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Category: US Senate

  • MIL-OSI USA: Schatz, Senate Democrats Hold Senate Floor All Night To Oppose Confirmation of Right-Wing Author of Project 2025 To Lead Budget, Management Office

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Hawaii Brian Schatz

    WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) joined members of the Senate Democratic caucus in holding the Senate floor for 30 consecutive hours in order to delay the confirmation of Russell Vought, the right-wing author of Project 2025, to be Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

    As one of the chief architects of the radical, right-wing manifesto, Project 2025, Vought’s proposals to broadly slash federal funding threaten Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. Vought was also behind President Trump’s illegal attempt to freeze federal funding last week, stopping taxpayer dollars from flowing to schools, police and fire departments, community health centers, food pantries, and other vital programs across the country.

    “If confirmed as the Director of OMB, Russ Vought may well be the most important man that no one’s ever heard of,” said Senator Schatz. “Under normal circumstances, the OMB directors are powerful, but kind of anonymous. But Russ Vought wants to go way beyond that. He wants to take an agency that people outside of Washington haven’t even heard of, and turn it into the nerve center and power center of the federal government. He wants to consolidate power at OMB in such a stark and sometimes illegal way that he alone will get to decide who deserves the government’s help and who doesn’t.”

    Schatz previously spoke out about how the now-rescinded OMB memo that froze all federal grants was plainly illegal by disregarding Congress’ constitutional authority to appropriate funding.

    A video of Senator Schatz’s initial remarks is available here. A transcript is below:

    We’re doing something a little unusual. First of all, every Democrat is united on the vote that will occur 26 or 27 hours from now. Second of all, almost every United States Senator on the Democratic side is going to come to this floor to articulate why we are united, and why we think this moment is so important.

    If confirmed the Director of OMB, Russ Vought may well be the most important man that no one’s ever heard of. Under normal circumstances, the OMB directors are powerful, but kind of anonymous because they’re responsible for technical things, nerdy things, developing and implementing the entire federal budget, and they advance the priorities of the president, whomever. Democrat or Republican.

    But Russ Vought wants to go way beyond that. He wants to take an agency that people outside of Washington haven’t even heard of, and turn it into the nerve center and power center of the federal government. He wants to consolidate power at OMB in such a stark and sometimes illegal way that he alone will get to decide who deserves the government’s help and who doesn’t.

    You do not have to take my word for it. I’m a Democrat. I always want to make the case for our side. But I want you to understand these are his words because he’s one of the authors of Project 2025. And let me just say what he says about this job: “The director must view his job as the best, most comprehensive approximation of the president’s mind as it pertains to the policy agenda, while always being ready with actual opinions to affect the agenda within legal authorities and resources. This role cannot be performed adequately as a director if the director acts as instead an ambassador of institutional interests once its reputation as the keeper of the Commander-in-Chief’s intent is established.”

    This is like, everybody’s watched Game of Thrones, he wants to be the king’s hand. He wants to be able to say, “I represent the president in any and all things foreign policy, domestic policy, tax policy, spending policy, all of it.” And that’s actually not what an OMB Director is supposed to do.

    He then talks about a practice called “apportionment” to essentially get around the bills that we pass, the appropriations bills. He wrote, “No director should be chosen who is unwilling to restore apportionment decision-making to the program associate directors who are political appointees, not career officials, personally review who is not aggressive in wielding the tool on behalf of the president’s agenda, or who is unable to defend the power against attacks from Congress.

    Look, the door swings both ways in Washington, and this attempt to consolidate power and basically make the legislature irrelevant is going to bite us all in the butt. There’s going to be a progressive president, and if this is allowed to stand, they are going to reach in and defund stuff you like. That is the creature of a duly enacted law.

    And I get that this is nerdy. I’m not saying anybody should make this their primary point of opposition to the president, but we’re here on the floor of the United States Senate. So let’s be a little serious for a moment and say that we swore an oath to uphold the law and Constitution of the United States, and the Constitution is actually it’s ambiguous about a couple of things, but it’s not ambiguous about this: we hold the purse strings for the Article I branch, and our power, besides confirming or rejecting nominees, is substantially that we set the parameters for a spending bill.

    And I get that there are 53 members on the other side of the aisle that have a different view of spending that I than I do, and I get that we just lost. And so we’re in for some outcomes that we don’t like. I’m not complaining about outcomes that I don’t like. I am complaining about an unlawful view of the separation of powers. And we saw it last week when they just literally froze all federal funding, not even with the pretext of like, “Hey, we’re just going to review this and make sure, like everything’s, you know, no fraud, waste and abuse”.

    They just shut down the Medicaid portal. They shut down Head Start. They froze construction projects. And so I want everybody to understand what’s at stake here is literally the American system of government, because these guys view this branch of government, the one that is plural, not just one person elected, but 535 people elected from their states and their districts to represent all of the people of the United States of America. And it is supposed to be messy, and it is supposed to be contentious. And you know what? It’s also sometimes supposed to be slow.

    It’s supposed to be slow. It’s supposed to be hard. We have the best document undermining any country that has ever existed in human history. And what it does is it says, “We don’t want any branch of government to be too powerful. And so this is not some trivial, little partisan dispute about particular programs. This is the ability for the executive branch to literally seize power, storm into the offices of an agency that they hate, and shut it down operationally, and use a bunch of white shoe law firm, fancy pants words to develop a pretext for eviscerating the United States Constitution, which clearly gives us the authority to establish spending laws, right? And can we spare ourselves the punditocracy, “Well, Democrats should be focusing on something else”.

    I understand. I understand that some of the stuff that we’re going to say to each other on the Senate floor is, like, not necessarily compelling to people outside of this building, but people outside of this building understand on a very basic level that there are three branches of government, and they’re supposed to be roughly equal and stealing power from the legislative branch is inherently bad, even if you agree with the outcome, even if you think, “Well, I kind of agree with them, I don’t like this program”.

    If you don’t like a program, introduce a bill. If you want to defund something, there’s like an actual process for that. There’s a lot of stuff I don’t like in the federal budget, and I usually propose cuts to those things that I don’t like, and sometimes I prevail, and sometimes I don’t. But I have no illusions that I’m a monarch.

    And it is true that this president of the United States won a free and fair election to be at the helm of the executive branch, but he did not win a free and fair election to be the monarch of the United States or the CEO of the United States. And I think one of the conceptual problems with bringing in all these billionaires is they really are the monarchs of their companies. That’s like how the private sector, where you’re the CEO, and you want something to happen, you just tell them, “This is what’s going to happen. This is not a democracy. I’m the boss. Do it.” That’s literally not our constitutional system.

    And so Russ Vought has ideas that I disagree with about the size and the scope of the federal government. And that’s part of this, right? He really does want to cut Medicaid, cut Medicare, cut the Affordable Care Act, eliminate programs that I think are essential for people in Hawai‘i and people across the country. But there really is something bigger at stake right now.

    And we all of us, Democrats, Republicans, independents, the media, which is so damn casual about what is happening, we have to understand that when you’re in the middle of the fight, you’re not sure if this is a historic moment. When you read about it in the past, you can identify that historic moment. When you observe it in a faraway place with a hard to pronounce name, you can identify what’s happening: creeping fascism. When it happens and you’re in the middle of it, you’re not so sure if it’s your moment to display any sense of independence or courage, and if this is going to be stopped, we only have 47 votes. Three people at some point. I have no illusions that it will be in the next 30 hours. But three people at some point have to say, “I like conservative outcomes. I like conservative justices. I like tax cuts, but I don’t like unlawfulness. And those are my parameters.”

    I am an adult. I have been here for 13 years. I’ve been in the majority. I’ve been in the minority. I’ve been in sort of every iteration of whatever elections bring. That’s okay. That is the way this process works. What is happening right now is an attempt to reorder the whole damn system in a way that is going to make every individual citizen across the country, across the country, less powerful. Because when you elect someone, and I’ll yield to the senator from Minnesota in just a moment, when you elect someone, and you tell them you’re spending priorities and they come home and say, “Good news, I got this” or “Good news, I cut this.”

    And then you realize, that’s only a recommendation. It’s the OMB director whose name you’ve never heard of – his name is Russ Vought – who gets to decide. That’s not our system of government, and that’s why we’re going to be fighting all night about this issue.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Durbin, Grassley Baltic Foreign Ministers To Discuss Increased Russian Aggresion

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Illinois Dick Durbin

    February 06, 2025

    WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Co-Chairs of the Senate Baltic Freedom Caucus, met today with Baltic Foreign Ministers and their ambassadors. During the meeting, they discussed the increase in Russian hybrid attacks in the Baltics and across Europe, and the need to maintain allied support for Ukraine and NATO. The meeting comes not long after Finland seized a Russian shadow fleet ship suspected of destroying an energy cable linking Estonia and Finland, and growing evidence of Russian arson, assassination, malign cyber activities, and sabotage on NATO soil. In addition to Durbin and Grassley, U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Pete Ricketts (R-NE) also attended.

    The Senators met with Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys and Ambassador Audra Plepyte; Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braže and Ambassador Elita Kuzma; and Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna and Ambassador Kristjan Prikk.

    “Not only do I have strong personal ties to the region, but the Baltic countries are essential NATO partners in upholding democratic values and transatlantic security,” said Durbin. “The nations whose foreign ministers we met with today are among Ukraine’s staunchest supporters—and the United States must continue to do its part to stand alongside them. Considering the new Administration’s foreign policy views, we must remain steadfast in the need to strengthen the NATO alliance and in our support for the Baltic States as they work to combat increasing Russian aggression around the region.”

    “The Baltic nations of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania kept the flame of liberty alive during 50 years of Soviet occupation. Now, they stand united as global leaders helping to combat foreign aggression and authoritarianism,” Grassley said. “As Co-Chair of the Senate Baltic Freedom Caucus, I was proud to welcome the Baltic Ministers of Foreign Affairs to Capitol Hill and I look forward to our nations’ continued partnership.”

    Photos of the meeting are available here.

    Last Congress, Durbin and Grassley introduced a resolution recognizing the importance of the alliance between the United States and the Baltic States.

    Over the years, Durbin and Grassley have introduced the Baltic Security Initiative Act, bipartisan and bicameral legislation to codify the Baltic Security Initiative (BSI), which enhances and strengthens U.S. security cooperation with the Baltics amid Russia’s unprovoked war in Ukraine and heightened tensions with China. In Fiscal Year 2024, Durbin secured $228 million in defense appropriations funding for the BSI.

      

    In 2022, Durbin traveled to Vilnius, Lithuania, where he received the Aleksandras Stulginskis Star Award—only the second individual and first American to receive this award. It was granted to Durbin for his decades-long support of Lithuanian independence and democracy and his promotion of parliamentary values. He was in Vilnius almost three years ago on the morning Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. 

    -30-

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Durbin, Marshall Draw FDA Attention To Misleading Drug Commercial Set To Run During Super Bowl

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Illinois Dick Durbin

    February 07, 2025

    Deceptive advertisement for weight-loss medication omits safety & risk information, Senators preview new legislation to close loopholes for drug ads

    CHICAGO – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Roger Marshall, M.D. (R-KS) today sent a bipartisan letter to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to draw the agency’s attention to an upcoming pharmaceutical advertisement that is slated to air during the Super Bowl on Sunday to more than 120 million Americans, which misleads patients by omitting any safety or side effect information when promoting a specific type of weight loss medication.

    FDA regulates direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertisements for pharmaceuticals to ensure they are not false or misleading, by disclosing side effects, contraindication, and effectiveness information to the public. Under federal law and regulations, FDA requires that prescription drug advertisements be truthful, not misleading, and balanced—failure to do so risks FDA enforcement action, including civil monetary penalties. 

    The Senators wrote, “An upcoming Super Bowl advertisement, which has been publicly posted online, appears to showcase a company’s ability to prescribe and dispense GLP-1 medications to patients, including with text and claims about weight loss drugs, and imagery of an injection pen with distinctive characteristics reflective of an existing brand-name medication. However, nowhere in this promotion is there any side effect disclosure, risk, or safety information as would be typically required in a pharmaceutical advertisement.”

