FROM: FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
FTC Proposes Changes to Fuel Rating Rule
The Federal Trade Commission is proposing changes to its Fuel Rating Rule, which determines the fuel rating that appears on fuel pump labels, how octane levels are calculated, and helps to inform consumers about proper fuel for their vehicles.
In 2009, the FTC began a review of the “Rule for Automobile Fuel Ratings, Certification, and Posting” as part of its systematic review of all current FTC rules and guides. The Commission sought comments on proposed revisions to the Rule regarding ethanol blends. In 2011, after reviewing the comments received, the agency issued final amendments governing other issues and deferred consideration of ethanol blend labeling to consider an Environmental Protection Agency decision regarding the use of certain ethanol blends in certain vehicles.
The FTC is now proposing to revise rating, certification and labeling requirements for blends of gasoline with more than 10 percent ethanol, and a new octane rating method that would lower compliance costs.
The Commission vote approving the Federal Register notice was 4-0.
Thursday, March 27, 2014
U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT CONTRACTS FOR MARCH 27, 2014
FROM: U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
CONTRACTS
AIR FORCE
The Centech Group Inc.*, Falls Church, Va.,( FA8732-14-D-0010); Epsilon Systems Solutions Inc.*, San Diego, Calif., (FA8732-14-D-0011); Smartronix Inc.*, Hollywood, Md., (FA8732-14-D-0012); SMS Data Products Group Inc.*, McLean, Va., (FA8732-14-D-0013); Indus Corp.*, Vienna, Va., (FA8732-14-D-0014); Technica Corp.*, Sterling, Va., (FA8732-14-D-0015); Telos Corp.*, Ashburn, Va., (FA8732-14-D-0016); Sumaria Systems Inc.*, Danvers, Mass., (FA8732-14-D-0017); BTAS Inc.*, Beavercreek, Ohio, (FA8732-14-D-0018); American Systems Corp.*, Chantilly, Va., (FA8732-14-D-0019); STG, Inc.*, Reston, Va., (FA8732-14-D-0020) and MicroTechnologies LLC*, Vienna, Va., (FA8732-14-D-0021) have been awarded a maximum $5,790,000,000 multiple-award, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (ID/IQ) contract for Network-Centric Solutions-2 (NETCENTS-2) network operations and infrastructure solutions. This contract vehicle will provide solutions to support network operations, core enterprise services and infrastructure development and operations, includes network management/defense, services oriented architecture infrastructure, enterprise level security/management and implementation/operations, telephony infrastructure and services. This contract vehicle is the mandatory source for all Air Force units purchasing services that fall under the scope of the contract, and it is available for use by Army, Navy, other department of defense and federal agencies. Funding and the location of performance will be cited on individual task orders issued against this IDIQ. Each company will receive a minimum guarantee of $2,500 at award. The ordering period is a three year basic period with four 12-month options, if exercised, resulting in seven years of ordering. Task orders are limited to five years of performance, and performance may extend three years beyond the expiration of ordering. This award is the result of a small-business competition; offers were solicited electronically through the Hanscom Electronic Request for Proposal Bulletin Board and FedBizOpps, and twenty-nine offers were received. The contracting activity is Air Force Life Cycle Management Center/HICK, Maxwell Air Force Base-Gunter Annex, Ala.
Northrop Grumman Technical Services Inc., Hill Air Force Base, Utah, has been awarded a $13,719,542 modification to cost-plus-award fee F42610-98-C-0001 for sustaining engineering services for the ICBM weapon system. The location of performance is Utah with an expected completion date of Sept. 30, 2014. Fiscal 2014 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $12,925,702 are being obligated at award. Air Force Nuclear Weapon Center/PZBE, Hill Air Force Base, Utah, is the contracting activity.
ARMY
Hensel Phelps Construction, Chantilly, Va., was awarded a $245,125,000 firm-fixed-price contract for construction of the Joint Operations Center, Fort George G. Meade, Md. Work will be performed at Fort George G. Meade, Md. Estimated completion date is March 26, 2017. Fiscal 2014 military construction funds in the amount of $57,000,000 were obligated at the time of the award. Bids were solicited via the Internet with five received. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore, Md., is the contracting activity (W912DR-14-C-0016).
Lockheed Martin Corp., Liverpool, N.Y., was awarded a $145,921,161 modification (P00022) to contract W15P7T-12-C-C015 for an additional thirteen AN/TPQ-53 radar systems, along with 13 corresponding sets of on-board spares. Work will be performed in Liverpool, N.Y. Estimated completion date is Nov. 30, 2016. Fiscal 2014 other procurement, Army funds in the amount of $145,921,161 were obligated at the time of the award. Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen, Md., is the contracting activity.
Northrop Grumman Technical Services, Sierra Vista, Ariz., was awarded a $20,236,014 modification (P00020) to contract W58RGZ-13-C-0010 for contractor logistic services for the Hunter unmanned aircraft system. Work will be performed in Sierra Vista, Ariz., and Afghanistan. Estimated completion date is March 30, 2015. Fiscal 2014 operations and maintenance, Army funds in the amount of $5,236,014 were obligated at the time of the award. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity.
Manson Construction Co. Seattle, Wash. was awarded a $16,822,500 firm-fixed-price contract for dredging along the U.S. West Coast. Work will be performed in Astoria, Ore., and in San Francisco and Humboldt, Calif. Estimated completion date is Sept. 15, 2014. Fiscal 2014 operations and maintenance, Army funds in the amount of $16,822,500 were obligated at the time of the award. Bids were solicited via the Internet with two received. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Portland, Ore., is the contracting activity (W9127N-14-C-0018).
