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Category: US Senate

  • MIL-OSI USA: Murkowski Cosponsors Bill to Grant Ukrainians Already in the U.S. Temporary Guest Status

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Alaska Lisa Murkowski
    02.27.25
    Washington, DC – Following the third anniversary of Russia’s catastrophic invasion of Ukraine, U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) announced that she has joined U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) as a cosponsor of his Protecting Our Guests During Hostilities in Ukraine Act, which would provide temporary guest status to Ukrainians and their immediate family members who are already in the United States through the “Uniting for Ukraine” parole process. The bill allows Ukrainians to stay and work in the U.S. until the Secretary of State determines that hostilities in Ukraine have ceased and it is safe for them to return. In addition to Murkowski, U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Peter Welch (D-VT), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Alex Padilla (D-CA), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) are cosponsors of the legislation.
    “I have had the opportunity to visit with many Ukrainians who fled Russia’s unprovoked war who have found safety and community in Alaska. These families—and the Alaskans and Alaskan businesses who have supported and employed them—have expressed their strong desire to remain and work here,” said Murkowski. “Granting temporary guest status for Ukrainians already in the United States achieves this goal. As the war enters its fourth year, we must continue to provide the Ukrainians who have taken refuge in the U.S. a safe haven to weather the storm.”
    “Three years ago, Putin began his brutal, criminal, full-scale invasion of Ukraine—which remains on the frontlines of democracy and transatlantic security,” said Durbin. “When the war started, Americans across the country opened their hearts and communities to Ukrainians fleeing Russian aggression. Both Republicans and Democrats petitioned President Biden to protect them from deportation. I’m glad Senator Murkowski joined my legislation to ensure Ukrainians lawfully present in the U.S. have temporary guest status until conditions in Ukraine are safe for return. I hope others will follow her lead.”
    The individuals covered by the bill already underwent rigorous vetting to ensure that they present no criminal or public safety risks. The legislation would also allow the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to revoke this temporary status if new information raises such concerns about any individual. Bill text can be found here. 
    The following organizations endorsed the Protecting Our Guests During Hostilities in Ukraine Act: Refugee Council USA; Chin Association of Maryland; HIAS; World Relief; Center for Gender & Refugee Studies; Human Rights First; Church World Service; International Refugee Assistance Project; Global Refuge; Boat People SOS; Center for Victims of Torture; Jesuit Refugee Service; and Veterans for American Ideals.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Luján, Ernst Introduce Bipartisan, Bicameral Legislation to Bolster Local Meat Processing Capacity, Support Local Producers

    US Senate News:

    Source: US Senator for New Mexico Ben Ray Luján

    Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) and Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), members of the Senate Agriculture Committee, introduced the bipartisan, bicameral Expanding Local Meat Processing Act, legislation that would remove regulatory roadblocks to increase meat processing capacity and allow livestock auction market owners to invest in small and regional packing facilities. U.S. Representatives Mark Alford (R-Mo.), Jimmy Panetta (D-Ca.), and Dusty Johnson (R-SD) lead the companion legislation in the House.

    This legislation directs the Secretary of Agriculture to amend the Packers and Stockyards Act to allow livestock auction market owners to hold ownership in, finance, or participate in the management or operation of a meat packing entity with a cumulative slaughter capacity of less than 2,000 animals per day or 700,000 animals per year. This cap would exclude investment in the top 10 meat packers.

    Livestock auction markets, called marketing agencies selling on commission, are not currently able to own or invest, or participate in the management or operation of a packing plant or meat marketing business due to a Packers and Stockyards Act regulation. This legislation is essential in removing this unnecessary barrier in the cattle industry.

    “Lowering costs for New Mexicans and increasing competitiveness for local producers will support local economies and livelihoods – especially in our rural communities,” said Senator Luján. “I’m proud to partner with Senator Ernst to reintroduce this bipartisan legislation to remove outdated regulations that hinder producers’ ability to increase livestock processing capacity. This is a priority for New Mexico, and I will continue to advocate for it in the Farm Bill.”

    “Removing outdated regulations that hinder the livestock industry should be a no-brainer,” said Senator Ernst. “Allowing livestock auction markets to invest in small meat processing facilities will reduce market consolidation, decrease reliance on federal funding, and provide small producers with much-needed processing options. I’m proud to strengthen local food systems, increase competition, and ultimately lower meat costs for consumers through this effort.”

    “The A-PLUS Act will modernize livestock regulations to ensure government policy is consistent with our 21st Century marketplace,” said Rep. Alford. “For decades, restrictive rules have prevented smaller and local meat processors from competing for decades. By reforming these burdensome restrictions, we’re working to level the playing field, without sacrificing consumer safety. This commonsense legislation is a win for ranchers, auctions, consumers, and the entire livestock ecosystem. I’m proud to once again lead this bipartisan bill with my colleagues Congressmen Panetta and Johnson, as well as Senators Luján and Ernst.”

    “Congress and the cattle industry agree there is a need to increase the U.S. beef packing capacity and to add more competitors to the marketplace,” said Charlie Rogers Owner and General Manager of Clovis Livestock Auction. “We greatly appreciate Senator Luján introducing this bill to remove an outdated regulatory barrier and allow local livestock auction owners to be part of the solution investing in new local and regional packing capacity.”

    Full text of the legislation is available here. A one-pager of legislation is available here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Capito, Klobuchar Introduce Legislation to Increase Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Care Access

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for West Virginia Shelley Moore Capito

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) introduced the Increasing Access to Quality Cardiac Rehabilitation Care Act of 2025. The bipartisan legislation would expand and expedite access to cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation services by authorizing physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and clinical nurse specialists to order cardiac rehabilitation.

    “Our bill can reduce barriers to accessing cardiac rehabilitation and pulmonary rehabilitation, thereby improving the health of those living with heart disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. This is particularly important in places like West Virginia, where these diseases impact the lives of far too many residents that often face shortages of health care professionals. I’m proud to re-introduce this legislation that offers solutions to increase the level of health services available to West Virginians and all Americans who need them most,” Senator Capito said.

    “Timely access to cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation care is critical to improving the lives of Americans with cardiac conditions or recovering from cardiac events, especially in rural areas,” Senator Klobuchar said. “Our bipartisan legislation will save lives by expanding which clinicians can refer patients to cardiovascular care so that all seniors can get the care they need in a timely manner.”

    BACKGROUND:

    Cardiac rehabilitation and pulmonary rehabilitation are medically directed and supervised programs designed to improve a patient’s physical, psychological, and social functioning. Currently, only physicians are authorized to order cardiac or pulmonary rehabilitation for Medicare patients. This restriction can create unnecessary obstacles, delays, and paperwork before patients can receive the rehabilitation services that are needed on a timely basis and make it challenging for programs to operate in areas where physicians are scarce. 

    The Increasing Access to Quality Cardiac Rehabilitation Care Act of 2025 builds upon the innovative Improving Access to Cardiac and Pulmonary Rehabilitation Act – legislation that was passed as part of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 – which authorized physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and clinical nurse specialists to supervise cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation beginning in 2024. Senators Capito and Klobuchar previously introduced this legislation in 2023.

    The Increasing Access to Quality Cardiac Rehabilitation Care Act of 2025 is supported by several organizations, including: American Heart Association; American Lung Association; American Nurses Association; National Rural Health Association; American Academy of Physician Associates; American Association of Nurse Practitioners; American Association for Respiratory Care; American College of Cardiology; American Thoracic Society; Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association; and WomenHeart.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: February 27th, 2025 N.M. Delegation Reintroduce Slate of Tribal Water Rights Settlements Legislation

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for New Mexico Martin Heinrich
    WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) and U.S. Representatives Teresa Leger Fernández (D-N.M.), Gabe Vasquez (D-N.M.), and Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.) are reintroducing a slate of Tribal water rights settlement bills they are pushing to pass in this Congress.
    The full slate of Tribal water rights settlements legislation includes:
    The Rio San José and Rio Jemez Water Rights Settlements Act;
    The Ohkay Owingeh Rio Chama Water Rights Settlement Act;
    The Zuni Indian Tribe Water Rights Settlement Act; and
    The Navajo Nation Rio San José Water Rights Settlement Act.
    Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project Amendments;
    The Technical Corrections to the Northwestern New Mexico Rural Water Projects Act, Taos Pueblo Indian Water Rights Settlement Act, and Aamodt Litigation Settlement Act;
    “I’m proud to introduce these bills to finally unlock critical water infrastructure funding from these water rights settlements and ensure Tribes have the resources to use the water they own,” said Heinrich. “These settlements are supported by all parties involved, including Tribal and non-Tribal communities. Congress should pass these urgently needed bills to help communities manage their precious and limited water resources.”
    “Water rights are part of the federal trust responsibility for our Tribal communities,” said Luján, a member of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee. “I’m proud to reintroduce legislation to allow our Tribal communities to promote water security and complete much-needed water infrastructure projects. I’m especially proud to reintroduce my legislation to amend the Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project, ensuring it has the resources and time needed to deliver clean drinking water to communities in northwestern New Mexico. These pieces of legislation will help fulfill our trust responsibility and promote water security for Tribes and Pueblos, as well as non-Tribal users, in New Mexico.”
    “This legislation upholds our trust responsibility to Tribes and helps bring certainty to disputes about water across the Southwest. The settlements included in these bills secure clean, reliable water for Navajo Nation, Jicarilla Apache Nation, 11 pueblos, and the rural communities that are their neighbors across New Mexico,” said Leger Fernández. “It is with great expectation that I reintroduce this legislation which reflects decades of negotiation and collaboration. We must pass these bills so the scarce water resources our communities need to thrive for generations to come are available to all.”
    “In New Mexico, we know water is life,” said Stansbury. “That’s why these Tribal Water Settlement bills are so important. These pieces of legislation will give water rights back to our Tribes and Pueblos, ensuring the federal government upholds our Trust and Treaty Responsibilities. Indigenous people have been stewards of the land and water since time immemorial, and now is the time for them to lead these efforts.”
    “I will always stand with our Tribal communities in Congress,” said Vasquez. “These water rights settlements are a crucial step in fulfilling our delegation’s commitment to ensuring every New Mexican has access to safe, reliable water. By providing our Tribes and Pueblos with the resources they need, we are investing in vital water infrastructure that will serve generations to come.”
    The Rio San José and Rio Jemez Water Rights Settlements Act is led by Heinrich and Leger Fernández. Luján, Stansbury, and Vasquez are original cosponsors. The bill would implement two fund-based water settlements: one between the Pueblos of Jemez and Zia, the United States, the State of New Mexico, and non-Tribal parties; and another between the Pueblos of Acoma and Laguna, the United States, the State of New Mexico, and non-Tribal parties. The settlements are strongly supported by all parties involved.
    Heinrich and Leger Fernández previously introduced this legislation in March 2023. The bill received a hearing and was reported out of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee in December 2023. The House version of this bill received a legislative hearing in the House Water, Wildlife and Fisheries Subcommittee in July 2024.
    Read the full bill text here.
    The Ohkay Owingeh Rio Chama Water Rights Settlement Act is also led by Heinrich and Leger Fernández. Luján and Stansbury are original cosponsors. The bill establishes a trust fund to implement the negotiated settlement between the United States, the State of New Mexico, the City of Española, the Asociación de Acéquias Norteñas de Rio Arriba, El Rito Ditch Asociación, La Asociación de las Acéquias del Rio Tusas, Vallecitos y Ojo Caliente, the Rio de Chama Acéquia Association, and Ohkay Owingeh to settle the Pueblo’s water claims in the Rio Chama Basin. The funding will be used for Ohkay Owingeh’s development of water resources to ensure the Pueblo has appropriate water infrastructure to use the water that they have claim to in the basin.
    Heinrich and Leger Fernández initially introduced the bill in June 2024. The bill then received a key hearing before the Senate Indian Affairs Committee in July 2024.
    Read the full bill text here.
    The Zuni Indian Tribe Water Rights Settlement Act is led by Heinrich and Vasquez. Luján, Stansbury, and Leger Fernández are original cosponsors. The bill authorizes $685 million to support a trust for sustainable water management and infrastructure development that upholds the federal government’s trust responsibility while protecting the sacred Zuni Salt Lake. The bill ratifies the settlement between the federal government, State of New Mexico and Zuni Tribe that affirms their water rights for irrigation, livestock, storage, and domestic and other uses.
    Heinrich and Vasquez initially introduced the bill in July 2024. The bill received a key hearing before the Senate Indian Affairs Committee in September 2024.
    Read the full bill text here.
    The Navajo Nation Rio San José Water Rights Settlement Act is led by Heinrich and Leger Fernández. Luján, Stansbury, and Vasquez are original cosponsors. This bill would approve the water rights settlement for the Navajo Nation as well as participating non-Tribal parties in the Rio San José watershed.
    Heinrich and Leger Fernández initially introduced this bill in September 2024. The bill then received a key hearing before the Senate Indian Affairs Committee that same month.
    Read the full bill text here.
    The Navajo Gallup Water Supply Project Amendments is led by Luján and Leger Fernández. Heinrich and Stansbury are original cosponsors. The bill amends the Navajo Gallup Water Supply Project to ensure it has the resources and time needed to reach completion to deliver drinking water to northwestern New Mexico communities.
    The Navajo Gallup Water Supply Project was first authorized as part of the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009, which settled the Navajo Nation’s water rights in the San Juan Basin of New Mexico and funded the design and construction of the waterline to reach an estimated 250,000 people by the year 2040. Upon completion, the Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project will provide a long-term, sustainable water supply from the San Juan River to roughly 43 Chapters on the eastern Navajo Nation, the southwestern portion of the Jicarilla Apache Nation, and the City of Gallup, which currently rely on a rapidly depleting groundwater supply of poor quality.
    Luján, Leger Fernández, and Heinrich initially introduced the bill in June 2023. The bill was passed out of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee in November 2023.
    Read the full bill text here.
    The Technical Corrections to the Northwestern New Mexico Rural Water Projects Act, Taos Pueblo Indian Water Rights Settlement Act, and Aamodt Litigation Settlement Act is led by Luján and Leger Fernández. Heinrich and Stansbury are original cosponsors. This bill authorizes the appropriation of $6.3 million for the Navajo Nation Water Resources Development Fund; $7.8 million for the Taos Pueblo Water Development Fund; and $4.3 million for the Aamodt Settlement Pueblos’ Fund, which covers Nambé, Pojoaque, San Ildefonso, and Tesuque Pueblos. It will support water resources development projects for the Tribes.
    Luján and Leger Fernández initially introduced this bill in December 2023.
    Read the full bill text here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: February 27th, 2025 Heinrich, Luján, Leger Fernández, Curtis Reintroduce Bipartisan Legislation to Fund and Complete the Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for New Mexico Martin Heinrich
    Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), and U.S. Representatives Teresa Leger Fernández (D-N.M.) and John Curtis (R-Utah) introduced the Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project Amendments Act of 2025. The legislation amends the Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project to ensure it has the resources and time needed to reach completion to deliver drinking water to northwestern New Mexico communities. 
    The Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project was first authorized as part of the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009, which settled the Navajo Nation’s water rights in the San Juan Basin of New Mexico and funded the design and construction of the waterline to reach an estimated 250,000 people by the year 2040. Upon completion, the Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project will provide a long-term, sustainable water supply from the San Juan River to roughly 43 Chapters on the eastern Navajo Nation, the southwestern portion of the Jicarilla Apache Nation, and the City of Gallup, which currently rely on a rapidly depleting groundwater supply of poor quality. Full project completion is planned for 2029. When complete, it will include approximately 300 miles of pipeline, two water treatment plants, 19 pumping plants and multiple water storage tanks.
    “Communities in northwest New Mexico, the Navajo Nation, and the Jicarilla Apache Nation deserve water security and clean drinking water. Our legislation achieves this by funding the completion of the Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project to deliver clean, reliable water to 43 Tribal communities and the City of Gallup. I call on the Senate to quickly take up this legislation and ensure the project can be completed,” said Heinrich.
    “Ensuring that the Navajo Nation, City of Gallup, and Jicarilla Apache Nation have access to safe, clean, and reliable drinking water is vital for the health and well-being of rural and Tribal communities,” said Luján, a member of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs.“The Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project will help provide a reliable, sustainable surface water supply to improve the public health and economic opportunities for the region. I’m proud to lead this bipartisan legislation to move this critical project forward and reduce the financial burden on Tribal and local governments. I look forward to working with my colleagues to pass this much-needed legislation to help meet the water needs in the San Juan Basin for years to come.”
    “Since I was elected to Congress, I have prioritized funding for the Navajo Gallup Water Supply Project so we can provide clean, reliable, and affordable water to the Navajo people and surrounding communities in New Mexico. We secured $615 million in funding to move the project forward,” said Leger Fernández. “The Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project Amendments Act builds upon this work.  We won’t stop until this project is completed because in New Mexico, we know that water sustains us. Sabemos que Agua Es Vida.”
    “Water is the lifeblood of the West, and Utahns know that securing a reliable water supply is essential for our communities, our economy, and our way of life,” said Curtis. “I’m proud to join my colleagues on this bipartisan legislation to help ensure the Navajo Nation in Utah have the water they need to thrive.”
    The amending legislation makes several important changes:
    Increases the project funding authorization to match updated construction costs;
    Extends the project timeline beyond 2025 to 2029 to provide additional time for completion;
    Establishes trust funds for operations and maintenance costs for the Navajo Nation and the Jicarilla Apache Nation once construction is complete; and
    Allows the project to expand its service area to reach Navajo communities without running water.
    The Navajo Nation, Jicarilla Apache Nation, State of New Mexico, and the City of Gallup support the legislation.
    Heinrich, Luján and Leger Fernández have long supported efforts to fund and complete the Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project.
    Heinrich, Luján and Leger Fernández secured $137 million in 2023 and $164 million in 2024 for the project through the  Infrastructure Law toward the total authorized project cost. In August 2024, the N.M. Delegation welcomed a $267 million Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project contract to design and build the San Juan Lateral Water Treatment Plant in northwest New Mexico. The plant is the largest and most important feature of the Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project.
    In January 2025, Heinrich, Luján and Leger Fernández announced $120 million for Fiscal Year 2025 for the Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project using funding from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s Reclamation Water Settlements Fund. The original version of the Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project Amendments Act was passed out of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee in November 2023. However, new legislation is required to authorize additional time and resources to complete the project and for its long-term, sustainable operations and maintenance.
    Additionally, the N.M. Delegation recently reintroduced a slate of Tribal water rights settlement bills they are pushing to pass in this Congress.
    For more information about the Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project, click here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: February 27th, 2025 N.M. Delegation Demands HHS Secretary Kennedy Take Immediate Action to Contain Measles Outbreak

