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Category: US Senate

  • MIL-OSI USA: Graham Votes To Confirm Kash Patel

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for South Carolina Lindsey Graham
    WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) today made this statement after voting to confirm Kash Patel as Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Patel was confirmed by a vote of 51-49.
    “I am extremely pleased to have cast my vote to confirm Kash Patel as the new director of the FBI. Kash has been a federal defense attorney and prosecutor, and he has been deeply involved in counter terrorism practice and policy. He was also one of the key figures who discovered the Russian hoax against President Trump.
    “Kash is the right man to clean up the FBI to restore Americans’ confidence and trust that the FBI is not a political organization, it is a law enforcement organization. The men and women of the FBI will be in good hands with Kash Patel.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: 02.20.2025 Sen. Cruz, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health Policy, Meets with African Ambassadors

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Texas Ted Cruz
    WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health Policy and a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, held a roundtable with ambassadors and representatives from Africa this week. The countries represented included: Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Malawi, Ghana, Senegal, Djibouti, Madagascar, Zambia, Equatorial Guinea, Kenya, Uganda, Gabon, Togo, Mozambique, Mauritania, and Ethiopia, as well as a Representative from the African Union.
    Following the meeting, Sen. Cruz said, “I intend to use my chairmanship of the Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health Policy to ensure that America’s policy towards Africa is focused on advancing American national security interests across the continent, with an emphasis on countering China’s efforts to undermine those interests and conduct malign activities. The subcommittee will hold regular and multiple hearings on these and other issues.
    “Right now, the Chinese Communist Party is pouring billions into its Belt and Road Initiative across Africa. These projects serve as a tool for the CCP to lock in crushing debt and undermine the sovereignty of countries across the continent.
    “In this meeting, I also emphasized that national security is inextricably linked to energy, and the issue was raised by at least half of the ambassadors in the room. Economic prosperity hinges on access to reliable energy and critical resources. The United States has a unique opportunity to expand economic ties by fostering partnerships in energy, as well as in critical mineral and other resources, which will bring greater prosperity and a brighter future for Africans while strengthening America’s strategic position in the region.”
    BACKGROUND
    The Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health Policy deals with all matters concerning U.S. relations with countries in Africa (except those, like the countries of North Africa, specifically covered by other subcommittees), as well as regional intergovernmental organizations like the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States. This subcommittee’s regional responsibilities include all matters within the geographic region, including matters relating to: (1) terrorism and non-proliferation; (2) crime and illicit narcotics; (3) U.S. foreign assistance programs; and (4) the promotion of U.S. trade and exports.
    In addition, this subcommittee has global responsibility for health-related policy, including disease outbreak and response.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Welch Speaks on Kash Patel’s Willingness to Enable Trump’s Reckless Illegality Before Voting Against His Nomination: “He’s on a mission to wreck the FBI”

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont)
    WASHINGTON, D.C. –Today, U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) spoke on the Senate Floor before voting against Kash Patel, President Trump’s pick to serve as the next Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Senator Welch expressed his opposition to Mr. Patel and raised concerns about Mr. Patel’s involvement and actions enabling President Trump’s firing spree of career FBI agents and officials, his unwillingness to stand up against President Trump’s demands, and his perpetuation of Trump’s Big Lie about the 2020 election.  
    “Mr. Patel is not the person to lead the FBI. And my hope is that all of us should consider what Mr. Patel will do. He’s going to use the power of the FBI to go after all those in government, those in the media, and those across the country he doesn’t agree with. He cannot serve as the next director of the FBI,” said Senator Welch. 
    Watch the Senator’s full remarks below: 
    Read key excerpts from Senator Welch’s remarks here: 
    “I believe that this country and Congress is in the midst of a slow-moving but rapidly accelerating constitutional crisis. This is real, and we can ignore it or see it. It began most visibly, of course, on January 6, 2021, when two norms of this republic—the peaceful transfer of power and the renunciation of violence to affect the outcome of a vote count and certification— were breached. And where many members of the House and Senate also voted against certifying the election of the person chosen by the people in their own states. The president continues to say that the election was stolen, and he has coached his nominees to embrace the Big Lie.  
    “The first month of the Trump Administration has shown a contempt for the Constitution; an acceptance of lawlessness that is dangerous to the future of our republic. President Trump’s election denialism was only an early sign of his disregard for the norms and requirements of the Constitution. Now, empowered in a second term by a Congress and a Judiciary which refused to assert their independence, Mr. Trump has enacted executive order after executive order to dismantle our institutions. He doesn’t have the authority to do what he’s doing.” 
    ■■■
    “It is my view that this administration is showing maximum contempt for core constitutional values, including, most importantly, the separation of powers. This is not about what the president’s agenda is. This is about his disregard about the limits that apply to each branch of government. And we have a dilemma. There are many in Congress that are fully in support of President Trump’s policies. That’s his right to pursue them, any member’s right to support them.  
    “But it has to be that we accept our unique responsibility—each of the 100 U.S. Senators—that we have to guarantee that in pursuit of those policies, it is done within constitutional boundaries. That is the glue that has held this country together through thick and thin for nearly 250 years. You know, this is not just talk about civic aspiration. It’s a recognition that the separation of powers, that the system of checks and balances—we’re custodians of that, each of us here—that the concept of the executive’s ambition should be matched with the ambition of the legislature. That’s what’s held us together through the turmoil of our own history.” 
    ■■■
    “I’m voting against Mr. Patel, primarily, but not exclusively, because he’s clearly an instrument in [Trump’s] effort to continue eroding the precepts of the Constitution on separation of powers. And I urge all my fellow Senators, Republican and Democrat, to embrace the responsibility we have to assert our responsibility and authority as a coequal branch…   
    “I’m regarding what President Trump has been doing in his first month in office as an illegal rampage—it’s a rampage of illegality. He’s showing a contempt for Congress and a contempt for the United States Judiciary. Mr. Patel has signed onto that agenda. He isn’t just someone who will be forced to participate in the president’s campaign of retribution, he’s an active participant. He’s got his ‘enemies list.’ We know this because his own words said what the FBI—’what was the FBI doing planning January 6 for a year?’ No basis for that, other than to set up the attack on the good men and women of the FBI.”   
    ■■■
    This morning, Senator Welch joined Senate Judiciary Democrats outside of the FBI Headquarters building in Washington, D.C. to call on their Republican colleagues to block the nomination of Mr. Patel on the Senate Floor. 
    Senator Welch has expressed reservations about Mr. Patel’s nomination in the Senate Judiciary Committee. During Mr. Patel’s confirmation hearing, Senator Welch grilled the nominee about his refusal to acknowledge that President Biden won the 2020 Presidential Election and stressed the importance of combatting any attempt to weaponize the Justice Department and the FBI under the Trump Administration. Last week, Senator Welch reacted to reports that Mr. Patel has been personally involved in the Trump Administration’s ongoing efforts to target and fire career FBI agents and officials. Under oath, Mr. Patel told Senator Welch he had no recollection of the purge at the FBI.  

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: ICYMI: Senator Reverend Warnock Spotlights Dangerous Cuts to Medicaid in Presser Addressing Washington Politicians’ Proposed Tax Bill

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock – Georgia

    ICYMI: Senator Reverend Warnock Spotlights Dangerous Cuts to Medicaid in Presser Addressing Washington Politicians’ Proposed Tax Bill

    On Wednesday afternoon, Senator Reverend Warnock addressed the impact of proposed Republican cuts to Medicaid on ordinary Georgians
    The press conference came hours after President Trump endorsed the House Republican budget plan, which includes scathing cuts to Medicaid and other programs that hard working Georgians rely on
    Senator Reverend Warnock has long championed Medicaid protections and closing the health care coverage gap
    Senator Reverend Warnock: “This is backward, it’s not only immoral it’s impractical, we’re making the American workforce sicker and weaker, […] we’ve got to straighten out this mess and center to the people”

    Above: Senator Reverend Warnock during the Hands Off Medicaid press conference
    Washington, D.C. – On Wednesday afternoon, U.S. Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA) outlined the dire impacts of potential Medicaid cuts on ordinary Georgians. The Senator pushed back on cuts to Medicaid and other key programs proposed by Washington politicians in the recent budget plan.
    The proposed plans potentially set up deep cuts to Medicaid, threatening to shut down more rural hospitals, and rip away healthcare from some of the nation’s most vulnerable communities, including thousands of Georgia seniors and children.
    “A budget is more than a fiscal document. It is also a moral document. Show me your budget and I’ll show you who you think matters, who’s in and who’s out, who you think is expendable, where your priorities are,” said Senator Reverend Warnock.
    This is backward, it’s not only immoral it’s impractical, we’re making the American workforce sicker and weaker, […] we’ve got to straighten out this mess and center to the people,” Senator Reverend Warnock concluded.
    The press conference was hosted by U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and also included U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR), Patty Murray (D-WA), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Peter Welch (D-VT), and Maggie Hassan (D-NH). The press conference is part of the Health Care Strike Team, created by Senate Democrats to push back on Republicans’ reconciliation efforts.
    Senator Warnock has long championed efforts to expand affordable health care access, starting with his advocacy to close the health care coverage gap in Georgia. In addition to pushing for solutions to close the coverage gap, Senator Warnock led a delegation of Georgia lawmakers in urging the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to provide tools to Medicaid non-expansion states like Georgia to help them protect health care access for Medicaid enrollees who lose eligibility after the end of the public health emergency declaration.
    Watch Senator Warnock’s remarks HERE.
    Below full remarks from Senator Warnock at press conference:
    “A budget is more than a fiscal document. It is also a moral document. Show me your budget and I’ll show you who you think matters, who’s in and who’s out, who you think is expendable, where your priorities are.”
    “As we take stock of what Washington Republicans are trying to do now, this budget, if it were an EKG (electrocardiogram), would suggest that Washington Republicans have a heart problem and that they are in need of moral surgery.”
    “The consequences of the actions that they are trying to take in this moment hits into the lives of ordinary people. I think too often those of us who work in this space and those who cover us, sort of cover the politicians. And when the politics becomes about the politicians, we lose site of where and how this actually matters for ordinary people. What they’re trying to do is both immoral and impractical. I have been working in this health care fight for years, long before I decided to run for the United States Senate, I was fighting for health care in Georgia.”
    “I remember when we passed the Affordable Care Act, how glad I was that that happened and I went into the Georgia Capitol and staged to sit-in in the governor’s office because that governor, and the next governor, and the governor after that have all refused to expand Medicaid in Georgia. It suggested that politicians have a heart problem.”
    “Jesus said, ‘Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.’ Dr. King, who pastored the church where I now serve, said that ‘Of all the injustices, inequality in health care is the most shocking and the most inhumane.’”
    “They are busy trying to pass a tax cut for the wealthiest people in America, billionaires and millionaires, and they’re doing it on the backs of ordinary people. This cannot stand.”
    “We will continue to hold unaccountable and we encourage all of our constituents to hold them accountable. And because I’ve been focused on this issue, glad now to serve on the finance committee under the great Ron Wyden and we’ll be focused on these issues. I got arrested in Georgia trying to get healthcare for folks. Staging a sit-in and in the governor’s office. In fact, I got arrested in this Capitol in 2017 when they were trying to do the same thing, pass the $2 trillion dollar tax cut at the expense of the poor and the farm bill at the expense of the children’s health care program, but I decided to move from being an agitator to a legislator, but we got to keep on agitating, even if it’s inside of these halls.”
    “When I came to the Senate, I talked to all of my colleagues here in the Democratic Caucus and they agreed with me that we needed to provide Georgia and other non-expansion states some more incentives to expand. Remember, we got 14.2 billion for the non-expansion states to expand, $2 billion just for Georgia alone. You know what Georgia did? Georgia left that money on the table and left over 600,000 Georgians in the healthcare coverage gap.”
    “Some got the message, North Carolina took those incentives and they expanded, a purple state, Kentucky expanded. Now they’re trying to go after these incentives. They want to go after the tax credits that will allow people to get health care and this has consequences on the lives of ordinary people. We’ve seen a dozen hospitals in Georgia close over the last decade, and those hospitals could be opened with paying customers if they could get access to Medicaid.”
    “When I think about this, I often think about Heather Payne, who is a traveling nurse from Dalton, Georgia. Georgia has a health care program, if you want to call it that. That has not enrolled 10,000 people yet. Heather Payne is one of those people stuck in the gap. That’s why my colleagues pointed out, very often we talk about Medicaid expansion, we’re talking about the working poor, people who work every single day. Heather Payne is a traveling nurse who was taking care of patients even during COVID, and then because she was a traveling nurse, some days she had health care, sometimes she didn’t have health care. She wasn’t poor enough to get conventional Medicaid and the programs that she was eligible for would cost between 500 and $1,000 a month, it was too much.”
    “One day she realized that something was happening in her body. She knew something wasn’t right, but she didn’t have enough money to see what it was, and finally, she saved enough money of her own cash to finally go and see a neurologist. And the neurologist said, you’ve actually had a series of mini-strokes that require additional care. And so here she is, she needs additional care, but she doesn’t have health care. And so she’s literally caught up in the gap between the refusal of a state of Georgia to expand Medicaid and these onerous work requirements in states like Georgia. She’s sick, too sick to work, and she’s being asked to prove that she can work, or that she is working, so that she can get health care.”
    “Why’d they give Elon Musk and people like him a tax cut? Let me put this in perspective, in closing, and nobody believes a Baptist preacher when he says ‘In closing’, I was proud that we got $14 billion to help these states to expand Medicaid. Elon Musk has got $18 billion in incentives from our federal government. And he’s the one who’s telling us that the rest of us need to tighten our belts.”
    “This is backwards, it’s not only immoral it’s and impractical, we’re making the American workforce sicker and weaker, which I think ultimately is a national security issue, and so we’ve got a straighten out this mess and center to the people. People like Heather Payne, who’s waiting right in this very moment to get the health care she deserves.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Senate Passes Warner Resolution Recognizing the 80th Anniversary of Iwo Jima

    US Senate News:

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

    WASHINGTON – Late yesterday evening, on the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Iwo Jima, the United States Senate unanimously passed a resolution recognizing the anniversary of the battle, which began on February 19, 1945, and lasted until March 26, 1945. U.S. Sens. Mark Warner (D-VA) and Todd Young (R-IN) introduced the resolution earlier this month.

