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Category: US Senate

  • MIL-OSI USA: National Ocean Month, 2025

    US Senate News:

    Source: US Whitehouse
    class=”has-text-align-center”>BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA A PROCLAMATION
    This National Ocean Month, my Administration recognizes the foundational role our bordering oceans have played in our treasured national story — and we pledge to harness their resources, preserve their majesty, and channel their power to safeguard American interests and uphold our way of life.
    As President, I am steadfastly committed to restoring America’s maritime dominance — including in the realms of trade, military readiness, and resource production.  For this reason, on my first day in office, I proudly renamed the largest gulf in the world to the Gulf of America, recognizing its status as a vital extension of the Atlantic Ocean and its central role in our economy, history, and national identity.
    To further expand American leadership at sea, I signed an Executive Order to revitalize our Nation’s dominance in offshore critical minerals and resources.  Every day, we are rapidly developing our domestic capabilities for the exploration, production, and processing of critical minerals from the deep seabed that are vital to our economic and strategic advantage.  In April, I signed a proclamation to open the Pacific Remote Islands National Monument to commercial fishing.  As part of my America First vision, I also took action to bring back American seafood competitiveness, end trade practices that harm American fishermen, and boost domestic seafood production and exports. 
    Under my leadership, we are in the midst of a new chapter of American freedom, prosperity, and strength — both within our shores and beyond our coasts.
    This National Ocean Month, my Administration renews its resolve to usher in a new and radiant golden age both at home and at sea — using our oceans and their magnificent resources to empower our citizens, defend our homeland, and preserve our glorious American sovereignty for generations to come.
    NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim June 2025 as National Ocean Month.  This month, I call upon Americans to reflect on the value and importance of oceans not only to our security, environment, and economy but also as a source of recreation and enjoyment.
    IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand thissixth day of June, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-five, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-ninth.                                 DONALD J. TRUMP

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Rosen Bipartisan Resolution Demanding Hamas Release Remaining Hostages Advances Out of Senate Committee

    US Senate News:

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

    Bipartisan Resolution Calls for Safe Return of 56 Hostages Still Held by Hamas, Urges Continued U.S. Action
    WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV) announced that a bipartisan resolution she led in the Senate to demand the safe release of the remaining hostages held by Hamas has advanced out of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Rosen’s bipartisan resolution also celebrates the release of Israeli-American Edan Alexander, calls for Hamas to immediately release the remaining hostages, and urges the White House to use every available tool to secure their freedom.
    “For more than 600 days, the remaining Israeli hostages have endured unimaginable cruelty at the hands of Hamas,” said Senator Rosen. “While in Israel last week, I paid my respects at the sites where innocent people were brutally murdered or taken hostage by Hamas, and I reaffirmed my commitment to do everything I can to make sure the remaining hostages are reunited with their families. I’m glad to see this bipartisan resolution advance through committee, and I’ll keep pushing for it to be passed by the full Senate.”
    Senator Jacky Rosen has been a steadfast advocate for the safety and security of Israeli and American hostages and a vocal opponent of Hamas’s acts of terror. In January 2025, she expressed strong support for a deal between Israel and Hamas to release hostages and pause fighting, reaffirming America’s commitment to Israel’s security. In October 2023, following a visit to Israel where she met with families of those taken captive, she introduced a bipartisan resolution, which later passed the Senate, condemning Hamas’s attacks and demanding the release of hostages. That same month, she also joined a bipartisan letter urging President Biden to do everything possible to rescue American hostages. These efforts reflect Senator Rosen’s ongoing leadership in pushing for accountability, supporting U.S. allies, and working to bring innocent civilians home.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Rosen Helps Lead Push for Robust Federal Funding for Law Enforcement

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV)
    WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV) helped lead her colleagues in a letter urging the Senate subcommittee overseeing Department of Justice appropriations to provide robust funding for programs that support law enforcement. In their letter, the senators asked for at least $270 million in Fiscal Year 2026 funding for the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Hiring Program. Amid a national shortage of law enforcement officers, the COPS Hiring Program helps local police departments increase staffing, enhance public safety, and implement proactive community policing strategies. During National Police Week in May, Senator Rosen encouraged Nevada law enforcement to apply for the COPS Hiring Program ahead of the July 1st deadline. 
    “At a time when police departments are facing dire staffing shortages, I’m committed to doing everything I can to ensure Nevada law enforcement has the federal funding and resources they need,” said Senator Rosen. “The COPS Hiring Program is critical to making sure our local police departments can hire the officers they need, implement community-based policing, and fight crime. I’ll keep working with both parties to support this critical program.”
    In Nevada, the COPS Hiring Program is critical for helping local police departments meet growing public safety demands and ensuring communities across the state have the resources to stay safe and build trust with law enforcement. The letter notes strong backing by national law enforcement organizations, including the National Fraternal Order of Police and the U.S. Conference of Mayors, for these efforts.
    The full letter to the Subcommittee can be found HERE.
    Senator Rosen has consistently supported policies that strengthen public safety and invest in local law enforcement. She has championed bipartisan efforts to hire more police officers by helping pass the bipartisan Recruit and Retain Act into law. She has also backed bipartisan legislation to expand mental health services for officers and their families. Last month, during National Police Week, Senator Rosen joined a bipartisan bill to increase support to law enforcement and first responders suffering from service-related cancers.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Murphy Announces Upcoming Votes To Block Trump’s Corrupt Middle East Arms Deals

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Connecticut – Chris Murphy

    June 06, 2025

    WASHINGTON–U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, announced on Thursday, during a Center for American Progress moderated discussion, that he is forcing a vote as early as next week on two joint resolutions of disapproval to block multi-billion dollar weapons sales to Qatar and the UAE. Murphy’s announcement comes in the wake of the two countries offering billions of dollars in luxury gifts and business deals to Trump, including a $400 million dollar luxury plane that he intends to keep for personal use. 
    Murphy exposed the historic threat that Trump’s corrupt business dealings pose to U.S. foreign policy: “What happened in the Middle East with Qatar and UAE is history making. Never before has a president just made the decision to trade U.S. national security secrets or preferential U.S. policy for cash payments, and that’s what he has done… There are, right now, two pending arms sales: one to Qatar, of predator drones, MQ-9s, and one of Chinook helicopters to the UAE.  Normally those might be deals that Congress would approve, but we cannot approve any security relationship today with countries in the Middle East that are engaged in the fundamental corruption of American foreign policy. The Trump administration is moving these sales forward as part of a broader scheme which enriches Donald Trump to the tune of billions of dollars.”
    He continued: “Senators will have a chance to vote up or down on whether they want to normalize this corruption. I think it will be an important moment, at the very least for Democrats, to signal to the country that we are going to put up a protest over this kind of thievery and that we are not going to sit back [and] allow for business as normal to be conducted with countries that are paying Donald Trump money straight to his pocket, that we won’t let this become normalized.”
    Murphy highlighted what Qatar and the UAE hope to gain from these transactions with Trump and his family: “Both these countries want something in exchange. The Qataris want to not be left out any longer and to be closely aligned with the Trump administration in a way they weren’t in the first term. The Emiratis want something very specific, which is our secrets. They want our highest technology: semiconductors that we generally are not willing to give countries like UAE, who have alliances with China. And it’s a test moment for the country, and for the Senate, as to whether we are going to look the other way when it comes to this corruption.”
    Murphy also discussed the role that cryptocurrency plays in Trump’s corrupt schemes and explained his opposition to the GENIUS Act as it is currently written: “We’ve got this bill on the floor of the Senate right now to regulate the crypto industry, and it has a specific exemption in it for one person, the President of the United States, to allow him to continue to market and issue the very stablecoin that he is using for his corruption in the Middle East. This is the stablecoin that the UAE gave him $2 billion for. The bill says, as a member of Congress, it is unethical for me to issue a stablecoin. The bill says it is okay for the President of the United States. […] If you don’t stop the corruption, if you don’t stop the destruction of the democracy, the bills you pass are dead letter. Because the president is going to govern by decree, not by following the words on the page of the bill that you passed.”
    Murphy filed these joint resolutions of disapproval last month. Click Here to Watch the Full Event.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Senate Advances Sullivan, Padilla Bill to Improve Cybersecurity and Telecommunications for Oceanographic Research Vessels

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Alaska Dan Sullivan

    05.27.25

    WASHINGTON — Today, U.S. Senators Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) and Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) announced that the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation advanced their bipartisan legislation to facilitate cybersecurity and telecommunications upgrades for the 17 oceanographic vessels in the U.S. Academic Research Fleet. The Accelerating Networking, Cyberinfrastructure, and Hardware for Oceanic Research (ANCHOR) Act would require the National Science Foundation (NSF) to plan improvements for these critical oceanographic research vessels.

    These ships and their submersibles play a central role in exploring our oceans and strengthening our national security. First commissioned decades ago, these ships are in desperate need of new infrastructure and maintenance, especially with foreign cyberattacks targeting naval vessels on the rise.

    The ANCHOR Act now heads to the full Senate for consideration.

    “The unanimous referral of the ANCHOR Act out of the Commerce Committee sends a strong, bipartisan message: safeguarding America’s maritime research infrastructure is essential to our national security,” said Senator Sullivan. “This bill will better protect our research fleet and institutions—many of which have been targeted by adversarial cyber threats—and ensure that vessels, like the Sikuliaq in Seward, can continue their vital scientific missions without compromise.” 

    “The U.S. Academic Research Fleet is a global leader in performing groundbreaking oceanographic research,” said Senator Padilla. “But with increasing cyberattacks on these vessels, we urgently need to upgrade crucial cybersecurity and telecommunications infrastructure. We have a responsibility to keep both our nation’s research and its researchers safe. I am glad to the see the Senate advance this cost-effective, bipartisan solution, improving research and conditions for our crew members.”

    “Collaborative, interdisciplinary teams are essential to achieving scientific excellence at the University of California, but conducting this work from research vessels at sea presents unique challenges,” said Theresa Maldonado, Vice President for Research and Innovation at the University of California. “Teams aboard these floating laboratories need the infrastructure to share their expertise and data effectively in real-time with their land-based collaborators in order to accelerate science and engineering outcomes. This capability depends on networks of satellites, digital assets, software and cyberinfrastructure. The ANCHOR Act is the vital step toward establishing this critical infrastructure, and the University of California thanks Senator Padilla for his leadership.”

    “Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego operates research vessels that are essential in advancing research to understand our oceans and changing climate, and training the next generation of environmental leaders through hands-on experiences at sea.  Reliable network and computing capabilities are essential for the professional operation of all modern ships, and critically important for effective scientific activities on research vessels specifically.  As globally-ranging laboratories that must operate in the most remote areas of the world, research vessels rely on cyberinfrastructure for our mission-critical activities. The ANCHOR Act will make this possible — along with the cybersecurity that is so important now — and gives us the ability to conduct our nation’s research and education missions efficiently, capably and securely,” said Dr. Margaret Leinen, Vice Chancellor, Marine Sciences and Director, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego.

    “U.S. scientists depend on the Academic Research Fleet to conduct research that is vital to our understanding of the oceans, which is linked to societal impacts ranging from tsunamis to fisheries ecosystems to global weather. The ANCHOR Act will result in critically-needed cyberinfrastructure throughout the fleet, which will enable our mariners to operate our ships effectively and empower our scientists by enabling satellite communications, shoreside and shipboard digital infrastructure, and technical support. In addition to enabling cutting-edge science, these systems will strengthen our ability to develop and retain a highly skilled workforce of scientific mariners and marine technicians, who are essential to advance our nation’s leadership in ocean enterprise and technology,” said Dr. Bruce Appelgate, Chair of the University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System.

    Specifically, the ANCHOR Act would require NSF to issue a report within one year that details a budget and plan for cybersecurity and internet upgrades across the 17 research vessels in the fleet, which are owned by NSF, the Office of Naval Research, and U.S. universities and laboratories. The report would outline costs for equipment, training, personnel, and methods to minimize spending.

    Scripps Institution of Oceanography houses California’s three vessels in the fleet, including the R/V Sally Ride, named after the trailblazing scientist who was one of the first six female astronauts in NASA history. Joining the fleet in 2016, the R/V Sally Ride has already made history in honor of its namesake. In 2021, California researchers on board conducted an extensive survey of the historic DDT chemical dumpsite off the coast of Southern California, leading to the World War II munitions discovery. 

    A one-pager on the bill is available here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: June 5th, 2025 Heinrich Slams DOGE Attacks on USGS Scientists and Budget Cuts in Letter to Interior Department Secretary