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for New Mexico Martin Heinrich
    Delegation Letter Comes Amid Measles Outbreak in New Mexico and Texas;
    Measles is One of the Most Highly Infectious Diseases and Can Lead to Serious Complications Like Pneumonia, Blindness, Brain Swelling, and Death
    Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), and U.S. Representatives Teresa Leger Fernández (D-N.M.), Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.), and Gabe Vasquez (D-N.M.) wrote to Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. demanding immediate action to contain the recent outbreak of measles in New Mexico. Measles, once declared eliminated in the U.S. over two decades ago, has sickened nine individuals in Lea Country.
    “Given the Department of Health and Human Services’ important responsibility to stop the spread of infectious diseases, we request that you utilize HHS’ authorities for testing and monitoring and vaccine education and promotion, as well as rehire critical federal employees, to stop the spread of this dangerous infection,” the lawmakers wrote in their letter to Secretary Kennedy.
    The lawmakers urged Secretary Kennedy to maintain regular reporting on measles cases, “States report confirmed measles cases to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) through the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System. Previously, measles tracking on the CDC website was consistently updated weekly. These updates are critical for public health officials to effectively track the rapid spread of this life-threatening disease. We urge you to maintain posting updated measles tracking data weekly.”
    Following the firing of federal public health officials, the lawmakers demanded the reinstatement of these officials to contain the outbreak, “Just last Friday, two dozen employees at the CDC charged with training public health laboratory staffers and supporting outbreak response efforts were fired. These firings will worsen outbreaks and ultimately threaten the health of all Americans in the face of the next public health emergency. We urgently request that you reinstate the fired federal health workers to help stop the spread of measles and other infectious diseases.”
    Additionally, to prevent future outbreaks, the lawmakers pressed Secretary Kennedy to support life-saving measles vaccines, “Given that most of the infected individuals are unvaccinated, more must be done to increase vaccination rates against measles. Vaccination rates can and should be increased and therefore we request that HHS launch a national campaign to improve measles vaccination rates to prevent future outbreaks.”
    The text of the letter is here and below:
    Dear Secretary Kennedy,
    We are concerned about the recent outbreak of measles in New Mexico. As of Wednesday, there are nine people with confirmed cases of measles in isolation in Lea County, New Mexico. This news comes as the nearby counties of Gaines, Terry, Lubbock, and Yoakum in Texas have recently reported 90 cases with 16 people hospitalized. Given the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) important responsibility to stop the spread of infectious diseases, we request that you utilize HHS’ authorities for testing and monitoring and vaccine education and promotion, as well as rehire critical federal employees, to stop the spread of this dangerous infection.
    Measles is one of the most highly infectious diseases because the virus can survive in the air for up to 2 hours. Ninety percent of people who are susceptible will become infected if exposed. While many recover, some experience serious complications like pneumonia, blindness, brain swelling, and death.
    Preventing and mitigating outbreaks is only possible through effective disease tracking and communication, an adequate workforce, and vaccination. States report confirmed measles cases to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) through the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System. Previously, measles tracking on the CDC website was consistently updated weekly. These updates are critical for public health officials to effectively track the rapid spread of this life-threatening disease. We urge you to maintain posting updated measles tracking data weekly.
    The public health workforce protects community health by tracking disease and communicating with the public about health threats. But on January 29, 2025, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported that there are still health care workforce shortages that inhibit the U.S.’s ability to protect and improve the health of American communities. Despite these health care workforce shortages, federal employees have been fired from the CDC, National Institutes of Health (NIH), and Indian Health Service (IHS). Just last Friday, two dozen employees at the CDC charged with training public health laboratory staffers and supporting outbreak response efforts were fired. These firings will worsen outbreaks and ultimately threaten the health of all Americans in the face of the next public health emergency. We urgently request that you reinstate the fired federal health workers to help stop the spread of measles and other infectious diseases.
    Finally, the most effective way to protect people from contracting measles is to increase vaccination rates as quickly as possible. The measles vaccine, which also inoculates against mumps and rubella, has been in use for about 60 years and has consistently been found to be safe and effective. We urge you to keep your commitment to maintain the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommendations for vaccination. The ACIP is critical for ensuring safe and effective vaccination practices among American adults and children. The resources provided by the ACIP not only help health care providers make vaccination recommendations to their patients but also empower everyday Americans to make informed decisions about their health. Given that most of the infected individuals are unvaccinated, more must be done to increase vaccination rates against measles. Vaccination rates can and should be increased and therefore we request that HHS launch a national campaign to improve measles vaccination rates to prevent future outbreaks.
    In closing, your action is urgently needed to stop the spread of measles in New Mexico and across America. In order to mitigate the further spread of this life-threatening disease, we urge you to utilize HHS’ authorities and proven outbreak mitigation strategies. Specifically, we are asking that you maintain weekly disease tracking data updates, rehire federal health workers, launch a vaccination promotion campaign against measles and other life-threatening infectious diseases, and trust the recommendations of public health experts, physicians, and scientists.
    Thank you for your attention to this critical matter.
    Sincerely,

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Grassley, Bennet Launch Bill to Improve Kids’ Access to Life-Saving Medical Care

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Iowa Chuck Grassley
    Download video HERE
    WASHINGTON – Senate Finance Committee Members Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) introduced bipartisan legislation to improve health care access for children with complex medical conditions. The Accelerating Kids’ Access to Care Act simplifies out-of-state Medicaid screening and enrollment processes for pediatric care providers, while retaining key safeguards to preserve the integrity of the program. Rep. Mariannettee Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa) is leading companion legislation in the House of Representatives.
    “Moms and dads seeking life-saving care for their kids should be able to access it quickly and wherever it’s available. Families shouldn’t have to trip over red tape to reach the most effective specialist, treatment or procedure, whether around the corner or across state lines. Our bill simplifies the process so parents can ensure children with a rare disease or cancer diagnosis get the right specialized medical care,” Grassley said.
    “For children with complex medical conditions, bureaucratic red tape should not be an obstacle to care. This bipartisan legislation will make it easier for families to navigate our health care system and relieve some of the stress that they face to get their kids the care they need when they need it,” Bennet said.
    Click HERE to download broadcast-quality video of Grassley discussing the legislation.
    Click HERE for text of the legislation.
    Background:
    Children with complex medical conditions cannot always secure specialized care in their home states. When this happens, parents must work with their in-state providers and Medicaid officials to identify out-of-state providers who do offer that care. The process is riddled with regulatory hurdles that often delay, or even prohibit, children from receiving critical medical treatments. The Accelerating Kids’ Access to Care Act would alleviate these burdens for families, as well as providers.
    The legislation builds off the Grassley-Bennet ACE Kids Act, which was signed into law in 2019. Following the bill’s enactment, the lawmakers closely monitored implementation to ensure it would be executed as Congress intended. 
    Grassley was recognized in December 2024 for his persistent efforts to support children with disabilities and complex medical conditions. Learn more HERE.
    Support for the Accelerating Kids’ Access to Care Act:
    This bill is backed by children’s hospitals, patients and research organizations nationwide, including in Iowa:
    “As a specialty pediatric healthcare provider serving thousands of children and young adults with complex medical needs, ChildServe strongly supports the Accelerating Kids’ Access to Care Act,” said Teri Wahlig, M.D., ChildServe CEO. “This bipartisan legislation prioritizes access to quality healthcare, critical services and specialists for children with complex medical conditions by simplifying, standardizing and streamlining the referral process. It creates a more efficient pathway for children to receive the timely care they need. We are grateful to Senator Grassley and Senator Bennett for their continued dedication to advocating for children with complex medical needs.”
    “This legislation will be a lifeline for families across the country facing childhood cancer,” said E. Anders Kolb, MD, President and CEO of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. “By streamlining the Medicaid provider screening and enrollment process, we’ll spare families the anguish of needless treatment delays at a time when every day counts. We thank Senators Grassley and Bennet for introducing this bill and urge Congress to pass it quickly. Kids can’t wait.”
    “We are thrilled to see this important legislation reintroduced. The Accelerating Kids’ Access to Care Act has the potential to save lives. Our children must receive specialized care on their own timelines, without bureaucratic interference. We thank Sens. Grassley and Bennet for their work on behalf of our families,” said Mike Henry, Director of Advocacy, Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation.
    Additional cosponsors of the legislation are Sens. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), John Boozman (R-Ark.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), John Fetterman (D-Penn.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Deb Fischer (R-Neb.).
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    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Durbin To Trump: Whose Side Are You On? The Police Or The January 6 Rioters?