    “The 80th anniversary of the Battle of Iwo Jima is an opportunity to reflect on the bravery and perseverance of the Greatest Generation, and is an enduring reminder about the power of courage and unity in the face of adversity,” said Sen. Warner. “I am glad to see the Senate pass our resolution in honor of all those who fought at Iwo Jima, a group of brave servicemembers that included my late father, Marine Corporal Robert Warner.”

    “For myself, every Marine, and many Americans, Iwo Jima is symbol of duty and sacrifice,” said Sen. Young. “I’m proud this resolution that recognizes the heroic servicemembers who gave their lives at Iwo Jima, honors those who fought in the battle, and reaffirms our reconciled friendship with Japan unanimously passed the Senate.”

    The resolution:

    • Honors the Marines, Sailors, Soldiers, Army Air Crew, and Coast Guardsmen who fought bravely on Iwo Jima;
    • Remembers the brave servicemembers who lost their lives in the battle;
    • Encourages Americans to honor the veterans of Iwo Jima; and
    • Reaffirms the bonds of friendship and shared values that have developed between the United States and Japan over the last 80 years.

    In addition to Sens. Warner and Young, Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Chris Coons (D-DE), John Boozman (R-AR), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Angus King (I-ME), Rick Scott (R-FL), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Jack Reed (D-RI), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) also cosponsored the resolution.

    Full text of the resolution can be found here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Virginia & North Carolina Senators Urge Swift Distribution of Public Lands Funding Following Hurricane Helene

    US Senate News:

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

    WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) and Thom Tillis and Ted Budd (both R-NC) today wrote to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins and U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, urging them to expeditiously allocate funding appropriated by Congress for public lands in Virginia and North Carolina that were ravaged by Hurricane Helene.  

    Hurricane Helene devasted communities across North Carolina, Virginia, and large swaths of the Southeast in September 2024. Historic flooding and high winds resulted in over a hundred deaths, damaged and destroyed thousands of homes and businesses, and decimated critical regional infrastructure. Additionally, the storm caused unprecedented damage to public lands in western North Carolina and Southwest Virginia that are essential drivers of economic activity for many communities. The American Relief Act of 2025 contained robust funding to address natural disaster-related damage to public lands across the U.S., including $6.4 billion for the U.S. Forest Service and $2.3 billion for the National Park Service.

    Wrote the senators, “Public lands managed by USDA and DOI are crucial economic engines for communities throughout western North Carolina and Southwest Virginia. For example, the National Park Service’s (NPS) most visited unit, the Blue Ridge Parkway, which spans 469 miles across the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina and Virginia, supports the economies of dozens of communities in our states. In 2023, 16.7 million visitors spent nearly $1.4 billion in communities surrounding the Parkway, which supported over 19,000 jobs. Helene decimated the Blue Ridge Parkway resulting in indefinite closures along large portions of the roadway and damage to many trails, historical sites, and recreational areas. The recovery effort for the Parkway will be one of the most significant and expensive infrastructure projects in the park’s history, and its success will be essential for the dozens of gateway communities that rely on the Parkway.”

    Added the lawmakers, “In addition to National Park Service managed property, many of our communities in Southwest Virginia and western North Carolina contain U.S. Forest Service lands that were decimated by Hurricane Helene. This includes the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests in Virginia, the Cherokee National Forest in Tennessee and North Carolina, and the Nantahala and Pisgah National Forests in western North Carolina. These lands attract millions of visitors each year who contribute millions more in visitor spending that sustains countless small businesses and gateway communities.”

    The senators also singled out the damage sustained by the Virginia Creeper Trail, writing, “Perhaps no Forest Service asset in the country suffered more damage from Hurricane Helene than the Virginia Creeper Trail, a 34-mile recreational trail that is co-managed by the Forest Service and the towns of Damascus and Abingdon in Southwest Virginia. The storm obliterated 18 miles of the Creeper Trail from Damascus to Whitetop, Virginia, destroying 18 trestles and washing away extended segments of the trail itself. The Creeper Trail is the most significant driver of economic activity in Damascus and one of the significant tourism destinations in the entire region. The trail attracts more then 200,000 visitors annually, supporting local bike shops, restaurants, and lodging. In all, the Creeper Trail contributes nearly $13 million annually in tourism spending to the region’s economy. A prolonged closure of the trail could have devasting consequences for Damascus and the entire region. It is critical that USDA and the Forest Service move quickly to allocate appropriated funding to rebuild the Creeper Trail to ensure Damascus and other localities that depend on the trail can fully recovery from Helene.”

    Concluded the senators, “As our states continue to rebuild from Hurricane Helene, it is critical that this supplemental funding is deployed to our public lands swiftly to ensure a timely rebuild of these assets that our communities depend on.”

    A full copy of the letter is available here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Schatz: Instead Of Addressing Rising Prices, Air Safety Issues, And New Disease Outbreaks, Trump And Republicans Want To Cut Taxes For Billionaires And Make You Pay For It

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Hawaii Brian Schatz

    WASHINGTON – Today on the Senate floor, U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) underscored President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans’ efforts to cut taxes for billionaires, while making working families foot the bill as they struggle with soaring prices, persistent air safety concerns, and growing threats to public health.

    “The price of eggs has gone up by 15%, which is the single biggest monthly increase in ten years. Price of coffee is up 25% since the start of the year, and everything from gas to housing to car insurance is getting more expensive. But I don’t want people to worry because Republicans are on it. Donald Trump knows that the main thing people elected him to do is to lower prices. And rest assured, he is working day and night to fix it. Everybody knows that the best way to lower costs for individual Americans is to cut taxes for billionaires. Everybody knows that. If eggs are eight bucks where you’re living, obviously cut tax for billionaires. If coffee is increasingly expensive, cut taxes for billionaires. That is the very first thing that Republicans in the new Congress have decided to do is cut taxes for the richest people to ever exist,” said Senator Schatz.

    Schatz continued, “People are dying because of the flu and the bird flu. Let’s cut taxes for billionaires. Airplanes are falling out of the sky. Let’s cut taxes for billionaires. People are losing their homes and wildfires and losses in Los Angeles and floods in Kentucky. Let’s cut taxes for billionaires. Families can’t afford their health care or housing, no matter how hard they work. Let’s cut taxes for billionaires. Kids are falling behind in school with a third of a third of eighth graders lacking basic reading skills. Let’s cut taxes for billionaires. Trump is illegally cutting funding for pediatric cancer research and disease prevention. Let’s cut taxes for billionaires. Thousands of National Park Service workers fired. I know what we should do. Why don’t we shovel a bunch of money to a bunch of billionaires? Millions of people. Millions of people are on the verge of starvation, disease and death because Trump suddenly and illegally suspended one of our primary arms of foreign policy, USAID. What is their solution? Not to exert any pressure on the State Department or the OMB. Or the President himself. Let’s cut taxes for billionaires.”

    “Their solution to every problem, big or small, domestic or global, complex or simple, is to cut taxes for billionaires,” Schatz concluded.

    Video of his complete remarks is available here.

    The full text of Senator Schatz’s remarks, as delivered, is below.

    The price of just about everything is going up right now. Anyone that has been to the grocery store in the past few weeks now knows how hard it is to find a dozen eggs since the President was inaugurated.

    The price of eggs has gone up by 15%, which is the single biggest monthly increase in ten years. Price of coffee is up 25% since the start of the year, and everything from gas to housing to car insurance is getting more expensive. But I don’t want people to worry because Republicans are on it. Donald Trump knows that the main thing people elected him to do is to lower prices.

    And rest assured, he is working day and night to fix it. Everybody knows that the best way to lower costs for individual Americans is to cut taxes for billionaires. Everybody knows that. If eggs are eight bucks where you’re living, obviously cut tax for billionaires. If coffee is increasingly expensive, cut taxes for billionaires. That is the very first thing that Republicans in the new Congress have decided to do is cut taxes for the richest people to ever exist.

    And they’re going to do it by making regular people pay. Now, that might sound like a partisan accusation. And of course, on some level it is. But if you’re sitting at home listening to the chatter about one big, beautiful bill or two bills and you’re wondering what it all means, here’s what they are doing. They want to cut taxes for billionaires to the tune of about $4.5 trillion, $4.5 trillion.

    And because they already blew up the federal deficit in 2017, and because there are some House Republicans and maybe some Senate Republicans who won’t vote for a package that increases the deficit, they actually need to find some savings elsewhere. It is very hard to find $4.5 trillion worth of savings. So what are they doing? They’re having to cut programs and services that help people on a daily basis.

    Hundreds of billions of dollars from Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act, subsidies and food assistance. They’re slashing funding for cancer research and disaster recovery and schools and national parks and VA clinics. They are laying off thousands of employees at federal agencies, one third of whom are veterans. And to be clear, this is not for the holy grail of efficiency.

    Food is rotting at the dock. Medicine is rotting. The National Park Service is already backed up. Normally takes one minute to get into a national park, and a lot of places are. It’s not even. It’s like cold outside, taking 90 minutes to get into national parks. That’s not efficiency. They’re laying off probationary people. But let’s be clear what probationary means.

    It does mean new hires. It also means anybody who’s getting a promotion, someone who has performed well. The United States government says, “You’re so good. We want you to do something even more important”. So then you get put into this probationary category, and then you get laid off. Why? Why? Because they need to find $4.5 trillion worth of savings.

    That’s what’s going on. As we speak, there are multiple outbreaks of diseases and illness within the United States. We’re in the middle of the worst flu season in a decade. 13,000 Americans dead. Norovirus cases have skyrocketed by 340% this winter, and there have been 68 cases of the bird flu nationwide. Not to mention that if you can find eggs at all, there’s sometimes 8 or $10 for a dozen.

    In Texas, 58 people, mostly children, have gotten measles. And that’s to say nothing of the Ebola and Marburg virus in eastern Africa. But don’t worry, Trump is on it. And by on it, I mean he’s laying off the very people who are responding to these crises. We learned yesterday that after DOJ’s fired officials at the Department of Agriculture who were working on containing the bird flu, they had to quickly backtrack to try to rehire them.

    Sometimes they don’t have these people’s email addresses. Sorry. Would you please come back? I don’t know how to find you. This is not efficiency. This is an arson job. So they can generate savings so they can shovel $4.5 trillion to the people on that stage at inauguration. That’s what this is. We are less than two months into the year, and we’ve already had four major deadly aviation disasters, including one right here in Washington over the Potomac and Trump is firing hundreds of FAA employees.

    People who have jobs like maintenance mechanic, information specialist, safety assistant. They actually asked a bunch of air traffic controllers to quit. We’re short air traffic controllers. We’ve been short air traffic controllers for 6 or 7 years. As a matter of fact, when I was the chairman of the relevant committee, we worked on a bipartisan basis to put a lot of a lot of money behind hiring more air traffic controllers.

    Now, you can be a conservative and think the government should be smaller, or you can be a liberal and think the government should be bigger. I assume nobody thinks we should lay off air traffic controllers.

    And if we’re going to do that, it be it should be because something else even more urgent than air traffic control is at stake. But let’s understand what’s at stake. What’s at stake is $4.5 trillion in tax cuts for the wealthiest people to ever walk this planet. We are less than a month away from the March 14th funding deadline to keep the government open, and we don’t even have topline numbers yet alone, let alone full committee bills.

    We are nowhere near a defense bill, but the only thing that Republicans are focused on right now immediately, urgently is cutting taxes for billionaires. People are dying because of the flu and the bird flu. Let’s cut taxes for billionaires. Airplanes are falling out of the sky. Let’s cut taxes for billionaires. People are losing their homes and wildfires and losses in Los Angeles and floods in Kentucky.

    Let’s cut taxes for billionaires. Families can’t afford their health care or housing, no matter how hard they work. Let’s cut taxes for billionaires. Kids are falling behind in school with a third of a third of eighth graders lacking basic reading skills. Let’s cut taxes for billionaires. Trump is illegally cutting funding for pediatric cancer research and disease prevention. Let’s cut taxes for billionaires.

    Thousands of National Park Service workers fired. I know what we should do. Why don’t we shovel a bunch of money to a bunch of billionaires? Millions of people. Millions of people are on the verge of starvation, disease and death because Trump suddenly and illegally suspended one of our primary arms of foreign policy, USAID. What is their solution? Not to exert any pressure on the State Department or the OMB.

    Or the President himself. Let’s cut taxes for billionaires. Anything and everything comes down to this. Why? Because it’s the main thing they think about. There are so many smart people on the other side of the aisle, so many people who have accomplished so much in their careers. And they are lighting it on fire for this man.

    The solution to every problem, big or small, domestic or global, complex or simple, is to cut taxes for billionaires. This is their project. This is their reason for being. Whatever else has motivated them to run for office in the first place? This is the first thing they’re doing. Instead of a bunch of other stuff.

    It doesn’t have to be like this. You can be a Republican.

    And give them their cabinet and their judges and justices. But my God, stand up for this place. Why would you run for office and then just remove your frontal lobe?