ICx Technologies Inc., doing business as Agentase Inc., Elkridge, Md., was awarded a $12,316,540 modification (P00090) to contract W911SR-08-C-0075 to procure 12 dismounted reconnaissance sets, kits, and outfits army configuration systems. Work will be performed in Elkridge, Md. Estimated completion date is March 25, 2015. Fiscal 2014 research, development, testing and evaluation funds in the amount of $12,316,540 were obligated at the time of the award. Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen, Md., is the contracting activity.
Chimes District of Columbia,Inc., Baltimore, Md., was awarded an $11,548,303 modification (P00002) to contract W91247-12-D-0029 for custodial services at Fort Bragg, N.C. Funding and work location will be determined with each order. Estimated completion date is March 31, 2015. Army Contracting Command, Fort Bragg, N.C., is the contracting activity.
NAVY
Rolls-Royce Corp., Indianapolis, Ind., is being awarded a $106,999,970 undefinitized contract action to provide intermediate, depot level maintenance and related logistics support for approximately 223 in-service T-45 F405-RR-401 Adour engines. Work will be performed at the Naval Air Station (NAS) Meridian, Miss (47 percent); NAS Kingsville, Texas (46 percent); NAS Pensacola, Fla. (6 percent); and NAS Patuxent River, Md. (1 percent), and is expected to be completed in March 2015. No funds will be obligated at time of award; funds will be obligated on individual delivery orders as they are issued. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to FAR 6.302-1. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity (N00019-14-D-0016).
Bell Helicopter Textron Inc., Fort Worth, Texas, is being awarded a $59,703,818 modification to a previously awarded advanced acquisition contract (N00019-13-C-0023) for the procurement of long-lead items for the manufacture and delivery of 15 Lot 12 UH-1Y Build New Aircraft and 11 Lot 12 AH-1Z Build New Aircraft for the Marine Corps. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas (60 percent) and Amarillo, Texas (40 percent), and is expected to be completed in September 2015. Fiscal 2014 aircraft procurement, Navy funds in the amount of $59,703,818 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.
Lockheed Martin Corp., Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is being awarded a $52,141,562 modification to a previously awarded cost-plus-incentive-fee contract (N00019-02-C-3002) to execute phase 3 of the Joint Strike Fighter Autonomics Logistics Information System (ALIS) Standard Operating Unit Version 2 (SOUv2) capability development effort. Phase 3 includes integration of the SOUv2 with the ALIS sustainment system and the F-35 air system. Work will be performed in Orlando, Fla. (70 percent) and Fort Worth, Texas (30 percent), and is expected to be completed in August 2015. Fiscal 2013 research, development, test and evaluation, Air Force ($9,067,217) and fiscal 2014 research, development, test and evaluation Navy ($14,396,512) and Marine Corps ($14,309,644) funds in the amount of $37,773,373 will be obligated at time of award, $9,067,217 of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.
Guam MACC Builders A Joint Venture, Honolulu, Hawaii, is being awarded $45,450,600 for firm-fixed-price task order 0003 under a previously awarded multiple award construction contract (N62742-10-D-1309) for the design and construction of a high bay maintenance hangar to support forward operations and maintenance functions for the Unmanned Aircraft System MQ-4C Broad Area Maritime Surveillance platform at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam. The MQ-4C requires interior and enclosed maintenance space to accomplish scheduled inspections, airframe repairs, pre- and post-flight operations, as well as technical order compliance and aircraft modifications. The task order also contains two unexercised options, which if exercised would increase cumulative task order value to $46,719,102. Work will be performed in Yigo, Guam, and is expected to be completed by April 2016. Fiscal 2010 and fiscal 2014 military construction, Navy and fiscal 2014 other procurement, Navy contract funds in the amount of $45,450,600 are obligated on this award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Six proposals were received for this task order. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Pacific, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, is the contracting activity.
BAE Systems Information and Electronics, Nashua, N.H., is being awarded a $37,443,252 firm-fixed-price contract to procure 1,372 Advanced Precision Kill Weapon Systems (APKWS) II WGU-59/B Guidance Section, the Navy shipping and storage container; and supporting programmatic documentation for the APKWS II WGU-59/B Guidance Sections. Work will be performed in Nashua, N.H. (70 percent); and Austin, Texas (30 percent), and is expected to be completed in September 2015. Fiscal 2014 procurement ammunition, Navy and Marine Corps, and overseas contingency operations funds in the amount of $37,443,252 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to FAR 6.302-1. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity (N00019-14-C-0044).
Exelis Inc., Information Systems Division, Herndon, Va., is being awarded a $17,789,717 modification to previously awarded contract (N00174-11-D-0002) for the continued procurement of post-production maintenance support of Navy crew fixed site systems and procurement and support of the transmitting set, counter measure AN/PLT-4 systems. This action fills a requirement for equipment, maintenance and support for the Joint Service Explosive Ordnance Disposal Counter Radio Controlled Improvised Explosive Device Electronic Warfare (JSEOD CREW) program and for continued maintenance and support, including original equipment manufacturer field service representatives, for Legacy Navy CREW systems. The JSEOD CREW program provides all military explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) services with a new electronic warfare capability to counter the threat from improvised explosive devices. JSEOD protects EOD forces of all services, including those currently located in Operating Enduring Freedom, Afghanistan. Work will be performed in Boalsburg, Pa., and is expected to be completed by March 2015. No funds are being obligated at the time of award and contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Surface Warfare Center Indian Head Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technology Division, Indian Head, Md., is the contracting activity.