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Illinois Dick Durbin
    February 27, 2025
    In a speech on the Senate floor, Durbin detailed the list of crimes committed by January 6 rioters President Trump pardoned, which keeps growing longer
    WASHINGTON – In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, detailed the list of crimes committed by January 6thinsurrectionists, including those who violently assaulted law enforcement officers, pardoned by President Trump on his first day back in office. The grim result of the insurrection was the subsequent deaths of five law enforcement officers and the injuries to approximately 140 others, many of whom are still paying the price for that day.
    “It came as a shock when, on the first day of Donald Trump’s presidency, he issued a blanket pardon for those who had been convicted for that January 6 attack on the Capitol… The American people overwhelmingly disagree with the President… Eighty-three percent of them oppose the pardons that he gave. That includes 70 percent who lean Republican in their voting,” Durbin said.“Despite this overwhelming opposition, the Justice Department has now broadened the scope of President Trump’s pardons for January 6 rioters to include separate charges stemming from searches conducted during those investigations.”
    Federal prosecutors recently dropped firearms cases being pursued against two January 6 defendants pardoned by President Trump—Daniel Ball and Elias Costianes. Ball and Costianes had both been charged in separate proceedings with illegally possessing weapons that law enforcement discovered during January 6-related searches.
    “Just last Friday, just a few days ago, a number of these pardoned individuals decided to hold their own press conference outside the U.S. Capitol to announce their intent to sue the Justice Department for prosecuting them for this [January 6 insurrection]. Dangerous individuals included former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio, who had been serving a 22-year sentence for seditious conspiracy before the Trump pardon; Proud Boy Ethan Nordean, who had been serving an 18-year sentence; Dominic Pezzola, the first rioter to breach the building on January 6. He was serving a 10-year sentence for stealing a police riot shield and using it to break a window,” Durbin said. “The group paraded through the Capitol after the press conference following the same route they took on January 6, 2021. They posed for photos, chanting as they did that day ‘Whose house? Our house.’ And after the press conference, Mr. Tarrio was even arrested, again, outside the Capitol forassaulting a female counter-protestor.”
    Durbin continued, “Tarrio also posted a video of himself stalking Michael Fanone and Harry Dunn, former police officers who defended the Capitol on January 6. Tarrio was following them through the lobby of a hotel where the officers were attending a conference. While Tarrio followed them, he was calling out at them that they were ‘cowards’ and telling them to ‘keep walking.’ Does this sound like a man ashamed of his actions on January 6 and full of remorse? Does this sound like an innocent victim of assault? No, this sounds like a man who now thinks he is above the law with his Trump pardon and expects to be bailed out by President Trump for every crime he decides to commit.”
    Durbin made the case that these individuals are a threat, and the more power and freedom they are given, the more danger they pose to our democracy and the law enforcement officers they are harassing. Just this month, dozens of former January 6 offenders joined forces on social media to compile and publicize the identities of at least 124 individuals who had been involved in their convictions—including prosecutors, judges, and FBI agents.
    “The post, which has received [at least] 60,000 views, included names, photos, disparaging remarks, and demands for accountability,” Durbin said. “In January, another pardoned January 6 defendant who pleaded guilty to assaulting police officers, Ryan Nichols Sr., identified in a Twitter post ‘officers in the D.C. Jail who need to be investigated for corruption and abuse,’ adding the names and LinkedIn profile photos of two D.C. Jail employees.”
    Durbin concluded, “The men and women who bravely defended the members of this body deserve better than this… I hope that all of us, regardless of our political persuasion, will finally agree on one thing—violence has no place in a democracy and Donald Trump’s pardon of these 1,600 January 6 attackers is not only an insult to the Capitol police who risked their lives to stop them, but has emboldened these convicts to harass these officers and their families. Mr. President, the question for the Senate is simple. Whose side are you on? The police or the rioters.”
    Video of Durbin’s remarks on the floor is available here.
    Audio of Durbin’s remarks on the floor is available here.
    Footage of Durbin’s remarks on the floor is available here for TV Stations.
    -30-

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Durbin: President Trump Is Testing The Limits Of Our Constitution Like They Have Never Been Tested In My Lifetime

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Illinois Dick Durbin
    February 27, 2025
    At today’s Judiciary Committee executive business meeting, Durbin urged members of both sides to realize that their obligation is to the Constitution, not a political party
    WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today delivered an opening statement during the Senate Judiciary Committee’s executive business meeting. In his remarks, Durbin recalled yesterday’s Judiciary Committee nominations hearing in which Justice Department nominees suggested that elected officials are allowed to defy federal court orders.
    Key Quotes:
    “During my time on this Committee, my respect has grown for this Committee, the Senate, Congress, and the Constitution, of course. From advice and consent to the power of the purse, the founding fathers granted the legislative branch exclusive powers in the Constitution, exclusive—in part to ensure the executive branch did not become too powerful.”
    “For nearly 250 years, this system has held. But let’s be honest—brutally honest. President Trump is testing the limits of our Constitution like they have never been tested in my lifetime.”
    “President Trump and Elon Musk are pursuing a power grab that—if left unchecked—will leave the federal courts impotent and Congress a museum piece.  That’s a fact.
    “The notion that anyone can ignore a court order, particularly an elected official, really calls into question the fundamentals of checks and balances.”
    “I want to caution my Republican colleagues that the precedents that the Trump Administration is establishing could be followed by a future Democratic president.”
    “We now have a precedent that an incoming president can fire the FBI director and nominate a partisan campaign advisor who pledges to seek retribution against the president’s rivals.”
    “We have a precedent that the Deputy FBI Director can now be someone like Dan Bongino, a partisan conspiracy theorist with no previous FBI experience… For more than 100 years, the Deputy FBI Director has been a career FBI agent. Today, we have a Deputy Director in Mr. Bongino who called the FBI ‘an oppo research firm for Democrats with an armed political enforcement branch’ and said the agency should be disbanded. He’s now the Deputy.”
    “Thanks to Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove, we also now have the precedent that the Justice Department’s senior ethics officials can be partisan political appointees. This is a dramatic departure from longstanding practice under previous administrations—Democratic and Republican—where a senior official had responsibility for ethics.”
    “But the list doesn’t end here. President Trump is trying to establish a precedent that he can fire inspectors general and the heads of independent agencies for no reason at all, violating laws duly enacted by this Congress, even by members of this Committee on both sides of the aisle.”
    “The Justice Department recently informed this Committee that it plans to ask the Supreme Court to overturn a 90-year-old precedent known as Humphrey’s Executor, which upheld the constitutionality of laws protecting the heads of independent agencies from being fired.”
    “I hope we have a Congress that survives this process. And I hope that members of both sides will realize our obligation is to the Constitution more than any single political party.”
    Video of Durbin’s opening statement is available here.
    Audio of Durbin’s opening statement is available here.
    Footage of Durbin’s opening statement is available here for TV Stations.
    -30-

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: News 02/27/2025 Blackburn, Rosen Introduce “No Immigration Benefits for Hamas Terrorists Act”

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn)
    WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) introduced the No Immigration Benefits for Hamas Terrorists Act to prevent any migrant tied to Hamas from entering the country. This follows Hamas’ savage murder and release of four innocent hostages, including a young mother, her two toddlers, and a journalist, last week. 
    “The Biden-Harris administration released nearly 100 individuals on the terrorist watchlist into our country over the last four years, and we need to make certain anyone tied to Hamas is not allowed to enter or remain in the U.S.,” said Senator Blackburn. “This common-sense, bipartisan bill would ensure that no migrant tied to Hamas and its savage terrorist attack on October 7 can enter our nation or receive immigration benefits on the taxpayer dime.”
    “No one who participated in Hamas’s brutal October 7 terrorist attack should be allowed to enter the United States,” said Senator Rosen. “That’s why I’m helping introduce bipartisan legislation to prohibit Hamas terrorists from being eligible to receive immigration benefits. I’ll always work across the aisle to keep our nation safe.”
    NO IMMIGRATION BENEFITS FOR HAMAS TERRORISTS ACT
    The No Immigration Benefits for Hamas Terrorists Act would:
    Prohibit any migrant who carried out, participated in, planned, financed, afforded material support to, or otherwise facilitated in any way the attacks perpetrated by Hamas against Israel on October 7, 2023, from being admitted to the United States; and
    Prohibit any such individual from being eligible for any immigration benefits.
    RELATED
    Click here for bill text.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: 02.27.2025 Sen. Cruz Reintroduces the Stop Dangerous Sanctuary Cities Act

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Texas Ted Cruz

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, reintroduced the Stop Dangerous Sanctuary Cities Act. The bill would allow local law enforcement to cooperate with federal immigration authorities and would pull taxpayer-funded grants to sanctuary cities.
    Upon introduction, Sen. Cruz said, “Sanctuary cities continue to defy the law by releasing dangerous criminals back into our communities instead of turning them over to federal immigration authorities. These policies jeopardize the safety of American citizens and undermine both public safety and the rule of law. We should hold these jurisdictions accountable, and the Senate should expeditiously take up and advance this legislation.”
    The bill was also cosponsored by Sens. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Ted Budd (R-N.C.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), and Jim Banks (R-Ind.).
    Read the bill text here.
    BACKGROUND
    Sen. Cruz previously introduced the Stop Dangerous Sanctuary Cities Act in 2023.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Kaine, Shaheen, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Democrats Statement on Trump Administration’s Reckless Termination of U.S. Foreign Assistance Programs

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Virginia Tim Kaine

    WASHINGTON, D.C. —Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), joined Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC), and his fellow SFRC colleagues Chris Coons (D-DE), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Jacky Rosen (D-NV), issued the following statement on the Trump Administration’s reckless termination of nearly all U.S. foreign assistance programs:

    “It is clear that the Trump Administration’s foreign assistance ‘review’ was not a serious effort or attempt at reform but rather a pretext to dismantle decades of U.S. investment that makes America safer, stronger and more prosperous. There is no indication Secretary Rubio conducted a program-by-program review of the more than 9,000 awards or considered the dire national security implications of these rash actions. Ending programs first and asking questions later only jeopardizes millions of lives and creates a power vacuum for our adversaries like China and Russia to fill.

    “While it’s easy to assume that these cuts will only affect people thousands of miles away, the fact is, the impact will be felt by American farmers who will no longer get top dollar for their crops to feed the hungry, churches who will no longer have the support of the U.S. government in their missions, American families who fall sick when diseases like Zika, Ebola and Malaria once again reach our shores and U.S. biotech companies who will no longer sell their drugs to treat the vulnerable overseas. Secretary Rubio should immediately come before our Committee. We expect him to not only consult with Congress but follow the law.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Warren, Connolly, Stansbury, House Oversight Members Open Investigation Into DOGE.gov After Alarming Failures to Protect Sensitive National Security Information

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Massachusetts – Elizabeth Warren
    February 27, 2025
    DOGE employees may be sharing classified government information using insecure communications channels.
    “These incidents – whether due to maliciousness or incompetence – are inexcusable and raise additional questions about DOGE employees’ access to highly sensitive personal and national security information, and what they are doing with it.”
    Text of Letter (PDF)
    Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Representative Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), Ranking Member of the House Oversight Committee, along with every Democratic member of the Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency, including Ranking Member Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.), Eleanor Homes Norton (D-D.C.), Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.), Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), Greg Casar (D-Texas), and Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas), wrote to Elon Musk, opening an investigation into DOGE.gov following two recent incidents of alarming security failures and reports that DOGE employees shared sensitive government information using insecure communications channels.
    “These incidents – whether due to maliciousness or incompetence – are inexcusable and raise additional questions about DOGE employees’ access to highly sensitive personal and national security information, and what they are doing with it,” wrote the lawmakers.
    DOGE has seized access to highly confidential government and personal information, including tax, Medicare, Social Security, and national security data, which has already led to multiple lawsuits. In just a matter of three weeks, DOGE employees have fed sensitive data into artificial intelligence software, ordered an unauthorized email server to be connected to the government network, and have accidentally been given “write” access to the U.S. Treasury payment system. 
    “DOGE employees do not appear to fully understand much of the information to which they have been given unfettered access, and given the cavalier and incompetent ways that they have handled this data, these individuals represent a clear threat to national security and the nation’s economy,” continued the lawmakers. 
    In fact, after the DOGE.gov website launched, two security researchers confirmed that the website was not hosted on secure government servers, making it especially vulnerable to third-party hackers. In particular, details on the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), which designs and builds U.S. intelligence satellites, were searchable within the database, as well as controlled  information about the NRO’s budget and head count. This incident left federal intelligence employees “scrambling” to see if their sensitive information had been accessed.  
    “These examples of DOGE’s recklessness and inability to accomplish simple tasks – such as establishing a secure database and website housing such critical and confidential government data – combined with its broad access to government data and systems, poses a grave threat to the United States’ economy and national security,” wrote the lawmakers. 
    The lawmakers are requesting answers from Mr. Musk by March 6, 2025. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Warren, Blumenthal, Duckworth Ramp Up Investigation Into MOHELA’s Predatory Website Terms of Use

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Massachusetts – Elizabeth Warren

    February 27, 2025

    Lawmakers hit loan servicer for efforts to infringe on borrowers’ legal rights 

    With Education Department’s future uncertain, MOHELA’s behavior raises concerns about ability to keep student loan servicers in check

    “MOHELA has imposed an exploitative set of Terms upon all borrowers that set up an account on its website…(Y)our response indicates a worrying disregard for borrowers’ rights.” 