    And do whatever this man thinks. It doesn’t matter how much harm comes to your hospitals or your schools or your roads, or the one third of federal workers who are veterans. The solution always is to cut taxes for billionaires. I yield the floor.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Hawai‘i Congressional Delegation Leads Resolution Celebrating Mahina ‘Ōlelo Hawai‘i

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Hawaii Brian Schatz

    WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) and Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawai‘i) and U.S. Representatives Ed Case (D-Hawai‘i) and Jill Tokuda (D-Hawai‘i) today introduced a resolution celebrating Mahina ‘Olelo Hawai‘i, also known as Hawaiian Language Month.

    “This February, we celebrate Mahina ‘Olelo Hawai‘i and the people, schools, and programs that work every day to preserve the Hawaiian language and culture,” said Senator Schatz, vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. “The resurgence of the Hawaiian language not only serves as a model for Indigenous communities around the world, but also as an example of the strength and resilience of the Hawaiian community.”

    “Indigenous languages are an important part of our country’s history and fabric,” said Senator Hirono. “Yet various laws, practices, and prejudices led to many indigenous languages dying, or nearly dying out. Hawai‘i’s indigenous, Hawaiian language, or ‘Olelo Hawai‘i, was similarly nearly made extinct by misguided policies banning the language from being taught in schools or used in official governing documents. Through perseverance the Native Hawaiian community protected and revitalized the use of ‘Olelo Hawai‘i, but the language is still endangered and we must continue working to protect it. I am proud to join my colleagues in reintroducing this resolution to celebrate Mahina ‘Olelo Hawai‘i, and I will keep advocating for the preservation of Native Hawaiian language and culture. E ola ka ‘olelo Hawai‘i.”

    “Olelo Hawai‘i is not just the language of the Kanaka Maoli, but an inseparable part of the living, breathing soul of our Hawai‘i,” said Representative Case. “We know from our own two-and-a-half century post-contact experience that the languages and cultures of our indigenous peoples around the world can and do disappear, that the fates of our indigenous peoples and of all of us who inhabit their ancestral homes are tied to the survival and prosperity of this heritage, and that it takes conscious, ongoing effort to ensure that survival. Hawaiian Language Month is not only a commemoration of the success story of Olelo Hawai‘i, but a recommitment to the continued effort that will always be required.”

    “I am proud to join my colleagues from the Aloha State in introducing this resolution, which recognizes, promotes, and celebrates ‘Olelo Hawai‘i,” said Representative Tokuda. “The Hawaiian language was once banned to near extinction, but after years of revitalization efforts, is now heard all over Hawai‘i and reminds us daily about the culture in which we live. This resolution highlights the significance of ‘Olelo Hawai‘i to our state, and the need to fight for its continued respect so future generations can proudly learn and use their ancestral language.”

    Schatz, who serves as vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, has authored several laws promoting Native languages, including the Native American Language Resource Center Act, which awarded a consortium led by the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo with $6.6 million to establish the first National Native American Language Resource Center. The federal funding is providing resources to foster collaboration and promote the use of Native American languages across the country.

    The resolution text is available here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Durbin: Kash Patel’s Record Shows He Is A Dangerous, Inexperienced, & Dishonest Trump Loyalist Who Is Not Qualified To Serve As Next FBI Director

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Illinois Dick Durbin

    February 20, 2025

    In a speech on the Senate floor shortly before the vote on his nomination, Durbin summarizes Kash Patel’s disqualifying behavior

    WASHINGTON – In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, delivered his closing argument against the nomination of Kash Patel to serve as the next Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).  In his remarks delivered shortly before the vote on Patel’s nomination, Durbin underscored Patel’s extremism, his blind loyalty to President Trump, his dangerous support of January 6 insurrectionists, and his history of peddling lies about the federal government.

    “If Senate Republicans confirm Mr. Patel, I believe they will come to regret this vote, probably sooner rather than later.  I, for one, am convinced that Mr. Patel has neither the experience, the judgment, nor the temperament to lead this… criminal investigative agency [FBI],” Durbin began.  “Let me be clear.  This is not a partisan issue.  During my time in the Senate, I have voted for four FBI Director nominations before this one.  Each one was a Republican, and I voted for them, nevertheless.”

    “I oppose Mr. Patel because he is dangerously, politically extreme.  He has repeatedly expressed his intention to use our nation’s most important law enforcement agency to retaliate against his political enemies,” Durbin said.

    Durbin then began to lay out his justification for opposing Patel’s nomination and warned his Republican colleagues about the potential consequences of allowing an unqualified extremist to lead the nation’s top law enforcement agency.  Durbin first pointed to the credible whistleblower allegations that detailed Patel’s direct involvement in the ongoing purge of senior law enforcement officials at the FBI. 

    “The Director is the only political appointment at the FBI. Congress took steps to ensure that this position remains as apolitical as possible by providing for a single term of 10 years for a director and subjecting the appointment to the advice and consent of the Senate… But as we have seen for weeks now, the Trump Administration’s purge of the FBI is a political exercise that has spread to career officials,” Durbin said.  “This purge has dramatically weakened the FBI’s ability to combat national security threats and has made Americans less safe.  Senior leaders with collectively hundreds of years of experience have been forced out, creating a leadership vacuum.”

    Thousands of FBI agents now fear for their jobs because they were assigned to work on cases related to the January 6 insurrection or President Trump’s long list of legal infractions.  Whistleblowers have come forward with evidence that Patel, as a private citizen, called for these agents to be fired—which Patel denied vehemently despite being under oath during his nomination hearing.  Further, these career agents now fear for their own and their families’ safety as January 6 insurrections continue to make credible, serious, and public threats against them.

    “I have heard directly from FBI agents who now fear for their safety and the safety of their families. To understand why, let me tell you about a January 6 rioter named Edward Kelley.  Mr. Kelley was convicted of assaulting law enforcement during the attack on the U.S. Capitol… and he was given a full and unconditional pardon by Donald Trump.  But Mr. Kelley has also been convicted in his home state of Tennessee of conspiracy to murder the FBI agents who investigated his role in the January 6 attack.  Now he is arguing that President Trump’s blanket pardon should cover his attempt to kill FBI agents,” Durbin said.

    “When asked about the possible firings of career FBI officials at his confirmation hearing, Mr. Patel, under oath, said, ‘I don’t know what’s going on right now’ at the FBI.  That’s not true.  Thanks to multiple brave whistleblowers, we now know that Mr. Patel likely committed perjury in making that statement,” Durbin said.  “Even before being confirmed as the FBI Director, Mr. Patel is already directing the ongoing purge of honorable career public servants despite his status as a private citizen.”

    Durbin offered several more examples of Patel’s consistent dishonesty, including the string of lies his told during his own confirmation hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee.

    “At his hearing, Mr. Patel implausibly told me that he could not recall Stew Peters, a man who has been identified as an antisemitic Holocaust denier… This is simply not true, considering that Mr. Patel appeared on Mr. Peters’s podcast eight times.  Eight times, and he couldn’t recall the man’s name.  And, Mr. Peters has since revealed that he and Mr. Patel directly communicate via their personal cell phones ‘constantly,’” Durbin said.

    As Durbin noted in his remarks, Patel continually offered unequivocal support to insurrectionists, producing a recording of January 6 rioters singing in order to raise money.  Under oath at his nomination hearing, Patel testified that he was not involved in the project despite being quoted saying, “We got this idea to record the January 6 prisoners who recite the national anthem every night from the D.C. prison… Then we took that to studio… So we mastered and digitized that.”

    “Mr. Patel also claimed he ‘didn’t have anything to do with’ the recording of the so-called January 6 Prison Choir, which includes at least six rioters who violently assaulted police officers,” Durbin said.  “Mr. Patel has called these violent January 6 rioters ‘political prisoners.’  That includes Guy Reffitt, who was sentenced to 87 months in prison for his role in the January 6 assault.”

    “Mr. Reffitt brought a gun to the Capitol on January 6…  Mr. Reffitt’s 19-year-old son, Jackson, turned him in to law enforcement after the attack, despite Reffitt’s threats to shoot Jackson and his sister,” Durbin said.  “Mr. Reffitt received a full and unconditional pardon from President Trump.  Guess where he was on January 30 of this year?  Back at the Capitol complex, at Mr. Patel’s confirmation hearing.”

    Durbin then pointed to those who have warned against the nomination of Patel to serve as FBI director, including many of President Trump’s former appointees.

    “Consider who is warning us about Mr. Patel: former Trump officials who know him, like Attorney General Barr, CIA Director Haspel, Defense Secretary Mark Esper, and National Security Advisor John Bolton… All Republican appointees. Mr. Patel has left a long trail of grievances, lashing out at anyone who is not completely aligned with him. He calls Democrats ‘vindictive, evil, [and] vicious,’ and repeatedly attacks Republican Senators who don’t toe the MAGA line,” Durbin said. 

    “I have read Mr. Patel’s book, Government Gangsters.  It includes an enemies list of 60 names, ‘members of the deep state’ in the words of Kash Patel, which includes distinguished public servants from both political parties.  What do they all have in common?  From Attorneys General Bill Barr and Merrick Garland to former FBI Directors Bob Mueller and Chris Wray, they all have had the misfortune of crossing paths with the vindictive Patel,” Durbin said.

    Durbin underscored his final point, reiterating that Patel aims to dismantle the FBI from the inside out. 

    “Mr. Patel claims he respects law enforcement, but his words and actions demonstrate his disdain for the FBI.  He has said that on day one, he plans to ‘shut down’ the FBI headquarters.  And he has falsely claimed that the FBI ‘was planning January 6 for a year,’ beforehand.  There is no truth to that statement,” Durbin said.

    Durbin concluded by emphasizing that Patel will serve as a dangerous, influenceable lackey for President Trump and tarnish the reputation of an independent FBI.

    “Mr. Patel’s record demonstrates that he is dangerous, inexperienced, and dishonest.   He should not and cannot serve as an effective FBI Director.  Mr. Patel has been crystal clear that he plans on using the FBI’s vast surveillance and investigative authority to ‘come after’ the President’s enemies,” Durbin said.

    “It is shocking that my Republican colleagues are willing to support Mr. Patel, despite the serious threat he poses to our national security.  I’m sorry to say that I believe they will quickly come to regret this vote,” Durbin concluded.

    To view Durbin’s questions to Patel in his confirmation hearing click here and here.

    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: Senate Judiciary Democrats Slam DOJ Decision To Replace Apolitical Ethics Official With Inexperienced Political Appointees

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Illinois Dick Durbin

    February 20, 2025

    SJC Democrats to Bondi, Bove: “Your sworn testimony misled Congress and the American people and eliminated a critical safeguard against corruption within the Department.”

    WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, led all Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats in an oversight letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi and Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove, criticizing Department of Justice (DOJ) officials’ reported decision to replace a high-ranking career official handling sensitive ethics matters with two inexperienced political appointees.

    The decision is a dramatic departure from practice under previous Democratic and Republican administrations. Additionally, the removal is in direct conflict with promises Bondi made to Congress and the American people during her confirmation hearing and may allow Bondi to participate in cases where she otherwise may have been told to recuse due to conflicts of interest.

    The Senators begin by voicing their strong objection, writing: “We write to strongly object to your alarming decision to grant decision-making authority regarding sensitive ethics and personnel issues—responsibilities long assigned to a senior career Department of Justice (DOJ) official—to two inexperienced political appointees. This decision is a dramatic departure from practice under previous Democratic and Republican administrations, where a senior DOJ career official had decision-making responsibilities on matters related to ethics, employee discipline, whistleblower complaints, and information provided to inspectors general and Congress. Previous administrations did not consider granting these responsibilities to political appointees for good reason; politicizing this role is profoundly dangerous to the integrity of the Department and threatens the employees who work there.”

    The Senators continue by underscoring the direct conflicts between this removal and Bondi’s testimony to Congress, writing: “This new directive is in direct conflict with promises you made, under oath, to Congress and the American people in your confirmation hearing. When Ranking Member Durbin asked you about your many potential conflicts of interest as a former lobbyist—including your representation of foreign regimes like Qatar, corporate giants like Amazon and Uber, and the private prison company, the GEO Group—you responded that, to avoid conflicts, you ‘would consult with the career ethics officials within the Department and make the appropriate decision’ (emphasis added). In your written responses to senators’ questions after your confirmation hearing, you again pledged that you would consult with career ethics officials to avoid conflicts of interest. By transferring responsibilities for ethics decisions from a senior career ethics official to political appointees, you have coincidentally removed the appropriate career ethics official with whom you promised to consult.”

    The Senators further highlight Bondi’s misleading testimony to Congress and the American people in light of this removal, writing: “Business leaders from wealthy corporations were reportedly optimistic upon President Trump’s announcement that he intended to nominate you as Attorney General,  and, without a serious check on your decision-making regarding corporate interests, we are concerned that you will fail to hold companies accountable. Already, on February 5, you signed a memo disbanding Task Force KleptoCapture, which coordinated the investigation of certain companies for illegal exports and money laundering, and announced steps to scale back efforts to enforce laws related to foreign lobbying transparency and bribes of foreign officials. And now, important decisions on ethical questions related to companies that you have lobbied on behalf of—businesses with an extraordinary reach that impact millions of American consumers—will be made by political aides who report to you.”

    The Senators conclude with a series of oversight requests—including a copy of the delegation order and related records—for information to be produced to the Committee.

    For a PDF copy of the letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi and Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove, click here.