PAE Applied Technologies LLC, Fort Worth, Texas, is being awarded a $15,403,392 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract to meet the operations maintenance and logistics support of all range systems, equipment, government furnished databases and management systems and also determine, supply, and provide system support responsibilities, which include logistics support of isolated range equipment on, around, above and under the waters of San Clemente Island. The contract contains options, which if exercised, will bring the contract value to $167,597,135. Work will be performed in San Diego, Calif., and is expected to be completed by Sept. 30, 2014. If all options are exercised, work will continue through March 31, 2019. Fiscal 2014 operations and maintenance, Navy funds in the amount of $2,000,000 will be obligated at the time of award, and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This was competitively solicited through the Federal Business Opportunities website, with one offer received. The NAVSUP Fleet Logistics Center, San Diego, Calif., is the contracting activity (N00244-14-C-0007).
Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., Stratford, Conn., is being awarded a $14,947,975 cost-plus-fixed-fee delivery order against a previously awarded Basic Ordering Agreement (N00019-14-G-0004) under the Cabin Interior Phase IIA Program, to include a cabin redesign to reduce the total gross weight allowing for greater lift capability of the VH-3D In-Service Presidential Helicopter. Work will be performed in Stratford, Conn. (98 percent) and Quantico, Va. (2 percent), and is expected to be completed in July 2016. Fiscal 2014 aircraft procurement, Navy contract funds in the amount of $14,947,975 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md. is the contracting activity.
Bell Helicopter Textron Inc., Hurst, Texas, is being awarded an $11,413,510 modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-12-C-0009) to exercise an option to provide systems engineering and program management support for the production and delivery of AH-1Z and UH-1Y aircraft for the Marine Corps. Work will be performed in Hurst, Texas, and is expected to be completed in December 2014. Fiscal 2014 aircraft procurement, Navy funds in the amount of $11,413,510 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.
DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY
Cardinal Health Inc., Waukegan, Ill, has been awarded a maximum $16,760,817 modification (P00007) exercising the second option period on a one-year base contract (SPM2DE-12-D-7346) with four one-year option periods for various laboratory supplies. This is a fixed-price with economic-price adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract. Location of performance is Illinois with an April 12, 2015 performance completion date. Using military services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and federal civilian agencies. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2014 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pa.
Veyance Technologies Inc., Fairlawn, Ohio, has been awarded a maximum $10,638,028 firm-fixed-price contract for track shoe assemblies for the M88 vehicle. This is a competitive acquisition, and two offers were received. Location of performance is Ohio with a Jan. 21, 2015 performance completion date. Using military service is Army. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2014 through fiscal 2015 Army working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Land and Maritime, Warren, Mich., (SPRDL1-14-C-0071).
*Small Business
U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
CONTRACTS
AIR FORCE
The Centech Group Inc.*, Falls Church, Va.,( FA8732-14-D-0010); Epsilon Systems Solutions Inc.*, San Diego, Calif., (FA8732-14-D-0011); Smartronix Inc.*, Hollywood, Md., (FA8732-14-D-0012); SMS Data Products Group Inc.*, McLean, Va., (FA8732-14-D-0013); Indus Corp.*, Vienna, Va., (FA8732-14-D-0014); Technica Corp.*, Sterling, Va., (FA8732-14-D-0015); Telos Corp.*, Ashburn, Va., (FA8732-14-D-0016); Sumaria Systems Inc.*, Danvers, Mass., (FA8732-14-D-0017); BTAS Inc.*, Beavercreek, Ohio, (FA8732-14-D-0018); American Systems Corp.*, Chantilly, Va., (FA8732-14-D-0019); STG, Inc.*, Reston, Va., (FA8732-14-D-0020) and MicroTechnologies LLC*, Vienna, Va., (FA8732-14-D-0021) have been awarded a maximum $5,790,000,000 multiple-award, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (ID/IQ) contract for Network-Centric Solutions-2 (NETCENTS-2) network operations and infrastructure solutions. This contract vehicle will provide solutions to support network operations, core enterprise services and infrastructure development and operations, includes network management/defense, services oriented architecture infrastructure, enterprise level security/management and implementation/operations, telephony infrastructure and services. This contract vehicle is the mandatory source for all Air Force units purchasing services that fall under the scope of the contract, and it is available for use by Army, Navy, other department of defense and federal agencies. Funding and the location of performance will be cited on individual task orders issued against this IDIQ. Each company will receive a minimum guarantee of $2,500 at award. The ordering period is a three year basic period with four 12-month options, if exercised, resulting in seven years of ordering. Task orders are limited to five years of performance, and performance may extend three years beyond the expiration of ordering. This award is the result of a small-business competition; offers were solicited electronically through the Hanscom Electronic Request for Proposal Bulletin Board and FedBizOpps, and twenty-nine offers were received. The contracting activity is Air Force Life Cycle Management Center/HICK, Maxwell Air Force Base-Gunter Annex, Ala.
Northrop Grumman Technical Services Inc., Hill Air Force Base, Utah, has been awarded a $13,719,542 modification to cost-plus-award fee F42610-98-C-0001 for sustaining engineering services for the ICBM weapon system. The location of performance is Utah with an expected completion date of Sept. 30, 2014. Fiscal 2014 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $12,925,702 are being obligated at award. Air Force Nuclear Weapon Center/PZBE, Hill Air Force Base, Utah, is the contracting activity.