    “By comparison, the FDA-approved labels and advertisements for brand-name GLP-1 medications include significant risk disclosures to patients about side effects and contraindications, including warnings about potential gallbladder, pancreas, vomiting, diarrhea, and other implications. Further, for only three seconds during the minute-long commercial does the screen flash in small, barely legible font, that these products are not FDA-approved,” the Senators continued.

    The advertisement appears to be exploiting a perceived loophole in federal law regarding promotions of compounded drugs by telehealth companies.  However, the Senators’ letter argues this advertisement does fall under FDA’s jurisdiction, and previews legislation that will soon be introduced to close any gaps regarding prescription drug advertising.

    Drug manufacturers in the United States spend approximately $6 billion annually in DTC prescription drug advertisements, with approximately one-third of all commercial time across evening news programs being consumed with these pharmaceutical promotions. A recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that more than two-thirds of drugs advertised on television were considered “low therapeutic value.”

    The Senators continued, “We recognize the important roles that pharmaceutical compounding and telehealth play in the health care delivery system, helping to ensure access to FDA-approved products and filling a need for more customized treatments. However, we believe there should be no disparity in pharmaceutical advertising requirements between regulated entities.”

    “To the extent this falls within a regulatory loophole for the FDA’s authorities, we plan to soon introduce bipartisan legislation to close this gap, so that patients are not deceived by advertisements that glaringly omit critical safety and side effect information. But, we believe FDA may already have the authority to take enforcement action against marketing that may mislead patients about this company’s products,” the Senators concluded.

    Recently, a STAT News article highlighted the direct-to-consumer telehealth company Hims & Hers, which will air a Super Bowl ad promoting its GLP-1 weight loss medications.

    Durbin recently reintroduced the Drug-price Transparency for Consumers (DTC) Act, a bipartisan bill that would require price disclosures on advertisements for prescription drugs in order to empower patients and reduce Americans’ colossal spending on medications. 

    Full text of the letter is available here and below:

    February 7, 2025

    Dear Acting Commissioner Brenner:

    As part of the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) mission to protect public health, the agency conducts regulatory oversight of direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertisements for pharmaceuticals.  FDA enforces the law and regulations to ensure prescription drug advertisements are not false or misleading, including by communicating side effects, contraindication, and effectiveness information to the public.  In the last six months of 2024, FDA issued four important untitled letters to manufacturers to seek corrections to their false or misleading pharmaceutical advertisements.  We write to draw your attention to an upcoming advertisement that is slated to air during the Super Bowl on Sunday to more than 120 million Americans, which risks misleading patients by omitting any safety or side effect information when promoting a specific type of weight loss medication. 

               

    Under Section 502 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, as well as its implementing regulations at 21 CFR 202.1, FDA requires that prescription drug advertisements be truthful, not misleading, and balanced. 

    An upcoming Super Bowl advertisement, which has been publicly posted online, appears to showcase a company’s ability to prescribe and dispense GLP-1 medications to patients, including with text and claims about weight loss drugs, and imagery of an injection pen with distinctive characteristics reflective of an existing brand-name medication. 

    However, nowhere in this promotion is there any side effect disclosure, risk, or safety information as would be typically required in a pharmaceutical advertisement.  By comparison, the FDA-approved labels and advertisements for brand-name GLP-1 medications include significant risk disclosures to patients about side effects and contraindications, including warnings about potential gallbladder, pancreas, vomiting, diarrhea, and other implications.  Further, for only three seconds during the minute-long commercial does the screen flash in small, barely legible font, that these products are not FDA-approved.

    We recognize the important roles that pharmaceutical compounding and telehealth play in the health care delivery system, helping to ensure access to FDA-approved products and filling a need for more customized treatments.  However, we believe there should be no disparity in pharmaceutical advertising requirements between regulated entities.

    To the extent this falls within a regulatory loophole for the FDA’s authorities, we plan to soon introduce bipartisan legislation to close this gap, so that patients are not deceived by advertisements that glaringly omit critical safety and side effect information.  But, we believe FDA may already have the authority to take enforcement action against marketing that may mislead patients about this company’s products.  Thank you for your attention to this matter. 

    Sincerely,

    -30-

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Ernst Fights to Keep Higher Education Accessible for Farm Families

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA)
    WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) are standing up for families and fighting to reverse changes to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) process that could reduce or even eliminate access to need-based student aid for farm families and small business owners.
    Their bipartisan Family Farm and Small Business Exemption Act would amend the FAFSA Simplification Act to restore the original exemption of all farmland, machinery, other operational materials, and small businesses with fewer than 100 employees from being declared on the FAFSA form.
    “No one should have to sell off the farm – or their small business – to afford college. As a farm kid myself, I know the enormous impacts grants and financial aid have on rural students’ decision to go to college,” said Ernst. “I’m fighting for Iowa families, so unfair policies don’t hold them back from investing in their child’s education.”
    “From Colorado to Iowa, federal financial aid helps ensure more students can afford college – including students from farm families, whose businesses are vital to our communities and economies,” said Bennet. “Our bipartisan bill will help ensure these students receive the financial aid they need.”
    Congressman Tracey Mann (R-Kan.) is introducing this legislation in the House:
    “Across Kansas’ Big First District and the country, net farm income has decreased by nearly 25% since 2022,” said Rep. Mann. “Between navigating record-levels of inflation and skyrocketing input costs, our family farmers, ranchers, agricultural producers, and small business owners are doing their best to make an honest living. When young people from these families are applying for higher education financial aid, the assets tied up in the family farm or the small business should not count against them. Congress should work to make life easier, not harder, for these dedicated families and students. My bill evens the playing field for these students and families, while protecting the American dream for every student regardless of their parents’ career ventures.”
    Under the previous contribution formula, the expected family contribution – calculated from information taken from the FAFSA form – did not include farm or small business assets. However, under the new formula the student aid index will take those assets into account, drastically driving up the amount a family is expected to contribute. 
    “Senator Ernst has taken an important step to restore equity to farm families whose special circumstances were lost in the efforts to simplify the FAFSA. Leaving deserving farm families out of federal student aid programs is not simplification, it is bad policy. The nation’s private colleges are very appreciative for all she is doing to fix this mistake,” said Barbara Mistick, President of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities.
    “Senator Ernst’s bill is a win for Iowa families, ensuring students from family farms and small businesses across the country don’t lose out on critical financial aid. This is a step forward for Iowans and removes an unnecessary barrier to higher education,” said Brenda Buzynski, Assistant Provost and Director of Student Financial Aid at University of Iowa.
    “Our country’s farmers and ranchers are facing tremendous challenges, from a strained farm economy to legislative and regulatory uncertainty. Making it more difficult for their children to attain a college education shouldn’t be an added burden. We know that farmers’ assets are tied up in the value of their land, livestock and equipment, yet their kids may not qualify for federal financial student aid. AFBF commends Senator Ernst’s work to find a solution to the challenges created by the asset calculation changes in the FAFSA Simplification Act,” said Ryan Yates, Managing Director of Government Affairs at American Farm Bureau Federation.
    “NASSGAP is pleased to support Senator Joni Ernst’s efforts to ensure continued access to the financial aid children of family farmers need to attend college. Family farmers are the backbone of America and NASSGAP is honored to help Sen. Ernst ensure their children have the same access to higher education,” said Frank Ballman, Director of Federal Relations at the National Association of State Student Grant and Aid Programs.
    Background:
    Ernst has been a strong advocate for Iowa families to be able to responsibly finance their child’s education. 
    After Biden’s Department of Education botched their FAFSA rollout, Ernst supported the FAFSA Deadline Act that became law and gave families the certainty they deserve. To ensure more Iowa families are not left out, Ernst conducted critical oversight, demanded answers on behalf of agricultural communities, and worked to get input directly from impacted Iowans.
    On her annual River to River Tour, Ernst hosted town halls and met with students and schools to discuss the effects of FAFSA to bring Iowans’ concerns to Washington.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Lankford Introduces Bill to Block Tax Breaks for Marijuana Businesses

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Oklahoma James Lankford
    WASHINGTON, DC – Senator James Lankford (R-OK) this week introduced legislation to prevent marijuana businesses from deducting business expenses from their taxes. Lankford was joined on the bill by Senator Pete Ricketts (R-NE).
    “Marijuana doesn’t make our families stronger, our streets safer, or our workplaces more productive. Businesses who sell federally illegal drugs—including marijuana businesses—shouldn’t get federal tax breaks. This bill clarifies federal tax law to make sure a federally illegal product does not have a federally legal tax deduction,” said Lankford.  
    “We thank Senator Lankford for his strong leadership in both fiscal responsibility and drug policy. The federal government should not be in the business of giving tax relief to the federally illegal, addiction-for-profit marijuana industry. This legislation would prevent deficit increases while ensuring that taxpayers don’t foot the bill for the revenue gap made by tax write-offs for people who choose to violate federal law and poison our kids,” said Dr. Kevin Sabet, President and CEO of Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM).
    Since the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982, tax law has prevented businesses trafficking Schedule I or II drugs from deducting business expenses. However, if the Biden Administration’s push to reschedule marijuana is successful, marijuana businesses would be able to take business deductions. This bill preempts that loophole and ensures that marijuana businesses would not be able to deduct business expenses from their taxes. 
    Oklahoma has over 3,000 licensed marijuana growers. The Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics (OBN) believes that thousands of those farms have had a Chinese connection since Oklahoma legalized marijuana in 2018. The marijuana market in Oklahoma has ushered in other serious crimes like human trafficking, forced labor, and money laundering, and in response, Lankford introduced the Soil Act to prevent purchases of Oklahoma agricultural land by foreign entities. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Peters Reintroduces Bipartisan Bill to Strengthen U.S. Manufacturing Policy and Global Competitiveness

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Michigan Gary Peters
    WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Gary Peters (MI) reintroduced bipartisan legislation to establish a National Manufacturing Advisory Council within the U.S. Department of Commerce. The Advisory Council would bring together leaders in manufacturing, labor, and education to advise both Congress and the Secretary of Commerce on how best to ensure the United States remains the top destination globally for investment in manufacturing. It would serve as a bridge between the manufacturing sector and federal government to improve communication and collaboration, and better support the industry and its workforce. Peters introduced the National Manufacturing Advisory Council for the 21st Century Act with U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN). The bill passed the Senate with unanimous support last Congress.  
    “Our manufacturers, labor leaders, and experts bring an important real-world perspective that can help ensure the United States remains at the forefront of advanced manufacturing globally,” said Senator Peters. “This bipartisan legislation would give our industry leaders a seat at the table to help shape federal manufacturing policy and inform our response to emerging challenges and threats.”   
    “This initiative, the National Manufacturing Advisory Council Act, is designed to improve the resources and support for our nation’s small and medium-size manufacturers, which are a truly vital driver of our economy. I applaud Senator Peters for his steadfast, unwavering commitment to American manufacturing,” said Ingrid Tighe, President of the Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center, the Michigan representative of the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) program, part of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). 
    “We applaud Senator Gary Peters for introducing this bill to improve the federal government’s planning and coordination of efforts to strengthen domestic manufacturing,” said Scott Paul, President of the Alliance for American Manufacturing. “Recent supply chain disruptions have made clear that it is time for the United States to shore up its critical manufacturing capabilities, which will not only better prepare us for the next crisis but also create jobs and boost the economy. This increased coordination between the many programs designed to support our manufacturers and their workers is an important step towards rebuilding our industrial base. We are grateful to Senator Peters for his efforts to bolster American manufacturing.” 
    “The Association of Equipment Manufacturers applauds Senator Gary Peters and Senator Marsha Blackburn for their continued leadership on behalf of the manufacturing sector and for introducing legislation that will prioritize a national strategy focused on ensuring American manufacturing policy can rapidly respond to changes in the global marketplace,” said Kip Eideberg, AEM Senior Vice President of Government and Industry Relations. “Our economic prosperity and national security depend on a strong manufacturing sector, and establishing a National Manufacturing Advisory Council will help unleash innovation and mobilize a comprehensive, coordinated, and competent national effort in support of the manufacturing sector and its workforce.”   
    “We commend Senator Gary Peters (D-MI) and Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) for today introducing legislation to establish a National Manufacturing Advisory Council,” said Ana Meuwissen, Senior Vice President of Government Affairs for MEMA, The Vehicle Suppliers Association. “This council will be a forum for manufacturers and other key stakeholders to provide input to the Department of Commerce (DOC) on important long-range issues such as workforce, supply chain, technology, and defense industrial base. The NMAC legislation would also foster better coordination of federal manufacturing policy in the DOC and across the federal government. When this legislation is enacted, it will be an asset to assist in retaining U.S. competitiveness in critical manufacturing sectors like motor vehicle parts.”   
    The Advisory Council would meet at least twice a year and be tasked with providing lawmakers with a national strategic plan – including recommendations to address workforce issues, supply chain interruptions, and other logistical and emerging challenges. Specifically, the Advisory Council would be required to: 
    IDENTIFY AND ASSESS the impacts of technological developments, production capacity, skill availability, investment patterns, and emerging defense needs on the manufacturing competitiveness of the United States. 
    SOLICIT INPUT from the public and private sectors as well as academia on emerging trends in manufacturing. 
    PROVIDE RECOMMENDATIONS to the Secretary regarding global and domestic manufacturing trends threatening the U.S. manufacturing sector, including supply chain interruptions, regulatory and logistical challenges, and technological changes. The Advisory Council would also advise the Secretary on areas to increase federal attention with respect to manufacturing – as well as matters relating to the U.S. manufacturing workforce such as the impact of burgeoning technology and worker training and education priorities. 
    Peters has made strengthening domestic manufacturing a top priority of his work in the Senate. Peters helped craft and pass into law the CHIPS and Science Act, which includes a provision he authored to support the domestic production of mature semiconductor technologies and ensure that projects supporting critical manufacturing industries, such as the auto industry, are given priority status. This funding was in addition to $50 billion already in the bill to incentivize the production of semiconductors of all kinds in the U.S. – for a total of $52 billion. 
    The CHIPS and Science Act also authorized increased funding for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) program, which has been a priority for Peters. Peters also supported and helped pass the Inflation Reduction Act, which will strengthen domestic manufacturing, onshore our supply chains, combat the climate crisis and create millions of American jobs. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Welch Joins Bipartisan Bill to Fix Unfair Funding Issues for Rural Hospitals 