    -30-

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Luján: Patel Will Use FBI’s Power for Political Retribution

    US Senate News:

    Source: US Senator for New Mexico Ben Ray Luján
    Patel Has Repeatedly Pushed Conspiracy Theories and Threatened to Go After President Trump’s “Enemies List”
    Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) issued the following statement after Senate Republicans voted to confirm Kash Patel as the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI):
    “Instead of addressing crime and keeping New Mexicans safe, the Trump administration is firing FBI agents for doing their jobs and upholding the law. Even before his confirmation, multiple whistleblowers revealed that Mr. Patel has been directing the dismissal of senior law enforcement officials at the FBI to seek retribution on behalf of the President. With Kash Patel in charge, the FBI will be weaponized to target those on Mr. Patel’s ‘enemies list’ instead of working toward solutions to make our communities safer.
    “Make no mistake, Mr. Patel was nominated – and confirmed – to follow through with President Trump’s agenda of revenge and retribution. He has no business leading the very agency that he’s called to dismantle.”  

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Hickenlooper, Hassan Reintroduce Bill to Strengthen Worker Protections, Secure Collective Bargaining for Police, Firefighters, EMS Personnel

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Colorado John Hickenlooper

    WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senators John Hickenlooper and Maggie Hassan reintroduced the Public Service Employer-Employee Cooperation Act to protect public safety workers’, like police, firefighters, and emergency medical services (EMS) personnel, collective bargaining rights to advocate for better, safer workplaces.

    “Police officers, firefighters and EMS workers put their lives at risk to save others,” said Hickenlooper. “Just like all workers, they deserve fair wages and safe working conditions. Collective bargaining will help them to continue to serve our communities.”

    “Every day, our public safety professionals answer the call to protect our communities and keep people safe,” said Hassan. “This legislation will help ensure that law enforcement officers, firefighters, and EMS workers can join a union and negotiate for a fair salary and benefits, no matter which state they work in.”

    Currently, there are no uniform labor protections for public safety employees. In 16 states, they can’t collectively bargain for safe working conditions. In five states, they are unable to unionize altogether.

    This bill would require the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) to determine whether states are adequately upholding their laws, which protect public safety officers’ ability to:

    • Form or join a labor organization
    • Collectively bargain with their employers over hours, wages, and terms of conditions of employment
    • Uphold existing labor agreements.

    This legislation is supported by The Fraternal Order of Police, International Association of Firefighters, and the National Association of Police Organizations.

    A one-page explanation of the bill is available HERE.

    Full text of the bill is available HERE.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Cortez Masto Joins Colleagues in Introducing Bill to Block Trump’s Unconstitutional Attack on Birthright Citizenship

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Nevada Cortez Masto
    Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) joined Senator Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) and eight of her colleagues in introducing the Born in the USA Act to effectively block the implementation of President Trump’s unconstitutional Executive Order attempting to end automatic citizenship for children born in the United States. This bill would prevent any government funds from being used to carry out or enforce this directive, which violates the U.S. Constitution.
    “President Trump can’t change the Constitution with a swipe of his pen,” said Senator Cortez Masto. “Any child born in the United States is a citizen of the United States, and we will hold this administration accountable for their attempt to deny that right.”
    “The U.S. Constitution is abundantly clear that if you are born in the United States, then you are a citizen,” said Senator Rosen. “I’m leading my Senate colleagues in introducing this bill to stop President Trump’s unconstitutional attempt to end automatic citizenship for those born here.”
    The first and only Latina senator, Senator Cortez Masto has consistently supported immigrant communities in Nevada, calling on both administrations to protect TPS holders and other immigrants, as well as leading commonsense legislation to fix our broken immigration system. She has worked to pass meaningful immigration reform that balances critical border security measures with a path to citizenship for Dreamers, TPS holders, and essential workers, and she’s pushed legislation to allow Dreamers and TPS holders to work in Congress.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Cortez Masto Votes Against Confirming Kash Patel to be FBI Director

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Nevada Cortez Masto
    Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) voted against the confirmation of Kash Patel to be the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
    “The FBI is one of the most important law enforcement agencies in the country. It prevents terror attacks, investigates drug trafficking, human trafficking, and other organized crime, and combats public corruption,” said Senator Cortez Masto. “Kash Patel, however, has said he wants to gut the bureau and use the government’s power to target President Trump’s political enemies. A Patel-led FBI will not prioritize keeping Nevada families safe, and I therefore cannot vote to confirm him.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Duckworth Demands More Detailed Explanation of Mass FAA Layoffs in the Wake of Multiple Deadly Crashes

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Illinois Tammy Duckworth

    February 19, 2025

    [WASHINGTON, D.C.] – Today, U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL)—a member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation (CST) and Ranking Member of the CST Aviation, Space and Innovation Subcommittee—is demanding a more detailed explanation from Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Acting Administrator Chris Rocheleau on why the FAA abruptly fired hundreds of employees in the wake of multiple deadly airplane crashes. In her letter, Duckworth is requesting multiple answers from the FAA by this Friday, February 21, regarding the reasoning behind these firings and the impact these firings will have on passenger safety and our ongoing aviation safety crisis.

    In the letter, Duckworth wrote: “I am alarmed about the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) abrupt firing of hundreds of FAA employees. In the wake of multiple deadly airplane crashes, Congress and the flying public need a more detailed explanation. At a minimum, we need to know why this sudden reduction was necessary, what type of work these employees were doing, and what kind of analysis FAA conducted – if any – to ensure this would not adversely impact safety, increase flight delays or harm FAA operations.”

    This letter comes after the Trump Administration assured that no air traffic controllers and no critical safety personnel were fired. Duckworth’s letter, however, raises her concerns that air traffic controllers and critical safety personnel cannot effectively do their jobs without certain systems and resources—many of which require maintenance by workers who may have been fired. Duckworth urges the FAA to remain focused on implementing the bipartisan FAA Reauthorization Act—which the Senator helped co-author—to help address the air traffic controller shortage and boost other critical parts of the aviation workforce, and questions whether firing hundreds of employes will help the FAA meet these goals.

    In her letter, Duckworth is requesting responses to the following questions:

    1. Why did FAA find it necessary to fire nearly 400 probationary employees?
    2. How does firing these nearly 400 probationary employees improve safety for the flying public?
    3. Please provide a breakdown of the types of positions the fired probationary employees held, including how many were fired from each type of position.
    4. How many of these terminations were performance-based?
    5. Did FAA conduct an analysis of the impact these firings would have on passenger safety, flight delays and FAA operations? If so, please provide the result of that analysis. If FAA did not conduct any such impact analysis, please so state.

    A copy of the letter is available on the Senator’s website and below:

    Dear Acting Administrator Rocheleau:

    I am alarmed about the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) abrupt firing of hundreds of FAA employees. In the wake of multiple deadly airplane crashes, Congress and the flying public need a more detailed explanation.

    At a minimum, we need to know why this sudden reduction was necessary, what type of work these employees were doing, and what kind of analysis FAA conducted – if any – to ensure this would not adversely impact safety, increase flight delays or harm FAA operations.

    A broad assurance that no air traffic controllers or critical safety personnel were terminated does not answer these questions. FAA’s mission is safety, and its critical safety personnel cannot do their jobs without proper resources. For example, air traffic controllers rely on systems to manage communications, monitor weather and conduct surveillance and navigation.  Maintaining these systems is essential. Yet, according to a press report impacted FAA employees include individuals hired to work on, “FAA radar, landing and navigational aid maintenance.”[1]

    Our Nation’s aviation system has struggled since the pandemic, when so much experience left our workforce. We saw a spike in close calls, in response to which FAA held a safety summit to try to figure out ways to build back our safety margin.

    Congress held hearings and passed a bipartisan FAA Reauthorization Act to help address the air traffic controller shortage and boost other critical parts of the aviation workforce. The law also provides safety enhancements like airport surface situational awareness technologies.

    FAA should be laser focused on implementing this law, restoring our aviation system’s safety margin and preventing more tragic crashes. I do not understand how terminating these employees furthers this goal, and FAA has yet to provide an explanation.

    Please provide responses to the following by 12pm E.T. on Friday February 21, 2025:

    1. Why did FAA find it necessary to fire nearly 400 probationary employees?
    2. How does firing these nearly 400 probationary employees improve safety for the flying public?
    3. Please provide a breakdown of the types of positions the fired probationary employees held, including how many were fired from each type of position.
    4. How many of these terminations were performance-based?
    5. Did FAA conduct an analysis of the impact these firings would have on passenger safety, flight delays and FAA operations? If so, please provide the result of that analysis. If FAA did not conduct any such impact analysis, please so state.

    -30-

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Duckworth Joins Blumenthal, Senators in Demanding VA Secretary Collins Put Veterans First and Reverse Mass Terminations of VA Employees

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Illinois Tammy Duckworth

    February 19, 2025

    [WASHINGTON, D.C.] – Today, combat Veteran and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL)—a member of the U.S. Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee (SVAC)—joined U.S. Senator and SVAC Ranking Member Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and a group of 34 Democratic Senators calling on Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Doug Collins to immediately reinstate the more than 1,000 VA employees terminated last week who serve Veterans and their families nationwide, including critical employees addressing Veteran suicide working at the Veterans Crisis Line. The Trump Administration’s mass terminations of VA employees, which included a substantive number of Veterans and military spouses, comes at a time when VA faces critical staffing shortages and increased demand for its services, such as urgently needed mental health care to reduce the Veteran suicide rate. In addition, many of these terminated employees had exemplary performance records and multiple years of work experience in government service.

    “Last week, we were outraged by the Administration’s abrupt and indiscriminate termination of tens of thousands of workers across almost every government agency, including more than 1,000 Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) employees,” wrote the Senators in a letter to VA Secretary Collins. “We were further disturbed by the manner in which you publicly celebrated this reprehensible announcement – a clear departure from the assurances provided throughout your confirmation process to never ‘balance budgets on the back of veterans’ benefits’ and to always ‘put the veteran first.’ Not only will this latest action put veterans’ care and benefits at risk, but it further confuses, demoralizes, and threatens a VA workforce we need to fulfill our nation’s sacred promise to our veterans and their families who have already sacrificed so much.”

    The Senators directly refuted VA Secretary Collins’ vague assurances that these terminations “will not negatively impact VA health care, benefits, or beneficiaries,” by detailing the ways the Trump Administration directives’ to gut VA’s workforce are already negatively impacting Veterans:

    • Openings for new clinics have been delayed because VA cannot hire the necessary staff to open their doors, including a VA clinic in Fredericksburg, Virginia;
    • Service lines at VA hospitals and clinics have been halted;
    • Beds and operating rooms at VA facilities have been suspended;
    • Support lines for caregivers have been reduced;
    • Veterans Crisis Line employees have been fired, and suicide prevention training sessions have been postponed or canceled; and
    • Transportation options for disabled Veterans, which help ensure Veterans can attend regular health care appointments, have been cut back because volunteer drivers are now unable to get credentialed.

    In addition to emphasizing the harmful impact on Veterans, the Senators underscored how these terminations are a massive waste of taxpayer dollars that have already been spent recruiting, vetting and training these VA employees: “Because probationary employees tend to be younger, many of them represented the next generation of VA employees – talented men and women who chose a long-term career path of serving veterans. VA already invested in recruiting and training these individuals because veterans deserve the very best staff possible.”

    The Senators continued, “The list of real-life negative impacts of this Administration’s directives is expansive and growing every day. Rather than putting the interests of veterans first, you made your priorities abundantly clear in your statement applauding the mass firings: ‘At VA, we are focused on saving money.’ It’s clear from the slashing of services and benefits this priority is coming directly at the expense of veterans.”

    The Senators concluded by calling on Collins to put Veterans first and rescind the blanket layoffs of the more than 1,000 VA employees: “With the best interests of veterans in mind, and to ensure VA is capable of carrying out its sacred obligation of behalf of veterans, we urge you to immediately reinstate all of the employees dismissed in the latest indiscriminate terminations and commit to VA employees and veterans that no additional widespread terminations will occur without advanced notification to Congress, a detailed justification, coordination with service-level leadership, and an appropriate assessment of potential impacts on veterans’ health care and benefits. Congress remains ready to collaborate with you, if you are willing to come to the table and put the needs of our veterans above all else.”

    In addition to Duckworth and Blumenthal, the letter was co-signed by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Michael Bennett (D-CO), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Timothy Kaine (D-VA), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Gary Peters (D-MI), Jack Reed (D-RI), Jacklyn Rosen (D-NV), Bernard Sanders (I-VT), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Adam B. Schiff (D-CA), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Tina Smith (D-MN), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Ron Wyden (D-OR).

    The full text of the letter is available on the Senator’s website and below:

    Dear Secretary Collins:  

                Last week, we were outraged by the Administration’s abrupt and indiscriminate termination of tens of thousands of workers across almost every government agency, including more than 1,000 Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) employees. We were further disturbed by the manner in which you publicly celebrated this reprehensible announcement – a clear departure from the assurances provided throughout your confirmation process to never “balance budgets on the back of veterans’ benefits” and to always “put the veteran first.” Not only will this latest action put veterans’ care and benefits at risk, but it further confuses, demoralizes, and threatens a VA workforce we need to fulfill our nation’s sacred promise to our veterans and their families who have already sacrificed so much.

    The more than 1,000 VA employees whose lives and careers you have upended included a substantial number of veterans and military spouses. Many had exemplary performance records. Because probationary employees tend to be younger, many of them represented the next generation of VA employees – talented men and women who chose a long-term career path of serving veterans. VA already invested in recruiting and training these individuals because veterans deserve the very best staff possible. And they all deserved better than to be casually discarded by an Administration that places a greater priority on political loyalty than fitness to serve.