ARMY
Hensel Phelps Construction, Chantilly, Va., was awarded a $245,125,000 firm-fixed-price contract for construction of the Joint Operations Center, Fort George G. Meade, Md. Work will be performed at Fort George G. Meade, Md. Estimated completion date is March 26, 2017. Fiscal 2014 military construction funds in the amount of $57,000,000 were obligated at the time of the award. Bids were solicited via the Internet with five received. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore, Md., is the contracting activity (W912DR-14-C-0016).
Lockheed Martin Corp., Liverpool, N.Y., was awarded a $145,921,161 modification (P00022) to contract W15P7T-12-C-C015 for an additional thirteen AN/TPQ-53 radar systems, along with 13 corresponding sets of on-board spares. Work will be performed in Liverpool, N.Y. Estimated completion date is Nov. 30, 2016. Fiscal 2014 other procurement, Army funds in the amount of $145,921,161 were obligated at the time of the award. Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen, Md., is the contracting activity.
Northrop Grumman Technical Services, Sierra Vista, Ariz., was awarded a $20,236,014 modification (P00020) to contract W58RGZ-13-C-0010 for contractor logistic services for the Hunter unmanned aircraft system. Work will be performed in Sierra Vista, Ariz., and Afghanistan. Estimated completion date is March 30, 2015. Fiscal 2014 operations and maintenance, Army funds in the amount of $5,236,014 were obligated at the time of the award. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity.
Manson Construction Co. Seattle, Wash. was awarded a $16,822,500 firm-fixed-price contract for dredging along the U.S. West Coast. Work will be performed in Astoria, Ore., and in San Francisco and Humboldt, Calif. Estimated completion date is Sept. 15, 2014. Fiscal 2014 operations and maintenance, Army funds in the amount of $16,822,500 were obligated at the time of the award. Bids were solicited via the Internet with two received. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Portland, Ore., is the contracting activity (W9127N-14-C-0018).
ICx Technologies Inc., doing business as Agentase Inc., Elkridge, Md., was awarded a $12,316,540 modification (P00090) to contract W911SR-08-C-0075 to procure 12 dismounted reconnaissance sets, kits, and outfits army configuration systems. Work will be performed in Elkridge, Md. Estimated completion date is March 25, 2015. Fiscal 2014 research, development, testing and evaluation funds in the amount of $12,316,540 were obligated at the time of the award. Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen, Md., is the contracting activity.
Chimes District of Columbia,Inc., Baltimore, Md., was awarded an $11,548,303 modification (P00002) to contract W91247-12-D-0029 for custodial services at Fort Bragg, N.C. Funding and work location will be determined with each order. Estimated completion date is March 31, 2015. Army Contracting Command, Fort Bragg, N.C., is the contracting activity.
NAVY
Rolls-Royce Corp., Indianapolis, Ind., is being awarded a $106,999,970 undefinitized contract action to provide intermediate, depot level maintenance and related logistics support for approximately 223 in-service T-45 F405-RR-401 Adour engines. Work will be performed at the Naval Air Station (NAS) Meridian, Miss (47 percent); NAS Kingsville, Texas (46 percent); NAS Pensacola, Fla. (6 percent); and NAS Patuxent River, Md. (1 percent), and is expected to be completed in March 2015. No funds will be obligated at time of award; funds will be obligated on individual delivery orders as they are issued. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to FAR 6.302-1. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity (N00019-14-D-0016).
Bell Helicopter Textron Inc., Fort Worth, Texas, is being awarded a $59,703,818 modification to a previously awarded advanced acquisition contract (N00019-13-C-0023) for the procurement of long-lead items for the manufacture and delivery of 15 Lot 12 UH-1Y Build New Aircraft and 11 Lot 12 AH-1Z Build New Aircraft for the Marine Corps. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas (60 percent) and Amarillo, Texas (40 percent), and is expected to be completed in September 2015. Fiscal 2014 aircraft procurement, Navy funds in the amount of $59,703,818 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.
Lockheed Martin Corp., Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is being awarded a $52,141,562 modification to a previously awarded cost-plus-incentive-fee contract (N00019-02-C-3002) to execute phase 3 of the Joint Strike Fighter Autonomics Logistics Information System (ALIS) Standard Operating Unit Version 2 (SOUv2) capability development effort. Phase 3 includes integration of the SOUv2 with the ALIS sustainment system and the F-35 air system. Work will be performed in Orlando, Fla. (70 percent) and Fort Worth, Texas (30 percent), and is expected to be completed in August 2015. Fiscal 2013 research, development, test and evaluation, Air Force ($9,067,217) and fiscal 2014 research, development, test and evaluation Navy ($14,396,512) and Marine Corps ($14,309,644) funds in the amount of $37,773,373 will be obligated at time of award, $9,067,217 of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.
Guam MACC Builders A Joint Venture, Honolulu, Hawaii, is being awarded $45,450,600 for firm-fixed-price task order 0003 under a previously awarded multiple award construction contract (N62742-10-D-1309) for the design and construction of a high bay maintenance hangar to support forward operations and maintenance functions for the Unmanned Aircraft System MQ-4C Broad Area Maritime Surveillance platform at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam. The MQ-4C requires interior and enclosed maintenance space to accomplish scheduled inspections, airframe repairs, pre- and post-flight operations, as well as technical order compliance and aircraft modifications. The task order also contains two unexercised options, which if exercised would increase cumulative task order value to $46,719,102. Work will be performed in Yigo, Guam, and is expected to be completed by April 2016. Fiscal 2010 and fiscal 2014 military construction, Navy and fiscal 2014 other procurement, Navy contract funds in the amount of $45,450,600 are obligated on this award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Six proposals were received for this task order. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Pacific, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, is the contracting activity.
