subcontractor to Apprio and Vistant. Britt and Barnes also regularly funneled bribes to Watson, including cash, laptops, thousands of dollars in tickets to a suite at an NBA game, a country club wedding, downpayments on two residential mortgages, cellular phones, and jobs for relatives. The bribes were also often concealed through electronic bank transfers falsely listing Watson on payroll, incorporated shell companies, and false invoices. Watson is alleged to have received bribes valued at more than approximately $1 million as part of the scheme.

    In exchange for the bribe payments, Watson influenced the award of contracts to Apprio and Vistant by manipulating the procurement process at USAID through various means, including recommending their companies to other USAID decisionmakers for non-competitive contract awards, disclosing sensitive procurement information during the competitive bidding process, providing positive performance evaluations to a government agency, and approving decisions on the contracts, such as increased funding and a security clearance.

    Apprio and Vistant also agreed to resolve concurrently with the Justice Department in its separate Civil False Claims Act investigations relating to the bribery scheme.

    Overview of Vistant Securities Fraud Scheme

    According to court documents, in 2022, Barnes and Watson defrauded a licensed small business investment company (SBIC), in furtherance of the bribery scheme, by inducing it into executing a credit agreement with Vistant. Through the credit agreement, Barnes caused Vistant to issue stock warrants that, if exercised, would result in the SBIC having a 40% equity stake in Vistant. The credit agreement also provided for a $14 million loan to Vistant from which Barnes could pay himself a $10 million dividend. Prior to executing the credit agreement, Watson agreed at Barnes’s request to speak with the SBIC about Vistant’s performance as a government contractor on USAID contracts. When speaking with the SBIC, Watson omitted that Barnes had bribed Watson to obtain USAID contracts for years. Watson’s endorsement of Vistant thereafter induced the SBIC to enter into the credit agreement with Barnes.

    Overview of Apprio Securities Fraud Scheme

    According to court documents, in 2023, Apprio, acting through Britt, engaged in a scheme in which Apprio fraudulently induced a private equity firm, which had an investment pool that was licensed as a SBIC, to purchase from Apprio’s parent company a 20% equity stake in the company for $4 million and simultaneously extend it a $4 million loan secured by shares of Apprio stock. In addition to making false material representations in the stock purchase and loan agreements, Britt intentionally omitted during his negotiations the material fact that he had bribed Watson for years, which was intended to deceive and induce the private equity company into executing the agreements.

    Deferred Prosecution Agreements with Apprio and Vistant

    The Justice Department reached its resolution with Apprio based on several factors, including Apprio’s credit for clearly accepting responsibility for its criminal conduct, fully cooperating in the investigation and engaging in timely remedial measures. Based on these factors, the criminal penalty calculated under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines reflects a 10% reduction off the bottom of the applicable Guidelines fine range pursuant to the Criminal Division Corporate Enforcement and Voluntary Self-Disclosure Policy (CEP). According to court documents, Apprio agreed that the appropriate criminal penalty based on the law and facts in its case is $51,673,185; however, Apprio also met its burden of establishing an inability to pay the criminal penalty sought. Based on the Justice Department’s independent analysis, it determined that paying a criminal penalty and civil settlement greater than $500,000 would substantially threaten the continued viability of Apprio. Accordingly, the Justice Department determined that the appropriate resolution of this case is a DPA and a payment of $500,000 in a civil settlement.

    Similarly, the Justice Department reached its resolution with Vistant based on a number of factors, including Vistant’s credit for clearly accepting responsibility for its criminal conduct and cooperating with the investigation. Although Vistant’s cooperation was initially delayed and limited, Vistant began to fully cooperate thereafter. Vistant also received credit for engaging in timely remedial measures. Based on these factors, the penalty calculated under the Guidelines reflects a 5% reduction off the bottom of the applicable Guidelines fine range pursuant to the CEP. Vistant agreed that the appropriate criminal penalty based on the law and facts in its case is $86,407,740; however, Vistant also met its burden of establishing an inability to pay the criminal penalty sought. Based on the Justice Department’s independent analysis, it determined that paying a criminal penalty and civil settlement greater than $100,000 would substantially threaten the continued viability of Vistant. Accordingly, the Justice Department determined that the appropriate resolution of this case is a DPA and a payment of $100,000 in a civil settlement.

    Watson is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 6, and faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison. Young is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 3 and faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison. Britt is scheduled to be sentenced on July 28 and faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison. Barnes is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 14 and faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison.

    The FBI, USAID-OIG, and IRS-CI are investigating the cases.

    Trial Attorneys Matt Kahn and Brandon Burkart of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick D. Kibbe for the District of Maryland are prosecuting the cases. 

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI USA News: Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Stops the Green Agenda in the Columbia River Basin

    Source: US Whitehouse

    STOPPING RADICAL ENVIRONMENTALISM: Today, President Donald J. Trump signed a Presidential Memorandum revoking an executive action issued by the prior administration that called for “equitable treatment for fish.”

    • Today’s Memorandum revokes the Biden Administration’s “Restoring Healthy and Abundant Salmon, Steelhead, and Other Native Fish Populations in the Columbia River Basin” Memorandum, which placed concerns about climate change above the Nation’s interests in reliable energy resources.
    • This Memorandum directs the Secretary of Energy, the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Commerce, and the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works to withdraw from agreements stemming from Biden’s misguided executive action, including the December 14, 2023 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) filed in connection with related litigation.
    • The specified agencies will coordinate with the Council on Environmental Quality to review and revise environmental review processes related to the matters in the MOU, save Federal funds, and withdraw from the MOU.

    RESTORING AMERICAN ENERGY DOMINANCE AND SECURING AMERICAN PROSPERITY: President Trump continues to prioritize our Nation’s energy infrastructure and use of natural resources to lower the cost of living for all Americans over speculative climate change concerns.

    • President Trump recognizes the importance of ensuring the future of wildlife populations in the Columbia River Basin, while also advancing the country’s energy creation to benefit the American public.
    • The MOU required the Federal government to spend millions of dollars and comply with 36 pages of onerous commitments to dam operations on the Lower Snake River. 
    • Dam breaching would have resulted in reduced water supply to farmers, eliminated several shipping channels, had devastating impacts to agriculture, increased energy costs, and eliminated recreational opportunities throughout the region.  
    • The dam breaches would have eliminated over 3,000 megawatts of secure and reliable hydroelectric generating capacity—which is enough generation to power 2.5 million American homes.

    PUTTING AMERICA FIRST: President Trump continues to deliver on his promise to end the previous administration’s misplaced priorities and protect the livelihoods of the American people. Unlike the previous administration, the Trump Administration understands that policies that promote environmental quality and economic growth are not mutually exclusive.

    • President Trump champions the needs of the American people and prioritizes U.S. interests in reliable, affordable energy resources.
      • President Trump signed an Executive Order reinvigorating America’s beautiful clean coal industry to support grid stability and hundreds of thousands of U.S.  jobs.
    • President Trump is committed to unleashing American energy dominance, reversing all executive actions that impose undue burdens on energy production and use.
      • On Day One, President Trump declared a National Energy Emergency to unlock domestic energy production and bring down costs for everyday Americans.
    • President Trump’s commonsense approach to environmental conservation empowers the American people to take full advantage of our nation’s vast and great natural resources.
      • President Trump reversed the burdensome regulations that impeded Alaska’s ability to develop its vast natural resources, unleashing the state’s potential to create a safe and prosperous future for the entire Nation.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: ARMSTRONG COUNTY – Lt. Gov. Austin Davis, Second Lady Blayre Holmes Davis to Highlight 2025-26 Proposed Budget Investments in Child Care Workforce

    Source: US State of Pennsylvania

    June 13, 2025 – Apollo, PA

    ADVISORY – ARMSTRONG COUNTY – Lt. Gov. Austin Davis, Second Lady Blayre Holmes Davis to Highlight 2025-26 Proposed Budget Investments in Child Care Workforce

    Lt. Gov. Austin Davis and Second Lady Blayre Holmes Davis will host a roundtable conversation to discuss the Shapiro-Davis Administration’s proposed 2025-26 budget and its plan to invest in and expand Pennsylvania’s child care workforce Friday, June 13, at 10 a.m. at Grandma’s House, 616 First St. Ext., Apollo.

    The 2025-26 proposal builds on the Administration’s first two budgets with a $55 million investment in retention and recruitment bonuses to increase child care availability, ensuring parents are able to work and children have quality care. These grants to licensed child care centers in Pennsylvania’s Child Care Works (CCW) Program would provide up to $1,000 per employee.

    During their first two years in office, Gov. Josh Shapiro and Lt. Gov. Davis have expanded the state’s Child and Dependent Care Enhancement Tax Credit and created a new tax credit for businesses that want to contribute to their employees’ child care costs.

    WHO:
    Lt. Gov. Austin Davis, Second Lady Blayre Holmes Davis, Alle Kiski Strong Chamber Executive Director Lynda Pozzuto, Trying Together Director of Public Policy Emily Neff, representatives from the Early Learning Investment Commission, Governor’s Advisory Commission on Latino Affairs and Advisory Commission on Women, child care providers, teachers and parents

    WHAT:
    Roundtable conversation about child care in Pennsylvania and investments in the Shapiro-Davis 2025-26 proposed budget

    WHEN:
    Friday, June 13, at 10 a.m.

    WHERE:
    Grandma’s House
    616 First St. Ext., Apollo

    RSVP:
    Members of the news media who are interested in attending must RSVP to Kirstin Alvanitakis at kirstinalv@pa.gov.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA News: REPORT: Failure to Pass One Big Beautiful Bill Will Kill 1.1+ Million Manufacturing Jobs

    Source: US Whitehouse

    More than 1.1 million jobs in the manufacturing sector and nearly six million jobs overall will be lost if Congress fails to extend the Trump Tax Cuts in President Donald J. Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill, according to a new report — negative effects on small businesses that are swift, severe, and completely avoidable.

    Here are some key takeaways from the report:

    • “More than 96% of businesses in America are organized as pass-throughs, meaning that they pay tax at individual income tax rates. Tax reform created a 20% deduction to allow these small businesses to compete on a level playing field with their peers organized as corporations … The pass-through deduction will expire completely at the end of 2025. A recent NAM survey found that 93% of pass-through manufacturers reported that the loss of this deduction will harm their ability to grow, create jobs and invest in their business.”
    • “The combination of the reduction in the top rate and the 20% passthrough deduction resulted in significant tax savings for these small businesses—enabling them to invest in new equipment, machinery, facilities and job creation. More than 74% of manufacturers have fewer than 20 employees, so it is crucial to the sector that Congress preserve tax reform’s competitive tax rates for small businesses.”
    • “If Congress does not act, accelerated depreciation will be entirely absent from the U.S. tax code for the first time in decades—limiting manufacturers’ ability to invest in the equipment and machinery they need to drive economic growth and job creation and making it more costly for businesses to invest in the U.S.”
    • “More than 90% of businesses in America are family-owned. In the manufacturing industry, family-owned businesses are a critical part of the manufacturing supply chain and pillars of their local communities … The estate tax exemption threshold is scheduled to be reduced by half at the end of 2025, subjecting more family business assets to taxation and threatening the viability of these businesses when the owner passes away. Congress should protect family-owned manufacturers by preserving the increased exemption threshold.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI: Atrium Mortgage Investment Corporation Announces $30 Million Public Offering of Convertible Unsecured Subordinated Debentures

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    THIS NEWS RELEASE IS NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES.