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for New Mexico Martin Heinrich
    WASHINGTON — Today, U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich, Ranking Member on the Senate Committee of Energy and Natural Resources sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum expressing his grave concern surrounding the Trump Administration’s assault on the Department’s science agency, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The letter highlights President Trump’s proposed budget cuts on the USGS, and the “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) reported planned terminations of hundreds of scientists and potential termination of USGS centers’ leases across the country as threats to our nation’s scientists, public safety responsibilities and operational continuity of the agency.
    In addition to Heinrich, U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Angus King (I-Maine), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) signed the letter.
    The senators opened the letter, “We write to express concern over recent and proposed actions by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and broader administrative decisions that together threaten the integrity and continuity of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).” The senators continued, “Specifically, the potential termination of General Services Administration (GSA) leases supporting USGS centers across the country— alongside USGS’s proposed FY2026 budget cut of $564 million and the reported planned terminations of hundreds of scientists—represents a multi-front assault on the nation’s scientific infrastructure.”
    Emphasizing the critical role USGS plays in monitoring and analyzing the nation’s resources, the senators highlighted, “USGS’s work underpins the ability of federal, state, and local governments, Tribal nations, industry, and communities tomake informed decisions—particularly in areas such as disaster preparedness, climate adaptation, water resource management, andecosystem protection,” the senators wrote.
    Stressing the impacts of cuts to USGS, “These proposed budgetcuts could mean abandoning research and monitoring that helps farmers guard against wildlife diseases like avian flu, delaying when real-time water and hazard data is provided for disaster response, and ending collaborations that monitor invasive species, harmful algal blooms and wildfire risks,” the senators wrote.
    “The scientific integrity, public safety responsibilities, andoperational continuity of the USGS must not be compromised by administration actions taken without proper oversight or consultation,” stated the senators.
    The senators highlighted the threat that the potential termination of USGS leases pose, many of which house Water Science Centers, Climate Adaptation Science Centers, and Ecosystems Research Centers, “These facilities provide critical support to states, local communities, and Tribal Nations as they confront unprecedented drought, wildfires, habitat loss, and other climate-related disruptions”
    “While DOGE’s actions are framed as efficiency measures, the potential impact of terminating these leases – without transparent criteria or coordination – as well as slashing $564 million from the budget and crippling of the scientific workforce raises serious questions about continuity of operations. If implemented, these changes to USGS would directly impair the federal government’s ability to assess and respond to threats in real time,” stressed the senators.
    The senators concluded the letter by asking the Department of the Interior to respond to questions outlining the far-reaching implications of these actions by June 19, 2025.
    Read the full text of the letter here and below:
     Dear Secretary Burgum,
    We write to express concern over recent and proposed actions by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and broader administrative decisions that together threaten the integrity andcontinuity of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Specifically, the potential termination of General Services Administration (GSA) leases supporting USGS centers across the country— alongsideUSGS’s proposed FY2026 budget cut of $564 million and the reported planned terminations of hundreds of scientists—represents a multi-front assault on the nation’s scientific infrastructure.
    The USGS is a premier science agency with a critical role inmonitoring and analyzing the nation’s resources, including water, ecosystems, natural hazards, minerals, and energy. Its scientific expertise and robust data collection efforts support public safety, environmental stewardship, and national economic resilience. USGS’s work underpins the ability of federal, state, and local governments, Tribal nations, industry, and communities to make informed decisions—particularly in areas such as disaster preparedness, climate adaptation, water resource management, and ecosystem protection.
    The proposed budget cuts are not about “efficiency”— they represent a retreat from federal responsibility and a dismantling of the scientific infrastructure that communities, industries, andgovernments depend on every day. USGS supports work that directly protects public health, strengthens our economy, andinforms disaster preparedness and response. These proposed budget cuts could mean abandoning research and monitoring that helps farmers guard against wildlife diseases like avian flu, delaying when real-time water and hazard data is provided for disaster response, and ending collaborations that monitor invasive species, harmful algal blooms and wildfire risks. While these impacts are not yet certain, they represent serious risks for communities, Tribes, state and local governments, and natural resource managers who depend on USGS science to make informed, often life-saving decisions. As demonstrated throughout its nearly 150 years of existence, USGS science is not optional; it is essential.
    The potential termination of USGS leases, many of which house Water Science Centers, Climate Adaptation Science Centers, andEcosystems Research Centers, threatens regional scientific capacity at a time when local expertise and place-based science are most needed. These facilities provide critical support to states, local communities, and Tribal Nations as they confront unprecedented drought, wildfires, habitat loss, and other climate-related disruptions. Reliable Page 2 scientific information is essential toboth our national economy and the safety of communities across the country.
    While DOGE’s actions are framed as efficiency measures, the potential impact of terminating these leases – without transparent criteria or coordination – as well as slashing $564 million from the budget and crippling of the scientific workforce raises serious questions about continuity of operations. If implemented, these changes to USGS would directly impair the federal government’s ability to assess and respond to threats in real time.
    Given this uncertainty and the far-reaching implications of these actions, we request immediate clarity on the following by June 19, 2025:
    1. What is the current status of all USGS leases and what facilities are at risk of lease termination?
    2. What criteria were used to select these leases for potential termination, and how was USGS consulted in this process?
    3. What plans are in place to ensure uninterrupted mission support—particularly for key activities under the Water Resources, Natural Hazards, and Ecosystems Mission Areas— if these facilities are closed?
    4. Where will affected employees be relocated, and how will critical field and lab operations be maintained in the interim?
    5. How will USGS ensure that existing commitments to state andlocal governments, tribal partners, and other stakeholders are honored, particularly for time-sensitive water data and hazard alerts?
    6. What USGS staff positions are on the list for termination (please include title and location)? When will the terminations be implemented?
    7. Do any of the USGS employees on the list for termination have salaries funded by reimbursable contracts with external partners? If so, how many such employees are affected, and what is the amount of federal savings that would be generated from their termination?
    8. Given the planned reduction in force, how will existing staff fill the gaps in order to fulfill the USGS mission?
    9. What programs will be eliminated by the $564 million proposed budget cut?
    The scientific integrity, public safety responsibilities, andoperational continuity of the USGS must not be compromised by administrative actions taken without proper oversight or consultation. We appreciate your attention to this matter and look forward to your prompt response.
    Sincerely,

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: June 6th, 2025 Heinrich, Luján Slam Trump Administration for Illegally Gutting Agency Dedicated to Growing Local Businesses

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for New Mexico Martin Heinrich

    Amid Commerce Department’s stonewalling, senators ask GAO to investigate if Trump officials violated the law or engaged in misconduct & what officials are doing with funding Congress appropriated to serve minority enterprises & create jobs

    WASHINGTON — U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), a member of the Senate Commerce Committee, joined U.S. Senators Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), and Ed Markey (D-Mass.) to slam the Trump Administration for its illegal dismantling of the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA). The senators asked the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) to investigate whether actions by Trump Commerce Department officials or others in the Administration violated Congressional directives, the extent to which they undermined MBDA’s Congressional mandate, and whether any officials have engaged in misconduct.

    “On May 2, 2025, the White House released its recommendations on discretionary funding levels for fiscal year (FY) 2026, which expressly acknowledge that the Commerce Department under Secretary Howard Lutnick has ‘fully eliminated’ the MBDA,” the senators wrote in a letter to GAO Comptroller General Gene Dodaro. “Prior to this admission, my colleagues and I repeatedly raised concerns about the Department’s efforts to dismantle the MBDA unilaterally, particularly given Secretary Lutnick’s clear testimony during his confirmation hearing stating he did not support dismantling the agency. We sent multiple letters to Secretary Lutnick and the Department seeking basic information about the current state of the MBDA. To date, the Department has failed to substantively respond to any of our requests, and it is becoming increasingly clear that Department leadership is not taking these concerns seriously.”

    The senators have raised concerns and demanded accountability and answers from the Trump Administration since the president issued his unlawful executive order. This letter follows a letter the senators wrote to Keith Sonderling, Acting Under Secretary for MBDA, demanding the Trump Administration detail its compliance with a May 13 federal court injunction ordering it to stop the illegal dismantling of the agency and reinstate its personnel and grantmaking capacities. The senators previously sent a May 1, 2025 inquiry to Sonderling to demand he promptly turn over key documents and information related to the dismantling of the MBDA and recent funding termination notices sent to all grantees by DOGE. On June 3, the senators also sent a letter to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) requesting that they investigate whether actions by Trump Commerce Department officials or others in the Administration violated congressional directives, the extent to which they undermined MBDA’s congressional mandate and whether any officials have engaged in misconduct.

    In October 2024, Heinrich led the unveiling of a new, larger office space for the New Mexico Minority Business Development Center in Albuquerque to expand support for local businesses across the state as they create the types of careers New Mexicans can build their families around. Heinrich wrote the legislative provision that established and funded the New Mexico Business Center in 2020, securing more than $2.5 million in federal resources through the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Minority Business Development Agency for its staffing and programming.

    In May, during the Senate Commerce hearing on the nomination of Paul Dabbar to be U.S. Deputy Secretary of Commerce, Luján pressed Mr. Dabbar on the dismantling of the MBDA by the Trump Administration and highlighted the successes of the MBDA. Luján championed an amendment in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to make the MBDA permanent. He also secured passage of a provision to double the funding level for the MBDA’s Rural Business Development Center Program and to expand this program’s eligibility to include all Minority-Serving Institutions, which will expand opportunities for New Mexico’s colleges and universities. Additionally, in 2021, Luján championed legislation to make permanent and expand the reach of the Minority Business Development Agency.

    The text of the letter can be found HERE and below:

    Comptroller General Dodaro:

    We write to request that the Government Accountability Office (GAO) conduct a review of the actions taken by the Trump Administration to dismantle the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA), despite Congress statutorily authorizing the agency and appropriating funding to further its mission. A robust investigation by GAO would help shed light on whether officials at the Department of Commerce (Department) or elsewhere in the Administration circumvented the directives of Congress, the extent to which the MBDA’s ability to administer its grants and combat potential fraud has been undermined, and whether any officials have engaged in misconduct.

    On May 2, 2025, the White House released its recommendations on discretionary funding levels for fiscal year (FY) 2026, which expressly acknowledge that the Commerce Department under Secretary Howard Lutnick has “fully eliminated” the MBDA. Prior to this admission, my colleagues and I repeatedly raised concerns about the Department’s efforts to dismantle the MBDA unilaterally, particularly given Secretary Lutnick’s clear testimony during his confirmation hearing stating he did not support dismantling the agency. We sent multiple letters to Secretary Lutnick and the Department seeking basic information about the current state of the MBDA. To date, the Department has failed to substantively respond to any of our requests, and it is becoming increasingly clear that Department leadership is not taking these concerns seriously.

    The MBDA was created by Executive Order in 1969. In 2021, Congress statutorily authorized the MBDA in bipartisan legislation, the Minority Business Development Act of 2021 (MBDA Act), which was enacted as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. In so doing, Congress directed the MBDA to, among other things, “enable the Federal Government to better serve the needs of minority business enterprises.” The bipartisan law also established a new Senate-confirmed position to lead the agency. By making the MBDA and its programs permanent, Congress made a deliberate decision to promote job creation, spur innovation, and support business owners from a variety of backgrounds.

    Last Congress, the Congress funded the MBDA pursuant to the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024, which contained a $68.25 million appropriation for the “necessary expenses of the Minority Business Development Agency in fostering, promoting, and developing minority business enterprises, as authorized by law.” These investments have paid significant dividends: In FY 2024 alone, the MBDA helped the country’s more than 12 million minority businesses access over $1.5 billion in capital and create or retain approximately 23,000 jobs. That same level of funding has been appropriated through the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025 (P.L. 119-4).

    Despite Congress’s clear statutory directive, on March 14, 2025, President Trump issued an Executive Order effectively eliminating the MBDA and certain other federal entities. In so doing, the Executive Order called for the head of the MBDA to submit a report to the Office of Management and Budget within seven days “confirming full compliance with this order and explaining which components or functions of the governmental entity, if any, are statutorily required and to what extent.” In the weeks that followed, the Trump Administration has unilaterally dismantled the MBDA—terminating effectively all its staff, canceling its grant programs, and removing its signage from the Department.

    As part of these efforts, our offices reviewed a funding termination notice that was sent to an MBDA grantee by a member of Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) named Nate Cavanaugh, who was purportedly acting “Under the Authority of Keith Sonderling, Acting Undersecretary of MBDA.” In the notice, the Department claims the grant is being terminated because it “is unfortunately no longer consistent with the agency’s priorities and no longer serves the interests of the United States and the MBDA Program.” The termination notice further states that “MBDA is repurposing its funding allocations in a new direction in furtherance of the President’s agenda.” The notice is silent about why the grants are inconsistent with the MBDA’s priorities and programs, which Congress, not the Department, set by statute. And the notice also suggests that the Department of Commerce or others in the Administration may be using funding appropriated for the MBDA for other, unrelated purposes.

    Fortunately, on May 13, 2025, a federal district court issued a Preliminary Injunction requiring the Trump Administration to reverse its actions to eliminate the MBDA, including by restoring agency employees to their status prior to the Executive Order issued on March 14, 2025. However, the Trump Administration quickly appealed this order, making clear it intends to continue pursuing its efforts to fully eliminate the MBDA notwithstanding Congress’s clear directives.

    It is essential that Congress and the public understand how the Trump Administration’s recent actions have affected the MBDA’s ability to carry out its statutory mission and obligations and to understand how funds appropriated to the MBDA are being used. Therefore, we are requesting your assistance to investigate activities that have occurred at MBDA since January 20, 2025, and report on the following:

    1. A detailed review of all actions taken by the Department of Commerce, including any acting leadership, to “fully eliminate” or otherwise dismantle the MBDA, including any efforts to pause or halt MBDA work functions, lower or eliminate the agency’s budget, or otherwise reduce the resources available to MBDA to complete its work.
    1. A detailed review of all actions taken by the any member of DOGE, including any volunteers, special government employees, contractors, or Department employees affiliated with DOGE, to “fully eliminate” or otherwise dismantle the MBDA, including any efforts to pause or halt MBDA work functions, lower or eliminate the agency’s budget, or otherwise reduce the resources available to MBDA to complete its work.
    1. A detailed review of actions taken by the Department of Commerce, including MBDA leadership and acting leadership, to pause, halt, or terminate any grants or funding that were administered or approved by the MBDA as of January 20, 2025. Please include information on the involvement of DOGE or DOGE-affiliated employees, including any volunteers, special government employees, and contractors, in decisions to pause, halt, or terminate MBDA grants or funding.
    1. A detailed review of the status of all MBDA grants, including:
      1. The extent to which grants have been terminated or funds continue to be disbursed;
      2. A description of the types of funded activities that are considered “consistent with the agency’s priorities” and that “serve the interests of the MBDA program”; and
      3. A detailed explanation of how the MBDA intends to repurpose its funding allocations in a new direction in furtherance of the President’s agenda, including any specific program or activity that has received or is expected to receive repurposed funding.
    1. A detailed review of actions taken by the Department of Commerce, including MBDA leadership and acting leadership, to reduce the MBDA’s workforce after January 20, 2025. Please include information on the involvement of DOGE or DOGE-affiliated employees, including any volunteers, special government employees, and contractors, in decisions to reduce the MBDA’s workforce.
    1. A detailed review of the effects of recent Department of Commerce and DOGE actions on:
      1. The operations of the MBDA’s statutorily created offices, how responsibilities are being allocated to any remaining staff, and the status of physical office space; and
      2. The ability of the agency to fulfill its statutorily required functions under the Minority Business Development Act of 2021 (Division K of the Infrastructure and Investment and Jobs Act, Pub. L. 117-58), including but not limited to:

                                                                  i.      The MBDA’s statutory responsibilities for private and public sector development;

                                                               ii.      The MBDA’s efforts to conduct research and provide outreach and educational services;

                                                             iii.      The operation of the MBDA’s Business Center Program, Rural Minority Business Center Program, and the national network of public-private partnerships;

                                                             iv.      The administration of the minority business development grants program;

                                                                v.      The functioning of the Minority Business Enterprises Advisory Council; and

                                                             vi.      The extent to which the Administration’s actions regarding MBDA are consistent with the statutory obligations under the Minority Business Development Act of 2021.

                          c. The ability of the agency to effectively administer its current grants, detect and prevent potential fraud in its programs, and cooperate with any investigations into potential fraud or other wrongdoing. 

