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Category: US Senate

  • MIL-OSI USA: Booker, Warren, Pressley Reintroduce Legislation To Suspend Garnishments for Student Loan Borrowers

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for New Jersey Cory Booker

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), along with U.S. Representative Ayanna Pressley (D-MA-07), reintroduced the Ending Administrative Wage Garnishment Act of 2025, legislation that would provide borrower relief and support by suspending garnishment as a tool for student debt collection by the federal government.

    On April 22, 2025, the Department of Education announced that, starting May 5th, it will resume collections on defaulted federal student loans, including wage garnishments, tax refund interceptions, and seizure of Social Security benefits. For the nearly 5.5 million people currently in default—and soon for the projected 8 million additional people in delinquency—this means that they will face the government’s harsh collection tactics for the first time in over five years. This shift coincides with mass firings at the Department of Education and limited access to income-driven repayment plans, leaving students without critical support to navigate the repayment process.  

    “Wage garnishment allows the government to instruct employers to withhold up to 15 percent of an individual’s hard-earned wages, as well as intercept tax refunds, and seize Social Security benefits in order to collect student loan debt,” said Senator Booker. “If resumed, this harmful practice will hurt millions of Americans already struggling to make ends meet while paying off their student loans. This legislation will put an end to the Trump’s administration’s attempt to punish vulnerable student loan borrowers.”

    “It’s cruel for the Trump administration to restart collections while it crashes the economy and fires employees that help people navigate the loan repayment system,” said Senator Warren. “Our commonsense bill stops the administration from going after working people and improperly taking a chunk of borrowers’ paychecks.”

    “No one should have their hard-earned wages, tax refunds, and Social Security checks seized by Donald Trump—and our bill would ensure they do not,” said Representative Pressley. “The Trump Administration should not be in the business of picking the pockets of our most vulnerable borrowers, gutting the Department of Education or exacerbating the student debt crisis. I am proud to partner with Senators Booker and Warren to push back against this Administration’s shameful garnishment tactics and stand up for our student borrowers.”

    “Amidst unprecedented economic uncertainty and as millions of working families are struggling with the rising costs of everyday essentials, the Trump Administration’s calloused decision to unleash abusive and uncontrollable collection tools that have the power to take borrower’s hard earned wages without safeguards. Instead of helping the 5 million borrowers that have fallen into default and the millions more that are behind and now at risk of default later this year, this Administration appears set on inflicting massive economic harm on millions of Americans—a decision that will further drag down an already struggling economy,” said SBPC Policy Director Aissa Canchola Banez. “We applaud Senator Booker and Congresswoman Pressley for introducing the Ending Administrative Garnishment Act which will rein in the Secretary of Education’s authority to subject borrowers to administrative wage garnishment and ensure that critical safeguards are in place.”

    The Ending Administrative Wage Garnishment Act of 2025 would:

    1. Suspends the Secretary of Education’s authority to garnish wages, tax refunds, Social Security checks, or other earned benefits.
    2. Mandates the Department of Education to:
      1. Promptly refund improperly garnished wages within one week.
      2. Establish the ability to independently suspend or terminate garnishment operations upon identifying errors.
      3. Ensure employers verify garnishment information quarterly.
    3. Prohibits garnishment on loans that have been outstanding for more than 10 years.
    4. Establishes a private right of action allowing borrowers to sue employers who improperly garnish wages after a garnishment order is suspended.
    5. Requires the Department to pay double damages to borrowers whose wages are improperly garnished.

    To read the full text of the bill, click here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Booker, Gallego, Whitehouse, Warren, DeLauro, Colleagues Demand Action to Prevent Corporations from Using Trump’s Reckless Tariffs as an Excuse to Price Gouge Hardworking Americans

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for New Jersey Cory Booker

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), along with U.S. Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03), led 31 of their Senate and House colleagues in demanding the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) investigate which large companies are using the Trump Administration’s tariff policies – and the confusion surrounding them – as an excuse to raise prices in excess of actual cost increases, and to prosecute individuals and companies that price gouge American consumers.

    “President Trump’s on-again, off-again tariffs build an especially fertile environment for price-gouging. The new tariffs have created a cloud of uncertainty that gives companies cover to raise prices on all goods, regardless of whether they are subject to new tariffs or whether their costs have meaningfully increased, above and beyond what is necessary to cover any cost increases,” the lawmakers wrote.  

    The lawmakers continued, “While small businesses operating on thin profit margins will be forced to pass on many costs to stay afloat, the chaotic and sweeping nature of President Trump’s tariffs is especially conducive to price gouging by large companies with significant market power […] Even if President Trump decides to reduce or eliminate tariffs, companies may nonetheless decide to maintain higher prices—or raise them even further, claiming ‘market uncertainty.’”

    The members note that many large corporations have already admitted to raising prices regardless of the actual impacts of tariffs, such as when the CEO of AutoZone said on an earnings call last September, “if we get tariffs…we generally raise prices ahead of [when] we know what the tariffs will be,” or when, during the first Trump Administration, manufacturers raised the price of dryers, even though only washing machines were subject to tariffs.  

    To combat this type of corporate price gouging at the expense of working families, the members urge FTC Chair Ferguson to fulfill his public commitment and to ensure President Trump’s trade war is not a “green light” for price gouging by:

    1. Using his authority under Section 6(b) of the Federal Trade Commission Act to require large companies to report their costs and retail and wholesale prices since November 6, 2024, and the extent to which tariffs have increased their costs.
    2. Using his authority under Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act to investigate and prosecute companies engaging in “unfair or deceptive acts or practices in or affecting commerce.”

    The members also criticized Chair Ferguson’s decision to abruptly close an FTC investigation into corporations using Americans’ personal information to tailor their pricing and gouge individual consumers. The tactic, known as “surveillance pricing,” is used by corporations to target consumers with increased prices based on their location and browsing history.

    “Armed with the knowledge that the FTC has turned a blind eye to this price-gouging tactic, companies now have free rein to use surveillance pricing to price gouge consumers. A former FTC official said, ‘The message that is coming out of this administration…is that the watchdog is gone and companies feel emboldened to rip people off.’ We urge you to fulfill your public commitment and to ensure President Trump’s trade war is not a ‘green light’ for price gouging,” the lawmakers concluded.

    To read the full text of the letter, click here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Booker Leads Members of NJ Congressional Delegation in Letter to Senate and House Appropriations Leaders Urging Emergency Funding to Strengthen FAA Air Traffic Control Infrastructure

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for New Jersey Cory Booker

    NEWARK, N.J. – This afternoon, Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) led members of New Jersey’s congressional delegation in sending a letter to Senate and House Appropriations Committee and Subcommittee Chairs and Ranking Members. The letter is signed by eight members of the state’s Congressional delegation and urges an immediate surge of at least $2 billion in emergency federal appropriations to address the ongoing situation at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) and telecommunications failures at other airports across the country.

    The legislators wrote: “We write to request emergency supplemental funding for key programs at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that will address the technology and equipment failures that are causing ongoing disruptions to the National Airspace System (NAS).  

    “Specifically, we ask for emergency supplemental funding for the FAA’s Air Traffic Organization (ATO) through the Operations and Facilities and Equipment (F&E) accounts. F&E supports upgrades of our air traffic control system infrastructure including the Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) facilities. As you know, the Philadelphia TRACON facility’s faltering technology and outdated equipment has been the cause of a major and protracted disruption to the airspace primarily utilized by aircraft departing from and arriving at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR).”

    The legislators conclude: “Across our country, dozens more TRACON facilities rely on the same outdated technology and equipment and the installation of fiber wires, upgraded facilities, and modern telecommunications equipment will ensure that the chaos and disruptions ongoing in Newark do not soon occur in other regions of the nation as well.  

    “In order to resume operations at EWR and begin to expeditiously upgrade our nation’s air traffic control infrastructure, we request robust emergency supplemental funding to the FAA’s F&E account. This supplemental funding must include at least $2,000,000,000 dedicated to regions with repeated instances of a complete failure of the telecommunication system between TRACON facilities and approaching aircraft.”

    A full copy of the May 14 letter can be found here and below:

    Dear Chair Collins, Ranking Member Murray, Chairman Cole, Ranking Member DeLauro, Chair Hyde-Smith, Ranking Member Gillibrand, Chairman Womack, and Ranking Member Clyburn: 

    We write to request emergency supplemental funding for key programs at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that will address the technology and equipment failures that are causing ongoing disruptions to the National Airspace System (NAS).  

    Specifically, we ask for emergency supplemental funding for the FAA’s Air Traffic Organization (ATO) through the Operations and Facilities and Equipment (F&E) accounts. F&E supports upgrades of our air traffic control system infrastructure including the Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) facilities. As you know, the Philadelphia TRACON facility’s faltering technology and outdated equipment has been the cause of a major and protracted disruption to the airspace primarily utilized by aircraft departing from and arriving at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR). 

    A complete shutdown of communications between air traffic controllers at the Philadelphia TRACON facility and approaching aircraft on April 28, 2025, and on two subsequent occasions, brought the operations at EWR to a halt. EWR operates within the busiest airspace in the nation and a ground stoppage immediately causes a ripple effect throughout the entire NAS. The ongoing weeks of delays, cancellations, and the significant reductions in flight capacity at EWR is disrupting the lives of our constituents, spreading uncertainty among the traveling public, and negatively impacting the operations of our entire interconnected national aviation system.    

    It is unacceptable that our air traffic control facilities—which rely on technology and equipment such as floppy disks and copper wire—are vulnerable to a region-wide blackout. In Newark, the initial disruption resulted in 90 seconds of zero communication or radar visibility between the air traffic controllers and approaching aircraft. The subsequent failures on May 9 and May 11 reinforces that the telecommunications system at the Philadelphia TRACON facility needs to be replaced in order to restore regular operations at EWR as soon as possible. 

    Across our country, dozens more TRACON facilities rely on the same outdated technology and equipment and the installation of fiber wires, upgraded facilities, and modern telecommunications equipment will ensure that the chaos and disruptions ongoing in Newark do not soon occur in other regions of the nation as well.  

    In order to resume operations at EWR and begin to expeditiously upgrade our nation’s air traffic control infrastructure, we request robust emergency supplemental funding to the FAA’s F&E account. This supplemental funding must include at least $2,000,000,000 dedicated to regions with repeated instances of a complete failure of the telecommunication system between TRACON facilities and approaching aircraft. 

    We appreciate your careful attention to this request. It is critical that Congress act to restore full flight operations in our region while also beginning the work of restoring the American people’s confidence in a safe, effective, and reliable aviation system.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Wicker Encouraged by Trump-Zelensky Deal

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Mississippi Roger Wicker

    On February 24, 2022, Russia rolled tanks into Ukraine, expecting to conquer its neighbor in a matter of weeks. The free world rallied to supply military, economic, and humanitarian aid to the Ukrainian people, who have fought valiantly against the thugs invading their homeland. Now, three years later, President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky have signed an economic investment agreement. The deal plants a flag regarding America’s intentions toward Ukraine, and it could help pave the way to peace and freedom in that war-torn country.

