NewzIntel.com

Category: US Senate

  • MIL-OSI USA: Fischer Introduces Resolution to Repeal California’s Radical EV Mandate

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Nebraska Deb Fischer
    U.S. Senator Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) introduced a resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to repeal California’s Advanced Clean Trucks (ACT) regulation which imposed unrealistic and stringent emissions requirements for heavy-duty trucks and heavy-duty diesel engines.
    “As we saw under the Biden administration, what happens in California doesn’t stay in California. Their emissions regulation will cripple the truck manufacturing industry nationwide, overloading companies and truckers with expensive, heavy-handed requirements. This inevitably leads to increased prices for families across the nation. My resolution will overturn the Biden administration’s waiver allowing the ACT regulation to take effect without congressional review,” Fischer said. 
    Background
    The ACT requires manufacturers of trucks, from class 2b to class 8, to meet unrealistic zero-emission regulations by 2025. Under the regulation, manufacturers would have to sell an increasingly larger percentage of zero-emission vehicles between 2024 to 2035. Additionally, the ACT requires fleet owners with more than 50 vehicles to submit a one-time report on their existing operations.Fischer’s CRA would nullify California’s ACT rule that requires manufacturers to increase the sales of zero-emission trucks. The rule was part of California and the Biden administration’s continued effort to ban gas-powered vehicles and mandate more expensive zero-emission vehicles.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Budd Kicks Off Third 100 County Tour with Visit to Western North Carolina

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Ted Budd (R-North Carolina)
    Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Ted Budd (R-N.C.) kicked off his 100 County Tour last week with visits to the following counties in Western North Carolina: Ashe, Watauga, Avery, Mitchell, Yancey, Madison, Buncombe, Henderson, Rutherford, and Polk. On the first leg of his statewide tour, Senator Budd surveyed the storm damage and heard from local officials, small business owners, and community members about their needs on the road to recovery.
    “It has been a long six months since Hurricane Helene tore through Western North Carolina, leaving a trail of devastation—leveling homes, flooding schools, destroying businesses, and crippling critical infrastructure. As I began planning my third 100 County Tour, I knew there was no question: I had to start out West.
    “Since the storm struck last September, I’ve returned to these communities time and time again to survey the damage and offer support to local officials in their recovery efforts. During my most recent visit to the region, I was deeply moved by the resilience and determination I witnessed from the victims of Helene. In the face of unimaginable hardship, families, small business owners, local officials, law enforcement, and neighbors are going out of their way to lift one another up and reach out a helping hand.
    “I am fully committed to doing everything in my power in the U.S. Senate to secure the resources and relief these communities desperately need. Together, we will rebuild and create a stronger and more prosperous Western North Carolina,” said Senator Budd.
    Follow Senator Budd on Flickr to see photos from the 100 County Tour HERE or click below to view individual albums.
    Background on Senator Budd’s Visits to WNC:
    Ashe County—Senator Budd made the first stop on his third 100 County Tour in the Town of Lansing, where he met with Mayor Mack Powers to survey damage caused by Hurricane Helene and speak with impacted members of the community. 
    Watauga County—Senator Budd toured the flooded Valle Crucis Elementary School to assess the damage caused after the building was submerged in four feet of water during the storm, displacing hundreds of students. Additionally, Senator Budd viewed the wreckage at the Valle Crucis United Methodist Church, which also withstood severe flooding. 
    Avery County—Senator Budd met with local officials at the county’s debris processing site to gain an understanding of the obstacles facing local contractors removing debris caused by the hurricane to expedite the rebuilding process. 
    Mitchell County—Senator Budd visited the Deyton School, where he met with county officials and received a briefing from the Baptists On Mission on operations to rebuild damaged homes for families who suffered property loss.
    Yancey County—Senator Budd spent time with the West Yancey Volunteer Fire Department, personally thanking emergency personnel for their critical role in providing aid during and after the storm to local residents. He also spoke with individuals spearheading Operation Helo, a volunteer organization supporting victims of Helene, and met with displaced North Carolinians who are continuing to work through the FEMA approval process. 
    Madison County—Senator Budd discussed rebuilding assistance with the leadership of the Rebuild Hot Springs Area, including small business owners, local officials, and residents, to reaffirm his commitment to securing disaster relief aid to repair damage to the downtown commercial district, key tourist areas, and surrounding neighborhoods.
    Buncombe County—Senator Budd spoke with the students and faculty of Excel College on the progress of their non-profit—a homebuilding operation to rebuild over three hundred homes in the next two-and-a-half years.
    Henderson County—Senator Budd recognized the efforts of first responders who relocated to the Gerton Volunteer Fire Department to support recovery operations following Helene. Alongside local officials, Senator Budd also surveyed the damage at the community’s Post Office and the road repairs between Bat Cave and Slick Rock along the Rocky Broad River. 
    Rutherford County—Senator Budd met with local officials from Lake Lure and Chimney Rock to discuss the community’s rebuilding process and debris removal status with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
    Polk County—Senator Budd visited with small business owners and vendors from Chimney Rock, Lake Lure, Hendersonville, and Asheville, currently using the Tryon Equestrian Center as their base of operations following the aftermath of the hurricane. The partnership, otherwise known as the “WNC Main Street” program, has been successful in attracting economic support for local businesses from tourism.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Welch Joins Van Hollen, 23 Senate Colleagues in Letter Demanding Answers, Return of Maryland Father Wrongfully Deported to El Salvador

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont)
    WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) joined Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and 23 Senators in writing to U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Acting Director Tedd Lyons urging them to return Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a father who was living legally, under protected status, in Maryland with his family until he was wrongfully deported without due process by the Trump Administration last month to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador. The Administration has admitted that Abrego Garcia’s deportation was the result of an “administrative error.”
    In their letter, the Senators call on the Trump Administration to comply with the court order requiring that they facilitate Abrego Garcia’s return and ask for responses to a series of questions regarding ICE’s enforcement policies that may have led to this grave error – and what measures they will take to ensure such an incident does not occur again.
    The Senators were joined on this letter by Senators Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).
    The Senators began, “We write to express our concerns regarding the deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia to El Salvador, an action which the Administration admitted in a recent court filing was an “administrative error.” It is unacceptable that anyone would be deported without proper due process, especially where an immigration judge has granted the individual protected status that explicitly prohibits his return to El Salvador. We demand that the Administration bring Mr. Abrego Garcia home immediately.
    “Per court filings, Mr. Abrego Garcia came to the United States in 2011 as a teenager fleeing gang threats in his home country of El Salvador. In 2019, ICE arrested Mr. Abrego Garcia over an unfounded and anonymous allegation that he was involved with MS-13, which placed him in deportation proceedings. The U.S. immigration judge in the case ultimately found that it was in fact Mr. Abrego Garcia who was at risk of being the victim of gang violence,” the Senators wrote. “This ruling was made under the Trump Administration in 2019 and was in fact required by law under section 241(b)(3) of the Immigration and Nationality Act once the immigration judge made the factual determination that Mr. Abrego Garcia faced a likelihood of torture in El Salvador. At the time, the Trump Administration made no effort to appeal the judge’s ruling or pursue Mr. Abrego Garcia’s deportation further. Court filings attest that Mr. Abrego Garcia has complied with regular ICE check-ins, has no criminal charges, and has had no contact with any other law-enforcement agency since his release in 2019.
    “Mr. Abrego Garcia is currently being held at CECOT, a maximum-security prison in El Salvador notorious for human rights abuses, after being deported in violation of the law to the very country where his return was impermissible,” they continued. “And when the Administration makes a mistake as severe as sending an individual with protected status to a foreign prison, it cannot simply shrug off responsibility and allege that there is nothing it can do to reunite him with his wife and child, who are American citizens.
    “On Friday, a U.S. District Court judge in the District of Maryland ordered the government to return Mr. Abrego Garcia to the United States, and on Monday the Fourth Circuit denied the government’s motion to stay the order. The Administration should promptly comply with the district court’s order,” the Senators urged.
    The Senators closed the letter with a series of questions to Secretary Noem and Acting Director Lyons, requesting a response by April 22:
    The standard and legal course for the government to take to deport someone with protected status would be to reopen the case, introduce evidence that grounds for terminating the protected status exist, and then allow an immigration judge to make a determination as to their status. Why was that course of action not taken in this case?  
    In the past, DHS and ICE worked to quickly return people to the U.S. who were erroneously deported. Why is DHS and ICE no longer following these well-established procedures and practices?   
    Vice President J.D. Vance and Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt have both claimed that Mr. Abrego Garcia is an MS-13 gang member, but the government was unable or unwilling to provide any evidence to substantiate that claim to the court. Please provide any evidence of Mr. Abrego Garcia’s membership in MS-13.
    Given that the Administration is reportedly paying $6 million to El Salvador to detain deported immigrants at CECOT, why does it believe that there is nothing it can do to return Mr. Abrego Garcia to his family in the United States? Please provide a copy of the agreement between the U.S. and El Salvador on the detention of people deported from the U.S. in CECOT.
    Are there any other cases that the Administration is aware of in which an immigrant with protected status was illegally deported without due process? If so, identify those cases and explain what, if anything the government is doing to rectify those errors. 
    Will the Administration commit to reviewing all of the cases of its deportees to ensure that it has appropriately identified all of the errors? 
    What actions will the Administration take in the future to ensure that immigrants with protected status are afforded their appropriate due process? 
    A copy of the letter is available here and below.
    Dear Secretary Noem and Acting Director Lyons,   
    We write to express our concerns regarding the deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia to El Salvador, an action which the Administration admitted in a recent court filing was an “administrative error.” It is unacceptable that anyone would be deported without proper due process, especially where an immigration judge has granted the individual protected status that explicitly prohibits his return to El Salvador. We demand that the Administration bring Mr. Abrego Garcia home immediately.  
    According to court filings, on March 12, 2025, shortly after Mr. Abrego Garcia had picked up his son from the boy’s grandmother’s house, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) stopped Mr. Abrego Garcia, inaccurately telling him that his protected status had changed. After giving his wife a few minutes to arrive to take custody of his son, ICE arrested and detained him without any further explanation as to the reason for his arrest. ICE then transferred Mr. Abrego Garcia and other detainees to Texas, where on March 15, 2025, they were loaded onto planes and deported to El Salvador. Mr. Abrego Garcia was reportedly on the only plane that was not sent under the authority of the Alien Enemies Act but instead was transporting migrants with formal removal orders signed by a judge. This occurred despite the fact that ICE knew, as the Administration conceded in court, that his protected legal status specifically prohibited his removal to El Salvador.  
    Per court filings, Mr. Abrego Garcia came to the United States in 2011 as a teenager fleeing gang threats in his home country of El Salvador. In 2019, ICE arrested Mr. Abrego Garcia over an unfounded and anonymous allegation that he was involved with MS-13, which placed him in deportation proceedings. The U.S. immigration judge in the case ultimately found that it was in fact Mr. Abrego Garcia who was at risk of being the victim of gang violence. The judge found that Mr. Abrego Garcia and his relatives credibly testified that gang members had been trying to extort his family and recruit him and his brother to join the gang, forcing his family to move multiple times, ultimately compelling both him and his brother to flee to the United States out of fear.  
    The immigration judge agreed that Mr. Abrego Garcia would likely face persecution if deported back to El Salvador and thus granted him a form of legally mandated protection known as “withholding of removal.” Withholding of removal, which may only be granted by an immigration judge, provided Mr. Abrego Garcia the ability to stay and work in the United States despite being the subject of a deportation order. This ruling was made under the Trump Administration in 2019 and was in fact required by law under section 241(b)(3) of the Immigration and Nationality Act once the immigration judge made the factual determination that Mr. Abrego Garcia faced a likelihood of torture in El Salvador. At the time, the Trump Administration made no effort to appeal the judge’s ruling or pursue Mr. Abrego Garcia’s deportation further. Court filings attest that Mr. Abrego Garcia has complied with regular ICE check-ins, has no criminal charges, and has had no contact with any other law-enforcement agency since his release in 2019.  
    Mr. Abrego Garcia is currently being held at CECOT, a maximum-security prison in El Salvador notorious for human rights abuses, after being deported in violation of the law to the very country where his return was impermissible. Though the Administration has admitted in court that his deportation was a mistake, it alleges that there is nothing it can do to address this injustice, given that Mr. Abrego Garcia is now in the jurisdiction of the government of El Salvador as part of an agreement to imprison U.S. deportees in exchange for financial compensation.  
    Your unwillingness to immediately rectify this “administrative error” is unacceptable. Under multiple Democratic and Republican administrations, the Department of Homeland Security and ICE followed the rule of law and worked to quickly return people who were wrongfully deported, in the rare instances where such “administrative errors” occurred. The Administration’s mass deportation agenda does not transcend immigration law or the need for due process. And when the Administration makes a mistake as severe as sending an individual with protected status to a foreign prison, it cannot simply shrug off responsibility and allege that there is nothing it can do to reunite him with his wife and child, who are American citizens. On Friday, a U.S. District Court judge in the District of Maryland ordered the government to return Mr. Abrego Garcia to the United States, and on Monday the Fourth Circuit denied the government’s motion to stay the order. The Administration should promptly comply with the district court’s order.
    To address our concerns about this matter and to provide clarity on the Department of Homeland Security and ICE’s policy regarding the immigration enforcement actions against immigrants with protected status, we ask that your Administration answer the following questions by April 22, 2025: 
    The standard and legal course for the government to take to deport someone with protected status would be to reopen the case, introduce evidence that grounds for terminating the protected status exist, and then allow an immigration judge to make a determination as to their status. Why was that course of action not taken in this case?  
    In the past, DHS and ICE worked to quickly return people to the U.S. who were erroneously deported. Why is DHS and ICE no longer following these well-established procedures and practices?   
    Vice President J.D. Vance and Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt have both claimed that Mr. Abrego Garcia is an MS-13 gang member, but the government was unable or unwilling to provide any evidence to substantiate that claim to the court. Please provide any evidence of Mr. Abrego Garcia’s membership in MS-13.
    Given that the Administration is reportedly paying $6 million to El Salvador to detain deported immigrants at CECOT, why does it believe that there is nothing it can do to return Mr. Abrego Garcia to his family in the United States? Please provide a copy of the agreement between the U.S. and El Salvador on the detention of people deported from the U.S. in CECOT.
    Are there any other cases that the Administration is aware of in which an immigrant with protected status was illegally deported without due process? If so, identify those cases and explain what, if anything the government is doing to rectify those errors. 
    Will the Administration commit to reviewing all of the cases of its deportees to ensure that it has appropriately identified all of the errors? 
    What actions will the Administration take in the future to ensure that immigrants with protected status are afforded their appropriate due process? 
    We appreciate your prompt attention to this vital matter and look forward to reviewing your fulsome, timely response. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Risch, Tuberville Urge Governors to Protect Women’s Sports