    You have repeatedly claimed these massive, arbitrary staff terminations – done without advance consultation with service-level leadership or advisement from experienced senior leaders trained to manage VA’s health care, benefits, and memorial workforce –– “will not negatively impact VA health care, benefits or beneficiaries.” However, we have heard directly from VA employees and veterans across the country that this is absolutely not the case. In fact, we have been made aware of numerous detrimental developments as a direct result of the actions of this Administration. Openings for new clinics have been delayed because VA cannot hire the necessary staff to open their doors. Service lines at VA hospitals and clinics have been halted. Beds and operating rooms at VA facilities have been suspended. Support lines for caregivers have been reduced. Veterans Crisis Line employees have been fired, and suicide prevention training sessions have been postponed or canceled. And transportation options for disabled veterans, which help ensure veterans can attend regular health care appointments, have been cut back because volunteer drivers are now unable to get credentialed.

    The list of real-life negative impacts of this Administration’s directives is expansive and growing every day. Rather than putting the interests of veterans first, you made your priorities abundantly clear in your statement applauding the mass firings: “At VA, we are focused on saving money.” It’s clear from the slashing of services and benefits this priority is coming directly at the expense of veterans.

    With the best interests of veterans in mind, and to ensure VA is capable of carrying out its sacred obligation of behalf of veterans, we urge you to immediately reinstate all of the employees dismissed in the latest indiscriminate terminations and commit to VA employees and veterans that no additional widespread terminations will occur without advanced notification to Congress, a detailed justification, coordination with service-level leadership, and an appropriate assessment of potential impacts on veterans’ health care and benefits. Congress remains ready to collaborate with you, if you are willing to come to the table and put the needs of our veterans above all else.

    -30-

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Duckworth Leads Fellow Democrats on Senate Veterans Affairs Committee in Demanding CFPB Immediately Restart Operations to Protect Veterans and Servicemembers

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Illinois Tammy Duckworth
    February 20, 2025
    [WASHINGTON, D.C.] – Today, combat Veteran and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL)—a member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs (SVAC)—led her fellow Democratic SVAC colleagues Ranking Member Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI) in demanding that the Trump Administration and unelected billionaire Elon Musk immediately restart operations at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), specifically sounding the alarm about the dangerous impacts that dismantling the agency would have on Veterans and servicemembers. In their letter to U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russell Vought and Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Doug Collins, Duckworth and her colleagues emphasized that dismantling CFPB would do nothing to advance Musk’s publicly claimed goal of weeding out fraud and abuse but rather leave the men and women who volunteer to serve our country even more vulnerable to financial scams.
    The lawmakers wrote that CFPB has been the top cop on the beat protecting our nation’s heroes from financial fraud: “When bad actors target our Veterans and servicemembers, the CFPB operates in their defense, recovering over $180 million since its creation from financial predators and returning that money to Veterans, servicemembers and their families. With a critical mission to protect Veterans and servicemembers from an array of financial fraud – including mortgage scams, pay day lending, high-rate auto loan and fraudulent student loans, as well as excessive credit card late fees, bank account overdraft charges and other predatory tactics by big banks – dismantling the CFPB is harmful and insulting to the men and women who answered the call to defend our country.”
    The lawmakers also slammed the Trump Administration and unelected billionaire Elon Musk for leaving our nation’s heroes more vulnerable to fraud and abuse: “President Trump and Musk claim their goal is to cut waste, fraud and abuse, but eliminating the CFPB would do the opposite and lead to more waste, more fraud and more abuse. And it is shameful that our Veterans and servicemembers will pay the price.”
    A copy of the full letter is available on the Senator’s website and below:
    Dear Director Vought:
    We write today to demand you immediately restart operations at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and stop enabling President Trump and unelected billionaire Elon Musk’s bad-faith effort to dismantle this critical consumer-protection agency. These short-sighted actions leave servicemembers and Veterans – who are among the likeliest group to be targeted for financial crimes – vulnerable to fraud and abuse. Furthermore, for servicemembers and Veterans serving our country, identity theft or bankruptcy can mean a loss of a security clearance or an end to a career. It is a direct national security risk to end protections and lose oversight that the CFPB provides.
    Congress passed laws to enhance our national security and provide protections for servicemembers and their families, and the CFPB is legally granted the authority and jurisdiction to execute these laws. The CFPB is responsible for taking judicial actions for violations of the Military Lending Act, Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, working closely with the U.S. Department of Justice to safeguard servicemembers and Veterans from financial fraud. Additionally, the CFPB is an active participant in the Veteran Scam and Fraud Evasion Task Force, an interagency group launched under the Biden administration that develops new consumer education initiatives, consolidates fraud reporting processes and improves responses to fraud attempts against Veterans and military personnel. If the CFPB is shuttered, the absence of these critical accountability initiatives will harm those who have volunteered to serve our Nation.
    When bad actors target our Veterans and servicemembers, the CFPB operates in their defense, recovering over $180 million since its creation from financial predators and returning that money to Veterans, servicemembers and their families. With a critical mission to protect Veterans and servicemembers from an array of financial fraud – including mortgage scams, pay day lending, high-rate auto loan and fraudulent student loans, as well as excessive credit card late fees, bank account overdraft charges and other predatory tactics by big banks – dismantling the CFPB is harmful and insulting to the men and women who answered the call to defend our country. Indeed, such reckless obstruction as your stop-work order signals to them that their government has abandoned them and has failed to deliver on its promise to protect them.
    We know predatory actors will always be looking for opportunities to scam our Veterans, servicemembers and their families from the benefits they have earned and deserve, and your stop-work order is a green light directing them to their next projects. Meanwhile, the CFPB will not be able to publish the list of repeat offenders, companies who have previously violated the law, that it was working to centralize to warn servicemembers and Veterans against those companies. President Trump and Musk claim their goal is to cut waste, fraud and abuse, but eliminating the CFPB would do the opposite and lead to more waste, more fraud and more abuse. And it is shameful that our Veterans and servicemembers will pay the price.
    Director Vought, we urge you to reconsider your support for the Trump administration’s dismantling of the CFPB, to protect our Veterans and servicemembers who deserve better than reckless, harmful policies that leave them vulnerable to financial predators.
    -30-

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Senators Coons, Rounds reintroduce legislation to protect American hostages and wrongful detainees from tax penalties

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Delaware Christopher Coons
    WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) reintroduced the Stop Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act today to prevent the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) from imposing fines or penalties on American hostages and wrongful detainees for late tax payments while they are held abroad. In addition to Senators Coons and Rounds, this legislation is co-sponsored by Senators Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-La.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), and Dave McCormick (R-Pa.). This bill was originally introduced in December 2022, and the Senate unanimously cleared the bill last year.
    “When you return to the United States after being held hostage or wrongfully detained overseas, the first thing that you should get from your government is a ‘welcome home.’ Instead, it’s usually a fine from the IRS for failing to pay your taxes while you sat in a foreign jail,” said Senator Coons. “This bipartisan legislation will fix a glaring flaw in our tax code to ensure that Americans who have already been through the unthinkable do not face thousands of dollars in fines and late fees from the IRS for non-payment of taxes. As we continue our work to bring home every wrongfully detained American, I encourage my colleagues to once again advance this bill and ensure we don’t make their re-entry to our country harder than it already is.”
    “After returning home, American citizens who were held hostage or wrongfully detained should be spending time with their families and getting back to their lives, not worrying about late fees on their taxes,” said Senator Rounds. “For obvious reasons, any American held hostage should not have the heavy hand of the IRS charging penalties on missed federal tax payments. Our legislation will protect Americans from misguided statutory requirements and unnecessary red tape when they return home.”
    “After returning home, American hostages and wrongful detainees should not have to face penalties for taxes missed while held abroad,” said Representative French Hill. “I am proud to introduce this bipartisan legislation that will correct a crucial gap in our laws that burdens these Americans with penalties and fines from the IRS after they return home.”
    “It goes without saying that no one who has endured wrongful detention or been taken hostage abroad should face the additional trial of navigating onerous tax burdens they incurred by no fault of their own when they return,” said Representative Dina Titus. “This commonsense, bicameral, bipartisan legislation will eliminate that unthinkable possibility by simplifying the tax code to postpone tax deadlines and refund late fees to support wrongful detainees, hostages, and their families.”
    “Hostage US strongly supports the Stop Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act. As the leading organization providing reintegration support, guidance, and resources to Americans held hostage or wrongfully detained abroad, we see firsthand the long-term impact captivity has on individuals and their loved ones. This critical piece of legislation prevents unjust tax burdens when hostages return home and means former captives can rebuild their lives without additional hardship. Americans who have endured captivity should have financial protections and this commonsense legislation will provide much-needed relief to those who have already suffered so much,” said Liz Cathcart, Executive Director of Hostage US.
    “On behalf of all U.S. nationals returning from captivity abroad and the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation, I sincerely commend Senator Coons’ and Senator Rounds’ leadership and their staff for this bill prohibiting tax penalties for hostages and wrongful detainees as an essential step forward,” said Diane Foley, Founder and President of the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation.
    Americans who are held abroad as hostages or wrongful detainees are fined and charged interest by the IRS in the event of non-payment of taxes while in prison or captivity abroad, as though they had simply chosen not to pay taxes. Jason Rezaian, a Washington Post reporter who was wrongfully detained by the Iranian government for more than a year, brought this issue to Senator Coons’ attention. When Rezaian came home in 2016, the IRS hit him with tens of thousands of dollars in fines and interest charges on taxes he wasn’t able to file while imprisoned. The IRS has made clear a legislative fix is needed to resolve this situation.
    Senator Coons has led numerous bills supporting American hostages and wrongful detainees and addressing financial hardships they often face upon their return. He reintroduced the Stop Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act alongside two other hostage bills today: the Fair Credit for American Hostages Act and Retirement Security for American Hostages Act. The first is a bill with Senator Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) that would empower former hostages and detainees to restore credit scores that may have been negatively impacted during their detention. The latter is a bill with Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-La.) that would ensure that hostages and wrongful detainees are not penalized in calculating their Social Security benefits. 
    A one-pager is available here.
    The full text of the legislation can be found here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Crapo Backs Bill to Stop Ban of Traditional Ammo and Tackle

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Idaho Mike Crapo
    Washington, D.C.–U.S. Senator Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) joined Senator Steve Daines (R-Montana) and 26 other Republican Senate colleagues in reintroducing legislation to prohibit the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and U.S. Forest Service from banning the use of lead ammunition or tackle on public lands unless such action is supported by the best available science.
    “Limitations or bans on traditional ammo and tackle create an unnecessary burden for Idaho’s hunters and anglers,” said Crapo.  “This in turn restricts important state revenues and participation in the conservation and management of our incredible lands.  I am proud to stand for the right of Idahoans to participate in our rich tradition of hunting and fishing for food and recreation.”
    Download the bill text here.
    Additional co-sponsors of the bill include Senators John Thune (R-South Dakota), Jerry Moran (R-Kansas), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana), Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyoming), John Barrasso (R-Wyoming), Rick Scott (R-Florida), James Lankford (R-Oklahoma), Tommy Tuberville (R-Alabama), Mike Lee (R-Utah), John Boozman (R-Arkansas), Roger Marshall (R-Kansas), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tennessee), Roger Wicker (R-Mississippi), Deb Fischer (R-Nebraska), Tim Sheehy (R-Montana), Mike Rounds (R- South Dakota), Katie Britt (R-Alabama), Kevin Cramer (R-North Dakota), Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas), Jim Justice (R-West Virginia), Bill Hagerty (R-Tennessee), John Hoeven (R-North Dakota) and Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Mississippi).
    Background:
    In 2022, USFWS entered into settlement negotiations with activist organizations over a lawsuit regarding the use of traditional ammunition and tackle on over three million acres of federal land.  Crapo joined his colleagues in urging USFWS Director Martha Williams not to cave in to activists’ calls to restrict the use of lead ammo and tackle on public lands.  Crapo co-sponsored the bill in the 118th and 117th Congresses.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Heinrich, Luján Join Senate Democrats In Amicus Brief Slamming President Trump’s Lawless Removal Of Inspectors General; Calls For More Transparency Amidst The Chaos Of The Administration

    US Senate News:

    Source: US Senator for New Mexico Ben Ray Luján
    Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) joined Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Senate Democrats in filing an amicus brief on behalf of eight inspectors general who were illegally fired by President Trump at the start of his term. The Senators noted that the role of an inspector general is to ensure the laws enacted by Congress are faithfully executed, and an inspector general cannot be removed without proper notification to the Congress.
    This lawless act is just one of many perpetrated by the current administration. As President Trump continues to break down the roles of checks and balances in this country, he also has dissolved the oversight process. Today, Senate Democrats strongly condemn these firings and are working within the court system to overturn this clear violation of law.
    “In the last month, I’ve heard from thousands of New Mexicans whose lives Donald Trump and Elon Musk have thrown into chaos – from threatening the Social Security seniors depend on to the health care veterans have earned through their service. Now, instead of delivering for American families, Trump and Musk are illegally firing the very people who cut the government waste, fraud, and abuse they claim to want to eliminate,” said Heinrich. “I’m joining this Amicus Brief to stand up for the rule of law and oppose the corruption Trump, Musk, and their unelected billionaire lackeys are trying to get away with.” 
    “In just a few weeks into the Trump administration, New Mexicans are seeing the chaos, confusion, and corruption that President Trump and Elon Musk are inflicting on the American people,” said Luján. “The President and Elon Musk are on a mission to gut the federal workforce, slash critical programs that New Mexicans rely on, and fire the people who are responsible for upholding the rule of law. To hold the President and the Administration accountable, I was proud to join my Democratic colleagues in exposing the President’s illegal firing of inspectors general and blatant disregard for checks and balances.”
    The amicus brief can be seen here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Cantwell Reintroduces Bipartisan Bill to Take WA-Developed, Low-Barrier Fentanyl Treatment Pilot Program Nationwide