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont)
    WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.), joined by Senators John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), and Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) this week to introduce the Fair Funding for Rural Hospitals Act, bipartisan legislation to ensure that hospitals caring for large numbers of Medicaid and uninsured patients in Vermont and other rural states receive their fair share of federal funding. The Senators’ bill would establish a nationwide federal funding minimum for disproportionate share hospitals (DSH) and create a federal floor of $20 million per state for the Medicaid DSH program. The program will then grow at a “low” DSH percentage inflation rate after the first five years. 
    “Hospitals in rural communities like Vermont are seeing more and more Medicaid and low-income patients. These hospitals provide essential health care services, so it’s crucial they get the support they need,” said Senator Welch. “I am proud to join Senator Barrasso to introduce this bipartisan legislation to provide stable funding for these hospitals to continue to do the important work of serving our most vulnerable patients.”  
    “Wyoming’s hospitals serve more Medicaid and low-income patients than other states, but our share of funding hasn’t caught up for decades,” said Senator Barrasso. “We’ve been overlooked for our fair share while our rural hospitals fight to keep their doors open. This legislation will fix outdated funding issues for hospitals across Wyoming and rural America.” 
    “By enabling states to increase payments to hospitals providing uncompensated care, our bill will help more uninsured and low-income people across Hawai‘i access the care they need,” said Senator Schatz. 
    “I joined my colleagues in introducing the Fair Funding for Rural Hospitals Act to ensure hospitals receive appropriate support to care for Medicaid and uninsured patients,” said Cramer. “By establishing a new federal floor for rural states like North Dakota, this legislation will support access to care for our state’s most vulnerable patients.” 
    Read the full text of the legislation.  

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Welch Statement on the Retirement of Dr. Mark Levine, Vermont Commissioner of Health 

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont)
    BURLINGTON, VT — U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) released the following statement on the retirement of Dr. Mark A. Levine, Commissioner of Health for the State of Vermont: 
    “Dr. Levine dedicated his career to medicine and creating stronger, healthier communities across Vermont. His leadership as our state’s Commissioner of Health during the brutal COVID-19 pandemic has been praised and celebrated, and I echo that. He helped Vermont through those incredibly challenging times, and saved many lives. I am very thankful for Dr. Levine’s service to Vermont, and I wish him some well-deserved time to relax in his retirement.” 
    In an announcement earlier today, Governor Phil Scott announced Dr. Levine plans to retire at the end of March 2025. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Cortez Masto Cosponsors Bill to Reunite Filipino Veterans with their Children

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Nevada Cortez Masto
    Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) joined Senator Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) in reintroducing the bipartisan Filipino Veterans Family Reunification Act, a bill that would speed up the visa process for the children of Filipino veterans who served in the United States military during World War II.
    “The Filipino veterans who fought for our country in World War II deserve our gratitude and respect, and that should extend to their families as well,” said Senator Cortez Masto. “Our bipartisan legislation would provide certainty to the hundreds of Filipino veterans whose children have been caught up in the complicated, drawn-out process of receiving their green cards.”
    During World War II, more than 260,000 Filipinos served in the United States Armed Forces. In 1990, President George H. W. Bush granted U.S. citizenship to 26,000 of those Filipino veterans, but not their children. As a result, those children have had to apply for green cards in a lengthy, delayed process that has left them in limbo for years. The Filipino Veterans Family Reunification Act would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to exempt the sons and daughters of those Filipino veterans and allow them to receive their green cards on an expedited timeline.
    Senator Cortez Masto has been a consistent advocate for the Filipino veteran community. Last year, she successfully included a provision in the National Defense Authorization Act ensuring Filipino veterans who fought alongside U.S. troops in World War II and the Vietnam War can be buried in state veterans’ cemeteries. Through her Brian Neuman Act, Senator Cortez Masto was able to remove roadblocks for disabled veterans accessing their benefits. She also helped pass the PACTAct to ensure veterans suffering from toxic exposure in the line of duty get the medical care they need and worked across the aisle to get legislation helping veterans exposed to Agent Orange and expanding benefits for women veterans signed into law.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Heinrich, Luján Join Colleagues in Calling for Quick Implementation of the Social Security Fairness Act

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-New Mexico)
    Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) joined U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) and 25 of their colleagues in calling for the immediate implementation of the Social Security Fairness Act to provide full Social Security benefits for millions of public servants impacted by Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO). The Social Security Fairness Act, which Senators Heinrich and Luján cosponsored, fully repeals the two unfair Social Security provisions, WEP and GPO. The Social Security Fairness Act was signed into law on January 5, 2024 after Senators Heinrich and Luján voted to advance legislation on the Senate floor. 
    “The Social Security Fairness Act restores full Social Security benefits for the millions of teachers, police officers, firefighters, and other public servants who are unfairly penalized by the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO),” wrote the senators.
    “The Social Security Administration’s website currently states, ‘SSA expects that it could take more than one year to adjust benefits and pay all retroactive benefits’ owed under the Social Security Fairness Act. We call for the immediate implementation of this legislation to provide prompt relief to the millions of Americans impacted by WEP and GPO,” continued the senators.
    Senators Heinrich, Luján, and Cassidy were joined by Senators Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Susan Collins (R-ME), Pete Ricketts (R-NE), John Fetterman (D-PA), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Alex Padilla (D-CA), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Angus King (I-ME), Jon Ossoff (D-GA), Jack Reed (D-RI), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Mark Warner (D-VA), Peter Welch (D-VT), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI).
    Read the full letter here or below:
    Dear Acting Commissioner King,
    We write to you concerning the implementation of the Social Security Fairness Act (Public Law No: 118-273). This legislation passed Congress on an overwhelmingly bipartisan basis on December 21st, 2024 and was signed into law on January 5th, 2025. The Social Security Fairness Act restores full Social Security benefits for the millions of teachers, police officers, firefighters, and other public servants who are unfairly penalized by the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO).
    The Social Security Administration’s website currently states, “SSA expects that it could take more than one year to adjust benefits and pay all retroactive benefits” owed under the Social Security Fairness Act. We call for the immediate implementation of this legislation to provide prompt relief to the millions of Americans impacted by WEP and GPO. In the interim, we request monthly updates and briefings regarding the status of the Social Security Administration’s progress towards implementing the Social Security Fairness Act. 
    Thank you for your prompt attention to this important matter.  We look forward to your response.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Ahead of Big Sports Weekend, King Introduces Legislation to Prohibit Direct to Consumer Pharmaceutical Drug Advertising

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Maine Angus King

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Angus King (I-ME) is introducing legislation to prohibit direct-to-consumer advertising of pharmaceutical drugs. The Responsibility in Drug Advertising Act would prohibit direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising of a new drug in the first three years after the drug receives Federal Drug Administration (FDA) approval. The FDA could waive the third year of this prohibition if an affirmative value to public health is established or extend the prohibition if the drug has significant adverse health effects.

    The legislation comes as more than 120 million viewers are expected to tune in to Super Bowl LIX this Sunday. Drug advertisers use these high-visibility moments, with millions of eyes on TV screens, to persuade and potentially mislead consumers about specific drugs that can be costlier to patients and possibly hazardous to their health. In the weeks leading up to Super Bowl LIX, the network airing the game has fetched $8 million for each 30-second TV ad slot, as companies pay a premium to tout their newest product to the Super Bowl’s vast audience.

    “The widespread use of direct-to-consumer advertising by pharmaceutical companies drives up costs and doesn’t necessarily make patients healthier. It is misleading and frankly not safe for Maine people and all Americans looking for specific treatments to their conditions,” said Senator King. “The Responsibility in Drug Advertising Act would prohibit direct-to-consumer advertising of recently approved pharmaceutical drugs to protect people over profits. This bill is a great step to ensure that patients are getting the best information possible: we can start by making sure newly-approved drugs aren’t allowed to immediately flood the market with promotional ads before we fully understand their impact on the general public.”

    Before the mid-1980s, drug companies only provided information about their products to doctors or pharmacists, who would then relay information to their patients when appropriate. But during the 1980s, companies started to market their drugs directly to consumers through ads. To date, federal law does not require the FDA to approve advertisements before they are released to the public. The only major requirement is that advertised information must be presented in consumer-friendly language that is readily understandable. 

     The United States and New Zealand are the only two countries that even allow direct to consumer drug advertising. In 2007, the World Health Organization (WHO) made a strong recommendation against direct-to-consumer drug advertising, calling it, “a significant risk of exposing more patients to the adverse effects of new drugs.” A study by Dartmouth College and the University of Wisconsin-Madison found that nearly 60 percent of prescription drug advertisements were misleading or false.

    Senator King has been a leader in working to reduce prescription drug costs and hold pharmaceutical companies accountable for the content of their ads. Most recently, Senator King cosponsored bipartisan legislation which would require price disclosures on advertisements for prescription drugs in order to inform patients who are considering certain medications after seeing television commercials. He has previously introduced legislation to prohibit pharmaceutical drug manufacturers from claiming tax deductions for consumer advertising expenses. Senator King has also supported a number of commonsense bills to drive down the costs of prescription medication in the United States including the historic Inflation Reduction Act. Thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, insulin fees are capped at $35/month, Medicare is able to negotiate drug prices, and a $2,000 yearly cap on out-of-pocket expenses has been instituted for Medicare recipients.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Warren, Schumer, Senators Launch Probe Into DOGE’s Interference with Department of Education, Access to Federal Student Loan Data

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Massachusetts – Elizabeth Warren

    February 07, 2025

    Musk’s Team May Have Obtained Access to Personal Information of Millions of Borrowers; Raises Concerns About Violations of the Law, Failure to Protect Sensitive Information

    “The millions of families who rely on ED to help them achieve the American Dream deserve answers about reports that an unelected billionaire and his team now have access to some of their most sensitive personal information.”

    Text of Letter (PDF)

    Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) led 14 of their colleagues in sending a letter to Acting Secretary of the Department of Education, Denise Carter, launching a probe into recent reports that Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has infiltrated the Department of Education (ED) and that “DOGE staffers have gained access to federal student loan data, which includes personal information for millions of borrowers.”

    The letter was joined by Senators Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Richard Durbin (D-Ill.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).