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Idaho James E Risch
    WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Jim Risch (R-Idaho) and Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) today sent a letter urging states to adhere to President Trump’s Executive Order and keep men out of women’s sports. While states like Idaho and Alabama have taken decisive action to protect women’s sports, many governors have yet to do so, jeopardizing a fair playing field for female athletes.
    “State-level action is vital to ensure America’s female athletes receive the same assurance of fairness nationwide. We applaud the many states that have answered the call and taken meaningful action to support President Trump’s Executive Order. These efforts demonstrate a clear commitment to fairness, safety, and the future of women’s sports. However, it is imperative that every state step up to enforce these commonsense protections for female athletes,” wrote the senators. “Allowing biological men to compete in women’s categories directly undermines the opportunities and safety of our female athletes. We urge the states that have not yet taken action to safeguard the integrity of women’s sports to take the necessary steps to align with President Trump’s Executive Order immediately. The safety of women and girls in sports cannot be guaranteed as long as states continue to delay and obstruct the enforcement of this Executive Order.”
    Earlier this year, Risch and Tuberville introduced the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act to codify President Trump’s Executive Order. The Senators have also sent letters to the International Olympic Committee urging it to safeguard opportunities of female athletes on the Olympic stage and to the NCAA requesting clarification on its stance on the privacy and safety of female athletes in women’s changing rooms.
    Read the full letter to the National Governors Association here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Senator Collins Urges Administration to Support Maine Fire Departments Harmed by Tariffs

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Maine Susan Collins

    Senator Collins requests fire truck contracts signed by fire departments prior to imposition of tariffs be exempted.

    Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Susan Collins sent a letter to Department of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, urging the Administration to address the hardship that tariffs will impose on fire departments and businesses in Maine, particularly the tariffs imposed on Canadian metals. She is specifically requesting an exemption for fire truck orders that were under contract between Maine fire departments and a Maine manufacturer prior to President Trump’s February 10, 2025, announcement of Canadian tariffs. 

    “I was recently contacted by K&T Fire Equipment in Island Falls, Maine, a family-owned business that manufactures and sells fire trucks for fire departments in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont,” Senator Collins wrote. “The business begin assembly at its facility in Maine by attaching fire apparatuses to truck chasses before sending the trucks to a metal fabricator in Centerville, New Brunswick, Canada, to complete the steel and aluminum fabrication and assembly. The business has operated this way for more than three decades. K&T indicated to me that the proposed tariff on Canadian steel and aluminum would increase the cost of each truck by $80,000-$90,000.”

    “At present, K&T Fire Equipment has contracts for trucks with eight fire departments, with one set to be delivered to the Allagash Fire Department in Allagash, Maine, later this month. K&T’s other contracted departments in Maine include Lamoine, Newfield, Sullivan, Surry, and Somerville. To reduce hardships on fire departments and family-owned companies such as K&T Fire Equipment, I request that the Department of Commerce exempt items that were under contract before President Trump’s announcement on February 10, 2025,” Senator Collins concluded.

    Senator Collins has been a longstanding advocate for Maine firefighters and first responders. Through the Fiscal Year 2024 Appropriations process, Senator Collins secured nearly $31 million for 24 projects across the state that will support local fire and rescue stations, law enforcement, and emergency response services. 

    The complete text of the letter can be read here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Merkley, Wyden Reintroduce Legislation to Guarantee Legal Representation for Unaccompanied Children in Immigration Proceedings

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore)

    April 08, 2025

    Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden joined colleagues in reintroducing the Fair Day in Court for Kids Act of 2025, legislation to provide unaccompanied children with legal representation in court when they appear in proceedings before an immigration judge. This comes as the Trump Administration attempts to terminate the contract that provides legal services for approximately 26,000 unaccompanied children who appear in immigration court.

    “President Trump’s inhumane immigration policies are putting kids in danger by forcing unaccompanied children to represent themselves in court,” said Merkley. “It’s unimaginably cruel, and we must fight to ensure every child has a fair chance to accurately present their case for legal protection in our country.”

    “No kid should ever have to represent themself in court – period,” said Wyden. “It should go without saying that courts are meant to be navigated by the attorneys who understand America’s complex legal system. The Trump administration’s decision to gut legal representation for unaccompanied kids is not only immoral but also blatantly illegal. Forcing unaccompanied babies, toddlers, and youth to go without representation will leave kids vulnerable to exploitation, abuse, and trafficking. Congress must ensure children have real legal counsel and protect them from harm.”

    Nearly half of all unaccompanied children represent themselves during legal proceedings and it is extremely difficult for children to successfully navigate the U.S. immigration system without an attorney—unrepresented children appear alone in immigration court to face a judge and an adversarial government attorney seeking their removal from the United States. Immigration judges are nearly 100 times less likely to grant relief to unaccompanied children without counsel compared to those with counsel. The federal government provides legal representation to some unaccompanied minors in accordance with the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008, which created special protections for children who arrive in the U.S. without a parent or a legal guardian. Now, the Trump Administration is working to terminate those services completely.

    Specifically, the Fair Day in Court for Kids Act:

    1. Requires that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) provide counsel to noncitizen unaccompanied children appearing before the U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), or a state court, unless the child has obtained counsel at their own expense;
    2. Extends the government’s duty to ensure counsel for unaccompanied children to the end of the immigration proceedings, even if the child turns 18 during proceedings;
    3. Ensures that children are informed of their right to representation within 72 hours of entering HHS custody and creates infrastructure to identify, recruit, and train pro bono lawyers to provide representation;
    4. Allows unaccompanied children to reopen their case if HHS fails to provide counsel;
    5. Requires the government and stakeholders to create guidelines and duties for counsel representing unaccompanied children, largely based on American Bar Association recommendations;
    6. Clarifies that the government may, at its choosing, also provide counsel to other individuals in immigration court;
    7. Requires noncitizens, and their attorneys, to receive a complete copy of the noncitizen’s immigration file at least 10 days before the removal proceedings;
    8. Guarantees access to counsel for all noncitizens detained in DHS facilities; and
    9. Requires a report on children’s access to counsel.

    The Fair Day in Court for Kids Act was led by U.S. Senator Mazie Hirono. In addition to Merkley and Wyden, this bill is cosponsored by Senators Michael Bennet (D-CO), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Chris Coons (D-DE), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Dick Durbin (D-IL), John Fetterman (D-PA), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ed Markey (D-MA), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Jon Ossoff (D-GA), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Tina Smith (D-MN), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Peter Welch (D-VT), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI).

    Full text of the bill can be found by clicking here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Sen. Moran Joins Colleagues in Introducing Bill to Restore Congress’ Constitutional Role in Trade

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Kansas – Jerry Moran
    WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) joined Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Todd Young (R-Ind.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) in introducing legislation to restore Congress’ constitutionally authorized role in setting and approving U.S. trade policy. The Trade Review Act of 2025 would require congressional approval of unilateral tariffs proposed by the executive branch. The legislation mirrors Sen. Grassley’s 2019 Section 232 tariff reform efforts during the first Trump administration.
    “Every state has unique industries that are impacted differently by changes in global markets and trade policies, such as agriculture, car manufacturing and aircraft production,” said Sen. Moran. “The Constitution gives Congress the authority to make decisions regarding foreign commerce, including tariffs. This legislation allows the President to use tariffs to respond to emergencies while permitting Congress to weigh the appropriateness of any tariffs that are imposed.”
    The bill restores Congress’ authority and responsibility over tariffs as outlined in Article I, Section 8. Under this legislation:
    To enact a new tariff, the President must notify Congress of the imposition of (or increase in) the tariff within 48 hours
    The congressional notification must include an explanation of the president’s reasoning for imposing or raising the tariff, and
    Provide analysis of potential impact on American businesses and consumers
    Within 60 days, Congress must pass a joint resolution of approval on the new tariff, otherwise all new tariffs on imports expire after that deadline
    Congress has the ability to end tariffs at any time by passing a resolution of disapproval
    Anti-dumping and countervailing duties are excluded
    Click HERE to view the full bill text.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Sen. Moran Joins Colleagues in Reintroducing Legislation to Expand Telehealth Access