    The new plan was negotiated by the president, his Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, and his Ukraine envoy, respected American General Keith Kellogg. It sets in motion a more formal, binding pact. Ultimately, Ukraine and the United States will create a jointly owned fund to give America a real stake in Ukraine’s post-war commerce. The eastern European country has vast energy resources – including natural gas, oil, and critical minerals. President Trump is working to rebuild our critical minerals supply chains, and I am advancing legislation that would fund those efforts. Ukraine will be a key part of that work.

    President Trump Sends a Message to Putin

    With these terms, President Trump brings the credibility of the American economy to a nation poised for stability and growth. The president campaigned on a pledge to end the brutal war unleashed by Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, who has consistently rejected President Trump’s offers to engage in peace talks. Instead, he has tried to wear down Ukraine’s resolve by bombing non-combatant civilian neighborhoods.

    After the attacks, President Trump stated that Putin “has to be dealt with differently.” Treasury Secretary Bessent echoed those comments, labeling Putin a war criminal. As the administration pursues peace negotiations, it is taking into account Putin’s character, aware that he will respond only to strength.

    The agreement clearly indicates that America is committed to the long-term peace of Ukraine. Additionally, the president has taken more steps to assist Ukraine by approving the transfer of American air-defense systems to the country.

    Ukraine Understands the Stakes

    The Ukrainians are also sending a message. When he signed this agreement, President Zelensky showed that his people will work with the United States to increase the security and prosperity of both our nations.

    From day one of this war, Ukrainians have refused to bend the knee to Putin. They know better than anyone the lengths he will go to accomplish his goals. He has unleashed horrors on thousands of Ukrainians – even women, children, and Christians traveling to and from Palm Sunday celebrations. He has formed increasingly tight bonds with the dictators who control North Korea, Iran, and China.

    Russian success in Ukraine would embolden each of those rogue nations. For his part, Putin would gain strategic military positions on the borders of countries we are treaty-bound to defend. Stopping Putin now can weaken his resolve to threaten even more of the free world.

    Lasting Peace Comes Through Strength

    In the long run, lasting stability will be made possible only by strengthened Ukrainian and European militaries, supported by U.S technological and strategic resources. The Biden administration handcuffed Ukraine by slow-walking the tools it needed to stop Putin. President Trump is correcting course and strengthening the U.S. military at the same time

    For the past year, Presidents Trump and Zelensky have been echoing Ronald Reagan’s “peace through strength” philosophy. They both believe that the best way to avoid conflict is to prepare for it. President Trump has already started working to rebuild U.S. military readiness so that no adversary dares to move against America.

    Under his direction, the Pentagon can work with Ukraine to produce more weapons and create new defense relationships. Both steps will improve security for both nations. As Ukraine plans its recovery from Putin’s war, we must work together to deter the next dictator from starting one.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Sullivan, Hirono Introduce Legislation to Increase Funding for USDA Program Supporting Farmers and Ranchers in Alaska and Hawaii

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Alaska Dan Sullivan

    05.14.25

    WASHINGTON—U.S. Senators Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) and Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) this week reintroduced the Reimbursement Transportation Cost Payment (RTCP) Revitalization Act, legislation to secure additional funding for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) RTCP Program. The RTCP program enables geographically disadvantaged farmers and ranchers in Alaska, Hawaii, and other insular areas to receive reimbursements for costs incurred when transporting supplies such as feed, fertilizer, and equipment parts. This legislation also increases the amount of funding these producers can receive.

    “Alaska’s farmers and ranchers face greater obstacles getting their goods to market due to our state’s vast size, many remote communities, and general lack of infrastructure,” said Sen. Sullivan. “I’m glad to join my colleagues in Hawaii to support a vital USDA program that makes it possible for these hard-working Alaskans to support our economy and feed their fellow Americans from the bounty of our great state.”

    “Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural producers work tirelessly to provide healthy and fresh produce for their communities, and those located in geographically disadvantaged areas deserve to be fairly compensated for the lengths which they go to transport supplies,” said Senator Hirono. “As we continue working toward increased agricultural sustainability, I am glad to reintroduce this bipartisan legislation to support food producers in Hawaii, Alaska, and other insular areas, helping to ensure that local producers can continue their work as valuable food sources in their communities.”

    The RTCP program was established in the 2008 Farm Bill in recognition of the increased costs producers face in geographically disadvantaged areas. USDA began administering the program in 2010 and throughout its history, demand for this popular program has substantially exceeded available funds. In addition to Alaska and Hawaii, the program is also available to farmers, ranchers, and producers in Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Republic of Palau, and the Virgin Islands.

    Due to the increase in both demand for the program as well as costs for producers, the RTCP Revitalization Act aims to secure additional funding for the program. Specifically, the bill would:

    • Provide mandatory funding for RTCP, starting with $10 million in fiscal year (FY) 2026, increasing by $1 million each year to $15 million in FY 2031, and then provides $15 million each fiscal year thereafter;
    • Remove the $15 million payment cap for any given fiscal year that is currently in statute;
    • Provide language saying that the Secretary may not impose a cap to individual producer payments for any fiscal year that program funds exceed demand; and
    • Retain the authority for appropriators to fund the program.

    In addition to Senators Sullivan and Hirono, the legislation was also cosponsored by Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii).

    The full text of the legislation is available here. A one-page summary of the bill is available here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: WATCH: Padilla Leads Push Against Trump and Republican Attacks on Voting and Elections During Spotlight Hearing

    US Senate News:

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

    WATCH: Padilla Leads Push Against Trump and Republican Attacks on Voting and Elections During Spotlight Hearing

    WATCH: Padilla convenes first Rules Committee Democrats spotlight hearing to expose dangers of SAVE Act and Trump’s executive orderWASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration and California’s former Secretary of State, convened a Rules Committee Democrats spotlight hearing titled “Protecting the Future of American Democracy: An Examination of Trump and Partisan Attacks on Voting and Elections.” Padilla’s opening remarks at the forum focused on Congressional Republicans’ Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act that recently passed the House of Representatives and Trump’s illegal anti-voter executive order, both of which threaten to disenfranchise millions of eligible American citizens.
    Padilla underscored Republican efforts to make it harder for eligible American citizens to vote through the SAVE Act, emphasizing that it is already a crime for noncitizens to vote, and pointed out that despite Republicans’ false claims, voter fraud is extremely rare.
    “As we convene here today, across the country, in state legislatures, as well as in the Oval Office, and sadly, even here in the United States Congress, there are extreme Republicans who are actively working to make it harder for eligible Americans to register to vote and to cast their ballot in elections.”
    “We cannot sit back and watch as our democracy is attacked — we owe it to the American people who have elected us to serve on their behalf: so we have to speak up. And that starts with recognizing the dangers at our doorstep.”
    “Currently pending before the Senate is the SAVE Act — a conspiracy theory bill that scapegoats immigrants to justify new barriers to voter registration. Not only is it wrong, it’s un-American. And it’s based on a shameless lie — the same ‘Big Lie’ that Donald Trump uses to claim that he won the 2020 election, which of course, he did not. He lost.”
    Padilla emphasized that the SAVE Act will cause the most harm to American citizens and highlighted the risks the bill poses to election workers who are already facing growing threats.
    “As you’ll hear today, it’s American citizens who will be most impacted by the SAVE Act, from first time voters and married women to servicemembers and rural voters.”
    “To make matters worse, at a time of rising threats and harassment to poll workers and election officials across the country, the SAVE Act actually threatens election workers with up to five years of prison time for registering someone without the correct documents, regardless of if they’re an American citizen.”
    Padilla concluded his opening remarks by criticizing President Trump’s support for these harmful restrictions through his executive order and welcoming election administrators and other Americans dealing with the direct impacts of these anti-voter policies.
    “Now despite the extreme policy proposals — or rather, because of them — Donald Trump is all in. He’s not even waiting for Congress to act. In fact, earlier this year, he signed an executive order to try to do all this and more unilaterally. That includes trying to upend the voting system standards and changing the deadline states can accept vote-by-mail ballots.”
    “60 years since the Voting Rights Act, it’s outrageous that these battles rage on. Yet, in the year 2025, here we are, and that’s what Americans are up against.”
    “So today, we want America to hear from the election administrators who are on the frontlines, along with Americans who are impacted by — and standing up to — these radical policies.”
    Video of Senator Padilla’s remarks is available to watch here and be downloaded here.
    Members heard from election officials and voter advocates regarding ongoing attacks on voter registration and election integrity during the forum. The panel included Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon, Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk Dean Logan, League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) CEO Juan Proaño, League of Women Voters CEO Celina Stewart, and Nicole Meek, an impacted voter as a member of a military family.
    This spotlight hearing kicks off a series of Rules Committee Democrats’ forums focused on protecting the future of America’s elections. The series will underscore the dangers of the Trump Administration’s unprecedented attacks on election security, integrity, and funding required to smoothly administer elections and protect American democracy.
    Senator Padilla has led the charge opposing President Trump and Republicans’ reckless attempts to restrict the right to vote. As President Trump marked 100 disastrous days in office, he recently led his Democratic colleagues on the Senate floor to speak out against the SAVE Act and attacks on election integrity. Last month, Padilla warned Secretaries of State, Lieutenant Governors, and Chief Election Officials across the country of the devastating potential impacts of Republicans’ SAVE Act, concerns that have been echoed by top election officials across the country. He also led a letter yesterday sounding the alarm on the devastating impacts of Trump’s anti-voter “election integrity” executive order and the SAVE Act on Native American voting rights.
    Additionally, Padilla led 11 Senators in introducing the Defending America’s Future Elections Act to repeal Trump’s illegal anti-voter executive order and prevent the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from accessing sensitive voter registration data and state records. Padilla previously led 14 Democratic Senators in calling on Trump to revoke his illegal anti-voter executive order and issued a statement slamming the order when it was announced.
    A full transcript of Senator Padilla’s opening remarks, as delivered, is available below:
    Good afternoon, everybody, and thank you for joining us here today for this spotlight hearing that we’ve entitled “Protecting the Future of American Democracy: An Examination of Trump and Partisan Attacks on Voting and Elections.”
    I wanted to begin by thanking the witnesses who are participating today for joining us. I know that many of you have traveled from quite a distance, from different parts of the country to be here today and to share your experiences and reflect on the spectrum of challenges that both voters and election administrators are having to navigate in the year 2025.
    I hope today we’re able to discuss not only the challenges that we’re facing, but also offer some solutions that can help us better protect the right to vote.
    I also want to begin by saying to my colleagues as they join us later today that as the new Ranking Member of the Senate Rules Committee — and as former California Secretary of State — that this is a role that I don’t take lightly.
    Just as each successive generation of Americans has a role to play in preserving and protecting our democracy, each Senate Rules Committee has a duty to carry the baton as well, so that democracy truly does endure for the next generation.
    As Ranking Member of the Committee, I plan to do my part.
    So it’s important that we recognize the moment that we find ourselves in.
    As we convene here today, across the country, in state legislatures, as well as in the Oval Office, and sadly, even here in the United States Congress, there are extreme Republicans who are actively working to make it harder for eligible Americans to register to vote and to cast their ballot in elections.
    And we cannot sit back and watch as our democracy is attacked — we owe it to the American people who have elected us to serve on their behalf:
    So we have to speak up.
    And that starts with recognizing the dangers at our doorstep.
    Currently pending before the Senate is the SAVE Act — a conspiracy theory bill that scapegoats immigrants to justify new barriers to voter registration.
    Not only is it wrong, it’s un-American.
    And it’s based on a shameless lie — the same “Big Lie” that Donald Trump uses to claim that he won the 2020 election, which of course, he did not. He lost.
    As California’s former chief elections officer, I have firsthand experience administering elections in the most populous and most diverse state in the nation.
    And I can tell you personally: for all the disinformation and misinformation and fearmongering coming from Republicans — the truth of the matter is it is already a crime for noncitizens to vote.
    And it’s also extremely, extremely rare.
    As you’ll hear today, it’s American citizens who will be most impacted by the SAVE Act, from first-time voters and married women to servicemembers and rural voters.
    And to make matters worse, at a time of rising threats and harassment to poll workers and election officials across the country, the SAVE Act actually threatens election workers with up to five years of prison time for registering someone without the correct documents, regardless of if they’re an American citizen.
    Now despite the extreme policy proposals — or rather, because of them — Donald Trump is all in. He’s not even waiting for Congress to act.
    In fact, earlier this year, he signed an executive order to try to do all this and more unilaterally.
    That includes trying to upend the voting system standards and changing the deadline states can accept vote-by-mail ballots.
    60 years since the Voting Rights Act, it’s outrageous that these battles rage on.
    Yet, in the year 2025, here we are, and that’s what Americans are up against.
    So today, we want America to hear from the election administrators who are on the frontlines, along with Americans who are impacted by — and standing up to — these radical policies.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Padilla Joins Immigration Advocates to Reject Republicans’ Extreme Anti-Immigrant Budget Reconciliation Bill