    Text of Letter (PDF) | MOHELA Response to November 2024 Letter (PDF)

    Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) wrote to the student loan servicer Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority (MOHELA) with continued concerns over its website’s Terms of Use (TOU), which appear to be written with the intent to relieve MOHELA of liability for severe misconduct and may infringe upon student loan borrowers’ legal rights.  

    MOHELA has repeatedly shirked its basic responsibilities as a federal student loan servicer and has been repeatedly penalized by ED for doing so. In November 2024, the Senators wrote to MOHELA to raise their initial concerns about the company’s tactics. The loan servicer’s response evaded questions, failed to provide a reasonable justification for the predatory provisions in its TOU, and made multiple false assertions. 

     In its response, MOHELA: 

    • Falsely claimed its TOU are in line with industry standards, even though MOHELA appears to have written its TOU to absolve it of much more severe wrongdoing compared to other major federal loan servicers’ TOU;
    • Provided unconvincing explanations for its TOU provisions disclaiming any responsibility that its website contain “accurate or reliable” information and disclaiming any responsibility for correcting any “defects” on the website; and
    • Failed to justify exploitative TOU sections that appear to undermine borrowers’ rights to hold MOHELA accountable for financial harms, including by limiting its liability to $100 “for all claims arising” from use of its website and making borrowers’ “sole (legal) remedy” for dissatisfaction with MOHELA’s website to stop using the website.  

    “MOHELA’s explanations fail to provide persuasive justifications for these provisions…(and the t)erms are clearly written and designed to absolve MOHELA of wide swaths of damages even in the cases of significant wrongdoing,” wrote the senators. 

    MOHELA’s terms may also violate federal consumer protection law. The Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA) prohibits abusive contracts, including those that take “unreasonable advantage” of “unequal bargaining power.” That could apply to MOHELA’s TOU, since borrowers assigned to MOHELA have no choice but to sign the TOU and cannot choose a different loan servicer. MOHELA did not address the senators’ concerns in this area. 

    The lawmakers urged the loan servicer to remove all predatory provisions from its TOU and asked MOHELA to provide clarity on its decision to impose it on borrowers by March 13, 2025.   

    Senator Warren has led the fight to reform our higher education system, cancel student loan debt, and hold student loan servicers accountable:

    • In February 2025, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Andy Kim (D-N.J.) released responses to Committee questions for the record from Donald Trump’s pick for Secretary of Education, Linda McMahon, in which McMahon states that she “wholeheartedly” agrees with Trump’s plans to abolish the Department of Education.
    • In February 2025, during the Senate’s consideration of the Republican budget resolution, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey (D-Mass.) proposed an amendment to protect higher education funding in Massachusetts.   
    • In February 2025, Senators Elizabeth Warren, Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), led 32 Democratic senators in writing to President Donald Trump, demanding that he reject Congressional Republicans’ legislative plans to increase the cost of living, including education costs, for Americans after pledging to lower costs on “Day One” of his presidency.
    • In February 2025, in advance of her confirmation hearing, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Andy Kim (D-N.J.), sent Linda McMahon, Secretary-Designate for the U.S. Department of Education, a 12-page letter with 65 questions on her policy views. 
    • In February 2025, following Elon Musk and DOGE forcing their way into the Department of Education, Senator Elizabeth Warren and Minority Leader Schumer (D-N.Y.) led a coalition of Democrats in demanding the Department of Education launch an investigation into Musk and DOGE’s access to federal student loan data. 
    • In January 2025, Senator Elizabeth Warren sent Elon Musk, Chair of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a letter detailing over 30 proposals that would cut at least $2 trillion of wasteful government spending over the next decade, including through saving on education programs. 
    • In December 2024, Senators Elizabeth Warren, Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) revealed the alarming findings of a Senate investigation into millions of consumer credit reporting errors that occurred during the transfer of student loan accounts from Nelnet to MOHELA in 2023. The senators urged the CFPB and ED to investigate these errors and use their supervisory and enforcement authority to hold the appropriate parties accountable.
    • In December 2024, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Congresswoman Madeleine Dean (D-PA) led 24 lawmakers in sending a bicameral letter to Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Rohit Chopra and Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan, revealing the results of their investigation into Navient regarding its cancellation process for the predatory, for-profit student loans in its portfolio and urging the agencies to hold the student loan servicer accountable for any violations of federal law. 
    • In November 2024, Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), and Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) sent a letter blasting MOHELA for abusing borrowers with potentially illegal, exploitative terms of use.
    • In October 2024, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), and Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) sent a letter to the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Department of Education (ED) commending the agencies on their progress in helping borrowers who are struggling financially to discharge their student loans in bankruptcy and asking them to continue expanding awareness of the Biden-Harris administration’s new policy.
    • In October 2024, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) celebrated new federal student debt relief, bringing the total number of Americans who have had their debt canceled under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program during the Biden-Harris Administration to a historic 1 million people and counting.
    • In September 2024, Senators Warren (D-Mass.) and Merkley (D-Ore.) released a new report examining the impact of the Biden-Harris administration’s new Higher Education Act rule, finding that low- and middle-income borrowers, seniors, women, and Black borrowers will receive enormous benefits from the new rule.
    • In August 2024, Senator Warren joined Senators Jeff Merkley, Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) to launch an investigation into the reported mishandling of student loan transfers by MOHELA, Nelnet and credit reporting agencies.
    • In August 2024, Senator Warren (D-Mass.) and Representative Madeleine Dean (D-Pa.) led over 30 lawmakers in a letter urging student loan servicer Navient to reform its flawed process to cancel the private student loans of borrowers who attended fraudulent, for-profit colleges.
    • In July 2024, Senators Warren, Ron Wyden, Chris Van Hollen, and Bernie Sanders, sent a letter to Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, cautioning the Department of Education on Federal Student Aid’s transition to the Unified Servicing and Data Solution system.
    • In July 2024, Senators Warren, Schumer, and Sanders released a joint statement on the American Federation of Teachers’ lawsuit against MOHELA for allegedly overcharging and misleading student loan borrowers.
    • In May 2024, Senators Warren and King led their colleagues in a letter to Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, urging them to provide guidance and communication to borrowers as the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program transfers from MOHELA to the Department of Education. 
    • In May 2024, Senator Warren led a growing coalition of senators in urging the Department of Education to hold student loan servicer MOHELA accountable for its failures.
    • In May 2024, Senator Warren and 24 members of the U.S. Senate sent a letter to Senator Tammy Baldwin, Chair of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies, and Senator Shelley Moore Capito, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee, encouraging them to provide $2.7 billion in funding to the Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) in fiscal year (FY) 2025.
    • In May 2024, Senators Warren, Carper, Kaine, and Representative Don Davis (D-N.C.) called on the Department of Defense (DoD) to release data on the Postsecondary Education Complaint System (PECS), a centralized database to track complaints against schools who participate in the Tuition Assistance (TA) and My Career Advancement Account Scholarship (MyCAA) program.
    • In April 2024, Senator Warren led eight of her colleagues in sending a letter to David L. Yowan, President and Chief Executive Officer of student loan servicer Navient, urging the servicer to cancel decades-old private student loans pushed onto borrowers attending fraudulent, for-profit colleges.
    • In April 2024, Senators Warren, Blumenthal, Markey, and Van Hollen released a new report: Servicing Scandals: Student Loan Servicers’ Failures During Return to Repayment, which reveals a decades-long pattern of student loan servicer incompetence and misconduct that has affected millions of borrowers nationwide.
    • In April 2024, Senator Elizabeth Warren led a hearing on student loan servicer Higher Education Loan Authority of the State of Missouri (MOHELA) and its failures during borrowers’ return to repayment, including MOHELA’s mismanagement of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. 
    • In March 2024, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Chair of the Senate Finance Committee, along with U.S. Representatives Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.), and John Larson (D-Conn.), led their colleagues in calling on the Social Security Administration (SSA), the U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury), and the U.S. Department of Education to end the practice of offsetting Social Security benefits to pay off defaulted student loans. 
    • In February 2024, Senator Warren, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), and Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) released a statement calling for an investigation into student loan mismanagement by MOHELA.
    • In January 2024, Senators Warren, Schumer, Sanders, Senator Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), and Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), along with Representative Ayanna Pressley, Assistant Democratic Leader Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), Representative Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.), and Representative Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), led their colleagues in calling on the Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona to host a fourth session of the student debt negotiated rulemaking to consider relief for borrowers experiencing financial hardship.
    • In December 2023, U.S. Senators Warren, Richard Blumenthal, Ed Markey,, and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) sent follow-up letters to student loan servicers – MOHELA, EdFinancial, Nelnet, and Maximus – raising concerns about borrowers’ problems with return to repayment, requesting information about the borrower experience, and pushing back on the servicers’ claim that budget shortfalls limit their ability provide quality customer service to millions of borrowers.
    • In December 2023, Senators Warren, Schumer, Sanders, Alex Padilla (D-CA), and Representatives Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), and Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.) sent a letter to the U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, urging him to leverage his existing and full authority under the Higher Education Act to provide expanded student debt relief to working and middle-class borrowers.
    • In August 2023, Senator Warren, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Senators Alex Padilla and Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) and U.S. Representatives Ilhan Omar, Jim Clyburn, and Frederica Wilson led 79 other lawmakers in a letter to President Joe Biden, urging him to swiftly deliver on his promise to deliver student debt cancellation to working and middle class families by early 2024.
    • In October 2022, Senator Warren and Representative Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) visited communities across Massachusetts to celebrate the Biden administration’s student debt cancellation plan and help residents sign up for student loan relief. 
    • In March 2022, Senator Warren, along with Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Senator Brown and Representatives Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) and Mark Takano (D-Calif.), urged Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona to swiftly discharge the loans of borrowers defrauded by predatory for-profit colleges and universities, including those operated by Corinthian College. 
    • In January 2022, Senator Warren, along with Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Representatives Jayapal, Pressley, Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), and Katie Porter (D-Calif.) led more than 80 colleagues in a bicameral letter to the Department of Education calling for it to release the memo outlining the Biden administration’s legal authority to cancel federal student loan debt and immediately cancel up to $50,000 of debt for Federal student loan borrowers.
    • In April 2021, Senators Warren and Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) led a group of colleagues in a letter to Education Secretary Miguel Cardona urging the Department of Education to take swift action to automatically remove all federally-held student loan borrowers from default.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Shaheen Raises Concerns Over Trump Administration Energy Policies That Will Raise Prices, Threaten Jobs and Reduce Competitiveness

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for New Hampshire Jeanne Shaheen

    (Washington, DC) – U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) delivered remarks on the Senate floor to raise her concerns about President Trump’s harmful actions that will raise energy prices, threaten jobs and hurt our global economic competitiveness. The remarks came during consideration of a resolution Shaheen has cosponsored to terminate President Trump’s misguided national energy emergency, which has been used to bypass Congress to advance policies that benefit Big Oil at the expense of Granite Staters and working Americans. In her remarks, Shaheen shared the stories of Granite Staters and small businesses that will see their energy costs increase as a result of President Trump’s policies. You can view her remarks in full here.

    Key Quotes from Senator Shaheen:

    • “Lowering energy costs, creating good jobs, increasing America’s economic competitiveness in the world—those [should] be things that we can all agree on. But if we give up our leadership on clean energy now, the People’s Republic of China … is going to be more than happy to fill the void for its own economic advantage.”
    • “In the first 37 days, we’ve seen the Trump administration cut off funding for solar, wind and clean manufacturing projects that are cheaper and faster to build than fossil fuel infrastructure. We’ve seen him halt energy efficiency programs, and we know energy efficiency is the cheapest, fastest way to deal with our energy needs.”
    • “The tariffs that are set to go into effect … they could mean about $150 to $250 more for the average family in New Hampshire who are using heating oil just to keep warm through the winter.”
    • “President Trump’s efforts to cancel promised funding for electric charging infrastructure in New Hampshire harms our travel and tourism sector, particularly in northern New Hampshire, where ski areas and other outdoor recreation drives our local economies. A recent study found that the state risks losing an estimated 1.4 billion in overall economic impact.”

    Remarks as delivered can be found below:

    I come to the floor today in support of Senate Joint Resolution 10, which would terminate the misguided national energy emergency that President Trump signed on his first day in office.

    It has been 37 days since President Trump declared, for the first time in this nation’s history, a national energy emergency.

    This is an attempt to throw red meat to the base of the Republican party, and to seem like Donald Trump is the oil and gas president.

    But there’s no evidence to support that.

    In fact, the evidence we have points in exactly the opposite direction.

    This emergency was declared despite the fact that the United States is producing more oil than any other country ever in this nation’s history.

    And we’ve been doing that for the past seven years.

    The emergency was declared despite the fact that the United States is in the midst of a clean energy boom and a manufacturing renaissance.

    We generated 17% more electricity in 2023 than the high point of the first Trump Administration.

    Clean energy jobs are growing at twice the rate of the economy overall.

    And this emergency was declared despite the fact that as the Wall Street Journal headline noted after the election, quote, “Trump’s oil and gas donors don’t really want to drill, baby, drill,” End quote.

    They are very happy to lock in demand for the long term. But increase supply and potentially undercut profits? Not so much.

    So we find ourselves within an emergency declaration in search of an emergency.

    But it’s not without consequences.

    President Trump has assumed vast power for the executive branch through this emergency designation.

    He’s encouraging the use of eminent domain that could literally allow the government to take your land away.

    He’s waving away key protections for clean water.

    And he’s suggesting that a timeline of just seven days is sufficient for public commitment—for public comment, excuse me—on projects that could cause irreparable harm to historic and cultural resources.