BAE Systems Information and Electronics, Nashua, N.H., is being awarded a $37,443,252 firm-fixed-price contract to procure 1,372 Advanced Precision Kill Weapon Systems (APKWS) II WGU-59/B Guidance Section, the Navy shipping and storage container; and supporting programmatic documentation for the APKWS II WGU-59/B Guidance Sections. Work will be performed in Nashua, N.H. (70 percent); and Austin, Texas (30 percent), and is expected to be completed in September 2015. Fiscal 2014 procurement ammunition, Navy and Marine Corps, and overseas contingency operations funds in the amount of $37,443,252 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to FAR 6.302-1. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity (N00019-14-C-0044).
Exelis Inc., Information Systems Division, Herndon, Va., is being awarded a $17,789,717 modification to previously awarded contract (N00174-11-D-0002) for the continued procurement of post-production maintenance support of Navy crew fixed site systems and procurement and support of the transmitting set, counter measure AN/PLT-4 systems. This action fills a requirement for equipment, maintenance and support for the Joint Service Explosive Ordnance Disposal Counter Radio Controlled Improvised Explosive Device Electronic Warfare (JSEOD CREW) program and for continued maintenance and support, including original equipment manufacturer field service representatives, for Legacy Navy CREW systems. The JSEOD CREW program provides all military explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) services with a new electronic warfare capability to counter the threat from improvised explosive devices. JSEOD protects EOD forces of all services, including those currently located in Operating Enduring Freedom, Afghanistan. Work will be performed in Boalsburg, Pa., and is expected to be completed by March 2015. No funds are being obligated at the time of award and contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Surface Warfare Center Indian Head Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technology Division, Indian Head, Md., is the contracting activity.
PAE Applied Technologies LLC, Fort Worth, Texas, is being awarded a $15,403,392 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract to meet the operations maintenance and logistics support of all range systems, equipment, government furnished databases and management systems and also determine, supply, and provide system support responsibilities, which include logistics support of isolated range equipment on, around, above and under the waters of San Clemente Island. The contract contains options, which if exercised, will bring the contract value to $167,597,135. Work will be performed in San Diego, Calif., and is expected to be completed by Sept. 30, 2014. If all options are exercised, work will continue through March 31, 2019. Fiscal 2014 operations and maintenance, Navy funds in the amount of $2,000,000 will be obligated at the time of award, and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This was competitively solicited through the Federal Business Opportunities website, with one offer received. The NAVSUP Fleet Logistics Center, San Diego, Calif., is the contracting activity (N00244-14-C-0007).
Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., Stratford, Conn., is being awarded a $14,947,975 cost-plus-fixed-fee delivery order against a previously awarded Basic Ordering Agreement (N00019-14-G-0004) under the Cabin Interior Phase IIA Program, to include a cabin redesign to reduce the total gross weight allowing for greater lift capability of the VH-3D In-Service Presidential Helicopter. Work will be performed in Stratford, Conn. (98 percent) and Quantico, Va. (2 percent), and is expected to be completed in July 2016. Fiscal 2014 aircraft procurement, Navy contract funds in the amount of $14,947,975 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md. is the contracting activity.
Bell Helicopter Textron Inc., Hurst, Texas, is being awarded an $11,413,510 modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-12-C-0009) to exercise an option to provide systems engineering and program management support for the production and delivery of AH-1Z and UH-1Y aircraft for the Marine Corps. Work will be performed in Hurst, Texas, and is expected to be completed in December 2014. Fiscal 2014 aircraft procurement, Navy funds in the amount of $11,413,510 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.
DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY
Cardinal Health Inc., Waukegan, Ill, has been awarded a maximum $16,760,817 modification (P00007) exercising the second option period on a one-year base contract (SPM2DE-12-D-7346) with four one-year option periods for various laboratory supplies. This is a fixed-price with economic-price adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract. Location of performance is Illinois with an April 12, 2015 performance completion date. Using military services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and federal civilian agencies. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2014 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pa.
Veyance Technologies Inc., Fairlawn, Ohio, has been awarded a maximum $10,638,028 firm-fixed-price contract for track shoe assemblies for the M88 vehicle. This is a competitive acquisition, and two offers were received. Location of performance is Ohio with a Jan. 21, 2015 performance completion date. Using military service is Army. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2014 through fiscal 2015 Army working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Land and Maritime, Warren, Mich., (SPRDL1-14-C-0071).
*Small Business
PRESIDENT OBAMA'S CALL REGARDING 6 MILLION AMERICANS SIGNED UP FOR HEALTH INSURANCE
FROM: THE WHITE HOUSE
Readout of the President’s Call with Health Care Navigators Announcing that 6 Million Americans Have Signed Up for Health Insurance
This afternoon, while traveling in Italy, President Obama convened a conference call with health care navigators and volunteers helping with enrollment efforts and announced that more than 6 million Americans have signed up for private health insurance plans through the federal and state Marketplaces since October 1. The President was joined on the call by several thousand grassroots volunteers, navigators and in-person assistors who are leading the effort to enroll millions of Americans in quality, affordable health insurance plans.
During the call, the President thanked the group for all their hard work to date and discussed the importance of building on this progress over the last four days of open enrollment. With consumers’ interest in signing up for health insurance surging – yesterday there were over 1.5 million visits to HealthCare.gov and over 430,000 calls to the call centers – the President encouraged the navigators and volunteers to redouble their efforts over the next four days and leave no stone unturned in trying to bring affordable health coverage to as many Americans as possible by the March 31 deadline. Nationwide, there more than 27,000 trained assistors in all fifty states who are helping consumers sign up in their communities. Consumers can find out how to get local in person help at this link on HealthCare.gov or through their state marketplaces.