    TORONTO, June 12, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Atrium Mortgage Investment Corporation (TSX:AI, AI.DB.D, AI.DB.F and AI.DB.G) (“Atrium”) announced today that it has entered into an agreement with a syndicate of underwriters bookrun by TD Securities Inc. and RBC Capital Markets, pursuant to which the underwriters will purchase $30 million aggregate principal amount of 6.00% convertible unsecured subordinated debentures of Atrium due September 30, 2032 at a price of $1,000 per debenture. Atrium has also granted to the underwriters an over-allotment option to purchase up to an additional $4,500,000 aggregate principal amount of debentures at the same price, exercisable in whole or in part at any time for a period of up to 30 days following closing of the offering, to cover over-allotments. If the over-allotment option is exercised in full, the gross proceeds of the offering will total $34,500,000.

    Atrium will use the net proceeds of the offering to repay existing indebtedness under its revolving operating credit facility, which will then be available to be drawn, as required, for general corporate purposes, particularly funding future mortgage loan opportunities.

    The offering of debentures is expected to close on or about June 30, 2025 and is subject to certain conditions including, but not limited to, the receipt of all necessary approvals, including the approval of the Toronto Stock Exchange.

    The debentures will mature on September 30, 2032 and will accrue interest at the rate of 6.00% per annum payable semi-annually in arrears on March 31 and September 30 in each year, commencing March 31, 2026. At the holder’s option, the debentures may be converted into common shares of Atrium at any time prior to the close of business on the earlier of the business day immediately preceding the maturity date and the business day immediately preceding the date fixed for redemption of the debentures. The conversion price will be $13.65 for each common share, subject to adjustment in certain circumstances.

    The debentures will be direct, unsecured obligations of Atrium, subordinated to other senior indebtedness of Atrium, ranking pari-passu to Atrium’s existing 5.50% convertible unsecured subordinated debentures due December 31, 2025, 5.00% convertible unsecured subordinated debentures due December 31, 2028, and 5.10% convertible unsecured subordinated debentures due March 31, 2029.

    The debentures will not be redeemable before September 30, 2028. On and after September 30, 2028 and prior to September 30, 2030, the debentures may be redeemed, in whole or in part, from time to time at Atrium’s option at par plus accrued and unpaid interest, provided that the weighted average trading price of the common shares of Atrium on the Toronto Stock Exchange during the 20 consecutive trading days ending on the fifth trading day preceding the date on which notice of the redemption is given is not less than 125% of the conversion price. On and after September 30, 2030, Atrium may, at its option, redeem the debentures, in whole or in part, from time to time at par plus accrued and unpaid interest.

    Subject to specified conditions, Atrium will have the right to repay the outstanding principal amount of the debentures, on maturity or redemption, through the issuance of its common shares. Atrium will also have the option to satisfy its obligation to pay interest through the issuance and sale of its common shares.

    On or before June 18, 2025, the Company will file with the securities commissions or other similar regulatory authorities in each of the provinces of Canada (excluding Quebec), a preliminary short form prospectus relating to the issuance of the debentures. No securities regulatory authority has either approved or disapproved of the contents of this news release. The securities being offered have not been, and will not be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or any state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold in the United States unless an exemption from registration is available. This news release is for information purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities of Atrium in any jurisdiction.

    About Atrium

    Canada’s Premier Non-Bank Lender™

    Atrium is a non-bank provider of residential and commercial mortgages that lends in major urban centres in Canada where the stability and liquidity of real estate are high. Atrium’s objectives are to provide its shareholders with stable and secure dividends and preserve shareholders’ equity by lending within conservative risk parameters.

    Atrium is a Mortgage Investment Corporation (MIC) as defined in the Income Tax Act (Canada), so is not taxed on income provided that its taxable income is paid to its shareholders in the form of dividends within 90 days after December 31 each year. Such dividends are generally treated by shareholders as interest income, so that each shareholder is in the same position as if the mortgage investments made by the company had been made directly by the shareholder. For further information, please refer to regulatory filings available at www.sedarplus.ca or Atrium’s website at www.atriummic.com.

    Forward-Looking Statements

    This news release contains forward-looking statements. Much of this information can be identified by words such as “expect to,” “expected,” “will,” “estimated” or similar expressions suggesting future outcomes or events and includes the expected use of proceeds and the expected closing date of the offering. Atrium believes the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct and such forward-looking statements should not be unduly relied upon.

    Forward-looking statements are based on current information and expectations that involve a number of risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated. These risks include, but are not limited to, risks associated with the ability to satisfy regulatory, stock exchange and commercial closing conditions of the offering, the uncertainty associated with accessing capital markets and the risks related to Atrium’s business, including those identified in Atrium’s annual information form for the year ended December 31, 2024 under the heading “Risk Factors” (a copy of which may be obtained at www.sedarplus.ca). Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date hereof and are subject to change. All forward-looking statements in this news release are qualified by these cautionary statements. Except as required by applicable law, Atrium undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

    For further information, please contact

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Bloomberg Engineers Help Brooklyn Robotics Reach FIRST Worlds

    Source: Bloomberg Press Statements

    Headline: Bloomberg Engineers Help Brooklyn Robotics Reach FIRST Worlds

    Giving back and supporting others is a cornerstone of Bloomberg’s culture — deeply embedded in how the firm works, collaborates, and shows up for communities. Whether through mentoring students, volunteering time, or rallying around causes that matter, Bloomberg employees are encouraged to use their skills and resources to uplift others.

    Read on to learn how a group of engineers came together to reinforce that spirit of generosity and turn individual contributions into collective impact.

    Engineering the Future: Bloomberg Powers the 2025 NYC FIRST Robotics Regional

    Bloomberg recently served as the lead sponsor of the 2025 FIRST Robotics Competition’s New York City Regional, hosted by NYC FIRST, where more than 50 high school teams from across the tri-state area showcased their engineering skills to help protect one of the ocean’s most diverse habitats.

    Among the competitors were 21 Bloomberg-sponsored teams, including Team 333 – The Megalodons from John Dewey High School in Brooklyn.

    The Megalodons earned a prestigious Regional Engineering Inspiration Award, securing them a coveted spot at the FIRST Championship in Houston, Texas, where they competed on the global stage. But for this school team, winning was just the beginning — the real challenge was securing the funds to make the journey to Houston a reality.

    When Competition Ends, Community Begins

    In a powerful show of solidarity, a group of Bloomberg software engineers — who spent the season mentoring teams that didn’t make it to the finals — came together to help. Engineers, including Josh Greenman, Brian Maher, Joe Pokorny, Bharath Sreenivas, and ZQ Yeo, donated their Dollars For Your Hours (DFYH) contributions to support the Megalodons’ journey to Houston. It’s a testament to the deep sense of community and compassion that defines Bloomberg’s Engineering culture.

    “Brian and I have mentored the Megalodons for six and 10 years respectively, and we’re always eager to support our team’s journey,” said Josh Greenman, FIRST Engineering Mentor. “At Bloomberg, FIRST mentors are a family — we rally behind the teams that make it to Champs, whether our own or not, to ensure every student gets to experience that inspiration. The growth we see in these students, sparked by curiosity and nurtured through mentorship, is what truly inspires us in return.”

    These efforts reflect a core value at Bloomberg: using technical skills and professional support to empower the next generation. More than 1,800 Bloomberg employees have volunteered nearly 30,000 hours with FIRST programs in New York City, New Jersey, San Francisco, and London since 2004, mentoring students, designing workshops, and supporting competitions across the U.S. and beyond.

    “Supporting programs like FIRST Robotics is how we bring Bloomberg’s values to life — combining skills, mentorship, and community to empower future leaders,” said Vanessa Luna of Bloomberg’s Corporate Philanthropy team. “Watching our engineers rally around the Megalodons is a powerful reminder of the impact we can make when we collectively invest in people and purpose.”

    At this year’s NYC Regional event, 13 Bloomberg engineers served as mentors, and 50 employees volunteered on site. Adam Wolf, Bloomberg’s Global Head of Engineering, attended with his family, witnessing firsthand the power of STEM mentorship and the community that forms around it.

    “Giving students the confidence to solve real-world problems, work as a team, and see themselves as future engineers and leaders is incredibly rewarding,” said Wolf. “I am always inspired watching our engineers mentor and support these teams, using our skills to give back and help shape what’s next.”

    From Brooklyn to Houston: A Team Effort

    For the Megalodons, reaching Houston meant more than just competing — it was a moment to represent their school, their city, and their journey. They were joined at the FIRST Championship by six other Bloomberg-sponsored teams, including:

    • Team 1796 – RoboTigers, Queens Technical High School (Long Island City, NY)
    • Team 694 – StuyPulse, Stuyvesant High School (New York City, NY)
    • Team 1880 – Warriors of East Harlem, East Harlem Tutorial Program (East Harlem, NY)
    • Team 2601 – Steel Hawks, Townsend Harris High School (Flushing, NY)
    • Team 5298 – E-Tech Chargers, Energy Tech High School (Long Island City, NY)
    • Team 8739 – Redhawk Robotics, High School for Construction Trades, Engineering & Architecture (Queens, NY)

    These students joined thousands of peers from around the world in Houston from April 17–20, 2025, where they competed in high-stakes matches, learned from others, and inspired one another through their shared passion for science, technology, engineering, and math.

    Engineering Culture in Action

    FIRST Robotics is more than a competition — it’s a launching pad for future engineers, technologists, and leaders. Bloomberg’s support spans sponsorship, mentorship, and education initiatives that open doors for students who may not otherwise have access to advanced STEM experiences.

    “Those who support FIRST Robotics do so because we share a passion to excite and grow future engineers,” said Engineering Manager Joe Pokorny. “When we have a chance to support others, like this year’s Megalodons – whether it be through time, services, or donations – we band together as one tight-knit team. Seeing these kids realize what they can achieve is such a great experience.”

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Effects on Deficits and the Debt of Enacting H.R. 1 and of Making Certain Tax Policies in H.R. 1 Permanent

    Source: US Congressional Budget Office

    CBO responds to a request from Senator Merkley for information about how federal deficits, debt held by the public, and debt-service costs would be affected by enacting H.R. 1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, as passed by the House of Representatives on May 22, 2025, and of permanently enacting 16 provisions in that bill.

    CBO and the staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) estimate that enacting the bill would increase deficits over the 2025–2034 period by $2.4 trillion, excluding any macroeconomic or debt‑service effects.

    H.R. 1 would make numerous changes to tax provisions and spending programs. Although many of the changes would be permanent, expiration dates are indicated for some tax and spending provisions. Also under the bill, certain aspects of some other provisions would change over the next decade.