    1. A detailed review of the Commerce Department’s or MBDA’s development and implementation of plans to reorganize, restructure, or eliminate the MBDA’s work, and how these plans may affect the Administration’s ability to meet its statutory responsibilities, including a review of which “components or functions” of the MBDA the Trump Administration found to be “statutorily required and to what extent,” pursuant to President Trump’s March 14, 2025, Executive Order on “Continuing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: June 6th, 2025 Heinrich, Luján Slam Trump’s Plan to Illegally Rescind Funding for New Mexico’s Local Public Radio & TV Stations

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for New Mexico Martin Heinrich
    Losing this funding would force many public stations to reduce much of their programming or, in some cases, close their doors to the rural communities they serve
    WASHINGTON — U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Ranking Member of the Commerce Subcommittee on Telecommunications and Media, joined 29 Senate Democrats to slam Trump and Republicans’ attempt to illegally rescind $1 billion in funding appropriated by Congress and signed into law to fund local public broadcasting stations in New Mexico and nationwide — particularly in rural communities. This move follows President Trump’s executive order directing cuts to federal funding for PBS and NPR. 
    The Corporation for Public Broadcasting supports over 1,500 local public television and radio stations nationwide that provide free, high-quality programming to American households, including in New Mexico. Local public television and radio stations provides young children who don’t get the chance to attend preschool with educational content that helps them learn to read; airs highly trusted nightly news programming; and shares critical public safety information during emergencies. Local public television stations also provide extensive coverage of local government and elections and host candidate debates, helping Americans stay connected with their elected leaders. 
    Because local public television and radio relies heavily on federal funding to operate, losing this funding would force many of these stations to reduce much of their programming or, in some cases, close their doors to the communities they serve.
    “Following the White House’s request to rescind $1.07 billion in federal funding for CPB, we write to express our strong opposition to any rescission of funding for public broadcasting and prohibitions of direct and indirect funding to the Public Broadcasting Service and National Public Radio,” the senators wrote to Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.). “This funding is essential to the functioning of the public media system and the communities they serve, and any cuts in funding would have detrimental effects on local stations, which rely on this funding to provide critical services to millions of Americans across the country. Public broadcasting is an essential service that should be protected, not decimated. For this reason, we request that you prioritize maintaining and continuing funding for CPB.” 
    As Ranking Member of the Commerce Subcommittee on Telecommunications and Media, Senator Luján has long supported strengthening and protecting public media. In February, Senator Luján wrote to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr and Commissioner Nathan Simington condemning actions taken by the FCC under the Trump administration demonstrating that the FCC is weaponizing its authority over broadcasters and public media for political purposes. In March, Senator Luján introduced the Broadcast Freedom and Independence Act, legislation that would prohibit the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from revoking broadcast licenses or taking action against broadcasters based on the viewpoints they broadcast.
    The letter is led by U.S. Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Ed Markey (D-Mass.). Alongside Heinrich and Luján, the letter is signed by U.S. Senators Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Bernard Sanders (I-Vt.), Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Elissa Slotkin (D-Minn.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).
    The full text of the letter is available here or below:  
    Dear Majority Leader Thune,
    Federal investment in the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) supports over 1,500 local and regional public television and radio stations that provide free, high-quality programming to millions of households across the country. Following the White House’s request to rescind $1.07 billion in federal funding for CPB, we write to express our strong opposition to any rescission of funding for public broadcasting and prohibitions of direct and indirect funding to the Public Broadcasting Service and National Public Radio, as outlined in the Executive Order titled, “Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Biased Media” released on May 1, 2025. This funding is essential to the functioning of the public media system and the communities they serve, and any cuts in funding would have detrimental effects on local stations, which rely on this funding to provide critical services to millions of Americans across the country.
    Our public broadcasting system is a unique American institution that is deeply embedded in our communities and a critical source of lifesaving public safety services, accurate information, and educational programming. The vast majority of the federal funding CPB receives is allocated to local radio and television stations across the country. These cuts will have an immediate and significant impact for stations in rural communities that heavily rely on CPB funding to provide critical services and could likely result in the elimination of programming or outright closure of stations in areas already faced with limited connectivity.
    According to Northwestern University, 55 million people in the United States have no or only one source of local news, and rural counties are far more likely to lose their local news outlets. This number could increase if the two-year advance appropriation for public media is not upheld, resulting in the drastic reduction or complete elimination of free, high-quality local programming. This is especially concerning given the importance of public broadcasting during public emergencies, such as natural disasters, transportation accidents, national security threats, or public safety matters. CPB funds are essential to ensuring that the broadcast infrastructure remains robust and operational in disaster situations, especially scenarios in which local public broadcasters serve as the only source of information for those who need a lifeline. Any cuts in funding will have drastic consequences for communities in need.
    And there is much more to their public safety services in addition to the critical local information they broadcast. Public television’s interconnection technology, which connects local public television stations to PBS, is also one of the backbone pathways for the delivery of our nation’s Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) services – enabling cell phone subscribers to receive geotargeted emergency text alerts no matter where they are in the country. A cut to public broadcasting funding would put this lifesaving service and its nationwide footprint at risk.
    Public television has also pioneered cutting edge technology that helps first responders communicate with each other over the broadcast spectrum without the need for mobile service or broadband. This datacasting technology and public television’s public safety partnerships is already helping with early earthquake warning and has been proven effective in a wide range of scenarios where broadband or cellular service are limited, including rural search and rescue, overwater communications, large event crowd control and more. But this is only possible if stations serving rural and remote areas with limited broadband are healthy and continue operating as they are today.
    On the education front, public television’s early childhood education services ensure that every family has access to high-quality, non-commercial educational content regardless of their ability to pay for such services. This is essential for over 50 percent of three and four-year old children who do not attend formal preschool.
    If funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) is eliminated or rescinded, the impact would be devastating. Millions of people across the country whose stations rely on CPB funding for a significant percentage of their budget would be at risk of losing access to public television’s services. These are services that nobody else in the media world is providing, but it’s exactly the work for which public broadcasting was created, and they are delivering to our communities every day. 
    Public broadcasting is an essential service that should be protected, not decimated. For this reason, we request that you prioritize maintaining and continuing funding for CPB.
    We appreciate your consideration of this request and thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.
    Sincerely,

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Dr. Paul & Senator Lee Introduce Bill to Cut Drug Prices and Red Tape

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Kentucky Rand Paul

     

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

    June 6, 2025

    Contact: Press_Paul@paul.senate.gov, 202-224-4343

    Washington, D.C.—This week, U.S. Senators Rand Paul (R-KY), and Mike Lee (R-UT) introduced the bipartisan Biosimilar Red Tape Elimination Act to cut drug prices for consumers and increase competition in the pharmaceutical market by categorizing generic-brand “biosimilar” drugs as interchangeable with their name-brand counterparts. 

     “I’m proud to support Senator Lee’s Biosimilar Red Tape Elimination Act. Americans pay too much for prescription treatments because of outdated FDA requirements. This bill would give pharmacists more options, subject to state law, to substitute unaffordable therapeutics with lower-cost alternatives. I offered similar reforms in the past because health care reform starts with giving patients more affordable choices. It’s time we stop letting red tape stand between patients and lower prices.” said Dr. Rand Paul

     “Americans are missing out on lower drug prices thanks to bureaucratic red tape that protects big pharma monopolies,” said Senator Mike Lee. “Many consumers would choose a cheaper generic-brand version of their medications, but technicalities from Congress have kept these out of reach. Our legislation will cut the red tape to bring drug prices down, break up the big pharma monopolies, and let Americans make their own medication choices.”

    “Too many Americans face sky-high prescription drug costs. This bipartisan legislation will cut unnecessary red tape and help biosimilar drugs get to the market faster, creating more competition in the market, and cutting costs for consumers,” said Senator Hassan. “I will continue to work to lower prescription drug and health care costs for Granite Staters and all Americans.”

    “Limited competition drives up drug prices, making it harder for people to afford the medications they need to survive. Expanding access to biosimilar drugs can improve patients’ lives and reduce costs. But too often, access can be limited due to regulatory red tape that scientists agree is not necessary,” said Senator Luján. “This bipartisan bill will help simplify that process while maintaining rigorous safety and effectiveness standards. By increasing competition, this legislation will allow more patients and families to access the treatments they need.”

     “As the FDA has made clear, there is no clinically meaningful difference between biosimilars and interchangeable biosimilars,” said John Murphy, President and CEO of the Association for Accessible Medicines. “The Biosimilar Red Tape Elimination Act will expand competition and generate savings for patients and taxpayers, while preserving FDA’s ability to ensure the safety and efficacy of medicines for America’s patients. The Biosimilars Council and AAM thank Senators Lee and Luján for their work on behalf of American patients and we look forward to working with Congress to eliminate this outdated and unnecessary barrier to lower-priced biosimilar medicines.”

    Background:

    “Biosimilars” – generic alternatives to name-brand medications – have the potential to significantly reduce the cost of biologic drugs through increased competition. Choosing biosimilars over their name-brand counterparts could save consumers an estimated $42.9 billion by 2027. Americans deserve to hold this decision-making power, but red tape around biosimilars keeps them from being widely used. The FDA’s complex approval system has confused physicians, patients, and states about biosimilars’ safety and efficacy.

    Biosimilars must undergo extensive testing to prove they provide no meaningful difference from their name-brand version. Bringing a new biosimilar to market costs as much as $300 million and can take as long as 9 years. Even after this approval, patients may not be able to access biosimilars because Congress created a separate designation: interchangeability. To be classified as truly “interchangeable” with the name-brand version, a biosimilar must undergo further testing called “switching studies.” This type of research has proven unnecessary for biosimilars, as it repeatedly shows no meaningful difference or relevant new data.

    The Biosimilar Red Tape Elimination Act would remove these extra steps so that a biosimilar will immediately be classified as interchangeable upon its initial approval by the FDA. Foregoing unnecessary switching studies would no longer disqualify biosimilars as alternatives to their name-brand counterparts. 

    This legislation will streamline the regulatory pathway for biosimilar approval by aligning the law with the current scientific reality, giving Americans the option to save billions and increasing competition in the pharmaceutical market.

    The Biosimilar Red Tape Elimination Act would:

    • Amend the federal code to state that all biosimilars, upon approval, shall be deemed interchangeable. The bill still uses the term “interchangeable” because states have crafted their own laws around interchangeability. Retaining that word would provide for minimal disruption to current biosimilar distribution.
    • Strike the current requirement in code that has been used to justify switching studies.
    • Create a cooldown period for certain biologics that were already granted exclusive interchangeable status.
    • Instruct HHS and FDA to issue or retract relevant guidance.

     You can read it HERE.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Heinrich, Luján Slam Trump’s Plan to Illegally Rescind Funding for New Mexico’s Local Public Radio & TV Stations

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-New Mexico)

    Losing this funding would force many public stations to reduce much of their programming or, in some cases, close their doors to the rural communities they serve

    WASHINGTON — U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Ranking Member of the Commerce Subcommittee on Telecommunications and Media,joined 29 Senate Democrats to slam Trump and Republicans’ attempt to illegally rescind $1 billion in funding appropriated by Congress and signed into law to fund local public broadcasting stations in New Mexico and nationwide — particularly in rural communities. This move follows President Trump’s executive order directing cuts to federal funding for PBS and NPR. 

    The Corporation for Public Broadcasting supports over 1,500 local public television and radio stations nationwide that provide free, high-quality programming to American households, including in New Mexico. Local public television and radio stations provides young children who don’t get the chance to attend preschool with educational content that helps them learn to read; airs highly trusted nightly news programming; and shares critical public safety information during emergencies. Local public television stations also provide extensive coverage of local government and elections and host candidate debates, helping Americans stay connected with their elected leaders. 

    Because local public television and radio relies heavily on federal funding to operate, losing this funding would force many of these stations to reduce much of their programming or, in some cases, close their doors to the communities they serve.

    “Following the White House’s request to rescind $1.07 billion in federal funding for CPB, we write to express our strong opposition to any rescission of funding for public broadcasting and prohibitions of direct and indirect funding to the Public Broadcasting Service and National Public Radio,” the senators wrote to Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.). “This funding is essential to the functioning of the public media system and the communities they serve, and any cuts in funding would have detrimental effects on local stations, which rely on this funding to provide critical services to millions of Americans across the country. Public broadcasting is an essential service that should be protected, not decimated. For this reason, we request that you prioritize maintaining and continuing funding for CPB.” 

    As Ranking Member of the Commerce Subcommittee on Telecommunications and Media, Senator Luján has long supported strengthening and protecting public media. In February, Senator Luján wrote to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr and Commissioner Nathan Simington condemning actions taken by the FCC under the Trump administration demonstrating that the FCC is weaponizing its authority over broadcasters and public media for political purposes. In March, Senator Luján introduced the Broadcast Freedom and Independence Act, legislation that would prohibit the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from revoking broadcast licenses or taking action against broadcasters based on the viewpoints they broadcast.

    The letter is led by U.S. Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Ed Markey (D-Mass.). Alongside Heinrich and Luján, the letter is signed by U.S. Senators Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Bernard Sanders (I-Vt.), Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Elissa Slotkin (D-Minn.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).

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

    Dear Majority Leader Thune,

    Federal investment in the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) supports over 1,500 local and regional public television and radio stations that provide free, high-quality programming to millions of households across the country. Following the White House’s request to rescind $1.07 billion in federal funding for CPB, we write to express our strong opposition to any rescission of funding for public broadcasting and prohibitions of direct and indirect funding to the Public Broadcasting Service and National Public Radio, as outlined in the Executive Order titled, “Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Biased Media” released on May 1, 2025. This funding is essential to the functioning of the public media system and the communities they serve, and any cuts in funding would have detrimental effects on local stations, which rely on this funding to provide critical services to millions of Americans across the country.

    Our public broadcasting system is a unique American institution that is deeply embedded in our communities and a critical source of lifesaving public safety services, accurate information, and educational programming. The vast majority of the federal funding CPB receives is allocated to local radio and television stations across the country. These cuts will have an immediate and significant impact for stations in rural communities that heavily rely on CPB funding to provide critical services and could likely result in the elimination of programming or outright closure of stations in areas already faced with limited connectivity.

    According to Northwestern University, 55 million people in the United States have no or only one source of local news, and rural counties are far more likely to lose their local news outlets. This number could increase if the two-year advance appropriation for public media is not upheld, resulting in the drastic reduction or complete elimination of free, high-quality local programming. This is especially concerning given the importance of public broadcasting during public emergencies, such as natural disasters, transportation accidents, national security threats, or public safety matters. CPB funds are essential to ensuring that the broadcast infrastructure remains robust and operational in disaster situations, especially scenarios in which local public broadcasters serve as the only source of information for those who need a lifeline. Any cuts in funding will have drastic consequences for communities in need.

    And there is much more to their public safety services in addition to the critical local information they broadcast. Public television’s interconnection technology, which connects local public television stations to PBS, is also one of the backbone pathways for the delivery of our nation’s Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) services – enabling cell phone subscribers to receive geotargeted emergency text alerts no matter where they are in the country. A cut to public broadcasting funding would put this lifesaving service and its nationwide footprint at risk.

    Public television has also pioneered cutting edge technology that helps first responders communicate with each other over the broadcast spectrum without the need for mobile service or broadband. This datacasting technology and public television’s public safety partnerships is already helping with early earthquake warning and has been proven effective in a wide range of scenarios where broadband or cellular service are limited, including rural search and rescue, overwater communications, large event crowd control and more. But this is only possible if stations serving rural and remote areas with limited broadband are healthy and continue operating as they are today.

    On the education front, public television’s early childhood education services ensure that every family has access to high-quality, non-commercial educational content regardless of their ability to pay for such services. This is essential for over 50 percent of three and four-year old children who do not attend formal preschool.

    If funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) is eliminated or rescinded, the impact would be devastating. Millions of people across the country whose stations rely on CPB funding for a significant percentage of their budget would be at risk of losing access to public television’s services. These are services that nobody else in the media world is providing, but it’s exactly the work for which public broadcasting was created, and they are delivering to our communities every day. 

    Public broadcasting is an essential service that should be protected, not decimated. For this reason, we request that you prioritize maintaining and continuing funding for CPB.

    We appreciate your consideration of this request and thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.