    President Trump campaigned on, and I’m quoting here, “lowering the cost of everything,” and he promised “your energy bill within 12 months will be cut in half.”

    Now, voters responded to those promises, and Americans do want to see lower energy costs.

    I’m all for that.

    I focused as governor on how we can address the high energy prices in New Hampshire.

    We permitted two gas pipelines through the state, both gas coming from Canada, and we negotiated to deal with our largest utility company that lowered rates 16.5%.

    So I’m all for lowering energy costs.

    We absolutely should be talking about that.

    But let’s take a step back here and let’s talk about what President Trump’s energy policies actually are, and how they affect the American people.

    In the first 37 days, we’ve seen the Trump administration cut off funding for solar, wind and clean manufacturing projects that are cheaper and faster to build than fossil fuel infrastructure.

    We’ve seen him halt energy efficiency programs, and we know energy efficiency is the cheapest, fastest way to deal with our energy needs.

    He’s prepared a 10% energy tax in the form of tariffs on heating oil, propane, gasoline and other energy we import from Canada.

    And that hits New Hampshire really hard because of the energy sources we get from Canada—I talked about the two gas pipelines that come down from Canada, and because we have so many households that burn number two fuel oil to heat our homes and because it’s cold in New Hampshire at this time of year.

    So that hits us really hard.

    He’s fired more than a thousand workers at the Department of Energy, including those who are keeping state energy programs and weatherization up and running to respond to emergencies and to help folks like we have in New Hampshire stay warm this winter.

    And tomorrow, what we expect is that Senate Republicans will roll back a commonsense fee on venting or flaring of methane, rather than capturing it for productive use.

    And if that passes, and the president signs it, it will cost the taxpayers $2.3 billion over the next ten years, effectively lighting money on fire to save Big Oil a few bucks.

    Now in New Hampshire, as in other states, President Trump’s actions have sown chaos and uncertainty.

    They’re raising costs for families, for farmers, for small businesses, and for town budgets.

    For example, the tariffs that are set to go into effect, and I understand that the president has now decided he’s going to wait until April, but they could mean about $150 to $250 more for the average family in New Hampshire who are using heating oil just to keep warm through the winter.

    President Trump’s efforts to cancel promised funding for electric charging infrastructure in New Hampshire harms our travel and tourism sector, particularly in northern New Hampshire, where ski areas and other outdoor recreation drives our local economies.

    A recent study found that the state risks losing an estimated 1.4 billion in overall economic impact, if we don’t build up our charging infrastructure.

    One small business owner in Barrington in the seacoast of New Hampshire told me that he has nearly $3 million in projects.

    Those projects are on hold this year, including work with school districts, with the state and with other customers to staff install solar projects that provide long term taxpayer savings.

    And they’re on hold because of what President Trump has ordered.

    Farms and local shops across rural areas of New Hampshire are nervous about receiving promised reimbursements for energy saving work through the Rural Energy for America program, the REAP program.

    At least one business owner at Seacoast Power Equipment has been covering interest with the bank until his grant, which he has a signed commitment for, is actually paid out—And of course, this is affecting his bottom line.

    And then we have Super Secret Ice Cream in Bethlehem, New Hampshire, in the northern part of our state.

    This is an award-winning small business that provides the best ice cream you’ve ever eaten.

    They were gearing up to install solar panels using $15,000 in federal funds.

    Now that project is on hold.

    Many family-owned businesses, like Super Secret Ice Cream, have very tight margins, and this small investment of $15,000 would help Christina and Dan grow their business and lower the electric costs that they’re paying to store their ice cream.

    And then we have the town of Peterborough in the western part of New Hampshire.

    They plan to use funding from the bipartisan infrastructure law to enhance much needed workforce development, but of course, they’ve had to wait far too long for federal approvals.

    And in rural towns like Berlin, in the northern part of our state, residents eagerly signed up for federally funded projects that will insulate and add solar arrays to their manufactured homes.

    This is a real solution to their high utility bills, but these projects are now on hold because the contractors are uncertain that they’re going to be paid.

    Now, I could go on as I know my colleagues could, but since we have people waiting, I want to close with a point of agreement.

    In his executive order, President Trump stated, and I quote, “we need a reliable, diversified and affordable supply of energy to drive our nation’s manufacturing, transportation, agriculture and defense industries and to sustain the basics of modern life and military preparedness.”

    That makes sense to me.

    I agree with that.

    But unfortunately, that’s about the only thing he said related to energy in the past 37 days that does make sense.

    Lowering energy costs, creating good jobs, increasing America’s economic competitiveness in the world—those ought to be things that we can all agree on.

    But if we give up our leadership on clean energy now, the People’s Republic of China, who President Trump claims is our greatest competitor—and I agree with him on that—

    I just don’t understand how the Trump administration policies are allowing us to be competitive.

    But China is going to be more than happy to fill the void for its own economic advantage.

    I think we should also agree that Americans deserve clean air, clean water, and the chance to have a say in what happens in their communities.

    I want to work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle on these goals, and that work starts by ending this disastrous, misguided emergency declaration and by stopping the chaos.

    So I hope my colleagues will join me in voting to restore Congress’s appropriate role in setting energy policies that benefit the American people by supporting this resolution.

    Thank you, Mr. President.

    I yield the floor.

    Shaheen has led efforts to oppose President Trump’s harmful and inflation-inducing tariff proposals. Last month, Shaheen led the New Hampshire Congressional Delegation in sending a letter to the White House urging him not to impose tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China which are expected to cost the average American $1,200 per year.

    Earlier this year, Shaheen introduced new legislation with U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Tim Kaine (D-VA) to shield American businesses and consumers from rising prices imposed by tariffs on imported goods into the United States. The Senators’ legislation would keep costs down for imported goods, including energy, by limiting the authority of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA)—which allows a President to immediately place unlimited tariffs after declaring a national emergency—while preserving IEEPA’s use for sanctions and other tools.

    Shaheen has championed work to secure federal investments in clean energy and energy efficiency initiatives and to lower energy costs across New Hampshire. In the Fiscal Year 2024 government funding bills, Shaheen secured $366 million for weatherization efforts and $66 million for the State Energy Program, which work to bring down energy bills for families and communities. Shaheen was a key supporter of the Inflation Reduction Act and a lead negotiator of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, legislation that invest in energy efficiency, including funding for residential, municipal, industrial and federal entities to implement efficiency improvements and upgrades.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Shaheen Leads Colleagues in Calling on Secretary Kennedy to Undo Drastic Cuts to Critical Health Care Assistance Program

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for New Hampshire Jeanne Shaheen
    **The Navigator program has helped support historic health care enrollment in recent years**
    (Washington, DC) – U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) today led a group of their Senate colleagues in a letter calling on U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., to reverse drastic funding cuts to the Affordable Care Act Navigator program, which helps Americans access quality, affordable health insurance coverage, including for Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program. The nearly 90 percent funding cut threatens to leave millions of Americans without critical assistance to access the insurance they need and would lead to a reduction in health care enrollment.  
    The Senators wrote, in part: “Since its inception, Navigators have become a critical resource for individuals and families, especially those living in rural and underserved areas, by helping them purchase health coverage that meets their needs.” 
    They continued: “In 2017 and 2018, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) slashed funding for the Navigator program by 84 percent. […] Unsurprisingly, ACA enrollment shrank by more than 2.5 million over the course of the Trump administration. Once Navigator funding was restored in 2021, enrollment rose and reached historic levels for the 2025 plan year.” 
    The lawmakers concluded: “We strongly urge the administration to reconsider this harmful decision and restore full funding to the Navigator program. Cutting these vital resources will only create more barriers for individuals and families seeking coverage, ultimately increasing the number of uninsured Americans.” 
    Read the full text of the letter here. 
    Co-signers of Shaheen’s letter include U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Peter Welch (D-VT), Ed Markey (D-MA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Maggie Hassan (D-NH) and Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM). 
    Shaheen champions efforts in Congress to make health care more affordable and accessible for Granite Staters and all Americans. Shaheen’s first bill introduction this Congress was her landmark Health Care Affordability Act—bicameral legislation with U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin and U.S. Congresswoman Lauren Underwood (D-IL) to permanently extend enhanced premium tax credits for Marketplace coverage that have lowered health care costs for millions of Americans.  

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Trump Administration Stops Lowering Standards for Police, Firefighters

    US Senate News:

    Source: The White House
    President Donald J. Trump declared an end to lower standards in the name of discriminatory “diversity, equity, and inclusion” initiatives — and the Trump Administration continues to make good on that commitment to prioritize merit, not divisive race-based obsessions, in hiring.
    Yesterday, Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the Department of Justice (DOJ) dismissed several Biden-era lawsuits against police and fire departments who used race-neutral mechanisms — such as standard aptitude tests, physical exams, and credit checks — in their hiring processes, the result of which lowered standards and endangered public safety.
    DISMISSED: United States v. City of Durham (North Carolina)
    The Biden DOJ alleged discrimination because entry-level firefighter applicants were required to pass a written exam. The city was required to provide compensation and preferential hiring to applicants who were not hired.

    DISMISSED: United States v. Maryland State Police
    The Biden DOJ alleged discrimination because applicants were required to pass a written exam and basic physical exam. The agency was required to provide compensation and retroactive seniority to applicants who were not hired.

    DISMISSED: United States v. Cobb County (Georgia)
    The Biden DOJ alleged discrimination because firefighter applicants were required to complete a written exam and credit check. The county was required to provide compensation and preferential hiring to applicants who were not hired.

    DISMISSED: United States v. City of South Bend (Indiana)
    The Biden DOJ alleged discrimination because police applicants were required to pass a written exam and basic physical exam.

    Americans deserve the best of the best keeping them safe — and in the Trump Administration, anything less is unacceptable.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Boozman, Moran, Fischer, Budd Measure Seeks to Improve Veterans’ Access to Care

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Arkansas – John Boozman
    WASHINGTON––U.S. Senator John Boozman (R-AR) joined Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Chairman Jerry Moran (R-KS) as well as Senators Deb Fischer (R-NE) and Tedd Budd (R-NC) to introduce legislation that would permanently authorize and expand the External Provider Scheduling (EPS) program at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to make it easier to schedule healthcare appointments for veterans in the community. 
    The EPS program allows the VA to view the schedules of community care providers. This reduces the amount of time it takes to find and create appointments for veterans in need of care. In initial rollout phases, this system led to a 65 percent improvement in the timeliness of community care scheduling and increased scheduling from seven appointments a day to over twenty.
    “Veterans deserve timely and quality access to medical care,” said Boozman. “Across our country, and particularly in rural areas, our former servicemembers rely on community care to receive the services and benefits they need. I’m pleased to join my colleagues on this effort to support and strengthen the important tools that help ensure veterans’ appointments are not delayed or denied.”
    “Veterans should not have to wait weeks or months to obtain the care and services they have earned,” said Moran. “By simplifying the community care appointment scheduling process and improving communication between VA and community providers, the External Provider Scheduling program has resulted in veterans getting the health care they need faster. This bill would continue the EPS program so that even more veterans will benefit from it, improving access to care nationwide.”
    “Our veterans shouldn’t have to wait long periods to receive the medical care and services they need,” said Fischer. “By making the EPS program permanent, we will put our veterans’ needs first as we improve care coordination between the VA and community providers, especially in our rural areas. I look forward to working with my colleagues to take care of our veterans by passing this legislation.”
    “No veteran should be forced to wait for the care they need and deserve,” said Budd. “That’s why I am proud to support Senator Moran’s legislation that allows the VA to schedule appointments with community healthcare providers in real time. Veterans in North Carolina and across the nation deserve the highest quality care we can provide them, and this bill will help us accomplish that mission.”
    Click here for full text of the legislation. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Cortez Masto, Grassley Continue Bipartisan Push to Invest in Local Law Enforcement

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Nevada Cortez Masto
    Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) reintroduced bipartisan legislation to increase grant funding for small law enforcement agencies in Nevada and across the country. The Invest to Protect Act would set aside $250 million to help local police invest in training, mental health support, and recruitment and retention. The bill is cosponsored by Senators Richard Durbin (D-Ill.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), and Todd Young (R-Ind.).
    “Nevada’s small police departments deserve more access to critical funding to keep communities safe,” said Senator Cortez Masto. “I’ll always stand up for our law enforcement, and this bipartisan bill is simple – it gets our police in rural, suburban, and Tribal communities the resources they need.”
    “Law enforcement in Iowa and across the nation are struggling with low recruitment and retention rates,” said Senator Grassley. “Our bipartisan bill would unlock access to critical resources, allowing local law enforcement to grow and strengthen their forces. As always, I’m proud to back the blue and will continue to protect and support our courageous officers.”
    The majority of law enforcement agencies in the U.S. are smaller than 175 full-time sworn officers, including all of Nevada’s rural sheriff’s departments and key suburban departments such as the Sparks Police Department. In Nevada and nationwide, these small departments often struggle to access critical resources. Cortez Masto’s bipartisan Invest to Protect Act would establish a grant program through the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program to provide $250 million specifically to help these small law enforcement agencies make meaningful investments in their officers and communities. This bill is endorsed by the Fraternal Order of Police and the National Association of Police Organizations.
    As the former top law enforcement official in Nevada, Senator Cortez Masto has been a leading advocate in the Senate for our police officers and is part of the Senate Law Enforcement Caucus. She has secured historic funding for the Byrne JAG grant program, the leading source of criminal justice funding in the country. Her bipartisan bills to combat the crisis of law enforcement suicide and provide mental health resources to police officers have been signed into law by presidents of both parties. Her BADGES for Native Communities Act, to support the Bureau of Indian Affairs with law enforcement recruitment and retention, passed the Senate last Congress.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Tuberville Advocates for Farmers During Senate AG Hearing

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Tommy Tuberville (Alabama)
    WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) spoke with Bret Erickson, Board Member of the International Fresh Produce Association, and Anna Rhinewalt, Council Member of the Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation and Mississippi Sweet Potato Council, during a Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry (Ag) hearing. During the hearing, they spoke about the dire state of the farm economy impacting specialty crop producers after four years of Joe Biden’s runaway spending and sky-high inflation.
    Read Sen. Tuberville’s remarks below or watch on YouTube or Rumble. 