    JCT has estimated that permanently enacting 16 of the tax provisions that would sunset under H.R. 1 at the end of 2028 or 2029 would increase primary deficits over the 2025–2034 period by an additional $1.4 trillion.

    CBO estimates that if those provisions were made permanent, the additional debt-service costs would total $687 billion over the 10‑year period. That change would increase the cumulative deficit to $4.5 trillion. As a result, and net of any changes in borrowing for federal credit programs, CBO estimates that debt held by the public at the end of 2034 would increase from the January 2025 baseline projection of 117.1 percent to 127.7 percent of gross domestic product.

    CBO’s estimate of the additional amounts that the Treasury would borrow each year under H.R. 1 is determined primarily by the budget deficit. However, other factors, driven mostly by federal credit programs that are not directly included in budget totals, also affect the need to borrow from the public. As required by the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990, the deficit reflects the net subsidy costs (the expected lifetime costs to the government for loans or loan guarantees) rather than annual cash flows. The estimated increase in debt service and debt held by the public accounts for those changes in cash flows.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Reps. Gomez and DelBene Continue Their Fight to Expand Affordable Housing for Extremely Low-Income Households

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Jimmy Gomez (CA-34)

    WASHINGTON, DC –Today, Representatives Jimmy Gomez (CA-34) — Chair of the Congressional Renters Caucus — and Suzan DelBene (WA-01) reintroduced their Affordable Housing Equity Act of 2025, legislation that would strengthen the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) by providing a targeted basis boost for housing developments that serve extremely low-income (ELI) households.

    “We’re in a housing crisis, and the families hit hardest are the ones with the fewest options,” said Rep. Gomez. “This bill delivers targeted help to the lowest-income renters by supercharging the most effective affordable housing tool we have. It’s a smart, urgent step to tackle housing affordability and build equity from the ground up.”

    “Too many families are being priced out of their communities and left without stable housing,” said Rep. DelBene. “The Affordable Housing Equity Act strengthens one of our most effective affordable housing production tools, the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, to better serve the families most in need. This legislation ensures that these households aren’t left behind in the fight for more affordable housing.” 

    The Affordable Housing Equity Act of 2025 amends the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to increase the eligible basis by up to 50% for residential units designated for households earning no more than 30% of area median income (AMI) or 100% of the federal poverty line, whichever is greater. Housing initiatives must set aside at least 20% of units for ELI renters and be designated by the housing credit agency as needing the boost for financial feasibility.

    The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) is the federal government’s primary tool to encourage the construction and rehabilitation of rental units that families can afford. While existing law allows for a 30% boost in certain areas, those provisions don’t consistently support developments serving extremely low-income renters. The Affordable Housing Equity Act of 2025 closes that gap by creating a national standard tailored to ELI households. The bill applies to new housing credit allocations made after the date of enactment and to tax-exempt bond-financed projects issued after December 31, 2025.

    You can read the full bill text HERE.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Governor Stein Announces JetZero Selects North Carolina for $4 Billion Airplane Manufacturing Hub, Creating 14,500 Jobs in Guilford County in Largest Job Commitment in State History

    Source: US State of North Carolina

    Headline: Governor Stein Announces JetZero Selects North Carolina for $4 Billion Airplane Manufacturing Hub, Creating 14,500 Jobs in Guilford County in Largest Job Commitment in State History

    Governor Stein Announces JetZero Selects North Carolina for $4 Billion Airplane Manufacturing Hub, Creating 14,500 Jobs in Guilford County in Largest Job Commitment in State History
    lsaito

    Raleigh, NC

    Today Governor Josh Stein announced JetZero, Inc., a breakthrough aviation company, will invest more than $4.7 billion in Greensboro to build its first commercial airplane manufacturing facility at the Piedmont Triad International Airport. The project will create more than 14,560 jobs for Guilford County by 2063, the largest economic development project in North Carolina history based on job commitment.

     

    “I am thrilled to welcome JetZero and its 14,000 good-paying jobs and unprecedented innovation to Guilford County,” said Governor Josh Stein. “From first in flight to now the future of flight, North Carolina and our skilled workforce is soaring.”

     

    JetZero is a start-up airplane designer and manufacturer of the Z4, a blended-wing body jet, which blends the wings and fuselage, enabling the entire wingspan to produce lift. Founded in 2020, the California-based company has partnerships with NASA, Siemens, United Airlines, Alaska Airlines, and suppliers including RTX and BAE Systems. JetZero will build an advanced manufacturing facility for a first-of-its-kind commercial all-wing jet, as well as a state-of-the-art research and development center for composite structures. Its unique design uses technological advancements to help lower carbon emissions, burn less fuel, and enhance the experience of its travelers. 

      

    “North Carolina offers the ideal combination of talent, infrastructure, and forward-thinking leadership to support our mission to reshape aviation,” said Tom O’Leary, CEO and co-Founder of JetZero. “This facility is a critical milestone in bringing our all-wing Z4 to market. I applaud the leadership of Governor Josh Stein and his team as well as the leadership of the North Carolina General Assembly, and whole host of local leaders and organizations for working with us to bring JetZero to North Carolina, the birthplace of aviation.”

     

    “With an internationally recognized aerospace cluster of more than 400 companies and major aviation hubs across the state, North Carolina is a top choice for manufacturers and suppliers,” said N.C. Commerce Secretary Lee Lilley. “JetZero will benefit from our Tier 1 research institutions and community colleges, ecosystem of industry partnerships, and strong infrastructure, helping them soar in North Carolina and beyond.”

     

    New jobs for the company include engineers, manufacturing specialists, and technicians. While salaries for the positions will vary, the average annual salary is expected to be $89,340, which exceeds the Guilford County average of $60,195. These new jobs could create a potential annual payroll impact of more than $1.3 billion for the region.

     

    JetZero’s operation in North Carolina will be facilitated, in part, by a Transformative-class Job Development Investment Grant (JDIG) awarded to JetZero, Inc., which was approved by the state’s Economic Investment Committee earlier today. Over the course of the 37-year term of this grant, the project is estimated to grow the state’s economy by $259.4 billion. Using a formula that takes into account the new tax revenues generated by the 14,564 new jobs and capital investment, the JDIG agreement authorizes the potential reimbursement to the company of up to $1,017,775,800, spread over 37 years. 

     

    Should JetZero create and maintain at least 10,000 jobs, the threshold for the JDIG’s transformative qualities will be reached, which allows for grant payments to be made for up to 29 years as long as performance targets are maintained.

     

    Like all grants from the JDIG program, any state payments only occur following performance verification each year by the departments of Commerce and Revenue that the company has met its incremental job creation and investment targets.

     

    The project’s projected return on investment of public dollars is 274 percent, meaning for every dollar of potential cost to the state, the state receives $3.74 in state revenue. JDIG projects result in positive net tax revenue to the state treasury, even after taking into consideration the grant’s reimbursement payments to a given company.

     

    Because JetZero chose a site in Guilford County, classified by the state’s economic tier system as Tier 2, the company’s JDIG agreement also calls for moving as much as $113 million into the state’s Industrial Development Fund – Utility Account.  The Utility Account helps rural communities anywhere in the state finance necessary infrastructure upgrades to attract future business.

     

    The state also anticipates providing additional support of publicly owned infrastructure to the project by means of a state appropriation of as much as $450 million, to cover site preparations; road, water, and wastewater improvements, as well as the construction of the manufacturing and research and development facility. The funding will be administered by the N.C. Department of Commerce and provided to Piedmont Triad International Airport, the N.C. Department of Transportation, and the City of Greensboro.

     

    “JetZero’s decision to come to the Triad solidifies North Carolina’s status as a leader in aerospace innovation,” said Senator Phil Berger, President Pro Tempore of the North Carolina Senate. “Our state’s high-tech manufacturing renaissance wouldn’t be possible without the General Assembly’s commitment to creating a business-friendly environment by lowering taxes, cutting red tape, and supporting world-class educational opportunities.”  

     

    “With 14,000 new jobs and nearly $5 billion dollars in investment, this project represents a transformational step forward for Guilford County and North Carolina,” said Senator Sydney Batch, Senate Democratic Leader. “Projects like this create a ripple effect that strengthens our entire state by supporting families, growing local economies, and creating more promising futures for everyone. I’m so grateful for the hard work Governor Stein, Secretary Lilley, and the Commerce Department put in to bring this across the finish line.”

     

    “Today’s announcement is a huge win for Greensboro, Guilford County, and our entire state,” said Speaker of the House Destin Hall. “JetZero’s decision to build its cutting-edge aerospace facility here proves what we’ve long known — North Carolina’s strong business environment makes our state ripe for innovation. This $4.7 billion investment and the creation of over 14,000 high-paying jobs will be a generational boost for our workforce and our future.”  

     

    “I am proud to see JetZero choose the Triad as the site of their new facility,” said Representative Robert Reives, House Democratic Leader. “Our state has some of the brightest talent in the world who are up to this challenge. We will continue to attract these investments and cement our state’s status as the place for aerospace manufacturing in the nation and world.”

     

    “This announcement is a transformative win for Guilford County and the entire state of North Carolina,” said Senator Michael Garrett. “The magnitude of this investment is a vote of confidence in our world-class workforce to fill these great-paying jobs, and proof that our community is an ideal place for new companies and ideas to launch into a bright future.”  

     

    “Today is a celebration of the intentional efforts that we’re making to transition the Triad to an innovation economy,” said Representative John Blust. “This is an historic day for all of us, and we applaud the collaboration of elected officials, economic developers, and workforce professionals throughout the state that helped JetZero make their decision to call Greensboro and PTI home.”

    In addition to the North Carolina Department of Commerce and the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina, other key partners in this project include the North Carolina General Assembly, the North Carolina Department of Transportation, the North Carolina Community College System, Guilford Tech Community College, Forsyth Tech Community College, the University of North Carolina System, North Carolina A&T State University, North Carolina State University, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Golden LEAF Foundation, Duke Energy, Piedmont Natural Gas, Piedmont Triad Airport Authority, Piedmont Triad Partnership, Guilford County Economic Development Alliance, Guilford County, GuilfordWorks, Forsyth County, the Greensboro Chamber, High Point Economic Development Corporation, Greater Winston-Salem, Inc., City of Greensboro, City of High Point, and City of Winston-Salem.

