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Category: US Senate

  • MIL-OSI USA: Protecting America’s Bank Account Against Fraud, Waste, and Abuse

    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. Purpose.  Promoting financial integrity and operational efficiency are critical responsibilities of the Federal Government.  The Federal Government processes trillions of dollars annually in disbursements to individuals, businesses, and organizations, and in receipts from taxes, fees, and other payments to finance daily and long-term Government operations.  These transactions flow into and out of the United States General Fund (General Fund), which might be thought of as America’s bank account.  In Fiscal Year 2024, $33.9 trillion flowed into the General Fund and $33.6 trillion flowed out of the account, including $5.87 trillion (less net interest) in benefits, grants, loans, vendor payments, and other disbursements. 
    The Department of the Treasury is the largest financial payment manager of the Federal Government and is responsible for safeguarding the General Fund, but lacks sufficient controls to track transactions flowing through the General Fund to determine if they were proper.  To enforce sufficient controls and ensure accountability to American taxpayers, the Department of the Treasury requires financial information from executive departments and agencies (agencies) beyond what they currently provide.
    Financial fraud threatens the integrity of Federal programs and undermines trust in Government.  Agencies’ past underinvestment in technology and longstanding challenges with access to accurate data has prevented them from more fully safeguarding taxpayer dollars against fraud and improper payments.  The Government Accountability Office estimates that the Federal Government loses between $233 and $521 billion annually to fraud.
    In addition to being an efficient steward of taxpayer funds, the Federal Government, on behalf of the American public, must seek to ensure that financial information is accurate and that there is transparency with respect to how taxpayer dollars are being used.  Today, Federal funds are disbursed both by the Department of the Treasury and various Federal Government entities that are authorized to issue their own disbursements known as Non-Treasury Disbursing Offices (NTDOs).  In Fiscal Year 2024, NTDOs were estimated to be responsible for 181 million payments totaling over $1.5 trillion (approximately 22 percent of all Federal Government dollars disbursed). This fragmentation of disbursing authority, together with the proliferation of non-standard financial management systems across the Federal Government, leads to expensive, disjointed, and duplicative financial reporting, lack of financial traceability, complicated financial management, opacity, increased operational risks, and decreased ability of the Department of the Treasury to provide centralized oversight.
    This order promotes financial integrity by enabling the Department of the Treasury to more easily conduct improper payment and fraud prevention screening prior to disbursing funds on behalf of agencies.  This order increases transparency and accountability by requiring agencies to provide the Department of the Treasury with the information needed to track transactions through the General Fund in greater detail.  This order also promotes operational efficiency by returning disbursing functions to the Department of the Treasury when possible and consolidating and standardizing core Federal financial systems.
    Sec. 2.  Policy.  It is the policy of the United States to defend against financial fraud and improper payments, increase transparency and accountability around the Federal Government’s operations and financial condition, increase efficiency, reduce costs, and enhance the security of Federal payments.
    Sec. 3.  Treasury Verification of Agency Payments Information.  (a)  The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB Director), shall update guidance and enhance systems to ensure that all payments made by the Department of the Treasury on behalf of agencies pursuant to the Secretary of the Treasury’s disbursing authority, including 31 U.S.C. 3321, are subject to pre-certification verification processes established by the Secretary of the Treasury and conducted by agencies and the Department of the Treasury for the purposes of defending against financial fraud and improper payments, to the greatest extent permitted by law.  Such guidance shall set forth guidelines for compliance with the Do Not Pay Working System as described in 31 U.S.C. 3351 et seq., and such other payment, account, and payee validation programs and services that the Secretary of the Treasury and the OMB Director determine to be beneficial for reducing financial fraud and improper payments.
    (b)  In accordance with 31 U.S.C. 3354, the heads of all agencies shall cooperate with the Secretary of the Treasury to fulfill their obligations to determine payment or award eligibility through pre-certification and pre-award procedures, as determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, including pursuant to subsection (a) of this section and section 4 of this order to prevent fraud and improper payments.
    (c)  The Secretary of the Treasury is directed to minimize administrative barriers to accessing and using data to prevent fraud and improper payments by exercising the authority in 31 U.S.C. 3351 et seq. to waive the requirements of 5 U.S.C. 552a(o), in consultation with the OMB Director, in any case or class of cases for computer matching activities, to the extent permissible by law.
    (d)  Within 90 days of the date of this order, agency heads shall review and modify, as applicable, their relevant system of records notices under the Privacy Act of 1974 to include a “routine use” that allows for the disclosure of records to the Department of the Treasury for the purposes of identifying, preventing, or recouping fraud and improper payments, to the extent permissible by law. 
    (e)  The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the OMB Director, shall issue guidance to agency heads on the circumstances in which agency heads, to the extent permissible by law, may provide the Secretary of the Treasury with access to data necessary for the purposes of detecting and preventing fraud and improper payments, as well as data for payment information verification (and not, for example, data such as health records).
    Sec. 4.  Implementation and Compliance of Payment Verification.  (a)  Agency heads, through designated agency officials (Certifying Officers or COs), who are responsible for verifying that disbursements made by the Federal Government are legal, proper, and correct, and for performing the duties in 31 U.S.C. 3528, shall comply with the disbursement requirements and instructions, including pre-certification requirements, published by the Secretary of the Treasury.
    (b)  The Secretary of the Treasury shall consider, as appropriate, issuing instructions to agencies to enforce the following pre-certification criteria for disbursement requests submitted by COs (Vouchers) before they are certified for payment by the CO:
    (i)     Funds are available at the time the obligation is incurred.  If an obligation is incurred when funds are not available, then the CO shall not certify the payment.
    (ii)    The amount of the payment and the name of the payee on the Voucher are correct, in conformance with the Department of the Treasury’s prescribed standard format.
    (iii)   A proper Social Security Number, Taxpayer Identification Number, Employer Identification Number, Individual Taxpayer Identification Number, or Payee ID Number is provided for each payee on the Voucher, as applicable.
    (iv)    The appropriation or fund from which the payment will be made is available for the purpose set forth in the Voucher and indicated with the appropriate Treasury Account Symbol/Business Event Type Code.
    (v)     Payees are not deceased individuals, to the greatest extent permitted by law.
    (vi)    The account number provided on the Voucher is held at a financial institution and is open, valid, and belongs to the payee or valid designee of payee.
    (vii)   Contracts or agreements are referenced on the Voucher by providing the contract number, referred to as the Procurement Instrument Identifier, where applicable.
    (viii)  Financial assistance awards (non-aggregate) are referenced on the Voucher by providing the award number, referred to as the Federal Award Identification Number, where applicable.
    (ix)    For summary schedules, the payments on the Voucher are submitted in conformance with the Department of the Treasury prescribed standard formats for such schedules.
    (c)  Agency heads shall submit payment files other than with respect to same-day payments to the Secretary of the Treasury or the Secretary’s designee with sufficient lead time prior to the date of disbursement as determined by the Department of the Treasury and provided in the requirements and instructions issued pursuant to subsections (a) and (b) of this section, to allow for fraud and improper payment screening, to the extent permissible by law.  With respect to same-day payments, agency heads shall submit payment files to the Secretary of the Treasury or the Secretary’s designee as much in advance as reasonably practicable.
    (d)  In issuing requirements and instructions pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, the Secretary of the Treasury shall consider whether it would be appropriate to provide that the Department of the Treasury’s Chief Disbursing Officer return to the relevant agency for reconciliation any payments that do not pass the pre-certification verification processes established pursuant to section 3(a) of this order and notify the designated CO.  
    (e)  The Secretary of the Treasury shall include in the guidance issued pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, or in other regulations or guidance, a transparent process for agencies to request exemptions from some or all of the payment verification requirements for specific payments or categories of payments.
    Sec. 5.  Core Financial System Consolidation.  (a)  Within 180 days of the date of this order, the OMB Director shall issue guidance that directs agencies described in 31 U.S.C. 901(b) (CFO Act agencies) to consolidate their core financial systems.
    (b)  As soon as practicable, but not later than 180 days of the date of this order, the OMB Director, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, shall issue guidance directing all non-CFO Act agencies to consolidate transactional financial management services under a single provider approved by the Department of the Treasury.
    (c)  As soon as practicable, all heads of CFO Act agencies shall use standard financial management solutions available through the Financial Management Marketplace, administered by the Financial Management Quality Service Management Office.
    (d)  Agency heads shall ensure that core financial systems comply with Federal accounting and financial reporting standards and relevant regulations, orders, guidance documents, policy statements, and other agency actions published by the Department of the Treasury from time to time.
    Sec. 6.  Reduction of NTDOs.  (a)  Within 30 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of the Treasury shall assess whether to maintain disbursing authority that it has delegated to agencies pursuant to 31 U.S.C. 3321(b) and issue notices to revoke such delegations, as appropriate, in accordance with applicable law.  
    (b)  The heads of agencies with disbursing authority under 31 U.S.C. 3321(c), including the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the Attorney General (but excluding, for the avoidance of doubt, the Supreme Court and other entities of the Federal Government outside the Executive Branch) will work with the Secretary of the Treasury to delegate the performance of their disbursing activities, other than with respect to classified payments, to the Department of the Treasury’s Chief Disbursing Officer in accordance with applicable law. 
    (c)  Notwithstanding subsections (a) or (b) of this section, the Secretary of the Treasury may continue to delegate disbursing authority to NTDOs at other agencies when doing so would align with significant Government priorities.  Any remaining NTDOs are required to report daily to the Department of the Treasury’s centralized accounting and reporting system in accordance with then-current Department of the Treasury guidance and applicable law.
    (d)  The Secretary of the Treasury shall develop a plan to centralize and manage all payments previously disbursed by NTDOs, ensuring seamless continuity of Government payments.
    (e)  The Secretary of the Treasury, in coordination with agency heads, shall establish a transition plan for agencies currently operating as NTDOs, including staffing adjustments, system integrations, and legal or regulatory modifications necessary for full consolidation.
    (f)  The heads of agencies with disbursing authority delegated to the agency under 33 U.S.C. 3321(b) shall decommission all internal payment systems and use the Department of the Treasury’s disbursement systems, except and to the extent authorized by the Department of the Treasury or otherwise required by applicable law.
    Sec. 7.  Reporting and Implementation Requirements.  (a)  The heads of all agencies shall submit a compliance plan to the OMB Director within 90 days of the date of this order detailing their strategy for:
    (i)    transitioning disbursing authority to the Department of the Treasury, as applicable and as contemplated by this order;
    (ii)   updating and integrating systems with Department of the Treasury platforms;
    (iii)  procedures to verify payment information as contemplated by this order; and
    (iv)   transmitting information associated with improper payments to the Department of the Treasury in accordance with standards and reporting specifications established by the OMB Director in coordination with the Secretary of the Treasury as contemplated by this order.
    (b)  The Secretary of the Treasury shall submit an implementation report to the President through the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy within 180 days of the date of this order detailing progress on the matters set forth in this order.
    (c)  The Secretary of the Treasury and agency heads shall take all necessary steps to protect classified information and systems, as well as personally identifiable information and tax return information, through the implementation of this order.
    Sec. 8.  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.
    DONALD J. TRUMP
    THE WHITE HOUSE,
        March 25, 2025.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Immediate Declassification of Materials Related to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Crossfire Hurricane Investigation

    US Senate News:

    Source: The White House
    class=”has-text-align-left”>MEMORANDUM FOR THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
                   THE DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE
                   THE DIRECTOR OF THE CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
    SUBJECT:       Immediate Declassification of Materials Related to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Crossfire Hurricane Investigation
    By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, I hereby direct the following:
    Except as provided below, I have determined that all of the materials referenced in the Presidential Memorandum of January 19, 2021 (Declassification of Certain Materials Related to the FBI’s Crossfire Hurricane Investigation), are no longer classified.
    I have further determined that the material proposed for redaction by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in a cover letter dated January 17, 2021, remains classified.
    My decision to declassify the materials described above does not extend to materials that must be protected from disclosure pursuant to orders of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court and does not require the disclosure of certain personally identifiable information or any other materials that must be protected from disclosure under applicable law.
    Subject to the exceptions identified above, the Attorney General shall make declassified materials described in this memorandum available to the public immediately.  
                                  DONALD J. TRUMP

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Luján, Klobuchar, Colleagues Press USDA to Not Take Food Away from Food Banks and Hungry Families

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-New Mexico)
    Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), a member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, joined U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, and 24 of their colleagues in pressing the U.S. Department of Agriculture for more information about the cancellation of previously-approved funding through The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) for food banks and other emergency food providers. This would take food away from hungry Americans already facing high grocery prices and hurt American farmers who are being squeezed by tariffs and other cuts to domestic markets.
    “We write regarding the reported cancellation of hundreds of millions of dollars in previously approved funding for food banks and other emergency food providers through The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP),” wrote the Senators. “A cancellation of these funds could result in $500 million in lost food provisions to feed millions of Americans at a time when the need for food shelves is extremely high due to costly groceries and an uncertain economy.” 
    “If true, this major shift in a program utilized by emergency food providers in every state in the nation will have a significant and damaging impact upon millions of people who depend upon this program for critical food assistance,” the Senators continued. “In addition, this program consists of purchases of U.S. commodities at a time when America’s growers and producers are struggling due to tariffs, proposed tariffs, animal disease and many other challenges.”
    In addition to Senators Luján and Klobuchar, the letter was signed by Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Ron Wyden (D-Oreg.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Jeff Merkley (D-Oreg.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Angus King (I-Maine), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), and Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.).
    This letter comes following a roundtable discussion Senator Luján convened last week at Roadrunner Food Bank in Albuquerque where he discussed the specific needs of New Mexico food banks with stakeholders.
    The full letter is available here and below. 
    Dear Secretary Rollins: 
    We write regarding the reported cancellation of hundreds of millions of dollars in previously approved funding for food banks and other emergency food providers through The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP). A cancellation of these funds could result in $500 million in lost food provisions to feed millions of Americans at a time when the need for food shelves is extremely high due to costly groceries and an uncertain economy. If true, this major shift in a program utilized by emergency food providers in every state in the nation will have a significant and damaging impact upon millions of people who depend upon this program for critical food assistance. 
    In addition, this program consists of purchases of U.S. commodities at a time when America’s growers and producers are struggling due to tariffs, proposed tariffs, animal disease and many other challenges. 
    According to recent statistics, nearly one in every seven Americans have faced food insecurity. Many of these households turn to community and emergency relief organizations such as food banks and food pantries to help them obtain sufficient nutrition. In 2023 alone, 50 million Americans turned to emergency food providers, according to a report from Feeding America, America’s largest network of food banks. While food banks rely on a variety of sources (including private) to obtain food for distribution through their networks, federally purchased commodities are a key part of how they provide nutritious meals to Americans.  
    Due to this reported change, a number of us have heard that trucks delivering American-grown foods may not arrive. These trucks represent hundreds of thousands of nutritious meals containing poultry, fruits, vegetables, and dairy. If confirmed, the cancellation of this previously announced funding also comes on top of the cancellation of Local Food for School Program and the Local Food Purchase Assistance Program funding, which also helps farmers deliver nutritious foods to schools and food banks. These cuts will deprive Americans of food assistance, emergency food providers of necessary support to carry out their work, and American farmers of vital domestic markets. 
    To help us understand USDA’s actions and their impact on communities around the country, we ask that you answer the following questions. 
    Has USDA cancelled previously approved purchases of food provided through TEFAP? If so, what level of funding has been cancelled thus far and when will state agencies be notified of any cancelled TEFAP purchases? 
    Does USDA plan to cancel additional purchases of food provided through TEFAP? 
    Has USDA paused any TEFAP food orders or purchases? If so, what is the current status of those orders or purchases? Does USDA intend to un-pause these funds?  
    Please provide information on what types of funding, by commodity, have been cancelled and the financial impact of those cancellations on producers such as pork, chicken, turkey and dairy farmers. 
    Is the funding announced on October 1, 2024 and detailed in the implementation memo that the Food and Nutrition Service sent to state agencies on December 2 rescinded? 
    Does USDA intend to use Commodity Credit Corporation funds in Fiscal Year 2025 for future purchases that will be distributed through TEFAP?  
    We ask for a prompt response to these questions by the end of the week. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Kennedy helps introduce bipartisan bill to help injured combat veterans receive full military benefits

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator John Kennedy (Louisiana)

    WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) joined Sens. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and colleagues in reintroducing the bipartisan Major Richard Star Act. The bill would allow combat-injured veterans with fewer than 20 years of military service to receive full retirement benefits—without reduction—concurrent with their disability compensation. 

    “Our veterans made heroic scarifies to protect our nation. I’m proud to help introduce the Major Richard Star Act to make sure that Louisiana’s and America’s brave veterans are able to receive retirement benefits and disability compensation,” said Kennedy.

    Currently, only veterans with over 20 years of military service and a 50% or more disabled rating can qualify to receive Department of Defense retirement and Department of Veterans Affairs disability payments concurrently.

    Major Richard Star was a decorated war veteran after whom this legislation is named. Major Star retired due to combat related injuries and passed away from cancer in 2021.

    Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), John Boozman (R-Ark.), Katie Britt (R-Ala.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Jim Justice (R-W.Va.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Angus King (I-Maine), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.),  James Risch (R-Idaho), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) also cosponsored the bill. 

    The full bill text is available here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Is This Any Way to Run a Budget?

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Wisconsin Ron Johnson

    Unlike the federal government, families and private-sector businesses have to keep spending in line with earnings. To do so, they budget, estimating what their income will be and making sure their planned expenditures don’t exceed it.

    The federal government is the largest financial entity in the world. You would think its budgeting would take the most time and effort and involve more detail than any other organization. You would be wrong. 

    I come from the private sector, and I know the time, effort and detail businesses put into preparing budgets. If the numbers are good, a budget review meeting can be a breeze. If not, managers have a lot of explaining to do. When it comes to spending American taxpayer dollars and the money we borrow to cover massive deficit spending, the analysis and oversight by lawmakers is woefully inadequate.

    The 535 members of Congress could be considered the board of directors, and the news media as the watchdog auditor, of a financial entity that spends more than $7 trillion a year. Yet when I asked my colleagues and the media a few years ago during an omnibus spending debate how much the federal government spent in total, no one offered an answer. My guess is most simply didn’t know because we never talk about it and there is no formal process to review total spending. We appropriate less than 25% of total federal outlays in any given year, and the rest, mandatory spending and entitlements, is on autopilot. 

    This lack of attention has allowed spending to soar 63%, from $4,447 billion in fiscal 2019 to a projected $7,266 billion in fiscal 2025. In January on these pages I proposed three options for returning to a more reasonable pre-pandemic level of spending. All used projected 2025 spending for Social Security, Medicare and interest. Other spending in these baseline options was adjusted to account for population growth and inflation. Adjusting Bill Clinton’s 1998, Barack Obama’s 2014 and Donald Trump’s 2019 total outlays results in baseline budgets of $5,496 billion, $6,199 billion and $6,496 billion, respectively. The Senate budget resolution used Mr. Trump’s 2021 budget projection for 2025, yielding a baseline amount of $6,061 billion.

    Since we’ve already accounted for population growth and inflation in all these options, why are we spending $770 billion to $1.77 trillion above these previous years’ population- and inflation-adjusted outlays? In the private sector, that is exactly what business managers would have to explain to upper management in a line-by-line budget review. We should apply the same rigorous examination to federal spending.

    A group of senators representing various factions of the Republican conference and a similar group of House Republicans should join a budget review panel with members of the administration to listen to representatives of the departments explain each line-item expenditure. Spending that didn’t exist before the pandemic or that exceeds previous years should be considered for elimination or reduced. Spending that can’t be defended or has been identified by the Department of Government Efficiency as waste, fraud or abuse should be cut. 

    No one can predict what level of spending would survive this scrutiny, but it would be significantly lower than current levels. Democrats have no interest in reducing spending levels, so Republicans will have to use the rescission process for discretionary spending reductions and budget reconciliation for mandatory spending. 

    This review can be done expeditiously. The 2025 budget has 2,481 individual expenditure line items, which could be reviewed in time to provide congressional committees the information they need to draft legislation for rescission packages and fulfillment of budget reconciliation instructions. Returning to a pre-pandemic spending level combined with enacting pro-growth tax polices and repealing the economy-crushing tax increase scheduled for 2026 could make balancing the federal budget achievable. 

    The election of President Trump and Republican majorities in the House and Senate have given America a historic chance to reduce the size, scope and cost of the federal government. With federal debt totaling $36.4 trillion and interest expense exceeding defense spending, it’s vital that the U.S. seize this opportunity. 

    Mr. Johnson, a Republican, is a U.S. senator from Wisconsin.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Sen. Warner Speaks at Senate Intelligence Committee Hearing

    US Senate News:

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

    BROADCAST-QUALITY VIDEO OF SEN. WARNER’S OPENING REMARKS IS AVAILABLE HERE

    WASHINGTON – Today, Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) delivered opening remarks at the Intelligence Committee’s annual Worldwide Threats Assessment hearing.

    Sen. Warner’s opening remarks as delivered are below:

    Well, thank you, Mr. Chairman, and good morning, everybody, and I want to thank all the witnesses for being here.

    I got to say, I’ve been on the committee now for 14 years, and this year’s assessment is clearly one of the most complicated and challenging in my tenure on the committee.

    And I want to get into that in a moment, but I want to, first of all, address the recent story that broke in the news.

    Yesterday, we stunningly learned that senior members of this administration and according to reports, two of our witnesses here today, were members of a group chat that discussed highly sensitive and likely classified information that supposedly even included ‘weapons packages, targets and timing,’ and included the name of an active CIA agent.

    Putting aside for a moment that classified information should never be discussed over an unclassified system, it’s also just mind boggling to me that all these senior folks were on this line and nobody bothered to even check, security hygiene 101…

    Who are all the names? Who are they?

    Well, it apparently includes a journalist.

    And no matter how much the Secretary of Defense or others want to disparage him, this journalist had at least the ethics to not report everything he heard.

    The question I raise is: everybody on this committee gets briefed on security protocols. They’re told you don’t make calls outside of SCIFs of this kind of classified nature.

    Director Gabbard is the executive in charge of all keeping our secrets safe. Were these government devices? Or were they personal devices? Have the devices been collected to make sure there’s no malware?

    There’s plenty of declassified information that shows that our adversaries, China and Russia, are trying to break in to encrypted systems like Signal.

    I can just say this. If this was the case of a military officer, or an intelligence officer, and they had this kind of behavior, they would be fired. I think this is one more example of the kind of sloppy, careless, incompetent behavior, particularly towards classified information, that this is not a one off or a first time error.

    Let me take a couple of minutes and review some of the other reckless choices that this administration has made regarding our national security. We all recall it seems like it wasn’t that long ago, but less than two months ago, in the first two weeks, the administration canceled all U.S. foreign assistance.

    Now, some may say, how can that how bad can that be, its foreign assistance?

    Well, U.S. foreign assistance paid for the units in Ukraine to provide air defense to civilian cities being attacked by Russia.