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Washington Maria Cantwell
    02.20.25
    Cantwell Reintroduces Bipartisan Bill to Take WA-Developed, Low-Barrier Fentanyl Treatment Pilot Program Nationwide
    In UW study, access to Health Engagement Hubs shown to reduce fatal overdoses by a staggering 68%; Hubs would offer access to safe & free addiction treatment without an appointment
    WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), a senior member of the Senate Finance Committee and ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA) reintroduced the Fatal Overdose Reduction Act, a bipartisan bill that would expand a Washington-state-developed, low-barrier fentanyl treatment pilot program across the United States.
    “The fentanyl crisis continues to kill and tear apart communities all across the country,” said Sen. Cantwell. “We need to be protecting Medicaid, the largest payer of substance use treatment in the United States, to ensure we are using every tool possible to fight this epidemic. This bipartisan bill would leverage Medicaid to expand a locally developed community treatment center model that has proven remarkably successful at reducing fatal overdoses.” 
    The Health Engagement Hub model was developed by Dr. Caleb Banta-Green at the University of Washington. The innovative hub model provides a one-stop shop where substance use disorder patients can receive near-immediate FDA-approved treatment (buprenorphine) and access primary care, harm reduction, and other social services without an appointment.
    Research data from UW shows that, among 825 participants, this community-based, medication-first approach decreased overdose mortality rates by 68%.
    READ MORE:
    The Seattle Times — Federal bill to reduce opioid deaths deserves bipartisan support
    The Washington State Standard — Could WA’s health ‘hub’ model treating opioid addiction go nationwide?
    Oregon Public Broadcasting — Opioid hub treatment model shows success in Washington, could come to Oregon
    In 2023, the Washington State Legislature funded a $4 million state pilot program to establish health engagement hubs because the model demonstrates great potential in addressing the opioid epidemic.
    In May 2024 – the same day Sen. Cantwell and Sen. Cassidy originally introduced the Fatal Overdose Reduction Act — Dr. Banta-Green addressed Sen. Cantwell and colleagues about the effectiveness of the Health Engagement Hub model during a hearing of the Senate Finance Committee titled “Front Lines of the Fentanyl Crisis: Supporting Communities and Combating Addiction through Prevention and Treatment.”
    “We really need to allow people to access care rapidly and stay engaged. The process of recovery […] for opioids and stimulants, it’s about three years. And during that process of recovery, people are often returning to use,” Dr. Banta-Green said. “We need a place that people can start today and come back tomorrow, no matter what.”
    That hearing can be watched HERE; a transcript of Sen. Cantwell and Dr. Banta-Green’s remarks is HERE.
    The Fatal Overdose Reduction Act would allow existing and qualifying entities to receive a Health Engagement Hub certification, similar to the process for mental health treatment centers to be designated as Certified Community Behavioral Health Centers. Under this bipartisan bill, certified Health Engagement Hubs would receive enhanced Medicaid payments for providing services including substance use disorder treatment, primary care, and case management. Certified hubs would also operate under a “no wrong doors” approach and offer services in a drop-in manner without prior appointment or proof of payment.
    To qualify as a Health Engagement Hub, an organization would need to offer:
    Substance use disorder treatment using FDA-approved medications;
    Harm reduction services such as overdose education, naloxone distribution, and emotional counseling;
    Patient-centered physical and behavioral health care services such as primary care, disease vaccination, psychiatric care, and secure medication storage;
    Case management, care navigation, and care coordination services including housing, identification, employment, recovery support, family reunification, and criminal-legal services; and
    Community health outreach and navigation services.
    In addition, a Health Engagement Hub must meet certain minimum staffing requirements:
    One part-time or full-time health care provider who is licensed to practice in the state and is licensed and registered to prescribe controlled substances;
    One part-time or full-time registered professional nurse or licensed practical nurse who can provide medication management, medical case management, care coordination, wound care, vaccine administration, and community-based outreach;
    One part-time or full-time licensed behavioral health staff who is qualified to assess and provide counseling and treatment recommendations for substance use and mental health diagnoses; and
    A full-time team of outreach, engagement, and care navigation staff. This could include peer counselors, community health workers, and recovery coaches. At least 50% of such staff must be individuals with a personal history of addiction treatment and recovery.
    Read the bill text HERE.
    In 2023 and 2024, Sen. Cantwell traveled across the State of Washington to 10 communities — Tacoma, Everett, Tri-Cities, Seattle, Spokane, Vancouver, Port Angeles, Walla Walla, Yakima, and Longview – hearing from people on the front lines of the fentanyl crisis, including first responders, law enforcement, health care providers, and people with firsthand experience of fentanyl addiction. She’s since used what she heard in those roundtables to craft and champion specific legislative solutions, including:
    In addition, Sen. Cantwell voted for a series of federal funding bills allocating $1.69 billion to combat fentanyl and other illicit drugs coming into the United States, including an additional $385.2 million to increase security at U.S. ports of entry, with the goal of catching more illegal drugs like fentanyl before they make it across the border.  Critical funding will go toward Non-Intrusive Inspection (NII) technology at land and sea ports of entries. NII technologies—like large-scale X-ray and Gamma ray imaging systems, as well as a variety of portable and handheld technologies—allow U.S. Customs and Border Protection to help detect and prevent contraband from being smuggled into the country without disrupting flow at the border.
    A full timeline of Sen. Cantwell’s actions to combat the fentanyl crisis is available HERE.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Lee Introduces Modernizing Retrospective Regulatory Review Act for 119th Congress

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Utah Mike Lee
    WASHINGTON – Today, Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) introduced the Modernizing Retrospective Regulatory Review Act, which directs the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) to leverage technology to enhance the efficiency and accuracy of reviews on outdated and redundant regulations. The legislation is co-sponsored by Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY). Congressman Andy Biggs (R-AZ) has introduced the companion bill in the House of Representatives.
    “Americans deserve a government that moves at the speed of business, not the speed of bureaucracy,” said Sen. Lee. “By using modern technology to refine our regulatory framework, we can boost economic growth and ensure that our government regulations reflect today’s realities.”
    “The federal government should not be an ever-growing beast hindering innovation with red tape and procedural hurdles,” said Sen. Lummis. “The Modernizing Retrospective Review Act will bring the federal government into the 21st century by utilizing modern technology to identify and eliminate unnecessary federal regulations to streamline the regulatory process that has ballooned into a 20-year slog for some industries. It should not take a Washington regulator longer to greenlight a project than it did for someone in Wyoming to come up with the idea.”
    “Americans must be given the opportunity to thrive without overbearing, costly, contradictory, and duplicative regulations mandated by the DC Swamp,” said Rep. Biggs. “Federal overregulation takes a colossal toll on the U.S. economy. Thousands of new regulations go into effect every year, and there simply isn’t enough manpower to sift through the CFR to identify regulations that no longer make sense or conflict with one another. AI technology is an effective tool that can save taxpayer dollars, benefit American business owners, and promote economic growth.”
    Key features of the bill include:
    – A mandate for OIRA to issue guidance on employing modern technology, like Artificial Intelligence, to refine regulatory reviews.
    – A requirement for federal agencies to develop and submit a “Retrospective Review Plan,” detailing their strategies for implementing OIRA’s guidance.
    – An obligation for OIRA to report to Congress on the availability of federal regulations in a machine-readable format.
    The introduction of this bill aligns with the broader goals of the Trump Administration’s deregulatory agenda and leverages the advancements we’ve made in technology to identify scores of rules and regulations that can and should be eliminated. 
    For bill text, click HERE.
    For the one-pager, click HERE.  

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Murphy: Trump’s Billionaire Tax Cut is a Scam to Take Money From Regular People