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Kansas – Jerry Moran
    WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) joined a bipartisan group of 60 senators in reintroducing the Creating Opportunities Now for Necessary and Effective Care Technologies (CONNECT) for Health Act. The CONNECT for Health Act will expand coverage of telehealth services through Medicare, make COVID-19 telehealth flexibilities permanent, improve health outcomes and make it easier for patients to connect with their doctors. Current flexibilities are set to expire on September 30 unless Congress extends them.
    “The COVID-19 pandemic exposed weaknesses in our health care infrastructure while also demonstrating how telehealth can be an effective way to provide care to patients,” said Sen. Moran. “This legislation would expand telehealth services and help make certain that Kansans, especially those in rural communities, continue to have access to the health care services they need.”
    In addition to Sen. Moran, the bill is co-sponsored by U.S. Senators Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), John Thune (R-S.D.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.V.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Katie Britt (R-Ala.), Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), Ben Ray Lujan (D-N.M.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Angus King (I-Maine.), Jim Justice (R-W.V.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Todd Young (R-Ind.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) and John Boozman (R-Ark.).
    Telehealth provides essential access to care with nearly a quarter of Americans accessing telehealth in a month, according to the most recent available data.
    The CONNECT for Health Act would:
    Permanently remove all geographic restrictions on telehealth services and expand originating sites to the location of the patient, including homes
    Permanently allow health centers and rural health clinics to provide telehealth services
    Allow more eligible health care professionals to utilize telehealth services
    Remove unnecessary in-person visit requirement for telemental health services
    Allow for the waiver of telehealth restrictions during public health emergencies
    Require more published data to learn more about how telehealth is being used, impacts of quality of care and how it can be improved to support patients and health care providers.
    The CONNECT for Health Act was first introduced in 2016 and is considered the most comprehensive legislation on telehealth in Congress. Since 2016, several provisions of the bill have been enacted into law or adopted by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, including provisions to remove restrictions on telehealth services for mental health, stroke care and home dialysis.
    Companion legislation has been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Reps. David Schweikert (R-Ariz.), Troy Balderson (R-Ohio), Mike Thompson (D- Calif.) and Doris Matsui (D-Calif.).
    The CONNECT for Health Act has the support of more than 150 organizations including the American Medical Association, AARP, American Hospital Association, National Association of Community Health Centers, National Association of Rural Health Clinics and American Telemedicine Association.
    Click HERE for the full text of the bill.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Senators Budd, Grassley, Colleagues Introduce Legislation to Clarify the Scope of Judicial Relief

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Ted Budd (R-North Carolina)
    Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Ted Budd (R-N.C.) joined Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) in introducing the Judicial Relief Clarification Act of 2025. The bill would limit federal court orders to parties directly before the court—ending the practice of universal injunctions and clarifying the constitutional role of the judicial branch.
    “District judges are not policymakers and have no authority to set national policy. The Constitution intentionally separates powers among three equal branches of government, but some district judges have overstepped, infringing on the executive branch with nationwide orders. These activist judges are undermining our nation’s constitutional balance of power, and we must put an end to this dangerous act of overreach. I am proud to join Senator Grassley and several of my Senate Republican colleagues to introduce the Judicial Relief Clarification Act to address improper judicial interference with the executive branch,” said Senator Budd.
    Senators John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Katie Britt (R-Ala.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), Jim Justice (R-W.Va.), John Kennedy (R-La.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Ashley Moody (R-Fla.), Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio), Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) joined Senators Budd and Grassley in introducing the bill.
    Read the full bill text HERE.
    Background
    Article III, Section 2 of the Constitution limits courts to deciding cases or controversies. Nevertheless, it has become increasingly common for federal judges to issue sweeping “universal injunctions” that apply even to people who are not before the court. Universal injunctions defy two centuries of historic precedent. Scholars have found no clear record of such an order before 1963 – they have only become common in the last decade. In the first two months of President Trump’s second term, district court judges have issued more universal injunctions against his policies than the Biden administration experienced in four years.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: ICYMI: President Trump’s Steel Tariffs Mean American Jobs

    US Senate News:

    Source: The White House
    President Donald J. Trump’s tariffs on foreign steel and aluminum imports are a big win for American workers and manufacturing — just like they were during President Trump’s first term.
    “We’re in favor of the tariffs because we make everything in America. Our factories are in Baltimore, Indiana, and Michigan. We use American steel and American workers … Our challenge is that we’re competing against governments, like the Chinese government,” Drew Greenblatt, CEO of Baltimore-based Marlin Steel Wire Products, said on CBS Morning News. “If we have a fair and level playing field, our American factory workers will thrive and prosper. We can really pull people from poverty, bring them into the middle class.”
    “Our goal is that we’re going to sell millions more dollars so we have to hire many more people. If we do that, we’re going to hire them at very good jobs with very good pay,” Greenblatt told CNN’s Jake Tapper. “There’s going to be an overwhelming surge of hiring in America as things level out, as American factories ramp up … This is a very exciting time for the American manufacturing worker.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Extending the TikTok Enforcement Delay

    US Senate News:

    Source: The White House
    class=”has-text-align-left”>By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered:
    Section 1.  Extension.  (a)  The enforcement delay specified in section 2(a) of Executive Order 14166 of January 20, 2025 (Application of Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act to TikTok), is further extended until June 19, 2025.  During this period, the Department of Justice shall take no action to enforce the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act (the “Act”) (Public Law 118-50, Div. H) or impose any penalties against any entity for any noncompliance with the Act, including for distributing, maintaining, or updating (or enabling the distribution, maintenance, or updating) of any foreign adversary controlled application as defined in the Act.  In light of this direction, even after the expiration of the above-specified period, the Department of Justice shall not take any action to enforce the Act or impose any penalties against any entity for any conduct that occurred during the above-specified period or any period prior to the issuance of this order, including the period of time from January 19, 2025, to the date of this order.
    (b)  The Attorney General shall take all appropriate action to issue written guidance to implement the provisions of subsection (a) of this section.
    (c)  The Attorney General shall further issue a letter to each provider stating that there has been no violation of the statute and that there is no liability for any conduct that occurred during the above-specified period, as well as for any conduct from the effective date of the Act until the date of this order.
    (d)  Because of the national security interests at stake and because section 2(d) of the Act vests authority for investigations and enforcement of the Act only in the Attorney General, attempted enforcement by the States or private parties represents an encroachment on the powers of the Executive.  The Attorney General shall exercise all available authority to preserve and defend the Executive’s exclusive authority to enforce the Act.
    Sec. 2.  General Provisions.  (a)  Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
    (i)   the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or
    (ii)  the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
    (b)  This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.
    (c)  This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Padilla, Cassidy Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Increase Access to Digital Health Services, Modernize Health Care System

    US Senate News:

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

    Padilla, Cassidy Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Increase Access to Digital Health Services, Modernize Health Care System

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senators Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-La.) introduced bipartisan legislation to improve digital health services by allowing patients to easily search for and book health care appointments online while protecting personal health information. The Health Accelerating Consumers’ Care by Expediting Self-Scheduling (ACCESS) Act would increase patients’ access to modernized health care, safeguard patients’ personal health information, and ensure certainty for patients seeking digital health services.

    “Every American deserves easy access to physical and mental health care,” said Senator Padilla. “As provider wait times increase, integrating digital health programs into our health care system is essential to efficiently administering care. We cannot let scheduling obstacles prevent Americans in crisis from receiving care when they need it most.”

    “It’s enough to struggle with an illness. Patients should have easy access to the care they need,” said Dr. Cassidy. “There are plenty of tools to provide affordable, quality care. As a doctor, I’m focused on using them.”

    The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the demand for digital health services and other innovative practices. Under current law, however, there is no distinction between illegal referral practices and scheduling services that reduce the barriers associated with accessing necessary and appropriate care.

    The Health ACCESS Act would remove the regulatory ambiguity, allowing digital health and appointment booking platforms to work together to better serve patients. Doing so would improve access to care via user-friendly services, expand provider choice and scheduling availability, and enhance the overall health care experience and ecosystem. 

    The Health ACCESS Act is supported by Advanced Dermatology and Cosmetic Surgery, Boston Medical Center, Brownsville Community Health Center (FQHC), California Children’s Hospital Association, California Hospital Association, Circle Medical, Chronic Care Policy Alliance, Corewell Health, Digital Health New York (DHNY), GoHealth Urgent Care, Grow Therapy, HANYS (Health Assoc of NYS), Healthcare Leadership Council (HLC), Housing Works Community Healthcare (FQHC), Illinois Hospital Association, Indiana University Health, Intermountain Health, LabFinder, Main Line Health, Manhattan Cardiology, Medical Offices of Manhattan, Memorial Hermann Health System, Octave, SohoMD, Spring Branch Community Health Center (FQHC), Stanford Children’s Hospital, and The Dermatology Specialists.

    Senator Padilla has long been a leader in the fight to make health care more equitable in the United States. Last week, Senator Padilla joined Senators Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) in introducing bipartisan legislation that would increase access to specialty care for rural and underserved Medicare, Medicaid, and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) patients. Last year, Padilla, Senator Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) and Senator Cory Booker (D-N.J.) introduced the Health Equity and Accountability Act (HEAA) of 2024 to address health disparities among racial and ethnic minorities as well as women, the LGBTQ+ community, rural populations, and socioeconomically disadvantaged communities across the United States. Additionally, Padilla and Booker introduced the Equal Health Care for All Act, bicameral legislation that would make equal access to medical care a protected civil right to help address the racial inequities and structural failures in America’s health care system.

    Full text of the bill is available here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Reed Statement on Trump Dismissal of U.S. NATO Representative Vice Admiral Chatfield

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Rhode Island Jack Reed

    WASHINGTON, DC – Today, President Trump dismissed Vice Admiral Shoshana Chatfield, the U.S. Military Representative to NATO, without explanation.

    U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), the Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, issued the following statement:

    “President Trump’s unjustified dismissal of Vice Admiral Chatfield is disgraceful. Admiral Chatfield is among the finest military officers our nation has to offer, and she has distinguished herself as the U.S. Military Representative to NATO. Her 38-year career as a Navy pilot, foreign policy expert, and preeminent military educator—including as President of the Naval War College—will leave a lasting legacy on the Navy and throughout the military. Admiral Chatfield’s record of selfless service is unblemished by President Trump’s behavior.

    “The silence from my Republican colleagues is deeply troubling. In less than three months, President Trump has fired 10 generals and admirals without explanation, including our most experienced combat leaders. I cannot fathom how anyone could stand silently by while the President causes great harm to our military and our nation.

    “I will continue to call out this unconscionable behavior and sound the alarm about the dangers of firing military officers as a political loyalty test. I urge my Republican colleagues to join me in demanding an explanation from President Trump and Secretary Hegseth.”

    The U.S. Senate unanimously confirmed Vice Admiral Chatfield to her post in December 2023.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Cornyn: Work Requirements Critical to Rein in Spending

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Texas John Cornyn
    WASHINGTON – Today on the floor, U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) announced his support for work requirements for able-bodied Americans as a part of means-tested programs in the Senate’s reconciliation legislation, which would help rein in spending. Excerpts of Sen. Cornyn’s remarks are below, and video can be found here.
    “We are on our way to what President Trump likes to call ‘One big beautiful bill.’”
    “The critical matter at hand in this budget resolution is to make sure that we don’t impose a multi-trillion dollar tax increase on the American people.”
    “Back home in Texas, my constituents would see their taxes increase by $3,000 on average next year.”
    “In addition to preventing the biggest tax increase in history, this bill will provide an opportunity for us to take important steps in controlling spending and addressing our national debt.”
    “One of the ways we can do this, which I hope we will embrace wholeheartedly, is to look at means-tested federal programs.”
    “They need to have work requirements for able-bodied adults because there are a lot of able-bodied adults that are simply living off of the American taxpayer, costing billions and billions of dollars…running up our national debt, when they should be contributing to our economy and contributing to their families and their communities by doing meaningful work.”
    “Gainful employment has dignity.”
    “So I would encourage my Republican colleagues to join me in strengthening work requirements across means-tested programs when the time comes to identify these savings within our committees.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Senator Collins Joins Bipartisan Group in Introducing Bill to Reassert Congressional Authority Over Tariffs

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Maine Susan Collins

    Legislation requires President to explain reasoning and impacts of new tariffs to Congress within 48 hours. All new tariffs would expire after 60 days unless Congress explicitly approves them.

    Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Susan Collins joined a bipartisan group of 12 of her Senate colleagues in cosponsoring the Trade Review Act of 2025, a bill to reaffirm Congress’ constitutional role in setting and approving U.S. trade policy. The Trade Review Act of 2025, modeled after the War Powers Resolution of 1973, would reestablish limits on the President’s ability to impose tariffs without the approval of Congress.

    “The unilateral imposition of tariffs by the President without congressional oversight undermines Congress’ constitutional role and can have serious consequences for American workers and businesses,” said Senator Collins. “This bill ensures that Congress retains its responsibility in major tariff decisions that affect our economy, our trading relationships, and the prices families pay for everyday goods.”

    The bill restores Congress’ authority and responsibility over tariffs as outlined in Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution by placing the following limits on the President’s power to impose tariffs:

    • To enact a new tariff, the President must notify Congress of the imposition of (or increase in) the tariff within 48 hours;
    • The congressional notification must include an explanation of the President’s reasoning for imposing or raising the tariff, and provide analysis of potential impact on American businesses and consumers;
    • Within 60 days, Congress must pass a joint resolution of approval on the new tariff; otherwise all new tariffs on imports expire after that deadline;
    • Under the bill, Congress has the ability to end tariffs at any time by passing a resolution of disapproval; and
    • Anti-dumping and countervailing duties are excluded.

    In addition to Senator Collins, Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Chris Coons (D-DE), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Mark Warner (D-VA), Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Peter Welch (D-VT), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) have also co-sponsored the bill.

    The full text of the bill can be read here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Senators Hassan, Shaheen Speak Out Against Trump Administration’s Reckless Actions that Weaken Services for Veterans

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for New Hampshire Maggie Hassan
    MANCHESTER – U.S. Senators Maggie Hassan and Jeanne Shaheen spoke out this morning against the Trump Administration’s reckless actions to weaken services for America’s veterans. The Senators were joined by local veterans who get their care at the Manchester VA Medical Center, as well as representatives of employees at both the Manchester and White River Junction VA Medical Centers – the two VA facilities at which most New Hampshire veterans receive their care. 
    “Instead of supporting our veterans, the Trump Administration has issued orders that will hobble the VA’s ability to support those who have served by dismantling the Department’s workforce,” said Senator Hassan, a member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. “It is deeply concerning that the Trump Administration would even consider trying to weaken the VA and drastically reduce the number of staff to serve veterans, let alone actually issue this chaotic and destructive order. America’s best deserve nothing less than our full commitment to their care.” 
    “America has a sacred bargain with our veterans: they served our nation, and we agreed to honor and care for them after their service,” said Senator Shaheen. “I was pleased to join folks today who are willing to speak out about the harm that will come if the Trump administration follows through with their plan to fire thousands of Veterans Affairs employees. Crippling the Department isn’t going to make services better, it’s going to make it harder for veterans to access the care they deserve.” 
    The Trump Administration plans to cut 80,000 staff from the VA – nearly one in five employees – who help veterans get care and benefits. The support staff that could be impacted include those who perform indispensable work such as answering phone lines to set appointments for veterans, ordering supplies that doctors and nurses use to provide care, and processing claims.  
    Senator Hassan helped develop and pass into law the PACT Act, which fundamentally reforms and improves the ways in which veterans exposed to toxic substances receive health care and benefits from the VA. To date, more than two million PACT Act-related claims have been filed and over 200,000 veterans have enrolled for VA health care under the PACT Act. In order to meet this intended increase in demand, the VA hired thousands of additional VA staff – staff that the Trump Administration now plans to fire. These planned cuts would undermine PACT Act-veterans’ ability to receive the timely care and benefits that they have earned and deserve. 
    Senator Shaheen has spearheaded efforts in the Senate to support veterans and military families. In the committee-passed (FY) 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), Shaheen secured Granite State priorities, including expanding access to child care for military families, expanded efforts to research the health impacts of harmful forever chemicals and a 14.5% pay raise for junior enlisted (E1-E4) and a 4.5% pay raise for all other service members and civilians to ensure military families receive the pay and benefits they deserve. Each year, Shaheen leads a bipartisan Senate resolution to recognize an annual National Warrior Call Day, which encourages Americans to reach out and build meaningful relationships with both those currently serving and veterans. In 2023 and 2024, Shaheen pressed the VA and Federal Trade Commission to crack down on “claim sharks” who are unaccredited entities charging veterans exorbitant fees for filing disability claims. Shaheen has also worked to get the VA to address problems in the compensation and examination (C&P) process that are not serving our veterans. In 2022, Shaheen worked to include provisions and helped pass the historic PACT Act, which expanded health care for veterans who were exposed to burn pits and other toxic substances. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Booker Statement on Fatal Shooting of New Jersey Teen in the West Bank

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for New Jersey Cory Booker
    WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) issued the following statement:
    “The death of a 14-year-old New Jerseyan and American citizen, Amer Mohammad Saada Rabee, in the West Bank is another devastating reminder of the horrific human cost of ongoing conflict and tensions in the region.  There must be a full and transparent accounting of the circumstances around his death and the actions of Israeli security forces.  During Prime Minister Netanyahu’s visit to the White House today, I urge President Trump to seek answers and accountability. 
    “From the death of Amer Rabee, Shireen Abu Akleh, and family members of constituents across New Jersey, to Hamas taking Edan Alexander, also an American citizen from New Jersey, hostage – our New Jersey communities are reeling every day because of the personal impact of ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
    “I’ve long had disagreements with the actions of the Netanyahu government, from their efforts to erode Israeli democracy to their interference in US politics — to their settlement expansion policy in the West Bank. I have also long warned of the increasing danger posed by extremist Israeli settler violence in the West Bank.  I call on the Trump administration to reinstate sanctions on perpetrators of such violence, which directly threatens the objectives of protecting innocent Israeli and Palestinian civilians and preventing the war in Gaza and tensions in the West Bank from escalating into a wider regional conflict.
    “To press for change, I traveled to Israel and the West Bank in March 2024 to meet with Israeli and Palestinian Authority leaders and continue to engage with our government as well as with leaders across the region.  “And I will continue to do everything I can to push for a two-state solution, where we protect Israel’s right to exist as a democratic Jewish state and affirm the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination and a state of their own.  To start this work, all parties must recommit to working toward a ceasefire agreement that gets the hostages home, facilitates humanitarian aid into Gaza, and breaks the cycle of violence in the West Bank and the region. This is the only way to truly create a pathway towards a just and sustainable peace in the region that protects Israelis and Palestinians.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: ICYMI: Senator Coons slams President Trump’s sweeping tariffs during Fox News Sunday interview

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Delaware Christopher Coons
    WASHINGTON – In case you missed it, U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) joined Fox News Sunday with Shannon Bream this weekend to push back against President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs imposed last week. 
    Following Trump’s announcement of tariffs last week, the U.S. has begun collecting a 10% “baseline” tariff on nearly all imports and will soon begin collecting “reciprocal” tariffs as high as 50% on approximately 60 countries, including many of our closest allies and largest trading partners. Financial markets have seen the largest declines since the start of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.
    In his interview, Senator Coons highlighted the pain that these tariffs will cause for all American families, regardless of whether or not they’re invested in the stock market. The price of everyday goods will quickly jump for everything from fruits and vegetables to consumer electronics to clothing, hitting working-class families hardest. Even American manufacturers will see their costs soar, as they often rely on inputs created overseas.
    A video and partial transcript of Senator Coons’ interview are available below.
    WATCH HERE
    Senator Coons: President Trump announced tariffs this week on almost every country on Earth, including many with which we have a trade surplus. What my colleague, Senator Mullin, just said about how President Trump is rebalancing trade and he’s going after those that have a trade surplus with us, doesn’t account for the fact that he’s slapping tariffs on every country, including our closest partners and allies. That’s going to raise prices for middle Americans. They’re going to pay more for fruits and vegetables, gas, cars, furniture, clothing. It’s going to make America less affordable, not more affordable, which was a key campaign promise of President Trump’s.
    …
    Shannon Bream: Some autoworkers, some farmers, some ranchers––what do you say to them? They think that this is going to actually help them, that they’ve been at a very unfair disadvantage.
    Senator Coons: I would say to them that targeted tariffs that are clearly focused on a few countries where we have bad trade practices, and deep trade imbalances, can be smart economic policy and can help protect American farmers and ranchers and American manufacturers. That’s not what Donald Trump is doing. He’s slapping massive tariffs on almost every country in the world, and it’s hard to explain or justify some of the tariffs he’s imposing. 
    In the coming weeks and months, when millions of Americans see their 401Ks dissolve, the stock market lost 10% just in the last two days of last week, and when hundreds of millions of Americans pay more for everything that they need for daily living––the groceries that they buy, and the food that they put on the table, and the cost of housing, I think they’re going to be upset and I think we’re going to see long term, broad economic damage, not for a few targeted industries or companies but across the entire American landscape.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: The Chart That Saved Trump’s Life

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Wisconsin Ron Johnson

    I’ve been tracking the crisis at our southern border for well over a decade. We are still in the first 100 days of President Trump’s presidency and just look at the tail end of this updated chart. Turns out we didn’t need a new law. All we needed was a new president. We needed President Trump!
    April 2 was the one-year anniversary of the day I gave President Trump my border chart on Trump Force One. That was the same chart President Trump was showing the crowd in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13 when he turned his head to look at the chart and narrowly escaped an assassin’s bullet that grazed his ear. 
    I’m glad the chart came in handy. God works in mysterious ways.

    I don’t think Trump voters expected Republicans to continue spending at Biden’s spending levels. If we want to defeat the deep state, we have to stop funding it!
    I put together this video to remind my fellow Republicans that many of us agree. We don’t have a revenue problem, we have a spending problem. $7.3 trillion in spending cannot be justified. It’s time to focus on reducing spending and return to a reasonable pre-pandemic level. In 2019, we spent $4.4 trillion. That’s a 63% increase!
    Now’s the time to insist on returning to a reasonable pre-pandemic level of spending and a process to achieve it.
    READ: Sen. Johnson Op-Ed: Is this Any Way to Run a Budget? 
    Time for Big Pharma to Come Clean

    It is time for Big Pharma to come clean on what and when they knew about mRNA injection adverse events.
    As Chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI), I sent letters to Moderna, Pfizer, BioNTech, and Johnson & Johnson seeking records and communications about the development and safety of the COVID-19 vaccines. 
    These companies received billions of taxpayer dollars to manufacture and deliver COVID-19 vaccines. These federally-funded vaccines have since been associated with reports of myocarditis, pericarditis, thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome, and Guillain-Barré syndrome.
    READ: The Federalist: “Sen. Ron Johnson Probes ‘Development’ And ‘Safety’ Of Big Pharma’s Covid Shots”

    On Triggered with Donald Trump Jr., we talked about Wisconsin’s Supreme Court and why Congress needs to scrutinize spending line-by-line just like a business.  