    TUBERVILLE: “Thanks for you being here today, all of you.
    Our Ag economy is a disaster, complete disaster. You know, if we don’t do something—and I don’t know how it’s going to work—we’re not going to have Ag Committee here in a few years. We lost 150,000 farms in the last few years. 150,000 farms.
    If that’s not a disaster, I don’t know what is. But we don’t help you at all. Regulations are overboard. Labor is out of sight. You have no water. I don’t know what we’ve done right up here. Doesn’t sound like a whole lot.
    But Mrs. Rhinewalt, what’s the ideal [wage] rate if we were to revert back to [previous H-2A] labor costs? What would be the ideal rate that we would pay […] to make a profit?”
    RHINEWALT: “Senator, thank you. We actually had that discussion yesterday. We chuckled talking about wages that were based on maybe 115% of the federal wage rate or state minimum wage rates. But we know that’s at $7.25, and farmers are not suggesting that we pay that low. But we do want to have some consideration, a formulation for the wage rate that takes into account that $14.83 may be the wage rate, but we need to consider the transportation cost, the administrative cost, the housing cost, and maybe […] prorate that in consideration of those factors. Because it’s a fallacy to say that because we’re paying $14.83, that’s not really the wage rate paying. It’s really more like $20-21 an hour.”
    TUBERVILLE: “Exactly. Thank you.
    Mr. Erickson, $23 an hour, you got to be kidding me. How do you make it? I mean, what would be your cost to make a profit?”
    ERICKSON: “I wish it wasn’t. It is. And to Mrs. Rhinewalt’s comments, you know, the costs that are involved with applying for the program, transporting the laborers from their home country to the United States where they’re going to work—we transport them, we put them in housing, hotels, transport them from the hotel to the job site. We have catering services. We provide food. You know, you need to take them to doctor’s appointments and to get sundries and such. I don’t know, you know, how you roll back. And in Texas, the AEWR [Adverse Effect Wage Rate] is, I believe, it’s $15.87 an hour. Our actual cost is about $23 per hour when you add all that in.
    I don’t know what the number is. We definitely need to put a cap on the increases that have occurred. How do we deal with it? Unfortunately, in the case of Little Bear Produce, I wish Senator Lujan was still here. […] We had an onion packing facility in Deming, New Mexico. It was an important part of our operation that had about 15 full time people and we brought in 20-30 seasonal people. We rent onions, hatch chilies, pumpkins, watermelons up there. And we had to recently shutter that facility, in part, because of the water that’s being withheld in Mexico. And they’re using that water to grow our crops, and then we’re having to purchase those products.
    So, it is a crazy situation for us to be in. And as a business, we had to make the decision, and you have to sit down with each one of these, these people have been working for us for 12-15 years, and to sit down and tell them, you know, ‘We have to let you go, unfortunately. You know, we’re going to work with you to try to transition into another job.’ And you know what the craziest thing was? Those folks, in talking to them, they were so thankful for the opportunity that they had during the 12-15 years that they were working for us, and they were so thankful for that. But if we don’t get these costs under control for U.S. producers, we are going to continue to hand over the production of specialty crops and fruits and vegetables.”
    TUBERVILLE: “We’re not going to have it. It’s going to be over. Mrs. Rhinewalt, could we do without a H-2A program?”
    RHINEWALT: “No, sir. We would be completely out of business.”
    TUBERVILLE: “[…] How are domestic workers being affected by H-2A programs?”
    RHINEWALT: “Well, a domestic workforce is never again going to be the remedy for Ag production in the United States, per their response to the jobs. So, 97% of jobs remain open when we’re required to advertise them to domestic workers, first, before we can receive any assurance that we’re allowed to bring H-2A onto our farms. We would be happy to pay our own citizens a very reasonable wage and save all those auxiliary costs that I mentioned. But they simply do not want the jobs.”
    TUBERVILLE: “Thank you. Good luck. Hope we get out of your way.”
    RHINEWALT: “Thank you.”
    TUBERVILLE: “Because that’s what we’re going to have to do.”
    Senator Tommy Tuberville represents Alabama in the United States Senate and is a member of the Senate Armed Services, Agriculture, Veterans’ Affairs, HELP, and Aging Committees.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Fischer Questions Witness on Anti-Drug Trafficking Efforts

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Nebraska Deb Fischer
    Yesterday, U.S. Senator Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), a member of the Senate Commerce Committee, questioned Director of the National High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) program Shannon Kelly on the program to locate and intercept illegal drugs within the United States. She highlighted HIDTA’s successes in Nebraska, especially for the Panhandle’s Western Nebraska Intelligence and Narcotics Group (WING) Task Force.  
    During the hearing, Senator Fischer asked Ms. Kelly what future challenges she anticipates in achieving the program’s goals. She also asked about the benefits of a government-wide shared map to identify the reach of transnational drug trafficking organizations.
    Click the image above to watch a video of Senator Fischer’s questioning
    Click here to download audio
    Click here to download video
    Senator Fischer questions Shannon Kelly:
    Senator Fischer: Ms. Kelly, I think a key step in addressing the illicit drug threat is ensuring the existing programs within the government are working. As you know, the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas program, known as HIDTA, is a cornerstone of how we combat regional drug trafficking throughout the United States. And I have seen firsthand in my state of Nebraska, especially for law enforcement in rural areas with fewer local resources, how important this is. For example, HIDTA is the primary resource for the WING Task Force that covers 11 of our Panhandle counties. Through HIDTA, the task force has developed a uniquely cooperative investigative program, which is helping Western Nebraska law enforcement more actively manage narcotic and criminal investigations. In your view, how would you evaluate HIDTA’s effectiveness nationwide?
    Shannon Kelly: Thank you so much, Senator Fischer, for your support and for the question. Nationwide, we’re extremely proud of the work that HIDTA’s been doing. One of the things that we often tout is that for every dollar invested in the HIDTA program, the rate of return is $63, which is a pretty phenomenal testament to the success of the program overall. In 2023, HIDTA has collectively disrupted or dismantled more than 3,000 drug trafficking organizations or money laundering organizations, and collectively they seized more than 2,000 metric tons of drugs, which I think also completes the narrative here. Often when we’re talking about drug interdiction, we have a tendency to focus on the ports of entry and at the borders, which is critical to our overall success. But we often like to point to the work of the HIDTAs interdicting drugs within the interior of the United States. And I think the success rate there is phenomenal as well.Senator Fischer: What challenges do you see or that you possibly anticipate in the future in meeting your goals that you have out there?
    Shannon Kelly: Thank you, Senator, for asking that question. We do face a myriad of challenges. In some communities, the focus on drug trafficking is often subordinate to other threats, which is certainly a challenge in terms of making sure that there are state and local resources to put on HIDTA task forces. I would also say fatigue is a huge element for us, and I think it’s why the focus on border security and interdiction at the ports of entry and at the borders is key because I think we’re asking an awful lot of our state and local task force officers when they are being asked to interdict drugs that did evade the borders, and when they’re being asked to investigate the types of networks that are directly linked to cartels. That’s a huge challenge. It’s a training challenge, and it’s a resource challenge for all of our task forces. 
    Senator Fischer: You know, you brought up the border, and obviously the southern border is a major disruption zone. In years past, we’ve struggled with all the different agencies out there using different intel, using different maps, whether it’s DEA or FBI or CBP or the Department of Defense, as well. I think we have to have a shared map, government-wide shared map, to identify the threats that we have. In your testimony, you noted efforts by the Drug Enforcement Administration to map out this data comprehensively. Can you speak about that further please? 
    Shannon Kelly: Thank you so much for that question, Senator Fischer. I agree. I think we all agree that a common operating picture is imperative, and a big challenge for us too is making sure that we are in a place where we can share information freely—from the fed, from the IC, all the way down to our state and local partners. This is where we really rely on the work of our federal agencies to be the bridge so that, as you say, the map, the common operating picture, can be not just conceived, but then communicated from top to bottom.
    Senator Fischer: And how do we achieve that?
    Shannon Kelly: How we achieve that is a work in progress. It is, I won’t lie, it’s a challenge. It’s a challenge both in terms of the security levels, but it’s also a challenge in terms of culture and promoting information sharing. We’re talking about people who are accustomed to building trust with each other as people to share information, and sometimes, when we’re working across communities like that, we have to figure out not just one bridge but multiple ways to bridge that gap.
    Senator Fischer: Thank you very much.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: NEWS: As Republicans Attempt to Undermine Social Security, Sanders, Warren, Schakowsky, Hoyle Introduce Legislation to Expand Social Security

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Vermont – Bernie Sanders
    WASHINGTON, Feb. 27 – As Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress attempt to advance legislation to give massive tax breaks to billionaires and undermine Social Security, Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Ranking Member on the Senate Finance Committee’s Subcommittee on Social Security, Pensions and Family Policy, and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), along with Reps. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) and Val Hoyle (D-Ore.), introduced the Social Security Expansion Act. The legislation would expand Social Security benefits by $2,400 a year and ensure Social Security is fully funded for the next 75 years by applying the Social Security payroll tax on all income above $250,000. Importantly, this legislation would not raise taxes by one penny on the over 91 percent of American households who make $250,000 or less.
    These estimates reflect an analysis of the legislation conducted by the Social Security Administration at the request of Sen. Sanders in 2023.
    Joining Sanders, Warren, Schakowsky and Hoyle on the Social Security Expansion Act are Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), as well as 17 cosponsors in the House including Reps. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine), Judy Chu (D-Calif.), Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.), Gwen Moore (D-Wis.), Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), Eleanor Holmes-Norton (D-D.C.), Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.), Christopher R. Deluzio (D-Pa.), Andrea Salinas (D-Ore.), Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), Jill Tokuda (D-Hawaii), Greg Casar (D-Texas), Lois Frankel (D-Fla.), Troy Carter (D-La.), James McGovern (D-Mass.) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.).
    “At a time when nearly half of older Americans have no retirement savings and over 26% of seniors are trying to survive on an income of less than $17,500 a year, our job is not to cut Social Security as many of our Republican colleagues want to do,” said Sanders. “Our job is to expand Social Security so that every senior in America can retire with the dignity that they deserve and every person with a disability can live with the security they need. The legislation we are introducing today will expand Social Security benefits by $2,400 a year, lift millions of seniors out of poverty and extend the solvency of Social Security for generations to come by making sure that the wealthiest people in our society pay their fair share into the system. Right now, a billionaire pays the same amount into Social Security as someone who makes $176,100 a year. Our bill puts an end to that absurdity. And by doing that, we can expand Social Security benefits and make sure that Social Security can pay out every single benefit owed to every eligible American for the next 75 years.”
    “Social Security serves as a lifeline for millions of seniors, and hardworking Americans deserve to receive the benefits they paid into,” said Warren. “It’s a mistake for Donald Trump and his allies in Congress to focus on securing tax cuts for billionaires and large corporations when we should be focusing on expanding and increasing Social Security benefits so that everyone can retire with dignity.”
    “Social Security is your hard-earned money; it is not an entitlement. President Donald Trump and his unelected billionaire sidekick Elon Musk think they alone can decide if you get your Social Security check. They had better think again. That is stealing. Americans pay into the program with each paycheck. We must expand Social Security benefits, not cut them, and I have a bill to do just that,” said Schakowsky. “The Social Security Expansion Act will protect the national treasure that is Social Security by extending the trust fund’s solvency for 75 years and expanding benefits by $2,400 a year so that everyone in America can retire with the security and dignity they deserve after a lifetime of hard work.”
    “Protecting Social Security is our commitment to seniors who’ve worked their whole lives to earn it,” said Hoyle. “While Congressional Republicans continue to threaten cuts to Social Security, I am proud to join Senator Sanders, Senator Warren and Representative Schakowsky in introducing a concrete proposal that extends the program for another 75 years by having millionaires and billionaires pay their fair share like every other working American. The Social Security Expansion Act was my first bill in Congress, and I will not stop fighting until I see it passed into law.”
    Social Security is the most successful government program in the history of our country. For 86 years, through good times and bad, Social Security has paid out every benefit owed to every eligible American on time and without delay. Before 1935, when it was signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, about 50 percent of the nation’s seniors lived in poverty, as did countless Americans with disabilities and surviving dependents of deceased workers. Nearly 90 years later, the senior poverty rate is down to 9.7 percent and in 2023 alone, Social Security lifted 27.6 million Americans out of poverty, including more than 19.5 million seniors.
    Despite this success, tens of millions of seniors are still struggling to get by, and many older workers fear that they will never be able to retire with security and dignity. While the average Social Security benefit is only $1,838 a month, nearly 40 percent of seniors rely on Social Security for a majority of their income; one in seven rely on it for more than 90 percent of their income; and nearly half of Americans aged 65 and 74 have no retirement savings at all.
    By requiring millionaires and billionaires to finally pay their fair share into the program, the Social Security Expansion Act would ensure the fund’s solvency to the end of the century, help low-income workers stay out of poverty by improving the Special Minimum Benefit, restore student benefits up to age 22 for children of disabled or deceased workers, strengthen benefits for senior citizens and people with disabilities, increase Cost-Of-Living-Adjustments (COLAs) and expand program benefits across-the-board.
    The Social Security Expansion Act has also been endorsed by over 25 groups, including: Social Security Works, MoveOn, National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, Strengthen Social Security Coalition, American Federation of Teachers, Justice in Aging, Income Movement, Public Citizen, Blue Future, Campaign for America’s Future, Labor Campaign for Single Payer, Indivisible, American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), AAFGE Council 215, Alliance for Retired Americans, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), AFSCME Retirees, American Postal Workers Union, People Power United, Left Click, Defeat Republicans, Progress America, The People United, Iron PAC, Puget Sound Advocates for Retirement Action, Progressive Change Campaign Committee, Other98 and Solidarity Action.
    Read the bill text, here.
    Read the fact sheet and full list of supporting organizations, here.
    Read the Social Security Administration’s 2023 analysis of the legislation, here.
    Read a 2021 analysis of what the world’s wealthiest people would pay under this legislation, here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: ICYMI: Mullin Breaks Down President Trump’s First Month’s Performance on Meet the Press

    US Senate News:

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

    ICYMI: Mullin Breaks Down President Trump’s First Month’s Performance on Meet the Press

    “What Oklahomans want is to make sure that we get rid of the waste and fraud inside the federal government.”
    Washington, D.C. – On Sunday, U.S. Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) joined NBC’s Kristen Welker on Meet the Press to discuss the Trump administration’s ongoing efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine War, bolster our national defense, and reform the federal workforce to best serve the American people.