    Foreign assistance paid for guarding camps in Syria, where ISIS fighters are to be detained.

    Foreign assistance paid for programs abroad that ensure that diseases like Ebola don’t come home.

    And until recently, it paid for the construction of a railway in Africa that would have help given the United States much needed access to critical minerals in Congo.

    Now that project… China is going to try to finance it as well.

    In the first two weeks, the administration fired several of our most experienced FBI agents, including the head of the criminal Investigative submission, the head of the intelligence division, the head of the Counterterrorism division, the heads of the New York, Washington and Miami field office, all individuals who were distinctly and directly responsible for helping to keep America safe.

    The irony a little bit, was the recently dismissed head of the counterterrorism division was involved in disrupting the ISIS attacks planned for Oklahoma City and Philadelphia and helped lead the effort to bring to justice the key planner of the Abbey Gate bombing in Afghanistan, who killed 13 U.S. servicemen and 150 civilians.

    That very Abbey Gate effort was actually praised by the president in his state of the Union address.

    The administration’s response to these agents’ good works and years of service was to force these folks out.

    It’s hard to imagine how that makes our country safer.

    Nor can I understand how Americans are made more secure by firing more than 300 staff at the National Nuclear Security Administration, including those responsible for overseeing the security and safety of the nuclear stockpile, or by ousting 130 employees at CSA.

    The agency directly responsible for trying to take on China’s salt typhoon attack again. After Salt Typhoon, I would have thought folks on that group chat might have thought twice.

    Or how are we made safer by sacking a thousand employees at the CDC and NIH. We’re actually directly working on trying to keep our country safe from disease by pushing out hundreds of intelligence officers.

    The amazing thing is our intelligence officers, they’re not interchangeable like a Twitter coder. Our country makes $20,000 to $40,000 of an investment just in getting a security clearance.

    It literally goes into six figures when you take the training involved. Can anyone tell how firing probationary individuals without any consideration for merit or expertise is an efficient use of taxpayer dollars?

    And just to make clear that yesterday’s story in the Atlantic was not this rookie one-off, it’s a pattern.

    I want to acknowledge Director Ratcliffe was not here in his position with this took place.

    But again, earlier in the administration, when a new unclassified network was used, thereby exposing literally hundreds of CIA officers’ identities.

    Those folks can’t go into the field now.

    How does that make our government more efficient?

    You know, again, this pattern of an amazing, cavalier attitude towards classified information is reckless and sloppy.

    And perhaps what troubles me most is the way the administration has decided that we can take on all of our problems by ourselves without any need for friends or allies.

    I agree that we’ve got to put America’s priorities first, but American first cannot mean America alone.

    The intelligence we gather to keep Americans safe depends on a lot of allies around the world who have access to sources that we don’t have.

    That’s sharing of information saves lives. And it’s not hypothetical.

    We all remember (because it was declassified) last year when Austria worked with our community to make sure to expose a plot against Taylor Swift in Vienna that could have killed literally hundreds of individuals.

    However, these relationships are not built in stone. They’re not dictated by law. Things like the Five Eyes are based on trust built on decades, but so often that trust is now breaking literally overnight.

    Yet suddenly, for no reason that I can understand, the United States is starting to act like our adversaries are our friends. Voting in the UN with Russia, Belarus and North Korea. It’s a rogues gallery if ever heard one.

    Treating our allies like adversaries, whether it’s threats to take over Greenland or over the Panama Canal, a destructive trade war with Canada, or literally threatening to kick Canada out of the Five Eyes, I feel our credibility is being enormously undermined with our allies, who I believe, and I think most of us on this committee, regardless of party believes, makes our country safer and stronger.

    But how can our allies ever trust us as the kind of partner we used to be when we, without consultation or notice, for example, stop sharing information to Ukraine in its war for survival against Russia. Or how can our allies not only not trust our government, but potentially not our businesses with such arbitrary political decision?

    Let me give you a few examples. You know, as a result of a lot of work from this committee and others in Congress, we made sure America’s commercial space industry is second to none from space to launch to commercial sensing and communications.

    The United States has taken a lead. Yet overnight, this administration called into question the reliability of American commercial tech industry.

    When maps are and other commercial space companies were directed to stop sharing intelligence with Ukraine.

    I’m going to tell you… I’m a business guy. Can’t say longer than being an elected official, but pretty close. That shockwave across all of commercial space and frankly, not just commercial space. I’ve heard it from some of our hyperscalers, in the tech community, has sent an enormous chill.

    Who’s going to hire an American commercial space company, government or foreign business with the ability to have that taken down so arbitrarily?

    It’s not just in the case of commercial space.

    We’ve seen that Canada, Germany, Portugal have all been saying they’re rethinking buying F-35s.

    I’ve heard from Microsoft and Google directly, and Amazon that they’re having questions about whether they can still sell their services.

    We’ve also seen foreign adversaries and friends take advantage of this RIF in our national security areas, and our scientists.

    Germany has already put out ads trying to attract some of our best scientists who’ve been RIFed and the Chinese intelligence agencies are posting on social media sites in the hopes of luring individuals with that national security clearance who’ve been pushed out, perhaps arbitrarily, to come into their service.

    So, no, the signal fiasco is not a one off. It is, unfortunately, a pattern we’re seeing too often repeated.

    I fear that we feel the erosion of trust from our workplace, from our companies, and from our allies and partners can’t be put back in the bottle overnight. Make no mistake, these actions make America less safe.

    Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Hickenlooper, Colleagues Announce Bipartisan Senate Working Group to Increase Access to Discount Prescription Drugs

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Colorado John Hickenlooper
    340B Drug Pricing Discount Program provides discounted prescription drugs to hospitals serving vulnerable communities
    New bipartisan working group will work on solutions to strengthen program
    WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper joined Tammy Baldwin, Shelley Moore Capito, Tim Kaine, Jerry Moran, and Markwayne Mullin to announce the new Senate 340B bipartisan working group. The group works on bipartisan solutions to strengthen the 340B Drug Pricing Discount Program, which provides discounted prescription drugs to non-profit health care providers, like community health centers and safety-net hospitals, serving vulnerable communities.
    “The 340B program provides lower-cost prescription drugs for millions of Americans and is a lifeline for our community health care providers,” said Hickenlooper. “We’re working together to make the program more transparent and resilient, so it supports those who need it most.”
    “The 340B program is crucial in helping ensure that Wisconsinites – especially in rural and hard to reach areas – get the medication and care they need,” said Baldwin. “I am proud to work with my Democratic and Republican colleagues to strengthen this program and better ensure all Wisconsin can get the health care they need at a price they can afford.”
    “As a long-time member of the Working Group, I welcome our new members and thank our past members for their dedication and work on this important issue,” said Capito. “The 340B program is vital for my state and I look forward to introducing legislation that provides clarity, transparency, and accountability to ensure the program remains strong.”
    “I often hear from Virginia health care providers, especially those serving rural areas, about the instrumental role the 340B program plays in ensuring that patients can access the medicines they need,” said Kaine. “That’s why I’ve long appreciated that support for 340B comes from both sides of the aisle, and I’m looking forward to joining this working group so we can make this program even stronger.”
    “The 340B program fulfills a critical purpose of keeping costs low for eligible health care providers and the patients they serve,” said Moran. “After making significant progress last year, I am pleased to continue the efforts of the Senate 340B bipartisan working group, and add new members, with the shared goal of increasing transparency and oversight to ensure the long-term viability of this important program. I am grateful for Sen. Thune’s past leadership of this group and look forward to building upon past efforts with this new working group.”
    “Together, we’re working to restore integrity and intent to the 340B program,” said Mullin. “I appreciate this working group’s transparent and thoughtful process and look forward to driving results for American families.”
    Congress created the 340B program in 1992 to help hospitals and clinics lower the price of prescription drugs. The Senate 340B working group was established to find comprehensive legislative solutions to make sure the program can continue to achieve its intended goal of supporting hospitals serving vulnerable populations like rural communities.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Citing Potential Tsunami of Medicaid Cuts, Cantwell to Vote Against Advancing Dr. Oz: “I Cannot Support This Nomination”

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Washington Maria Cantwell
    03.25.25
    Citing Potential Tsunami of Medicaid Cuts, Cantwell to Vote Against Advancing Dr. Oz: “I Cannot Support This Nomination”
    Trump nominated Dr. Mehmet Oz to oversee Medicare and Medicaid as GOP pushes spending bill that would necessitate slashing Medicaid; Cantwell: “My colleagues who are trying to play down this threat […] it’s either bad math or bad faith.”; In tour across WA last week, Cantwell heard from patients & providers who would be devastated by Medicaid cuts
    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, said she’ll vote against advancing Dr. Mehmet Oz – Trump’s nominee for Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services – to the full Senate for a final confirmation vote.
    During a markup today of the Senate Finance Committee, Sen. Cantwell cited Dr. Oz’s refusal to stick up for Medicaid during his hearing earlier this month, especially in the face of a draconian GOP budget bill that would necessitate massive cuts. The committee vote is scheduled for later today at 2:15 p.m. ET/11:15 a.m. PT.
    “He wouldn’t commit. He would not say no, and certainly not no to President Trump, or Elon Musk, or to the House of Representatives. The House committee that oversees Medicaid and Medicare is responsible for finding $880 billion from these cuts,” Sen. Cantwell said. “The only real place to get this is, particularly if Medicare is off the table, is from Medicaid. Even if the Committee completely eliminated every single other program in the E&C account, it still gives them one-sixth of what they need.
    “So make no mistake, there is no other way to meet this mandate [than] to impact Medicaid. My colleagues who are trying to play down this threat, or act like there’s some other way around it –it’s just not so. It’s either bad math or bad faith.”
    Last week, Sen. Cantwell heard from voices across Washington state about the dangers of President Trump and the GOP’s proposed cuts to Medicaid. Doctors, patients, and health care providers in Seattle, Spokane, and the Tri-Cities warned that such cuts would devastate Washington state’s health care system and limit access to lifesaving care.
              WATCH:
              FOX 13 Seattle: WA health leaders join Sen. Cantwell against proposed Medicaid cuts
              KREM 2 Spokane: Spokane doctors, patients speak at Medicaid roundtable hosted by Sen. Cantwell
              KAPP 35 Tri-Cities: MARIA CANTWELL: How proposed cuts to Medicaid could impact South Central Washington
    Sen. Cantwell concluded her remarks today by calling on her colleagues to join her in defending Medicaid.
    “So, with this tsunami of cuts that we’re looking at, I cannot support this nomination. I hope my colleagues will turn it down as well,” Sen. Cantwell said.
    Last month, Sen. Cantwell released a snapshot report highlighting the impact that slashing Medicaid to fund tax cuts for corporations and the ultra-wealthy would have on Washington state’s health care system — especially in Central and Eastern Washington. Sen. Cantwell released a second snapshot report highlighting impacts on the Seattle-area health care delivery system.
    READ MORE:
    The Seattle Times: Cuts to Medicaid would hurt WA’s children, poor
    The Spokesman Review: Medicaid could be on chopping block after Northwest Republicans help pass House budget measure
    The Tri-City Herald: Newhouse backs House GOP budget plan that could lead to cuts for Tri-Cities Medicaid users
    Medicaid is the federal program that insures many low-income adults and children, pregnant people, seniors, and people with disabilities. Washington state’s Medicaid program, Apple Health, ensures that eligible Washingtonians can afford to seek health care and see providers when they need to. The program also ensures that hospitals — which are required to treat everyone, regardless of their ability to pay — receive reimbursements for the significant number of low-income people they serve. Over 1.9 million Washingtonians are enrolled in Apple Health.
    Late last month, the House of Representatives passed a funding bill that would necessitate $880 billion in cuts from the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which has jurisdiction over Medicaid. Supporters of the bill claim that the text includes no mention of Medicaid — however, the extent of the cuts required by the legislation would mean that the committee has essentially no other options other than to hack away at Medicaid.
    Video of Sen. Cantwell’s remarks today are available HERE, audio HERE, and a full transcript is HERE.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: King, Colleagues Urge Administration to Maintain Focus on Election Security

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Maine Angus King

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Angus King (I-ME), a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI), is joining a number of his colleagues to push for the continuation of the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Election Threats Task Force. In a letter to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, the senators stressed the importance of the Task Force, which is charged with identifying efforts to protect election officials amid the rising threats and acts of violence.