Readout of the President’s Call with Health Care Navigators Announcing that 6 Million Americans Have Signed Up for Health Insurance
This afternoon, while traveling in Italy, President Obama convened a conference call with health care navigators and volunteers helping with enrollment efforts and announced that more than 6 million Americans have signed up for private health insurance plans through the federal and state Marketplaces since October 1. The President was joined on the call by several thousand grassroots volunteers, navigators and in-person assistors who are leading the effort to enroll millions of Americans in quality, affordable health insurance plans.
During the call, the President thanked the group for all their hard work to date and discussed the importance of building on this progress over the last four days of open enrollment. With consumers’ interest in signing up for health insurance surging – yesterday there were over 1.5 million visits to HealthCare.gov and over 430,000 calls to the call centers – the President encouraged the navigators and volunteers to redouble their efforts over the next four days and leave no stone unturned in trying to bring affordable health coverage to as many Americans as possible by the March 31 deadline. Nationwide, there more than 27,000 trained assistors in all fifty states who are helping consumers sign up in their communities. Consumers can find out how to get local in person help at this link on HealthCare.gov or through their state marketplaces.
PRESIDENT OBAMA MAKES STATEMENT ON ENDING SECTION 215 BULK METADATA PROGRAM
FROM: THE WHITE HOUSE
MARCH 27, 2014
Statement by the President on the Section 215 Bulk Metadata Program
Earlier this year in a speech at the Department of Justice, I announced a transition that would end the Section 215 bulk telephony metadata program as it previously existed and that we would establish a mechanism to preserve the capabilities we need without the government holding this bulk metadata. I did so to give the public greater confidence that their privacy is appropriately protected, while maintaining the tools our intelligence and law enforcement agencies need to keep us safe.
In that January 17 speech, I ordered that a transition away from the prior program would proceed in two steps. In addition to directing immediate changes to the program, I also directed the Intelligence Community and the Attorney General to use this transition period to develop options for a new approach to match the capabilities and fill gaps that the Section 215 program was designed to address without the government holding this metadata. I instructed them to report back to me with options for alternative approaches before the program comes up for reauthorization on March 28th. As part of this process, we consulted with the Congress, the private sector, and privacy and civil liberties groups, and developed a number of alternative approaches.
Having carefully considered the available options, I have decided that the best path forward is that the government should not collect or hold this data in bulk. Instead, the data should remain at the telephone companies for the length of time it currently does today. The government would obtain the data pursuant to individual orders from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) approving the use of specific numbers for such queries, if a judge agrees based on national security concerns. Legislation will be needed to permit the government to obtain this information with the speed and in the manner that will be required to make this approach workable.
I believe this approach will best ensure that we have the information we need to meet our intelligence needs while enhancing public confidence in the manner in which the information is collected and held. My team has been in touch with key Congressional leadership -- including from the Judiciary and Intelligence Committees -- and we are committed to working with them to see legislation passed as soon as possible. Given that this legislation will not be in place by March 28 and given the importance of maintaining this capability, I have directed the Department of Justice to seek a 90-day reauthorization of the existing program including the modifications I directed in January. I am confident that this approach can provide our intelligence and law enforcement professionals the information they need to keep us safe while addressing the legitimate privacy concerns that have been raised.
MARCH 27, 2014
Statement by the President on the Section 215 Bulk Metadata Program
Earlier this year in a speech at the Department of Justice, I announced a transition that would end the Section 215 bulk telephony metadata program as it previously existed and that we would establish a mechanism to preserve the capabilities we need without the government holding this bulk metadata. I did so to give the public greater confidence that their privacy is appropriately protected, while maintaining the tools our intelligence and law enforcement agencies need to keep us safe.
In that January 17 speech, I ordered that a transition away from the prior program would proceed in two steps. In addition to directing immediate changes to the program, I also directed the Intelligence Community and the Attorney General to use this transition period to develop options for a new approach to match the capabilities and fill gaps that the Section 215 program was designed to address without the government holding this metadata. I instructed them to report back to me with options for alternative approaches before the program comes up for reauthorization on March 28th. As part of this process, we consulted with the Congress, the private sector, and privacy and civil liberties groups, and developed a number of alternative approaches.
Having carefully considered the available options, I have decided that the best path forward is that the government should not collect or hold this data in bulk. Instead, the data should remain at the telephone companies for the length of time it currently does today. The government would obtain the data pursuant to individual orders from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) approving the use of specific numbers for such queries, if a judge agrees based on national security concerns. Legislation will be needed to permit the government to obtain this information with the speed and in the manner that will be required to make this approach workable.
I believe this approach will best ensure that we have the information we need to meet our intelligence needs while enhancing public confidence in the manner in which the information is collected and held. My team has been in touch with key Congressional leadership -- including from the Judiciary and Intelligence Committees -- and we are committed to working with them to see legislation passed as soon as possible. Given that this legislation will not be in place by March 28 and given the importance of maintaining this capability, I have directed the Department of Justice to seek a 90-day reauthorization of the existing program including the modifications I directed in January. I am confident that this approach can provide our intelligence and law enforcement professionals the information they need to keep us safe while addressing the legitimate privacy concerns that have been raised.
SECRETARY KERRY'S STATEMENT ON UN VOTE ON SRI LANKA RECONCILIATION
FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
UN Human Rights Council Vote on Sri Lanka Reconciliation
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
March 27, 2014
Today’s vote in the UN Human Rights Council sends a clear message: The time to pursue lasting peace and prosperity is now; justice and accountability cannot wait.