    Sen. Mullin’s full interview can be found here.
    On the war that never would have happened if President Trump was in office:
    “President Trump is absolutely correct. If he was in office, this war would have never, ever taken place. What we’re trying to do and what President Trump is trying to do is end the killing. It’s been going on for three years. The Biden administration turned a blind eye to it, and President Trump is the president that can end the war. There, fact – fact and simple…
    “What we’re trying to do here is put President Trump in a good position to negotiate the end of the war. It’s the same way that Reagan worked with Gorbachev by trying to end the Cold War. Trump is the president that’s going to be able to end the killings that should have never taken place and would have never taken place if he would have been in office instead of Joe Biden. The reason why is because President Trump leads peace through strength. What Biden led through is appeasement.”
    On the president’s right to pick his team of U.S. military advisors:
    “We’re a civilian force, and the president gets to choose his closest advisors. And the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is [one of] his closest advisors.”
    On Elon Musk’s efforts to cut waste, fraud, and abuse:
    “What Oklahomans want is to make sure that get rid of the waste and fraud inside the federal government…
    “I would tell you that the majority of the American people want to make sure that their taxpayers are being used correctly. I don’t want anybody to lose their job. That’s the last thing we want. But at the same time, anytime you’re trying to secure this country, which a national security risk we have right now is our national debt, we have to make changes, and we have to make it quickly.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Warren Bashes Education Department’s “Woefully Inadequate,” “Misleading” Response to Senate Inquiry on DOGE’s Access to Borrower’s Personal Information

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Massachusetts – Elizabeth Warren
    February 27, 2025
    “ED failed to provide information on how it intends to ensure ED data is not compromised or misused… [and] failed to answer any of our questions about what safeguards and procedures are in place to protect this data”
    “The Department’s evasive response…heightens our concerns about whether ED may have violated the law or the federal government’s procedures in handling this data.” 
    Text of Letter (PDF) | Response from ED to Original Letter (PDF)
    Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs (BHUA), led 14 of her colleagues, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), in writing a letter to Acting Secretary of Education Denise Carter, raising concerns about the Department of Education’s (ED; the Department) response to their inquiry into the Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) access to millions of student loan borrowers’ personal data. Earlier this week, a federal court blocked DOGE’s access to sensitive ED databases with borrower information.
    The letter was joined by Senators Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Richard Durbin (D-Ill.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), and Peter Welch (D-Vt.).
    “[T]he Department’s response was woefully inadequate, may have contained misleading information, and raised new concerns about the nature and extent of DOGE’s access to the Department’s internal systems,” wrote the senators. 
    ED’s response to the senators’ initial letter failed to answer basic questions about DOGE’s access to student loan borrowers’ personal data. 
    The Department refused to confirm or deny whether DOGE had been granted access to the National Student Loan Data System or other databases with sensitive federal student loan data. 
    ED claimed it was committed to following “applicable laws and regulations” regarding management of borrower data, but it did not provide any information about if, how, why, by whom, and to what extent DOGE was granted access to these databases. 
    While ED said the DOGE team was onboarded through the proper processes, “including background investigation and system access authorization,” additional information indicates that at least one DOGE employee granted access “ha[d] not yet completed ethics or information security trainings” according to a declaration submitted in federal court two days before ED’s response. 
    ED also shared new information about the extent of DOGE’s access to other sensitive databases, saying that DOGE “is currently supporting a review of Department and Federal Student Aid (FSA) contracts to identify possible efficiencies…To support this work, one employee had read-only access to two of FSA’s internal systems.” But the Department failed to provide full and declarative information about which DOGE or ED employees had access to which datasets, what they were doing with that access, whether any data is being fed through Artificial Intelligence systems, and why one employee’s access to FSA’s internal systems was revoked. 
    ED also failed to provide information on how it intends to ensure data at the department is not compromised or misused, saying only that “robust protections in place to ensure data are secure,” but not providing specifics. 
    “The Department’s evasive response, in addition to the recent news that a federal judge has blocked ED from sharing sensitive data with DOGE due to potential violations of federal law, heightens our concerns about whether ED may have violated the law or the federal government’s procedures in handling this data,” concluded the lawmakers. 
    The 15 senators pressed the Acting Secretary to provide more information about DOGE employees’ or affiliates’ access to ED’s databases, the safeguards in place to protect federal student loan data, the status of DOGE’s work at the department, and more by March 5, 2025. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: ICYMI: In Floor Speech, Warren Joins Democrats in Fighting Trump’s Attack on Clean Energy, Giveaway to Big Oil Billionaires

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Massachusetts – Elizabeth Warren
    February 27, 2025
    “[President Trump’s executive order] lets big oil and gas companies off the hook on following our environmental laws and regulations, and those are the rules that make sure that you have clean air to breathe and clean water to drink.”
    “Donald Trump is cutting jobs and raising energy costs on communities all across this country just to please his oil and gas donors.”
    Video of Remarks (YouTube) 
    Washington, D.C. – On the floor of the U.S. Senate, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) spoke in support of Senate Joint Resolution 10, a resolution to end the “national energy emergency” declared by President Trump. Senator Warren’s remarks explained why Trump’s executive order is a giveaway to oil and gas CEOs and how Trump’s attacks on clean energy are raising prices and slashing jobs, including for communities in Massachusetts. 
    Transcript: Floor Speech In Support of Ending National Energy EmergencyU.S. Senate FloorFebruary 26, 2025
    Thank you, Mr. President, and I want to thank the senator from Colorado for your energetic leadership in this area. I’m very grateful for your voice on this and for the work you do for the people of the country and also for everybody around the world. We’ve got to deal with this problem. So, thank you. 
    I rise today in support of Senator Kaine and Senator Heinrich’s resolution to terminate Donald Trump’s executive order declaring a national energy emergency. I just want to start by being clear about what’s going on here. Donald Trump promised to gut our environmental laws. If “Big Oil” CEOs gave him a billion dollars for his campaign, he was quite open about this. How could he do that? Well, he’s figured it out. He declared an emergency that he has focused on. That emergency will give him a chance to pay those oil executive CEOs back. Now, this order is not a serious attempt at lowering anyone’s energy costs. And you know how I know this? Because a true strategy to lower people’s costs would include clean energy sources like wind and solar, which this order deliberately excludes. 
    What does this executive order do? It lets “Big Oil and Gas” companies off the hook on following our environmental laws and regulations, and those are the rules that make sure that you have clean air to breathe and clean water to drink. 
    Why would Donald Trump do this? It is simple. He does not care about lowering anyone’s costs or helping create good jobs. All he cares about is his “rich as hell,” those are his words, his “rich as hell donors” and helping them make more money. Let’s be clear: energy prices are too high. Americans are feeling those high prices. Energy prices have been on the rise for the past decade. In the last year, 1/3 of Americans have had to cut back on necessary spending in order to pay their energy bills. Americans are looking for real solutions, and that is why Democrats got to work and passed the biggest climate package in the history of the world to unleash American innovation and to support a clean energy future.
    Now America is producing more energy than ever before, including through offshore wind projects off the coast of Massachusetts, and we’re creating good jobs while we’re doing it. Clean energy jobs are now over 40% of all the energy jobs in the United States. They are growing twice as fast as other industries, but Donald Trump is now trying to unravel all of that progress. Why? In order to please his “Big Oil and Gas” donors, and this sham will have real consequences for our communities, raising energy costs and cutting American jobs. 
    Look no further than Somerset, Massachusetts, to see what is happening. At Brayton Point in Somerset, there is an old coal-fired power plant that closed down years and years ago, but a private company called Prysmian has decided that they want to turn part of this plant into a factory to build undersea cables to support American offshore wind farms. They want to build the cables so we can bring that power in and use it—that clean power in and use it here in the United States. That project would be transformative for Somerset. It would create about 250 to 300 good manufacturing jobs and would deliver more than ten million in annual tax revenues. That’s a big deal for a small town. So, for the last few years, local officials and our Massachusetts federal delegation have been working hard with the federal government to help turn that idea into a reality. 
    Last month, the company suddenly announced they’re ending the projects, no more jobs, no more tax revenue. And why? Because of Donald Trump’s attacks on clean energy. Somerset’s experience is just one of the experiences felt by many communities all around this country. Yes, Somerset will bounce back, but Donald Trump is cutting jobs and raising energy costs on communities all across this country just to please his oil and gas donors, and it’s communities like Somerset that are paying the price for that. 
    Make no mistake, we will fight back. That is why Democrats are here today. That fight starts with ending this sham of an executive order. I urge my colleagues to vote yes on Senator Kaine and Senator Heinrich’s resolution, and with that, I yield the floor.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: PREPARED REMARKS: Sanders Opening Statement in Hearing to Advance Chavez-DeRemer Nomination

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Vermont – Bernie Sanders
    WASHINGTON, Feb. 27 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), today delivered an opening statement at the committee’s second hearing to consider the advancement of Lori Chavez-DeRemer to serve as Secretary of Labor. 
    We are in an unusual and dangerous moment in American history. 
    We have a situation where, today, we have more income and wealth inequality then we have ever had in the history of this country. Three people on top have more wealth the bottom half of American society and the gap between rich and poor is growing wider. 
    We have a situation where people all over this country understand that joining a trade union is a way to get better wages and working conditions. Millions of workers all over this country say, “I want to join a union.” And yet we have large corporations acting illegally to deny workers the right to join unions, which is why one of my major priorities and the priority of many members on this side of the aisle is to pass the PRO Act. 
    Today, tens of millions of American workers are earning starvation wages. $12, $13 an hour. Nobody in any part of this country can survive on $12, $13 dollars an hour. And yet the minimum wage – the federal minimum wage of $7.25 – has not been raised in a very, very long time. 
    So what we need is a Secretary of Labor who is going to stand up and say we are going to take on powerful special interests. We are going to stand with the working class of this country. 
    Unfortunately, Mr. Chairman, Ms. Lori Chavez-DeRemer is not that person. 
    And the most important point of this hearing is: Today, we are not voting on who the next Secretary of Labor is. The next Secretary of Labor, the next Secretary of Education, the next Secretary of Housing, the next Secretary of the Treasury is Elon Musk. Let us understand that reality and not play along with this charade. 
    Does anyone here really think that any Secretary of Labor, any Secretary of Education, is going to make decisions by himself or herself? 
    Just yesterday, the president held a meeting with his cabinet. And who was the star of the meeting? Was it the Secretary of the Defense? Was it Secretary of State? 
    No, it was an unelected official who happens to be the wealthiest person on Earth. It was Elon Musk. 
    And at that meeting, President Trump asked his cabinet, “is anybody unhappy with Elon? Well, if you are, we’ll throw them out of here.”
    In other words, if any cabinet official has courage to stand up to Mr. Musk and disobey his edicts, they are gone. So, Mr. Chairman, my request to you is a simple one. Let’s be honest. The American people understand it, and it’s time that we understood it as well.
    If you want to discuss policies in the Department of Labor, let’s bring in the real secretary. Mr. Chairman, I respectfully request that this committee bring Elon Musk before this committee so that we can really hear what’s going on with the government. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Ricketts: States Should “Play a More Active Role in Federal Highway Programming”

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Pete Ricketts (Nebraska)
    WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Pete Ricketts (R-NE), a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, called for states to play a more active role in federal highway programming. Ricketts said the following:
    “Transportation infrastructure, we’ve all said it, is incredibly important in my home state in Nebraska, just like it is where you all come from,” Ricketts said. “It’s important for our competitiveness, for our industrial opportunity, and really just our quality of life. And so it’s something that we want to make sure we’re doing to the best job possible. As we’re looking to reauthorize, toward Highway Reauthorization, states need to be playing a more active role in the programming.”
    “The Department of Transportation should be doing something where we empower states through the formula funding to be able to let them make the decisions and not cherry-pick different ‘green’ projects that are discretionary grants,” Ricketts said.
    [embedded content]
    Click here to watch
    Ricketts made the comments in a Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing on implementation of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. During the hearing, he also questioned the panelists on ways to improve efficiency and service quality through process improvement, similar to Nebraska’s successful process improvement when Ricketts was Governor.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Ricketts, Rosen Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Increase Transparency on Improper Federal Payments