    “Given the recent disturbing personnel and policy decisions at the Department and the lack of transparency about the future of the Task Force, we request an immediate update on the status and activities of the Task Force, as well as what resources will be provided to ensure its important work continues so that election officials of both parties can safely administer our elections,” wrote the Senators.

    “Recent surveys have found that one in three election officials reported facing threats, harassment, and abuse. Similarly, 48 percent of local election officials know of someone who has left their job because of fear for their safety—a troubling loss of institutional knowledge needed for the smooth running of elections. Election workers continue to fear for their safety, so it is critical that the work of the Task Force continues to deter and counter these threats. In this challenging environment for election officials, it is essential to our democracy that they can continue to rely on the Department to uphold the law,” continued the Senators.

    The senators’ letter comes as the Trump Administration has significantly rolled back the federal government’s capacity to fight against foreign and domestic election security threats. On Attorney General Bondi’s first day in office, she disbanded the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Foreign Influence Task Force, hindering efforts to address secret influence campaigns waged by China, Russia and other foreign adversaries. Additionally, the Administration has fired or put on leave dozens of officials responsible for combating foreign election interference at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and has reportedly frozen all of CISA’s ongoing election security work. The Administration has also defunded CISA’s nationwide program to train local officials and monitor threats through the Elections Infrastructure Information Sharing and Analysis Center.

    In addition to King, the letter was also signed by Senators Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Chris Coons (D-DE), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Mark Kelly (D-AZ.), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Jon Ossoff (D-GA), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Mark Warner (D-VA), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Peter Welch (D-VT), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Ron Wyden (D-OR).

    In addition to serving on the Intelligence Committee, King is the Co-Chair of the Cyberspace Solarium Commission (CSC). He is recognized as one of Congress’ leading experts on cyber defense and as a strong advocate for a forward-thinking cyber strategy that emphasizes layered cyber deterrence. Previously, King has cosponsored legislation to shield American elections from threats by improving election cybersecurity and combatting foreign interference in U.S. democracy. He also urged the Biden Administration ahead of the 2022 midterm elections to fund selection security efforts by allocating federal funds to modernize voting equipment and strengthen cybersecurity for election systems.

    Full text of the letter is available here and below.

    +++

    Dear Attorney General Bondi:

    We write to strongly urge you to continue the critical law enforcement work of the Department of Justice’s Election Threats Task Force, which protects election officials from ongoing threats and acts of violence. Given the recent disturbing personnel and policy decisions at the Department and the lack of transparency about the future of the Task Force, we request an immediate update on the status and activities of the Task Force, as well as what resources will be provided to ensure its important work continues so that election officials of both parties can safely administer our elections.

    The Task Force was established in the wake of the 2020 election cycle when election officials across the political spectrum began facing unprecedented threats of violence intended to thwart the peaceful transfer of power that is the hallmark of our democracy. In close collaboration with state and local law enforcement, the Task Force has assessed thousands of complaints of suspected threats of violence and investigated and prosecuted violent offenders. Over the years, these threats have not only continued but escalated.  The Task Force has investigated fentanyl-laced letters, bomb threats, and swatting incidents—serving as a legacy of the 2020 election and impacting the ways election officials interact with voters in their communities.

    Recent surveys have found that one in three election officials reported facing threats, harassment, and abuse. Similarly, 48 percent of local election officials know of someone who has left their job because of fear for their safety—a troubling loss of institutional knowledge needed for the smooth running of elections. Election workers continue to fear for their safety, so it is critical that the work of the Task Force continues to deter and counter these threats. In this challenging environment for election officials, it is essential to our democracy that they can continue to rely on the Department to uphold the law.

    Moreover, the federal government’s ability to fight election interference has been greatly hampered in the early weeks of this Administration. Dozens of officials at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), who are responsible for combatting foreign election interference, have been fired or put on leave. CISA has also reportedly frozen all of its ongoing election security work, including defunding its nationwide program to train local officials and monitor threats through the “Elections Infrastructure Information Sharing and Analysis Center.” Additionally, on your first day in office, you signed a directive disbanding the FBI’s Foreign Influence Task Force, which was aimed at responding to secret influence campaigns waged by China, Russia, and other foreign adversaries.

    We request a response on the status and future plans of the Election Threats Task Force, the extent of resources and personnel dedicated to its work, and how it plans to incorporate related work previously led by CISA and the Foreign Influence Task Force by March 31, 2025.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Crapo Statement at Executive Session to Consider CMS Administrator Crapo Statement at Executive Session to Consider CMS Administrator

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Idaho Mike Crapo

    Washington, D.C.–U.S. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) delivered the following remarks at an executive session to consider the nomination of Dr. Mehmet Oz to be Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
    As prepared for delivery:
    “We meet today to consider favorably reporting the nomination of Dr. Mehmet Oz to be Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
    “As we have done with other nominees, the meeting this morning will provide members with the opportunity to make remarks on Dr. Oz’s nomination.  We will notify members of a time and location later today to conduct the vote. 
    “Dr. Oz has years of experience as an acclaimed physician and public health advocate.  His background makes him uniquely qualified to manage the intricacies of CMS.
    “At his hearing, Dr. Oz discussed his vision to ensure CMS provides Americans with access to superb care, especially our most vulnerable patients.  I look forward to working with him, if confirmed, to accomplish this goal. 
    “I was also encouraged to hear that he will focus on modernizing federal health care programs, work to fix our broken clinician payment system and will partner with Congress to achieve pharmaceutical benefit manager reform.
    “There is no doubt that Dr. Oz will work tirelessly to deliver much needed change at CMS.  I will be voting in favor of his nomination, and I encourage my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to do the same.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Crapo Upholds Idahoans’ Second Amendment Rights

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Idaho Mike Crapo

    Washington, D.C.–In keeping with his longstanding support of the Second Amendment, U.S. Senator Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) announced his efforts so far in the 119th Congress to protect Idahoans’ access to the constitutional right to keep and bear arms.
    “Those seeking to strip away Second Amendment rights have sought every creative way possible to advance their agenda through legislation, regulation and litigation,” said Crapo.  “The majority of Americans are law-abiding citizens who own, possess, carry and use firearms in a lawful and peaceful fashion.  Their right to do so is enshrined in our Constitution. That right must not be abridged while we seek to prevent violence perpetrated by criminals.”
    Senator Crapo’s efforts to protect the Second Amendment in the 119th Congress so far include:
    Leading reintroduction of the Hearing Protection Act, which would reclassify suppressors to regulate them like a regular firearm;
    Co-sponsoring the Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act, which would allow any person legally authorized to carry a concealed firearm in their home state to exercise that right in any other state that allows the practice;
    Co-sponsoring Senator Jim Risch’s (R-Idaho) Sporting Firearms Access Act, which would limit the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearm and Explosives’ (ATF) ability to restrict firearm models from importation into the United States;
    Backing the Fair Access to Banking Act, which would prevent discrimination by banks and financial services providers against constitutionally-protected industries and law-abiding businesses, such as firearms manufacturers;
    Co-sponsoring the Financial Integrity and Regulation Management (FIRM) Act, which would remove “reputational risk” as a component of federal supervision, which has become a way to weaponize power against politically disfavored groups;
    Joining legislation to prohibit the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service from banning the use of lead ammunition or tackle on public lands unless such action is supported by the best available science;
    Co-sponsoring Senator Risch’s No REGISTRY Act, which would require the ATF to delete all existing records of firearms transactions and allow federal firearms licensees to destroy firearm transaction records when they go out of business.
    Backing the ATF Transparency Act, which would require a transparent and speedy National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) process and create an appeals process for erroneous NICS denials;
    Co-sponsoring the FIND Act, which would prohibit companies with policies that discriminate against the firearm and ammunition industries from receiving federal contracts;
    Supporting the Traveler’s Gun Rights Act to allow military spouses and those without a fixed address (such as those who live full time in a recreational vehicle) to purchase handguns in the state where they are permanently stationed for duty or consistent with the P.O. Box listed on their driver’s license;
    Sending a letter to the ATF demanding it comply with President Trump’s Executive Order, Protecting Second Amendment Rights, in order to align the ATF’s rules and polities with the President’s strong support for the Second Amendment; and
    Signing a letter to the U.S. Secretary of Commerce highlighting concerns with the Department’s Interim Final Rule finalized under the previous Administration that restricted firearms exports to certain countries.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Crapo Statement at SSA Commissioner Nomination Hearing

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Idaho Mike Crapo
    Washington, D.C.—U.S. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) delivered the following remarks at a hearing to consider the nomination of Frank Bisignano to be Commissioner of the Social Security Administration (SSA).
    As prepared for delivery:
    “Today, we will consider the nomination of Frank Bisignano to be the Commissioner of the Social Security Administration. 
    “Mr. Bisignano, congratulations on your nomination, and welcome to you and your family.  Thank you for your willingness to serve and for your cooperation with this Committee throughout our rigorous vetting process. 
    “Both sides have generally agreed the Social Security Administration needs a confirmed Commissioner to address the ongoing challenges at the agency.  I commend President Trump for putting forward a Commissioner nominee so early in his Administration. 
    “Mr. Bisignano has more than 30 years of executive leadership experience at leading financial institutions.  He has brought a focus on innovation and operational excellence to his current role as Chief Executive Officer of Fiserv, a leader in payments and financial technology that is responsible for processing more than $2.5 trillion in payments daily. 
    “Mr. Bisignano, if confirmed, you will be responsible for leading an agency with a critical mission, and numerous operational and customer service challenges, as you will hear this morning.  Based on your background, I am confident you are up to the task. 
    “It is hard to overstate the importance of Social Security, which provides monthly benefits to millions of seniors, individuals with disabilities and their families.  The Social Security Administration has the responsibility of overseeing this important program, as well as the Supplemental Security Income program, assigning Social Security numbers and issuing Social Security cards, among other workloads. 
    “In carrying out these significant responsibilities, the Social Security Administration interacts with millions of customers each year, whether in-person, by phone or online.  The public expects the agency to provide responsive service and timely decisions on their claims.  However, the SSA faces many challenges in meeting these expectations. 
    “After years of implementation delays and the ultimate failure of its Next Generation Telephony Project, SSA has made some progress with its National 800 Number, including introducing a call back option.  However, much more is needed.  Callers to the National 800 Number who want to wait for a representative are still spending too long on hold and many still struggle to actually get through to a representative when they call. 
    “Americans also continue to wait too long for an initial disability decision, particularly in certain parts of the country.  SSA’s shift to an appointment-focused approach for field office visits underscores the need for SSA to make it easier for customers to schedule appointments online. 
    “The Trump Administration has been clear that it is focused on addressing waste, fraud and abuse across government agencies, and I applaud its efforts to maximize government productivity.  A Senate-confirmed Commissioner should be leading these efficiency efforts. 
    “Mr. Bisignano, if confirmed to serve as the next Commissioner of Social Security, this responsibility will fall to you.  I urge you take a thoughtful, measured and data-driven approach to evaluating policy and operational changes aimed at improving SSA’s efficiency and productivity.  If you need additional tools that require statutory changes, I urge you to bring those changes to this Committee and our House counterparts. 
    “Today’s hearing will provide an opportunity to hear more about your vision for the Social Security Administration and how we can work together to help ensure the SSA fulfills its critical mission. 
    “Thank you for your willingness to serve and congratulations again on your nomination, which I intend to support.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Boozman Introduces Former Governor Mike Huckabee, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Nominee, at Senate Hearing

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Arkansas – John Boozman
    ––U.S. Senator John Boozman (R-AR) introduced former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on his nomination to serve as U.S. Ambassador to Israel.