    US Senate News:

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

    Padilla Joins Immigration Advocates to Reject Republicans’ Extreme Anti-Immigrant Budget Reconciliation Bill

    AUDIO: Padilla slams cuts to crucial services to support Republicans’ mass deportation agendaWASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Immigration Subcommittee, joined immigration advocates and his House colleagues to speak out against the extreme anti-immigrant provisions in Republicans’ reconciliation bill and to call on Congressional Republicans to reject harmful policies targeting immigrant communities. During the press conference hosted by the National Immigration Law Center, Padilla slammed Republicans’ plans to cut critical services Americans rely on in order to spend hundreds of billions on President Trump’s mass deportation agenda.
    Padilla criticized the Republican reconciliation bill’s proposed surges in funding for wasteful immigration initiatives, including increased funding for the border wall and immigrant detention centers, and policy changes to eliminate protections for children, reinstate family detention, and allow the continued terrorization of families through mass deportation.
    “They’re bending over backwards to make cuts to health care, to education, even SNAP benefits, the critical nutrition assistance program that so many families rely on. And why? That’s a good question! Why? Because they’re trying to fund more tax breaks for the ultra-wealthy in America. That just wrong, but it gets worse. They’re also trying to fund this massive and cruel deportation campaign that Donald Trump has insisted on.”
    “The huge increases in funding and staffing levels for ICE and CBP are indeed not just an increase in funding — it is a significant policy change. And we’re asking why? What’s the plan? What’s the strategy? Because it’s been so chaotic and disorganized. What’s their response? They say, ‘trust us.’ Trust you? Really?”
    Padilla slammed the Trump Administration for undermining due process, ignoring court orders, instilling fear in immigrant communities, wasting taxpayer dollars for staged photo ops, and sending both undocumented and documented immigrants to prisons in foreign countries. He emphasized the economic consequences of the Administration’s reckless and inhumane anti-immigrant actions. 
    “They’re terrorizing our communities with their raids and violent arrests, and they’re wasting millions and millions of taxpayer dollars for expensive photo ops like the ones they took at Guantánamo Bay.”
    “Because of it, there’s hardworking immigrants, long-term residents of the United States, who are now afraid to go to work, kids afraid to go to school, parents afraid to go to the store.”
    Padilla concluded his remarks by calling on Republicans to work with Democrats to modernize the United States’ immigration system, and vowed to keep fighting to create a pathway to citizenship for long-term undocumented residents.
    “You would think that maybe just for a moment, Republicans would take this reconciliation process as an opportunity to do what they said before they wanted to do and modernize our nation’s immigration system. But they’re not.”
    “I know we still believe that real reform is still possible. Because, yes, we all know we need a secure and orderly and humane border, but we also need to create the pathways to citizenship for the millions that have earned it and deserve it.”
    “And we will get there. We will get there together. But the next steps in this effort begin with fighting back on the cruelty of the proposed reconciliation plan put forth by Republicans. We have to kill that bill.”
    Representatives Delia C. Ramirez (D-Ill.-03), Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.-07), Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Calif.-37), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.-05), Jesús G. “Chuy” García (D-Ill.-04), and Nydia Velázquez (D-N.Y.-07) also joined the press conference.
    Senator Padilla is a leading voice in Congress opposing President Trump’s mass deportation agenda and anti-immigrant actions and rhetoric. Last month, Padilla, Senator Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Representative Jamie Raskin (D-Md.-08), and Representative Jayapal issued a joint statement condemning the Supreme Court’s decision to lift a hold on removals under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, and he joined 14 lawmakers in condemning President Trump’s unlawful invocation of the antiquated law. Padilla previously issued a joint statement with Senators Durbin, Cory Booker (D-N.J.), and Peter Welch (D-Vt.) slamming President Trump for his attempted invocation of the Alien Enemies Act to deport noncitizens without due process. Last year, Padilla emphasized the dangers and immense economic costs of the Trump Administration’s mass deportation plans during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing.
    Senator Padilla, Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), and Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) also recently urged the acting Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration to investigate several reports that the Trump Administration is potentially violating strict taxpayer privacy laws by providing highly sensitive and legally protected taxpayer data to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and personnel affiliated with Elon Musk across various federal agencies. Padilla, Cortez Masto, and Wyden previously condemned the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) plan to provide sensitive taxpayer information to DHS to locate suspected undocumented immigrants and led a letter to IRS and DHS leadership raising the alarm on reports that DHS and the Department of Government Efficiency had illegally requested this information.
    Audio of Senator Padilla’s remarks is available here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Crapo Applauds House Committee Markups Advancing President Trump’s Economic Agenda

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Idaho Mike Crapo

    Washington, D.C.–U.S. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) today applauded U.S. House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (R-Missouri) and U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Brett Guthrie (R-Kentucky) on successful committee markups that move Congress one step closer to delivering on President Trump’s economic agenda.
    “We have been working closely with our House counterparts on the Ways and Means Committee, the Energy and Commerce Committee and the Administration on a unified goal: to extend pro-growth tax policy, ensure Americans can keep more of their hard-earned money, provide additional tax relief to those who need it most, and take long-overdue action toward getting our fiscal house in order.  These committees have taken significant steps by passing legislation that builds on the success of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and preserves and strengthens federal health care programs, and I commend Chairmen Smith and Guthrie for the progress they have made.  The Senate will continue working through its process to make Trump’s tax cuts permanent and deliver additional tax relief for American workers and families, and I look forward to continued coordination with our House colleagues.  I am confident we can build on this momentum and deliver on our shared vision of restoring economic prosperity and opportunity for all Americans.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Crapo, Risch, Lummis Introduce Bill to Protect Firefighters, Communities from Wildfire Threats

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Idaho Mike Crapo
    Washington, D.C.–U.S. Senators Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Jim Risch (R-Idaho) and Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyoming) led their colleagues in introducing the Forest Protection and Wildland Firefighter Safety Act of 2025 to safeguard firefighters, communities and property across the West from the destructive impacts of wildfires.
    “Uncontrolled wildfires wreak havoc on communities and landscapes throughout the West—burning close to one million acres in Idaho last year alone,” Crapo said.  “This bill ensures the heroic men, women and agencies battling raging fires can continue deploying aerial fire retardant when people’s lives, homes, possessions and Idaho’s vast natural expanses are threatened by blazing infernos.”
    “Our response to devastating wildfires must not be delayed by extremist, activist litigants,” said Risch.  “The Forest Protection and Wildland Firefighter Safety Act ensures timely access to fire retardant and protects Idaho’s communities, forests and way of life.”
    “In Wyoming and across the West, we understand all too well the devastating toll wildfires take on our communities,” said Lummis.  “Without timely access to fire retardant, lives and homes are at risk.  In an emergency, we cannot afford to let bureaucracy slow down our response, and this legislation ensures firefighters have the tools they need to protect lives, property and public lands.”
    Crapo, Risch and Lummis are joined by U.S. Senators John Barrasso (R-Wyoming), Steve Daines (R-Montana) and Tim Sheehy (R-Montana) as original co-sponsors.
    The Forest Protection and Wildland Firefighter Safety Act ensures that federal, state, local and tribal firefighting agencies can continue using fire retardant to combat wildfires without being hindered by permitting delays.  Specifically, it creates an exemption under the Clean Water Act, clarifying that a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit is not required for the use of fire retardant in active firefighting operations.
    Currently, agencies like the U.S. Forest Service operate under longstanding EPA guidance dating back to 1993, which states that fire control qualifies as a “non-point source silvicultural activity,” and thus does not require an NPDES permit.  Despite this, environmental groups have filed lawsuits seeking to halt the use of fire retardant until such permits are issued—a process that could take years.
    If the injunction is granted and fire retardant is not available for use in 2025, firefighters and individuals living in forested areas would be in greater danger and billions of dollars of infrastructure would be at risk.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Crapo, Risch Send Letter Backing President Trump’s Call for Full Dismantlement of Iran’s Nuclear Program