    When career opportunities at JetZero become available, they will be posted to NCworks.gov, the state’s leader in connecting employers with skilled talent

    Jun 12, 2025

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Warnock Joins Faith Leaders at Vigil to Decry Cruel Cuts to Working Families in GOP Tax Bill

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock – Georgia

    Warnock Joins Faith Leaders at Vigil to Decry Cruel Cuts to Working Families in GOP Tax Bill

    Senator Reverend Warnock joined national faith leaders on the steps of the U.S. Capitol to bear witness to the GOP tax bill that would reward the wealthiest Americans with tax cuts while targeting the most vulnerable with cuts to health care
    “Pentecost Witness for A Moral Budget” brought together faith leaders, policymakers, and activists to pray, speak up on behalf of marginalized Georgians and Americans, and advocate for a moral budget
    In his remarks, Senator Warnock recalled how he was arrested in 2017 protesting the last GOP reconciliation bill, only to be back again as a U.S. Senator fighting for working families in this latest legislative fight  

    Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA) spoke out against cruel cuts to working families in the GOP tax bill during a gathering on the steps of the U.S. Capitol with clergy and faith leaders moved by a moral conscience. The gathering, dubbed “Pentecost Witness for A Moral Budget”, was aimed at speaking up for the country’s most vulnerable—the very people the Senator’s faith calls on him to protect. The Senator and faith leaders decried how vulnerable Georgians and Americans are under real and dire threat in a moment that serves as a test to both their faith and our democracy. As the legislation text stands currently, the GOP tax bill being rammed through Congress by Washington Republicans would cut $800 billion from Medicaid, leaving 16 million more Americans uninsured, including an estimated 750,000 Georgians. 

    “I came to the Capitol in 2017 when they were trying to pass a tax cut for the wealthiest of the wealthy. […] I got arrested that day. Here I am, eight years later, having transformed my agitation into legislation, my protest into public policy. But I’m here today because I still know how to agitate. I still know how to protest. I’m not a Senator who used to be a pastor. I’m a pastor in the Senate. And so, here’s what we have come to do today. If this budget were an EKG, it would suggest that many of my colleagues have a heart problem. And we have gathered today to perform moral surgery because our children deserve better. They are talking about waste, fraud, and abuse. There is not enough waste, fraud, and abuse to cut $800 billion from Medicaid. That means some people will not get covered. Seniors, and veterans, and children. $300 billion out of SNAP. That means they are taking food out of the hungry mouths of children in order to give people like Elon Musk a tax cut,” said Senator Warnock at the faith-based rally.

    Faith leaders and policymakers attending the gathering were praying, testifying, storytelling, reading Scripture verses about people experiencing poverty in the Bible and standing for justice, as well as advocating for a moral budget.

    The public witness event was led by Reverend Jim Wallis, the founding Director of the Georgetown University Center on Faith and Justice, as well as Reverend Adam Taylor of Sojourners and Dr. Barbara Williams-Skinner with the National African American Clergy Network. Senator Warnock was also joined by Senate colleagues Senator Chris Coons (D-DE) and Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN). 

    A transcript of Senator Warnock’s remarks can be found below:

    Hello everybody. Thank you all so very much for standing on the Capitol steps in this moral moment in America. And I have to tell you that as I stand here today with my friend Jim Wallace, and with the Reverend Barbara Williams Skinner, and so many others, this feels like deja vu. 

    Because they were trying to pass a reconciliation bill in 2017 during the first Trump administration. And when they were trying to pass that bill, I was not a United States Senator. I came to the Capitol in 2017 when they were trying to pass a tax cut for the wealthiest of the wealthy. I came with clergy, including the Reverend Barbara Williams Skinner. And as I stood there, I said then what I want to say today: that a budget is not just a fiscal document, it’s a moral document. Show me your budget, and I’ll show you who you think matters and who does not. Who you think is dispensable. 

    And we stood there in 2017 making the same point. I was with the Reverend Doctor William Barber, and I said, “Which one of us is getting arrested today? You or me?” I got the short straw. I got arrested that day. And the Capitol police, they were professional, they didn’t mishandle me, and they deserve credit for doing what we asked them to do. But what they didn’t understand that day as they said, “Pastor, if you don’t stop praying, if you don’t stop singing in the rotunda of the Capitol, we’re going to have to arrest you.” What they didn’t understand is that I had already been arrested. My mind and my imagination and my heart had been arrested by the heartbeat of children who should not lose their food and who should not lose their health care in order to give wealthy people a tax cut. 

    And so they arrested me that day in 2017. Here I am, eight years later, having transformed my agitation into legislation, my protest into public policy. But I’m here today because I still know how to agitate. I still know how to protest. I’m not a Senator who used to be a pastor. I’m a pastor in the Senate. And so, here’s what we have come to do today. If this budget were an EKG, it would suggest that many of my colleagues have a heart problem. And we have gathered today to perform moral surgery because our children deserve better. They are talking about waste, fraud, and abuse. There is not enough waste, fraud, and abuse to cut $800 billion from Medicaid. That means some people will not get covered. Seniors, and veterans, and children. $300 billion out of SNAP. That means they are taking food out of the hungry mouths of children in order to give people like Elon Musk a tax cut. And the folks who vote for this will be in someone’s church next Sunday. I have a scripture for them: Away with your noise. Away with your songs. I will not hear them. I hate your festivals. I hate your solemn gatherings. But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

    God is not impressed by you quoting scripture. God is not impressed by you showing up to church on Sunday. The acid test of your faith is the depth of your commitment to the least and left out of God’s hungry children. In closing, and nobody believes a Baptist preacher when he says in closing, let me just say this to you: in this dark moment in our country, we know what they are trying to do to Medicaid. We know what they are trying to do to SNAP. We know what they are trying to do to federal workers. We know there are starving people abroad right now—children—through their cuts to USAID. But there is something else they are doing that is even more sinister. They are trying to weaponize despair. They are trying to convince you that they have already won and so you need not fight. This is what you must resist. You must resist the despair that is so deep that you stop fighting. Because when we fight, we win. Are you ready to stand up in this moral moment? Are you ready to stand up for our children? Are you ready to stand up for the elderly? Are you ready to stand up for the seniors and those who are struggling? Are you ready to stand up for the best in the American spirit? So let’s stick together, let’s pray together, let’s work together, let’s fight together. Truth crushed to Earth will rise again.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Minister Champagne meets with provincial and territorial Finance Ministers

    Source: Government of Canada News

    June 11, 2025 – Ottawa, ON

    The Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Finance and National Revenue, convened a virtual meeting with provincial and territorial Finance Ministers to advance shared priorities and strengthen Canada’s economic resilience.

    The Minister opened the discussion with an update on Canada–U.S. relations, emphasizing the federal government’s determination to remove unjustified U.S. tariffs still in force on many Canadian products. He reaffirmed Canada’s commitment to establishing a renewed economic and security relationship with the United States while strengthening collaboration with reliable trading partners from around the world.

    Minister Champagne highlighted Canada’s leadership on the international stage, notably through its chairing of the recent meeting of G7 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors, which laid the groundwork for next week’s Leaders’ Summit in Kananaskis, Alberta. G7 discussions focused on tackling global economic uncertainty, combatting financial crimes, harnessing the potential of digital transformation, and promoting growth and productivity.

    In line with the federal government’s nation-building agenda, the Minister welcomed the growing momentum among provinces and territories to reduce internal trade barriers and unlock the full potential of the Canadian economy. He reiterated the government’s commitment, reflected in Bill C-5, the One Canadian Economy Act, aimed at eliminating federal barriers to trade and labour mobility and accelerating transformative projects of national interest.

    The Minister also provided updates on key legislative initiatives that will deliver real results for Canadians. This includes Bill C-4, which proposes a middle class tax cut for nearly 22 million Canadians and removes the Goods and Services Tax for first-time buyers purchasing new homes up to $1 million, and Bill C-2, which strengthens border security to keep communities safe.

    Canada’s Finance Ministers also agreed to remain in close contact in the weeks ahead and keep driving momentum to build the strongest economy of the G7.

    Related Links

    Associated Links

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Boyle Grills Secretary Bessent Over Cost of Trump’s Budget Bill in Ways & Means Hearing

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Brendan Boyle (13th District of Pennsylvania)

    WASHINGTON, DC — In today’s Ways and Means Committee hearing, Congressman Brendan F. Boyle (PA-02), Ranking Member of the House Budget Committee, questioned Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent about the staggering cost of the Republican budget bill.

    Boyle warned that Trump’s plans would add $3 trillion to the deficit while kicking 16 million people off their health care and slammed the administration’s trade policies that led the World Bank to slash growth projections.

    A full transcript and video are below: 

     

     (Click for video of remarks as delivered.)

    Congressman Boyle’s full remarks and questions as delivered:

    Congressman Boyle: “I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore. This massive, outrageous pork-filled spending bill is a disgusting abomination. Shame on those who voted for it. You know you did wrong. You know it.” Those were the words of your former White House colleague and good friend Elon Musk.

    Another: “This spending bill contains the largest increase in debt ceiling in US history. It is the debt slavery bill. A new spending bill should be drafted that doesn’t massively grow the deficit and increase the debt ceiling by $5 trillion.”

    Why do you believe Mr. Musk is right or wrong?

    Secretary Bessent: You’d have to ask Mr. Musk.

    Congressman Boyle: Well, take the substance of what he said. Does it not add trillions of dollars, your bill to the deficit and debt?

    Secretary Bessent: It is not my belief that it does. It may be his, he could speak for himself.

    Congressman Boyle: But of course, it’s not just Mr. Musk, it is the Congressional Budget Office. It is conservative leaning groups like Tax Foundation, Cato, left-leaning groups, and nonpartisan groups like CBO and JCT. So this bill has actually united the left, the right, and the center all saying it massively increases deficit and debt, but they’re all wrong and you’re right?

    Secretary Bessent: Congressman, I think that there are a, are a range of outcomes that I think that many do not include the pro growth measures, just as they were wrong with the original TCJA, and that has proven to be a resounding success. Just as, I don’t know if you were here to vote for the IRA, the CBO scoring on that, it has been three to four times more expensive.

    Congressman Boyle: So, it’s curious to me because you spent decades as an executive at George Soros’ hedge fund being very successful, making billions of dollars. Back then you would always rail against deficit and debt. What happened?

    Secretary Bessent: I, again, that it is smart spending, that what are we spending for?

    Congressman Boyle: Tax cuts that mostly go to billionaires such as yourself while throwing 16 million people off their healthcare coverage.

    Secretary Bessent: Well, I, I would dispute that 16 million. I think you’re conflating a lot of numbers.

    Congressman Boyle: No, it’s the — excuse me, reclaiming my time — those aren’t my numbers. Just to be clear, as you know, it’s the Congressional Budget Office projection.

    Secretary Bessent: I think you’re adding up a, a lot of numbers that shouldn’t be added.

    Congressman Boyle: Excuse me. I am adding two specific numbers. The cuts CBO found coming to Medicaid — no, we’re entitled to our own opinions, but not our own facts and not our own numbers. The CBO shows that 10.9 million will lose their health care coverage from the Medicaid cuts and another 5.1 million will lose their healthcare coverage due to the ACA cuts. 10.9 plus 5.1 is 16 million.

    Secretary Bessent: So, so you are adding numbers.

    Congressman Boyle: Yes. Correctly.

    Secretary Bessent: Do, do you support Medicaid for illegal aliens? 1.4 million.

    Congressman Boyle: I’m asking the questions, not you, although you’ll be happy to know that my home state commonwealth of Pennsylvania, actually they check your citizenship status before you can enroll in Medicaid.