    Boozman recalled his long-standing relationship with Huckabee, who served as the 44th Governor of Arkansas from 1996-2007. The senator expressed his confidence in the Governor’s leadership and ability to strengthen the relationship between the United States and the Jewish State.

    Click here to watch Boozman’s remarks.
    Below are Boozman’s remarks as delivered:
    Thank you, Chairman Risch and Ranking Member Shaheen, and good morning to my distinguished colleagues.
    It is an honor to be here today to introduce my friend and fellow Arkansan – Governor Mike Huckabee, President Trump’s nominee for U.S. Ambassador to Israel.
    I know Senator Cotton would have liked to be here too. In fact, it was the first call I received very early this morning, reminding me to tell everybody how much he supported this and what a great ambassador he thinks Gov. Huckabee would make. 
    I would also like to say hi to Gov. Huckabee’s family and friends here in attendance, and how glad we are that they are here supporting him. We all know these are family affairs, whether it’s us or people that serve in other aspects of government.
    This is a pivotal moment in history, not just for our country, but for Israel and the special relationship between our nations.
    I’ve had the privilege of knowing the Governor for many years, and I can say without hesitation that he is the right person to be our representative to Israel at this critical moment, and I’m thankful to President Trump for selecting such a staunch and passionate advocate for the Jewish State.
    Mike was raised in Hope, Arkansas, and went on to graduate from Ouachita Baptist University, where he majored in religion. He then attended Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, in preparation for a lifetime of ministry that included pastoring Immanuel Baptist Church in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and later at Beech Street Baptist Church in Texarkana, Arkansas. 
    He went on to serve as president of the Arkansas Baptist State Convention, where his leadership and communications skills intersected at the cornerstone of his life – spreading the gospel and shepherding fellow Christians in their faith – and foreshadowed his calling into public service. 
    Mike served as the 44th Governor of Arkansas for over a decade, with his time as our state’s chief executive marked by his tireless pursuit of pragmatic solutions, a tireless work ethic, and an innate ability to forge relationships across political divides. 
    He brought transformational change to Arkansas, leaving a legacy of lower taxes, job creation, improvement of state infrastructure, K-12 education reform, and his enactment of a nationally recognized health initiative focused on disease prevention.
    Mike is not only qualified to serve as our ambassador to Israel, but he is uniquely suited for this role given the way he has championed Israel throughout his entire life, including as a steadfast supporter of Israel’s right to exist and defend itself.
    He has an intimate familiarity with Israel’s people and its leaders, having frequently visited for over fifty years, leading groups to the region since 1981.
    He also understands the importance of diplomacy and has a profound respect and appreciation for it. And he has worked persistently throughout his life to advocate for strengthening and furthering the distinctly profound ties between our two countries. 
    As the United States Ambassador to Israel, he will bring a thoughtful, principled approach to our relationship – as his extensive experience already shows. 
    He believes, like many of us, that the United States and Israel share a sacred bond that transcends politics – both in terms of shared values and mutual security. 
    In an increasingly dangerous world, where Israel is under constant attack from Iran and its terrorist proxies, the United States needs a representative in Israel who not only understands the complex Middle East geopolitics, but can navigate them with conviction, strength and tact.
    Governor Huckabee’s background, character, and experience all uniquely qualify him to be that figure at this moment and for this purpose.
    His deep understanding and love for Israel and its people will undoubtedly make him an exceptional ambassador.
    I know that he will represent the United States with honor, integrity, and an ironclad commitment to the enduring partnership between our two nations. 
    I look forward to seeing all the great things he will do as the United States Ambassador to Israel. 
    I strongly support his nomination and urge my colleagues to do the same, as does my colleague Sen. Cotton from Arkansas. Thank you very much.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Photo Wrap-Up: Welch Meets with Vermont Business and Farm Owners, Patients, Legislators in Senate’s First In-State Work Week 

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont)

    MONTPELIER, VT – U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) spent the Senate’s first in-state work week of the 119th Session meeting with concerned Vermonters, business owners, farmers, patients, and members of the Vermont State Legislature.  
    On Saturday, March 15, Sen. Welch joined Vermont Treasurer Mike Pieciak and local legislators for a town hall in South Burlington. Senator Welch spoke about the Trump Administration’s reckless and illegal policies, which are hurting Vermont families, farmers, businesses, and the local economy. Watch the town hall here:  

    On Tuesday, March 18, Senator Welch convened Vermont and Canadian business leaders for a roundtable in Newport, Vermont —near the U.S.-Canada border— on Tuesday to discuss President Trump’s Trade War and how the Trump Administration’s reckless tariffs are hurting workers, families, and farmers. Senator Welch was joined by the Hon. Marie-Claude Bibeau, Member of Parliament for Compton-Stanstead, and Vermont and Canadian business owners. Following the roundtable, Senator Welch toured Track, Inc. and Built by Newport and continued discussions on the impacts of the tariffs.  

    Welch convenes international business leaders in Newport to discuss impacts of Trump’s trade war

    Welch at Track, Inc. with Mike Desmarais, Owner & CEO of Track Inc.

    Welch at Track, Inc. with Mike Desmarais, Owner & CEO of Track Inc.

    Welch at Built by Newport with owner Dave LaForce

    Welch at Built by Newport with the LaForce family

    On Wednesday, March 19, Senator Welch toured Brattleboro Memorial Hospital, where he discussed his new bipartisan bill to support rural health care providers, the Rural Hospital Support Act and the impact of President Trump’s and Congressional Republicans’ proposed Medicaid cuts on Vermonters. Following the tour at the Brattleboro Memorial Hospital, Sen. Welch met with business leaders and workers from Allard Lumber Co., and G.S. Precision, Inc., in Brattleboro. 

    Welch at the Brattleboro Memorial Hospital

    Welch Tours Allard Lumber Co. in Brattleboro

    Welch at G.S. Precision, Inc. in Brattleboro

    On Thursday, Senator Welch returned to the Statehouse to meet with the Vermont State Senate Appropriations Committee. The Senator provided an update on the recent passage of the Continuing Resolution and ongoing annual budget negotiations, as well as the harm of the budget proposed by President Trump and Congressional Republicans, which would make drastic cuts to Medicaid and other programs and services Vermonters rely on. Senator Welch was elected to the Vermont State Senate in 1980 and became the first Democrat in Vermont history to hold the position of President Pro Tempore.  
    After, he toured Rhino Foods, which develops and manufactures edible additions for ice cream and frozen foods, such as cookie dough. Rhino Foods is a Certified B Corp and is focused on advancing innovative employee-centered practices that help workers of all abilities and experience succeed. 
    Senator Welch also provided remarks and shared a meal at Winooski High School’s district-wide Community Iftar – an evening of community, celebration, and learning about Ramadan. This was Winooski’s fifth Community Iftar. 

    Welch provides an update to the Vermont Senate Appropriations Committee

    Welch Tours Rhino Foods to discuss workforce training and development

    Welch speaks at Winooski High School’s district-wide Community Iftar

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Ricketts Introduces Two Bills to Cut Taxes on Social Security, Military Retirement Benefits

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Pete Ricketts (Nebraska)
    WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Pete Ricketts (R-NE) introduced two bills to cut federal taxes on Social Security and military retirement benefits. The Social Security Check Tax Cut Act would begin phasing out federal taxes on Social Security benefits. The bipartisan Tax Cuts for Veterans Act,introduced with Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV), would eliminate the federal tax on military retirement benefits. The bills are modeled after successful efforts to eliminate state taxes on similar benefits when Ricketts was Governor of Nebraska.
    “Social Security and veterans’ benefits should be completely tax-free,” said Senator Ricketts. “We need to provide relief at the federal level, just like we did in Nebraska. My bills will boost retirement income and ensure seniors and veterans keep more of their hard-earned money – just as President Trump promised.”
    “Veterans in Nevada and across our nation have made huge sacrifices to keep our nation safe, and the least we can do is ensure they can retain all of their retirement pay,” said Senator Rosen of the Tax Cuts for Veterans Act. “We’re introducing this bipartisan bill to make military retirement pay tax-free, giving the heroic men and women who served in our military greater financial relief and stability.”
    The bills were first covered by Punchbowl News here. Senator Ricketts will discuss the bills in his weekly press conference call with Nebraska media tomorrow.
    BACKGROUND ON SOCIAL SECURITY CHECK TAX CUT ACT:
    From its creation in 1935, Social Security has been the backbone of most Americans’ retirement plans. According to the Social Security Administration, nearly nine out of ten people aged 65 and older received a Social Security benefit as of June 30 of this year. From 1935 until 1983, Social Security benefits were untaxed, recognizing that workers already paid into Social Security via the payroll tax each pay period. In 1983, 50% of Social Security benefits became taxable. In 1993, President Bill Clinton signed a bill into law making 85% of benefits taxable.
    As Governor in 2022, Ricketts signed LB873 into law to phase in the elimination of state taxes on Social Security benefits over a period of years. The Social Security Check Tax Cut Act would similarly phase out federal taxes on Social Security benefits, beginning with a 10% cut in year one and increasing to 20% in year two. Congress can continue phasing out the tax by 10% a year and make all Social Security income tax free by 2035. Bill text can be found here.
    BACKGROUND ON TAX CUTS FOR VETERANS ACT
    Around 117,000 veterans live in Nebraska. As Governor in 2021, Ricketts signed LB387 into law to eliminate state taxes on military retirement benefits. The bipartisan bill passed 47-0.
    The Tax Cuts for Veterans Act would provide real financial relief for veterans and their families. The savings per veteran would vary depending on their earned retirement pay. An enlisted soldier, sailor, airman, marine, guardsman, or guardian who served for 20 years could save over $500 per month and over $6,000 per year. Bill text can be found here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Ernst Names Small Business of the Week, Mulholland Grocery

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA)
    Published: March 25, 2025
    Throughout this Congress, Chair Ernst plans to recognize a small business in every one of Iowa’s 99 counties.
    RED OAK, Iowa – U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Chair of the Senate Small Business Committee, today announced her Small Business of the Week: Mulholland Grocery of Mills County. Throughout the 119th Congress, Chair Ernst plans to recognize a small business in every one of Iowa’s 99 counties.
    “For nearly 150 years, Mulholland Grocery has been a cornerstone of the Malvern community, offering fresh grocery products and beloved local favorites like ham salad and smoked meats,” said Chair Ernst. “After a devasting fire destroyed the business in 2021, Tom Mulholland worked to rebuild and expand his family’s legacy, demonstrating the importance of small businesses and their community network.”
    In 1875, Fred E. Mulholland opened Mulholland Grocery as a dry goods store in the heart of Malvern, Iowa. Fred expanded the store in 1903 to include a small cash-and-carry grocery section, which eventually grew to be the family business. In 1945, Fred passed away, leaving the business to his son, Fred A. Mulholland, who managed it for almost 30 years until 1972. The business changed hands several times before returning to the Mulholland family ownership in 2008 when Tom Mulholland purchased it. 
    Mulholland Grocery is well known for its iconic ham salad, breakfast bratwurst, smoked meats, and warm customer service. In December 2021, tragedy struck when a massive fire devastated the Main Street location. Tom and his team transformed and modernized it, reopening the store in December 2024. This April, Mulholland Grocery plans to officially commemorate its grand reopening and its 150th anniversary in Iowa.
    Stay tuned as Chair Ernst recognizes more Iowa small businesses across the state with her Small Business of the Week award.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Ernst Outlines Major Reform to America’s “Least Favorite Government Agency”