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Idaho Mike Crapo
    Washington, D.C.–U.S. Senator Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) joined Jim Risch (R-Idaho), chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, in sending a letter to President Donald Trump regarding the Administration’s ongoing negotiations with Iran.  The letter calls on the Trump Administration to secure a deal that results in the full dismantlement of the Iranian nuclear program, including permanently ending the regime’s capacity to enrich uranium.  The letter was signed by 51 Senate Republicans.  The letter states:
    “We write to express our strong support for your efforts to secure a deal with Iran that dismantles its nuclear program, and to reinforce the explicit warnings that you and officials in your Administration have issued that the regime must permanently give up any capacity for enrichment.
    “We cannot afford another agreement that enables Iran to play for time, as the JCPOA did.  The Iranian regime should know that the Administration has Congressional backing to ensure their ability to enrich uranium is permanently eliminated,” the letter continues.  “As always we stand ready to provide you and your Administration whatever resources you need to advance American national security interests.”
    The letter was also signed by U.S. Senators Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas), Leader John Thune (R-South Dakota) Jim Justice (R-West Virginia), Steve Daines (R-Montana), John Curtis (R-Utah), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Kevin Cramer (R-North Dakota), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Dave McCormick (R-Pennsylvania), James Lankford (R-Oklahoma), Tim Scott (R-South Carolina), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Markwayne Mullin (R-Oklahoma), Tim Sheehy (R-Montana), Rick Scott (R-Florida), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyoming), Jim Banks (R-Indiana), John Hoeven (R-North Dakota), John Boozman (R-Arkansas), Jon Husted (R-Ohio), John Barrasso (R-Wyoming), Roger Wicker (R-Mississippi), Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina), Shelly Moore Capito (R-West Virginia), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Katie Britt (R-Alabama), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tennessee), Ashley Moody (R-Florida), Ted Budd (R-North Carolina), Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky), Dan Sullivan (R-Arkansas), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Mississippi), Mike Rounds (R-South Dakota), Deb Fischer (R-Nebraska), Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana), Todd Young (R-Indiana), John Kennedy (R-Louisiana), Tommy Tuberville (R-Alabama), Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio), Jerry Moran (R-Kansas), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Bill Hagerty (R-Tennessee), Eric Schmitt (R-Missouri), Roger Marshall (R-Kansas), Josh Hawley (R-Missouri), Ron Johnson (R-Wisconsin), and Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina).
    Read the full letter here or below:
    Dear Mr. Trump:
    We write to express our strong support for your efforts to secure a deal with Iran that dismantles its nuclear program, and to reinforce the explicit warnings that you and officials in your Administration have issued that the regime must permanently give up any capacity for enrichment.
    During your first term you withdrew the United States from the deeply broken Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and imposed maximum pressure on the regime.  As you said then, a fatal flaw of the deal was that it “allowed Iran to continue enriching uranium and, over time, reach the brink of a nuclear breakout.”  The JCPOA allowed Iran to sell oil, provided waivers allowing third countries to help Iran build out its nuclear program and included the termination of United Nations sanctions on the regime.  Despite critics claiming your withdrawal from the deal would allow Iran to advance its nuclear ambitions, the Iranian regime remained deterred from making substantial nuclear progress throughout your term because of your maximum pressure campaign.
    Tragically, the Biden Administration systematically undid that pressure, functionally re-implementing the nuclear deal.  They immediately rescinded your decision to reimpose U.N. sanctions, allowed Iran to sell oil at JCPOA-levels and even re-issued waivers allowing Iran to build out its nuclear program.  As you predicted, those policies indeed allowed Iran to reach the brink of nuclear breakout, which is where they are today.  The Biden Administration made those concessions without any reciprocal concessions from Iran, and Iran even ceased providing international inspectors access to significant parts of its nuclear program in the early days of the Biden Administration.
    The scope and breadth of Iran’s nuclear buildout have made it impossible to verify any new deal that allows Iran to continue enriching uranium.  In its most recent report, published on February 26, the International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed that because of Iran’s activities over the last four years, “the Agency has lost continuity of knowledge in relation to the production and current inventory of centrifuges, rotors and bellows, heavy water and UOC, which it will not be possible to restore.”
    You and your Administration have therefore correctly drawn a redline against any deal that allows Iran to retain any enrichment capability.  Your National Security Presidential Memorandum on Iran stated that “Iran’s nuclear program, including its enrichment- and reprocessing-related capabilities and nuclear-capable missiles, poses an existential danger to the United States and the entire civilized world,” and you recently said that only “full dismantlement” of those capabilities would be acceptable.  Special Presidential Envoy Steve Witkoff has made it clear in that context of negotiation that for any final arrangement to work, “Iran must stop and eliminate its nuclear enrichment and weaponization program.”
    We cannot afford another agreement that enables Iran to play for time, as the JCPOA did.  The Iranian regime should know that the Administration has Congressional backing to ensure their ability to enrich uranium is permanently eliminated.
    As always, we stand ready to provide you and your Administration whatever resources you need to advance American national security interests.
    Sincerely,

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Chairman Capito Asks Nominees About Bridge Funding, PFAS Remediation, USACE Project Prioritization

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for West Virginia Shelley Moore Capito
    To watch Chairman Capito’s questions, click here or the image above.
    WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, led ahearing on the nominations of Sean McMaster to be Administrator of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), John Busterud to be Assistant Administrator for the Office of Solid Waste of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and Adam Telle to be Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works.
    During the hearing, Chairman Capito questioned the nominees about initiatives to support our nation’s bridges through FHWA policy and funding, the importance of federal efforts to address PFAS contamination, and promptly addressing priority projects through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE).
    HIGHLIGHTS:
    FHWA BRIDGE FUNDING AND POLICY:
    CHAIRMAN CAPITO:
    “[West Virginia’s] geography requires to have a lot of those bridges. So, we need a strong federal partner in the FHWA, it’s critical to our success. You know, a lot of progress has been made with the IIJA, but are there any policy and funding proposals that we should consider including in the next reauthorization, which we’re getting to work on, to further address regionally significant or bridge projects?”
    SEAN MCMASTER:
    “Senator, I appreciate the question, I know you’ve been a champion for bridges. For the Federal Highway Administration, bridge safety is a paramount importance issue. It’s critical to the safety of our traveling public. It’s critical to our supply chain. As we look to support reauthorization, there is work still yet to be done. Tremendous progress over the last few years, when I served at HNTB, I was fortunate to work in support of the Brent Spence Bridge, which after 20 years, is now finally realizing development. I look forward to supporting you, if I’m confirmed. I know it’s of paramount importance for the Federal Highway Administration, and I look forward, if confirmed, to supporting your efforts through reauthorization to identify additional ways we can accelerate the maintenance and enhancement of our nation’s bridges on the highway system.”
    ADDRESSING PFAS CONTAMINATION:
    CHAIRMAN CAPITO:
    “I was pleased to see the EPA release an agency wide plan setting bold goals to tackle this crisis. If confirmed, you will be responsible for leading OLEM’s major role in the strategy, from updating PFAS destruction guidance, to enforcing the polluter pays principle. How would you lead in this way and help us tackle this very difficult and far-ranging problem of PFAS contamination?”
    JOHN BUSTERUD:
    “PFAS is a high priority issue for EPA and the Administrator, on April 28 as you noted, announced a suite of programs basically taking a whole of EPA approach to addressing PFAS across its major program offices. As you noted, and as we discussed in our conversation in your office, OLEM will play an important role to increase the frequency of guidance we give on PFAS destruction. It has been every three years. We’re going to commit to providing those updates on an annual basis, and there was great interest in that. OLEM will also look at and examine its RCRA authorities to prevent releases of PFAS from manufacturing facilities and other facilities which use PFAS. And you mentioned the polluter pays issue, and I support that entirely, and we will continue with that approach. The issue of passive receiver is very important to a number of senators on your committee and others. That is an issue that, if confirmed, I pledge to work with our dedicated career staff and to look at ways in which we can avoid a situation in which customers of water utilities would be forced to pay for contamination they didn’t put in the water to begin with, and I look forward to working with your committee on that.”
    USACE PROJECT PRIORITIZATION:
    CHAIRMAN CAPITO:
    “We had a hearing on the Corps of Engineers and the implementation of some of their programs. This is a daunting challenge, I think, to step into the position that you’re in because the slowness and the sluggishness of some of the work that we know is critical is, I think, universally felt by all of us. This goes to the fact that the Army Corps is actively working on nearly 100 ongoing feasibility studies and general reevaluation reports. These will result in projects later on, as you know, in authorizations and appropriations. How will you ensure that projects and other activities are appropriately prioritized in work plans, and balance the competing water resources in the country?”
    ADAM TELLE:
    “Chairman Capito, you’ve identified the fundamental issue as it relates to this nomination, which is, this is a complex and exhaustive set of challenges. The demand for the Corps’ work is greater than the supply. The Congress is incredibly interested in the projects and the work of the Corps of Engineers, as you have identified. And the core principle, and when it comes to prioritization in a constrained budget environment is to follow the law, and the law says that the Corps’ primary missions are navigation, enabling Commerce on America’s waterways, flood mitigation and control, and aquatic ecosystem restoration. And so those have to be the primary beacons when it comes to prioritization, examining how the projects meet those missions as the Congress has laid them out, setting priorities on the basis of benefits versus costs, life and safety, and other factors that ultimately will play into all these decisions, and it’s a complicated one.”
    Click HERE to watch Chairman Capito’s questions.
    Click HERE to watch Chairman Capito’s opening statement.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Cornyn, Senate Colleagues, Gonzales Introduce Bill to Combat Devastating Screwworm Outbreak

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Texas John Cornyn
    WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators John Cornyn (R-TX), Ted Cruz (R-TX), and Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) and Congressman Tony Gonzales (TX-23) today introduced the Strengthening Tactics to Obstruct the Population of Screwworms (STOP Screwworms) Act, which would authorize funds for and direct the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to begin construction on a new sterile fly production facility to combat the growing New World screwworm (NWS) outbreak that threatens to wreak havoc on the American cattle industry:
    “Combatting the destructive New World screwworm is vital to protecting our cattle, Texas producers, and the American livestock industry as a whole,” said Sen. Cornyn. “I am proud to lead this legislation to create a new facility dedicated to pushing these pests away from our border and will continue to work with Secretary Rollins and agriculture leaders across the state to ensure our farmers, ranchers, and producers have the resources they need.” 
    “Texas agriculture and livestock are a core part of the Texas economy, and they feed America and the world,” said Sen. Cruz. “I’m working daily with Secretary Rollins, Texas authorities, and my colleagues in Congress to safeguard Texas from threats including the New World Screwworm, and pushing Mexico to implement their commitments to eradication. This bill will advance those efforts, and Congress should pass it.”
    “Given the current screwworm outbreak, Congress must take immediate action to help protect New Mexico’s cattle and livestock from this growing threat,” said Sen. Luján. “This bipartisan legislation will fund a new sterile fly facility to help stop the spread of the destructive New World screwworm and protect New Mexico’s 1.4 million cattle and calves. This is a critical investment that supports over 10,000 cattle farms and ranches in New Mexico, saves the U.S. livestock industry nearly $1 billion each year, and helps prevent an outbreak in the U.S.”
    “Ag producers across America are sounding the alarm—the New World Screwworm is making a comeback, and our livestock industry is in real danger. We need to fully eradicate this pest before it’s too late,” said Rep. Gonzales. “The STOP Screwworms Act provides dedicated resources to do just that. By authorizing the construction of a new sterile fly facility in the United States, we reduce our dependence on Latin American partners for eradication efforts and take matters into our own hands.”
    Additional cosponsors of this legislation include Sens. Martin Heinrich (D-NM) and Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS).
    Background:
    The New World screwworm (NWS) is a parasitic fly whose larvae feed on livestock, wildlife, and in rare cases, humans, and populations are moving toward the United States at an alarming rate. They can cause serious damage to their host, including death. This week, the USDA announced the suspension of live cattle, horse, and bison imports through the southern border in response to the growing spread of the NWS and recent outbreaks in Mexico.
    This new facility would produce sterile male screwworm flies that would be released into infested areas to help combat the growth of the screwworm population. The sterile fly technique was instrumental in eradicating NWS from the United States in the 1960s and from Mexico in the ‘90s, as sterile male flies can outcompete local populations and effectively wipe out an entire generation of screwworms in a given area.
    This legislation is endorsed by the American Farm Bureau Federation, the Texas Farm Bureau, the Texas Cattle Feeders Association, the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, and the South Texans’ Property Rights Association.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Cornyn Op-Ed: Getting Tough on Water Treaty