    Sincerely,

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Heinrich, Luján Fight Trump Administration’s Cuts to the Job Corps Program

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-New Mexico)
    Washington, D.C. – After the Trump administration attempted to shutter the nation’s largest jobs training program for low-income and at-risk young people, U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) joined U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Ranking Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and 37 Senate colleagues in a letter to Department of Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer urging her to reverse the illegal and unconstitutional cuts to the Job Corps program that are harming students and communities in every state in the country.
    “The Administration’s decision to illegally and abruptly terminate Job Corps center operations has left 25,000 students and thousands of staff across 99 Job Corps centers in the lurch,” wrote the senators. “The sudden ‘pause’ of operations at Job Corps centers puts young people’s lives at risk, especially a significant number of students who were experiencing homelessness before arriving to the program. Local communities will pay a steep price, especially the thousands of individuals who work at the centers and will lose their livelihoods.”
    For more than 60 years, Job Corps has helped millions of young people in rural communities and cities alike to finish high school, learn technical skills and get good-paying jobs while providing stable housing, medical and mental health care, and other supportive services. Through Job Corps programs, young people receive the training they need to start in good-paying jobs that support their communities after graduation – including as wildland firefighters, nurses, electricians, machinists, pipefitters, and welders. Last month, however, the Trump administration indefinitely ‘paused’ operations at Job Corps sites across the country.
    “We urge you to immediately reverse this decision to prevent a lapse in education and services for Job Corps students. We further urge that the Department restart enrollments, expeditiously restart background checks, and make any contract extensions or modifications necessary to ensure no interruptions or delays for students or program operations,”concluded the senators. 
    Joining Heinrich, Luján, and Sanders on the letter are U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Angus King (I-Maine), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.).
    The text of the letter can be found HERE and below:
    Dear Secretary Chavez-DeRemer:
    We write to express our grave concern with the “pause” of operations that began at Job Corps centers on May 29, 2025, which will harm students and local economies in every state across the country. The Administration’s decision to illegally and abruptly terminate Job Corps center operations has left 25,000 students and thousands of staff across 99 Job Corps centers in the lurch. The sudden “pause” of operations at Job Corps centers puts young people’s lives at risk, especially a significant number of students who were experiencing homelessness before arriving to the program. Local communities will pay a steep price, especially the thousands of individuals who work at the centers and will lose their livelihoods. While a recent court order instituted a temporary restraining order on the “pause” at Job Corps, the damage of attempting to displace thousands of students has already been felt across the country.
    We urge you to immediately reverse this decision to prevent a lapse in education and services for Job Corps students. We further urge that the Department restart enrollments, expeditiously restart background checks, and make any contract extensions or modifications necessary to ensure no interruptions or delays for students or program operations. Congress passed the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act of 2025, which includes $1,760,155,000 for Job Corps and ensures that Job Corps Centers are funded for the new program year that begins on July 1, 2025. We write to remind you of your obligation to faithfully implement the law.
    Since 1964, Job Corps has helped millions of low-income or at-risk young people develop the skills and resilience needed to succeed in work and life. As the largest free residential education and job training program for young adults ages 16-24, Job Corps programs help students complete their high school education, learn high-value technical skills, and connect to employment through intensive education, training, and support services in a residential setting while providing stable housing, medical and mental health care, and other supportive services to ensure their success. At a time when more than 72 percent of jobs will require training beyond a high school diploma, Job Corps provides students with the opportunity to become wildland firefighters to keep our communities safe, nurses to help care for our families, electricians needed to build and maintain clean energy systems, and machinists, pipefitters, and welders to manufacture the next generation of submarines.
    Job Corps centers operate in rural and metropolitan regions nationwide and contribute to their local communities and economies.  Many centers have partnered with employers, local workforce development boards, government agencies, and community-based organizations to develop the future workforce and meet the needs of local employers. 
    Abruptly canceling contracts for the nation’s Job Corps centers will leave students and communities in the lurch and undermine opportunities for young people to get education and training to succeed in valuable trades. Rather than gutting this valuable program, we urge you to work with Congress to strengthen accountability and program quality for the betterment of young workers, employers needing skilled labor, and communities nationwide, such as reforms included in the bipartisan, bicameral Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) reauthorization bill from last Congress.
    We request that you provide written answers to the following questions as soon as possible, but not later than June 20, 2025.
    Please provide a list of onboard strength (enrollment) at each center before January 20, 2025 and before the operations pause on May 28, 2025. 
    With Job Corps operations on “pause”, how does the department plan to fulfill its obligations to implement the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025, which includes $1,760,155,000 for Job Corps serving students?
    Please provide information on the number of students experiencing homelessness prior to enrollment at a Job Corps center based on enrollment at each center on May 28, 2025. 
    Please provide a list of every contract that has been terminated or modified since January 20, 2025, including the total amount of funds to each operator, the amount of funds that each operator has spent up to the date of the contract’s termination or modification, and the amount of remaining unspent funds for each contract. 
    What authority is the Department using to “pause” operations? Please provide a citation in law or regulation.
    The concept of a “pause” does not exist in Job Corps authorizing statute and appears to be an attempt to illegally shut down Job Corps operations without following requirements in law. Section 159 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) includes clear requirements and processes for the closure of Job Corps Centers that were not followed in this “pause”. How does the Department define a “pause” and how is it different than a “termination”? 
    On April 25, 2025, the Department’s Employment and Training Administration (ETA) released the first-ever Job Corps Transparency Report, which is used throughout the DOL press release to pause operations at centers.
    Centers have returned funding to DOL when enrollments were lower than expected (but that’s not reflected in this report.) Please provide an updated cost per enrollee that accounts for money returned to DOL.
    The report also provides cost per enrollee based on enrollment from program year 2023. DOL has much more up-to-date enrollment numbers. Please provide an updated cost per enrollee with the enrollments on campuses as of May 28, 2025, incorporating onboard strength at each campus.

    Sincerely,

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Murkowski, King Reintroduce Legislation to Help Coastal Workforce, Fisheries, and Infrastructure

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Alaska Lisa Murkowski

    06.06.25

    Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Angus King (I-ME), reintroduced the Working Waterfronts Act, legislation which includes more than a dozen provisions aimed at boosting the workforce, energy and shoreside infrastructure, food security, and economies of coastal communities in Alaska and across the country. The bill will also support efforts to mitigate the impacts of climate change on coastal communities and strengthen federal conservation research projects.

    In October 2022, Senator Murkowski began soliciting feedback from Alaskans to help draft the Working Waterfronts legislation. After a two-year period of close collaboration with stakeholders and colleagues in the Senate, she introduced the legislation for the first time in February of 2024.

    “One of my priorities this Congress was reintroducing the Working Waterfronts Act, a comprehensive and collective effort to harness the potential of the blue economy for Alaska’s coastal communities,” said Senator Murkowski. “With 66,000 miles of coastline, it is vital Alaska strengthens our shoreside infrastructure and supports workforce development to ensure the sustainability and growth of our fisheries, tourism, and mariculture sectors. This legislation will provide essential resources for alternative energy initiatives, improve community processing facilities, and promote safety and wellness in the maritime workforce. Together, we can build a resilient future for our coastal communities while addressing climate change and preserving our precious marine ecosystems.”

    “Maine’s coastal communities are changing. From a warming climate to an evolving economy, the Gulf of Maine faces both historic opportunities and challenges that will define our state’s success for generations,” said Senator King. “The Working Waterfronts Act would provide Maine’s working waterfronts up and down the coast with the necessary financial, energy and infrastructure resources to adapt to the rapidly shifting dynamics of natural disasters affecting economic and tourism operations. It would also help support the necessary workforce to sustain our coastal businesses. Thanks to my colleagues for working with me to ensure our waterfronts have the necessary tools and resources to thrive for years to come.”

    “The Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI) thanks Senator Murkowski for her continued efforts to support Alaska’s commercial fishing industry, which provides tens of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in economic impact across the state. The Working Waterfronts Act would make impactful changes that are needed now, such as expanding access for fishermen and processors to USDA loans, grants for improving waterfront infrastructure that benefit commercial fishermen, and creating a new program to improve maritime workforce development. These changes, along with many others in the Act, provide needed help the Alaska seafood industry, a critical pillar of Alaska’s economy,” said Greg Smith, Communications Director at the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI).

    “Senator Murkowski’s Working Waterfronts Act highlights the key priorities vital to the future of Alaska’s seafood industry. From modernizing infrastructure to building a resilient workforce and supporting innovation, this bill addresses the real challenges facing our coastal communities. We’re proud to support this effort and stand with Senator Murkowski in securing a strong future for Alaska’s working waterfronts,” said Kristy Clement, CEO of Alaska Fisheries Development Foundation.

    “Senator Murkowski’s Working Waterfronts Act is a comprehensive bill that invests in the modernization of our vital working waterfronts and the resiliency and success of our fishing and seafood industries,” said Robert Vandermark, executive director of the Marine Fish Conservation Network. “This bill champions crucial improvements to shoreside facilities and infrastructure that support thriving coastal economies and promotes the development of a stronger future workforce to ensure American fishing traditions can continue for generations. This legislation also supports research and stewardship of economically important ocean ecosystems and fisheries to help them endure in a changing climate. The Network supports the Working Waterfronts Act and thanks Senator Murkowski for listening to the needs of our fishing communities and providing a foresighted path to support their businesses and ways of life.”

    “The seafood industry has always been a critical part of the Blue Economy, even before the phrase was coined.  Alaska’s seafood industry produces an economic impact of $15 billion in the U.S. annually.  Senator Murkowski’s wholistic approach to a thriving waterfront is visionary.  The Working Waterfront Act supports and expands access to critical infrastructure and resources upon which the seafood industry relies.  Specific to seafood harvesting and processing, the Working Waterfront Act incentives co-investment by providing access to USDA loan programs which will help American fishermen and processors compete with other countries – an excellent example of good domestic economic policy,” Julie Decker, President, Pacific Seafood Processors Association.

    Bill Highlights:

    Investing in Energy and Shoreside Infrastructure

    • Tax Credits for Marine Energy Projects supports projects that produce electricity from waves, tides, and ocean currents.
    • Fishing Vessel Alternative Fuels Pilot Program provides resources to help transition fishing vessels from diesel to alternative fuel sources such as electric or hybrid, and funds research and development of alternative fuel technologies for fishing vessels.
    • Rural Coastal Community Processing and Cold Storage Grant increases support for community infrastructure such as cold storage, cooperative processing facilities, and mariculture/seaweed processing facilities by establishing a competitive grant program through the Department of Commerce for rural and small-scale projects.
    • Working Waterfronts Development Act establishes a grant program for infrastructure improvements for facilities benefitting commercial and recreational fishermen, mariculturists, and the boatbuilding industry.

    Boosting Maritime Workforce Development and Blue Economy

    • Maritime Workforce Grant Program establishes a Maritime Workforce Grant Program, directing the Maritime Administrator to award competitive grants supporting entities engaged in recruiting, educating, or training the maritime workforce.
    • Fishing Industry Safety, Health, and Wellness Improvement (FISH Wellness) Act expands the Coast Guard and CDC’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Fishing Safety Research and Training (FRST) Grant Program to include projects supporting behavioral health in addition to the projects currently supported dedicated to occupational safety research and training.
    • Ocean Regional Opportunity and Innovation Act establishes at least one ocean innovation cluster in each of the five domestic NOAA Fisheries regions, as well as the Great Lakes and Gulf of Mexico regions. The ocean cluster model fosters collaboration between different sectors – including public, private, and academic – within a geographic region to promote economic growth and sustainability in the Blue Economy.

    Supporting Sustainable and Resilient Ecosystems

    • Coastal Communities Ocean Acidification Act enhances collaboration on ocean acidification research and monitoring through ongoing mechanisms for stakeholder engagement on necessary research and monitoring. This provision would also establish two Advisory Board seats for representatives from Indian Tribes, Native Hawaiian organizations, Tribal organizations, and Tribal consortia affected by ocean acidification and coastal acidification.
    • Vegetated Coastal Ecosystem Inventory establishes an interagency working group for the creation and maintenance of a comprehensive national map and inventory detailing vegetated coastal and Great Lakes ecosystems. This inventory encompasses habitat types, species, ecosystem conditions, ownership, protected status, size, salinity and tidal boundaries, carbon sequestration potential, and impacts of climate change.
    • Marine Invasive Species Research and Monitoring provides resources and tools to mitigate the impact of invasive species and help limit their spread by authorizing research and monitoring grants for local, Tribal, and regional marine invasive prevention work. This includes training, outreach, and equipment for early detection and response to invasions.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Tuberville Discusses Importance of Protecting Women’s Sports, Boosting School Choice

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Tommy Tuberville (Alabama)

    WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) spoke with several of President Trump’s nominees, including Penny Schwinn, nominee to be Deputy Secretary of Education at the Department of Education, Kimberly Richey, nominee to be Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the Department of Education, and Daniel Aronowitz, nominee to be Assistant Secretary of Labor for the Employee Benefits Security Administration at the Department of Labor. They discussed the importance of protecting Title IX and promoting school choice.

    Read Sen. Tuberville’s remarks below or watch on YouTube or Rumble.

    ON PROMOTING SCHOOL CHOICE:

    TUBERVILLE: “Thanks for all of you [being] willing to serve. It’s a privilege to have you all here. Doctor Schwinn, I wonder if people can give the definition of ‘national emergency.’ That’s what we have in our education system. It’s pitiful. I’ve been in it 35 years and it’s getting worse. The last four years, we just brushed over the problems, didn’t try to correct any. I would hope that you would be really involved in this. Our kids can’t read and write, [the] majority of them. It’s a disaster. It’s a shame. It’s criminal, to be honest with you.

    [Holds up cellphone] would you please get that out of the classroom? Because kids can’t learn when they’re looking at a text. I’m sick of hearing about ‘we need those in the classroom.’ Let’s take our schools back. We’ve given it over to the people who actually don’t want to educate our kids.

    So, thanks for your background in educational agencies. If confirmed, I hope you would assist Secretary McMahon in executing at the more local level. Can you address that?”

    SCHWINN: “Absolutely, and thank you for that. I couldn’t agree more as the parent of a thirteen-year-old. So, absolutely, one of the things that we did in Tennessee that I think was the secret sauce and has been over a long period of time is that locals know what’s best for their communities and their students. Memphis, Tennessee and Lake County, Tennessee are three to four hours apart and could not be more different. My home state of California and my adopted home state of Tennessee could not be more different. We need to make sure that locals are empowered to make the best decisions for their students. And when the money is closest to the child, when the decisions are closest to the child, we can best serve the child. And I am completely aligned with Secretary McMahon to ensure that we can help our states and our local communities to make the best decisions for their students in their communities.”

    TUBERVILLE: “School choice should be an option. I’ve been in many inner-city schools. For some reason, a lot of my colleagues do not want to educate kids in inner cities. School choice should be mandatory in a lot of our inner cities because they can’t read and write. If you can’t read and write, you can’t take advantage of the greatest country ever.”

    ON PROTECTING TITLE IX:

    TUBERVILLE: “Ms. Richey, Title IX, the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act, is what I’ve been trying to get passed for years. It makes no sense to me what’s going on. I mean, we’ve got a huge problem. We can’t define the difference of men playing in women’s sports. It’s dangerous. We all know that. I mean, it’s something that we’d better get straight because little girls aren’t going to get into sports and we’re not going to have women’s sports 10, 15years from now. We’ve got entire high school teams that are made now of transgender boys that can’t figure out that they’re not supposed to be in that—that it’s for women. But what are your thoughts on that?”

    RICHEY: “Yes, sir. Thank you, Senator, for the question. I grew up playing basketball, and played into college. I could not have competed against biological men. It just was not something that I would have been able to do. One of the things I’m really proud of under the first term is that [the] OCR investigated and took to enforcement one of the very first cases initiated by the federal government, which actually determined that policies that allow students to participate based on sexual orientation or gender identity actually violated Title IX because they deprive women and girls of the opportunity to participate in athletics. I’m very proud of that. I’m very proud of the way that the Secretary and the President have prioritized this issue, and I’m certainly committed to vigorously enforcing it and continuing to pursue these cases.”

    TUBERVILLE: “Thank you. We’ve got the Olympics here in a couple of years—[in] a few years in LA. We’re going be a joke if we allow that to happen on the world stage. So, hopefully we come to our senses by that time and show little girls that, ‘yes, you do have an opportunity.’”

    ON THE FINANCIAL FREEDOM ACT:

    TUBERVILLE: “[The] Financial Freedom Act. I think you, Mr. Aronowitz, are familiar with that. The Biden administration pretty much prohibited being able to put your finances where you wanted to, at the end of the day. I’ve been trying to get that passed. Would you commit to supporting legislation that would provide Americans the freedom to invest their own money how they see fit?”

    ARONOWITZ: “Absolutely, Senator. I believe that fiduciaries should decide what’s in retirement plans, not government bureaucrats, not plaintiff lawyers, no one else. Fiduciaries know what’s best, and I am committed to that.”