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA)
    Published: March 25, 2025
    WASHINGTON – With just three weeks until Tax Day, U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) outlined a proposal of major reforms for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to cut down on costs, increase efficiency, and better serve taxpayers.
    “Americans, and their elected representatives in Congress, have lost confidence in the IRS. But you have a unique opportunity to address these issues, which can be accomplished without any changes in law,” wrote Ernst in a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
    Ernst’s three main recommendations to improve America’s “least favorite government agency” include ending the political weaponization of the agency, cracking down on tax-dodging bureaucrats, and bringing the agency’s tech, costing $3.6 billion annually, out of the stone age and into the 21st century.
    Click here to read the full letter.
    Background:
    Senate DOGE Caucus Chair Ernst has repeatedly targeted IRS tax cheats and costly software across government.
    Additionally, Ernst exposed that 5,800 IRS and contractor employees owe nearly $50 million in overdue taxes in July 2024, and a follow-up report revealed that more 800 IRS employees still owed millions in back taxes as of November, 2024.
    Ernst’s $2 trillion roadmap to cut waste highlighted that government-wide there are nearly 150,000 tax cheats owing $1.5 billion in unpaid taxes.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Imposes Tariffs on Countries Importing Venezuelan Oil

    US Senate News:

    Source: The White House
    PROTECTING UNITED STATES NATIONAL SECURITY: Yesterday, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order imposing tariffs on countries that import Venezuelan oil.
    President Trump is levying a 25% tariff on all goods from any country that imports Venezuelan oil, whether directly from Venezuela or indirectly through third parties.
    The tariffs will lapse one year after a country ceases importing Venezuelan oil—or sooner if officials deem it appropriate.
    If tariffs are imposed on China, they will also apply to Hong Kong and Macau to prevent transshipment and evasion.
    These tariffs aim to sever the financial lifelines of Nicolás Maduro’s corrupt regime and curb its destabilizing influence across the Western Hemisphere.
    This action targets transnational criminal threats, such as the Tren de Aragua gang, and addresses the humanitarian crises fueled by Venezuela’s actions.
    ADDRESSING AN EMERGENCY SITUATION: The Maduro regime poses an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States.
    The Maduro regime systemically undermines democratic institutions by suppressing free and fair elections and consolidating power illegitimately.
    Venezuela’s endemic corruption and mismanagement under Maduro have crushed its people and triggered a regional humanitarian and public health crisis.
    Millions of Venezuelans have fled Maduro’s oppressive rule, imposing significant burdens on neighboring countries and destabilizing the Western Hemisphere.
    The Maduro regime has aided and facilitated the infiltration of the Tren de Aragua gang—a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization—into the United States by failing to secure its borders, allowing the gang to flourish within Venezuela, and refusing to take action against its members.
    These dangerous criminals exploited the previous administration’s open-border policies, establishing a foothold in U.S. communities and preying on American citizens through violent acts, including kidnapping, assault, and murder.

    USING OUR LEVERAGE TO SAFEGUARD OUR INTERESTS: President Trump is using America’s economic might to safeguard our interests and punish those who support Maduro’s regime.
    Tariffs are a powerful, proven source of leverage for protecting the national interest.
    President Trump is sending a clear message that access to our economy is a privilege, not a right, and countries importing Venezuelan oil will face consequences.
    As President Trump said in the Presidential Memorandum on American First Trade Policy, trade policy is a critical component in national security.
    President Trump has successfully used tariffs in the past to advance America’s interests and address urgent national security threats and is doing so again today.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Trump Administration’s Actions Made Houthi Terrorists Pay

    US Senate News:

    Source: The White House
    Democrats and their media allies have seemingly forgotten that President Donald J. Trump and his National Security team successfully killed terrorists who have targeted U.S. troops and disrupted one of the most consequential shipping routes in the world. This is a coordinated effort to distract from the successful actions taken by President Trump and his administration to make America’s enemies pay and keep Americans safe.
    The Biden Administration sat back as a band of pirates — with precision-guided, Iran-provided weaponry — exacted a toll system in one of the most important shipping lanes in the world.
    In fact, since 2023, Houthi terrorists attacked U.S. Navy warships 174 times and attacked commercial shipping vessels 145 times — and as a result, 75% of U.S.-flagged shipping has been forced to navigate the southern coast of Africa rather than through the Suez Canal.Biden’s weakness invited these unacceptable attacks — while President Trump put these terrorists on notice:
    BIDEN: Removed the Houthis from the list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations.
    TRUMP: Immediately re-designated the Houthis as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.
    BIDEN: Allowed the Houthis to attack U.S. Navy ships and shut down commercial traffic through the Red Sea — responding in feckless, pinprick “attacks.”
    TRUMP: Launched successful, large-scale strikes against the Houthis, eliminating senior terrorists within the organization and putting the world on notice.
    The Trump Administration’s actions to hold the Houthis accountable has been a massive success — and nothing can distract from that unrelenting action to keep Americans safe.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: ICYMI: Kennedy in The Hill: Stop letting foreign executives cheat American investors

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator John Kennedy (Louisiana)
    WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) penned this op-ed in The Hill arguing that Congress should pass the Holding Foreign Insiders Accountable Act to ensure that federal law holds foreign executives to the same insider trading standards as American executives.
    Key excerpts of the op-ed are below: 
    “The American people are tired of watching the U.S. receive the short end of the stick in our global business deals. They don’t understand why some have let other countries lie, steal and cheat in our marketplaces, and they reelected President Trump to help us unstack the deck.
    “During his first term, President Trump worked to level the playing field for American companies and investors. He signed my bill, the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act, into law to allow the Securities and Exchange Commission to delist Chinese companies from American stock exchanges if they refuse to open their books to our regulators.
    “It’s common sense. Chinese companies that want to profit from American investors should be held to the same transparency standards as American companies. In the years since President Trump signed this bill into law, Chinese companies have begun to comply with American disclosure requirements. Regulators have already issued millions of dollars in sanctions and penalties against Chinese companies and individuals who were cooking their books or otherwise violating our laws to the detriment of American investors.
    “Now we have an opportunity to build upon this work by stopping the executives of foreign companies from gaming our markets through insider trading.”
    . . .
    “A foreign passport should not be a get-out-of-jail-free card for insider trading in the American stock exchange. There is absolutely no reason why American executives should face a higher standard of transparency than their foreign counterparts.
    “Let’s build on the momentum of Trump’s first term to protect American investors from foreign executives who don’t respect our markets. I urge my congressional colleagues to join me in eliminating this double standard.”
    Read Kennedy’s full op-ed here.
     

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Luján: President Trump’s Newest Executive Order Could Take Away Millions in Federal Investment From New Mexico’s Small Businesses, Affordable Housing, First-Time Homebuyers

    US Senate News:

    Source: US Senator for New Mexico Ben Ray Luján
    President Trump Signed Executive Order to Dismantle Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund
    The CDFI Fund Aims to Promote Economic Revitalization in Underserved Communities in All 50 States, Provides Over $480 Million to New Mexico Communities
    Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) issued the following statement highlighting the devastating impacts President Trump’s recent executive order to dismantle the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund will have on New Mexicans. The CDFI Fund aims to promote economic revitalization in underserved communities and has supported New Mexico’s small businesses, expanded access to affordable housing, and helped families buy homes.
    “Across New Mexico, the CDFI Fund is used to help small businesses grow on Main Street, support families so they can afford their first home, and expand access to affordable housing,” said Senator Luján. “My colleagues on both sides of the aisle have long supported the CDFI Fund which has boosted community development across the country. Now, the Trump administration has put New Mexico’s Main Street lending on the chopping block – a move that will make it harder for families to buy a home and for small businesses to grow. This is the latest effort by the Trump administration to make it harder for working families to get by and get ahead.”
    Since the program’s founding, the CDFI Fund has provided $480,020,846 to communities in New Mexico, including in fourteen different cities and towns. A full list of New Mexico CDFI Fund projects can be found here.
    States, community banks, credit unions, and other local financial institutions have used CDFI funding to build affordable housing and create jobs. Meanwhile, CDFI funding has encouraged banks to invest in distressed communities—helping small businesses get off the ground and get the capital they need to thrive. It is a proven bipartisan effort that has empowered private sector entities and underserved communities in all 50 states.
    The CDFI Fund provides funding through targeted programs and offers technical assistance to grantees. Since its creation, the CDFI Fund has awarded over $8 billion to CDFIs, $81 billion in tax credit allocation authority to Community Development Entities, and $3 billion in guaranteed bonds.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: RELEASE: Senator Mullin Reaches Thousands of Oklahomans with Telephone Town Hall

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator MarkWayne Mullin (R-Oklahoma)
    Washington, D.C. – Monday evening, U.S. Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) hosted a live telephone town hall event with thousands of Oklahomans across the state. During the call, Senator Mullin addressed the recent devastating wildfires and took questions on DOGE cuts, border security, returning education to the states, and tariffs, among other topics. Click here to listen and see below for highlights.

    On the devastating wildfires impacting Oklahoma: 
    “First, as we start this tele town hall meeting, we want to keep in mind that there’s a lot of families that are still hurting from the wildfires that took place and that are actually still taking place across Oklahoma. Christie’s, my wife, aunt and uncle who live in Stillwater, they lost their house and everything in it. And I know our family’s not any different than anybody else. All of us were impacted in some way. Our family is here to help personally, plus our office is here to help too. So, if there’s anything that comes up from the federal assistance side, we’ve been coordinating closely with Governor Stitt. Of course, you know, he lost his house out on the ranch, and had issues there too. But I can tell you him and I have talked on a regular basis. He is working with us on the federal side, in the coordination, making sure that it takes place. But if there’s a question that you have, someone that you that you know, or you may have been personally impacted, don’t hesitate to reach out to our office.”  
    On waste, fraud, and abuse in the federal government: 
    “The President was very clear. I mean, promises made, promises kept. I can’t repeat that enough. Promises made, promises kept by the President. When he came out there and he said he was going to hold the government accountable for the people again, and make the government work for the people again, and that’s exactly what he’s doing. And you see the left losing their loving mind over it, because he’s actually doing something that, truthfully, you can go back and find the video that Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi talked about it in a forum in 2010… where they literally talked about exactly what DOGE is doing, except the Democrats never did it, and President Trump is doing it.”  
    On returning education to the states: 
    “Keep in mind, there was 4,200 employees that worked for the Department of Education, and they set policy for teachers to teach, and none of them were teaching. They were never designed to be educators… They weren’t teaching the students, but yet, they were trying to tell our teachers in Bixby, Oklahoma, or in Choctaw, Oklahoma, or Chickasa… how to teach their students in their classroom. And what President Trump is saying is, let’s put it back in the hands of the teachers. Let’s take the money, let the school board, and allow the superintendent and allow the principal and allow the teachers to be involved in how to educate their kids.” 
    “Where we went wrong was, we took the Department of Education and started thinking a lot of people from Washington, DC knew best how to teach our kids… You’re just going to see a lot more involvement out of your local school boards and a lot more responsibility going to your superintendent, your principal and your teachers in the classrooms.”  
    On deporting criminal illegal aliens: 
    “The President’s well within his authority to do it, he should be able to do it. I mean, why is it bad to be deporting illegals that are here illegally? Obviously, they’re here illegally. These same judges didn’t do one single thing to stop the previous administration from allowing these criminals to come into our country, and now when we’re trying to deport them out of our country, now all of a sudden, these judges are speaking up? That’s a problem… They don’t want them in their neighborhood.”  
    On false rumors about cuts to benefits: 
    “The President has made it very clear, we’re not cutting benefits to anybody, not anyone on Social Security, not anybody on Medicare, Medicaid or VA benefits. That’s absolutely not happening. Now are we looking at making cuts because they’re bloated? Yes. Are we looking at shrinking the workforce in some of these places? Absolutely. The critical ones, no. But the government has absolutely impregnated itself since COVID… We’ve just seen a lot more employees coming in than we should have.”  
    On tariffs: 
    “That’s why you see a huge boost in manufacturing coming back to the United States. You’re seeing foreign companies that have been shipping their products into the United States, now they are saying that they’re going to invest in our manufacturing, which is exactly what the President wants. And at the same time, we’re not looking for a trade war for anybody. We’re just looking to be treated fairly, and fairly means the same. We want you to be treated just like we’re being treated.”  