    There are over 40 million federal student loan borrowers in the United States. ED’s student loan database contains millions of borrowers’ highly sensitive information, including Social Security numbers, marital status, and income data. 

    “This deeply troubling report raises questions about potential exposures of Americans’ private data, the abuse of this data by the Trump Administration, and whether officials who have access to the data may have violated the law or the federal government’s procedures for handling sensitive information,” wrote the senators.

    According to public reporting, “a handful of 19-to-24-year-old engineers linked to Musk’s companies, with unclear titles, could be bypassing regular security protocols” during DOGE’s infiltration of federal agencies. The senators also raised concerns that the access provided to DOGE-affiliated staff by the Department may violate the Privacy Act, which generally prohibits the disclosure of such information.

    “We are especially troubled by this reporting given President Trump’s stated pledge to abolish the Department,” concluded the lawmakers. “The millions of families who rely on ED to help them achieve the American Dream deserve answers about reports that an unelected billionaire and his team now have access to some of their most sensitive personal information.”

    Additional reporting suggests that DOGE has “fed sensitive data from across the Education Department into artificial intelligence software to probe the agency’s programs and spending.” The 16 senators requested answers from Acting Secretary Carter about DOGE’s access to federal student loan data and any other sensitive databases by February 13, 2025.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Cramer, Kelly Letter Urges Disposal of Unused Federal Buildings Under New Authority

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND)
    BISMARCK, N.D. – The Water Resources Development Act of 2024 included legislation from U.S. Senators Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Subcommittee, and Mark Kelly (D-AZ), member of the EPW Committee, to rightsize the federal government’s real estate portfolio and ensure taxpayer-funded buildings do not sit empty. Their legislation, the Federal Assets and Transfers Act (FASTA) Reform Act, builds on the success of FASTA, which was passed by Congress and signed into law in 2016.
    FASTA established a six-year pilot program overseen by the Public Buildings Reform Board (PBRB) to recommend the disposal of unused federal properties in three rounds. The PBRB began operating in 2019, and its work resulted in the sale of 10 buildings, generating over $193 million in revenue. However, as of 2022, the federal government still had 7,697 vacant buildings. Over the past two years, this problem has worsened with the federal agencies’ embrace of remote and telework policies. A Government Accountability Office (GAO) study from October 2023 found 17 of 24 surveyed federal agencies, on average, used an estimated 25 percent or less of the capacity of their headquarters buildings. The GAO study also estimated over $81 million is wasted each year due to this underutilization of office space.
    Cramer and Kelly sent a letter to PBRB requesting it complete the final round of disposals required under FASTA and FASTA Reform Act to bring “tangible benefits” to the taxpayer.
    “The Public Building Reform Board (PBRB) must build on this success by taking a comprehensive approach aimed at maximizing savings and reducing waste,” the senators wrote. “It is critical the PBRB and OMB collaborate to ensure this round delivers the best possible result.
    “Congress and taxpayers alike recognize the urgent need to address our government’s inefficient real estate portfolio,” the senators concluded. “We look forward to the completion of the third round and the tangible benefits it will bring.”
    Click here for the letter. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: At EPA Headquarters, Senator Markey, Members of Congress Denied Access and Meeting with DOGE Members, Administrator

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Massachusetts Ed Markey

    WATCH: Senator Markey’s Remarks at EPA Headquarters

    Washington (February 6, 2025) – Earlier today at Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) headquarters, Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, Yassamin Ansari (AZ-03), and Paul Tonko (NY-20) were denied a meeting with EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin and DOGE representatives, where the lawmakers planned to ask why funding to critical EPA programs for clean air, clean water and climate action have been unconstitutionally cut off to communities and to demand that the funding that has already been authorized and appropriated by Congress be rightfully unfrozen.

    Despite multiple court orders requiring the restart of funding, Trump administration officials have failed to release billions of dollars at the EPA that were authorized and appropriated for Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and clean school bus programs as required by law—leaving communities without resources to combat the effects of dangerous pollution.

    “Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and their unqualified, unelected, unwanted henchmen want to dismantle the government services that keep our communities thriving, healthy, and safe from polluters,” said Senator Markey. “I went to the headquarters of the EPA to demand answers from Administrator Zeldin and the DOGE representatives who are illegally withholding funding that would keep air and water clean and help save families save money. After being denied access and a meeting, I left with more questions than answers. I will not stop fighting on behalf of the American people—their clean air, clean water, lower energy bills, and livable future–until I get those answers and funding gets restored. No business as usual. No votes for nominees. No illegal funding freeze. And no workers left behind.”

    Congressmembers Jerrold Nadler (NY-12), Luz Rivas (CA-29), Maxine Dexter (OR-03), Melanie Stansbury (NM-01), and leaders and advocates from several environmental groups and unions including Climate Action Campaign, American Federation of Government Employees, Green New Deal Network, WE ACT for Environmental Justice, Hip Hop Caucus, Union of Concerned Scientists, Natural Resources Defense Council, National Council of Churches, and Moms Clean Air Force joined the lawmakers for a press conference outside the EPA headquarters following the attempt to meet with EPA Administrator Zeldin and DOGE representatives.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Cramer, Sullivan Introduce Legislation to Strengthen U.S. Missile Defense Capabilities

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND)

    PARCS Radar in Cavalier Central to the Mission

    ***Click here to download audio.***

    WASHINGTON, D.C.  – Missile defense plays a key role in deterring and defeating adversary ballistic missiles and other threats against the United States, its allies, and American military forces overseas. In January, President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order (EO) to build an Iron Dome for America, similar to Israel’s Iron Dome. The EO directs the implementation of a “next-generation missile defense shield for the United States against ballistic, hypersonic, advanced cruise missiles, and other next-generation aerial attacks.” 

    U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), chair of the Senate Armed Services (SASC) Airland Subcommittee and co-chair of the Defense Modernization Caucus, joined U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan (R-AK), a fellow SASC member, in introducing the Increasing Response Options and Deterrence of Missile Engagements (IRON DOME) Act today. The legislation will improve the missile defense capabilities of the United States.

    Among other provisions, the bill requires the acceleration of the modernization and digitization of the Perimeter Acquisition Radar Attack Characterization System (PARCS), located at North Dakota’s Cavalier Space Force Station. PARCS is a single-faced, multi-function, UHF-Band, phased-array radar system which tracks over half of all earth-orbiting objects. The modernization of PARCS improves detection of intercontinental and sea-launched missile threats, as well as improve space domain awareness capabilities.

    “Now more than ever, we have to ensure the United States is properly equipped to address the pressing threats that are posed by our very capable adversaries,” said Cramer. “Protecting the homeland is obviously our first Constitutional duty. The IRON DOME Act forces modernization of our missile defense systems from Alaska to North Dakota to Maine to Florida to California and back up to Alaska. This will ensure that we’re never caught off guard from a modern missile attack on our homeland.” 

    “For decades, American missile defense strategy has focused on protecting our country from ballistic missile threats posed by rogue nations or accidental launches from a peer nation,” said Sullivan. “We’ve made significant progress in recent years to strengthen this capability, notably through the implementation of my bipartisan 2017 Advancing America’s Missile Defense Act. But the proliferation of new hypersonic and cruise missile threats from our adversaries demands that we change this paradigm. Senator Cramer and I are introducing legislation to build a homeland missile defense system that can protect our country from the intensifying threats and growing arsenals of China and Russia. The IRON DOME Act dovetails with and reinforces President Trump’s historic ‘Iron Dome for America’ EO and builds upon a number of the recommendations from the 2022 Missile Defense Review. Specifically, our legislation invests billions of dollars to develop new capabilities, like space-based sensors and new intercept technologies, significantly expand and modernize existing infrastructure, like the ground-based missile interceptor fields at Alaska’s Fort Greely and North Dakota’s PARCS radar system, and integrate all aspects of U.S. missile defense, including Aegis. I urge my colleagues to join us in this initiative to meet the evolving missile threats on the horizon and deliver greater security for all Americans.”

    Click here for bill text.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Cortez Masto Opposes Russ Vought as Director of the Office of Management and Budget

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Nevada Cortez Masto

    “Americans are being hung out to dry by Donald Trump and by Russ Vought, whose Project 2025 was clearly the inspiration for this dangerous funding freeze. This man is unfit to serve at the head of the agency that oversees our federal budget,” Cortez Masto said on the Senate floor before Mr. Vought’s confirmation vote.

    Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto voted against the confirmation of Russ Vought to be the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). She also spoke on the Senate floor before the vote to discuss her opposition to Mr. Vought and the Trump Administration’s executive actions that are hurting Nevada families.

    “Russ Vought authored Trump’s Project 2025 playbook, advocated slashing Medicaid, and doubled downs on false claims that the 2020 election was stolen. President Trump hasn’t even been in office for a month, and his OMB has already caused mass disruptions with its chaotic federal funding freeze. The last thing Nevadans need is a partisan OMB director who will act as a rubber stamp for Trump’s job-killing agenda and partisan power grab. I do not support Vought’s confirmation.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Klobuchar, Sanders, Colleagues Call on Administration to End Harmful Freeze on Health Communications and Funding

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn)

    WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee Ranking Member Bernie Sanders (I-VT) led a group of 34 Senators calling on Acting Secretary of Health and Human Services Dorothy Fink to end the unprecedented freeze on all external communications and funding.

    This freeze has disrupted clinical trials, prevented the National Institutes of Health and other agencies from engaging with patient groups and scientific advisory committees, and delayed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), the nation’s premier publication for disseminating public health updates, for the first time in over 60 years. The political interference in public health agencies is unprecedented, unacceptable, and a threat to public health.

    “We write to express our deep concern over the Administration’s recent decision to freeze external communications and suspend federal health funding at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS),” wrote the Senators. “The abrupt order has already disrupted patient care, public health oversight, halted medical research funding, and obstructed critical regulatory processes.”

    “This political interference in public health agencies is unprecedented and unacceptable. … The American people depend on HHS agencies to provide accurate, real-time information about disease outbreaks, medical research, and regulatory decisions. We urge you to immediately reverse this harmful decision,” the Senators continued.

    Klobuchar and Sanders were joined by Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Chris Coons (D-DE), Tammy Duckworth (D-MI), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Angus King (I-ME), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Ed Markey (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Patty Murray (D-WA), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Gary Peters (D-MI), Jack Reed (D-RI), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Mark Warner (D-VA), Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Peter Welch (D-VT), and Ron Wyden (D-OR).

    The full text of the letter is available here and below:

    Dear Acting Secretary Fink:

    We write to express our deep concern over the Administration’s recent decision to freeze external communications and suspend federal health funding at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The abrupt order has already disrupted patient care, public health oversight, halted medical research funding, and obstructed critical regulatory processes.

    On January 22, all 13 HHS operating divisions – including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) were told to immediately “pause” all external communications and grant disbursements until at least February 1, with no clear plan for restoration. This directive prohibits agencies from issuing public health advisories, publishing scientific reports, updating websites, announcing regulatory decisions, or conducting outreach to patient groups – unless such activity is explicitly approved by politically appointed leadership.

    With the Administration’s own deadline having passed, it remains unclear when these restrictions will be lifted. While limited exceptions exist for critical health, safety, or national security concerns, the freeze has already severely impeded essential public health and biomedical research functions.

    The CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), the nation’s premier publication for disseminating public health updates, was abruptly delayed for the first time in over 60 years, limiting reporting on the H5N1 bird flu outbreak and other emerging infectious disease threats. The MMWR often includes clinical recommendations for doctors, such as guidance on how to treat diseases that are currently circulating in the United States – and delaying the MMWR means that doctors may not have all the latest information they need to keep their patients healthy.

    At the NIH, new clinical trials have been delayed and external peer-review grant processes have faced disruptions. NIH study sections – which legally must review grant applications before funding can be disbursed – were initially canceled, creating uncertainty about when federal research funds will be awarded. Despite efforts by the Administration to provide clarity, it remains unclear whether the full peer-review process has resumed and how long grant funding decisions will continue to be delayed. This uncertainty has placed billions in federal research funds in limbo, directly threatening ongoing medical studies and academic research programs.

    The freeze has also blocked NIH from engaging with patient groups on ways to recruit participants into ongoing clinical trials. This means that patients with rare diseases, cancer, and other serious conditions who rely on clinical trials for treatments may be prevented from enrolling, directly jeopardizing their access to life-saving care.