    TUBERVILLE: “Thank you. Mr. Chairman.”

    Senator Tommy Tuberville represents Alabama in the United States Senate and is a member of the Senate Armed Services, Agriculture, Veterans’ Affairs, HELP and Aging Committees.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Tuberville Speaks About Importance of Protecting Alabama’s Family Farms

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Tommy Tuberville (Alabama)
    WASHINGTON – Yesterday, U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) spoke about the importance of protecting Alabama’s family farms during a Senate Special Committee on Aging hearing. During the hearing, Sen. Tuberville spoke with Zippy Duvall, President of the American Farm Bureau Federation, Jim Alderman, Owner of Alderman Farms, and Aaron Locker, Managing Director of Kincannon & Reed.
    Read Sen. Tuberville’s remarks below or watch on Youtube or Rumble.
    ON HIGH COSTS IMPACTING AMERICAN FARMERS: 
    TUBERVILLE: “Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for having and holding this hearing. In addition to being on the Aging Committee, gentlemen, I’m also on the Ag Committee. Let me tell you, the state of our agriculture economy, it’s in dire straits. We’re in trouble. We’ve lost 150,000 farms, [and] 25,000 farmers just in the last five years. Producers have lost over $40 billion dollars in net farm income since 2022 and the current agriculture trade deficit has grown to $49 billion dollars. Despite [this], in my state of Alabama, the producers [are] making bumper crops, they can’t even break even, much less make a profit due to the low commodity prices, high input costs, interest rates and inflation. We can’t keep this up. We can’t do it. The only way we’re going to help our farmers survive is to extend President Trump’s tax cuts, increase references prices, and hammer the heck out of foreign countries on tariffs. It is way out of control, way out of balance. We cannot continue this direction.”
    ON FARM LABOR:
    TUBERVILLE: “It’s concerning that one-third of our farmers are over the age of 65. And this creates a significant workforce problem for our ag industry as young people are not entering farming. Mr. Duvall and Mr. Alderman, this labor problem increases the need for reforms in H-2A programs. Can you two speak of the struggles of keeping up with H-2A’s Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEWR) that is over $16 dollars an hour in my state of Alabama—that is double the minimum wage. Can y’all address that, please?”
    ALDERMAN: “Yes, sir. I can.”
    TUBERVILLE: “Thank you.”
    ALDERMAN: “It costs me between $22 to $24 dollars an hour from my H-2A labor. Okay? Minimum wage in Florida, I think, is $12.50. I’m from Florida. And with the rates going up higher—next year they’re going up and they’re talking about going up another dollar—we still have to pay for their housing. We’d like some relief at least we could get the housing back from the people, the H-2A workers who we are bringing in. We spend, you know, hundreds of thousands of dollars every year just for housing for the labor. Plus, we have to bring them in here, pay for their visas, pay for their ride here, their ride back. They’re great labor. They’re good. Without them, we couldn’t harvest our crops. But we can’t compete with the cheap prices of tomatoes coming from Mexico against us. They undercut the price—it’s so cheap. […] The tariffs that we’re talking about is not enough to make any difference. 20%, 17%, that’s not enough to help it. They need a floor of at least what our minimum growing cost is and then put a tariff above that. But try to protect the Florida farmers, the few that are left, not only just in Florida, because at first, it was just Mexico was coming after Florida tomato farmers right after NAFTA. Well, 20 years later, they’re growing pepper and squash and corn and beans and every vegetable we grow all the way up the East Coast, all the way to Jersey and past. They’re going to be competing with all of them, Mexico with all those products. And their labor is, I don’t know, what are they paying $10 dollars a day and we’re paying $25 dollars an hour? There’s got to be some help with the balance of trade. We don’t want the government to give us anything, but get us on a level playing field with Mexico and Canada.”
    TUBERVILLE: “Thank you. Mr. Duvall, you want to add to that?”
    DUVALL: “Yes, sir. First thing we need to do is for Congress to freeze the AEWR wage rate so that farmers don’t have to take another increase and give us time to work on this H-2A program so that we can make it a workable program for our employees and for the farmer there. If the way we’re going now with the wage rate going up, we’re gonna price ourselves out of farming. We’re not gonna be able to pay the wage rate and stay in the farming and provide those jobs. And it’s gotta be done, it’s gotta be done quickly. And then we gotta work on creating an H-2A program or a program that speaks to all of agriculture. All of agriculture is suffering for the lack of labor, and we need to have year-round workers that’s not capped. We need to be able to control it, but we need to be able to fill those jobs, whether a small, medium, or large-sized farm, and we need to have those year-round workers in those areas like dairy and other places where the work never stops. And then, of course, the regulations that go along with those programs are just so burdensome. You heard him talk about the requirement of having housing—the liabilities that come along with that and the difficulty it is for our farmers to continue to abide by all these regulations because every regulation costs a lot of money to a farmer. And if we’re gonna continue to be able to compete with the world, we gotta be able to make sure that we have a workable program, bring reliable labor here so that we can get the job done. […] How can a young farmer come back to the farm and bring his expertise that he learned in college [and] expand that farm without having the labor force to do it with? That’s one of the biggest limiting factors we have. And that AEWR rate is set by a survey done by USDA that was created over 60 years ago to count employees, not to set a wage rate. The formula is totally […] unworkable, and we need to redo that formula and set a fair wage rate that encourages farmers to hire people and be able to still stay in business and to treat their employees right.”
    ON IMPORTANCE OF REPEALING THE DEATH TAX:
    TUBERVILLE: “I got one question, Mr. Locker, we’ll start with you. All of you can answer if you want—your thoughts on this. As long as I’ve been up here, I’ve been advocating to permanently repeal the federal estate tax, which is often called the ‘death tax.’ I know it means a lot to farmers. So, Mr. Locker, we’ll start with you—your thoughts?”
    LOCKER: “Well, Senator, I think, obviously, you look at modern agriculture today, I mean, it is a massive investment. Even small farms, I mean, if you add up all the assets. And, so, anytime that you want to pass that along to the next generation, it comes at a significant cost and in many cases is cost prohibitive. And so, yeah, doing away with the death tax. And I think we get, you know, bottled in with, you know, other businesses and it couldn’t be farther from the truth in terms of comparable that, you know, when you’re passing along a farm business, it comes with, like I said, a lot of costs, a lot of assets, it takes a lot to run a farm today. And so doing away with the estate, the death tax is the right thing to do. To be able to continue to pass it down to the next generation—otherwise it becomes cost prohibitive.”
    TUBERVILLE: “Mr. Duvall, you got it.”
    DUVALL: “It’s absolutely one of the necessary things that we need to do. [A farmer] works all his life. I’ve spent my whole life buying back my farm—my daddy had to sell part of it off—my whole life. And if we don’t fix that problem, if we don’t get rid of the inheritance tax, other generations will have to sell a farm and that farm will go out of production, and we will not enjoy the production from those farms. And it has to be done. You know, it’s just like people say, ‘Well, you got a lot of land, you got a lot of wealth.’ You have to have land to farm. It’s just like having a tractor. It’s just like having a car to go to work in every day, even if you’re not farming. It’s something you have to have to do that job. But, show me a farmer that has a retirement plan. It’s tied up in his land. It’s tied up in his land. And when he retires, he’s either got to sell his land or sell it to his children. And then if you pile inheritance tax on top of that, they have to sell part of the farm to be able to continue it. And it is one of the biggest devastating things that can happen to a family farm when you have a death and have to go through that difficult time.”
    TUBERVILLE: “Mr. Alderman?”
    ALDERMAN: “I agree with you wholeheartedly. It’s double taxation. It shouldn’t be there. You’ve already paid the taxes once. Why are you going to just put somebody out of business or make them sell their business or the farm? It shouldn’t be there. I agree with you.” […]
    Senator Tommy Tuberville represents Alabama in the United States Senate and is a member of the Senate Armed Services, Agriculture, Veterans’ Affairs, HELP and Aging Committees.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Restores American Airspace Sovereignty

    US Senate News:

    Source: US Whitehouse
    ENSURING AMERICAN SOVEREIGNTY OVER ITS SKIES: Today, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order to ensure American sovereignty over its skies and a safe and secure airspace.
    Unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), otherwise known as drones, pose a growing threat as criminals, terrorists, and hostile foreign actors increasingly weaponize these technologies to endanger public safety and national security. 
    The Order establishes the Federal Task Force to Restore American Airspace Sovereignty to review and propose solutions to UAS threats.
    It directs the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to establish a process to restrict drone flights over critical infrastructure and other public facilities.  
    It instructs the FAA Administrator to make Notices to Airmen and Temporary Flight Restrictions freely available online for drone geofencing and Aircraft Navigation and Guidance system purposes.
    The Order requires the Attorney General and FAA Administrator to increase enforcement of civil and criminal laws against drone operators endangering the public, violating airspace restrictions, or committing a crime.
    It authorizes Federal agencies to use existing authorities to detect, track, and identify drones and drone signals, and enables state, local, tribal, and territorial  law enforcement agencies to access grant programs for similar equipment.
    The Order mandates the publication of guidance to help private critical infrastructure owners and operators employ drone detection technologies.
    It calls for a risk-based assessment to designate borders, large airports, Federal facilities, critical infrastructure, and military installations as protected areas.
    The Order directs the Attorney General and Secretary of Homeland Security to explore integrating counter-UAS operation responses as part of Joint Terrorism Task Forces that are stood up for mass gathering events.
    It also directs the Administration to create a National Training Center for Counter-UAS to build the needed counter-UAS capacity to secure major events like the 2026 FIFA World Cup and 2028 Summer Olympics.  
    ADDRESSING GROWING DRONE THREATS: President Trump is taking decisive action to counter the escalating misuse of drones.
    Criminals, terrorists, and hostile foreign actors have intensified their weaponization of drone technologies, creating new and serious threats to our homeland.
    Drug cartels use drones to smuggle fentanyl across our borders, deliver contraband into prisons, surveil law enforcement, and otherwise endanger the public.
    Mass gatherings are vulnerable to disruptions and threats by unauthorized drone flights.
    Critical infrastructure, including military bases, is subject to frequent—and often unidentified—drone incursions.
    ADVANCING NATIONAL SECURITY: President Trumphas consistently prioritized making America safe and secure. 
    Immediately upon taking office, President Trump fulfilled his promise to address the mysterious drone sightings in New Jersey by clarifying that these were FAA-authorized flights, not a national security threat.
    President Trump has deployed drones to patrol the southern border, strengthening national security through advanced surveillance and monitoring capabilities.
    President Trump has advanced cutting-edge drone technologies through smart, targeted regulation, unlocking economic growth while strengthening safety, security, and innovation.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Reprioritizes Cybersecurity Efforts to Protect America

    US Senate News:

    Source: US Whitehouse
    STRENGTHENING THE NATION’S CYBERSECURITY: Today, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order to strengthen the nation’s cybersecurity by focusing on critical protections against foreign cyber threats and enhancing secure technology practices.
    The Order amends problematic elements of Obama and Biden-era Executive Orders (14144 and 13694).
    The Order directs the Federal government to advance secure software development.
    It directs department and agency level action on border gateway security to defeat hijacking of network interconnections.
    The Order directs department and agency level actions on post-quantum cryptography to ensure protection against threats that may leverage next generation compute architectures.
    The Order directs adoption of the latest encryption protocols.
    It refocuses artificial intelligence (AI) cybersecurity efforts towards identifying and managing vulnerabilities, rather than censorship.
    The Order directs technical measures to promulgate cybersecurity policy, including machine readable policy standards and formal trust designations for “Internet of Things” as a way to ensure that Americans can know that their personal and home devices meet basic security engineering principles.
    It limits the application of cyber sanctions only to foreign malicious actors, preventing misuse against domestic political opponents and clarifying that sanctions do not apply to election-related activities.
    The Order strips away inappropriate measures outside of core cybersecurity focus, including removing a mandate for U.S. government issued digital IDs for illegal aliens that would have facilitated entitlement fraud and other abuse.
    REPRIORITIZING CYBERSECURITY EFFORTS: President Trump is taking decisive action to address real technical challenges and enduring cyber security threats.
    Just days before President Trump took office, the Biden Administration attempted to sneak problematic and distracting issues into cybersecurity policy. This included:
    Introducing digital identity mandates that risked widespread abuse by enabling illegal immigrants to improperly access public benefits.
    Imposing unproven and burdensome software accounting processes that prioritized compliance checklists over genuine security investments.
    Micromanaging technical cybersecurity decisions better handled at the department and agency level, where budget tradeoffs and innovative solutions can be more effectively evaluated and implemented.

    Cybersecurity is too important to be reduced to a mere political football.
    Adversaries routinely threaten our critical infrastructure, personal devices, and the fabrics of our digital lives.
    ADVANCING NATIONAL CYBER SECURITY: President Trump is advancing cybersecurity for the safety of all Americans.
    President Trump has made it clear that this Administration will do what it takes to make America cyber secure—including focusing relentlessly on technical and organizational professionalism to improve the security and resilience of the nation’s information systems and networks.
    Since the first day he entered office, President Trump has been steadfast in his commitment to eliminate fraud and abuse across the Federal Government.
    President Trump has already taken action to remove barriers to AI innovation, ensuring that our technology sector remains competitive at the cutting edge of new developments and free from ideological bias.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Unleashes American Drone Dominance

    US Senate News:

    Source: US Whitehouse
    UNLEASHING AMERICAN DRONE DOMINANCE: Today, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order to ensure continued American leadership in the development, commercialization, and export of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS)—otherwise known as drones. 
    The Order directs the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to expand drone operations by enabling routine “Beyond Visual Line of Sight” drone operations for commercial and public safety missions, and to accelerate the development, testing, and scaling of American drone technologies, including advanced air mobility and autonomous operations.
    The Order establishes an electric “Vertical Takeoff and Landing” integration pilot program to accelerate the deployment of safe and lawful vertical operations in the United States, selecting at least five pilot projects to advance applications like cargo transport and medical response.
    It directs the FAA Administrator to deploy artificial intelligence (AI) tools to streamline and expedite UAS waiver reviews.
    The Order directs the FAA Administrator to publish an updated roadmap for the integration of civil UAS into the National Airspace System.
    It strengthens the domestic drone industrial base by prioritizing U.S.-manufactured UAS, promoting their export and taking action to ensure our technology remains secure from undue foreign influence and exploitation.
    It enhances global competitiveness by streamlining regulations, expanding market access, and utilizing federal financing tools.
    The Order supports the warfighter by expanding access to U.S.-manufactured high-performing drones while streamlining airspace and spectrum access.
    DRIVING INNOVATION AND ECONOMIC GROWTH: President Trump is harnessing the potential of drones to boost American productivity and global leadership.
    Drones enhance U.S. productivity, create high-skilled jobs, and are reshaping the future of aviation in areas such as logistics, infrastructure inspection, precision agriculture, emergency response, and public safety.
    Emerging technologies, such as vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, promise to modernize methods for cargo delivery, passenger transport, and other advanced air mobility capabilities.
    For too long, unfair foreign competition has posed a national security risk, disincentivizing our drone industrial base. This order is removing regulatory barriers and directing federal agencies to prioritize U.S.-manufactured drones, secure our supply chains, and promote American leadership in production, certification, and export.
    ADVANCING DRONE TECHNOLOGIES: President Trump is advancing drone technologies for economic, security, and public safety benefits.
    In his first term, President Trump signed a Presidential Memorandum to speed up commercial drone integration, launching a UAS Integration Pilot Program to test innovative applications with State, local, and tribal partners.  
    President Trump has deployed UAS to patrol the southern border, strengthening national security through advanced surveillance and monitoring capabilities.
    President Trump has advanced cutting-edge drone technologies through smart, targeted regulation, unlocking economic growth while strengthening safety, security, and innovation.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Takes Action to Lead the World in Supersonic Flight