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Pete Ricketts (Nebraska)
    WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Pete Ricketts (R-NE) and Jacky Rosen (D-NV) introduced the Improper Payments Transparency Act. The bill would require that the President’s annual budget request include clear and comprehensive data on the improper payments made by federal agencies. Ricketts is a member of the Senate DOGE Caucus.
    “When federal agencies waste money, it means less money for essential services, national defense, or deficit reduction,” said Senator Ricketts. “Transparency brings accountability. My bipartisan bill will highlight where money is being misspent so we can combat waste and save taxpayer dollars.”
    “We owe it to the hardworking people of Nevada to make sure that the federal government is using their tax dollars efficiently and responsibly,” said Senator Rosen. “Our bipartisan legislation will help to increase transparency and cut down on wasteful government spending. I’ll keep working to clean up Washington and look after American taxpayers’ hard-earned money.”
    The bill was first covered by Fox News here. Bill text can be found here.
    BACKGROUND
    Improper payments are defined by U.S. code as any payment that should not have been made or that was made in an incorrect amount, including an overpayment or underpayment, under a statutory, contractual, administrative, or other legally applicable requirement.
    Since 2003, the Government Accountability Office estimates that the federal government has made $2.8 trillion in improper payments. GAO estimated $236 billion in improper payments in Fiscal Year 2023 and $161.6 billion in improper payments in Fiscal Year 2024. The true cost of improper payments is likely higher due to a lack of reporting requirements. In FY23, the GAO reported that 10 of 24 executive branch agencies required to report improper payment information did not fully comply.
    The Improper Payments Transparency Act would require clear data on improper payments in the President’s annual budget request, including:
    Descriptions of programs required to submit improper payment reports;
    Detailed explanations of why improper payments occurred;
    Trends in improper payment amounts;
    Corrective actions agencies will take to reduce improper payments.
    The National Taxpayers Union named the legislation to their 2024 “No Brainers” List as one of the top bipartisan bills for taxpayers.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Ricketts: My Bipartisan Improper Payments Transparency Legislation Will Help Congress “Make Better Choices and Save Tax Dollars”

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Pete Ricketts (Nebraska)
    WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, U.S. Senator Pete Ricketts (R-NE), a member of the Senate Budget Committee, outlined his bipartisan Improper Payments Transparency Act, introduced yesterday with Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV). Ricketts discussed the bill while on a conference call with Nebraska media:
    “Today, I introduced bipartisan legislation to require more transparent and more accurate data about the scope of improper payments,” Ricketts said. “Improper payments continue to be a major contributor to wasteful spending. In Fiscal Year 2023, the Government Accountability Office, or GAO, estimated that the federal government made $236 billion of improper payments. That means ‘payments that should not have been made or were made in the incorrect amount.’ In Fiscal Year 2024, agencies reported $161.5 billion of improper payments. Since 2003, GAO estimates that the federal government has made $2.7 trillion in improper payments. The true cost of improper payments is likely even higher than this, however.”
    “My Improper Payments Transparency Act would require better reporting,” Ricketts closed. “This bipartisan bill, introduced with Democrat Senator Jacky Rosen of Nevada, would require the President’s budget to include the amounts and rates of improper payments at each executive agency. It would require a detailed explanation of yearly trends. It would also require a summary of corrective actions taken to reduce and stop improper payments. This data will help Congress and the American people see where money is being misspent. With this information, we can make better choices and save tax dollars.”
    [embedded content]
    Watch the video HERE.
    TRANSCRIPT:
    Senator Ricketts: “There is an inscription above the entrance to the Nebraska State Capitol. It reads: ‘the salvation of the state is watchfulness in the citizen.’ 
    “Transparency is essential to watchfulness. Transparency brings accountability. 
    “We need more transparency when it comes to wasteful government spending. 
    “Our $36 trillion national debt is our greatest domestic threat. 
    “We must do all we can to eliminate waste and restore fiscal sanity. 
    “To that end: today, I introduced bipartisan legislation to require more transparent and more accurate data about the scope of improper payments. 
    “Improper payments continue to be a major contributor to wasteful spending. 
    “In Fiscal Year 2023, the Government Accountability Office, or GAO, estimated that the federal government made $236 billion of improper payments. 
    “That means ‘payments that should not have been made or were made in the incorrect amount.’
    “In Fiscal Year 2024, agencies reported $161.5 billion of improper payments. 
    “Since 2003, GAO estimates that the federal government has made $2.7 trillion in improper payments.
    “The true cost of improper payments is likely even higher than this, however. 
    “Because some federal programs do not report improper payments. 
    “In Fiscal Year 2023, eight federal programs were flagged as having potentially significant problems with improper payments. 
    “They were required to report but did not do so. 
    “They should have been transparent with Americans. 
    “Current law only requires agencies to consult with the Office of Management and Budget before deciding whether to report improper payments. 
    “That must change. 
    “Americans deserve to know whether our tax dollars are being misspent. 
    “They deserve transparent data. 
    “My Improper Payments Transparency Act would require better reporting. 
    “This bipartisan bill, introduced with Democrat Senator Jacky Rosen of Nevada, would require the President’s budget to include the amounts and rates of improper payments at each executive agency.
    “It would require a detailed explanation of yearly trends. 
    “It would also require a summary of corrective actions taken to reduce and stop improper payments. 
    “This data will help Congress and the American people see where money is being misspent. 
    “With this information, we can make better choices and save tax dollars. 
    “Improper payments are not just numbers. They have real consequences. 
    “When federal agencies waste money, it means less money supports essential services. 
    “It crowds out money for our national defense. 
    “It reduces the dollars for critical infrastructure and deficit reduction. 
    “Taxpayers deserve better. 
    “Transparency and accountability shouldn’t be a partisan issue. Americans work hard. 
    “Their money should not be wasted. 
    “Waste undermines public trust and perpetuates our unsustainable fiscal path. 
    “If we want to fix our nation’s debt, we must stop wasting hundreds of billions of dollars each year in improper payments. 
    “And trillions of dollars over the last twenty years. 
    “It is time to find the mistakes, fix the problems, and save taxpayers money. 
    “My Improper Payments Transparency Act will help us do that. 
    “I’m committed to improving transparency and ending wasteful spending.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: N.M. Delegation Reintroduce Slate of Tribal Water Rights Settlements Legislation

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-New Mexico)
    WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) and U.S. Representatives Teresa Leger Fernández (D-N.M.), Gabe Vasquez (D-N.M.), and Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.) are reintroducing a slate of Tribal water rights settlement bills they are pushing to pass in this Congress.
    The full slate of Tribal water rights settlements legislation includes:
    The Rio San José and Rio Jemez Water Rights Settlements Act;
    The Ohkay Owingeh Rio Chama Water Rights Settlement Act;
    The Zuni Indian Tribe Water Rights Settlement Act; and
    The Navajo Nation Rio San José Water Rights Settlement Act.
    Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project Amendments;
    The Technical Corrections to the Northwestern New Mexico Rural Water Projects Act, Taos Pueblo Indian Water Rights Settlement Act, and Aamodt Litigation Settlement Act;
    “I’m proud to introduce these bills to finally unlock critical water infrastructure funding from these water rights settlements and ensure Tribes have the resources to use the water they own,” said Heinrich. “These settlements are supported by all parties involved, including Tribal and non-Tribal communities. Congress should pass these urgently needed bills to help communities manage their precious and limited water resources.”
    “Water rights are part of the federal trust responsibility for our Tribal communities,” said Luján, a member of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee. “I’m proud to reintroduce legislation to allow our Tribal communities to promote water security and complete much-needed water infrastructure projects. I’m especially proud to reintroduce my legislation to amend the Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project, ensuring it has the resources and time needed to deliver clean drinking water to communities in northwestern New Mexico. These pieces of legislation will help fulfill our trust responsibility and promote water security for Tribes and Pueblos, as well as non-Tribal users, in New Mexico.”
    “This legislation upholds our trust responsibility to Tribes and helps bring certainty to disputes about water across the Southwest. The settlements included in these bills secure clean, reliable water for Navajo Nation, Jicarilla Apache Nation, 11 pueblos, and the rural communities that are their neighbors across New Mexico,” said Leger Fernández. “It is with great expectation that I reintroduce this legislation which reflects decades of negotiation and collaboration. We must pass these bills so the scarce water resources our communities need to thrive for generations to come are available to all.”
    “In New Mexico, we know water is life,” said Stansbury. “That’s why these Tribal Water Settlement bills are so important. These pieces of legislation will give water rights back to our Tribes and Pueblos, ensuring the federal government upholds our Trust and Treaty Responsibilities. Indigenous people have been stewards of the land and water since time immemorial, and now is the time for them to lead these efforts.”
    “I will always stand with our Tribal communities in Congress,” said Vasquez. “These water rights settlements are a crucial step in fulfilling our delegation’s commitment to ensuring every New Mexican has access to safe, reliable water. By providing our Tribes and Pueblos with the resources they need, we are investing in vital water infrastructure that will serve generations to come.”
    The Rio San José and Rio Jemez Water Rights Settlements Act is led by Heinrich and Leger Fernández. Luján, Stansbury, and Vasquez are original cosponsors. The bill would implement two fund-based water settlements: one between the Pueblos of Jemez and Zia, the United States, the State of New Mexico, and non-Tribal parties; and another between the Pueblos of Acoma and Laguna, the United States, the State of New Mexico, and non-Tribal parties. The settlements are strongly supported by all parties involved.
    Heinrich and Leger Fernández previously introduced this legislation in March 2023. The bill received a hearing and was reported out of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee in December 2023. The House version of this bill received a legislative hearing in the House Water, Wildlife and Fisheries Subcommittee in July 2024.
    Read the full bill text here.
    The Ohkay Owingeh Rio Chama Water Rights Settlement Act is also led by Heinrich and Leger Fernández. Luján and Stansbury are original cosponsors. The bill establishes a trust fund to implement the negotiated settlement between the United States, the State of New Mexico, the City of Española, the Asociación de Acéquias Norteñas de Rio Arriba, El Rito Ditch Asociación, La Asociación de las Acéquias del Rio Tusas, Vallecitos y Ojo Caliente, the Rio de Chama Acéquia Association, and Ohkay Owingeh to settle the Pueblo’s water claims in the Rio Chama Basin. The funding will be used for Ohkay Owingeh’s development of water resources to ensure the Pueblo has appropriate water infrastructure to use the water that they have claim to in the basin.
    Heinrich and Leger Fernández initially introduced the bill in June 2024. The bill then received a key hearing before the Senate Indian Affairs Committee in July 2024.
    Read the full bill text here.
    The Zuni Indian Tribe Water Rights Settlement Act is led by Heinrich and Vasquez. Luján, Stansbury, and Leger Fernández are original cosponsors. The bill authorizes $685 million to support a trust for sustainable water management and infrastructure development that upholds the federal government’s trust responsibility while protecting the sacred Zuni Salt Lake. The bill ratifies the settlement between the federal government, State of New Mexico and Zuni Tribe that affirms their water rights for irrigation, livestock, storage, and domestic and other uses.
    Heinrich and Vasquez initially introduced the bill in July 2024. The bill received a key hearing before the Senate Indian Affairs Committee in September 2024.
    Read the full bill text here.
    The Navajo Nation Rio San José Water Rights Settlement Act is led by Heinrich and Leger Fernández. Luján, Stansbury, and Vasquez are original cosponsors. This bill would approve the water rights settlement for the Navajo Nation as well as participating non-Tribal parties in the Rio San José watershed.
    Heinrich and Leger Fernández initially introduced this bill in September 2024. The bill then received a key hearing before the Senate Indian Affairs Committee that same month.
    Read the full bill text here.
    The Navajo Gallup Water Supply Project Amendments is led by Luján and Leger Fernández. Heinrich and Stansbury are original cosponsors. The bill amends the Navajo Gallup Water Supply Project to ensure it has the resources and time needed to reach completion to deliver drinking water to northwestern New Mexico communities.
    The Navajo Gallup Water Supply Project was first authorized as part of the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009, which settled the Navajo Nation’s water rights in the San Juan Basin of New Mexico and funded the design and construction of the waterline to reach an estimated 250,000 people by the year 2040. Upon completion, the Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project will provide a long-term, sustainable water supply from the San Juan River to roughly 43 Chapters on the eastern Navajo Nation, the southwestern portion of the Jicarilla Apache Nation, and the City of Gallup, which currently rely on a rapidly depleting groundwater supply of poor quality.
    Luján, Leger Fernández, and Heinrich initially introduced the bill in June 2023. The bill was passed out of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee in November 2023.
    Read the full bill text here.
    The Technical Corrections to the Northwestern New Mexico Rural Water Projects Act, Taos Pueblo Indian Water Rights Settlement Act, and Aamodt Litigation Settlement Act is led by Luján and Leger Fernández. Heinrich and Stansbury are original cosponsors. This bill authorizes the appropriation of $6.3 million for the Navajo Nation Water Resources Development Fund; $7.8 million for the Taos Pueblo Water Development Fund; and $4.3 million for the Aamodt Settlement Pueblos’ Fund, which covers Nambé, Pojoaque, San Ildefonso, and Tesuque Pueblos. It will support water resources development projects for the Tribes.
    Luján and Leger Fernández initially introduced this bill in December 2023.
    Read the full bill text here.

    MIL OSI USA News –