This resolution reaffirms the commitment of the international community to support the Government of Sri Lanka as it pursues reconciliation and respect for human rights and democratic governance. That’s why the resolution requests that the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights continues monitoring the human rights situation in Sri Lanka. That’s why it calls on the Office to conduct an investigation into allegations of serious human rights abuses and related crimes during Sri Lanka’s civil war. And that’s why the United States will continue speak out in defense of the fundamental freedoms that all Sri Lankans should enjoy.
We are deeply concerned by recent actions against some of Sri Lanka’s citizens, including detentions and harassment of civil society activists. Further reprisals against these brave defenders of human rights and the dignity of all Sri Lankan citizens would elicit grave concern from the international community.
The Sri Lankan people are resilient. They have demonstrated grit and determination through years of war. Now, they are demanding democracy and prosperity in years of peace. They deserve that chance.
The United States stands with all the people of Sri Lanka. We are committed to helping them realize a future in which all Sri Lankans can share in their country’s success.
This resolution reaffirms the commitment of the international community to support the Government of Sri Lanka as it pursues reconciliation and respect for human rights and democratic governance. That’s why the resolution requests that the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights continues monitoring the human rights situation in Sri Lanka. That’s why it calls on the Office to conduct an investigation into allegations of serious human rights abuses and related crimes during Sri Lanka’s civil war. And that’s why the United States will continue speak out in defense of the fundamental freedoms that all Sri Lankans should enjoy.
We are deeply concerned by recent actions against some of Sri Lanka’s citizens, including detentions and harassment of civil society activists. Further reprisals against these brave defenders of human rights and the dignity of all Sri Lankan citizens would elicit grave concern from the international community.
The Sri Lankan people are resilient. They have demonstrated grit and determination through years of war. Now, they are demanding democracy and prosperity in years of peace. They deserve that chance.
The United States stands with all the people of Sri Lanka. We are committed to helping them realize a future in which all Sri Lankans can share in their country’s success.
RUSSIA REINFORCES UNITS ALONG BORDER WITH UKRAINE
FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Russia Reinforcing Units on Border with Ukraine
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, March 27, 2014 – Russia continues to reinforce units along the eastern and southern Ukraine border, Pentagon Press Secretary Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby said during a news conference today.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu told Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel last week that the Russian troops were massing for regularly scheduled exercises.
“The minister said it was exercises, no intent to cross the border,” Kirby said. “They need to live up to that word.”
The build-up on the Russian side of the border does nothing to de-escalate the tensions between Russia and Ukraine, Kirby said. “It’s doing nothing to assist in the stability of that part of Europe,” the admiral said.
The United States is concerned about the build-up and is monitoring it closely, he said.
The United States has added aircraft and personnel to the aviation detachment in Poland. The United States and other NATO nations have added to the force comprising the Baltic air police mission.
“I would tell you that the staff here in the Pentagon, both the civilian and uniformed, are constantly looking at other ways that … we can further reassure our allies and partners in Europe to potentially look at either adding to or reinforcing existing operations or exercises or even adding on additional opportunities,” Kirby said. “We’re looking at that very closely right now.”
There has been no indication of any Russian exercises in the region, the admiral said. “The way it was explained was that these were springtime exercises,” he said.
He urged reporters to call the Russian Ministry of Defense for more information.
“Our concern is for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine and for the Ukrainian people and their nation,” Kirby said.
Moscow has violated Ukraine’s sovereignty. “The forces they have in Crimea and the forces they have along the border with Ukraine are doing nothing to deescalate the tension,” he said. “And that's the concern.”
Russia Reinforcing Units on Border with Ukraine
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, March 27, 2014 – Russia continues to reinforce units along the eastern and southern Ukraine border, Pentagon Press Secretary Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby said during a news conference today.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu told Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel last week that the Russian troops were massing for regularly scheduled exercises.
“The minister said it was exercises, no intent to cross the border,” Kirby said. “They need to live up to that word.”
The build-up on the Russian side of the border does nothing to de-escalate the tensions between Russia and Ukraine, Kirby said. “It’s doing nothing to assist in the stability of that part of Europe,” the admiral said.
The United States is concerned about the build-up and is monitoring it closely, he said.
The United States has added aircraft and personnel to the aviation detachment in Poland. The United States and other NATO nations have added to the force comprising the Baltic air police mission.
“I would tell you that the staff here in the Pentagon, both the civilian and uniformed, are constantly looking at other ways that … we can further reassure our allies and partners in Europe to potentially look at either adding to or reinforcing existing operations or exercises or even adding on additional opportunities,” Kirby said. “We’re looking at that very closely right now.”
There has been no indication of any Russian exercises in the region, the admiral said. “The way it was explained was that these were springtime exercises,” he said.
He urged reporters to call the Russian Ministry of Defense for more information.
“Our concern is for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine and for the Ukrainian people and their nation,” Kirby said.
Moscow has violated Ukraine’s sovereignty. “The forces they have in Crimea and the forces they have along the border with Ukraine are doing nothing to deescalate the tension,” he said. “And that's the concern.”
EXPEDITION 39 CREW LAUNCHES ABOARD SOYUZ ROCKET
FROM: NASA
The gantry arms begin to close around the Soyuz TMA-12M spacecraft to secure the rocket at the launch pad on Sunday, March 23, 2014, at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Launch of the Soyuz rocket is scheduled for 5:17 p.m. EDT, March 25 and will send Expedition 39 Soyuz Commander Alexander Skvortsov of the Russian Federal Space Agency, Roscosmos, Flight Engineer Steven Swanson of NASA, and Flight Engineer Oleg Artemyev of Roscosmos on a six-month mission aboard the International Space Station. Image Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky.