    US Senate News:

    Source: US Whitehouse
    LEADING THE WORLD IN SUPERSONIC FLIGHT: Today, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order to promote supersonic aviation in the United States.
    America once led the world in supersonic aviation, but decades of stifling regulations grounded progress. This Order removes regulatory barriers so that U.S. companies can dominate supersonic flight once again.
    The Order directs the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to repeal the prohibition on overland supersonic flight, establish an interim noise-based certification standard, and repeal other regulations that hinder supersonic flight.
    The Order instructs the FAA Administrator to establish a standard for supersonic aircraft noise certification that considers community acceptability, economic reasonableness, and technological feasibility.
    The Order advances the coordination of supersonic research, development, test and evaluation efforts through the National Science and Technology Council with leadership from the Office of Science and Technology Policy.
    It promotes international engagement through the FAA and other agencies to align global supersonic flight regulations and secure bilateral agreements for international operations.
    USHERING IN A NEW CHAPTER IN AEROSPACE INNOVATION: President Trump is launching a historic national effort to reestablish the United States as the undisputed leader in high-speed aviation.
    For more than fifty years, outdated and overly restrictive regulations have grounded the promise of supersonic flight, stifling American ingenuity and weakening our global competitiveness in aviation.
    Advances in aerospace engineering, materials science, and noise reduction now make supersonic flight not just possible, but safe, sustainable, and commercially viable.
    American companies developing supersonic aircraft have already entered into government contracts and agreements with major commercial airlines, such as United Airlines and American Airlines, who have committed to purchase supersonic jets to enhance their fleets with faster travel options.
    By removing decades-old regulatory barriers and promoting cutting-edge supersonic technology, President Trump is Making Aviation Great Again.
    ADVANCING AMERICA’S TECHNOLOGICAL LEADERSHIP: President Trump is ensuring U.S. dominance in cutting-edge technologies, prioritizing innovation and global competitiveness.
    President Trump signed Executive Orders to enhance America’s global artificial intelligence (AI) dominance and advance AI education for America’s youth.
    He signed multiple Executive Orders to advance nuclear technologies and ensure a reliable, clean, and affordable domestic energy supply.
    The President signed an Executive Order to restore Gold Standard Science as the cornerstone of Federal scientific research and ensure that Federal decision-making is informed by the most credible, reliable, and impartial scientific evidence available. 
    President Trump has prioritized deregulation to spur innovation and economic growth.
    This includes issuing Executive Orders mandating the repeal of 10 regulations for each new one proposed, requiring the automatic rescission of outdated regulations, and eliminating anti-competitive regulations.  

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Warner & Kaine Slam House GOP’s Effort to Help Trump Ignore Court Orders

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Virginia Tim Kaine

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine, a former civil rights attorney and constitutional law professor, (both D-VA) issued the following statement regarding a provision in the tax proposal passed by the Republican-led House of Representatives that would make it harder for federal judges to hold government officials accountable when they act lawlessly:

    “The reason district courts are blocking many of President Trump’s actions is because these actions are illegal. Presidents are not kings, no American is above the law, and House Republicans’ attack on checks and balances through this obscure provision hidden in their partisan tax bill is irresponsible and cowardly. Now it’s up to our Republican counterparts here in the Senate to figure out two things – first, how the heck this provision is even relevant to a tax bill; and second, whether they have the courage and the respect for the U.S. Constitution to vote this down.”

    Warner and Kaine have been sounding the alarm about the effects of the GOP plan on Virginia families if Republicans in Congress continue to insist on gutting vital programs in order to pay for tax breaks for the richest Americans. The senators have noted that the GOP bill would strip health insurance from Virginians, cut SNAP benefits for more than 204,000 people in Virginia, raise energy costs for Virginia households, and jeopardize more than 20,000 Virginia jobs. The bill would also explode the deficit, eliminate a program allowing Americans to file federal taxes for free, raise taxes on minimum-wage workers while giving the richest 0.1% a $188,000 tax cut, and eliminate gun safety measures.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: In Wake of DCA Tragedy, Warner, Kaine, Colleagues Introduce Safe Operation of Shared Airspace Act

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Virginia Tim Kaine

    WASHINGTON — U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) joined U.S. Sens. Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Aviation, Space, and Innovation, Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), and Ed Markey (D-MA) in introducing the Safe Operation of Shared Airspace Act of 2025 to strengthen aviation safety. The legislation follows Warner and Kaine’s years-long advocacy against further crowding in the capital area airspace – which will continue – and comes in direct response to the January 29, 2025 collision between an Army Black Hawk helicopter and a regional commercial jet operating as American Airlines flight 5342 near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) that took the lives of 67 people.

    The crash exposed multiple system failures, including the Army Black Hawk not transmitting safety-enhancing ADS-B technology (radio systems that aircraft use to share their positions with each other and with air traffic control), unsafe route design for mixed traffic near DCA, and lack of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Department of Defense (DoD) coordination to prevent future incidents. The Safe Operation of Shared Airspace Act of 2025 addresses these specific failures, as well as broader long-standing FAA air traffic controller shortages, FAA internal safety management systems, and the need for important post-accident safety reviews.

    “Ensuring the safety of our nation’s air travel is critical, and as we have seen with tragedies and incidents in Virginia and across the country, an urgent matter,” said Sen. Warner. “The legislation takes important steps to strengthen critical safety measures, boost job training and recruitment efforts, and ensure coordination between the Department of Defense and FAA in order to better protect the millions of Americans who travel by air daily.”

    “The crash at DCA was a tragedy, and we have a responsibility to the loved ones of those we lost and the American public to make changes to ensure this never happens again,” said Sen. Kaine. “This bill includes a number of important steps, such as mandating a safety review of flight operations in the National Capital Region, improving air traffic controller hiring and training, and enhancing employee reporting and transparency. I will continue to do more to prevent another crash like this from occurring, including pushing to remove slots at DCA to address the congested airspace in the region.”

    “We are grateful to Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, whose teams were the very first we met with on Capitol Hill as we began our advocacy journey. Over the past four months, they have remained consistently engaged, responsive, and supportive. Senator Warner’s and Senator Kaine’s dedication to aviation safety – both for the people of Virginia and across our national airspace – has been clear and unwavering. We thank them for joining with Senator Cantwell and putting forth this comprehensive aviation safety bill,” said the families of Flight 5342.

    The Safe Operation of Shared Airspace Act of 2025 includes several of Sens. Warner and Kaine’s priorities and will: 

    • Strengthen Aviation Safety to Protect the Flying Public by:
      • Closing the ADS-B Out Military Loophole: The bill ends certain Department of Defense (DoD) and other federal agency exemptions from using Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) Out near DCA and other busy airports. The Army Black Hawk involved in the Jan. 29 crash was equipped with ADS-B Out, but it was not transmitting. The Army operated “100% of missions” in the National Capital Region with this critical safety technology deactivated and not transmitting, making military aircraft invisible to air traffic controllers and nearby planes.
      • Expanding Use of ADS-B In to Boost Safety: Within four years of enactment, the legislation requires all mainline and regional airlines to install ADS-B In and operate with it activated unless otherwise instructed by FAA air traffic control. This technology allows pilots to see nearby aircraft on their displays, and ensures better separation from other aircraft, dramatically improving situational awareness.
      • Initiating FAA Safety Review of DCA Airspace Management and Other Busy Airports to Prevent Close Calls and Tragic Crashes: The bill requires a comprehensive FAA/DoD safety review of DCA airspace to assess how helicopter, drone and military flights impact commercial operations and to better prevent future incidents. And it ensures a thorough evaluation of all non-commercial flight routes near the airport. The bill requires the same comprehensive FAA/DoD safety review of other busy U.S. airports (other Class B airports), prioritizing safety reviews of such airports with high volumes of mixed flight traffic.
      • Creating Independent Expert Review Panel for Effective SMS at FAA:  The legislation creates an independent expert panel to review FAA’s Safety Management System and ensure it is effective and integrated across all FAA operations within 180 days. The panel will include aviation safety experts, labor representatives, and NASA officials to lend their specific expertise to ensure the review is comprehensive.
      • Requiring Risk Assessments After Major Aircraft Accidents: The bill requires FAA to do a safety risk assessment – specifically a Transport Airplane Risk Assessment Methodology (TARAM) analysis – following any major, fatal airline crash, regardless of whether the crash is linked to an aircraft design or manufacturing issue.
    • Grow and Protect FAA Staffing Now and in the Future by:
      • Expanding High-Quality Controller Training Pipeline and Boosts Hiring: The bill codifies FAA’s existing Enhanced Air Traffic-Collegiate Training (Enhanced AT-CTI) program, which boosts FAA controller training capacity and allows FAA to hire highly qualified college graduates directly into air traffic control facilities to begin as controller trainees. The graduates have to have completed FAA-certified air traffic curriculums and meet other FAA controller qualifications, which would ensure an equivalent level of education and training from qualified evaluators to that of the FAA Academy. By adding nine certified Enhanced AT-CTI schools for a target of 15 total schools, FAA will be able to hire hundreds more controller trainees each year into its controller training pipeline to boost controller staffing. The bill also extends the requirement for FAA to hire as many controllers as possible through 2033.
      • Protecting FAA Workforce from Cuts and Hiring Freezes: The legislation reverses the Trump Administration’s hiring freeze and prohibits future hiring freezes on FAA’s safety workforce. It also prohibits any Executive Branch action to offer deferred resignation programs or voluntary buyouts to FAA workforce.
      • Closing Medical Review Backlogs: The bill requires FAA to hire more licensed medical professionals to fully staff its Aviation Medical Examiner team, addressing persistent backlogs in medical reviews for controllers, pilots, and other safety critical aviation professionals.
      • Creating New Controller Instructor Recruitment Program: The legislation requires a new FAA outreach program recruiting experienced controllers approaching retirement to become instructors at FAA’s Academy or at understaffed air traffic facilities.
    • Ensure Better FAA Oversight and Demand Information Sharing and Communication Between FAA and DOD
      • Establishing First-Ever FAA Oversight Office for Military Aviation Coordination: The bill establishes a dedicated FAA oversight office to oversee and coordinate military aircraft and helicopter flights and carry out airspace safety reviews, ensuring stronger communication between the Department of Defense and FAA offices to prevent future incidents.
      • Establishing a New Joint FAA-DoD Council on ADS-B: The bill establishes a joint FAA-Department of Defense Council to regularly review Federal government operations using ADS-B Out exemptions to ensure they meet the law.
      • Improving FAA and Military Aviation Safety Information Sharing: The bill would require aviation safety data sharing between the Department of Defense and the FAA via MOUs with each military service. For example, the Army does not typically share safety information from its Aviation Safety Management Information System with FAA except through lengthy Freedom of Information Act requests.
      • Preventing Conflicts of Interest at FAA: The legislation requires a Department of Transportation (DOT) rulemaking to ensure the DOT and the FAA are abiding by Federal government-wide financial conflicts of interest law and a DOT Inspector General Review of conflicts of interest at the DOT and FAA.
      • Requiring GAO Investigation of DOD Exemption Abuse: The bill requires the Government Accountability Office to investigate whether the Department of Defense and other Federal agencies have been misusing ADS-B, and determine whether agencies followed the law.

    Sens. Warner and Kaine have been closely involved with the in the investigation of the January 29th collision, meeting with first responders and offering condolences to the families and loved ones of the 67 lives lost immediately following the tragedy. The senators also saw through passage of a legislation to remember the victims of the crash. Sens. Warner and Kaine also requested answers from FAA on its plans to protect the flying public in the wake of the January 29 collision. In March of this year, the senators responded to the preliminary National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) report on the crash. The senators have also sounded the alarm for years about the need for increased safety for the flying public, including fighting against additional flights out of DCA that contribute to overcrowding. 

    A copy of the legislation is available here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: ICYMI: Hickenlooper Chairs Small Business Committee Field Hearing Highlighting Tariff Threat to Outdoor Rec Industry

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Colorado John Hickenlooper
    Hickenlooper: “We’re sustaining losses here that are needless, and they’re going to be long lasting, and they affect every aspect of our country.”
    WASHINGTON – In case you missed it, U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper recently chaired a field hearing of the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee in Denver to underline the strain the outdoor recreation industry is facing under the Trump administration’s chaotic tariffs. 
    Watch the full field hearing HERE
    During the hearing, Hickenlooper emphasized that the Trump administration’s blanket tariffs are disproportionally hurting working people across the country:
    “Certainly, the people that are going to elegant dinners in Mar-a-Lago or anywhere, this isn’t as much of an issue for them,” Hickenlooper said at the hearing. “But many small businesses are really caught up in this storm and struggling to survive.”
    Hickenlooper was joined by witnesses representing three Colorado outdoor recreation businesses including Travis Campbell, the owner and CEO of Eagle Creek, an adventure travel gear company based in Steamboat Springs; Mike Mojica, the Founder of Outdoor Element, an adventure gear company based in Englewood; and Trent Bush, Founder and Co-CEO of ARTILECT Studio, a performance apparel studio based in Boulder.
    “In our 50th year of operations we could be possibly put out of business through these ill-conceived tariff plans,” said Campbell. “Eagle Creek immediately took dramatic steps to stay afloat. We froze salary increases that we had just implemented to our teams, we halted the hiring of two exceptional new people that we planned to bring on board, we cut spending across the board…” 
    “We just came off our best year ever. And then, a couple months ago happened. Overnight, tariffs on our core products jumped to 145%…What I thought was an approachable path to the American dream has suddenly turned into quicksand,” said Mojica. “We had to pause production — tell factories to hold the goods and not ship them…I’ve lost a wholesale account, I had to lay off team members, I’ve asked others to work less hours…”
    “I held on to producing in the U.S. as long as I possibly could. And I feel I’ve done everything I was asked to do since, including moving production out of China six years ago,” said Bush. “Now even those staggering high tariffs outside China may force my business to close. This just isn’t the American dream I’ve believed in and I’ve tried so hard over all those years to achieve.”
    Check out the coverage below:
    Colorado Sun: Colorado outdoor companies limping through uncertainty in trade war
    Hickenlooper’s committee hearing — held at History Colorado and titled “Beyond the Trailhead: Supporting Outdoor Recreation in an Uncertain Economy” — included Mike Mojica, the founder and CEO of Outdoor Element, which designs adventure survival equipment in Englewood, and outdoor apparel veteran Trent Bush, the founder and co-CEO the new Artilect Studio in Boulder.
    Mojica, a mechanical engineer who fine-tuned his survival gear business in theMoosejaw Business Accelerator program in 2022, said his company posted a record year in 2024.
    “What I thought was a path to the American dream has become quicksand,” he said of tariffs that have forced him to sell his gear for zero profit. “Trade policy is supposed to provide business with the certainty we need to make long-term decisions and right now that certainty is missing. I’m no longer trying to thrive. I’m trying to survive.”
    AXIOS Denver: Colorado’s outdoor industry suffering from trade war
    Travis Campbell shelled out an additional $580,000. Mike Mojica raised prices and laid off workers. Trent Bush is worried he may go out of business.
    What they’re saying: “When you add that all up, the [impacts of tariffs] mean lower wages, fewer jobs and less spending in the economy,” Campbell said at a congressional hearing Friday in Denver hosted by U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper. “I don’t think that’s what we’re aiming for.”
    E&E News: Outdoor recreation field hearing to focus on tariff impacts
    The Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee will hold a hearing in Colorado on Friday focused on the outdoor recreation economy in tough times.
    Titled “Beyond the Trailhead: Supporting Outdoor Recreation in an Uncertain Economy,” the hearing will focus on ways Congress can support the outdoor recreation industry, which is valued at more than $1 trillion and has grown significantly since the Covid-19 pandemic.
    The field hearing, hosted by Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), will hear testimony from three outdoor recreation retailers that have been saddled by the Trump administration’s tariff regime.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Ernst Works to Bring Washington Out of the Stone Age