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Texas John Cornyn
    WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) authored the following op-ed in The Monitor praising the Trump administration for prioritizing the push for Mexico to live up to its obligations under the 1944 Water Treaty and previewing his next steps in the fight to bring relief to the South Texas agriculture community.
    Getting Tough on Water Treaty
    Senator Cornyn
    The Monitor
    May 13, 2025
    https://myrgv.com/opinion/2025/05/13/commentary-getting-tough-on-water-treaty/
    The Rio Grande Valley is home to farmers and ranchers who supply the nation’s grocery stores and represent billions of dollars in economic activity. In 1944, Mexico and the United States made an agreement to share the waters of the Rio Grande. Under this treaty, Mexico and the U.S. agreed to deliver set amounts of water every five years to one another. While that may seem straightforward, this deeply flawed agreement has the Lone Star State’s tensions with Mexico at a tipping point, and I’m working with the Donald Trump administration to get this fixed and protect Texas agriculture.
    While the United States and Texas have kept their side of the agreement, faithfully delivering water from the Colorado River to Mexico as set out in the treaty, Mexico has been delinquent. They’ve not met their full obligations in years. Four years into the current five-year cycle, Mexico a balance of more than 60% of their five-year water delivery obligation outstanding and due in just over six months.
    As the senior senator from Texas, I’ve been using every lever at my disposal to hold Mexico accountable. I’ve worked with the Appropriations Committee here in the Senate to prohibit funds from going to Mexico until they hold up their end of the bargain. Unfortunately, Senate Democrats blocked this effort.
    I secured provisions that authorized block grants to provide relief to South Texas farmers and ranchers who are affected by water shortages. While these grants offered some relief, the White House has the ultimate authority to enforce the treaty and hold Mexico accountable.
    The Joe Biden administration’s response epitomized its weak posture on foreign policy. I demanded that the State Department put pressure on Mexico to fulfill their obligations. I hosted multiple calls with Secretary Anthony Blinken, urging him to listen to what Texans were experiencing and hold Mexico accountable for failing to meet their treaty obligations. But the Biden administration didn’t care. In characteristic ineptitude on the world stage, President Biden and Secretary Blinken did nothing to hold Mexico accountable.
    Thankfully, under President Trump we have an entirely new landscape. Last month, thanks to President Trump, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, Mexico has finally agreed to start making deliveries again. This much-needed development will make a difference for South Texas farmers. But while this is an important step in the right direction, I will not consider this work finished until Mexico is making consistent water deliveries.
    Nothing short of annual water deliveries will fulfill Mexico’s obligations to the United States. Mexico must give one-fifth of the required water every year in order to meet the 1.7 million acre-feet quota and give South Texas farmers and ranchers the predictability they need.
    Given Mexico’s current water shortages, it is unlikely that they will meet this total requirement by the end of the cycle, and they can’t blame Mother Nature for their failure to plan. Furthermore, even if they could suddenly deliver the required amount left before time runs out, this would not make Texas farmers whole.
    Consider how farming works. Farmers cannot go four years without irrigating their crops, and suddenly make up for it in year five when their fields are dry and decimated. Cattle and other livestock won’t last long without water, either. This is exactly what Mexico has been doing to South Texas farmers, and it is unacceptable.
    I will continue to push this issue in the Senate until South Texas farmers are receiving the water they deserve. My efforts will include introducing legislation and holding a hearing in the Senate Finance Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness, which I chair. I will also continue working with the Trump administration to strengthen the terms and enforcement of the treaty as part of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement review process.
    The United States has kept our end of the treaty. Mexico must be held accountable until they have done the same. I will not stop fighting until Texas agriculture is receiving the predictable, yearly water deliveries that Mexico is obligated to provide.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: WATCH: Baldwin Presses RFK, Jr. on MPS Lead Crisis, Head Start Closures at Senate Hearing

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Wisconsin Tammy Baldwin
    WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, at a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee Hearing, U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) pressed Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. on mass layoffs at the agency that are impacting Wisconsin families, including firing lead experts that could be helping Milwaukee Public Schools respond to lead exposure. Senator Baldwin also pressed the Secretary on paused and delayed funding for Wisconsin Head Start, which provides childcare for 16,000 children statewide.
    In early April, Centers for Disease Control (CDC) notified Milwaukee Public Schools that they would not be able to receive on-site help from lead experts because the Trump administration shut down the lead poisoning branch and fired the experts. The crisis has shuttered six schools and displaced 1,800 children in Milwaukee. Last month, Senator Baldwin and Congresswoman Gwen Moore (D-WI-04) demanded the Trump administration reinstate the fired CDC lead poisoning experts and approve Milwaukee’s plea for federal assistance to help keep children safe.
    Wisconsin Head Start programs are also feeling the impact of President Donald Trump and Secretary Kennedy’s slash and burn approach that is threatening essential services like child care. In February, following an illegal Trump Administration directive to freeze funding Congress approved, half of Wisconsin’s Head Start programs were unable to access their approved funding, forcing at least one program in Waukesha to shutter. In April, Senator Baldwin also revealed that Wisconsin Head Start had received $35 million less so far this year in funding compared to 2024, a 50% cut. HHS also announced in April that they are closing five regional Head Start offices across the country, including the Region 5 office in Chicago which serves Head Start grantees in Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, and Ohio.
    A full recording of Senator Baldwin’s questions is available here. A full recording of her press conference ahead of this hearing is available here. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Lankford Continues Push to Safeguard Conscience Rights of Health Care Workers

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Oklahoma James Lankford

    WASHINGTON, DC – Senator James Lankford (R-OK) introduced the Conscience Protection Act to protect health care providers and insurance plans from government discrimination if they decline to participate in abortions. The Conscience Protection Act provides enforcement for existing conscience laws by providing a private right of action for victims of conscience discrimination. 

    “When conscience protections aren’t enforced, health care workers are forced to decide if they should lose their job or violate their beliefs by performing an abortion. Many health care professionals went into their careers to protect life, not take life. Doctors and nurses should never have to make the choice between their career and their conscience. The Conscience Protection Act defends health care workers and empowers them to stand by convictions as they care for their community,” said Lankford.

    Lankford first introduced the Conscience Protection Act in 2019 and again in 2021 and 2024.  He spoke on the Senate floor after Democrats blocked his bill to protect all Americans’ conscience rights.

    Lankford is joined on the bill by Senators Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Jim Risch (R-ID), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Steve Daines (R-MT), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Ted Budd (R-NC), Josh Hawley (R-MO), Todd Young (R-IN), Pete Ricketts (R-NE), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Mike Lee (R-UT), Jim Banks (R-IN), and Mike Crapo (R-ID). Representative August Plfuger (R-TX) is leading the legislation in the House of Representatives.

    This legislation is also supported by Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, Students for Life, American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists Action, Alliance Defending Freedom, Eagle Forum, National Right to Life Committee, First Liberty Institute, CatholicVote, Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee, and March for Life.

    Background

    Congress has enacted more than 25 laws to protect conscience rights for individuals who have a religious or moral objection to performing certain medical procedures, including abortion. Yet, courts have consistently declined to find that these laws provide a “private right of action” for an individual to commence litigation to defend their right of conscience—thereby leaving victims of conscience discrimination unable to defend their rights in court. Currently, if a health care worker refuses to provide abortions, the only recourse available is to file a complaint with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR). 

    In 2014, California required that health plans must cover abortions, which forced religious employers to offer plans that violate their religious beliefs. In December 2014, under the Obama Administration, HHS opened an investigation. Despite the then-current laws protecting conscience rights, in June 2016, HHS declared that California could force all its health plans to cover elective abortions, which President Biden’s nominee for HHS Secretary has advocated for and enforced as Attorney General of California.

    During the first Trump Administration, several landmark actions were taken to enforce current law and protect conscience: (1) created the Conscience and Religious Freedom Division, (2) partnered with the Department of Justice to notice and enforce conscience violations in Vermont and California, resulting in the disallowance of $200 million per quarter from the state due to former Attorney General Becerra’s refusal to comply with the law, and (3) issued the final rule “Protecting Statutory Conscience Rights In Health Care” to enforce existing statutory protections, which Lankford supported. Unfortunately, a federal court vacated the conscience rule in November 2019. Litigation on the final rule continued at the Second Circuit in New York v. HHS, and seventy-eight Members of Congress filed an amicus brief led by Senator Lankford in the case.

    In response to the Biden Administration’s proposed rule that would insufficiently enforce conscience protections for medical professionals, Lankford led his colleagues in filing a public comment letter demanding greater implementation and enforcement of all of the statutory conscience protections enacted by Congress, as reflected in the previous rule issued under the Trump Administration. 

    This week, President Trump’s Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced it is initiating a compliance review under the Church Amendments, which is central to the legislation. This key development pairs perfectly with the Conscience Protection Act and underscores the need for further action to protect conscience rights.

    You can read the exclusive in the Daily Signal HERE, and can read the full text of the Conscience Protection Act HERE.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Durbin Calls Out Republicans’ As Trump Administration Slashed Funding For Mental Health Grants, Gun Violence Prevention Efforts That Had Bipartisan Support