    Congressman Boyle: But I understand why you’re wanting to divert and change the subject. Let me move, since we’ve taken up already most of my time, the World Bank yesterday had a shocking growth projection. They slashed their growth projection for the United States by upwards of 40%. I’m just curious, do you agree or do you think they’re wrong as well, because they specifically cited the trade uncertainty caused by your administration, the administration that you serve as Secretary of the Treasury, as being the primary reason why they’ve had to slash their growth projection to the lowest since 2008.

    Secretary Bessent: Congressman, you kindly cited the success that I may or may not have had in my previous career, but I could tell you I would not have had it if I followed World Bank projections.

    Congressman Boyle: So, it is interesting that you believe all of these groups are wrong. From your former colleague, Elon Musk, to left leaning groups, to right leaning groups, to center groups, to the World Bank, everything is going hunky dory. The reality is, I can see why you would have that opinion. You as a billionaire will reap the rewards of this tax cut while 16 million Americans will lose their health coverage. That is the sad reality of the situation.

    Secretary Bessent: We could look at the, who would be most harmed if these tax cuts expire?

    Congressman Boyle: Well, you’ll be happy to know that on this Democratic side of the dais, through an 18 hour markup, every single Democratic member voted to extend the tax cuts for everyone making under a billion dollars.

    Congressman Boyle: I see my time has expired. I yield back.

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Remembering Frederick Forsyth: my encounters with the spy who stayed out in the cold

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Paul Lashmar, Reader in Journalism, City St George’s, University of London

    One of the great British purveyors of the spy and cold-war genres, Frederick Forsyth, who has died at the age of 86, was best known for his novels The Day of the Jackal (1971), The Odessa File (1972) and The Dogs of War (1974).

    He wrote another 22 books, which together have sold 75 million copies worldwide, and spawned several successful films. In his 2015 memoirs, Forsyth revealed he had been a spy for the British government.

    My encounters with “Freddie” came late in his life. Back in 2023 my former colleagues at Brunel University were launching a project called Writers in Intelligence. Having no contacts in the murky world of spookery, they approached me for help.

    They needed a high-profile writer who had worked in intelligence for their first event. I suggested Forsyth, as he had admitted to being an MI6 asset between 1968 and 1988. I wrote to him, and he agreed to an interview.

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    It was not my finest hour. I had carefully created a narrative arc of questions and outlined my plan to Forsyth in the green room. He nodded. After we sat down in front of a packed audience Forsyth proceeded to ignore my first question and launched into his own well-practised narrative.

    “What is the point of espionage in the first place?” he asked rhetorically. “I would sum it up in a single word: forewarning – what the bad guys are doing,” he said, launching into his spiel. He was particularly good on the need for a cover story when working abroad, “where the very nasty secret police ruled the roost”. His cover was being a foreign correspondent.

    For the rest of his “talk”, I tried to predict his direction of travel and lob the occasional question to justify my existence. Relief for me came with the Q&A.

    Inevitably a question came up about the Nigerian civil war in which he had a controversial role. Independent from 1960, Nigeria is a creation of the British empire and in broad terms combines three different colonial and ethnic areas. The Muslim north, mostly the Haus-Fulani people; the mixed religions of the Yoruba west; and the Christian Igbo people of the east in the area known then as Biafra, rich in oil reserves. In 1966, an attempted military coup sparked civil war and anti-Igbo pogroms in the north, forcing 1.2 million Igbo refugees to return to the Biafra region.

    Refugees complained that the Lagos-based Nigerian government under General Yakubu Gowon had failed to protect them. Secessionists under the military commander of the east, Colonel Chukwuemeka Ojukwu, declared Biafra a separate republic in May 1967. Gowon ordered the Nigerian army to retake Biafra. Initially the Biafran forces countered attacked but Gowan’s troops, reinforced by secretly delivered British munitions, created a lengthy stalemate.

    Forsyth, aged 29 and now a BBC correspondent (after stints as the RAF’s youngest fighter pilot and a Reuters journalist) was posted to Biafra to cover the war. With few of his reports being used despite him being on the frontline (at one point a bullet grazed his head), he grew increasingly disillusioned. He considered the BBC’s reports from its west Africa correspondent in Lagos hundreds of miles away, to be pro-Gowon.

    Angering BBC bosses by making the case for Biafra, Forsyth was ordered out, after which he said he resigned, although this contradicts the tweet made by the BBC’s John Simpson, who this week said that Forsyth was sacked after “introducing Biafran propaganda into his reports”.

    In 1968 Forsyth reported independently from Biafra on the deliberate starvation of people that shocked the world, and became close to Colonel Ojukwu. Eventually, after three years, Biafra was overwhelmed and reintegrated into Nigeria in 1970.

    In the Brunel audience was Nigerian novelist and journalist Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani who is of Igbo heritage. I asked her this week what she recalled of the evening having travelled to see Forsyth whose books “had been a staple” during her teenage years. She asked Forsyth whether his assessment of the war back then was valid. Forsyth did not really give an opinion but, describing what he had seen, clearly thought his reporting had stood the test of time.

    The Brunel evening was deemed a success as Forsyth had lived up to his reputation as a charismatic raconteur. Even in his eighties he cut an imposing figure – decidedly alpha male and a hard-living world traveller. On the thriller-writer spectrum, he combined the spirit of Hemingway with the cool detached air of le Carré. It was not hard to believe that Forsyth had been a little too close to some of the unsavoury events he wrote about.

    We meet again, Mr Forsyth

    A few months later I asked him for a one-to-one interview and was invited to his house in a Buckinghamshire village. I explained that for nearly 50 years I had been intermittently researching the foreign office’s cold-war covert propaganda operation, the Information Research Department (IRD).

    Set up in 1948 to attack communism, by the late 1960s the IRD was a huge operation and had extended its secret remit from anti-communism to covertly attacking anybody or anything its mandarins perceived as anti-British. I had been reading recently released IRD files on Biafra that had long been withheld.

    The first thing that was clear was that Forsyth was still angry over what he saw as the British betrayal of the Biafran people. He cursed the then prime minister Harold Wilson. As a result of Forsyth’s reporting on Biafra – which he saw as objective – he had come under personal attack.

    Who was responsible, I asked. Forsyth identified the high commissioner in Lagos at the time, Sir David Hunt, “a very unpleasant man” whom he held in very low regard. Indeed Hunt had written in one internal memo that Forsyth was “an ardent Ibo partisan and is now employed by them”, and who “spread the most alarming and exaggerated reports”. The memo is now held in the National Archives.

    I was able to tell Forsyth that the foreign office had deployed the full arsenal of the IRD’s propaganda skills to support Gowon’s government – and made a huge effort to neuter Forsyth’s reporting from Biafra. Wilson’s government did not want to lose access to cheap oil supplied by Nigeria, or for it to be known that Britain was secretly supplying Gowan with arms.

    The IRD’s role was all the more curious in that the Soviet Union was pro-Gowon and Ojukwa was anti-communist. In our meeting Forsyth was surprised at what I had to say; he had never heard of IRD, which in turn surprised me. What was all the more puzzling was that IRD was close to MI6 and, as Forsyth revealed in his memoir, he had been an unpaid MI6 asset for 20 years, beginning in Biafra in 1968.

    He thought his targeting might explain the breadth of the personal attacks any against him. In another memo held in the National Archives, this time written in 1969, another British diplomat said he had met Forsyth and bemoaned it was “hard to understand” how the BBC had employed him as correspondent.

    The war ended in January 1970. The number of deaths is still disputed but claimed to be between one and two million – mostly civilians many of whom starved to death. On his return to the UK Forsyth wrote his first book, a non-fiction account called The Biafran Story, which did not sell.

    By the beginning of 1971 Forsyth was unemployable as a journalist and struggling financially. He sat down and over 35 days wrote The Day of the Jackal, a novel set in 1963 about an assassination plot against the French President, which went on to sell ten million copies. In 1973 it was turned into a film starring Edward Fox and was a huge box office hit. Forsyth never had to worry about money again.

    Paul Lashmar is affiliated with the Labour Party

    – ref. Remembering Frederick Forsyth: my encounters with the spy who stayed out in the cold – https://theconversation.com/remembering-frederick-forsyth-my-encounters-with-the-spy-who-stayed-out-in-the-cold-258762

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI USA: ICYMI: Tuberville Joins “Kudlow” to Discuss President Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill”

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Alabama Tommy Tuberville

    WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) joined Larry Kudlow on Fox Business Network to discuss President Trump’s “One Big, Beautiful Bill,” and how the Senate needs to pass it quickly to enact historic tax cuts for Americans. Senator Tuberville also discussed the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) numbers and shared how President Trump’s tariffs are delivering positive results in Alabama.  

    Excerpts from Senator Tuberville’s interview can be found below and the full interview can be found on Rumble or YouTube. 

    KUDLOW: “Joining us now is Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville, [the] great Senator Tommy Tuberville. Senator, welcome back as always. I just wanna try this thesis out in you. Mr. Trump acted so decisively to stop the riots in Los Angeles, to protect the work of ICE, to keep the deportations going, to make it very clear that criminals would be thrown into jail, if you spit on somebody, you’re going to jail, etc., etc. That was a big win, I mean, I think it was a big win and a big loss for Democrats. But here’s my questions there. I think that kind of action, which is so popular—it’s like an 80/20 issue—plays into passage of the one big, beautiful bill because people want promises made, promises kept. They want the Trump agenda, and they see that he is unhesitatingly defending the Trump agenda on which he was elected last November. What you think? I’m going from LA to one big, beautiful bill.”

    TUBERVILLE: “Well, if you just think about this summer coming up, it’s probably gonna be the ‘summer of hate’ instead of the ‘summer of love,’ Larry. We got huge problems. 1,400 protests just this weekend, but at the end of the day, President Trump never hesitated with this. He goes in—this is a third world country run by a communist governor. And the guy should be in jail, and also the mayor. This is an absolute disgrace. The American people—actually the citizens of California—should be treated a lot better than this. But at the end of the day, it is really gonna help, I think, also, as you said, coming back to the big, beautiful bill, President Trump means business. If you look at this bill, about ¾ of it is tax cuts for all Americans. Tax cuts.”

    KUDLOW: “Mhmm.”

    TUBERVILLE: “And that’s what we need. We gotta get that done. The other—there’s some things in there, that I don’t agree with all of it—a little bit too much spending, but the one thing we have to get done is the tax cuts and all those other things will work itself out as we go through this bill and another reconciliation down the road. But, yeah, President Trump means business. He knows what he’s doing. He’s got huge backing from really smart people like [Secretary Scott] Bessent and [Secretary Howard] Lutnick, and all the people that are working, all the trade and tariff deals. I’m fired up about the big, beautiful bill being passed here in the very near future.”

    KUDLOW: “I mean, you—look, you’ve probably seen some of these numbers from the White House Legislative Affairs, but a 15% tax cut to working families, [has] 82% [support], [support for the] child tax credit [is even] higher, [at] 81% percent. Ending taxes on tips, [has] 77% [support] to 18% [non-support]. Cutting taxes on overtime, [has] 74% [support] to 18% [non-support]. I mean, these are like 75% to 80% [support] to 20% [non-support] issues. You know what they’re like, Senator. They’re like law and order, punishing criminals, or deporting murderers and sex traffickers[which are all popular issues]. They’re 80/20 issues too. And I’m just saying, to me it all kind of comes together—I know LA seems a long way from one big, beautiful bill, but in the public’s mind, the guy they hired to be president is doing what folks want, and I think there’s been momentum. That’s why I wanna get the one big, beautiful bill done as soon as possible, sir.”