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Connecticut – Chris Murphy
    [embedded content]
    WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) on Wednesday spoke on the U.S. Senate floor to call out Republican’s latest tax and spending plan for benefitting billionaires and corporations at the expense of seniors and working families. Murphy slammed Trump for using the government as a cash machine for his family and billionaire friends, gutting oversight, handing out policy favors, and now pushing a tax plan that delivers massive breaks to the ultra-wealthy—paid for by slashing programs that millions of Americans rely on like Medicare and Medicaid. 
    “The heart of this Republican economic proposal is a massive tax cut for the very, very wealthy and for corporations. And this time, not borrowed to be paid back later by middle class taxpayers, this time paid for by immediate cuts to some of the programs that regular, ordinary Americans, many frail seniors, depend on, like the Medicaid program,” Murphy said.
    Murphy slammed Trump for letting Elon Musk hijack the government to enrich himself: “Since Elon Musk, the richest man in the universe, has taken control of the government with Donald Trump, the value of his business has gone up by 30%. Tesla’s stock has gone up by 30%. Of course it has. Because Elon Musk is now able to get inside the government to arrange things to benefit his companies. For instance, the NLRB is gone. They fired the Democrat on the board, it is unable to muster a quorum. It’s not coincidental that the NLRB had several open investigations of Tesla. Our foreign policy has been monetized to support people like Elon Musk. News just broke yesterday that Vietnam is really worried about Trump’s tariff policy, and so the way that they’re going to try to get some help from the Trump administration is to give some help to Elon Musk’s businesses. They are going to give Elon Musk a Starlink contract, and they believe that by doing that, they’ll be able to get some help from the Trump administration on tariffs. So, Elon Musk and the billionaires are able to operationalize and monetize our foreign policy.”
    On Trump also cashing in on the presidency, Murphy said: “Trump is doing very well too. He made $100 million off of a meme coin–a meme coin, where we have no idea, as Americans, who’s buying it. It is very likely foreign actors trying to influence the administration, who can secretly buy the meme coin and then whisper to Donald Trump that we got your back when you needed it. $40 million from Amazon for a new documentary of the First Lady, legal settlements from ABC News, Meta, and X, all–shockingly–settled with cash payments to the Trump family after the election.”
    Murphy called out the GOP tax plan for funneling billions to the rich while working families get next to nothing: “If you’re in the top 1%, your average tax cut is about $70,000. That’s a lot of money. That’s a lot of money. But if you’re making $30,000 a year–and there’s a whole bunch of people in this country that are making $30,000 a year, especially when Republicans refuse to support the minimum wage going above $7.25 an hour – if you make $30,000 a year, you are going to get about $130. $70,000 if you’re doing really, really well. $130 for everybody else. That doesn’t make any sense. Why do people making $600,000 a year need $70,000 while only a hundred bucks goes to everybody else?”
    He debunked Republicans’ claim that the extending the 2017 tax cuts will help working people: “It’s a scam. Trickle-down economics is a scam. When you put this much money into the hands of the wealthy, it does not trickle down to everybody else. When you give corporations those enormous tax cuts, it does not trickle down to everybody else. It stays in the pockets of the wealthy. The corporations use it in order to do stock buybacks, in order to inflate CEO salaries. It just separates the rich from the poor. It is a scam. It is a scam.”
    On how Republicans plan to pay for this giveaway to billionaires, Murphy said: “The cut that they’re contemplating in the House of Representatives is a cut to Medicaid. Now, they’re also thinking about cuts to Medicare, your parents’ primary health insurance. They’re contemplating cuts to the Affordable Care Act, that’s the program that insures 20 million working Americans. But they’re really zeroed in on Medicaid, and they’re contemplating such devastating cuts to Medicaid that it would eviscerate the program.”
    He concluded: “The whole thing just feels like a scam to people: the favors being given to billionaires that are inside the government, the tax cut that benefits the very, very wealthy at the expense of everybody else, the cutting of services that help regular people in order to finance the tax cut. And whether it ends up being one bill or two bills, the centerpiece is still the centerpiece. The transfer of resources and wealth from regular people, from the middle class, from poor people, to the very, very wealthy, the millionaire and billionaire class, the corporations.”
    A full transcript of his remarks can be found below:
    MURPHY: “Thank you, Mr. President. I’m down here on the floor this afternoon with my colleague Senator Kaine from Virginia, and the Ranking Member of the Finance Committee, Senator Wyden, to talk about the spending and tax bill that is coming before the Congress, driven by Republicans and the Trump administration. 
    “Whether it’s one bill or two bills, it doesn’t really matter. It is the centerpiece of Donald Trump’s economic agenda. And it’s really important to talk about the impacts that this spending and tax package will have on the American public. 
    “While there will be some new spending for defense and some new spending on immigration policy, the heart of this spending and tax package will be familiar to many Americans, because they remember it from 2017, during the first Trump administration. 
    “The heart of this Republican economic proposal is a massive tax cut for the very, very wealthy and for corporations. And this time, not borrowed to be paid back later by middle class taxpayers, this time paid for by immediate cuts to some of the programs that regular, ordinary Americans, many frail seniors, depend on, like the Medicaid program. 
    “Just for a little bit of context, it does appear to a lot of Americans that this whole thing feels a bit like a scam, that this is a government that is being handed over to the billionaire class in order to operationalize government to make money for the very, very wealthy, and for the rest of us to pay the price. The cost of gas is going up, the cost of groceries continues to go up. And meanwhile Donald Trump and his billionaire crowd are doing better than ever.
    “Just a couple of examples. Since Elon Musk, the richest man in the universe, has taken control of the government with Donald Trump, the value of his business has gone up by 30%. Tesla’s stock has gone up by 30%. Of course it has. Because Elon Musk is now able to get inside the government to arrange things to benefit his companies. 
    “For instance, the NLRB is gone. They fired the Democrat on the board, it is unable to muster a quorum. It’s not coincidental that the NLRB had several open investigations of Tesla. 
    “Our foreign policy has been monetized to support people like Elon Musk. News just broke yesterday that Vietnam is really worried about Trump’s tariff policy, and so the way that they’re going to try to get some help from the Trump administration is to give some help to Elon Musk’s businesses. They are going to give Elon Musk a Starlink contract, and they believe that by doing that, they’ll be able to get some help from the Trump administration on tariffs. So Elon Musk and the billionaires are able to operationalize and monetize our foreign policy. 
    “And of course, Elon Musk has access to the data, especially the data inside Treasury, that’s going to help him gain an advantage on his competitors, whether he’s trying to set up a new tax payment system or he’s trying to set up a new universal payment capacity on Twitter. 
    “So it’s not shocking that the value of Musk’s business has gone way up, because he now controls the federal government in a way that can benefit his business. 
    “But Trump is doing very well too. He made $100 million off of a meme coin–a meme coin, where we have no idea, as Americans, who’s buying it. It is very likely foreign actors trying to influence the administration, who can secretly buy the meme coin and then whisper to Donald Trump that we got your back when you needed it. $40 million from Amazon for a new documentary of the First Lady, legal settlements from ABC News, Meta, and X, all–shockingly–settled with cash payments to the Trump family after the election. 
    “And, the monetization of foreign policy for Donald Trump, just like the monetization of foreign policy for Elon Musk. News this week that the PGA and the Saudis were meeting with the President to try to settle their disputes. Not coincidental to the fact that Donald Trump is in business with one of those golf leagues. 
    “So it just appears to many Americans this administration puts the billionaires, the corporations, those that are loyal and friendly to Donald Trump first, and all the rest of us second. 
    “The apex of this effort to turn our government–and government policy–over to the billionaires is this tax cut. Again, this tax and spending package has a lot of elements to it, but the centerpiece is a tax cut that is 852 times bigger for the top 1% of earners in this country than for low-income families. That’s a number that’s a little hard to get your head wrapped around so I just wanted to put it on this chart. That’s what 852 times looks like. 
    “The rates go down for folks that make more than $600,000 a year, but they don’t move for folks that make under $600,000 a year. They’re not trying to hide what’s going on here: rates are coming down if you make a whole ton of money. Rates are staying the same if you’re middle income or lower income. 
    “Another way to tell the story is that if you’re in the top 1%, your average tax cut is about $70,000. That’s a lot of money. That’s a lot of money. But if you’re making $30,000 a year – and there’s a whole bunch of people in this country that are making $30,000 a year, especially when Republicans refuse to support the minimum wage going above $7.25 an hour – if you make $30,000 a year, you are going to get about $130. $70,000 if you’re doing really, really well. $130 for everybody else. That doesn’t make any sense. Why do people making $600,000 a year need $70,000 while only a hundred bucks goes to everybody else? 
    “The corporations are in the mix here too. They came to Congress in 2007 and said ‘we need a lower tax rate.’ And then Trump and his Republican allies gave them a tax rate even lower than they asked. “And they made this claim that all this extra money going to the corporations was going to be passed down to workers. They had a specific claim that it was going to result in $4,000 more in income to every American. Because that’s how trickle-down economics works in the brains of Republicans. You give a whole bunch of money to corporations, and they’re going to be generous and they’re going to give that money to workers in extra income. 
    “Well, we now have eight years of experience since that first tax cut that they are looking to reauthorize. We know what happened. The studies show that it wasn’t $4,000 of extra income; it wasn’t $3,000; it wasn’t $2,000; it wasn’t $1,000; it wasn’t $500; it wasn’t $400. It wasn’t even $200. It was zero. The tax cut resulted in an increase in salary – to those people that worked for those corporations that got the big tax cut – a salary increase of zero. It’s a scam. Trickle-down economics is a scam. When you put this much money into the hands of the wealthy, it does not trickle down to everybody else. When you give corporations those enormous tax cuts, it does not trickle down to everybody else. It stays in the pockets of the wealthy. The corporations use it in order to do stock buybacks, in order to inflate CEO salaries. It just separates the rich from the poor. It is a scam. It is a scam.
    “Now, the last thing I’ll say before turning it over to Senator Kaine is that this version of the giant billionaire and corporate tax cut is so much worse than the first version. It still is a tax cut for the wealthy that’s 852 times bigger than for folks at the bottom of the income scale. But whereas in 2017 it was all borrowed–and that’s bad because that money has to be recouped somehow, that means that everybody eventually is going to either pay higher interest rates or have their taxes raised, or their services cut to service all that debt–trillions of dollars worth of debt–this time Republicans are contemplating not borrowing the money, but instead just taking it from poor people and middle class people. Just taking it from them to give it to the billionaires and the corporations.
    “The cut that they’re contemplating in the House of Representatives is a cut to Medicaid. Now, they’re also thinking about cuts to Medicare, your parents’ primary health insurance. They’re contemplating cuts to the Affordable Care Act, that’s the program that insures 20 million working Americans. But they’re really zeroed in on Medicaid, and they’re contemplating such devastating cuts to Medicaid that it would eviscerate the program. And maybe you can say well, Medicaid, it’s for poor people and that’s not me. 
    “Well, listen, I think we have an obligation to try to make sure that everybody in this country, even poor children, have access to health care. But Medicaid also pays for your parents’ or your neighbors’ nursing home costs. If you cut the amount of money that they’re talking about out of the Medicaid program, you’re literally talking about nursing homes shutting down and seniors being out on the street. That’s not hyperbole. That’s what happens if you make these massive cuts to Medicaid. And so what they’re talking about this year is not just running up a credit card bill in order to fund the tax cuts for the wealthy. They’re literally talking about putting seniors out on the street in order to fund a tax cut for the wealthy. 
    “The whole thing just feels like a scam: the favors being given to billionaires that are inside the government, the tax cut that benefits the very, very wealthy at the expense of everybody else, the cutting of services that help regular people in order to finance the tax cut. And whether it ends up being one bill or two bills, the centerpiece is still the centerpiece: the transfer of resources and wealth from regular people, from the middle class, from poor people, to the very, very wealthy, the millionaire and billionaire class, the corporations. 
    “And so, we’re going to tell this story–here on the Senate floor, all over the country–while this bill moves its way through the process, either as one bill or two bills. Because regardless of the process, the story is still the same: a scam. To take money from regular people to make the lives of the rich and powerful even more lavish. I yield the floor.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Rosen Leads Colleagues in Introducing Bill to Block Implementation of Trump’s Unconstitutional Attempt to Eliminate Automatic Citizenship for Children Born in the U.S.

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV)
    WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV) led nine of her colleagues in introducing the Born in the USA Act to effectively block the implementation of President Trump’s unconstitutional Executive Order attempting to end automatic citizenship for children born in the United States. This bill would prevent any government funds from being used to carry out or enforce this directive, which violates the U.S. Constitution. Senator Rosen was one of the first Congressional leaders to come out forcefully against the President’s birthright citizenship Executive Order. Federal courts have temporarily blocked the order’s implementation, but the Trump Administration is expected to appeal.
    Senator Rosen’s bill is co-sponsored by Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Cory Booker (D-NJ), and Peter Welch (D-VT).
    “The U.S. Constitution is abundantly clear that if you are born in the United States, then you are a citizen,” said Senator Rosen. “I’m leading my Senate colleagues in introducing this bill to stop President Trump’s unconstitutional attempt to end automatic citizenship for those born here.”
    “The Constitution is clear: if you are born in the United States, you are a citizen.  President Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship is not only unconstitutional, but also attempts to unlawfully deprive American children of their citizenship,” said Senator Durbin. “That is why I am joining Senator Rosen to introduce the Born in the USA Act, to stop government funds from being used to implement this unlawful executive order.”
    “Birthright citizenship is not up for debate. Trump’s attempt to end it is not only unconstitutional, it’s un-American,” said Senator Schatz. “This bill makes it clear that we will not allow taxpayer dollars to be used to undermine a fundamental right that has defined our nation for generations.”
    “In America we follow the language of the Constitution, not the edicts of pretend Kings,” said Senator Blumenthal. “Birthright citizenship is incontrovertible. President Trump’s order pretending to eliminate this Constitutional provision is simply disingenuous and dangerous.”
    “President Trump can’t change the Constitution with a swipe of his pen,” said Senator Cortez Masto. “Any child born in the United States is a citizen of the United States, and we will hold this administration accountable for their attempt to deny that right.”
    Senator Rosen has been clear in her support for Nevada’s immigrant families and for ensuring our immigration system is humane and orderly. She has also been outspoken in opposing mass deportation, and strongly supporting protections for DACA and TPS recipients and their families. Senator Rosen also applauded the Biden Administration’s extension of TPS status for immigrants from El Salvador and Venezuela, and pushed back on the Trump Administration’s action to dismantle TPS for Venezuelans. She has raised concerns over the significant application delays impacting DACA recipients, and gave a floor speech urging her Senate colleagues to take immediate action to permanently protect Dreamers, while simultaneously continuing to work to pass comprehensive immigration reform that provides a pathway to citizenship.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Rosen Introduce Proyecto de Ley Para Bloquear la Implementación de la Acción Inconstitucional de Trump de Eliminar la Ciudadanía Automática Para Los Niños Nacidos en E.E.U.U.

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV)
    WASHINGTON, D.C. – Hoy, la Senadora Jacky Rosen lideró a nueve de sus colegas en introducir el proyecto de ley llamado “Born in the USA Act” para bloquear la implementación de la orden ejecutiva inconstitucional del Presidente Trump, intentando terminar la ciudadanía automática para los niños nacidos en los E.E.U.U. Este proyecto de ley bloquearía los fondos del gobierno para que no sean usados para realizar o ejecutar esta directiva, la cual viola la Constitución de los E.E.U.U. La Senadora Rosen fue una de las primeras líderes en el Congreso que anunció su fuerte oposición a la orden ejecutiva de Trump. Los tribunales federales han bloqueado temporalmente la implementación de esta orden, pero la administración de Trump se espera que lo apele.
    El proyecto de ley de la senadora Rosen es apoyado por los senadores Dick Durbin (D-IL), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Cory Booker (D-NJ), y Peter Welch (D-VT).
    “La Constitución es muy clara que si naces en los E.E.U.U., eres un ciudadano,” dijo la senadora Rosen. “Estoy liderando a mis colegas en el Senado en introducir este proyecto de ley para bloquear el intento inconstitucional del Presidente Trump de eliminar la ciudadanía automática para la gente que nace aquí.”
    La senadora Rosen ha sido clara en su apoyo para las familias inmigrantes de Nevada y para asegurar que nuestro sistema de inmigración sea humano y organizado. También se ha opuesto a la deportación masiva y apoya a los beneficiarios del DACA y TPS y sus familias. Rosen aplaudió la extensión del estatus TPS para inmigrantes de El Salvador y Venezuela, y denunció a la Administración Trump por revocar una extensión del TPS previamente autorizada para inmigrantes de Venezuela. Además, ella expresó su preocupación por los retrasos en las solicitudes que afectan a los beneficiarios de DACA y dió un discurso instando a sus colegas del Senado a tomar medidas inmediatas para proteger permanentemente a los Dreamers, mientras simultáneamente continúa trabajando para aprobar una reforma migratoria integral que proporcione un camino hacia la ciudadanía.

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  • MIL-OSI USA: Senator Collins’ Statement on Nomination of Kash Patel to Serve as FBI Director

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Maine Susan Collins
    Published: February 20, 2025

    Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Susan Collins issued the following statement on the nomination of Kash Patel to serve as Director of the FBI:
    “The nomination of Kash Patel to serve as Director of the FBI comes to the Senate against the backdrop of recent personnel actions at the Department of Justice, including the resignations of several career federal prosecutors who felt they were being instructed to act in a manner inconsistent with their ethical obligations.  In addition, a questionnaire has been sent to thousands of FBI employees regarding their involvement in certain investigations.  As I have stated previously, these initiatives raise the specter that adverse actions could be taken against FBI employees – including special agents in the field – who have dedicated their careers to public service and who do not choose their assignments.  It is critical that any efforts to promote accountability at the FBI be carefully calibrated and not have the effect of driving away dedicated public servants who keep our country and communities safe. 
    “In this context, there is a compelling need for an FBI Director who is decidedly apolitical.  While Mr. Patel has had 16 years of dedicated public service, his time over the past four years has been characterized by high profile and aggressive political activity.  Mr. Patel has made numerous politically charged statements in his book and elsewhere discrediting the work of the FBI, the very institution he has been nominated to lead. These statements, in conjunction with the questionnaire sent to thousands of FBI employees, cast doubt on Mr. Patel’s ability to advance the FBI’s law enforcement mission in a way that is free from the appearance of political motivation.
    “While I strongly support efforts to ensure all federal employees perform their responsibilities ethically and in accordance with the law, Mr. Patel’s recent political profile undermines his ability to serve in the apolitical role of Director of the FBI.
    “Therefore, I will vote against his nomination.” 

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  • MIL-OSI USA: Welch at the FBI HQ: “Kash Patel is a crown jewel in Trump’s lawless rampage.”