    On The Charlie Kirk Show, I talked about the budget process, spending cuts, and the “one big beautiful bill.” 
    On The Sean Spicer Show, I outlined why we urgently need to return to pre-pandemic spending levels. 

    On March 26, I met with UW-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin and other UW affiliated research leaders. 

    On April 1, I met with students from Saint Paul Lutheran School in Bonduel on the Capitol steps during their tour of Washington, D.C.

    March 28 was peak bloom for the cherry blossoms in Washington, D.C. There are about 3,800 cherry trees in Washington. In 1912, 3,000 cherry trees were gifted to us by the People of Japan. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: National Retail Federation – World’s Largest Retail Trade Association – Endorses Cantwell’s Bipartisan Trade Review Act

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Washington Maria Cantwell

    04.07.25

    National Retail Federation – World’s Largest Retail Trade Association – Endorses Cantwell’s Bipartisan Trade Review Act

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), senior member of the Senate Finance Committee and ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, announced that the National Retail Federation (NRF) sent a letter endorsing her bipartisan Trade Review Act.

    The NRF is the world’s largest retail trade association. In the letter, David French, the NRF’s Executive Vice President, Government Relations, writes:

    “The Trade Review Act of 2025 will provide Congress with the opportunity to review and vote on whether to keep announced tariff actions in place. Requiring an explanation as well as an assessment of the tariff actions from the administration is critical. We have seen that the recently announced ‘reciprocal’ tariffs will have a significant negative impact on businesses, especially small retailers. One estimate indicates these tariffs could lead to a $2,100 tax increase per household. The increased tariffs are not sustainable for small businesses that have to pay the tax. Many are concerned about their ability to stay in business as a result.”

    “We applaud you for introducing such important legislation to reassert Congress’s role in setting trade and tariff policy. We strongly urge the Senate to quickly support and pass the bill.”

    Sen. Cantwell introduced the bipartisan bill on Thursday to reaffirm Congress’ key role in setting and approving U.S. trade policy, and reestablish limits on the president’s ability to impose unilateral tariffs.

    The bill has since picked up 12 additional cosponsors – an equal mix of Republicans and Democrats – and been endorsed by multiple major U.S. business organizations, including the Retail Industry Leaders Association and the Main Street Alliance.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Reed & Community Action Leaders Discuss Trump Administration Cuts Targeting Vulnerable RIers

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Rhode Island Jack Reed

    WARWICK, RI – Following a roundtable discussion with the leadership of Rhode Island’s seven community action programs (CAPs), U.S. Senator Jack Reed today addressed the Trump Administration’s mass-layoffs at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and other cuts that will impact Rhode Island and put at risk child care and preschool programs, home heating assistance, and other essential services.

    Rhode Island’s seven CAPs collectively serve more than 190,000 Rhode Islanders and help connect low-income individuals and families to health care, job training and skills building, energy assistance, affordable housing, and much more.

    Senator Reed joined Paul Salera, President & CEO of Westbay Community Action, at Westbay’s location in Warwick to detail how these cuts could decimate services and support for vulnerable Rhode Islanders and how uncertainty stemming from Trump Administration actions is impacting community organizations across the state.

    “As the Trump Administration plows ahead with erratic, misguided cuts and no analysis whatsoever on impacts to our communities, I met with leaders on the ground here in Rhode Island to get their feedback, hear their concerns, and discuss how we can work together to continue uplifting our most vulnerable neighbors,” said Senator Reed.  “The leaders I met with today know better than almost anyone how programs like the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, Head Start, the Administration for Community Living, and other critical supports strengthen our communities and help Rhode Islanders stay healthy, safe, and productive.  Eliminating the key staff who help Rhode Islanders and slashing funding just to give massive tax giveaways to a small group of billionaires will likely end up costing taxpayers much more in the long run and shifts increasing tax burdens onto our state and local communities.”

    Paul Salera, President & CEO of Westbay Community Action, said, “The Rhode Island Community Action Agencies are grateful to Senator Reed and his team for this opportunity to shed some light on all the Administration’s proposed cuts and what this will mean to the more than 190,000 Rhode Islanders we all serve.  It is a breath of fresh air knowing that Senator Reed is fighting for all of us to ensure that the much needed Safety Net programs stay intact for the most vulnerable in Rhode Island.”

    Last week, the Trump Administration moved forward with its plans to cut 20,000 federal employees at HHS. According to CBS News, Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. estimated that about 1 in every 5 of the employees who were fired at HHS were mistakenly let go.

    Rhode Island’s seven community action programs are: Westbay Community Action; Community Action Partnership of Providence; Tri-County Community Action; Blackstone Valley Community Action; Community Care Alliance; East Bay Community Action; and Comprehensive Community Action.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Reed Leads Calls for Hearings on Trump’s Tariff Chaos & Misuse of Executive Power

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Rhode Island Jack Reed

    WASHINGTON, DC – As President Donald Trump’s tariff taxes continue to increase prices on American consumers and businesses, U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), a leading member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, joined U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Ranking Member of the committee, and every Democrat on the committee in urging Chairman Tim Scott (R-SC) to convene a hearing on President Trump’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose his tariff tax.

    The Senate Banking Committee has critical responsibilities for overseeing the use of IEEPA, which gives the President broad authority to impose economic measures in response to declared national emergencies. But that authority is not intended as a blank check for the President to create national emergencies out of thin air so he can use IEEPA to circumvent Congress and enact economic policies that are unrelated to any actual threats or emergencies facing the U.S., as President Trump has done with his sweeping new trade policies that harm hard-working American families.

    “The committee has jurisdiction over key aspects of IEEPA and tariffs policy, and we have a responsibility to the American people to exercise our oversight function to scrutinize how the President is using these tools,” the eleven Senate Banking Democrats wrote to Chairman Scott.

    In the letter, the U.S. Senators raise concerns that Trump’s tariff policies lack a coherent strategy that could damage the economy and hurt American consumers by needlessly driving up prices.

    The letter also warned that President Trump could unfairly grant tariff exemptions to friendly business leaders and preferred industries, noting: “The president’s tariffs also raise concerns about whether he will repeat mistakes from his first term in handing out exceptions to well-connected friends or companies at the expense of everyone else.”

    According to joint research from Fordham University, Lehigh University, the State University of New York at Buffalo, and the University of Oklahoma published in The Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis: politically-connected companies that made contributions and investments to help Republicans before and during Trump’s first term were more likely to win tariff exemptions.

    “We urge you to hold a hearing so the American people can understand the President’s plan and how it will affect their economic futures,” the Senators implored.

    In addition to Reed and Warren, the letter was also signed by U.S. Senators Mark Warner (D-VA), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Catherine Cortez-Masto (D-NV), Tina Smith (D-MN), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Reuben Gallego (D-AZ), Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Andy Kim (D-NJ), and Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE).

    Full text of the letter follows:

    Chairman Tim Scott

    Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

    United States Senate

    Washington, D.C. 20510

    Chairman Scott,

    We write to request that the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs hold hearings on President Trump’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to implement his tariff agenda. The committee has jurisdiction over key aspects of IEEPA and tariffs policy, and we have a responsibility to the American people to exercise our oversight function to scrutinize how the President is using these tools.

    Tariffs can be critical to grow American industry and promote good manufacturing jobs. But many of the President’s tariffs lack a coherent strategy, generating economic chaos and giving giant corporations an excuse to raise prices on Americans — which the President and his Administration have no plan to prevent. The President’s tariffs also raise concerns about whether he will repeat mistakes from his first term in handing out exceptions to well-connected friends or companies at the expense of everyone else.

    We urge you to hold a hearing so the American people can understand the President’s plan and how it will affect their economic futures.

    Sincerely,

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: New Hampshire Congressional Delegation Calls on Secretary Kennedy to Restore $80 Million in Federal Funding to Address Substance Use and Mental Health Crises

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for New Hampshire Jeanne Shaheen

    (Washington, DC) – U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), a senior member of the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee, and Maggie Hassan (D-NH), a member of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, alongside U.S. Representatives Chris Pappas (NH-01) and Maggie Goodlander (NH-02) are calling on U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to immediately restore $80 million in federal funding that New Hampshire relies on to address public health crises, including the substance use and mental health epidemics.

    The delegation wrote, in part: “During his first term, President Trump declared the opioid crisis a national public health emergency, stating, ‘We can be the generation that ends the opioid epidemic.’ It seems that is no longer a goal of the current administration. Last week, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) terminated approximately $80 million in public health funding for New Hampshire, including programs administered by both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).”

    They continued: “For New Hampshire, this harmful decision to eliminate funding weakens our state’s ability to respond to infectious disease outbreaks, cuts support services for individuals suffering from mental health crises and substance use disorders and undermines efforts to adequately care for rural and underserved populations […] Staff across the state have already been terminated, and these terminations include our vital community health workers serving our most at-risk populations. Communities and organizations across New Hampshire, including community health centers, hospitals, mental health providers, schools and small businesses, are currently left without resources and holding the bag on already promised funding.”

    They concluded: “Clawing back these funds does nothing to improve our state’s public health system. Instead, you are needlessly putting our communities’ health at risk and jeopardizing our constituents’ livelihoods and their organizations. We urge you to reinstate this vital funding immediately.”

    The full text of the letter can be found here.

    Senator Shaheen and the New Hampshire delegation have led efforts to address the substance use and mental health crises. Just last year, the delegation celebrated $29,890,890 in State Opioid Response (SOR) grants heading to New Hampshire to help address the substance use disorder epidemic. In recent years, Shaheen and Hassan successfully pushed HHS to maintain SOR funding levels for New Hampshire and avoid significant cliffs in funding year-over-year. Shaheen and Hassan’s efforts have led to a more than tenfold increase in federal treatment and prevention funding for New Hampshire.

    Shaheen has been vocal in her disapproval of the confirmation of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for HHS Secretary, including delivering remarks in opposition to his nomination on the Senate floor. Shaheen also recently called on Secretary Kennedy to reverse drastic funding cuts to the Affordable Care Act Navigator program, which helps Americans access quality, affordable health insurance coverage, including for Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program.

    Senator Hassan has spoken out about the dangers that Secretary Kennedy poses to the health and safety of Americans. Senator Hassan pushed Kennedy during multiple confirmation hearings and delivered remarks on the Senate floor highlighting the ways in which Kennedy’s abandonment of his prior support for reproductive freedom, lack of knowledge about the basics of the health care programs that he would oversee, and history of promoting dangerous anti-vaccine conspiracy theories put the health and safety of Americans at risk.

    Congressman Pappas led 50 of his House colleagues in urging HHS Secretary Kennedy to reverse the cancellation of over $12 billion in federal grants for state health services from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Shaheen, Murkowski Seek Immediate Explanation for Department of Homeland Security’s Erroneous and Threatening Email to Ukrainians in the United States

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for New Hampshire Jeanne Shaheen

    (Washington, DC) – U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem yesterday seeking answers following reports that Ukrainians on humanitarian parole in the United States had received threatening emails from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that their humanitarian parole status had been terminated and that they had seven days to depart the country.  

    The Senators wrote, in part: “Even if this message was sent in error, threatening the abrupt termination of humanitarian parole for Ukrainians is alarming and adverse to the U.S. national interest. At a time when a Kremlin official was in the United States negotiating with Administration officials, this mixed message sends the wrong signal: that the U.S. may abandon Ukrainians in need even as Ukraine remains under attack by Vladimir Putin.” 