    TUBERVILLE: “Exactly. Take our country back like he’s doing in California. Take our economy back like he’s gonna do with this bill. This bill is gonna help a lot of people, Larry, and it’s gonna build growth. You know, just last week, I talked to a group in Alabama that President Trump saved 300 jobs at this manufacturing textile mill because of what he did with tariffs.” 

    KUDLOW: “Mhmm.”

    TUBERVILLE: “That’s gonna happen. Biden, Obama, Clinton, they all sold our manufacturing out. Anywhere you drive in this country, you’re gonna see manufacturing plants that are just old, dilapidated. Nobody’s working there—small towns gone to heck in a hand basket. But at the end of the day, President Trump means business. He’s gonna get people to come back. He’s gonna tariff everybody that’s against this country, especially China. And we’re gonna get manufacturing back and take care of ourself instead of other people.”

    KUDLOW: “Well, you know, full cost expense is gonna help that. But the bigger story is the tariff inflation is missing in action. And I think these exporting countries with their unfair trading practices—you know, Senator, I think they’re eating the tariff. That’s what I think is happening because there’s no inflation. It’s only 1.4% for the past four months. That’s remarkable. Every economist practically in the liberal media was completely wrong.”

    TUBERVILLE: “Well, the Democrats have been hollering, ‘Chicken little, the sky is falling. The sky is falling,’ and all we have to do is look at really what’s going on and everything is getting better. You know, we might not have improved a lot, but we haven’t tanked like the Democrats were expecting because look at all the things we’re having to go through, the tariffs, the wars, all these protests. They’re doing everything they can to slow President Trump down. It’s not working. He’s not listening to the nonsense anymore. The media can do what they want to, but he’s gonna do exactly what he told American people he’s gonna do. He’s gonna stick with it. He’s got a game plan. And I’m looking forward to this game plan continuing on. When we get these tax cuts done, the country is gonna take off in the right direction, and you don’t have to worry about inflation. We’re gonna be on the way up.”

    KUDLOW: “Senator Tuberville, President Trump is hinting at putting in a new Fed chairman. I mean, this guy, Jay Powell, should have been cutting rates with the absence of inflation. How about you running the Federal Reserve System? A commonsense guy like you—businessman, you know the farm community. We need somebody. I know your eye—you got your eye on the Alabama governorship. I got the Federal Reserve checked off for you.”

    TUBERVILLE: “Well, the one thing I will tell you and [you] hit it on one of those ideas there, Larry. The interest rates are killing our farmers. We’re gonna lose our farmers if we don’t get this interest rate down. It’s costing them a fortune. They can’t make a profit. And what happens when we lose our farmers like we did manufacturing, we’re gone go south. And we cannot allow that to happen. We gotta protect our farmers. Yeah, let’s drop the interest rates. Drop them now. They were way too high for way too long.”

    KUDLOW: “Senator Tommy Tuberville, that’s the best. Thank you for your wisdom, sir.”

    Senator Tommy Tuberville represents Alabama in the United States Senate and is a member of the Senate Armed Services, Agriculture, Veterans’ Affairs, HELP and Aging Committees.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Miller Participates in Ways and Means Committee Hearing with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Carol Miller (R-WV)

    Washington, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Carol Miller (R-WV) participated in a Ways and Means committee hearing with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. The Congresswoman focused her comments on the success of the One, Big, Beautiful Bill in fixing the Democrat-imposed 1099-K $600 reporting threshold and Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs. A video of the Congresswoman’s questions followed by Secretary Bessent’s responses can be found here and is transcribed below. 

    Congresswoman Miller began by voicing support for the One, Big, Beautiful Bill’s inclusion of her Saving Gig Economy Taxpayers Act and asking Secretary Bessent about how reverting back to the time-tested standard of $20,000 and 200 transactions for 1099-K will positively affect taxpayers.

    “One of my top priorities in the tax package is to repeal the Democrat’s absurd 1099-K threshold. Under the Biden Administration, Democrats changed the time-tested standard of $20,000 and 200 transactions to $600 when determining whether a taxpayer receives a 1099-K or not. Before this committee, your predecessor acknowledged that this new threshold would be difficult to administer and lead to the taxpayer’s confusion. Instead of working with us to fix it, the Biden Treasury unconstitutionally delayed implementation and then changed the threshold to try and ease the taxpayer’s confusion in the election year. Unfortunately, there are still millions more 1099-K forms that were sent out and Republicans have worked to restore the 1099-K threshold to the time-tested standard of $20,000 and 200 transactions by including my Saving Gig Economy Taxpayers Act in the One, Big, Beautiful Bill. Can you shed some light on how this policy and others being produced from your Department will make life easier for taxpayers?” asked Congresswoman Carol Miller.
     
    “Representative, thank you for discussing these very important issues. As I said, I believe the underappreciated part of President Trump’s economic plan is the deregulation and what you were describing, the cutting back on paperwork that putting thresholds at proper level, is indeed deregulation, lower paperwork. And I think you correctly pointed out that the previous administration, I’m not sure that anyone ever signed […] the front of a paycheck or the back of a paycheck. I think they mostly received direct deposit from the US government because they’re always government employees. So, if you have never made payroll, if you were not processing paperwork, you don’t understand the costs that are inherent in this. If you are a small business person, if you or someone with a lawn care business. [… A]s you said, we have a completely new economy today with the gig economy, whether it is Uber drivers, delivery people, the contract workers who work from home […] in programming fields. So I think that it was tone deaf, completely tone deaf for the nature of the new economy,” replied Secretary Bessent.

    Congresswoman Miller concluded by sharing her support for President Trump’s ongoing trade negotiations and requested Secretary Bessent’s support to secure fairness for America’s domestic steel industry.
     
    “I also want to voice my support for the ongoing trade negotiations that the President and you are working on. For too long, our trusted trade partners have quietly taken advantage of the United States. I am a firm believer that trade truly is the great equalizer and a powerful tool to bring the world together. However, that tool can’t be used effectively if there isn’t fairness within trade deals. I am particularly interested in the domestic steel industry. West Virginia has been producing quality steel for decades, some in my hometown of Huntington, and my district is currently ramping up steel production even further with addition of new mills in Mason County. I am very supportive of the Section 232 tariffs on steel that the President has pursued and am eager to work together with the administration to ensure that a level playing field is also applied to the U.S.-U.K. Economic Prosperity Deal. The U.K. has a history of subsidizing its steel industry – which in turn often undercuts our domestic steel producers. Secretary Bessent, can you commit to continuing working to secure fairness for our domestic steel industry across trade deals?” asked Congresswoman Carol Miller.

    “Representative Miller, I had the privilege of being with the President at the U.S. steel factory in Pittsburgh a week ago Friday, and I can tell you that the President’s commitment to the U.S. steel industry is unwavering [and] that we are bringing back domestic production. And that what we have seen, and one of the previous questions about ‘is China a reliable partner?’, what we have seen during COVID since then is that there are strategic industries, strategic industries in the United States where we must have an industrial base, and I would put steel in the top three,” replied Secretary Bessent. 
     

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI: Bondholders of Baltic Horizon Fund approved the amendments to the bond terms and conditions

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Baltic Horizon Fund applied for bondholders’ approval for certain amendments to the terms and conditions (the Terms and Conditions) of the Baltic Horizon Fund EUR 42 million 5-year floating rate bonds maturing in 2028 (ISIN EE3300003235, the Bonds) in relation to the Bonds by way of written procedure initiated on 9 June 2025.

    Bondholders who were entered in the registry of bond-holders maintained by Nasdaq CSD SE on 6 June 2025 were entitled to vote in the written procedure (the Holders). Altogether Holders holding in aggregate Bonds with the nominal value of EUR 18,999,997.80 which constitutes 100% of the aggregate nominal value of all Bonds, participated in the written procedure for amending the Terms and Conditions.  The Holders voted unanimously in favour of the decisions to amend the voluntary early redemption provisions of the Bonds and therefore adopted the necessary decision. Following the approval of the amendments, the Baltic Horizon Fund will have the right to carry out voluntary early redemptions in tranches of at least EUR 3 million.

    The amended Terms and Conditions will be published on the website of the Baltic Horizon Fund within three business days as of publishing of this notice.

    For additional information, please contact:

    Tarmo Karotam
    Baltic Horizon Fund manager
    E-mail tarmo.karotam@nh-cap.com
    www.baltichorizon.com

    Baltic Horizon Fund is a registered contractual public closed-end real estate fund managed by Alternative Investment Fund Manager license holder Northern Horizon Capital AS. Both the Fund and the Management Company are supervised by the Estonian Financial Supervision Authority.

    Distribution: GlobeNewswire, Nasdaq, www.baltichorizon.com

    To receive Nasdaq announcements and news from Baltic Horizon Fund about its projects, plans and more, register on www.baltichorizon.com. You can also follow Baltic Horizon Fund on www.baltichorizon.com and on LinkedIn, Facebook, X and YouTube.

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: The case for investment in Canadian clean power

    Source: – Press Release/Statement:

    Headline: The case for investment in Canadian clean power

    Growing Canada’s clean electricity advantage means investing in our energy security. 

    By Vittoria Bellissimo, President and CEO, Canadian Renewable Energy Association

    In 2025, global capital flows to the energy sector are set to rise to USD 3.3 trillion, a two percent rise in real terms compared to 2024.

    Of that amount, around USD 2.2 trillion is going to renewables, energy storage, electrical grids, electrification and other clean energy technologies. [Source: IEA’s World Energy Investment]

    Canada can also expect, and will require, significantly increased investment in wind energy, solar energy and energy storage, as electricity demand grows from coast to coast to coast.

    Demand in the Age of Electricity

    As the International Energy Agency (IEA) stated in its 2024 World Energy Outlook, we have now entered the Age of Electricity. In Canada, and all around the world, we can expect electricity demand to grow quickly as we digitize and electrify our economies.

    Ontario, for example, is expecting to see 75% growth in electricity demand by 2050.

    For the new federal government to achieve its goal of building the strongest economy in the G7, we must build out every part of the electricity system—generation, storage, transmission, distribution, smart energy management—and do so in advance, before we fall short of the electricity we need. Canada’s clean electricity advantage will be our energy security.

    How will we get there? Largely by building new clean energy projects, like wind, solar and energy storage. These technologies are not only clean, but low-cost, reliable, flexible and scalable solutions for Canada’s urgent and long-term needs.

    Canada is open for business

    Another key driver of the big build will be Canada’s Clean Economy Investment Tax Credits (ITCs), which will help increase the pace of the clean investment we need in Canada.