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: ICYMI: Senator Marshall Visits Kansas Aerospace Facilities

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Kansas Roger Marshall
    Wichita – U.S. Senator Roger Marshall, M.D. (R-Kansas) released the following statement after visiting multiple aerospace facilities in Kansas last week, including General Electric (GE) Aerospace and Thyssenkrupp Aerospace.
    “Kansas’ historic aerospace industry plays a critical role for both our economic strength and America’s national security,” said Senator Marshall. “Aerospace manufacturing accounts for 20% of the Sunflower States’ total exports, and I am committed to ensuring this key industry continues to thrive in Kansas.”
    Highlights from the visits include:
    GE Aerospace Tour
    Senator Marshall first toured the GE Aerospace facility in Winfield. As one of the largest employers in Cowley County, GE employs over 750 people and hascontracts with both military and commercial aircraft for engine repairs and overhauls. GE also works with area technical colleges, community colleges, and workforce centers to recruit and train a high-skilled workforce. Due to continued demand and growth from the aviation industry, GE plans to invest more than $1 billion over five years in its maintenance, repair, and overhaul and component repair facilities worldwide. GE Aerospace’s various U.S. facilities, like those in Winfield, will receive a $65 million investment.
    Thyssenkrupp Aerospace Tour
    At Thyssenkrupp Aerospace in Park City, Senator Marshall toured the facility, spoke with staff, and learned about the company’s strategic relationship with Boeing. Thyssenkrupp is responsible for Boeing’s supply chain management, storing and shipping materials internationally. The Park City location employs approximately 349 Kansans, and Thyssenkrupp Aerospace has a second location in Hutchinson.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Baldwin, Welch Announce Former NIH Director, Researchers, Clinical Trial Patients as Witnesses for Forum on Trump’s NIH Cuts

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont)

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) and Peter Welch (D-Vt.) announced the witnesses for their forum Wednesday, “Cures in Crisis: What Gutting NIH Research Means for Americans with Cancer, Alzheimer’s, & Other Diseases.” The forum will feature former Director of the National Institutes for Health (NIH), Dr. Monica Bertagnolli, M.D., two Alzheimer’s disease researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Emory University, and two patients who have benefitted from NIH clinical trials. The panelists will testify in front of Senators on how deep cuts, staffing layoffs, and delayed funding at NIH will impact life-saving research and outcomes for patients battling cancers, Alzheimer’s disease, ALS, and other serious illnesses.
    Below are details of the forum:
    WHAT:           Cures in Crisis: What Gutting NIH Research Means for Americans with Cancer, Alzheimer’s, & Other Diseases
    WHEN:          Wednesday, March 26, 2025 2:30pm EST
    WHERE:       SD-106, Livestream available here

    WHO:            U.S. Senator, Dr. Monica Bertagnolli, M.D., former Director of the NIH; Dr. Sterling Johnson, PhD, University of Wisconsin-Madison Professor and Associate Director of Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center; Dr. Whitney Wharton, PhD, Emory University Associate Professor and Alzheimer’s Disease researcher; Dr. Larry Saltzman, M.D., retired physician living with leukemia and former Executive Research Director for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society; Mr. Jessy Ybarra, veteran living with ALS and Board of Trustees member for the ALS Association

    Over the last two months, the Trump Administration has attacked, compromised, and gutted research at the NIH for lifesaving cures and treatments, including:

    Cutting Funding for Research Facilities: NIH announced last month that it was planning to arbitrarily cap indirect cost rates at 15%, which would slash billions of dollars in funding that helps research institutions, like the University of Wisconsin, operate their facilities and labs, pay staff, and buy equipment needed for groundbreaking work to find cures for diseases and treatments for patients.
    Stopping Funding for Alzheimer’s Disease: The Trump Administration is jeopardizing $65 million in funding for Alzheimer’s disease research at 14 research institutions across the country. 14 of the 35 Alzheimer’s Disease Research Centers (ADRCs) have had their funding halted because the Trump Administration continues to cancel NIH Advisory Council meetings, which are the final required step in the grant approval process.
    Terminating Grants for Lifesaving Research: The Trump Administration stopped all grant funding at NIH for ten days in February and is continuing to block funding for lifesaving disease research, like finding a cure for Alzheimer’s disease. This halt in funding is despite two court orders directing the Trump Administration to end its unlawful efforts to freeze all federal grants. This is in addition to Elon Musk indiscriminately terminating hundreds of active NIH grants every week, in direct defiance of federal court orders to stop NIH funding changes amid ongoing litigation.
    Gutting Critical Staff: Mass layoffs at HHS under Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s direction are impacting everything from research to clinical trials, including scientists, nurses, pharmacists, and experts tracking disease spread. Reports show the NIH is expected to cut between 3,400 and 5,000 positions from its workforce of 20,000.

    NIH funding contributed to research for roughly 99 percent of drugs approved between 2010 and 2019, including heart medications, according to the Center for American Progress. The advocacy group United for Medical Research found that in fiscal year 2023, funding from the agency supported more than 410,000 jobs, with 10,000 NIH-supported jobs in some states. In that same year, NIH-funded research fueled nearly $93 billion in economic spending. Overall, the economic benefit of NIH funding is more than twice the investment made through NIH appropriations. For a breakdown of how much funding each state receives from the NIH, click here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Hickenlooper, Colleagues Introduce Bills to Protect Public Lands from Trump Admin’s Mass Firings

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Colorado John Hickenlooper

    Legislation would restore laid off National Park and U.S. Forest Service workers who were illegally fired by the Trump admin

    WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators John Hickenlooper, Mark Kelly, Tina Smith, Ruben Gallego, Jeanne Shaheen, and Chris Van Hollen introduced the Protect Our Parks Act of 2025 and the Save Our Forests Act of 2025 to restore the National Park Service (NPS) and the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) workers who were illegally fired by the Trump administration to make sure our national parks and forests remain accessible, safe, and well-maintained.

    “We’re all for rooting out real government waste and abuse,” said Hickenlooper. “The Trump administration’s mass layoffs of public servants who care for our public lands and help prevent wildfires is not the way to do it. Colorado – and our economy – depend on the people who carry out this vital work.”

    Specifically, the Protect Our Parks Act of 2025 and the Save Our Forests Act of 2025 will:

    • Restore staffing levels at the NPS and USFS to improve visitor experience and ensure the safety and upkeep of public lands
    • Rehire recently terminated employees to address staffing shortages
    • Keep critical projects moving, including those funded under the Great American Outdoors Act, Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Inflation Reduction Act, and Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act

    Following the Trump administration’s reckless decision to fire 3,400 USFS employees, Hickenlooper sounded the alarm and called on Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins to reinstate them. He also wrote a letter to Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum to resolve the staffing shortages caused by the mass layoffs of 2,300 NPS workers.

    Hickenlooper invited Amelia Hoffman, a veteran who was recently fired from her jobs as a USFS worker in Fort Collins, as his guest to President Trump’s Joint Address to uplift her story showing how these dangerous cuts impact Colorado.

    Full text of the Protect our Parks Act of 2025 is available HERE. Full text of the Save our Forests Act of 2025 is available HERE.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Kaine & Colleagues Demand Answers about Trump Cabinet Officials’ Use of Unsecured Group Chat for Military Planning

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Virginia Tim Kaine

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), a member of the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees, and 13 of his Senate colleagues sent a letter to President Donald Trump demanding answers about several Cabinet officials’ accidental adding of a reporter to an unsecured group chat where secret, high-level military planning was occurring, in violation of security protocols and potentially in violation of the law.  

    “I am gravely concerned by appalling reports that senior officials of your Administration, including the Vice President, the Secretary of Defense, and other Cabinet members, coordinated military strikes in Yemen over the commercial and unclassified messaging application Signal. I am even more concerned by the fact that a reporter was included on the same Signal chat,” wrote the senators.

    “It does not take much imagination to consider the likely ramifications if this information had been made public prior to the strike – or worse, if it had been shared with or visible to an adversary rather than a reporter who seems to have a better grasp of how to handle classified information than your National Security Advisor,” the senators continued. “This is an astonishingly cavalier approach to national security.”

    “Finally, the fact that messages were set to disappear on this chain is a direct violation of the Presidential Records Act, a further egregious breach of public trust. This incompetence warrants disciplinary action,” added the senators.

    In the letter, the group of senators demanded answers from the Trump Administration to the following:

    • What disciplinary action will be taken against those involved in the “Houthi PC small group” Signal chain? Will you revoke their security clearances? What security training had they received?
    • What remedial action was taken to limit damage following this disclosure?
    • What other sensitive military operations have been coordinated by your administration via Signal?
    • Please confirm whether or not the lives of servicemembers were placed at risk due to this carelessness and whether other operations or sources were impacted.
    • Are you aware of ongoing efforts by our adversaries, including China, Russia, and Iran, to target unclassified devices used by senior Administration officials, and can you confirm that China, Russia, Iran or other adversaries did not have access to any of the classified or sensitive information shared in this group chat?
    • Will you comply with the Presidential Records Act and provide the text of the “Houthi PC small group” Signal chain for appropriate handling and preservation?
    • What remedial training regarding the handling of classified and sensitive military information will be provided to all who participated in the “Houthi PC small group” Signal chain?
    • What other training will be provided to members of the executive branch who handle classified information to ensure that it is understood that classified materials should not be shared over Signal?

    In addition to Kaine, the letter is signed by U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Gary C. Peters (D-MI), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).

    Full text of the letter is available here.

    President Trump:

    We are gravely concerned by appalling reports that senior officials of your Administration, including the Vice President, the Secretary of Defense, and other Cabinet members, coordinated military strikes in Yemen over the commercial and unclassified messaging application Signal. We are even more concerned by the fact that a reporter was included on the same Signal chat, entitled “Houthi PC small group,” demonstrating a complete lack of understanding by all involved of the gravity of the discussion and a profound carelessness for the lives of the servicemembers conducting operations against the Houthis. It does not take much imagination to consider the likely ramifications if this information had been made public prior to the strike – or worse, if it had been shared with or visible to an adversary rather than a reporter who seems to have a better grasp of how to handle classified information than your National Security Advisor.