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Illinois Dick Durbin
    May 14, 2025
    “The next time the President or any of his friends go to Fox News and try to start scapegoating Democrats for the gun violence in Chicago, they should remember that the President and his billionaire cronies eliminated these successful, bipartisan grants,” Durbin said on the Senate floor
    WASHINGTON – In a speech on the Senate floor today, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, spoke out against the Trump Administration’s cuts to critical mental health programs and gun violence prevention efforts.  Despite strong bipartisan support for the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act in 2022, congressional Republicans have remained silent about these disastrous funding cuts that erode efforts to mitigate gun violence.
    “Currently, the number one cause of death for American kids and teenagers is gun violence.  Not automobile accidents, not cancer.  We need to treat this crisis like the national emergency that it is,” Durbin began his remarks.  “Common-sense gun safety measures are overwhelmingly popular with the American people, even with gun owners, including banning high-capacity assault weapons meant for the battlefield, as well as universal background checks and requiring safe storage of guns.”
    “But we also know that making communities safer requires addressing the root causes of violence,” Durbin said.
    Durbin continued his remarks, reflecting on the third anniversary of the Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, Texas, that resulted in the death of 19 innocent children and two teachers.
    “On what should have been an ordinary school day, 19 innocent children and two teachers were gunned down in their classrooms by a man armed with an AR-15.  After that horrific day, Congress came together on a bipartisan basis, a rare bipartisan basis, to pass the most significant gun safety reform in generations,” Durbin said.  “We recognized that too many parents were losing children, and too many communities have been irreparably scarred.”
    Durbin spoke about key components in the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, including provisions that invested in breaking the cycle of violence by addressing mental health.
    “When Congress passed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, we agreed we must do more to prevent gun violence from happening in the first place.  One of the most prominent provisions of that legislation was Congress’ decision to invest in using trained neighborhood leaders to break the cycle of violence,” Durbin said.  “With $250 million in funding, we supported community violence interrupters from the South Side of Chicago to… Houston, Texas.”
    Yet, previous bipartisan support did not stop the Trump Administration and unelected billionaire Elon Musk from axing federal funding for these critical programs.  As a result of these cuts, organizations like Metropolitan Family Services in Chicago lost $3.7 million in federal funding.  Prior to being slashed, these funds provided mental health training and job skills to hundreds of individuals who are most likely to perpetrate or be victims of violence.  Because of these initiatives, homicides in the City of Chicago have decreased by 50 percent since 2021.
    “Unfortunately, DOGE had a different idea when it came to preventing violence.  Last month, the Department of Justice cancelled more than $800 million in violence prevention, public safety, and victim service grants.  That includes millions of dollars in community violence intervention funding that was senselessly cut,” Durbin continued.
    “Does Attorney General Bondi really think that eliminating these grants will stop the violence?  Ignoring reality won’t stop the bloodshed that will occur without these funds,” Durbin said.  “Does President Trump really think that cutting this funding makes America safer?”
    “The next time the President or any of his friends go to Fox News and try to start scapegoating Democrats for the gun violence in Chicago, they should remember that the President and his billionaire cronies eliminated these successful, bipartisan grants,” Durbin said.
    Further destroying the gun violence prevention efforts in the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, the Trump Administration has also rescinded $1 billion in mental health grants from schools that were included in the bill. 
    “After any mass shooting, many are quick to explain away the tragedy as just a ‘mental health’ issue, not the result of the fact that America has far too many deadly weapons,” Durbin said.  “Yet barely 100 days into this Administration, they have dropped any pretense about mental health in dealing with gun violence.  Apparently, preventing gun violence by providing treatment to children is just too much for them to take.”
    Durbin concluded his remarks by pointing to an initiative in Illinois losing its federal funding without a clear justification from the Trump Administration.
    “An initiative in Lake County, Illinois, received nearly $6 million in federal funds to recruit and train mental health providers to work in the schools,” Durbin said.  “In an outrageous and unsubstantiated justification, the Department of Education claimed that these funds ‘violated the letter of purpose or Federal civil rights law’ or ‘undermined the well-being of students these programs are intended to help.’  There is no evidence of that.”
    “Where is the outrage from those who joined in this bipartisan response several years ago?  We took great pride in it.  Democrats and Republicans finally agreed on something.  Mental health counseling of children who are most vulnerable is a way to reduce gun violence.  I still believe that to this day. But the Trump Administration says ‘no, we’re not going to invest in that.’
    “You know what’s going to happen? There will be more gun violence… Innocent kids will die. Innocent people will die.  People will say, ‘well, we just need more mental health counseling.’  Keep in mind, this Administration just eliminated the funds for it. What are they thinking?” Durbin said.
    “Where is the outrage from my colleagues on the other side of the aisle?” Durbin asked.  “That silence is shameful.”
    Video of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here.
    Audio of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here.
    Footage of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here for TV Stations.
    -30-

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Durbin Meets With Nominee To Serve As Chairman Of CFTC

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Illinois Dick Durbin
    May 14, 2025
    WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with Brian Quintenz, who has been nominated to serve as Chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).  During their meeting, Durbin emphasized the need for regulation and steady oversight on cryptocurrency, as well as explicit consumer protections within the industry.  As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Durbin also discussed funding that is needed to enforce cryptocurrency regulation at CFTC.
    “As cryptocurrency rises in popularity, it’s critical that we institute oversight and regulations that adequately protect consumers,” said Durbin.  “Today, I met with Brian Quintenz, President Trump’s nominee to serve as Chairman of CFTC, to reiterate that, if confirmed, he must put American consumers first and ensure that the digital asset market plays fair.”
    -30-

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Hickenlooper Honors Rev. James Peters, Jr.

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator John Hickenlooper – Colorado
    WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper released the following statement to honor the passing of longtime civil rights leader, Reverend James Peters, Jr.
    “James was truly one of the greatest men I’ve ever known – standing tall in a room full of giants.
    “I will always remember our trip to Montgomery to visit the National Memorial for Peace and Justice. His unwavering compassion and leadership helped guide our country – and Denver – toward a brighter future.”
    Hickenlooper with Rev. Peters outside of the National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery.
    Reverend Peters was a founding member of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and worked with Martin Luther King Jr. in the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s. He served as pastor of New Hope Baptist Church in the Denver metropolitan area for 28 years and previously chaired the Colorado Civil Rights Commission. He passed away on Saturday.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Welch, Jayapal to Host Viewing of No Other Land at the U.S. Capitol

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont)
    WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and Representative Pramila Jayapal (WA-07) will host a panel discussion and special Capitol Hill viewing of the Academy Award winning documentary film, “No Other Land” for Members of Congress, congressional staff, civil society leaders, and members of the press. The panel of experts, moderated by journalist Mehdi Hasan, will discuss the film, settler violence in the West Bank, the expansion of Israeli settlements, and shifts in U.S. policy.  
    Event: Panel Discussion and Viewing of “No Other Land” Date and Time: Monday, May 19, 2025 at 7:00PM Location: South Orientation Theater (CVC 241), Capitol Visitor Center Panel: U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Representative Pramila Jayapal (WA-07); Zaha Hassan; Dr. Debra Shushan; and Josh Paul; moderated by Mehdi Hasan. 
    RSVP: Please RSVP using this LINK 
    Entry Instructions: Please see Capitol Visitor Guidelines here. Use the main entrance near the intersection of East Capitol St NE and First St NE (by the Supreme Court and Library of Congress). Follow the signage down to the Capitol Visitor Center entrance, to the lower floor of the Visitor Center. 
    Winner of the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film, “No Other Land” is directed by a collective of directors from Palestine and Israel—Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham, and Rachel Szor. The Oscar winning documentary follows Palestinian activist Basel Adra as he documents the demolition of his community in Masafer Yatta. It is a powerful testament to shared resistance, human rights, and the enduring struggle for justice. 
    Senator Welch and Representative Jayapal have co-led several efforts on issues related to the West Bank, including legislation to fund UNRWA. In April, Senator Welch and Representative Jayapal led 29 of their bicameral colleagues in raising the alarm over escalating violence in the West Bank. In a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the lawmakers urged the Trump Administration to immediately reinstate sanctions against individuals who perpetrate violence that undermines regional stability and security in the West Bank. The bicameral letter was in response to the violent assault of Hamdan Ballal, a director of “No Other Land.” On March 24, 2025, Mr. Ballal was attacked by a group of Israeli settlers in the village of Susiya in the occupied West Bank. Following this attack, Israeli Defense Forces arrested and detained Mr. Ballal.  

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Kennedy, Ricketts, colleagues applaud President Trump’s push to dismantle Iran’s nuclear program

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator John Kennedy (Louisiana)
    WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) today joined Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.) and 50 Republican colleagues in sending a letter to President Donald Trump applauding the president’s efforts to secure a deal with Iran that dismantles its nuclear program.
    Key excerpts of the letter are below:
    “During your first term you withdrew the United States from the deeply broken Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and imposed maximum pressure on the regime. As you said then, a fatal flaw of the deal was that it ‘allowed Iran to continue enriching uranium and, over time, reach the brink of a nuclear breakout.’ The JCPOA allowed Iran to sell oil, provided waivers allowing third countries to help Iran build out its nuclear program, and included the termination of United Nations sanctions on the regime.”
    . . .
    “Tragically, the Biden administration systematically undid that pressure, functionally re-implementing the nuclear deal. They immediately rescinded your decision to reimpose U.N. sanctions, allowed Iran to sell oil at JCPOA-levels, and even re-issued waivers allowing Iran to build out its nuclear program. As you predicted, those policies indeed allowed Iran to reach the brink of nuclear breakout, which is where they are today.” 
    . . .
    “We cannot afford another agreement that enables Iran to play for time, as the JCPOA did. The Iranian regime should know that the administration has Congressional backing to ensure their ability to enrich uranium is permanently eliminated.
    “As always we stand ready to provide you and your administration whatever resources you need to advance American national security interests.”
    Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), John Thune (R-S.D.), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Jim Justice (R-W.Va.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), John Curtis (R-Utah), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Dave McCormick (R-Pa.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Jim Banks (R-Ind.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), John Boozman (R-Ark.), Jon Husted (R-Ohio), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Shelly Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Katie Britt (R-Ala.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Ashley Moody (R-Fla.), Ted Budd (R-N.C.), Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Todd Young (R-Ind.), Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) also signed the letter.
    Read the full letter here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Ernst Eliminating Unemployment Handouts to Millionaires

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA)
    Published: May 14, 2025
    WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) is ending the gravy train for the idle rich after a shocking report revealed that individuals earning more than a million dollars annually received over $271 million in unemployment insurance during the first two years of the Biden administration.
    Senate DOGE Caucus Chair Ernst’s Ending Unemployment Payments to Jobless Millionaires Act will disqualify anyone making a million dollars or more from being eligible for unemployment income support.
    “Our nation’s safety net shouldn’t be strained by subsidizing the lifestyles of the self-sufficient,” said Ernst. “Able-bodied millionaires shouldn’t expect handouts paid for by overtaxed and overworked Americans. The freebies for free-loading fat cats are over.”
    A Congressional Research Service analysis of tax returns from individuals and households reporting incomes of a million dollars or more found:
    In 2021, 14,972 millionaires collected $213.6 million of unemployment payments, about $14,267 each.
    In 2022, 5,773 millionaires were paid $57.6 million in jobless benefits, nearly $10,000 each.
    Click here to view the bill text.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Ernst Details How to Fuel the Great American Industrial Comeback

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA)
    WASHINGTON – Today, at a U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship hearing, Chair Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) discussed how Congress can continue to fuel the manufacturing boom across America by reigniting investment in small manufacturers.
    Ernst highlighted that small manufacturers are the key to the great American industrial comeback because they make up 98% of all manufacturing firms in the United States.
    Watch Chair Ernst’s remarks here.
    Ernst’s full remarks:
    “I am excited to hold this hearing to discuss opportunities to reignite investment in small American manufacturers and ensure our industrial future is built right here, at home.
    “America is and has always been a nation of builders — men and women who roll up their sleeves, put in a hard day’s work, and take pride not just in what they make, but what it means for their families, their communities, and their country. That entrepreneurial spirit is in our DNA.
    “For far too long, Washington looked the other way as factories and farms shut down and the jobs that once sustained many U.S. families were shipped overseas.
    “Despite the importance of domestic industrial production to our national security, production of critical goods was off shored to foreign countries.
    “In doing so, we’ve made ourselves dependent on an international supply chains offering fast, mass-produced goods — mostly coming from China.
    “This came at a cost. Not just economic, but strategic.
    “In January of this year, the U.S. recorded a $29.7 billion trade deficit with China —we’ve been massively reliant on our chief adversary for the goods and services we consume.
    “Today, the manufacturing sector comprises only 10.1 percent of America’s gross domestic product, a figure trailing most other industrialized nations.
    “We’ve left ourselves economically beholden to the rest of the world and hollowed out our industrial core that once employed millions of Americans.
    “We cannot accept that status quo.
    “I believe in a great American comeback, one driven by the world’s most talented workforce and a new era of domestic manufacturing ensuring this nation’s economic security.
    “We can make ‘Made in America’ the norm instead of the exception.
    “Thanks to President Trump’s leadership, we are already seeing the early signs of a manufacturing revival and industrial boom in Iowa and all across the country.
    “No group is more eager to lead this charge than small manufacturers, who make up 98 percent of all manufacturing firms in the United States.
    They are ready to build, ready to grow, and they want to do it here – in the United States.
    “But Washington needs to do its part.
    “It’s time Congress acts to ensure that the federal government does not stand in the way of small manufacturers.
    “We must empower them by providing them the tools they need to generate new jobs – to rebuild and fortify American supply chain stability, and to reduce our reliance on other countries, including adversaries.
    “However, breaking ground on new manufacturing facilities or upgrading existing ones is a major investment.
    “In many cases, these projects require long-term financing options, which can be particularly difficult for small businesses to access.
    “That is why I was proud to introduce the Made in America Manufacturing Finance Act, along with another member of this Committee, Senator Coons.
    “This bipartisan legislation would double the SBA-backed loan limit from $5 million to $10 million for small manufacturers.
    “By allowing manufacturers to access greater capital my legislation encourages small manufacturers to invest in their operations and support the training and expansion of our manufacturing workforce.
    “This is about leveling the playing field for American manufacturers on the world stage. It is a straightforward, commonsense, and bipartisan solution to unlock the potential small manufacturers have to secure our national and economic security.
    “I am also interested in how we can leverage another SBA program—the Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) to support small manufacturers.
    “This program supports the flow of private capital to small businesses across the country.
    “I am grateful that we’re joined today by Mr. Mickelson, from Iowa, and Mr. Geis, from Missouri, who invest in small businesses across the heartland through the SBIC program.
    “I look forward to hearing from all our witnesses about how we can best align SBA programs and private investment to spark America’s next industrial boom.
    “The independence, prosperity, and security of our next generation depends on it.
    “Thanks to our witnesses for being here today and I look forward to your testimony.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Hoeven Pays Tribute to Nation’s Law Enforcement Officers on Senate Floor