    We’ve already started building. More than 18 GW of upcoming procurements are currently either underway, being procured or being planned. This represents about $34B in investment. CanREA is tracking Canada’s electricity procurements in this procurement calendar.

    Indigenous equity is propelling growth

    In Canada, Indigenous equity partners can and do directly contribute to the success of renewable energy and energy storage projects.

    Take, for example, the Oneida Energy Storage Project, a 250 MW / 1,000 MWh battery energy storage project in Haldimand County, Ontario, which achieved commercial operation on May 7, 2025. This project’s majority owner is CanREA Industry Leader member Northland Power Inc., who shares ownership with an Indigenous equity partner, CanREA Megawatt member Six Nations of the Grand River Development Corporation.

    Or consider the recent 2024 B.C. Call for Power, which resulted in ten new renewable-energy projects, each with First Nations asset ownership between 49 and 51 percent.

    These are but two examples of many, with more to come.

    We have a long way to go on Canada’s national journey of Reconciliation, but in the clean electricity sector, we are getting started on economic reconciliation.

    The federal government’s recent announcement expanding the Indigenous Loan Guarantee Program from $5B to $10B is another step in the right direction.

    Join CanREA at Clean Power Finance Canada

    Is it all tailwinds with no headwinds? Of course not. We are seeing risks to project development in Canada, including supply chain disruptions, policy and regulatory barriers, misinformation and more.

    As an industry, we’re tackling these challenges. We all benefit when we work together on solutions. And a great place to do that is at Canada’s only national conference dedicated to clean energy finance.

    Happening on June 25, 2025, in Toronto, the second annual Clean Power Finance Canada—CanREA Summit makes the case for investment in Canadian clean power projects.

    Presented by CIBC, Clean Power Finance Canada brings together the finance world (including bankers, lenders, investors, finance professionals, tax experts and insurers) andthe clean energy sector (including project developers, asset owners and managers), to learn from one another about project financing and clean power markets.

    This year’s speakers will provide insights into revenue streams and risks for clean energy projects, up-to-date information on policy directions and regulatory hurdles, updates on the new federal ITCs and financing opportunities for Indigenous clean energy projects, and much more. 

    I hope you’ll join me in Toronto! Bring your questions and ideas for a full day of learning, followed by the CanREA Connects—Ontario, our popular annual Summer Solstice networking reception.

    Pro tip: Last year’s Summit sold out, so be sure to register in advance.

    The post The case for investment in Canadian clean power appeared first on Canadian Renewable Energy Association.

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Distributional Effects of H.R. 1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act

    Source: US Congressional Budget Office

    This letter responds to a request for an analysis of the distributional effects of H.R. 1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, and updates the preliminary analysis the Congressional Budget Office provided in the letter dated May 20, 2025.

    CBO and the staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) recently estimated the budgetary and distributional effects of H.R. 1 as passed on May 22, 2025. On the basis of those estimates, CBO allocated the effects on revenues and spending to households. The agency also allocated to households the effects of states’ estimated responses to changes to health programs—primarily Medicaid—and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

    CBO estimates that if the legislation was enacted, U.S. households, on average, would see an increase in the resources available to them over the 2026– 2034 period. The changes would not be evenly distributed among households. The agency estimates that in general, resources would decrease for households toward the bottom of the income distribution, whereas resources would increase for households in the middle and top of the income distribution.

    This analysis includes most, but not all, provisions of H.R. 1. The distributional analysis of changes to taxes and tax-related outlays is based on analysis done by JCT. Therefore, the analysis in this letter excludes any tax provisions not allocated in JCT’s distributional analysis of H.R. 1. Also, CBO’s analysis does not reflect the effects of the additional debt-service costs or the macroeconomic effects of the bill.

    CBO estimates that the budgetary effects of the legislation would affect household resources through four channels over the 2026–2034 period:

    • Federal taxes and cash transfers would increase household resources by $3.1 trillion, on net (in 2025 dollars). In particular, changes to federal tax provisions, especially extensions of provisions of the 2017 tax act and reductions in subsidies for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act, would affect household resources. Changes to student loan programs would also affect those resources.
    • Federal and state in-kind benefits would decrease household resources by $1.0 trillion, primarily because federal spending on benefits provided through Medicaid and SNAP would be lower. Changes to program benefits that states made in response to changes in federal policy would also reduce household resources.
    • States’ fiscal responses would increase household resources by $10 billion, on net. Those responses consist of the tax and spending changes implemented by states in response to changes to their fiscal position. In CBO’s assessment, Medicaid eligibility changes under the legislation would reduce states’ spending on Medicaid benefits. Those decreases would be largely offset by the new matching requirements for SNAP, which would increase state spending. In CBO’s analysis, states, in the aggregate, would use the resulting overall reduction in benefit spending to increase spending in other areas and to reduce taxes, both of which would increase household resources.
    • Other spending and revenues would increase household resources by $129 billion, on net. The spending and revenues in this category were allocated as if they were public goods. This category includes federal spending on defense, border security, and infrastructure. Those outlays are partially offset by reductions in federal pensions, receipts from spectrum auctions, and changes in receipts and outlays associated with changes to emissions regulations.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: How H.R. 1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Would Affect the Distribution of Resources Available to Households

    Source: US Congressional Budget Office

    Cash transfers consist of Social Security benefits, Supplemental Security Income, unemployment insurance, workers’ compensation, income from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and State General Assistance programs, and changes to cash flows resulting from changes to student loan policy.

    Deciles are created by ranking households by their size-adjusted income after transfers and taxes. A household consists of people who share a housing unit, regardless of their relationships. Each income decile (tenth) contains approximately equal numbers of people but slightly different numbers of households. If a household has negative income (that is, if its business or investment losses are larger than its other income), it is excluded from the lowest income group but included in totals.

    Federal taxes consist of individual income taxes, payroll taxes, corporate income taxes, and excise taxes. In this analysis, taxes for a given year are the amount a household owes on the basis of income received that year, regardless of when the taxes are paid. Taxes from those four sources accounted for over 90 percent of federal revenues. The remaining federal revenue sources not allocated to U.S. households include states’ deposits for unemployment insurance, estate and gift taxes, net income earned by the Federal Reserve, customs duties, and miscellaneous fees and fines.

    Income after transfers and taxes consists of market income, social insurance benefits, and means-tested transfers minus federal taxes.

    Market income consists of labor income, business income, capital income (including capital gains), income received in retirement for past services, and other nongovernmental sources of income.

    Means-tested transfers are cash payments and in-kind services provided through federal, state, and local government assistance programs. Eligibility to receive such transfers is determined primarily on the basis of income, which must be below certain thresholds. The largest transfer programs are Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP, measured as the average cost to the government of providing those benefits), SNAP (formerly known as the Food Stamp program), and Supplemental Security Income.

    Public goods are goods and services that share two main traits: If they are consumed by one person, the amount available to other people is not reduced; and it is difficult to prevent people from consuming them once they are available.

    Social insurance benefits consist of benefits from Social Security (Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance), Medicare (measured as the average cost to the government of providing those benefits), unemployment insurance, and workers’ compensation.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI: Biz2Credit Small Business Earnings Climb for Fifth Consecutive Month

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    NEW YORK, June 12, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Biz2Credit’s monthly Small Business Earnings Report found that average monthly earnings were up to $49,300 in May 2025, up slightly from April’s number. This continues a positive run for earnings, rising 53% since January.

    Key Findings for May 2025:

    • Average Monthly Earnings: $49,300. (Apr. 2025: $47,700 – an increase of $1,600)
    • Average Monthly Revenue: $592,600. (Apr. 2025: $554,900 – an increase of $37,700)
    • Average Monthly Expenses: $544,200. (Apr. 2025: $501,900 – an increase of $42,300)

    Takeaways:

    As summer months approach and inflation remains tempered, small businesses are seeing growth in top line revenue, expenses, and earnings. The positive marks for enterprise operators echo the sentiment in the U.S. Small Business Confidence Index, which rose for the first time since December.

    “Small and medium businesses continue to remain resilient as tariff negotiations remain in limbo,” said Rohit Arora, CEO and co-founder of Biz2Credit. It was expected that tariffs would send prices upward as businesses were estimated to raise prices, and bring rising inflation. Those results have yet to materialize. A plausible explanation is that businesses frontloaded their inventory to skirt tariffs.

    “Additionally, tax policy has become a rising question mark for many business owners, as Congress and the White House remain at odds over the Big, Beautiful Bill,” added Arora, one of the nation’s leading experts in small business finance. A report from the NFIB says that taxes are a top concern as the provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in 2017 remain unconfirmed at this time.

    Summary

    The Biz2Credit Small Business Earnings Report summarizes primary data of companies that applied for funding each month. It assesses the financial health of small businesses by analyzing primary data provided directly by small to midsized firms in the U.S. as part of the application process on Biz2Credit’s award-winning digital funding platform. The report provides one of the most up-to-date readings on the financial health of small businesses currently available. Click here to review the Small Business Earnings Report.

    Methodology

    Biz2Credit examines a number of small business financial metrics in the Small Business Earnings Report, including annual revenue, operating expenses, age of business, credit score, approval rate, and funding rate. Data is drawn from over 100,000 completed financing applications submitted to Biz2Credit’s online small business funding platform between Jan. 2022 and May 2025.

    About Biz2Credit

    Founded in 2007, Biz2Credit has helped thousands of companies access more than in small business financing. Biz2Credit is headquartered in New York City, employs over 800 people with over half in product, data science, and engineering roles. Using data analytics and predictive modeling, Biz2Credit seeks to enhance the accuracy and transparency of business credit decisions, fueling long-term economic development. Visit www.biz2credit.com, or follow the company on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, and X (formerly Twitter).

    Media Contact: Brett Holzhauer, (818) 326-1109, brett.holzhauer@biz2credit.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Canada’s $80 Billion Defence Modernization Package Signals Strategic Shift—Draganfly Positioned for Rapid Growth with Integration of DND-Specified Radio Systems

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Toronto, ON , June 12, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — In a decisive move to fortify Canada’s national security capabilities, Prime Minister Mark Carney has announced an $80 billion long-term defence investment package focused on technological modernization, domestic industrial capacity, and unmanned aerial systems (UAS). This landmark announcement, inclusive of robust support for drone development and Canadian manufacturing, marks a generational shift in federal defence procurement strategy.

    Draganfly Inc. (NASDAQ: DPRO) (CSE: DPRO) (FSE: 3U8), an award-winning, industry-leading drone solutions and systems developer. Draganfly is positioned to contribute to objectives within the Our North Strong and Free (ONSAF) defence policy expansion. Draganfly’s interoperable and multi-mission family of UAS platforms is strategically aligned with stated DND priorities such as “Expanding and Enhancing Existing and Emerging Military Capabilities” related to border security and Arctic sovereignty. Demonstrating this adaptability, Draganfly confirms the successful integration and demonstration of a Department of National Defence (DND)-specified radio communications system into its flagship drone platforms, in addition to several other communication system integrations to support interoperability with existing assets. These integrations help prime the company for eligibility in upcoming federal UAS procurements that emphasize secure, interoperable, and sovereign systems.