    This political interference in public health agencies is unprecedented and unacceptable. While it is not unusual for a new administration to conduct brief reviews of existing programs, no past transition has implemented a blanket freeze of this magnitude.

    Accordingly, we request an immediate and detailed response to the following questions by Monday, February 10:

    1. Provide a full accounting of all scientific reports, disease surveillance updates, grant decisions, public health advisories, events, calls, research reviews, reports, issue briefs, inspections, surveys, and postings that have been postponed or cancelled since noon on January 20.
    2. Which of the postponed or cancelled items will be rescheduled or published, and by what date?
    3. Has the pause affected communications between HHS and other federal Departments or state agencies, such as the Department of Agriculture. If so, in what capacity?
    4. Can you confirm that all external communications, including those listed above in your answer to the first question, have already resumed or will resume by February 10? If not, please provide a detailed explanation for any continued delay.
    5. Has the communications and funding freeze affected the department’s ability to respond promptly to public health threats and ongoing outbreaks? If so, in what ways?
    6. Given that we are at the height of virus season, how has this pause affected the department’s ability to fulfill its core mission of protecting public health?

    The American people depend on HHS agencies to provide accurate, real-time information about disease outbreaks, medical research, and regulatory decisions. We urge you to immediately reverse this harmful decision.

    Thank you for your prompt attention to this request. We look forward to your response and to working with the Department to protect public health and ensure Americans can get the care they need.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Grassley Questions U.S. Trade Representative Nominee Jamieson Greer at Senate Finance Committee Hearing

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Iowa Chuck Grassley

    WASHINGTON – Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), a senior member and former chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, today spoke with United States Trade Representative (USTR) nominee Jamieson Greer about the need to move away from China on trade and unlock new export markets for long term stability.

    During the hearing, Grassley emphasized the importance of reducing or eliminating Brazil’s tariff on American ethanol. Grassley also questioned Greer about USTR’s cooperation with the Department of Commerce on trade matters. 

    Video and excerpts of his questions follow. 

    [embedded content]

    VIDEO

    Brazilian Tariffs on American Ethanol:

    “Brazil is a leading competitor with the United States on agriculture. One example is that Brazil has displaced the United States as the world leader in soybean production.

    “Another issue with Brazil that I brought up to your predecessor, Ms. Tai, is the drastically unfair advantage Brazil has on ethanol. U.S. exporters face an 18% tariff on ethanol going to Brazil. However, Brazilian ethanol enjoys nearly duty-free access to the U.S. market.  

    “I hope you will address this trade imbalance with Brazil that Ambassador Tai wasn’t successful in doing: taking action to reduce or eliminate this harmful tariff on American ethanol.”

    The Role of USTR and the Department of Commerce: 

    “Now that you and Mr. Lutnick have been nominees for several weeks, I’d like to know exactly how much authority do you have on trade matters relative to Mr. Lutnick and other cabinet members?” 

    Moving Away from China and Unlocking New Markets: 

    “I’d like to make a statement and see if you agree: 

    “While I think it is important to hold China to its obligations under the Phase 1 Agreement, I also fear it may keep us reliant on the Chinese markets. So, we need to be looking around the world at other markets. 

    “We need to balance our short-term profitability with long term stability.  

    “I have for a long time voiced my own concerns about unfair trade practices by China, and I hope that you and President Trump are successful in holding China accountable on issues including fentanyl, intellectual property theft and government subsidization of industries.  

    “That said, I believe we must pursue freer trade with other countries to create new markets so that we can move away from China without losing even more global market share of our commodities to Brazil and other countries. 

    “The free trade agreements that were negotiated under George W. Bush have resulted in large trade surpluses in key industries like agriculture and manufacturing. I think we need more free trade, and I know that President Trump is more interested in bilateral agreements than multi-state agreements. 

    “I think if we look away from Brazil and South Korea and Japan and China and [the European Union] as being problem countries for us on trade issues. But there’s so many other countries where, if we have these agreements — and I use George W. Bush as an example and his negotiator Allen Johnson — about 13 countries, probably six or seven different agreements with countries you don’t even think much about being significant in world trade, we’ve increased tremendously with these free trade agreements, our surpluses with those countries in trade.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Murphy, Blumenthal Call For Investigation Into RealPage Algorithm Potentially Hiking Rents For Military Families, Siphoning Money From U.S. Military

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Connecticut – Chris Murphy

    HARTFORD—U.S. Senators Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), on Thursday joined their colleagues in sending a letter to U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth calling for an investigation into whether landlords may be using property management software company RealPage’s services to price gouge military families.

    The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) provides servicemembers with a Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) to cover the costs of owning or renting privately managed housing, an allowance that is adjusted periodically by region to keep up with housing costs. In 2023, DoD spent $24 billion on housing allowances for servicemembers. 

    There are long-held concerns that landlords are raising rents to pocket these BAH increases, rather than raising rents because of market conditions. One recent study even found that it was “common for landlords to base their rent on the BAH for a particular rank,” so servicemembers see no difference in their yearly income. 

    Services provided by RealPage may enable landlords to raise rents even more aggressively, to the detriment of military families, by allowing landlords to exchange proprietary information about lease terms and rents and to set prices using non-public information.

    DOJ and state attorneys generals have already alleged that RealPage contributed to excessive rental costs in several places where DoD raised housing allowances, including Houston, San Diego, Spokane, and Wilmington. Florida has also opened an investigation into whether RealPage is violating antitrust laws; notably, military housing rents increased across Florida during 2022 and 2023 including in Miami, West Palm Beach, Volusia County, and Fort Myers Beach. 

    In addition to hurting military families, unsustainable housing prices have negative implications for recruitment and retention for our military. Increasing housing costs are forcing families to delay moves and choose housing in unsafe neighborhoods or with low-quality conditions. Unlike civilian families, military families “do not have the opportunity to stabilize their housing costs due to frequent relocation.” 

    A recent Government Accountability Office report on military housing confirmed the negative impacts of high housing prices, including servicemembers taking on debt or commuting long distances for quality housing. 

    “The Department of Defense has a responsibility to protect military families from predatory private housing companies and ensure that taxpayer dollars meant for military families are not being pocketed by unscrupulous landlords,” the senators wrote. 

    The senators requested that DoD provide information on whether algorithms like RealPage’s are artificially driving up housing prices for military families by February 13, 2025. 

    U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) also signed the letter.

    Full text of the letter is available HERE and below.

    Dear Secretary Hegseth:

    In the wake of the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) recent antitrust lawsuit against RealPage, joined by ten states across the country,1 we write with significant concern about whether companies and landlords using RealPage may be price gouging military families.

    The Department of Defense (DoD) provides service members a Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) to cover the costs of owning or renting privately managed housing.2 But families continue to report that BAH rates are not keeping up with rising housing costs.3

    In fiscal year 2023, DoD spent $24 billion on BAH.4 There are long-held concerns, however, that landlords are raising rents to pocket these BAH increases, rather than raising rents because of market conditions.5 One recent study found that it was “common for landlords to base their rent on the BAH for a particular rank.”6 These findings raise significant concerns that landlords are profiteering by taking taxpayer money that is intended to support military families.

    Services provided by RealPage may enable landlords to raise rents even more aggressively to the detriment of military families. RealPage’s services YieldStar and AIRM help landlords exchange proprietary information about lease terms and rents in order to maximize revenue.7

    In August 2024, the Justice Department and attorneys general in eight states filed an antitrust lawsuit alleging that RealPage engaged in an “unlawful scheme to decrease competition among landlords in apartment pricing and to monopolize the market for commercial revenue management software that landlords use to price apartments.”8 Last month, two more state attorneys general joined the suit, and the Justice Department expanded the lawsuit to six of the nation’s largest landlords.9 RealPage’s tactics allegedly included exerting significant pressure on landlords to accept their recommendations to increase prices, including an “auto accept” feature which automatically adjusted rents for property managers.10 If a landlord or property manager rejected a recommendation, a “pricing advisor” from RealPage allegedly reached out and pushed them to take the recommendation.11 In 2022, a vice president of RealPage credited their software for increasing apartment rents by over 14.5%.12

    In 2022, DoD increased the BAH for 28 military housing areas where rental housing costs increased by an average of more than 20 percent.13 The lawsuit of DOJ and state attorneys general alleges that RealPage contributed to excessive rental costs in several of these places, including San Diego,14 Wilmington,15 and Houston.16 Similarly, in 2021, DoD selected Spokane, Washington as one of the five military housing areas to receive a temporary 20 percent BAH hike;17 the antitrust suit alleges that RealPage contributed to drastic increases in rent prices in this area, where Fairchild Air Force Base and Joint Base Lewis McChord are located.18 Florida has also opened an investigation into whether RealPage is violating antitrust laws; notably, military housing rents increased across Florida during 2022 and 2023 including in Miami, West Palm Beach, Volusia County, and Fort Myers Beach.19

    In addition to harming military families, unsustainable housing prices have negative implications for recruitment and retention for the U.S. Armed Forces. Increasing housing costs have forced some families to delay permanent change of station moves and choose housing in unsafe neighborhoods or in unsatisfactory conditions. A recent military family lifestyle survey found that “housing costs remain the top contributing factor to financial stress for active-duty famil[ies]” and that “higher out-of-pocket housing costs may influence military families’ likelihood to recommend military service.”20 A majority of those who live in civilian housing “continue to pay well over

    $200 per month in housing costs out of pocket”21 on top of their BAH. These predatory housing practices are especially detrimental to military families because “unlike civilian peers, military families do not have the opportunity to stabilize their housing costs due to frequent relocation.”22

    A recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on military housing confirmed the negative impacts of high housing prices on military families, finding that “some service members reported having to take on debt or commute long distances to afford quality housing.”23 GAO determined that existing DoD guidance is “insufficient to address military population effects on local housing market.”24 “GAO’s statistical analyses found that counties with higher military populations were associated with having higher median rents and rent-to-income ratios.”25 Local government officials also acknowledged the largely insufficient housing supply and issues with affordability.26 In its report, GAO recommended that DoD develop a comprehensive list of critical housing areas, regularly update said list, obtain and use feedback on the financial and quality-of- life effects of limited supply or unaffordable housing on service members, develop a plan for DoD to respond to and address those effects, and clearly define the roles and responsibilities of installation commanders and military housing offices in addressing housing needs.27

    The Department of Defense has a responsibility to protect military families from predatory private housing companies and ensure that taxpayer dollars meant for military families are not being pocketed by unscrupulous landlords. We seek information that DoD may have on whether algorithms such as those used by RealPage are artificially driving up housing prices for military families, as well as members of the community who do not receive BAH.28 We are also interested in DoD’s broader strategy to ensure landlords are not using RealPage’s services to price gouge military families. Therefore, we ask that you provide answers to the following questions by February 17, 2025.

    1. How effective have DoD’s targeted BAH temporary hikes been at ensuring that military families have access to safe, clean, and affordable housing?
    2. How many reports has DoD received, if any, involving landlords increasing rents in response to BAH increases?
    3. Has DoD conducted any assessments or made any determinations regarding whether landlords in military communities are using RealPage’s YieldStar or AIRM products to price gouge military families?
      1. If so, what have these assessments found?
        1. How many military families rent from landlords who use YieldStar or AIRM products?
        2. Have these products contributed to rent increases for these families?
        3. What information or data has DoD collected to determine the impact of rent-setting algorithms on BAH rates?
        4. What information or notifications has DoD provided to service members or military families in these communities to help prevent them from being gouged by landlords using these algorithms?
      1. If not, why not?
    1. What language, if any, does DoD include in its housing agreements with private companies to ensure programs like RealPage’s YieldStar or AIRM products are not used to influence their rent prices?
    2. Does DoD policy allow private military housing companies to collect data on renters and share it with other landlords, whether through RealPage or through other means?
    3. How does DoD protect military families’ personal information from being disclosed by private housing companies who provide military housing?