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA)
    Published: June 5, 2025
    WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), chair of the Senate DOGE Caucus, introduced the bipartisan Strengthening Agency Management and Oversight of Software Assets (SAMOSA) Act that aims to bring government computer systems out of the Stone Age by consolidating the cloud computing software licenses to save taxpayers $750 million a year.
    “The federal government’s ancient computers and outdated, noncompetitive bidding process for software contracts cost taxpayers hundreds of millions every year,” said Ernst. “Through the SAMOSA Act, we can bring Washington out of the Stone Age and into the 21st Century to save Americans’ hard-earned tax dollars. Let’s pass this bipartisan bill to force federal agencies to take commonsense steps when purchasing software.”
    The bill is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Bill Cassidy (R-La), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).
    Background:
    Last November, Ernst included this idea as part of her proposal to save $2 trillion in waste with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Ernst Pushes to Strengthen Farm Safety Net, Make Crop Insurance More Affordable

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA)
    WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, is working to strengthen crop insurance and make higher levels of coverage more affordable for farmers.
    She joined Senator John Hoeven (R-N.D.) in supporting the Federal Agriculture Risk Management Enhancement and Resilience (FARMER) Act to improve the affordability and coverage of federal crop insurance by increasing premium support for the highest levels of coverage, shrinking producer deductibles, and ultimately reducing the need for ad hoc disaster assistance in the future.
    “Crop insurance is an essential tool our hardworking farmers rely on to protect their livelihoods as they work to feed and fuel our world. It’s become painfully clear in recent years that existing coverage levels leave significant gaps, denying our farmers the access to affordable risk management options they need,” said Senator Ernst. “The FARMER Act will ensure folks are better equipped to be resilient in the face of the unpredictability and challenges each growing season brings.”
    Background:
    Ernst has helped propel efforts to improve federal crop insurance and spotlighted its critical role in providing certainty for Iowa farmers, especially in the face of natural disasters. During the 2020 derecho, she urged the United States Department of Agriculture to provide Iowa farmers with additional support and relief when crop insurance was unable to cover all of the total crop losses.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Ernst, Bean Work to Eliminate Billions in Bogus Payments

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA)
    WASHINGTON – DOGE Caucus Chairs Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and Aaron Bean (R-Fla.) are codifying one of the Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) largest cost savings actions to identify and stop fraudulent and improper payments after more than $160 billion occurred in Fiscal Year 2024.
    Before any expenditure goes out the door, the Delivering On Government Efficiency (DOGE) in Spending Act will require the Department of Treasury to have a description of the payment, link it to a budget account, and crosscheck the payment against government databases to ensure accuracy and eligibility.
    “Requiring the government to answer basic questions before spending tax dollars will save billions over the next decade,” said Ernst. “Enacting safeguards to spending has been one of the Trump administration’s and DOGE’s greatest triumphs, and I am determined to codify it and make it permanent. At $36 trillion in debt, the cost of inaction is too high, and I will continue to lead the fight in Washington to root out waste, fraud, and abuse.”
    “For too long, improper and fraudulent payments have drained resources and undermined trust in government spending,” said Bean. “The American people deserve responsible stewardship of their tax dollars, and this bill delivers exactly that. By ensuring federal payments are accurate, transparent, and verifiable, we are eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse in the federal government. This legislation takes the first critical step toward codifying DOGE efforts into law—bringing real oversight and integrity to the way taxpayer dollars are managed.” 
    The bill is cosponsored in the Senate by Senators Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Ted Budd (R-N.C.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Katie Britt (R-Ala.), and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa.).
    “The American people sent a clear message by electing President Trump,” said Grassley. “They’re fed up with the wasteful spending and bloated bureaucracy. Since my first term in the Senate, I’ve worked to root out waste, fraud and abuse, and I’m glad to support this legislation to boost transparency, strengthen internal controls and improve the stewardship of taxpayers’ hard-earned money.”
    “With America $36 trillion in debt, we cannot afford a system with no accountability over where billions in taxpayer dollars are going,” said Lummis. “We are buried in red ink, but thanks to President Trump’s historic push to root out waste, fraud, and abuse, we now have a path forward. I am proud to join Senator Ernst in making critical cost-saving reforms permanent.”
    “The federal government must be held accountable for every tax dollar spent,” said Lee. “The DOGE In Spending Act will codify part of President Trump’s fiscal plan by ensuring payments are properly reported and tracked. Increasing transparency, cutting waste, and preventing fraud are what hardworking American families deserve.”
    “With Washington D.C.’s long history of out-of-control spending and a growing national deficit, we need to identify every opportunity to cut waste, fraud, and abuse,” said Britt. “This legislation codifies a key element of President Trump’s DOGE agenda by creating a mechanism to ensure every dollar across our government agencies is accounted for. I’m proud to be a cosponsor to help to prevent billions in improper payments and provide transparency to the American taxpayer.”
    “From the moment he took office, President Trump laid out a clear agenda: eliminate waste, reduce unnecessary spending, and restore fiscal sanity to Washington,” said Cramer. “The Department of Government Efficiency has delivered—cutting through layers of bureaucracy. This agency has taken a scalpel to the federal government, slashing misspending, and eliminating fraudulent and improper payments. By codifying DOGE’s best practices, we safeguard the taxpayer dollars of North Dakotans and Americans across the country.”
    “For decades, Washington bureaucrats have burned through hard-earned taxpayer dollars without a concern or care for how those dollars are spent,” said Mullin. “Oklahomans elected President Trump to streamline government efficiency, and we’re working with the administration to secure major savings for the American people. As one of the first steps in codifying the DOGE cuts, this bill will ensure accountability and restore sanity to how we do things in Washington. I’m proud to join my colleagues in this effort.”
    “Kansans expect their government to be accountable and responsible when it comes to spending Americans’ hard-earned tax dollars,” said Marshall. “The DOGE in Spending Act will help bring discipline to Washington by making sure federal payments are verified and traceable before going out the door. I’m proud to support this effort to fight waste, fraud, and abuse.”
    In addition to the preventative measure, every expenditure will be made available for public inspection on the USAspending.gov website, with annual updates for ongoing transactions.
    Click here to view the bill and here to view a section-by-section breakdown.
    Background:
    Beyond the astronomical cost to taxpayers, a new report exposed how ongoing improper payment issues resulted in veterans with serious disabilities, like amputations, being short-changed anywhere from $132.74 to $4,170.59 in their monthly disability checks.
    Ernst previously exposed how thousands of government employees were potentially double-dipping by collecting paychecks from the taxpayers while also receiving unemployment payments at the same time.
    DOGE is currently in the process of consolidating 47 of the government’s financial management systems, some of which cannot even speak with each other. Information sharing between some of these still requires printing out information on paper from one and then manually entering it into another.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: ICYMI: Mullin to CNN: We’re laser focused on delivering President Trump’s agenda

    US Senate News:

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

    ICYMI: Mullin to CNN: We’re laser focused on delivering President Trump’s agenda

    “The American people elected President Trump in November, and they put Republicans in charge.”
    Washington, D.C. – On Wednesday, U.S. Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) joined CNN’s The Source with Kaitlan Collins to push back against the baseless attacks against President Trump’s ‘One, Big, Beautiful Bill.’ The senator additionally underscored how the president’s ‘Peace through Strength’ agenda is making Americans safe at home and ending forever wars abroad. Highlights below.

    Sen. Mullin’s full interview can be found here.
    On Elon Musk, standing with the Trump Administration and the MAGA agenda:
    “I love my wife dearly and we still have differences sometimes, so I can have a lot of respect for someone and still have differences and everybody is welcome to their opinion, but the fact is, we’re gonna pass one big beautiful bill, we’re gonna get 51 in the Senate and we’re gonna make sure that it’s not a killer bill that the House can’t pass either and so the House is gonna deliver their votes and we’re gonna put it on the president’s desk for the American people…
    “We’re laser focused on delivering President Trump’s agenda. The American people elected President Trump in November, and they put Republicans in charge, and this is one step towards multiple promises that the president made by making the tax provisions permanent, by making sure were cutting deficit spending, and were getting rid of the waste and fraud.”
    On the importance of President Trump’s recent travel ban:
    “There are some real travel concerns because of some activities going in that place. I don’t think the Boulder incident had anything to do with this moving forward because this conversation has been going on for weeks. The President takes keeping the American people safe, it’s extremely important to him. He talks about it all the time. And so, I know that he takes foreign policy seriously. He’s not one to do anything that he feels he cannot negotiate deals with individuals. This is a well thought out, not a hurried idea. This is something that he felt like was in America’s best interest for national security interest.”
    On working with the president on a sanctions package against Russia:
    “We’re working with the President of the United States, and he has done a phenomenal job on our foreign affairs and we don’t want to get ahead of the White House, we want to work with the President and we wanna make sure this is a leverage point that he can use for Putin, but Russia knows that we are very serious about moving forward with this…
    “President Trump has been very clear, he wants to end all the killing. Period. If Putin is not negotiating in good faith, which I think you saw the President get upset with him just a week ago, if the President gets to the point he doesn’t think Putin is operating in good faith, then we will immediately move forward and it will pass. We know it will pass both chambers and will get to the President’s desk, but we can’t get ahead of the President.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: NEWS: Sanders, 39 Senators Fight Trump’s Cuts to the Job Corps Program

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Vermont – Bernie Sanders
    WASHINGTON, June 6 – After the Trump administration attempted to shutter the nation’s largest jobs training program for low-income and at-risk young people, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Ranking Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and 39 Senate colleagues, today sent a letter to Department of Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer urging her to reverse the illegal and unconstitutional cuts to the Job Corps program that are harming students and communities in every state in the country. 
    “The Administration’s decision to illegally and abruptly terminate Job Corps center operations has left 25,000 students and thousands of staff across 99 Job Corps centers in the lurch,” wrote Sanders and the senators. “The sudden ‘pause’ of operations at Job Corps centers puts young people’s lives at risk, especially a significant number of students who were experiencing homelessness before arriving to the program. Local communities will pay a steep price, especially the thousands of individuals who work at the centers and will lose their livelihoods.” 
    For more than 60 years, Job Corps has helped millions of young people in rural communities and cities alike to finish high school, learn technical skills and get good-paying jobs while providing stable housing, medical and mental health care, and other supportive services. Through Job Corps programs, young people receive the training they need to start in good-paying jobs that support their communities after graduation – including as wildland firefighters, nurses, electricians, machinists, pipefitters, and welders. Last month, however, the Trump administration indefinitely ‘paused’ operations at Job Corps sites across the country. 
    “We urge you to immediately reverse this decision to prevent a lapse in education and services for Job Corps students. We further urge that the Department restart enrollments, expeditiously restart background checks, and make any contract extensions or modifications necessary to ensure no interruptions or delays for students or program operations,” concluded Sanders and the senators. 
    Joining Sanders on the letter are Sens. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), Ben Ray Lujan (D-N.M.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Angus King (I-Maine), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.). 
    Read the letter here. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Luján, Finance Democrats Demand Committee Markup of Republican Reconciliation Bill

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-New Mexico)
    Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), and every Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, demanded the committee Republicans schedule a markup of the Republican bill that would slash health care and clean energy tax credits to pay for handouts to corporations and the wealthy. Republicans have not held a single hearing in the Finance Committee to examine or justify the effects of their proposals, and if they bypass a committee vote, the Senate’s only public debate on the destructive, sweeping legislation will happen on the floor in a restricted time frame predetermined by Senate rules.
    “The American people deserve a chance to hear Republicans justify their economic agenda that would terminate health coverage for 16 million kids, seniors, people with disabilities, and families, while adding trillions of new debt—all to fund tax cuts for the rich and big corporations. A markup is the last opportunity for us to have that debate at the committee level,” Finance Democrats wrote in a letter to Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo, R-Idaho. “If there is no markup, the American people will have to assume Republicans either find their proposals impossible to defend under real scrutiny or lack the votes to report a bill out of the committee.”
    The most damaging policies in the reconciliation bill fall under the Finance Committee’s jurisdiction, including tax handouts costing $7 trillion, the largest Medicaid cut in history, and hundreds of billions in ACA cuts that dismantle the program. A new, independent analysis estimates that more than 51,000 people will die every year as a direct result of the health care cuts in the Republican reconciliation bill and their refusal to extend the Affordable Care Act premium tax credits.  
    “If Trump and Republicans in Congress are going to deprive millions of Americans of their health care so that millionaires and rich corporations can get massive tax cuts, it should not be done in secret backroom negotiations. It should be done in the light of day, including through a full markup in the Senate Finance Committee,” Finance Democrats concluded. 
    The text of the letter is available here. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Heinrich, Luján Slam Trump Administration for Illegally Gutting Agency Dedicated to Growing Local Businesses