    Draganfly, with multiple R&D and Manufacturing sites in Canada, is one of the world’s longest standing commercial UAS manufacturers. The capacity for expansion of domestic production, in combination with long standing strategic relationships that Draganfly holds with various related technologies providers across various Five Eyes regions uniquely positions Draganfly as a technology integrator and solutions provider.

    This week’s developments signal a major policy realignment by Ottawa, anchoring defence spending to strategic domestic priorities such as resilient supply chains, sovereign manufacturing, and interoperability with NATO and Five Eyes partners. The emphasis on drone capabilities and homeland industrial content is particularly relevant in an era marked by asymmetric threats and hybrid warfare.

    Prime Minister Carney’s announcement effectively maps a multi-year demand curve for Canadian aerospace, cybersecure communications, and autonomous systems providers. Analysts anticipate that a minimum of 20% of the $80B envelope will be earmarked for next-generation battlefield technologies, with drones expected to account for a significant share of this investment.

    Draganfly’s ability to support existing architecture and protocols while providing the ability to rapidly test and adopt emerging technologies with domestic manufacturing and engineering expertise is poised to support these pillars of the Defence Modernization package. Adoption of Draganfly product for testing and use by Canadian and US Military Customers and Prime Contractors through 2024 and 2025, validates its platforms for critical applications such as reconnaissance, force protection, and logistics resupply. This positions Draganfly as one of the few Canadian OEMs and Supply Chain Managers capable of delivering mission-ready systems that meet both tactical requirements and industrial policy criteria.

    Strategic Implications for Capital Markets and Domestic Industry

    • Domestic Preference: The federal focus on Canadian manufacturing aligns with the Industrial and Technological Benefits (ITB) policy, making domestically-integrated platforms poised to win procurement bids.
    • Supply Chain Security: In an age of escalating global tensions, Canada is reducing reliance on foreign critical components. Draganfly’s control over its own airframe and avionics IP gives it a defensible advantage.
    • Dual-Use Upside: Beyond military contracts, the integrated communication system enhances the company’s value proposition in emergency response, disaster relief, and public safety markets.
    • Revenue Catalysts: Analysts expect RFIs and RFPs for defence-grade drones to accelerate in the second half of 2025, with contract awards potentially materializing as early as Q1 2026. Draganfly’s early compliance could provide a first-mover advantage.

    About Draganfly

    Draganfly Inc. (NASDAQ: DPRO; CSE: DPRO; FSE: 3U8) is the creator of quality, cutting-edge drone solutions, software, and AI systems that revolutionize how organizations can do business and serve their stakeholders. Recognized as being at the forefront of technology for over 25 years, Draganfly is an award-winning industry leader serving the public safety, agriculture, industrial inspections, security, mapping, and surveying markets. Draganfly is a company driven by passion, ingenuity, and the need to provide efficient solutions and first-class services to its customers around the world with the goal of saving time, money, and lives.

    NASDAQ (DPRO)
    CSE (DPRO)
    FSE (3U8)

    Media Contact:
    Erika Racicot
    Email: media@draganfly.com

    Company Contact:
    Email: info@draganfly.com

    Forward-Looking Statements

    This release contains certain “forward looking statements” and certain “forward-looking ‎‎‎‎information” as ‎‎‎‎defined under applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements ‎‎‎‎and information can ‎‎‎‎generally be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as ‎‎‎‎‎“may”, “will”, “expect”, “intend”, ‎‎‎‎‎“estimate”, “anticipate”, “believe”, “continue”, “plans” or similar ‎‎‎‎terminology. Forward-looking statements ‎‎‎‎and information are based on forecasts of future ‎‎‎‎results, estimates of amounts not yet determinable and ‎‎‎‎assumptions that, while believed by ‎‎‎‎management to be reasonable, are inherently subject to significant ‎‎‎‎business, economic and ‎‎‎‎competitive uncertainties and contingencies. Forward-looking statements ‎‎‎‎include, but are not ‎‎‎‎limited to, statements with respect to Draganfly’s interoperable and multi-mission family of UAS platforms being strategically aligned with stated DND priorities such as “Expanding and Enhancing Existing and Emerging Military Capabilities” related to border security and Arctic sovereignty as well as the statement regarding analysts’ anticipation that a minimum of 20% of the $80B envelope will be earmarked for next-generation battlefield technologies, with drones expected to account for a significant share of this investment. Forward-‎‎‎‎looking statements and information are subject to various ‎known ‎‎and unknown risks and ‎‎‎‎‎uncertainties, many of which are beyond the ability of the Company to ‎control or ‎‎predict, that ‎‎‎‎may cause ‎the Company’s actual results, performance or achievements to be ‎materially ‎‎different ‎‎‎‎from those ‎expressed or implied thereby, and are developed based on assumptions ‎about ‎‎such ‎‎‎‎risks, uncertainties ‎and other factors set out here in, including but not limited to: the potential ‎‎‎‎‎‎‎impact of epidemics, ‎pandemics or other public health crises, including the ‎COVID-19 pandemic, on the Company’s business, operations and financial ‎‎‎‎condition; the ‎‎‎successful integration of ‎technology; the inherent risks involved in the general ‎‎‎‎securities markets; ‎‎‎uncertainties relating to the ‎availability and costs of financing needed in the ‎‎‎‎future; the inherent ‎‎‎uncertainty of cost estimates; the ‎potential for unexpected costs and ‎‎‎‎expenses, currency ‎‎‎fluctuations; regulatory restrictions; and liability, ‎competition, loss of key ‎‎‎‎employees and other related risks ‎‎‎and uncertainties disclosed under the ‎heading “Risk Factors“ ‎‎‎‎in the Company’s most recent filings filed ‎‎‎with securities regulators in Canada on ‎the SEDAR ‎‎‎‎website at www.sedar.com and with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on EDGAR through the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. The Company undertakes ‎‎‎no obligation to update forward-‎looking ‎‎‎‎information except as required by applicable law. Such forward-‎‎‎looking information represents ‎‎‎‎‎managements’ best judgment based on information currently available. ‎‎‎No forward-looking ‎‎‎‎statement ‎can be guaranteed and actual future results may vary materially. ‎‎‎Accordingly, readers ‎‎‎‎are advised not to ‎place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or ‎‎‎information.‎

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Sagtec Projects 92% Revenue Growth for FY2025

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, June 12, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Sagtec Global Limited (NASDAQ: SAGT) (“Sagtec” or the “Company”), a next-generation provider of customizable AI, robotics, and automation platforms, today issued financial guidance for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2025. The Company is forecasting FY2025 revenue of approximately US$22.3 million, a 92% year-over-year increase compared to US$11.6 million in FY2024.

    This sharp growth trajectory is being driven by robust commercial adoption of Sagtec’s proprietary AI-powered Robotics-as-a-Service (RaaS) and software platforms, which are being deployed across multiple high-growth sectors, including hospitality, logistics, and smart retail. Expansion into underserved markets in Southeast Asia and the Gulf region is also contributing significantly to the Company’s pipeline.

    FY2025 Financial Highlights & Strategic Growth Catalysts

         
      FY2024 Results   FY2025 Financial Guidance   Change  
      USD   USD   %  
    Revenue 11,631,930     22,333,305     92 %
    Cost of Service (8,912,274 )   (17,468,057 )   96 %
    Gross Profit 2,719,656     4,865,248     79 %
    Operating Expenses (655,713 )   (1,219,626 )   86 %
    EBIDTA 2,340,791     3,932,528     68 %
    Net Profit 1,602,879     2,564,606     60 %

    Key Investor Highlights:

    • Rapid deployment of AI robotics across Malaysia, Indonesia, Hong Kong, and the UAE
    • Recurring revenue growth via SaaS + RaaS subscription models
    • Expansion of proprietary platform stack into logistics automation and smart retail
    • Strategic investment in AI intellectual property, software licensing, and backend infrastructure
    • Increasing operating leverage through modular platform standardization

    Platform Momentum and Sectoral Expansion

    Sagtec’s AI-powered service robotics platform, launched in Q2 2025, is already being adopted by leading hospitality and F&B groups. The platform combines hardware leasing, computer vision, and predictive analytics into a modular, revenue-generating stack. Management expects a strong acceleration in annual recurring revenue (ARR) through high-margin upselling of AI features, smart workflow automation, and cross-sector integrations.

    “This forecast reflects our conviction in Sagtec’s platform scalability, market readiness, and execution discipline. We are building a high-margin, high-velocity business model with AI at its core,” said Kevin Ng, Chairman, Executive Director, and CEO of Sagtec. “With a growing client base, expanding IP, and intensifying regional demand, 2025 is shaping up to be an inflection point for Sagtec’s long-term value creation.”

    Strategic Focus: Emerging Markets and Smart Automation

    Sagtec is strategically targeting digitally underserved economies in Southeast Asia and the Middle East, where rising labor costs and digital transformation tailwinds create an urgent demand for automation. In tandem, the Company is doubling down on platform R&D to extend its AI applications from hospitality to logistics, retail operations, and smart city automation.

    To support scalable growth, Sagtec is actively investing in:

    • Core AI algorithm optimization
    • Hardware-agnostic automation interfaces
    • Seamless RaaS and SaaS monetization across verticals
    • Regional support infrastructure and partner enablement programs

    Upcoming Earnings Call

    Sagtec will announce its first half 2025 financial results and host earnings call in July 2025, providing investors with further visibility into:

    • Revenue composition and ARR momentum
    • Client acquisition and market entry performance
    • Operational and margin expansion initiatives

    About Sagtec Global Limited

    Sagtec Global Limited (NASDAQ: SAGT) is a leading provider of customizable AI and automation platforms. Focused initially on the F&B sector, the Company now serves cross-sector industries with its proprietary Robotics-as-a-Service (RaaS) and AI software stack. Sagtec also operates a nationwide network of mobile charging stations through its subsidiary, CL Technology (International) Sdn Bhd.

    For more information on the Company, please log on to https://www.sagtec-global.com/.

    Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

    This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable U.S. securities laws. These statements are not historical facts, but rather are based on the current expectations, assumptions, and projections of Sagtec Global Limited (the “Company”) regarding future events. Forward-looking statements are generally identified by words such as “anticipates,” “believes,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “projects,” “seeks,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “could,” “estimates,” “potential,” or similar expressions, including the negative thereof.

    These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause actual results, performance, or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to, the Company’s ability to expand its regional presence, scale its Robotics-as-a-Service (RaaS) and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) offerings, strengthen its AI software and automation infrastructure platforms, and commercialize its AI-powered service robotics; as well as broader risks relating to macroeconomic conditions, geopolitical developments, global health crises, competitive dynamics, and evolving data privacy and cybersecurity regulations.

    The Company disclaims any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements contained herein, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required under applicable law. Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements.

    Further information on these and other risks is included in the Company’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

    Contact Information:

    Sagtec Global Limited Contact:
    Ng Chen Lok
    Chairman, Executive Director & Chief Executive Officer
    Phone: +6011-6217 3661
    Email: info@sagtec-global.com

    The MIL Network –