    Thank you for your attention to this important matter.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Murphy, Blumenthal, Colleagues Reintroduce Legislation to Eliminate Trump’s Outsourcing Tax Breaks

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Connecticut – Chris Murphy

    February 06, 2025

    WASHINGTON—U.S. Senators Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a member of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) on Thursday joined U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and 15 of their Senate colleagues in reintroducing the No Tax Breaks for Outsourcing Act, legislation that would reverse the Trump tax law’s breaks for offshoring jobs and profits. The announcement comes as President Trump’s 25 percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico remain under negotiation, while Republicans push to expand those offshoring incentives in their reconciliation bill.

    The No Tax Breaks for Outsourcing Act would level the playing field for American companies by requiring multinational corporations to pay the same tax rate on profits earned abroad as they do in the United States. The Trump tax law created a special tax rate for offshore profits that is half the domestic rate. Since the law’s passage, studies have found that multinationals have increased foreign, rather than domestic investment. Extending the Trump tax law would mean maintaining this half-off rate, which is otherwise scheduled to slightly increase.

    If passed, the senators’ legislation would boost U.S. economic competitiveness by encouraging domestic investment, leveling the playing field for domestic companies, and bringing the U.S. into compliance with the global minimum tax agreement. The Joint Committee on Taxation found that large U.S. multinationals paid an average tax rate of just 7.8 percent the year after the Trump law passed, lower than their foreign competitors. They would still pay less than their competitors with a higher rate on foreign profits. Moreover, with over 140 countries moving to implement the global tax agreement, U.S. and foreign multinationals alike will be subject to the new minimum tax whether the U.S. complies or not. Failure to join, however, will mean the revenue fills foreign coffers instead of the U.S. Treasury.  

    U.S. Senators Richard Durbin (D-Ill.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), and Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) also cosponsored the legislation.

    The No Tax Breaks for Outsourcing Act would repeal offshoring incentives by:

    • Equalizing the tax rate on profits earned abroad to the tax rate on profits earned here at home.  The bill would end the preferential tax rate for offshore profits by eliminating the deductions for “global intangible low-tax income (GILTI)” and “foreign-derived intangible income” and applying GILTI on a per-country basis.  
    • Repealing the 10 percent tax exemption on profits earned from certain investments made overseas.  In addition to the half-off tax rate on profits earned abroad, the Trump tax law exempts from tax a 10 percent return on tangible investments made overseas, like plants and equipment.  The legislation would eliminate the zero-tax rate on certain investments made overseas. 
    • Treating “foreign” corporations that are managed and controlled in the U.S. as domestic corporations.  Ugland House in the Cayman Islands is the five-story legal home of over 18,000 companies – many of them actually American companies in disguise.  The bill would treat corporations worth $50 million or more and managed and controlled within the U.S. as the American entities they in fact are, and subject them to the same tax as other U.S. taxpayers.
    • Cracking down on inversions by tightening the definition of expatriated entity.  This provision would discourage corporations from renouncing their U.S. citizenship.  It would deem certain mergers between a U.S. company and a smaller foreign firm to be a U.S. taxpayer, no matter where in the world the new company claims to be headquartered. Specifically, the combined company would continue to be treated as a domestic corporation if the historic shareholders of the U.S. company own more than 50 percent of the new entity. 
    • Combating earnings stripping by restricting the deduction for interest expense for multinational enterprises with excess domestic indebtedness.  Some multinational groups reduce or eliminate their U.S. tax bills by concentrating their worldwide debt, and the resulting interest deductions, in U.S. subsidiaries.  The bill would disallow interest deduction for U.S. subsidiaries of a multinational corporation where a disproportionate share of the worldwide group’s debt is located in the U.S. entity, a tactic commonly known as “earnings stripping.”  
    • Eliminating tax break for foreign oil and gas extraction income.  Oil and gas extraction income earned abroad gets an even further break on the already half-off rate other industries pay on offshore profits.  

    Full text of the bill is available HERE.

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Murphy, Blumenthal, 37 Colleagues Reintroduce Right To Contraception Act

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Connecticut – Chris Murphy

    February 06, 2025

    WASHINGTON—U.S. Senators Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a member of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), joined 37 of their Senate colleagues in reintroducing the Right to Contraception Act, legislation that would create a statutory right to obtain and use contraceptives. The bill would also help ensure health care providers have a right to provide contraceptives and share information about this essential care. Companion legislation was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by U.S. Representative Lizzie Fletcher (D-Texas).

    In July 2022, the Right to Contraception Act passed the House with a vote of 220-195. That same month, Republicans blocked an attempt in the U.S. Senate to pass the bill by unanimous consent. They did the same in June 2023. In June 2024, Republicans blocked Senate Democrats’ attempt to pass the bill on the floor.

    U.S. Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) also cosponsored the legislation.

    The Right to Contraception Act is endorsed by Power to Decide, National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association, National Women’s Law Center, Guttmacher Institute, Reproductive Freedom for All (formerly NARAL Pro-Choice America), Population Connection Action Fund, Americans for Contraception, Advocates for Youth, National Partnership for Women & Families, American Public Health Association, American Humanist Association, National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women’s Health , Center for Biological Diversity, Ibis Reproductive Health, Physicians for Reproductive Health, Upstream USA, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, National Health Law Program, SIECUS: Sex Ed for Social Change, National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice, Reproductive Health Access Project, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Upstream USA, In Our Own Voice: National Black Women’s Reproductive Justice Agenda, Center for American Progress, National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum, All* Above All, and Center for Reproductive Rights.

    Full text of the legislation is available HERE.

    Last year, Murphy released statements after Senate Republicans blocked the Reproductive Freedom for Women Act, the Right to Contraception Act and the Right to IVF Act.

    In March, Murphy co-sponsored legislation to protect IVF access and other assisted reproductive technology, but passage was blocked by Senate Republicans. That month, Murphy also submitted an amicus brief calling on the Supreme Court to affirm the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA) requires hospitals to provide emergency stabilizing care, including abortion care.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Senator Lummis and Rep. Maloy Introduce Resolution to Block Rule Authorizing USFS Overreach

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Wyoming Cynthia Lummis

    Washington, D.C.—  Today, Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) and Rep. Celeste Maloy (R-UT) introduced a Congressional Review Act resolution to block the U.S. Forest Service’s (USFS) Criminal Prohibitions Rule. The rule grants Forest Service law enforcement authority to enforce state laws on National Forest lands. Additionally, the rule incorporates state traffic laws into the federal code. It went into effect on December 26, 2024.

    “The Forest Service’s so-called criminal prohibition rule usurps local law enforcement and creates jurisdictional ambiguity,” said Senator Lummis. “This is mission creep, not good governance, and I have grave constitutional concerns about this rule. I am proud to join my colleagues in filing this resolution to return power to state and local law enforcement agencies.” 

    “Congress created the Forest Service to manage production and watersheds — not to enforce state and local laws,” said Rep. Maloy. “The criminal prohibition rule is yet another example of agency overreach as it encroaches on the law enforcement authority of our Sheriffs and creates jurisdictional challenges. It must be stopped.”

    The Western States Sheriffs’ Association, representing over 1,200 Sheriffs and 18 states west of the Mississippi, condemned this USFS rule in a letter last December saying it is “wrought with legal and constitutional hurdles.” You can read that letter here.

    Read the text of the resolution here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: McConnell Proud to Confirm Vought as OMB Director

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Kentucky Mitch McConnell

    Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) issued the following statement today regarding the confirmation of Russell Vought as Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB):

    “America faces growing budgetary challenges as well as growing foreign threats that undermine our economic prosperity and national security. In its work to preserve America’s economic and geopolitical primacy, the Administration must simultaneously put its fiscal house in order and make the serious investments required to restore peace through strength. Mr. Vought is experienced and demonstrably qualified to lead the Office of Management and Budget, and I look forward to working with him and President Trump to address these looming challenges. Congress has inherent Constitutional authority to appropriate funds and an obligation to provide for the common defense. I hope and expect Mr. Vought will coordinate closely with Congress in this vital work.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: WATCH: Senator Reverend Warnock Highlights Trump Administration Nominee’s Threat to Georgian’s Pocketbooks in Hour-Long Floor Speech

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock – Georgia

    WATCH: Senator Reverend Warnock Highlights Trump Administration Nominee’s Threat to Georgian’s Pocketbooks in Hour-Long Floor Speech

    Senator Reverend Warnock delivered a nearly hour-long Senate floor speech opposing Russell Vought’s nomination to lead the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)

    The speech follows the recent federal funding freeze, orchestrated by Vought and the OMB, which has impacted federal funding and programs for everything from seniors to law enforcement to child care to veterans

    Senator Reverend Warnock also used the speech to highlight personal stories from Georgians who have been impacted by the Trump Administration’s continued efforts to gut the federal government

    Senator Reverend Warnock: “My state has been plagued by chaos, by confusion that has harmed Georgia families and Georgia workers and organizations serving their communities. We are witnessing, right now, a careless and heartless assault on federal investments and a freeze of government funding that has already been appropriated by Congress”

    Watch Senator Reverend Warnock’s speech HERE

    Washington, D.C. – Yesterday, U.S. Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA) delivered a nearly hour-long speech on the floor of the U.S. Senate highlighting his opposition to Russell Vought’s nomination to be head of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

    “I rise today in strong opposition to the nomination of Russell Vought to be the head of the Office of Management and Budget. His leadership will only continue the disruption that is hurting Georgians in every corner of my state, even as I speak,” said Senator Reverend Warnock.

    During his floor speech, which was the longest of his tenure in the Senate, Senator Warnock addressed the continued efforts by the Trump Administration to gut the federal government from within. He also addressed the impacts of the Trump Administration’s federal funding freeze which has affected federal programs across Georgia and threatened services that support our veterans, law enforcement, seniors, schools, and our health system. The careless freeze is the brainchild of Russell Vought, the nominee to be the Director of the Office of Management and Budget.

    “If you want to get a sense of who President Trump is looking out for, look at who he’s surrounding himself with. On that stage when he was inaugurated, you saw them, some of the richest people in the world. They were the ones who had proximity. Well, proximity matters. You can tell a whole lot about the character of a person’s public service based on the people who can get close to them. The folks who get to speak into their ear. If you want to know who Donald Trump is working for, look at who he’s surrounding himself with. The likes of Elon Musk, the billionaire, the richest man in the world who is now telling the rest of us that we need to tighten our belts. How quaint,” said Senator Reverend Warnock.

    “Look, I will work with anyone who is able to have a serious bipartisan conversation about how to best utilize government resources and taxpayer dollars. Working across the aisle to get good things done for Georgia has been a cornerstone of my service in the Senate over the past four years. I’m listed as one of the most bipartisan senators in the Senate. I have worked with Republicans many, many times. But right now, the playbook is obvious. Cut programs that you rely on and give the richest of the rich the money. Robin Hood in reverse. Steal from the poor, give to the rich,” Senator Reverend Warnock added.

    Watch Senator Warnock’s full speech HERE.

    Below are key excerpts from Senator Warnock’s speech:

    “Mr. President,

    “I rise today in strong opposition to the nomination of Russell Vought to be the head of the Office of Management and Budget. His leadership will only continue the disruption that is hurting Georgians in every corner of my state, even as I speak.

    “Over the past two and a half weeks, my state has been plagued by chaos, by confusion that has harmed Georgia families and Georgia workers and organizations serving their communities. We are witnessing right now a careless and heartless assault on federal investments and a freeze of government funding that has already been appropriated by Congress. To help Georgia seniors, veterans, students, and so many more.”

    “I dare say that the people of Georgia who elected me, and the people of Georgia who elected Donald Trump, did not vote for this. But just as we warned, his dangerous plans are playing out in real-time. This is exactly what they said they were going to do. Some didn’t believe them. Even after they attempted to gaslight the American people into thinking otherwise, here we are in no time flat.”

    […]

    “This stunt that was pulled a few days ago is a disaster for communities who want well-funded law enforcement, thriving businesses, safe roads and bridges, and as they attack federal workers, attack the government, they’re trying to convince you that the government is some third entity outside of us — some third entity outside of us? No, this is by the people, for the people, of the people.

    “This is the highest of our aspirations, what we’re trying to achieve together. As we witness this assault, it is hitting Democrats and Republicans. Blue states and red states. As the people’s voices are being squeezed out of their democracy.