    Not only was an uncleared reporter given access to sensitive intelligence via this group chat, since cell phones are not permitted in Secure Compartmentalized Information Facilities (SCIFs), it appears that these text conversations were sent in violation of basic security protocols – either from within a SCIF, or more likely, out in public where the unsecured devices were susceptible to theft, hacking, or being seen by anyone walking by. This is an astonishingly cavalier approach to national security.

    Finally, the fact that messages were set to disappear on this chain is a direct violation of the Presidential Records Act, a further egregious breach of public trust. This incompetence warrants disciplinary action.

    I demand prompt responses, at the appropriate classification level, to the following:

    • What disciplinary action will be taken against those involved in the “Houthi PC small group” Signal chain? Will you revoke their security clearances? What security training had they received?
    • What remedial action was taken to limit damage following this disclosure?
    • What other sensitive military operations have been coordinated by your administration via Signal?
    • Please confirm whether or not the lives of servicemembers were placed at risk due to this carelessness and whether other operations or sources were impacted.
    • Are you aware of ongoing efforts by our adversaries, including China, Russia, and Iran, to target unclassified devices used by senior Administration officials, and can you confirm that China, Russia, Iran or other adversaries did not have access to any of the classified or sensitive information shared in this group chat?
    • Will you comply with the Presidential Records Act and provide the text of the “Houthi PC small group” Signal chain for appropriate handling and preservation?
    • What remedial training regarding the handling of classified and sensitive military information will be provided to all who participated in the “Houthi PC small group” Signal chain?
    • What other training will be provided to members of the executive branch who handle classified information to ensure that it is understood that classified materials should not be shared over Signal?

    You have been entrusted with the security of our entire nation. It is my sincere hope that you will direct all who were involved to cease this unprofessional and careless behavior and endeavor to bring an approach to their positions that reflects the gravity of the current security environment.

    Sincerely,

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Booker, Rosen, Kim, and Schiff Joint Statement Marking Two Years Since Elizabeth Tsurkov’s Abduction in Iraq

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for New Jersey Cory Booker

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Andy Kim (D-NJ), and Adam Schiff (D-CA) issued the following joint statement:

    “As champions of human rights and freedom, as well as those wrongfully detained and held hostage all over the world, we call for the immediate and safe release of Elizabeth Tsurkov. Friday marked two years since Elizabeth, an Israeli-Russian citizen and Ph.D. candidate at Princeton University, was kidnapped in Baghdad by Kata’ib Hezbollah (KH), an Iranian-backed foreign terrorist organization. Ms. Tsurkov is a vocal and principled expert, journalist, and political scientist who traveled to Iraq to conduct fieldwork for her doctoral dissertation on strategies to reduce conflict and foster peace in the Middle East. We are deeply concerned about Elizabeth’s health and wellbeing and urge the Government of Iraq and all other regional governments that have influence and leverage to swiftly help secure her release on humanitarian grounds. There is no justification for hostage taking and it is horrifically egregious to kidnap a brave advocate for peace and coexistence in the region.”

    Senator Booker continues to advocate for the release of Elizabeth Tsurkov, a Ph.D. candidate at Princeton University in New Jersey. Today, the two New Jersey Senators, Cory Booker and Andy Kim, sent a letter to President Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Steven Witkoff, Special Envoy to the Middle East, requesting an update on the Administration’s efforts seeking Ms. Tsurkov’s safe release.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Peters and Slotkin Lead Bipartisan, Bicameral Resolution Commemorating 108th Anniversary of Selfridge Air National Guard Base

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Michigan Gary Peters

    WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senators Gary Peters (MI) and Elissa Slotkin (MI) introduced a bipartisan resolution honoring the 108th anniversary of Selfridge Air National Guard Base and commending the thousands of men and women who have worked and trained at Selfridge since its inception. The resolution recognizes the base’s significant contributions to U.S. national security, such as leading security operations to protect the Northern Border after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The resolution also reinforces the commitment of our Armed Forces to ensure Selfridge remains a key component to U.S. national defense. U.S. Representative John James (MI-10) introduced a companion resolution in the House.

    “Since World War I, Selfridge Air National Guard Base has been a critical asset to our Armed Forces,” said Senator Peters, a member of the Armed Services Committee and former Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Navy Reserve. “This resolution recognizes the remarkable contributions of generations of men and women who have served at Selfridge and helped strengthen our nation’s security. Selfridge plays a key role in keeping Michigan strong, and I’ll continue fighting to support the base for years to come.”

    “On July 8, 1917, the first flight took off from what was then known as the Selfridge Field, marking the beginning of the Selfridge Air National Guard Base,” said Senator Slotkin. “Now, 108 years later, the base continues to play a vital role in defending our country. It remains one of the oldest continuously operating military airfields in the nation – and I’m proud to have it right here in Michigan. This resolution honors the fighter mission and the countless men and women who have put their lives on the line to keep us safe and strengthen our national security. Here’s to another 108 years of Michigan’s very own, Selfridge Air National Guard Base, leading the way!”

    Selfridge Air National Guard Base was first commissioned by the U.S. Army on July 1, 1917 in Harrison Township and named after Army 1st Lieutenant Thomas E. Selfridge. Today, the base hosts more than 30 tenant units representing every branch of the Armed Forces. This resolution highlights the numerous historical achievements by Selfridge servicemembers over the last 108 years. Of note, it honors the 332ndfighter group of the famed Tuskegee Airmen that moved to Selfridge on March 29, 1943, where Colonel Benjamin O. Davis became the first African American commander on October 8, 1943. In 2015, the 127th Attack Wing based at Selfridge deployed approximately 500 airmen in support of Operation Inherent Resolve, the mission to eliminate ISIS.

    Additionally, last year, the Air Force selected Selfridge to receive twelve KC-46A Pegasus tanker aircraft. This announcement came shortly after Peters led a bipartisan, bicameral group of Michigan delegation members in urging U.S. Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall to select Selfridge for a new squadron of these next-generation tankers, which will be deployed by the U.S. Air Force for the next 50 years. The resolution codifies this decision and reiterates that Selfridge was selected for these aircraft by the Air Force as a result of its strategic location for northern border security and homeland defense.   

    To view the text of the resolution, click here. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: 03.24.2025 Sen. Cruz Applauds Court’s Decision to Restore Texas LNG Projects

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Texas Ted Cruz

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Federal Courts, issued a statement after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit reinstated approvals for LNG projects for Rio Grande LNG and Texas LNG Brownsville. The D.C. Circuit had previously vacated the permits for both projects in an August 2024 decision.
    Sen. Cruz said, “The D.C. Circuit was right to reexamine its previous decision and restore these permits, which had already been issued and should never have been vacated. The previous decision jeopardized 7,000 high-paying jobs and $24 billion in investment in the Rio Grande Valley, set a dangerous precedent for energy infrastructure development and investment nationwide, and needed to be revisited. I was proud to lead the fight against that terrible decision that hurt Texas jobs, and am deeply gratified that it has now been reversed. I will remain steadfast in championing Texas jobs and Texas energy.”
    BACKGROUND
    In November, Sen. Cruz led a bicameral and bipartisan amicus brief following regarding the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit’s decision to vacate the authorizations for the Rio Grande LNG and Texas LNG Brownsville projects. Sen. Cruz’s amicus brief is available here and here. Sen. Cruz also sent a letter urging the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to appeal the decision.
    Sen. Cruz introduced the Protect LNG Act, which would ensure that a court cannot vacate a previously authorized LNG permit, clarify the venue for LNG lawsuits before federal courts, and mandate that courts grant expedited decisions in these cases, and was joined by Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) in introducing the bill.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: NEW: Baldwin, Welch Announce Former NIH Director, Researchers, Clinical Trial Patients as Witnesses for Forum on Trump’s NIH Cuts

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Wisconsin Tammy Baldwin

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Peter Welch (D-VT) announced the witnesses for their forum Wednesday, “Cures in Crisis: What Gutting NIH Research Means for Americans with Cancer, Alzheimer’s, & Other Diseases.” The forum will feature former Director of the National Institutes for Health (NIH), Dr. Monica Bertagnolli, M.D., two Alzheimer’s disease researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Emory University, and two patients who have benefitted from NIH clinical trials. The panelists will testify in front of Senators on how deep cuts, staffing layoffs, and delayed funding at NIH will impact life-saving research and outcomes for patients battling cancers, Alzheimer’s disease, ALS, and other serious illnesses.

    Below are details of the forum:

    WHEN:

    Wednesday, March 26, 2025, 2:30pm EST

    WHERE:     

    SD-106, Livestream available here

    WHO:           

    • U.S. Senators
    • Dr. Monica Bertagnolli, M.D., former Director of the NIH
    • Dr. Sterling Johnson, PhD, University of Wisconsin-Madison Professor and Associate Director of Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center
    • Dr. Whitney Wharton, PhD, Emory University Associate Professor and Alzheimer’s Disease researcher
    • Dr. Larry Saltzman, M.D., retired physician living with leukemia and former Executive Research Director for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society
    • Mr. Jessy Ybarra, veteran living with ALS and Board of Trustees member for the ALS Association

    “As Donald Trump and Elon Musk claim they want to ‘Make America Healthy Again,’ they are halting lifesaving research that gives Americans battling Alzheimer’s disease and cancer hope every day that they have a fighting chance at getting better,” said Senator Baldwin. “This week, we’re bringing together patients and researchers to spotlight who is impacted by their reckless cuts and encourage this Administration to immediately reverse course. Right now, we’re losing critical time we cannot get back for American families who are desperate for cures. It’s those families this Administration must answer to as they actively put the next generation of medical breakthroughs out of reach.”

    Over the last two months, the Trump Administration has attacked, compromised, and gutted research at the NIH for lifesaving cures and treatments, including:

    • Cutting Funding for Research Facilities: NIH announced last month that it was planning to arbitrarily cap indirect cost rates at 15%, which would slash billions of dollars in funding that helps research institutions, like the University of Wisconsin, operate their facilities and labs, pay staff, and buy equipment needed for groundbreaking work to find cures for diseases and treatments for patients.
    • Stopping Funding for Alzheimer’s Disease: The Trump Administration is jeopardizing $65 million in funding for Alzheimer’s disease research at 14 research institutions across the country. 14 of the 35 Alzheimer’s Disease Research Centers (ADRCs) have had their funding halted because the Trump Administration continues to cancel NIH Advisory Council meetings, which are the final required step in the grant approval process.
    • Terminating Grants for Lifesaving Research: The Trump Administration stopped all grant funding at NIH for ten days in February and is continuing to block funding for lifesaving disease research, like finding a cure for Alzheimer’s disease. This halt in funding is despite two court orders directing the Trump Administration to end its unlawful efforts to freeze all federal grants. This is in addition to Elon Musk indiscriminately terminating hundreds of active NIH grants every week, in direct defiance of federal court orders to stop NIH funding changes amid ongoing litigation.
    • Gutting Critical Staff: Mass layoffs at HHS under Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s direction are impacting everything from research to clinical trials, including scientists, nurses, pharmacists, and experts tracking disease spread. Reports show the NIH is expected to cut between 3,400 and 5,000 positions from its workforce of 20,000.

    NIH funding contributed to research for roughly 99 percent of drugs approved between 2010 and 2019, including heart medications, according to the Center for American Progress. The advocacy group United for Medical Research found that in fiscal year 2023, funding from the agency supported more than 410,000 jobs, with 10,000 NIH-supported jobs in some states. In that same year, NIH-funded research fueled nearly $93 billion in economic spending. Overall, the economic benefit of NIH funding is more than twice the investment made through NIH appropriations. For a breakdown of how much funding each state receives from the NIH, click here.

    MIL OSI USA News –