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for North Dakota John Hoeven
    05.14.25
    Senate Passes Hoeven-Backed Resolution Designating National Police Week
    WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven (R-N.D.) delivered remarks on the Senate floor to pay tribute to the nation’s law enforcement officers. Hoeven delivered the remarks after the Senate unanimously passed a resolution he introduced with Senators Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) designating May 12 through 17 as National Police Week, and reaffirming the Senate’s steadfast support for law enforcement officers across the nation.
    “We can never fully repay our police officers for such enormous sacrifices, but we can continue to show respect for our law enforcement, honor those we’ve lost and recognize the sacrifices of their families and loved ones,” said Hoeven.
    “To honor our men and women in blue, I helped introduce a resolution in the Senate commemorating National Police Week, and paying tribute to their bravery. National Police Week provides us with the opportunity to come together as a nation to honor the peace officers who put their lives on the line to protect and serve our communities.”
    Hoeven, Grassley and Durbin are joined by Senators Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Angus King (I-Maine), Ashley Moody (R-Fla.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Ben Ray Lujan (D-N.M.), Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), John Kennedy (R-La.), Christopher Coons (D-Del.), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Jim Justice (R-W.Va.), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Katie Britt (R-Ala.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Jim Banks (R-Ind.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Ted Budd (R-N.C.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Margaret Hassan (D-N.H.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), John Thune (R-S.D.), Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Jon Husted (R-Ohio), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), Todd Young (R-Ind.), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Dave McCormick (R-Pa.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and John Boozman (R-Ark.). 
    Full text of the resolution can be found here. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Senator Coons meets with Chief of the National Guard Bureau

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Delaware Christopher Coons
    WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, met yesterday with General Steven Nordhaus, Chief of the National Guard Bureau.
    During their meeting, Senator Coons discussed ways he can support the National Guard through his new role as the lead Senate Democrat in charge of defense spending. Senator Coons also pressed General Nordhaus about Delaware’s National Guard priorities, including the provision of C-130J cargo planes to the Delaware National Guard and the expansion of the State Partnership Program (SPP), which links National Guard units from states across the country with the militaries of partner nations for mutual training, disaster relief, and other purposes. Delaware is paired with Trinidad and Tobago through the SPP.
    “National Guard units around the country serve vital functions for our nation across a number of areas from disaster relief to military readiness to joining the fight on the front lines when called upon,” said Senator Coons. “I enjoyed meeting with General Nordhaus to better understand how the Senate can fund the National Guard more effectively and ensure that every state, including Delaware, benefits from hosting National Guard units.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: The Make America Sick Agenda: Senator Markey Compiles Stories from Trump, RFK Jr.’s First Five Months

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Massachusetts Ed Markey
    Read stories from Massachusetts and across the country
    Washington (May 14, 2025) – Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), top Democrat on the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Subcommittee on Primary Health and Retirement Security, today unveiled a selection of dozens of stories received by his office on Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy (RFK) Jr.’s first five months. The stories, titled “The Make America Sick Agenda,” contains stories from people who have shared their experiences under the Trump administration’s Health and Human Services, including the impacts of cutting billions in life-saving research into diseases like Alzheimer’s and cancer, revoking grants to hospitals and community health centers, and firing staff dedicated to helping families pay their utility bills. All the while, RFK, Jr. spreads misinformation about vaccines amidst an uncontrolled measles outbreak.
    “The stories included here are from the voices of people across the country who the Trump administration has betrayed. They are terrified of losing life-saving care. They are angry that their government would treat them this way. And they are frustrated that protecting billionaires is more important to the Administration than ensuring their ability to get the care they need, when they need it, without going into debt,” wrote Senator Markey. “These are the stories of the Trump administration’s Make America Sick Agenda. The American people deserve better.”
    Selected excerpts from the compilation:
    “My parents were the first generation in their families to go to college and I was a Pell Grant recipient. I am not from an ‘elite’ upbringing. I am a mother, a pediatrician and public health professor have dedicated my career to trying to address the health disadvantages accrued by people in lower income and otherwise socially disadvantaged and stigmatized populations with a specific focus on women and children. One of my NIH grants that sought to understand and improve the experiences in behavioral/mental health care of LGBTQIA+ youth ages 14-17 was terminated. The message sent is that these vulnerable youth do not matter, further making them feel unwelcome in this society. It also has had a chilling effect on my students and staff who are funded through this research, discouraging them from continuing to be part of the workforce trying to understand and make better the care and opportunities for those whom our societal decisions have disadvantaged for reasons that are beyond their control.” – Anonymous, Amherst, MA 
    “I have kidney cancer. As an active patient receiving extremely expensive immunotherapy treatment, if I lose my job, I’ll also lose health insurance. That is literally a death sentence.” – Joe, Bridgewater, MA 
    “I am a stage 4 cancer patient at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and am currently enrolled in a clinical trial there. I have a rare cancer that has no cure and few drugs to treat it. In the past 20 years, clinical trials and research about my cancer have been instrumental in helping people live longer. Cuts to the NIH and cancer research are devastating to cancer patients. Cuts to vaccine research also indirectly affect cancer patients as we are typically immunocompromised and need vaccines and for the population around us to be vaccinated. Anti-vaccine sentiments from HHS and the CDC could be detrimental to cancer patients like myself.” – Jennifer, Shrewsbury, MA
    “These drastic cuts aren’t just going to devastate local jobs and people’s livelihoods and a generation of scientists. They’re rapidly destroying the infrastructure for scientific research in this country, and that’s going to have very real effects on the public’s health. The treatment and prevention advances we need for ourselves and our loved ones just won’t be there. I cannot overstate how critical it is that we act NOW. The scientific research infrastructure is far easier to break than it will be to rebuild.” – Julia, Newton, MA
    “It is a sad commentary, that in a high-income country such as the US, we lagged behind other similar high-income countries in all healthcare indicators and now we are jeopardizing the even further the health of all Americans and our scientific reputation in the world. There is always room for improved organization and being efficient with our taxpayer monies but the restructuring that is taking place is without any reasonable justification based on evidence and thus, lacks in transparency to the American people. The future of all Americans is at risk here and the damage being done to the health of our people and the education system as well as our scientific innovation is devastating. We must push back.” – Anonymous, East Longmeadow, MA

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: RELEASE: Senator Mullin Secures Commitment on Critical Infrastructure Improvements to the Port of Catoosa

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator MarkWayne Mullin (R-Oklahoma)

    RELEASE: Senator Mullin Secures Commitment on Critical Infrastructure Improvements to the Port of Catoosa

    Washington, D.C. – On Tuesday, U.S. Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, participated in the hearing, “To consider the nominations of: Mr. Richard L. Anderson to be Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Manpower and Reserve Affairs; Mr. Adam R. Telle to be Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works; and Dr. Matthew C. Napoli to be Deputy Administrator for Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation National Nuclear Security Administration.” 
    In his remarks, Senator Mullin detailed the importance of the Port of Catoosa and the critical infrastructure updates that are desperately needed. Mr. Telle, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works nominee, committed to addressing the issue.

    The full committee hearing can be found here. 
    The exchange between Senator Mullin and Mr. Adam Telle, nominee to be Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, is below.  
    Sen. Mullin: “Mr. Telle, I want to talk to you about the Port of Catoosa. It’s a 445-mile channel that runs from essentially the Mississippi all the way up to the Port of Catoosa, which is the largest inland water port west of the Mississippi and on the Gulf of America. It also provides roughly 50% of all agricultural products that flow in and out of the Midwest, and it goes up to the Port of Catoosa, which is just outside of Tulsa. And from there, it gets on rails and trucks and gets trucked the rest of the way up. It was opened in 1971 and since roughly the 90s, we have talked about increasing the depth, because the amount of traffic that’s on it. Right now, it’s dredged at nine feet in depth, and it also has a critical backlog, which means that any of the levees could shut down at any given time, of increasing almost a billion dollars critical backlog needs.” 
    “The Port of Catoosa, for some reason continues to be treated like, this is not politically correct but whatever the red headed stepchild is, and other projects in Ohio or the Mississippi or other areas of waterways seem to get the most attention. However, the Midwest feeds the United States and many parts around the world, yet we’re in a critical situation here where we need to increase the depth of the channel from 9 feet to 12 feet. The study has been going on literally since the 90s. An additional study started again in 2005 and expired in roughly 2014. We could see a 40% increase in cargo influx into the port and out of the port for every foot we increase it. 40% increase cargo. Which would be drastically an improvement to what we deal with today. Not to mention the timing, the cost to get Ag products in and out of the Midwest, because as we hit the Mississippi, we actually change out of one barge to another barge that actually is obviously deeper and bigger for us to be able to navigate through the channel with.” 
    “My concern is that since the Corp has continued to overlook this, I’m looking for a commitment for you that you will actually take a hard look at this and understand that literally, the heartbeat of America, which is our Ag products, is in dire straits of being able to get products in and out. And if this navigation channel goes down, the cost is going to bring to all Americans’ tables, because it will increase in cargo. So, would you commit to helping us with this channel?”  
    Mr. Telle: “Senator Mullin, absolutely, I will. This is emblematic, the situation you described, in providing access for Oklahoma’s farmers and ranchers to the rest of the world through our waterways is emblematic of the Corp’s mission, which was originally to use our waterways for the benefit of the American public.” 
    “Your state’s so critical in getting the products from your state the world. And the opposite of that, getting the world’s products to you is critically important. I understand that this issue has been going on for a long time, affects the state of Arkansas as well. And certainly, as vessel traffic changes, the types of traffic change based on commercial patterns across the globe, we need to make sure that our infrastructure is up to date to meet it. And I look forward to doing everything we can to take a very hard look at this critical asset and make sure that we modernize it to the degree that we can.” 
    “And I would also, as you describe when we were in your office, the critical role that it plays in flood protection in that area as well. And you know, dredge material often can have a beneficial use in terms of building flood control infrastructure, levees and otherwise. So, I look forward to working with you on that and I commit to do my very best.”  
    Sen. Mullin: “Thank you. And I look forward to hosting you when we can get you there.”  