    “Just last week, without even being confirmed, Vought orchestrated the effort to freeze federal spending, as if this money is his money rather than our money, the people’s money, throwing programs from infrastructure upgrades, to Medicaid, to free school lunches, to support for homeless veterans into chaos. How dare you take funds that are needed by the veterans of Georgia and all across this state? Those who fight for us should not have to fight with us to get what they deserve.”

    […]

    “My constituents were deeply shaken by last week’s federal funding freeze. I received thousands of calls and e-mails from folks afraid of the freeze’s unknown harm to their community. So, let’s peel back the curtain even more on what happened over the last few days. The Trump Administration froze trillions of dollars of government spending to enact massive and disruptive funding cuts. These cuts are being orchestrated in part by Russell Vought and in partnership with the world’s richest man, Elon Musk — Elon Musk, the co-president.

    “This unelected, unvetted bureaucrat who by my best guess appears to think that the livelihood of Georgians and Americans is some kind of start-up he can tear apart. So, if you want to get a sense of who President Trump is looking out for, look at who he’s surrounding himself with. On that stage when he was inaugurated, you saw them, some of the richest people in the world. They were the ones who had proximity. Well, proximity matters. You can tell a whole lot about the character of a person’s public service based on the people who can get close to them. The folks who get to speak into their ear.

    “If you want to know who Donald Trump is working for, look at who he’s surrounding himself with. The likes of Elon Musk, the billionaire, the richest man in the world who is now telling the rest of us that we need to tighten our belts. How quaint.

    “President Trump isn’t serving you, he’s serving them. He’s serving those in our country who are well off and who don’t play by the rules and putting at risk basic programs that help folks send their kids to school, keep food affordable, and lower their energy bills.”

    […]

    “So when Elon Musk and his billionaire buddies go looking for spending cuts and they’re focused on cutting government waste, they start by targeting the working class. He said he couldn’t cut taxes for billionaires because they are the job creators. What about the folks who work on the job day to day? What about the folks who clean hospitals? Who mop floors? Who pick up our garbage? Why is it that those at the top deserve so much more than those working at the bottom? Those in the middle? Hardworking Americans who play by the rules?”

    […]

    “Look, I will work with anyone who is able to have a serious bipartisan conversation about how to best utilize government resources and taxpayer dollars. Working across the aisle to get good things done for Georgia has been a cornerstone of my service in the Senate over the past four years. I’m listed as one of the most bipartisan senators in the Senate. I have worked with Republicans many, many times. But right now, the playbook is obvious. Cut programs that you rely on and give the richest of the rich the money. Robin Hood in reverse. Steal from the poor, give to the rich.”

    […]

    “This is not how the most powerful government in the world ought to serve its people. The reality is, this new level of Washington’s dysfunction has real-world consequences that extend beyond Washington politicians. Georgia’s economy does not stop just because Washington is exercising a kind of chaos.”

    “While we’re trying to get our act together up here, guess what? Farmers still need crop insurance, childcare workers in community health centers still need to make payroll, our roads and our bridges, and pipes still need repairs. When federal investments are put in limbo, the stability of our states and local communities are also put in jeopardy. And let me be clear, the trump administration has demonstrated that it will try this again and again and again, and when they do, the business community will suffer and Georgians will be out of their jobs, unless we stand up and say no.

    “If this federal funding freeze continues, as Russell Vought hopes, the impact will be felt hardest by those who can least afford it. It’s easy in all the blusters of the beltway who is actually bearing the brunt of Donald Trump’s actions. Delays and freezing are not just inconvenient, they create instability, and they cost the jobs of our friends, our families, and our neighbors.

    “So, it’s up to us in this moment to stand up. I am listening to the people who sent me to represent them. I’m thinking about those who do the work every single day. It is our job to respond to the call and the urgency of this moment. History will not treat us kindly if we are silent at a time like this.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Chairman Graham Statement on Vought Confirmation

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for South Carolina Lindsey Graham

    WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina), Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, today made this statement after voting to confirm Russ Vought as the next Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Vought was confirmed by a vote of 53-47.

    “I look forward to working with OMB Director Russ Vought and congratulate him on being confirmed by the Senate. 

    “Russ is highly qualified, and served in the same capacity in the first Trump Administration. I believe he is the right man at the right time to get our fiscal house in order.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Reed Denounces Trump’s Proposal for U.S. to “Take Over” Gaza

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Rhode Island Jack Reed

    WASHINGTON, DC – This week, after President Trump called for the U.S. to “take over” and “own” Gaza, forcibly resettling its population in the process, U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), the Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, rejected the proposal, stating:

    “I am appalled by President Trump’s declaration that the United States should occupy and rebuild Gaza, potentially with American military forces.  His callous proposal is outrageous and contrary to the long-term interests of the U.S., Gaza, Israel, and our partners in the region.  Trump’s bluster undermines decades of bipartisan support for a two-state solution, gives ammunition to our adversaries, and sows distrust among our allies.

    “Involving the U.S. in the forced resettlement of Palestinians would be immoral and illegal.  Further, if he were to put U.S. troops on the ground in Gaza it would be a disastrous national security mistake. 

    “I urge Israeli and Palestinian leaders to move beyond the current ceasefire toward a long-term plan for governance and a framework for a two-state solution.  President Trump should control his impulse to inject chaos into this delicate situation.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: As New Evidence Shows Trump’s Treasury Officials Misled on DOGE Access to Sensitive Payment Systems, Reed Demands Specific Answers & an End to DOGE Coverup

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Rhode Island Jack Reed

    WASHINGTON, DC – New evidence indicates Elon Musk’s lieutenants from the so-called “Department of Government Efficiency” (“DOGE”) were in fact more involved with attempting to access and suspend payments through the U.S. Treasury Department’s highly sensitive payment processing system.

    The New York Times reported on recently uncovered e mails from senior Treasury officials, noting: “emails reviewed by The New York Times show that the Treasury’s chief of staff originally pushed for Tom Krause, a software executive affiliated with Mr. Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency, to receive access to the closely held payment system so that the Treasury could freeze U.S. Agency for International Development payments.

    “In a Jan. 24 email to a small group of Treasury officials, the chief of staff, Dan Katz, wrote that Mr. Krause and his team needed access to the system so they could pause U.S.A.I.D. payments and comply with Mr. Trump’s Jan. 20 executive order to halt foreign aid.”

    Senator Reed and other lawmakers have been seeking answers about how, why, and whether Mr. Musk’s DOGE operatives gained access to highly sensitive personal data and payment information for millions of Americans and businesses.

    After sending a letter to new Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on February 3 and receiving evasive answers and suspect assurances from Treasury on February 4, U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), the Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) Subcommittee, which oversees funding for Treasury, fired off a follow up letter seeking more specific answers to determine exactly who from DOGE has been given access to what Treasury payment and information technology (IT) and what kind of vetting process those people have undergone.

    Reed is particularly alarmed that Treasury officials equivocated in their response that members of DOGE “currently . . . will have read-only access to the coded data” of Treasury’s payment systems. Reed wants to know if anyone from DOGE previously had more access.

    Senator Reed is also seeking to determine what level of access has been granted to Tom Krause, who is currently a big tech CEO and now serves as Elon Musk’s DOGE commander inside the Treasury Department. Does he have access beyond read-only?  While Mr. Krause was apparently granted some type of security clearance, Reed wants to know whether he received any actual vetting and whether other members of DOGE have a similar clearance? 

    Senator Reed is also seeking to determine exactly what permissions DOGE employees have to review Americans’ most sensitive data, such as tax information.  While DOGE employees have access that is “similar” to the permissions provided to others with a need to review this data, such as auditors, that necessarily means that there are “differences,” too, which could have grave consequences for the privacy of all Americans.

    Finally, Senator Reed is seeking information about DOGE attempts to block authorized spending to institutions that are politically disfavored by Trump and Elon Musk.  While Treasury asserts that no payments were “delayed or re-routed,” new reporting indicates that Treasury did, in fact, attempt to block payments.

    Full text of the letter follows:

    February 5, 2025

    The Honorable Scott Bessent, Secretary

    U.S. Department of the Treasury

    1500 Pennsylvania Avenue NW

    Washington, DC 20220

    Dear Secretary Bessent: 

    Thank you for the prompt response from your staff to my letter, dated February 3, 2025, regarding access to U.S. Treasury Department payment systems by surrogates of Elon Musk.  Regrettably, the letter did not address many of the specific questions I asked, and in fact, it raised additional issues that the Department should address.

    Therefore, I respectfully request answers to several follow-up questions by February 10, 2025:

     

    1.         The response letter states that “currently, Treasury staff members working with Tom Krause, a Treasury employee, will have read-only access to the coded data of the Fiscal Service’s payment systems.” 

    a.         What access does Mr. Krause himself have to these systems?

    b.         Did the access that you initially granted to Mr. Krause or these staff members include permissions beyond “read-only” or access to data with identifiable fields? 

    c.         Are you evaluating whether to provide Mr. Krause and these staff members with additional permissions beyond “read-only” and access to coded data?

    d.         How many Treasury staff members are working with Mr. Krause on this matter?

    2.         The response letter states that “the review at the Fiscal Service has not caused payments for obligations such as Social Security and Medicare to be delayed or re-routed.” 

    a.         Did Tom Krause, or any Treasury staff members working with him, ever attempt to delay or re-route any payments or inquire with career Treasury staff about how to do so?

    b.         Can you commit that Treasury will not delay or re-route any statutorily directed payments?

    3.         The response letter states that “Mr. Krause is subject to the same security obligations and ethical requirements [as other government employees], including a Top Secret security clearance.” 

    a.         Was his clearance granted through the customary practices used for veteran, career Treasury staff members?

    b.         Is his clearance at the level that is customary for the Fiscal Assistant Secretary, which I understand to be TS/SCI with a counterintelligence-scope polygraph?

    4.         For the Treasury staff members working with Mr. Krause who currently have “read-only” access:

    a.         Do they all have security clearances and if so, were these clearances granted through the customary practices used for veteran, career Treasury staff members?

    b.         Are any of them foreign nationals?

    c.         Are any of them designed as a “special government employee” and if so, how many have this designation?

    5.         Have Mr. Krause and the Treasury staff members working with him submitted financial disclosure forms to the Office of Government Ethics?

    Thank you for your attention to this matter, and I look forward to your prompt reply.

    Sincerely,

    -end-

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: February 6th, 2025 Heinrich Delivers Floor Remarks Opposing OMB Nominee Russell Vought, Highlights Vought’s Plans to Harm New Mexicans & Intensify Trump’s Chaos

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for New Mexico Martin Heinrich

    Heinrich uplifts New Mexicans’ concerns, sheds light on local impact of Vought’s dangerous plans

    VIDEO

    WASHINGTON – This evening, U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) delivered remarks on the Senate floor amplifying the voices of New Mexicans opposing the nomination of Russell Vought to lead the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Mr. Vought is the lead architect of the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, the policy blueprint for Donald Trump’s harmful agenda to throw the government into chaos and harm working families.

    “Today, I say to the thousands of New Mexicans who have asked me to oppose Mr. Vought’s nomination: I agree with you,” said Heinrich. “Mr. Vought is not fit to lead the OMB. We should reject this dangerously unfit nominee before he dismantles the services New Mexicans rely on. We should reject him before he unilaterally overrides the laws that Americans’ elected representatives have passed. We cannot standby and allow Mr. Vought, Elon Musk, or this President to disregard the safety and security of the American people. The law is on our side.”

    VIDEO: U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) delivers remarks on the Senator floor opposing the nomination of Project 2025 architect Russell Vought to lead the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), February 6, 2025.

    During his speech, Heinrich amplified the concerns of New Mexicans who have written or called into his office expressing concern over Trump’s harmful actions. Heinrich additionally recited alarming statements recently made by Vought that emphasize his dangerous plans, “In a private speech last year at his far-right Center for Renewing America think tank, Mr. Vought stated that he would like to put career civil servants ‘in trauma.’ Mr. Vought said, ‘We want the bureaucrats to be traumatically affected. When they wake up in the morning, we want them to not want to go to work because they are increasingly viewed as the villains.”’

    Heinrich also emphasized the unlawfulness of Vought’s intentions and the Trump administration’s actions by citing rulings handed down from two federal courts that issued temporary restraining orders on Trump’s directives.