    They continued: “The fact that DHS drafted such a notification is alarming. DHS has not issued a public announcement about any planned policy change and the agency’s website continues to display information about the availability of parole for Ukrainians. Nor has Congress been notified regarding any proposed changes to the program.” 

    The lawmakers concluded: “We urge the agency to provide immediate clarification to Ukrainians in the United States that their humanitarian parole has not been terminated, and that there are no plans to terminate the program while Ukraine is still under active attack by Russia. We also request a briefing on any future plans regarding humanitarian parole for Ukrainians and an immediate explanation as to how these emails were sent in error.” 

    The full text of the letter can be found here and below. 

    Dear Secretary Noem:  

    We are extremely concerned about notifications that Ukrainians on humanitarian parole in the United States have received official notifications from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)—apparently in error—that their parole had been terminated and that they are required to depart the United States within seven days.  

    Even if this message was sent in error, threatening the abrupt termination of humanitarian parole for Ukrainians is alarming and adverse to the U.S. national interest. At a time when a Kremlin official was in the United States negotiating with Administration officials, this mixed message sends the wrong signal: that the U.S. may abandon Ukrainians in need even as Ukraine remains under attack by Vladimir Putin. 

    Ukrainians who have participated in the Uniting for Ukraine program have entered the U.S. lawfully, passed rigorous screening and vetting requirements and have been required to find financial support from private U.S. sponsors. These are individuals, including children, who have fled a war zone and followed a lawful process. Many are working in our states, paying taxes and contributing to local communities. Abruptly and cruelly telling victims of Russia’s war to leave the country would not reflect American values—and it risks emboldening Putin to continue the war, despite President Trump’s stated objectives to establish peace.  

    For many Ukrainians, conditions on the ground in Ukraine remain unsafe for them to return, as Putin continues to violate the limited ceasefire Russia pledged it would honor on March 18. Twenty percent of Ukraine remains occupied, the frontline in Donbas remains volatile and Russia has escalated the use of swarms of drones to attack population centers across the country, including Kyiv. We support the Administration’s desire to reach a just and sustainable peace in Ukraine, but until that goal is realized, we must continue to offer safe harbor to the Ukrainian families that have found temporary homes in our states.  

    The fact that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) drafted such a notification is alarming. DHS has not issued a public announcement about any planned policy change and the agency’s website continues to display information about the availability of parole for Ukrainians. Nor has Congress been notified regarding any proposed changes to the program. Congressional staff inquiries to DHS on Friday resulted in conflicting responses that demonstrated a disturbing lack of interagency coordination or strategy on the status of humanitarian parole for Ukrainians.  

    We urge the agency to provide immediate clarification to Ukrainians in the United States that their humanitarian parole has not been terminated, and that there are no plans to terminate the program while Ukraine is still under active attack by Russia. We also request a briefing on any future plans regarding humanitarian parole for Ukrainians and an immediate explanation as to how these emails were sent in error.  

    We appreciate your urgent attention to this matter. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Senate Intel Vice Chair Warner Presses Trump Administration on TikTok Extension, Potential Divestiture Deal

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Commonwealth of Virginia Mark R Warner

    WASHINGTON – Today, Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Mark R. Warner (D-VA) wrote a letter to President Trump expressing concerns over the administration’s handling of the legally-required divestiture of the social media platform TikTok, including the decision by the administration to once again extend the deadline for TikTok’s parent company, China-based Bytedance, to continue to operate the service and collect Americans’ data.

    “The news reports around the extension suggest that the likely deal under consideration would not meet the clear statutory thresholds for eliminating ByteDance’s influence over TikTok’s U.S. operations,” Sen. Warner wrote. “Specifically, it would preserve a material, operational role for ByteDance by not only allowing it to retain a significant equity stake in the divested entity, but also an active role in technology development and maintenance, including over the algorithm governing content displayed to TikTok U.S. users. I also will note that the law passed by Congress only allowed for a single extension of no more than 90 days.  This second delay, announced April 4, 2025, is a clear violation of the law while also continuing to leave Americans vulnerable to malign influence operations conducted by an adversary country.”

    “A successful and comprehensive divestiture will require any successor to scrupulously prevent influence or access by ByteDance or other entities under the jurisdiction of the People’s Republic of China.  The deal being discussed undermines confidence that the divested app can be trusted to protect national security and ensure compliance with the law,” he continued.

    Sen. Warner also reiterated the role of Congress in regulating foreign and interstate commerce, emphasized that the bill that requires divestment passed with bipartisan support, and pressed the Trump administration to follow the law.

    He continued, “I strongly encourage you actually adhere to the law Congress passed and immediately convene an inter-agency team to evaluate any prospective divestiture based on genuine, risk-based criteria.  Any qualified divestiture must ensure a clean operational break from ByteDance and TikTok USA, including by preventing either company from continuing to develop, influence, or access personal data or source code (including the content recommendation algorithm) maintained by the divested company.”

    Sen. Warner long led the charge in Congress to combat foreign social media influence campaigns, and keep Americans’ sensitive personal data out of the hands of the Communist Party of China, and has been vocal about the national security threat that ByteDance poses. He has repeatedly said the only eligible buyers of the app are companies that are not beholden to a U.S. adversary.

    A copy of letter is available here and text is below.

    Dear President Trump:

    I write to express concerns with the extension that you announced on Friday April 4, 2025 to allow TikTok to continue its U.S. operations, as well as deep reservations with how you and other involved parties are carrying out the negotiations around the sale of TikTok. The news reports around the extension suggest that the likely deal under consideration would not meet the clear statutory thresholds for eliminating ByteDance’s influence over TikTok’s U.S. operations.  Specifically, it would preserve a material, operational role for ByteDance by not only allowing it to retain a significant equity stake in the divested entity, but also an active role in technology development and maintenance, including over the algorithm governing content displayed to TikTok U.S. users. I also will note that the law passed by Congress only allowed for a single extension of no more than 90 days. This second delay, announced April 4, 2025, is a clear violation of the law while also continuing to leave Americans vulnerable to malign influence operations conducted by an adversary country.

    In key respects, the reported deal or arrangement appears to closely resemble the proposed “Project Texas” partnership that ByteDance previously sought approval for through the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).  As I and colleagues made clear at the time – and as CFIUS concluded in withholding its approval – such an arrangement would not sufficiently address the data security, counter-intelligence, and covert influence threats posed by ByteDance’s continued role in the provision of social media services in the United States.  More importantly, the bipartisan law the Congress overwhelmingly passed explicitly proscribes such an arrangement – both by categorically prohibiting a qualified divesture from being operated directly or indirectly (including through a parent company, subsidiary, or affiliate) by ByteDance, TikTok or a subsidiary or successor of either company, as well as by requiring that any qualified divestiture preclude “the establishment or maintenance of any operational relationship between the United States operations of the relevant foreign adversary controlled application and any formerly affiliated entities that are controlled by a foreign adversary, including any cooperation with respect to the operation of a content recommendation algorithm or an agreement with respect to data sharing.” 

    A successful and comprehensive divestiture will require any successor to scrupulously prevent influence or access by ByteDance or other entities under the jurisdiction of the People’s Republic of China.  The deal being discussed undermines confidence that the divested app can be trusted to protect national security and ensure compliance with the law. For instance, industry outlets currently note that the company announced to manage the divested operations, Oracle, has facilitated ByteDance’s access to controlled advanced semiconductors, raising concerns about its willingness to proactively safeguard U.S. interests. Perhaps more concerningly, Oracle has recently suffered two significant data breaches – including a compromise to sensitive health records hosted by its Oracle Health division, as well as a separate breach involving Oracle Cloud.  Each of these incidents – that Oracle has continued to publicly deny despite sustained reports of confirmation and of private acknowledgement to clients – raise questions about whether Oracle can be trusted as the custodian of sensitive TikTok user data.

    In addition, it appears that the efforts to facilitate a qualified divestiture have not followed the substantive, risk-based inter-agency process contemplated in the law.  Rather, reports have consistently painted a picture of an ad hoc process, driven by White House personnel.  Perhaps most concerning, you have explicitly suggested that your compliance with the statutorily mandated divestiture could be tied to negotiations over tariffs with the People’s Republic of China.

    Congress retains the constitutional authority to regulate foreign and interstate commerce.  I strongly encourage you actually adhere to the law Congress passed and immediately convene an inter-agency team to evaluate any prospective divestiture based on genuine, risk-based criteria.  Any qualified divestiture must ensure a clean operational break from ByteDance and TikTok USA, including by preventing either company from continuing to develop, influence, or access personal data or source code (including the content recommendation algorithm) maintained by the divested company.

    Sincerely,

     

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Warner, Reed, Coons Lead National Security Members in Letter Expressing Concern over Recent Firings at NSA

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Commonwealth of Virginia Mark R Warner

    WASHINGTON – Today, Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee Jack Reed (D-RI), and Ranking Member on the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense Chris Coons (D-DE), led their committee colleagues in a letter to President Trump regarding the firing of the Director of the National Security Agency (NSA) and Commander of U.S. Cyber Command (CYBERCOM), General Timothy Haugh, as well as the reassignment of the Deputy Director of the NSA, Wendy Noble.

    Joining Vice Chairman Warner and Ranking Members Reed and Coons in this letter are Sens. Patty Murray (D-WA), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Gary Peters (D-MI), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Angus King (I-ME), Jon Ossoff (D-GA), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), and Chris Murphy (D-CT).

    “These actions severely compromise our ability to keep Americans safe. As you are well aware, our nation currently faces serious cyber threats from foreign adversaries, such as from China’s Salt Typhoon, with near-daily attacks against our critical infrastructure,” the senators wrote. “In addition, our nation’s military is engaged in ongoing operations against multiple threats, from the Houthis in Yemen to Russian aggression in Eastern Europe. Given the dangers facing the United States, it is inexplicable that the Administration would remove the senior leaders of NSA/CYBERCOM without cause or warning, and risk disrupting critical ongoing intelligence operations.”

    The senators also highlighted the impact this move would have on the dual-hat arrangement, in which a single officer leads both the NSA and CYBERCOM, and stressed that prematurely severing this agreement could put U.S. national security at risk.

    They continued, “Premature termination of the dual-hat arrangement would severely degrade the speed and effectiveness of NSA’s and CYBERCOM’s abilities to execute their missions and could have dire consequence for our national security. As Congress on an overwhelmingly bipartisan basis has repeatedly made clear in the National Defense Authorization Acts for Fiscal Years 2017, 2018, and 2020, clear criteria must be met before any termination can be considered and both the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs must together certify that separation will not “pose risks to the military effectiveness of the United States Cyber Command that are unacceptable to the national security interests of the United States.”

    As members of the key committees tasked with conducting oversight over NSA, the senators requested written justification for why Director Timothy Haugh and Ms. Wendy Noble were removed from their posts, and asked for a Congressional briefing regarding any additional actions the administration plans to take with respect to NSA and CYBERCOM, including but not limited to the separation of the dual-hat.

    A copy of letter is available here and text is below.

    Dear President Trump,

    We write with alarm at the sudden and inexplicable firing of the Director of the National Security Agency (NSA) and Commander, U.S. Cyber Command, General Timothy Haugh, as well as the reassignment of the Deputy Director of the NSA, Wendy Noble. Not only have both dutifully served this nation for decades under both Democratic and Republican administrations, but their removals were conducted in the middle of the night with no consultation with Congress and, according to reports, at the behest of a private citizen who has a record of promoting conspiracy theories.