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-New Mexico)
    Amid Commerce Department’s stonewalling, senators ask GAO to investigate if Trump officials violated the law or engaged in misconduct & what officials are doing with funding Congress appropriated to serve minority enterprises & create jobs
    WASHINGTON — U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), a member of the Senate Commerce Committee, joined U.S. Senators Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), and Ed Markey (D-Mass.) to slam the Trump Administration for its illegal dismantling of the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA). The senators asked the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) to investigate whether actions by Trump Commerce Department officials or others in the Administration violated Congressional directives, the extent to which they undermined MBDA’s Congressional mandate, and whether any officials have engaged in misconduct.
    “On May 2, 2025, the White House released its recommendations on discretionary funding levels for fiscal year (FY) 2026, which expressly acknowledge that the Commerce Department under Secretary Howard Lutnick has ‘fully eliminated’ the MBDA,” the senators wrote in a letter to GAO Comptroller General Gene Dodaro. “Prior to this admission, my colleagues and I repeatedly raised concerns about the Department’s efforts to dismantle the MBDA unilaterally, particularly given Secretary Lutnick’s clear testimony during his confirmation hearing stating he did not support dismantling the agency. We sent multiple letters to Secretary Lutnick and the Department seeking basic information about the current state of the MBDA. To date, the Department has failed to substantively respond to any of our requests, and it is becoming increasingly clear that Department leadership is not taking these concerns seriously.”
    The senators have raised concerns and demanded accountability and answers from the Trump Administration since the president issued his unlawful executive order. This letter follows a letter the senators wrote to Keith Sonderling, Acting Under Secretary for MBDA, demanding the Trump Administration detail its compliance with a May 13 federal court injunction ordering it to stop the illegal dismantling of the agency and reinstate its personnel and grantmaking capacities. The senators previously sent a May 1, 2025 inquiry to Sonderling to demand he promptly turn over key documents and information related to the dismantling of the MBDA and recent funding termination notices sent to all grantees by DOGE. On June 3, the senators also sent a letter to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) requesting that they investigate whether actions by Trump Commerce Department officials or others in the Administration violated congressional directives, the extent to which they undermined MBDA’s congressional mandate and whether any officials have engaged in misconduct.
    In October 2024, Heinrich led the unveiling of a new, larger office space for the New Mexico Minority Business Development Center in Albuquerque to expand support for local businesses across the state as they create the types of careers New Mexicans can build their families around. Heinrich wrote the legislative provision that established and funded the New Mexico Business Center in 2020, securing more than $2.5 million in federal resources through the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Minority Business Development Agency for its staffing and programming.
    In May, during the Senate Commerce hearing on the nomination of Paul Dabbar to be U.S. Deputy Secretary of Commerce, Luján pressed Mr. Dabbar on the dismantling of the MBDA by the Trump Administration and highlighted the successes of the MBDA. Luján championed an amendment in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to make the MBDA permanent. He also secured passage of a provision to double the funding level for the MBDA’s Rural Business Development Center Program and to expand this program’s eligibility to include all Minority-Serving Institutions, which will expand opportunities for New Mexico’s colleges and universities. Additionally, in 2021, Luján championed legislation to make permanent and expand the reach of the Minority Business Development Agency.
    The text of the letter can be found HERE and below:
    Comptroller General Dodaro:
    We write to request that the Government Accountability Office (GAO) conduct a review of the actions taken by the Trump Administration to dismantle the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA), despite Congress statutorily authorizing the agency and appropriating funding to further its mission. A robust investigation by GAO would help shed light on whether officials at the Department of Commerce (Department) or elsewhere in the Administration circumvented the directives of Congress, the extent to which the MBDA’s ability to administer its grants and combat potential fraud has been undermined, and whether any officials have engaged in misconduct.
    On May 2, 2025, the White House released its recommendations on discretionary funding levels for fiscal year (FY) 2026, which expressly acknowledge that the Commerce Department under Secretary Howard Lutnick has “fully eliminated” the MBDA. Prior to this admission, my colleagues and I repeatedly raised concerns about the Department’s efforts to dismantle the MBDA unilaterally, particularly given Secretary Lutnick’s clear testimony during his confirmation hearing stating he did not support dismantling the agency. We sent multiple letters to Secretary Lutnick and the Department seeking basic information about the current state of the MBDA. To date, the Department has failed to substantively respond to any of our requests, and it is becoming increasingly clear that Department leadership is not taking these concerns seriously.
    The MBDA was created by Executive Order in 1969. In 2021, Congress statutorily authorized the MBDA in bipartisan legislation, the Minority Business Development Act of 2021 (MBDA Act), which was enacted as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. In so doing, Congress directed the MBDA to, among other things, “enable the Federal Government to better serve the needs of minority business enterprises.” The bipartisan law also established a new Senate-confirmed position to lead the agency. By making the MBDA and its programs permanent, Congress made a deliberate decision to promote job creation, spur innovation, and support business owners from a variety of backgrounds.
    Last Congress, the Congress funded the MBDA pursuant to the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024, which contained a $68.25 million appropriation for the “necessary expenses of the Minority Business Development Agency in fostering, promoting, and developing minority business enterprises, as authorized by law.” These investments have paid significant dividends: In FY 2024 alone, the MBDA helped the country’s more than 12 million minority businesses access over $1.5 billion in capital and create or retain approximately 23,000 jobs. That same level of funding has been appropriated through the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025 (P.L. 119-4). 
    Despite Congress’s clear statutory directive, on March 14, 2025, President Trump issued an Executive Order effectively eliminating the MBDA and certain other federal entities. In so doing, the Executive Order called for the head of the MBDA to submit a report to the Office of Management and Budget within seven days “confirming full compliance with this order and explaining which components or functions of the governmental entity, if any, are statutorily required and to what extent.” In the weeks that followed, the Trump Administration has unilaterally dismantled the MBDA—terminating effectively all its staff, canceling its grant programs, and removing its signage from the Department.
    As part of these efforts, our offices reviewed a funding termination notice that was sent to an MBDA grantee by a member of Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) named Nate Cavanaugh, who was purportedly acting “Under the Authority of Keith Sonderling, Acting Undersecretary of MBDA.” In the notice, the Department claims the grant is being terminated because it “is unfortunately no longer consistent with the agency’s priorities and no longer serves the interests of the United States and the MBDA Program.” The termination notice further states that “MBDA is repurposing its funding allocations in a new direction in furtherance of the President’s agenda.” The notice is silent about why the grants are inconsistent with the MBDA’s priorities and programs, which Congress, not the Department, set by statute. And the notice also suggests that the Department of Commerce or others in the Administration may be using funding appropriated for the MBDA for other, unrelated purposes.
    Fortunately, on May 13, 2025, a federal district court issued a Preliminary Injunction requiring the Trump Administration to reverse its actions to eliminate the MBDA, including by restoring agency employees to their status prior to the Executive Order issued on March 14, 2025. However, the Trump Administration quickly appealed this order, making clear it intends to continue pursuing its efforts to fully eliminate the MBDA notwithstanding Congress’s clear directives.
    It is essential that Congress and the public understand how the Trump Administration’s recent actions have affected the MBDA’s ability to carry out its statutory mission and obligations and to understand how funds appropriated to the MBDA are being used. Therefore, we are requesting your assistance to investigate activities that have occurred at MBDA since January 20, 2025, and report on the following:
    A detailed review of all actions taken by the Department of Commerce, including any acting leadership, to “fully eliminate” or otherwise dismantle the MBDA, including any efforts to pause or halt MBDA work functions, lower or eliminate the agency’s budget, or otherwise reduce the resources available to MBDA to complete its work.
    A detailed review of all actions taken by the any member of DOGE, including any volunteers, special government employees, contractors, or Department employees affiliated with DOGE, to “fully eliminate” or otherwise dismantle the MBDA, including any efforts to pause or halt MBDA work functions, lower or eliminate the agency’s budget, or otherwise reduce the resources available to MBDA to complete its work.
    A detailed review of actions taken by the Department of Commerce, including MBDA leadership and acting leadership, to pause, halt, or terminate any grants or funding that were administered or approved by the MBDA as of January 20, 2025. Please include information on the involvement of DOGE or DOGE-affiliated employees, including any volunteers, special government employees, and contractors, in decisions to pause, halt, or terminate MBDA grants or funding.
    A detailed review of the status of all MBDA grants, including:
    The extent to which grants have been terminated or funds continue to be disbursed;
    A description of the types of funded activities that are considered “consistent with the agency’s priorities” and that “serve the interests of the MBDA program”; and
    A detailed explanation of how the MBDA intends to repurpose its funding allocations in a new direction in furtherance of the President’s agenda, including any specific program or activity that has received or is expected to receive repurposed funding.

    A detailed review of actions taken by the Department of Commerce, including MBDA leadership and acting leadership, to reduce the MBDA’s workforce after January 20, 2025. Please include information on the involvement of DOGE or DOGE-affiliated employees, including any volunteers, special government employees, and contractors, in decisions to reduce the MBDA’s workforce.
    A detailed review of the effects of recent Department of Commerce and DOGE actions on:
    The operations of the MBDA’s statutorily created offices, how responsibilities are being allocated to any remaining staff, and the status of physical office space; and
    The ability of the agency to fulfill its statutorily required functions under the Minority Business Development Act of 2021 (Division K of the Infrastructure and Investment and Jobs Act, Pub. L. 117-58), including but not limited to:

                                                                  i.      The MBDA’s statutory responsibilities for private and public sector development;
                                                               ii.      The MBDA’s efforts to conduct research and provide outreach and educational services;
                                                             iii.      The operation of the MBDA’s Business Center Program, Rural Minority Business Center Program, and the national network of public-private partnerships;
                                                              iv.      The administration of the minority business development grants program;
                                                                v.      The functioning of the Minority Business Enterprises Advisory Council; and
                                                              vi.      The extent to which the Administration’s actions regarding MBDA are consistent with the statutory obligations under the Minority Business Development Act of 2021.
    The ability of the agency to effectively administer its current grants, detect and prevent potential fraud in its programs, and cooperate with any investigations into potential fraud or other wrongdoing. 
    A detailed review of the Commerce Department’s or MBDA’s development and implementation of plans to reorganize, restructure, or eliminate the MBDA’s work, and how these plans may affect the Administration’s ability to meet its statutory responsibilities, including a review of which “components or functions” of the MBDA the Trump Administration found to be “statutorily required and to what extent,” pursuant to President Trump’s March 14, 2025, Executive Order on “Continuing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Hickenlooper, Colleagues Demand Trump Admin Reinstate All Fired Workers at NOAA, NWS Prior to Peak Hurricane, Wildfire Season

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator John Hickenlooper – Colorado
    Staff reductions at both agencies pose a threat to public safety, wildfire preparedness
    WASHINGTON – As the nation enters peak hurricane and wildfire season, U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper reiterated his call on the Trump administration to fully reinstate all fired federal employees at the National Weather Service (NWS) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to protect Americans from natural disasters.
    “NWS employees and the programs they support are essential to the safety of the millions of Americans impacted by storms and disasters each year,” wrote the senators. “NWS would be unable to provide accurate and timely forecasts without sufficient staffing levels at weather forecast offices nationwide.”
    NWS maintains 122 weather forecast offices across the United States which are responsible for providing 24/7 weather monitoring and forecasts. The Department of Commerce is reportedly planning to eliminate an additional 1,000 staff from NOAA, including at NWS, in the coming weeks. These cuts, combined with current staffing constraints, could reduce the NWS workforce by 15% just months into 2025.
    The Trump administration’s decision this week to partially reinstate about 126 personnel to ‘stabilize operations’ at NWS field offices is progress – but falls short of what’s needed to keep Colorado safe.  
    Hickenlooper previously raised alarm about the Trump admin’s plans to cut funding for NOAA and Colorado-based research centers. He also called for an investigation into the mass layoffs at NOAA and its impacts on crucial services, including relaying emergency alerts in wildfires and supporting farmers’ drought mitigation efforts.
    In their letter, the senators requested answers to the following questions:
    How many of the NWS regional weather forecast offices were impacted by terminations or deferred resignations since January 20, 2025? Please provide a list of affected offices, including how many staff departed and how many remain. 
    With reports of at least one weather forecast office in Goodland, Kansas stopping 24/7 operations due to staffing shortages, how do the Department of Commerce and NOAA plan to maintain continued 24/7 operation of forecasting offices without requiring excessive overtime hours from staff? 
    With a requested budget cut of $1.311 billion for NOAA’s overall budget, and a $209 million cut for NWS procurement of weather satellites and infrastructure, how does the Department of Commerce and NOAA plan to ensure adequate staffing and preparedness in the midst of worsening storm seasons, increasing heat waves, and changing weather patterns?
    As NWS employees are critical to public safety, especially heading into hurricane season, will the Department of Commerce grant an exemption to the hiring freeze to fill these crucial positions?
    Full text of the letter available HERE and below.
    Dear Secretary Lutnick, and Acting Administrator Grimm,
    We write to express our concern with recent layoffs at the National Weather Service (NWS). Reports indicate that over 550 employees have been terminated or accepted deferred resignation offers. We believe that these staff reductions pose a threat to public safety and emergency preparedness by undercutting essential forecasting and weather monitoring systems. We urge you to reinstate terminated NWS employees and request additional information on how the administration plans to address staffing at NWS.
    NWS maintains 122 weather forecast offices across the United States which are responsible for providing 24/7 weather monitoring and forecasts. NWS would be unable to provide accurate and timely forecasts without sufficient staffing levels at weather forecast offices nationwide. In addition to daily forecasting operations, weather forecast offices are responsible for issuing emergency weather warnings ahead of events such as major floods, wildfire hazards, hurricanes, and blizzard conditions. As the frequency and severity of such disasters increase, maintaining
    NWS’s real-time forecasting operations is essential to saving lives and reducing the cost of recovery for disaster-affected communities.
    NWS employees and the programs they support are essential to the safety of the millions of Americans impacted by storms and disasters each year. On February 27, 2025, 108 probationary NWS employees were terminated, adding to the 170 staff who accepted the Administration’s “deferred resignation” plan earlier that month. These staffing cuts are already impacting NWS services, forcing NWS to halt weather balloon launches in New York, Maine, and Alaska that provide daily weather data to meteorologists at weather forecast offices across the country. As we head into hurricane season, 30 weather forecast offices are without a meteorologist-in-charge, one is completely without any managers at all, and nearly a dozen are preparing to shut down 24/7 services without immediate action to address shortages.
    The Department of Commerce is reportedly planning to eliminate an additional 1,000 staff from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), including at NWS, in the coming weeks. All told, NWS offices, already suffering from staffing constraints, could see a 15% reduction in force just months into 2025.
    We request a response to the following questions by June 10, 2025:
    How many of the NWS regional weather forecast offices were impacted by terminations or deferred resignations since January 20, 2025? Please provide a list of affected offices, including how many staff departed and how many remain. 
    With reports of at least one weather forecast office in Goodland, Kansas stopping 24/7 operations due to staffing shortages, how do the Department of Commerce and NOAA plan to maintain continued 24/7 operation of forecasting offices without requiring excessive overtime hours from staff? 
    With a requested budget cut of $1.311 billion for NOAA’s overall budget, and a $209 million cut for NWS procurement of weather satellites and infrastructure, how does the Department of Commerce and NOAA plan to ensure adequate staffing and preparedness in the midst of worsening storm seasons, increasing heat waves, and changing weather patterns?
    As NWS employees are critical to public safety, especially heading into hurricane season, will the Department of Commerce grant an exemption to the hiring freeze to fill these crucial positions?
    We urge you to reassess the staffing needs at NOAA and NWS and reinstate terminated probationary employees swiftly. We appreciate your attention to this matter and look forward to your response.
    Sincerely,

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: On World Environment Day, Senators Markey, Duckworth, Booker Underscore How Recent Attacks on the National Environmental Policy Act Threaten Public Health and the Environment

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Massachusetts Ed Markey

    Washington (June 5, 2025) – Today, on World Environment Day, Senators Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), and Cory Booker (D-N.J.), co-chairs of the Senate Environmental Justice Caucus, released the following statement after a slew of recent actions that drastically undermine the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the country’s bedrock environmental law.

    “Between the recent actions by the Trump administration to severely limit the timing of environmental reviews, the Supreme Court’s decision narrowing the scope of environmental reviews, and Republicans’ Big Billionaire Bonus bill that creates a pay to play scheme—industry will have a free pass from all three branches of government to skirt the law that keeps our communities and planet healthy. Instead of gutting a seminal environmental law and cutting agency funding to implement it, we should be investing resources and personnel to more quickly conduct meaningful environmental reviews. Republicans in both chambers are fulfilling Trump’s wish to completely dismantle the safeguards that allow for well-informed federal decision-making—putting the American public, our wildlife, the health of our natural landscapes, and our collective livable future at risk.”

    Since January 2025, enforcement and implementation of NEPA has been subject to attacks from all three branches of government:

    Trump Administration

    The Trump administration has cut federal employees and funding intended for expedited yet meaningful NEPA reviews.

    • On May 23, the administration rubberstamped a mine in just 11 days despite similar projects with complex proposals typically taking two years to meaningfully review, and
    • On May 28, Trump appointed the architect of the provisions that severely limited the timing of NEPA reviews in the Fiscal Responsibility Act to head the Permitting Council (formerly the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council).

    Supreme Court

    The Supreme Court unanimously limited the scope of environmental reviews required by NEPA on May 29.

    Congress

    House and Senate Republicans proposed budget reconciliation text that:

    • Would allow project sponsors to pay for preferential treatment in NEPA environmental review processes and prohibit judicial review of environmental findings for these projects, and
    • Would repeal and rescind environmental review funding for the Environmental Protection Agency, Council on Environmental Quality, and state and local permitting authorities that would have enabled more efficient, accurate, and timely reviews under NEPA.

    MIL OSI USA News –