    Heinrich concluded by encouraging New Mexicans—and all Americans—to use their voices to call on Republicans in charge of the Senate, House, and White House to put an end to this chaos, “To all Americans wondering what can be done right now: keep using your voices. Call your Members of Congress. Call your Senators. Call the White House. Call the Treasury Department. Comment on your Republican Representatives’ social media channels. Write op-eds in your local newspaper. Make sure Republicans know that ‘We the People’ are paying attention. That we will hold them accountable for following the law and upholding our Constitution. And make sure to let your lawmakers know when you support the work they’re doing, so that they continue to do it. And let federal civil servants know that you support them, and that you want them to keep doing their jobs and doing them well.”

    Heinrich is leading Senate Democrats in sounding the alarm on Elon Musk and Donald Trump’s destructive actions that are wreaking havoc on Americans, weakening our economy, and threatening the livelihoods of New Mexicans.

    Last week on the Senate floor, Heinrich delivered the longest speech of his career, where he slammed President Trump’s unlawful unilateral blockade of all federal grant funding. In his remarks, Heinrich uplifted stories from New Mexicans on how Trump’s federal funding freeze endangered New Mexicans and threatened communities across the state. Find the video of Heinrich sharing letters from New Mexicans on the Senate floor here.

    Since Trump took office in 2025, Heinrich has:

    • Introduced a resolution condemning Trump’s pardons of people found guilty of assaulting police officers on January 6.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Grassley, Johnson Urge President Trump to Protect IRS Whistleblowers from Further Retaliation

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Iowa Chuck Grassley

    WASHINGTON – Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations Chairman Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) today encouraged President Trump to stand up for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) whistleblowers who exposed the Biden IRS and Justice Department’s efforts to obstruct the federal criminal investigation into Hunter Biden’s tax offenses. The Office of Special Counsel recently confirmed IRS Supervisory Special Agent Gary Shapley and IRS Special Agent Joseph Ziegler were illegally issued a gag order and retaliated against as a result of their efforts to sound the alarm on those responsible for slow-walking the Hunter Biden investigation.

    “We’ve been informed that the senior IRS management who refused to do their job, rolled over for political corruption at DOJ, and targeted the whistleblowers are still in charge,” the senators wrote. “We’ve been informed that these officials have not stopped the retaliation against Shapley and Ziegler, and the bureaucratic processes that are supposed to protect them are too slow and ineffective.” 

    “You must hold IRS leadership and the retaliators’ feet to the fire,” the senators continued. “You must ensure that these brave whistleblowers no longer face retaliation, which would serve as a great step in restoring the public’s trust in the fair and equal treatment of taxpayers that was so damaged by the blatant corruption and special treatment that provided protection and benefits to the Biden family.”

    “These brave public servants are ready to help reform and modernize the IRS. Your actions to protect them, to support them, and to hold the retaliators accountable will send a message to the entrenched bureaucratic interests that bravery, courage, expertise and integrity will be rewarded and bad conduct will be punished,” the senators concluded.

    February 06, 2025

    VIA ELECTRONIC TRANSMISSION

    The Honorable Donald J. Trump

    President of the United States

    The White House

    Washington, DC

    Dear Mr. President:

    We’ve recently learned that the Office of Special Counsel has confirmed that IRS Supervisory Special Agent (“SSA”) Gary Shapley and IRS Special Agent (“SA”) Joseph Ziegler were illegally issued gag orders and retaliated against by the IRS under the Biden administration.

    These IRS whistleblowers made lawful protected disclosures about the IRS and the Justice Department playing politics by improperly pulling punches in the Hunter Biden tax case. Their whistleblowing exposed to the public that Attorney General Merrick Garland and his Justice Department misled Congress and the public about the role that Biden administration attorneys played in blocking charges against President Biden’s son.

    After blowing the whistle, and at the Justice Department’s direction, the IRS removed the whistleblowers and their entire team from the Biden investigation they had worked diligently for years. It’s been 20 months since the whistleblowers sought relief through the normal administrative and legal processes. While there is now an official finding that the IRS could not support its removal of the whistleblowers, the whistleblowers still face other types of ongoing retaliation every day. 

    This is unacceptable, and you have the power to put a stop to it today.

    We’ve been informed that the senior IRS management who refused to do their job, rolled over for political corruption at DOJ, and targeted the whistleblowers are still in charge.  We’ve been informed that these officials have not stopped the retaliation against Shapley and Ziegler and the bureaucratic processes that are supposed to protect them are too slow and ineffective. 

    You must hold IRS leadership and the retaliators’ feet to the fire.  You must ensure that these brave whistleblowers no longer face retaliation which would serve as a great step in restoring the public’s trust in the fair and equal treatment of taxpayers that was so damaged by the blatant corruption and special treatment that provided protection and benefits to the Biden family.

    These brave public servants are ready to help reform and modernize the IRS.  Your actions to protect them, to support them, and to hold the retaliators accountable will send a message to the entrenched bureaucratic interests that bravery, courage, expertise and integrity will be rewarded and bad conduct will be punished.

    -30-

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: SCHUMER DEMANDS ANSWERS: NEW YORK’S MEDICAID PORTAL JUST TEMPORARILY SHUT DOWN AGAIN FOLLOWING TRUMP’S FUNDING FREEZE FIASCO LAST WEEK; SENATOR CALLS FOR FULL INVESTIGATION TO PROTECT NEARLY 7 MILLION…

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for New York Charles E Schumer

    This Morning The Medicaid Portal And All U.S. Department Of Health & Human Services Websites Were Inoperable, Affecting Payments For Approximately 7 Million New Yorkers & Blocking New Yorkers From Receiving Reimbursements For Health Care Expenses

    Today’s Shutdown Marks Second Time In Two Weeks NY Has Been Locked Out Of Payments With No Explanation; Following Trump’s Illegal Federal Funding Freeze, Schumer Says Enough Is Enough And NY-ers Deserve Answers On What Is Happening With Their Healthcare Coverage

    Schumer: Continued Medicaid Portal Shutdowns – And Fed Funding Freeze – Create Panic, Confusion & Unnecessary Frustration

    After access to NY’s Medicaid portal was rendered inoperable once again this morning for the second time following Trump’s funding freeze fiasco, U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer today demanded answers from the Trump administration’s U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to explain why the federal platform responsible for disbursing Medicaid funds for NY and other state’s was shutdown. Despite OMB saying Medicaid would not be impacted by the freeze, every state across the country reported the payment system shutting down, temporarily jeopardizing payments needed for our doctors, rural clinics, community health centers, and hospitals and creating major concerns for the millions of New Yorkers who rely on this system.

    Schumer said the unexplained shutdowns of the Medicaid portal demands a full investigation and immediate answers to ensure health care services can have the confidence they need to continue vital healthcare services.

    “Following Trump’s funding freeze chaos, out of the blue and seemingly due to callousness and incompetence, the Medicaid Portal was inexplicably offline yet again today for the second time. Nearly 7 million New Yorkers were once again potentially left high and dry on healthcare. The repeated nationwide shutdown of the Medicaid payment system caused panic, confusion, and unnecessary frustration, especially following last week’s unexplained shutdown,” said Senator Schumer. “The federal government legally owes federal funding for New York State’s Medicaid program to provide reimbursement for health care costs for millions of fellow New Yorkers. Without it doctors and hospitals in New York can’t provide the care they need. The White House refused to clarify how their illegal federal funding freeze would impact Medicaid recipients and the shutdown of the portal both last week and today only intensifies people’s deep worry. I’m demanding HHS work with Congress to swiftly and transparently determine what caused the portal shutdown and how the administration can ensure a disruption like this doesn’t happen again. New Yorkers deserve nothing less.”

    Schumer said the Medicaid portal shutdown is part of larger confusion surrounding President Trump’s executive order freezing all federal funding. Though the White House said the Medicaid program would “continue without pause,” Medicaid portals across the country temporarily stopped working. Though the portal was later restored, it again became inoperable for a few hours this morning. Schumer explained that continued shutdowns put reimbursement payments for millions of New Yorkers at risk and demanded answers to ensure a shutdown will not happen again.

    Medicaid enrollment by region can be found below:

    Region

    Medicaid Enrollment

    NYC

    4,036,284

    Long Island

    679,724

    Capital Region

    214,632

    Western New York

    371,481

    Rochester-Finger Lakes

    304,234

    Central New York

    201,047

    Southern Tier

    181,450

    Hudson Valley

    678,375

    North Country

    106,160

    Mohawk Valley

    178,001

    Schumer and Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Wyden letter to Acting Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Dorothy Fink sent prior to this morning’s shutdown can be found below:

    Dear Acting Secretary Dorothy Fink:

    We are writing to gain insight into the unlawful shutdown of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Payment Management Services (PMS) portal. As you know, the PMS portal, in addition to being the platform for hundreds of other transactions between states and HHS, serves as an interface between state Medicaid agencies and the federal government for drawing down federal funds to cover care provided to Medicaid beneficiaries in each state. As the health insurance program serving 80 million Americans, Medicaid is a key lifeline for communities across this country. The unexplained shutdown of the Medicaid portal raised questions about the continuity of care for beneficiaries and the financial stability of the providers and health centers that provide essential health care services.

    The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) memo (M-25-13) released on January 27 instructed federal agencies to temporarily pause grant, loan, and other financial assistance programs in response to President Trump’s Executive Orders directed at freezing federal funding. Alongside the memo, OMB circulated a spreadsheet of around 2,600 federal programs, including the “Medical Assistance Program” (i.e., Medicaid), and requested federal agencies submit information on whether they complied with the executive orders. During a White House briefing on the OMB memo, Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, refused to clarify whether Medicaid was specifically implicated by the funding freeze, instead stating that she will “check back on that.” Following confusion and uncertainty about which programs were affected by the freeze, OMB released clarifications to the initial memo on January 28, stating “mandatory programs like Medicaid and SNAP will continue without pause.”

    Despite this, all 56 state and territorial Medicaid programs were locked out of the PMS portal for hours, unable to access funding. Shortly after the OMB memo was circulated, the PMS portal had a red banner warning of “PAYMENT DELAYS.” It stated that “due to the Executive Orders regarding potentially unallowable grant payments,” PMS was taking additional steps to process payments that “will result in delays and/or rejections of payment.” Upon restoration of the PMS portal, some states are reporting slow and inefficient portal service, creating difficulties for providers across the country. Additionally, a red banner remains on the PMS portal, warning of truncated hours of operation – 5:00am – 4:00pm ET – “until a further notice.”

    The lack of clarity on the cause of the portal shutdown creates concern that state partners cannot rely on the PMS portal. We request that HHS work to determine and disclose the cause of the portal shutdown and make necessary improvements to prevent future disruptions in the distribution of Medicaid funding.

    Specifically, we request that you please provide answers to the following questions:

    1. Since Medicaid is exempt from the Executive Order on freezing federal funding according to a clarifying OMB memo, why were state Medicaid offices locked out of the HHS PMS portal for hours after posting of the initial OMB memo on the funding freeze?
    2. Since Medicaid is exempt from the funding freeze, what is the reason for the PMS portal’s truncated hours of operation? When will the PMS portal return to normal operating hours to ensure continuity of care for Medicaid beneficiaries?
    3. What is HHS doing to restore normal operating speed and functioning to the PMS portal to support the reimbursement process?
    4. The unexplained freeze to the PMS portal has worried state Medicaid programs that there will be delays and rejections in reimbursement claims. What is HHS doing to assure state Medicaid programs that, due to Medicaid’s exemption from the funding freeze, there will not be increases in delays or rejections of claims?
    5. How is HHS working to analyze the amount of time that each state Medicaid program was locked out of the PMS portal?
    6. How is HHS working to quickly process reimbursement claims that required prioritization during the period that state Medicaid programs were locked out of the PMS portal?
    7. How will HHS better interpret and coordinate implementation of Executive Orders to prevent another unnecessary freeze to the PMS portal?
    8. The White House has responded that the portal shutdown was due to an “outage.” If this is the case, what is HHS doing to support technical operations to prevent future shutdowns and slowdowns of the portal? What was the cause of the technical outage?

    Thank you for your attention to this urgent matter. We request a response in 30 days, by March 3, 2025.

    MIL OSI USA News –