    These actions severely compromise our ability to keep Americans safe. As you are well aware, our nation currently faces serious cyber threats from foreign adversaries, such as from China’s Salt Typhoon, with near-daily attacks against our critical infrastructure. In addition, our nation’s military is engaged in ongoing operations against multiple threats, from the Houthis in Yemen to Russian aggression in Eastern Europe. Given the dangers facing the United States, it is inexplicable that the Administration would remove the senior leaders of NSA/CYBERCOM without cause or warning, and risk disrupting critical ongoing intelligence operations.

    Furthermore, we urge you to exercise careful consideration and consultation with Congress on any further actions that may impact NSA’s or CYBERCOM’s abilities to provide the critical intelligence and operational support to policymakers and warfighters. This includes, but is not limited to, any considerations to terminate the dual-hat arrangement. Premature termination of the dual-hat arrangement would severely degrade the speed and effectiveness of NSA’s and CYBERCOM’s abilities to execute their missions and could have dire consequence for our national security. As Congress on an overwhelmingly bipartisan basis has repeatedly made clear in the National Defense Authorization Acts for Fiscal Years 2017, 2018, and 2020, clear criteria must be met before any termination can be considered and both the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs must together certify that separation will not “pose risks to the military effectiveness of the United States Cyber Command that are unacceptable to the national security interests of the United States.”

    As Members of the respective committees of oversight, we request that you formally provide in writing a justification for why Director Timothy Haugh and Ms. Wendy Noble were removed from their posts and provide a briefing to Congress on any additional actions you plan to take with respect to NSA and CYBERCOM, including but not limited to the separation of the dual-hat.

    Sincerely,

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Murray, Sanders, DeLauro, Scott, Baldwin Demand McMahon Reverse Abrupt Policy Change Halting Funding for Schools Nationwide

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Washington State Patty Murray

    Top appropriators and authorizers press Trump’s Department of Education for details about its’ abrupt halt of funding for state governments and school districts that adds a bureaucratic hurdle to reimbursement and will harm student recovery following the pandemic

    Washington, D.C. — Today, Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03), Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Committee, Congressman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (D-VA-03), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Education and Workforce, and Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies, led a letter to Secretary Linda McMahon demanding a reversal of a new policy the Department of Education announced recently that suddenly upended departmental policy and imposed new red tape on states, which will prevent them from accessing pandemic relief funds they are counting on to support students’ learning.

    In their letter, the lawmakers press McMahon for immediate reversal of the Department’s revision to its longstanding liquidation extension policy for COVID-19 education recovery funding—warning that the Department’s change, along with the myriad other harmful actions taken at ED recently, seriously jeopardizes students’ learning and growth.

    “We write to request the immediate reversal of the Department of Education’s recent March 28, 2025, action to revise the liquidation extension policy for COVID-19 relief funds,” write the lawmakers. “Just over a month ago, the Department announced a policy change to the longstanding extension policy that imposed an additional step for processing of extension reimbursements. … However, on March 28, 2025, with many state extension requests having been approved more than six months ago,  the Department suddenly announced on March 28 that ‘the Department is modifying the liquidation period to end on March 28, 2025,’ the very same day as the announcement.”

    “In short,” the lawmakers state, “the Department changed the spending rules it affirmed just one month ago, without providing any notice, and imposing more federal red tape.”

    The lawmakers continue: “This abrupt and chaotic revision of policy is not helpful to students whose states, school districts, or institutions of higher education are uncertain about the Department’s commitments to implementing federal funding designed to support students. The March 28th decision is an imposition of an unauthorized layer of bureaucratic red tape on the expenditure of resources passed by Congress to support learning recovery for our nation’s students.”

    The lawmakers note that the abrupt change—coupled with the mass firings at ED—seriously threaten the ability of schools to support students’ learning: “When combined with the massive reduction in force announced earlier this month, the Department jeopardizes an estimated $4 billion from the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2021 and American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 in nearly all of our states and outlying areas and roughly 1,000 school districts nationwide. This action is particularly harmful to rural school districts that faced the greatest disruptions during the authorized program period. This will also have a disproportionate impact on $800 million reserved for identification and support for students experiencing homelessness, which was implemented slowly in many states. The March 28th decision of the Department improperly imposes its will on state and local budget decisions in a manner not contemplated by Congress.”

    The lawmakers note their alarm about the Department’s lack of recognition of the lasting effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on students, with the latest National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) scores showing national scores are below pre-pandemic levels in all grades and subjects.“We are alarmed by your lack of a recognition of the lasting effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on our nation’s students,”write the lawmakers. “Years after the COVID-19 pandemic, our schools and communities still have much work to do to help students recover and the Department’s termination of the remaining resources Congress passed for that purpose will only serve to delay and undermine our students’ recovery.”

    They also note Congress provided flexibility when providing the funding to ensure it best supports communities across the country:  “Congress intended the Secretary to support states and districts in their use of the flexibility under the law to ensure the unique needs of their communities were met and to implement evidence-based learning loss interventions. The Department is now trying to change the spending rules and impose an administrative hurdle by stating ‘the Department will consider an extension to your liquidation period on an individual project-specific basis.’…We are astonished by the amount of hypocrisy here from an administration that has repeatedly said it wants to return education to the states, including your recent statement that ‘Education is fundamentally a state responsibility. Instead of filtering resources through layers of federal red tape, we will empower states…’ Now, it appears the Department is turning its back on states by arbitrarily imposing more federal red tape.”

    The lawmakers also called out that while the Trump administration works to cut off this funding for schools, it is pushing to pass new tax cuts for billionaires: “Let’s be very clear: The abrupt change in the liquidation extension policy is yet another way this administration is seeking to strip educational opportunities for students in order to pay for tax cuts for billionaires and large corporations. President Trump and Congressional Republicans are intent in claiming any savings they can in the federal budget that they intend to use to pay for their tax cuts for billionaires and large corporations.”

    “We believe there is a better way,” they conclude. “We urge you to immediately rescind your March 28 revision to the longstanding liquidation extension policy. Further, we believe you should work with us to start properly executing our federal education laws as Congress intended.”

    In addition to Senators Murray, Sanders, and Baldwin, the letter was signed by Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Angus King (I-ME), Ed Markey (D-MA), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Jack Reed (D-RI), Jeanne Shaheen (D-MO), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Mark Warner (D-VA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Ron Wyden (D-OR) in the Senate.

    In addition to Representatives DeLauro and Scott, the letter was signed by Alma Adams (D, NC-12), Donald Beyer (D, VA-08), Suzanne Bonamici (D, OR-01), Julia Brownley (D, CA-26), Shontel Brown (D, OH-11), André Carson (D, IN-07), Greg Casar (D, TX-35), Sean Casten (D, IL-06), Joaquin Castro (D, TX-20), Steve Cohen (D, TN-09), Joe Courtney (D, CT-02), Danny Davis (D, IL-07), Diana DeGette (D, CO-01), Chris Deluzio (D, PA-17), Mark DeSaulnier (D, CA-10), Sarah Elfreth (D, MD-03), Veronica Escobar (D, TX-16), Adriano Espaillat (D, NY-13), Dwight Evans (D, PA-03), Shomari Figures (D, AL-02), Jesús García (D, IL-04), Sylvia Garcia (D, TX-29), Vicente Gonzalez (D, TX-34), Jahana Hayes (D, CT-05), Chrissy Houlahan (D, PA-06), Jonathan Jackson (D, IL-01), Hank Johnson (D, GA-04), Robin Kelly (D, IL-02), Timothy Kennedy (D, NY-26), John Larson (D, CT-01), Summer Lee (D, PA-12), Lucy McBath (D, GA-06), Sarah McBride (D, DE-01), Jennifer McClellan (D, VA-04), Betty McCollum (D, MN-04), Kristen McDonald Rivet (D, MI-08), Jim McGovern (D, MA-02), LaMonica McIver (D, NJ-10), Donald Norcross (D, NJ-01), Johnny Olszewski (D, MD-02), Chellie Pingree (D, ME-01), Mark Pocan (D, MI-02), Andrea Salinas (D, OR-06), Linda Sánchez (D, CA-38), Terri Sewell (D, AL-07), Mikie Sherrill (D, NJ-11), Lateefah Simon (D, CA-12), Darren Soto (D, FL-09), Haley Stevens (D, MI-11), Mark Takano (D, CA-39), Dina Titus (D, NV-01), Rashida Tlaib (D, MI-12), Bonnie Watson Coleman (D, NY-12), Frederica Wilson (D, FL-24), and Eleanor Holmes Norton (D, DC-01) in the House.

    Full text of the letter is available HERE and below:

    Dear Secretary McMahon:

    We write to request the immediate reversal of the Department of Education’s (“the Department”) recent March 28, 2025, action to revise the liquidation extension policy for COVID-19 relief funds. Just over a month ago, the Department announced a policy change to the longstanding extension policy that imposed an additional step for processing of extension reimbursements. That policy stated “Beginning today, all future payments under the CARES Act, CRRSA Act, and ARP Act spent on allowable expenditures must be paid by the states in advance and then submitted to the U.S. Department of Education for reimbursement.” While the Department’s action added an unnecessary burden on states, it continued the longstanding extension policy established years ago in stating “All [COVID-19 Pandemic relief funding] expenditures must fall under the approved expenditures as outlined in guidance for ESSER, ARPA, and HEERF.”

    However, on March 28, 2025, with many state extension requests having been approved more than six months ago, the Department suddenly announced that “the Department is modifying the liquidation period to end on March 28, 2025”, the very same day as the announcement. Specifically, the Department stated that “The extension approval was issued recently, so any reliance interests developed are minimal…So you could not rely on the Department adhering to its original decision.” In short, the Department changed the spending rules it affirmed just one month ago, without providing any notice, and imposing more federal red tape.

    This abrupt and chaotic revision of policy is not helpful to students whose states, school districts, or institutions of higher education are uncertain about the Department’s commitments to implementing federal funding designed to support students. The March 28th decision is an imposition of an unauthorized layer of bureaucratic red tape on the expenditure of resources passed by Congress to support learning recovery for our nation’s students. When combined with the massive reduction in force announced earlier this month, the Department jeopardizes an estimated $4 billion from the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2021 and American Rescue Plan Act of 2021(“ARP Act”) in nearly all of our states and outlying areas and roughly 1,000 school districts nationwide. This action is particularly harmful to rural school districts that faced the greatest disruptions during the authorized program period. This will also have a disproportionate impact on $800 million reserved for identification and support for students experiencing homelessness, which was implemented slowly in many states. The March 28th decision of the Department improperly imposes its will on state and local budget decisions in a manner not contemplated by Congress.

    Second, we are alarmed by your lack of a recognition of the lasting effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on our nation’s students. The Department’s March 28 policy change asserts “Extending deadlines for COVID-related grants, which are in fact taxpayer funds, years after the COVID pandemic ended is not consistent with the Department’s priorities and thus not a worthwhile exercise of its discretion.” We are surprised to learn the Department is unaware of recent results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (“NAEP”) which show “National scores are below pre-pandemic levels (2019) in ALL tested grades and subjects.” NAEP results also reveal “Gaps are growing between higher-performing and lower-performing students.” Further, chronic absenteeism still is too high with the latest data indicating “a majority of students still attended schools with 20% or higher levels of chronic absence. This serious absenteeism is in stark contrast to 2019, when slightly over a quarter of schools experienced such high levels of chronic absence.” Years after the COVID-19 pandemic, our schools and communities still have much work to do to help students recover and the Department’s termination of the remaining resources Congress passed for that purpose will only serve to delay and undermine our students’ recovery.