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: During National Police Week, Rosen Announces Federal Funding Opportunities to Support Local Law Enforcement

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV)
    WASHINGTON, DC – During National Police Week, U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV) is announcing a federal grant funding opportunity for local law enforcement and encouraging Nevada departments to apply. The COPS Hiring Program federal grant is designed to provide law enforcement agencies with funding to hire more officers, implement innovative strategies to fight crime, incentivize community policing, and more. Senator Rosen has repeatedly urged Senate appropriators to support funding for the COPS Hiring Program.
    This program is now accepting applications until July 1, 2025 by 4:59pm ET. 
    “It’s my priority to continue delivering federal funding and resources that Nevada’s law enforcement community needs to keep our communities safe and help them do their jobs effectively,” said Senator Rosen. “During National Police Week, I’m encouraging law enforcement agencies across our state to apply for this federal grant to support hiring more officers and implementing tested strategies to bolster policing efforts. I’ll keep advocating for our first responders who fight crime and protect our state.”
    Senator Rosen has been working to support Nevada’s law enforcement community and ensure it has the resources needed to fight crime effectively and safely. Last year, bipartisan legislation she helped pass in the Senate to address the police officer shortage was signed into law. A bipartisan bill Rosen backed to fund family support and mental health services for law enforcement officers passed the Senate last year. Senator Rosen also introduced bipartisan legislation that would help determine best practices for identifying and treating post-traumatic stress and combating suicide among police and first responders.
    Information about the available grant funding program is found below:
    COPS Hiring Program – A competitive award program designed to provide funding directly to law enforcement agencies to hire and/or rehire additional career law enforcement officers in an effort to increase their community policing capacity and crime prevention efforts. Anticipated outcomes of the CHP program awards include engagement in planned community partnerships, implementation of projects to analyze and assess problems, implementation of changes to personnel and agency management in support of community policing, and increased capacity of agency to engage in community policing activities.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Graham Welcomes Qatar Airways’ Investment in Boeing’s South Carolina Workforce

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for South Carolina Lindsey Graham
    WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) today made this statement after Qatar Airways announced the purchase of up to 210 American-made Boeing 787 Dreamliners and 777x aircraft. This is the largest ever order of Boeing 787 jets and will proudly be assembled in Charleston, South Carolina.
    “This is great news for South Carolina and Boeing. The operative phrase is ‘largest ever.’ Today’s announcement marks Boeing’s largest ever widebody order, its largest 787 order and Qatar Airways’ largest order ever.
    “Qatar Airways’ purchase will ensure the Charleston plant has work for many years to come and it is a validation of the work product coming from the Charleston Boeing facility. The Boeing workforce in South Carolina has a lot to be proud of – they consistently work hard and provide great airplanes.
    “I appreciate our allies in Qatar for making this investment in Boeing aircraft and I appreciate everything the Trump Administration has done to make this possible. This is truly a gamechanger for Boeing and South Carolina.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: At Spotlight Forum, Warren Slams Trump, McMahon’s Attacks on Public Education, Invites Americans to Share Stories for Meeting with McMahon

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Massachusetts – Elizabeth Warren

    May 14, 2025

    Warren: “At a time when college costs are already too high—when the American Dream is out of reach for too many—President Trump and Congressional Republicans are making it harder for working-class families to get ahead.”

    Forum Livestream

    Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs (BHUA), delivered opening remarks at a spotlight forum entitled “Stealing the American Dream: How Trump and Republicans Are Raising Education Costs for Families.” 

    Senator Warren, in her opening statement, slammed President Trump and Education Secretary Linda McMahon’s reckless actions to dismantle the Department of Education, which will make it harder and more expensive for working- and middle-class kids to receive an education. She also highlighted how Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” will slash $351 billion in education funding, harming students and borrowers to pay for tax cuts for millionaires, billionaires, and wealthy corporations.

    Senator Warren invited Education Secretary Linda McMahon to testify at today’s hearing to defend the Trump administration’s actions to dismantle public education, including her decision to take Social Security benefits away from seniors with defaulted student loan debt. Secretary McMahon declined Senator Warren’s invitation and asked to meet with Senator Warren instead. Senator Warren closed by asking Americans to share their stories and questions for her to bring to her meeting with Secretary McMahon.

    Opening Statement
    Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee Spotlight Forum: Stealing the American Dream: How Trump and Republicans Are Raising Education Costs for Families.
    May 14, 2025
    As Prepared for Delivery

    Senator Elizabeth Warren: Last month, in the face of an unprecedented attack on public education led by co-Presidents Donald Trump and Elon Musk, I launched the Save Our Schools campaign.

    Trump, Musk, and Education Secretary Linda McMahon are determined to make it harder and more expensive for working- and middle-class kids to get an education. Republicans in Congress are piling on as well. 

    So let me be clear: I will fight for public education and for all the kids, parents, teachers, grandparents and more who want better lives for themselves and the people they love. 

    That’s why I’m holding today’s forum called “Stealing the American Dream: How Trump and Republicans Are Raising Education Costs for Families.”

    At a time when college costs are already too high—when the American Dream is out of reach for too many—President Trump and Congressional Republicans are making it harder for working-class families to get ahead.

    First, they want to eliminate the Department of Education. That’s the agency that gives millions of students a chance to go to college when their families can’t just write a check for the sticker price. It’s also the agency charged with protecting students and borrowers from bad actors like shady student loan servicers and predatory for-profit colleges.

    To be clear, the money we invest in post-high school education isn’t charity. This is an investment in our people so they can get good jobs, start businesses, and help grow our economy.

    But Donald Trump has already fired half of the federal workers who help make these investments. He’s also signed an executive order to try to get rid of the Education Department altogether. And to top it off, he’s trying to dismantle the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, taking another cop off the beat for student loan borrowers.

    And if you thought we could count on Republicans in Congress to stop this madness, think again. Nope. They are making things worse—much worse. 

    Last month, House Republicans advanced a bill to make higher education even more expensive for American families. Why? So they can pay for tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires. 

    Their bill would increase monthly student loan payments. 

    It would trap borrowers with student loan debt for even longer. 

    It would make it harder to get Pell Grants.

    It would end rules that protect students from bad schools and greedy for-profit colleges that rip them off.

    Who benefits from putting all these costs on people whose only sin is to try to get an education? Only President Trump’s billionaire and millionaire friends. They want to cut these education investments and use the money to stuff their pockets with tax giveaways. 

    Adding insult to injury? Now, they’re going after people’s Social Security checks too. We’ve already seen the Trump Administration work to gut Social Security, which Elon Musk calls a Ponzi scheme. President Trump has let DOGE run rampant at the Social Security Administration, laying off employees and closing field offices.

    Last month, the Trump Administration announced the next phase in their plans. They are getting ready to hold back Social Security checks from student loan borrowers that are in default on decades-old student loans. Almost half a million seniors could lose their Social Security benefits.

    So, I want to thank our witnesses for joining us today and helping to educate us on how these Trump policies would hurt American families.

    And I want to point out who is not here: the Secretary of Education, Linda McMahon. I invited her to join today because she has a lot to answer for. The questions are pretty straightforward:

    Why is the Secretary of Education jacking up costs for middle-class kids trying to go to college?

    Why is the Secretary of Education firing the staff who protect students from scammers?

    Why is the Secretary of Education taking away Social Security benefits from tens of thousands of seniors with student debt?

    Secretary McMahon refused to answer those questions in front of the American people. Instead, she asked for a meeting. I’m happy to sit down with her. But if Secretary McMahon won’t face parents, teachers, and students who have been hurt by her reckless actions, I’m bringing their stories straight to her. So, today I’m asking everyone to share their stories. Please send them to our Save Our Schools campaign, because there is power in sharing our stories and there is power in fighting back. That is why we are here today.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: In Response to Questioning from Klobuchar, FAA Provides Details of Near Miss Episode Involving Flight Headed to Minneapolis

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Minnesota Amy Klobuchar
    WASHINGTON— During a Commerce Committee hearing today focused on aviation safety, U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar asked the FAA Air Traffic Organization’s Deputy Chief Operating Officer, Franklin McIntosh, for an explanation of the near-miss incident involving a March 28th Minneapolis bound flight that departed from Reagan National Airport. 
    That day, a passenger flight departing Reagan National Airport for Minneapolis nearly collided with military aircraft flying “about 500 feet below” the commercial passenger jet. Directly following the incident, Klobuchar spoke with a Department of Defense official and was informed there would be an immediate Federal Aviation Administration investigation.
    In response to Klobuchar’s questions at today’s hearing, Mr. McIntosh explained that the incident resulted from a miscommunication of when the military flyover would occur, resulting in an additional aircraft being cleared for take-off instead of being held on the ground. McIntosh said that the FAA has since improved procedures to prevent future incidents.
    A rough transcript of the exchange is available below and a video can be downloaded here. 
    Senator Klobuchar: So we have been rightfully focused on the tragedy, the loss of life with the American Airlines Flight, but has been pointed out by my colleagues so many problems at Newark. And as I go into the summer season, it’s hard to believe that they won’t get worse, and then just across the country. There was one incident, a near miss recently. It was on March 28 between a Delta flight and a military aircraft shortly after the tragedy, actually, where the military flight was just 500 feet below the Delta flight. And the Delta pilot said, is this, I’m paraphrasing, but it was picked up from air traffic control. “Is there actually a flight 500 feet below us?” That flight was headed to Minneapolis, contained a bunch of Minnesotans, families, one of my staff members went on that flight. And I had asked and was, I appreciated that the DOT got back to me, close after it, but I’m still waiting for a final answer about what happened. Do you know? Could any of you give me a timeline on that?
    Mr. McIntosh: Yes, ma’am. I believe, I believe I can. What occurred was the military flight was doing a national flyover over Arlington, and it was opposite direction to departure traffic at DCA. Potomac TRACON, which is the radar approach control that feeds all the aircraft into DCA, was working the military flight, and there was a communication exchange between the supervisor at Potomac and the supervisor at DCA. And what I mean is, the Potomac supervisor coordinated with DCA to stop departures at a certain time, and that that stop time is, you stop departures and let the flyover proceed. You sterilize the airspace, essentially, to keep traffic safe. The controller or the CIC that was a DCA misunderstood the time, or misunderstood the verbiage on what that stop time was, so they let one more aircraft go, versus holding an aircraft on the ground. In reviewing that, we said we have to clean up the phraseology and how we give times to ensure that we know exactly which aircraft we’re going to stop and keep that kind of incident from occurring. So what we did, we put both of those facilities together, along with the management team to ensure that we had a better process in place to keep that from happening again. So that was, unfortunately, an event that happened, but we improved the procedures to keep something like that from happening again, Ma’am.
     

    MIL OSI USA News –