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont)
    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, joined Senate Judiciary Democrats outside of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Headquarters building to call on their Republican colleagues to block the nomination of Kash Patel, President Trump’s pick to serve as Director of the FBI. The Senators highlighted the dire consequences of Mr. Patel’s willingness to take out vengeance on behalf of President Trump and called on their colleagues to oppose his appointment as the FBI Director on the Senate Floor today. 
    Read Senator Welch’s remarks below:  
    “Since January 20th, Donald Trump has been on a lawless rampage. He has invaded the authority of Congress by canceling programs that have appropriated funds. He’s inflicted cruelty on people who have been loyal public servants in agencies across the country. He is threatening farmers with these high tariffs, calling it an emergency.  
    “Kash Patel is a crown jewel in this lawless rampage. He’s an instrument of Donald Trump’s effort to destroy the Justice Department and the FBI, so that he is absolutely and completely, not only above the law, but beyond the law. He’s called it ‘my Justice Department.’ Kash Patel agrees. He willingly agrees to carry out the vengeance tour of Donald Trump. That’s what he does. 
    “This FBI has been so revered in our country. Sure, it has issues at various times, as every agency does. But this has been a non-political agency. No longer. And when in the confirmation hearing, my colleagues…asked about the purge? He heard nothing. See nothing, hear nothing, say nothing. He didn’t know anything about it. Two days later, it comes out he was masterminding it and implementing it as he was lying to us in the committee.  
    “So, the biggest threat to our country right now is Donald Trump’s frontal assault on the rule of law, and one of the generals in that assault is Kash Patel. We must defeat his appointment as the FBI Director.” 
    Watch a livestream and view photos from the press conference below: 
    Senator Welch joined Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), and Senate Judiciary Committee members Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), and Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) at the press conference. 
    In the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator Welch has expressed reservations about Mr. Patel’s nomination. During Mr. Patel’s confirmation hearing, Senator Welch grilled him about his refusal to acknowledge that President Biden won the 2020 Presidential Election and stressed the importance of combatting any attempt to weaponize the Department of Justice and the FBI under the Trump Administration. Last week, Senator Welch reacted to reports that Mr. Patel has been personally involved in the Trump Administration’s ongoing efforts to target and fire career FBI agents and officials. Under oath, Mr. Patel told Senator Welch he had no recollection of the purge at the FBI. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Welch, Scott Lead Bill to Tackle the Opioid Epidemic

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont)
    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and U.S. Senator Rick Scott (R-Fla.) announced the reintroduction of the bipartisan Overcoming Prevalent Inadequacies in Overdose Information Data Sets (OPIOIDS) Act to confront the devastating opioid crisis that claims the lives of more than 70,000 Americans every year. This comprehensive legislation will give state and local governments additional tools to address the opioid epidemic in their communities. Congresswoman Laurel Lee (R-Fla.-13) is leading this legislation in the House of Representatives.
    “We’ve lost far too many Vermonters to overdose. Ending this crisis will take hard work from all corners of our communities—from medical professionals and law enforcement to families, friends, and neighbors. But we cannot end overdoses without understanding their cause. Our bipartisan legislation will help law enforcement gather essential data to make informed decisions on prevention, treatment, and recovery and keep Vermonters safe,” said Senator Welch.
     “It is devastating to see the impacts of the opioid crisis in my state and across the nation, claiming the lives of children, mothers, fathers and loved ones. Too many families have already had to grapple with this unimaginable loss. I’m glad to see President Trump taking action to secure our border and stop the trafficking of these illicit drugs over our borders and into our communities, and I have full confidence that Attorney General Pam Bondi will bring much-needed action to crack down on this crisis. Our OPIOIDS Act will take another critical step to curb this crisis and support our communities fighting this deadly epidemic. I’m grateful to have the support of Senator Welch on this bipartisan bill, and urge my colleagues to support its quick passage,” said Senator Scott.
    “The fentanyl crisis is devastating families and communities across our nation, claiming lives at an alarming rate. Our law enforcement officers and first responders are on the front lines of this battle, and they need the right tools and resources to combat this epidemic effectively and keep themselves safe. The OPIOIDS Act is a critical step toward protecting our communities and saving lives. I urge my colleagues to stand together in this fight and support this effort to stop the spread of this deadly drug and keep our communities safe,” said Congresswoman Lee.
    The OPIOIDS Act includes:
    Data Collection: Allows the Attorney General to provide grants to states and local communities to improve data and surveillance related to opioid overdoses.
    Law Enforcement Grants: Directs the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) to award grants to local law enforcement agencies in communities with high rates of overdoses to:
    Provide training to help officers better identify overdoses,
    Upgrade essential systems for drug tracing and forensic laboratories, and
    Provide training to better trace criminals through the darknet.
    Additionally, this bill would allow existing Community Oriented Policing Services Grants to go toward providing training and resources for containment devices to prevent secondary exposure for first responders.
    Collaboration: Directs the Office of National Drug Control Policy to collaborate with the National Forensic Laboratory Information System and DOJ to create national standards for the submission of data into the system. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will be directed to develop uniform reporting standards for purity, formulation and weight to allow for better comparison across jurisdictions. The bill also removes the automatic approval of reprogramming requests for funds that are specifically appropriated in line with the National Drug Control Strategy and Budget.
    Fentanyl Profiling Program: Requires the DEA to submit to Congress, as part of their annual report, the level of funding needed to effectively carry out the Fentanyl Signature Profiling Program.

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  • MIL-OSI USA: King, Colleagues Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Fast-Track Veterans’ Access to VA Health Benefits

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Maine Angus King

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senators Angus King (I-ME), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Kevin Cramer (R-ND) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) are introducing legislation to fast-track veteran’s access to earned health care benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The Servicemember to Veteran Health Care Connection Act would codify and expand the existing VA pre-transition health care registration process for all servicemembers transitioning to civilian life. This would ensure that the VA, in partnership with Department of Defense (DoD), will pre-register all servicemembers leaving active duty and contact them after their discharge to complete registration if they wish to enroll in VA health care services — all to keep servicemembers from suffering a bureaucratic lag in access to care and benefits.

    Every year, more than 200,000 servicemembers transition from military to civilian life. Studies have shown the first year of servicemember’s transition to civilian life is the most difficult and a time when they are at a higher risk of suicide. By providing servicemembers the option to pre-register in VA care, they will have access to the mental and physical care they deserve immediately upon separation — helping to mitigate impacts of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and reducing the risk of suicide.

    “Our servicemembers continually put their lives on the line to protect our freedoms and they deserve the very best care and support long after they retire the uniform,” said Senator King. “The Servicemember to Veteran Health Care Connection Act is a simple way to ensure these brave men and women can easily access the health benefits they earned and deserve. By eliminating this bureaucratic lag, we are keeping our promise to deliver timely, quality care to those who served.”

    “Veterans represent the best of our country. Our men and women in uniform have made incredible sacrifices so that we can be free, and we have a responsibility to fulfill our commitment to them once their service is complete,” said Senator Rounds. “Many servicemembers are faced with the potential for a lapse in their care when transitioning from the military to civilian life. The Servicemember to Veteran Health Care Connection Act would start the process for servicemembers to enroll in the VA health care program before they officially make the transition out of active duty, making certain there is no lapse in the health care services newly-separated veterans need.”

    “As service members in North Dakota and across the U.S. return to civilian life, we must ensure they have access to critical health care services and resources before a time of crisis,” said Senator Cramer. “Our bipartisan legislation will allow the Department of Veterans Affairs to connect with service members as they transition to civilian life, allowing them to more proactively use the benefits they’ve earned.”

    “Leaving the military and transitioning to civilian life in the first year presents many challenges for service members, often making it difficult for them to access crucial medical treatment and benefits. DAV would like thank Sens. Angus King and Mike Rounds for their leadership in re-introducing the Servicemember to Veteran Health Care Connection Act,” said Jon Retzer, the Deputy National Legislative Director for Heath for Disabled American Veterans. “This piece of legislation takes a proactive approach by allowing service members to pre-enroll in VA health care before separation, thus eliminating potential delays in receiving care.”

    “The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) strongly supports the Servicemember to Veteran Health Care Connection Act, recognizing that the transition period from active duty to veteran status is one of the most critical times for our servicemembers,” said Joy Craig, the Associate Director of Service Member Affairs of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. “The Department of Defense and the VA must work together to ensure that no veteran falls through the cracks during this time. By pre-registering transitioning servicemembers for VA health care while they are still on active duty, this legislation helps to streamline the process and reduce unnecessary delays in accessing the care they have earned. The VFW applauds Senators’ King, Duckworth, Rounds and Cramer for prioritizing this vital phase and for taking steps to make the transition smoother, more efficient, and veteran-friendly.”

    The Servicemember to Veteran Health Care Connection Act will:

    • Require VA to pre-register all transitioning servicemembers in VA health care so that if they are eligible and choose to use VA health services, their enrollment and use of those services will be streamlined;
    • Require VA to do outreach to servicemembers before they leave the military to explain the pre-transition health care registration process;
    • Require VA to do outreach to discharged servicemembers to help them finish enrollment (if desired) once they have the appropriate discharge paperwork;
    • Require VA to do outreach to recently discharged and enrolled veterans who have not used VA health care within the first 6 months of discharge and offer to help make them an appointment, if they wish to do so;
    • Require VA and DoD to discuss the pre-transition health care registration process as part of the DoD Transition Assistance Program (TAP);
    • Provide a report to Congress on the feasibility of allowing members of the Armed Forces who are close to separation to get one “no-cost” VA health care appointment before they leave the military to familiarize them with the services VA can offer, even before they fully enroll;
    • Provide additional reports to Congress on: VA’s efforts to identify servicemembers/veterans with a service connected disability and connect them with the pre-transition health care registration process; VA’s efforts to pre-populate relevant VA databases to facilitate the enrollment process and minimize what additional information a servicemember needs to collect to complete enrollment; any challenges VA faces getting timely data and information from DoD regarding transitioning servicemembers; and other relevant information to implementing this registration process.

    Representing one of the states with the highest rates of veterans per capita, Senator King is a staunch advocate for America’s servicemembers and veterans. As a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, he has worked to ensure that veterans have access to jobs and training after separating from military service. In 2024, Congress passed Senator King’s bipartisan legislation to improve veterans’ access to health care and benefits. He has been among the Senate’s most prominent voices on the need to address veteran suicide, and has repeatedly pressed for action from top Department of Defense (DoD) officials on this issue. Last summer, Senator King introduced the Lethal Means Safe Storage for Veteran Suicide Prevention Act to help reduce suicides among veterans by providing firearm lockboxes and bolstering mental health training for VA caregivers. He also contributes to the Veterans History Project, a Library of Congress initiative to collect and preserve the stories of American veterans; he most recently interviewed a 101-year-old World War II veteran from Millinocket, Maine. Senator King uses this interview series to learn and share the stories of the lives, service and sacrifices of Maine’s veteran community. Most recently, Senator King introduced bipartisan legislation alongside Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) to lock into law the Veterans Experience Office within the VA.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Durbin, Marshall Introduce Protecting Patients From Deceptive Drug Ads Act

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Illinois Dick Durbin

    February 20, 2025

    With the rise in social media & telehealth, this bipartisan legislation would address false & misleading prescription drug promotions

    WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Roger Marshall, M.D. (R-KS) today introduced the Protecting Patients from Deceptive Drug Ads Act, bipartisan legislation that would protect public health and close regulatory loopholes by having the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) address false and misleading prescription drug promotions by social media influencers and telehealth companies. 

    The prevalence of online promotions and direct-to-consumer advertisements for prescription drugs—such as weight loss, gastrointestinal, or psychiatric medications—has drastically increased in recent years, notably through influencers and telehealth companies—most recently during the Super Bowl—and on social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram. FDA oversees manufacturer-sponsored prescription drug advertisements by ensuring that promotions by manufacturers are accurate, risks and benefits are disclosed, and information on the FDA-approved label is shared. However, there is generally a gap in FDA’s oversight when it comes to many advertisements by influencers and telehealth companies. Too many of these promotions provide false information, omit key side effects, or fuel demand for medications that may not be appropriate for a patient. 

    “The power of social media and the deluge of false and misleading promotions has led to too many young people being exposed to inaccurate and harmful advice that promises quick fixes from certain medications,” said Durbin. “Consumers are at risk of severe and long-lasting side effects when an influencer or telehealth company is profiting off deceptive medical content. Our bipartisan legislation would close FDA loopholes to protect patients from prescription drug advertisements lacking basic safety and accuracy information.”

    “With the skyrocketing trend of TV ads and social media influencers promoting new medications, this legislation will ensure that advertising regulations and disclosure standards are applied uniformly and consistently,” said Marshall.

    The Protecting Patients from Deceptive Drug Ads Act would address false and misleading prescription drug promotions by having FDA issue warning letters, followed by fines for noncompliance, to influencers and telehealth companies that engage in communications that accrue a financial benefit to the speaker and contain false or inaccurate statements, omit labeling or other key facts regarding a medication, or fail to include traditional risk and side effect disclosures. The legislation includes commonsense exemptions to limit the scope of the legislation to flagrantly deceptive commercial speech.

    Additionally, the legislation would require pharmaceutical manufacturers to report payments to influencers to the Open Payments database—similar to the existing disclosure of payments to physicians and other health providers—to shine light on promotional activities, including through celebrities. The legislation would enhance FDA’s visibility of social media promotions by utilizing new analytical tools, enhancing public education, coordinating with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and establishing a process to notify drug manufacturers of violative content.   

    The Protecting Patients from Deceptive Drug Ads Act is endorsed by Generation Patient, American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Physicians, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatrists, Doctors for America, Public Citizen, Public Interest Research Group, Light Collective, Young People’s Alliance, and Connecting to Cure Crohn’s and Colitis.

    Earlier this month, Durbin and Marshall sent a bipartisan letter to FDA to draw the agency’s attention to an a pharmaceutical advertisement that aired during the Super Bowl to more than 120 million Americans, which misled patients by omitting any safety or side effect information when promoting a specific type of weight loss medication.

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