    Third, Congress intended the Secretary to support states and districts in their use of the flexibility under the law to ensure the unique needs of their communities were met and to implement evidence-based learning loss interventions. The Department is now trying to change the spending rules and impose an administrative hurdle by stating “the Department will consider an extension to your liquidation period on an individual project-specific basis.” This is despite the fact that such extensions to liquidation periods were noticed more than one year ago, with some granted more than six months ago, and that states assured to the Department that “The SEA will ensure that LEAs [school districts] use ARP ESSER funds for activities allowable under section 2001(e) of the ARP.” We are astonished by the amount of hypocrisy here from an administration that has repeatedly said it wants to return education to the states, including your recent statement that “Education is fundamentally a state responsibility. Instead of filtering resources through layers of federal red tape, we will empower states…”. Now, it appears the Department is turning its back on states by arbitrarily imposing more federal red tape.

    We would be heartened if the Department’s new policy was really intended to better support students. However, actions of the past two months tell a starkly different story. The Department has cancelled hundreds of millions in teacher training grants that were at work in addressing educator shortages and improving the quality of instruction in our schools. The Department has cancelled hundreds of millions of research and evaluation contracts on critical issues like an evaluation of transition supports for students with disabilities, which was intended to provide states and school districts with high quality evidence on approaches to support students with disabilities with their transition to post-school outcomes. The Department also cancelled an evaluation of the programs that receive the largest amount of funding appropriated for the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, depriving Congress and the Department of critical information about the implementation of those programs. The Department cancelled contracts for the Comprehensive Centers program, which—in addition to being statutorily required—were poised to provide effective capacity building support and technical assistance to states, school systems, and schools in addressing chronic absenteeism, and math and literacy learning, among other locally and regionally identified challenges. The Department also canceled the Long Term Trend NAEP for 17 year olds, which has been providing data on student achievement for decades. The Department has implemented a massive dismantling and reduction in staff, which has reduced the number of staff available at the Office for Civil Rights to protect the rights of all students. Finally, the massive reduction also appears to have delayed the processing of COVID-19 relief reimbursement requests prior to the announcement of the changed policy that is the subject of this letter.

    Let’s be very clear: The abrupt change in the liquidation extension policy is yet another way this administration is seeking to strip educational opportunities for students in order to pay for tax cuts for billionaires and large corporations. President Trump and Congressional Republicans are intent in claiming any savings they can in the federal budget that they intend to use to pay for their tax cuts for billionaires and large corporations. It is appalling to us that those billionaire and corporate giveaways are valued over the students in rural school districts that faced supply chain disruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic that led to the districts’ need for these liquidation extensions, valued over students experiencing homelessness who have seen the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds dedicated to them spent down slowly, and valued over so many other students that will be attending schools that are already facing difficult budget choices for the next school year without the additional burden of this changed policy. That is, unless states undertake the newest burden put in place by your Department and are able to navigate the Department’s bureaucratic maze and receive funds for projects that may have been committed to years ago.

    We believe there is a better way. We urge you to immediately rescind your March 28 revision to the longstanding liquidation extension policy. Further, we believe you should work with us to start properly executing our federal education laws as Congress intended.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Rosen Helps Introduce Bill to Ensure Religious Affiliation of Fallen U.S. Servicemembers’ Headstones are Accurately Reflected

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV)

    WASHINGTON, DC — U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV) helped introduce bipartisan legislation with Senator Jerry Moran (R-KS), Chairman of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, to identify and research Jewish-American servicemembers interred in American cemeteries overseas who are buried beneath grave markers that do not accurately reflect their religion and heritage. The bipartisan Fallen Servicemembers Religious Heritage Restoration Act would create a 10-year program within the American Battle Monuments Commission to identify and conduct research on servicemembers who are incorrectly memorialized and locate and contact their surviving descendants to facilitate a grave marker change to properly represent their religious heritage. An estimated 600 Jewish-American servicemembers who were killed in action during World War II remain buried under Latin Crosses rather than Stars of David. While clerical errors are to blame for many of the improper burials, some are because Jewish-American servicemembers did not want their faith included on their dog tags while fighting against the Nazis.
    “Our nation has a duty to fully honor the heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice to protect our freedoms,” said Senator Rosen. “I’m proud to join Senator Moran in introducing this bipartisan legislation to correct the headstones of servicemembers by ensuring that the religious affiliation of our fallen is properly and accurately recognized.”
    “We owe a debt we can never repay to those who have given their last full measure of devotion on behalf of our nation and the freedoms we cherish, religious liberty being chief among them,” said Senator Moran. “This legislation makes certain that the religious heritage of those who have died for our country, particularly Jewish-American servicemembers, is rightfully represented at their final resting places, providing their survivors with assurance that their loved one’s faith is being acknowledged and memorialized with accuracy.”
    Senator Rosen has been working to deliver for Nevada’s veterans. She has sent letters demanding that the VA reverse harmful plans to reduce its workforce, calling on the VA to permanently reverse layoffs, and pushing for answers regarding mass employee terminations at the VA. Last month, Senator Rosen helped introduce legislation to reinstate veterans wrongfully fired by President Trump and Elon Musk. She also took to the Senate floor to oppose the actions of the Trump Administration and Musk to mass fire employees working at the VA.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Senator Peters Reintroduces Bipartisan Bill to Boost America’s AI Workforce Pipeline

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Michigan Gary Peters

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Gary Peters (MI) reintroduced bipartisan legislation to strengthen America’s workforce pipeline in artificial intelligence (AI), cybersecurity, and other critical technologies. Peters’ AI and Critical Technology Workforce Framework Act – which he reintroduced with U.S. Senator Eric Schmitt (R-MO) – would direct the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to develop a workforce framework that defines AI and other emerging and critical technology jobs, and the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to perform them. Building off the successful National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE) framework developed by NIST, this bill would help drive U.S. economic competitiveness and advance our skills pipeline in AI and other emerging technologies by ensuring that individuals have a roadmap to find good-paying jobs. This framework would also help schools, universities, training programs, and employers as they educate, train, and employ the best and brightest in the workforce of the future.   

    “As the artificial intelligence sector continues to grow and play an increasingly important role in everything from health care to finance to agriculture, it’s crucial that we have a highly skilled workforce ready to drive innovation and keep the United States at the forefront of this industry,” said Senator Peters. “My bipartisan bill would help expand our nation’s workforce pipeline, not only in AI, but also cybersecurity and other critical technologies that will shape the future of our economy.” 

    “The AI and Critical Technology Workforce Framework Act stands as a pivotal step towards ensuring Michigan’s workforce remains at the forefront of AI and emerging technologies,” said Ryan Hundt, CEO of the Michigan Works! Association. “This legislation aligns seamlessly with the mission of the Michigan Works! Association to prepare Michigan’s workers for the future through inclusive workforce development.”

    “Addressing gaps in the AI and cybersecurity workforce will help safeguard U.S. competitiveness and national security,” said Information Technology Industry Council (ITIC) President and CEO Jason Oxman. “The tech sector appreciates U.S. Senators Gary Peters and Eric Schmitt’s bipartisan leadership in introducing the Artificial Intelligence and Critical Technology Workforce Framework Act of 2025. This crucial bill will expand resources to ensure that the U.S. has the robust workforce it needs to win the global AI race.”

    “ISACA enthusiastically supports the legislation by Senator Peters and Senator Schmitt to bring the coherence of NICE KSA’s to AI,” said Emily Bastedo, Head of Government Affairs for the Information Systems Audit and Control Association. “The model of the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE) has proven to be effective in developing a skilled cybersecurity workforce. ISACA supports using this model for increasing talent in workers with experience in artificial intelligence. There is a significant gap between the demand for AI skills and the supply of workers who possess them. ISACA’s research, certifications, and professional development programs recognize the connections between the AI, security, privacy, and emerging technology workforces. ISACA supports enactment of the AI and Critical Technology Workforce Framework Act.”

    “Preparing our workforce for an AI-integrated economy is an all hands on deck moment,” said Americans for Responsible Innovation President Brad Carson. “We need a coordinated federal effort to ready American workers with the skills to stay globally competitive and keep the U.S. at the forefront of innovation. Big changes are coming for our economy, and this bipartisan bill positions the U.S. workforce to lead in an AI-powered world.”

    The AI and Critical Technology Workforce Framework Act would direct NIST to develop an AI workforce framework and identify and report to Congress on other critical or emerging technology areas that could benefit from workforce frameworks, with a focus on ensuring that the frameworks are useful for individuals from nontraditional backgrounds and education. As technologies continue to evolve, this legislation will help ensure that similar frameworks for emerging technology like advanced biology and quantum computing are developed, while ensuring America is positioned to develop and retain skilled individuals across these industries. The bipartisan bill would also require the NICE cybersecurity framework to be updated with input from industry, academia, and government agencies to reflect changes in the cybersecurity sector. The bill would also encourage NIST to offer career resources and guidance to students and adults about careers in cybersecurity, ensuring a sustainable and capable future cyber workforce. 

    Peters has worked to promote responsible adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) and to expand the AI workforce. In his role leading the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Peters convened multiple hearings on the transformative potential of AI, as well as how the federal government can enable the responsible and effective adoption of AI. Last Congress, Peters led bipartisan legislation to establish guardrails for the federal government to effectively and responsibly purchase and use AI. Peters also introduced bipartisan legislation to designate a Chief AI Officer at every federal agency to coordinate responsible adoption and deployment of AI tools within agencies and across the federal government. Peters also introduced bipartisan legislation to create an AI training program for federal supervisors and management officials. Peters also authored the bipartisan Transparent Automated Governance Act would require federal agencies to notify individuals when they are interacting with or subject to decisions made using automated systems. In 2022, his bipartisan bill to create a training program to help federal employees responsible for purchasing and managing AI technologies better understand the capabilities and risks they pose was signed into law.   

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: VIDEO: Peters Takes to Senate Floor to Oppose President Trump’s Tariffs

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Michigan Gary Peters

    Peters Lays Out How Trump’s “National Sales Tax” Will Raise Prices for Hardworking Families, Decimate Americans’ Retirement Savings, and Threaten American Jobs and Businesses

    WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Gary Peters (MI) took to the Senate floor to speak out against President Trump’s latest tariffs on nearly all U.S. imports, calling them a “national sales tax” on hardworking Americans. In his remarks, Peters highlighted the harm that Trump’s tariffs will cause for American families and businesses, including driving our economy toward a recession, raising prices on essential goods, and threatening Americans’ hard-earned income and retirement savings. He also highlighted how the tariffs fall short of a needed strategy to boost American manufacturing in the automotive sector, offering an alternative playbook that includes tariffs on our adversaries and overseas competitors, improving current trade agreements, enforcing existing trade laws, and protecting and strengthening successful domestic manufacturing incentives passed as part of the Inflation Reduction Act.

    “In the coming days, weeks, and months, the impact of the President’s national sales tax will be devastating,” said Senator Peters. “And it won’t be our competitors that are footing the bill. It will be the American people that are paying the tax on their groceries, their gas, and all the other goods that they buy.”

    “This national sales tax won’t miraculously improve our trade relationships or bring jobs home. It will only make it harder for hardworking Americans who are trying to create a better life for themselves and for their children,” Peters continued. “This isn’t a real plan. This is chaos. And it will not help us to achieve any of our long-term goals.”

    “I urge all of my colleagues to say no to the national sales tax, and instead, let’s liberate some common sense and work together to make this country stronger.”

    To watch Peters’ full remarks, click here.

    MIL OSI USA News –