Expedition 39 Crew Launches Aboard the Soyuz TMA-12M Rocket
The Soyuz TMA-12M rocket launches from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Wednesday, March 26, 2014 carrying Expedition 39 Soyuz Commander Alexander Skvortsov of the Russian Federal Space Agency, Roscosmos, Flight Engineer Steven Swanson of NASA, and Flight Engineer Oleg Artemyev of Roscosmos to the International Space Station. Image Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky.
LANL SUGGESTS NEW HUMAN SURROGATE MIGHT REDUCE NEED FOR ANIMAL TESTING
FROM: LOS ALAMOS NATIONAL LABORATORY
ATHENA Desktop Human “Body” Could Reduce Need for Animal Drug Tests
Surrogate Organ System Developed for Toxicity Testing
LOS ALAMOS, N.M., March 26, 2014—Creating surrogate human organs, coupled with insights from highly sensitive mass spectrometry technologies, a new project is on the brink of revolutionizing the way we screen new drugs and toxic agents.
ATHENA, the Advanced Tissue-engineered Human Ectypal Network Analyzer project team, is developing four human organ constructs – liver, heart, lung and kidney – that are based on a significantly miniaturized platform. Each organ component will be about the size of a smartphone screen, and the whole ATHENA “body” of interconnected organs would fit neatly on a desk.
“By developing this ‘homo minutus,’ we are stepping beyond the need for animal or Petri dish testing: There are huge benefits in developing drug and toxicity analysis systems that can mimic the response of actual human organs,” said Rashi Iyer, a senior scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratory, the lead laboratory on the five-year, $19 million multi-institutional effort. The project is supported by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA).
“By creating a holistic dynamic system that more realistically mimics the human physiological environment than static human cells in a dish, we can understand chemical effects on human organs as never before,” she said. “The ultimate goal is to build a lung that breathes, a heart that pumps, a liver that metabolizes and a kidney that excretes -– all connected by a tubing infrastructure much akin to the way blood vessels connect our organs. While some skeptics might believe that this is a utopian dream,” she said, “the team is confident that this is indeed achievable.”
Some 40 percent of pharmaceuticals fail their clinical trials, Iyer noted, and there are thousands of chemicals whose effects on humans are simply unknown. Providing a realistic, cost-effective and rapid screening system such as ATHENA with high-throughput capabilities could provide major benefits to the medical field, screening more accurately and offering a greater chance of clinical trial success.
Results from the project’s Vanderbilt University effort on the ATHENA perfusion system will be presented at the Society of Toxicology meeting this week in Phoenix by co-principal investigator John Wikswo. Successful development and analysis of a human liver organ construct -- that responds to exposure to a toxic chemical much like a real liver – is described in a presentation reported by the Gordon A. Cain University Professor and Director of the Vanderbilt Institute for Integrative Biosystems Research and Education (VIIBRE) at Vanderbilt University.
“We spent a bit of time analyzing the challenges in building miniature human organ constructs, and we believe we’ve figured out how to capture the key features we need,” said Wikswo. “There are a lot of trade-offs, and we’re not trying to build an exact replica of a human liver, but an in vitro model that allows us to measure human liver responses to drugs and toxins that cannot be replicated by a layer of cells growing on plastic.”
The ATHENA project brings together top capabilities and researchers in this pioneering field of research. The project components are divided as follows:
In addition to leading and coordinating the project, Iyer is directing work on the lung and kidney organ as well as step-wise integration and validation of all of the organs in the ATHENA perfusion platform – all of which will be executed at LANL.
Wikswo and his VIIBRE group are building the hardware platform that ‘runs’ and monitors the health of the entire system, while the first organ, the liver construct, which was recently tested in the ATHENA platform at VIIBRE, is being developed by Katrin Zeilinger, head of the Bioreactor Group, Experimental Surgery, and colleagues at Charité Universitätsmedizin, Berlin, Germany.
Kevin Kit Parker, Tarr Family Professor of Bioengineering and Applied Physics at Harvard University, is leading the heart effort.
Shuvo Roy, Director of the Biomedical Microdevices Laboratory at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF), and Associate Professor of Medicine William Fissell of Vanderbilt are developing the kidney constructs.
Andrzej Przekwas, CTO and Senior Vice President for Research of CFD Research Corporation (CFDRC), a technology company in Huntsville, AL, is building a mathematical model of ATHENA to facilitate system design and physiologically-based pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PB-PK/PD) models to guide drug exposure studies and data extrapolation. “This component is unique and critical when building an integrated ex vivo system mimicking the human body,” said the DTRA program manager.
LANL and Vanderbilt in collaboration with CFDRC will develop a blood mimic to sustain the four devices.
And as Iyer puts it “a system is only as good as its analytical strength. . . the ion mobility mass spectrometry capability being developed by VU’s John McLean with a parallel capability at Los Alamos, lead by Srinivas Iyer, ensures an unprecedented ability to interrogate the system and obtain valuable data.”
Successful integration of the Charité-developed liver organ construct into the VIIBRE built ATHENA perfusion system was demonstrated to DTRA recently. The team expects to connect the liver and the heart constructs this winter followed by the lung and finally the kidney.
The research is funded by Defense Threat Reduction Agency agreement # CBMXCEL-XL1-2-0001.
U.S.-CANADA ANTITRUST AGENCIES ISSUE BEST PRACTICES FOR COORDINATING REVIEWS OF MERGERS
FROM: U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
U.S. AND CANADA ANTITRUST AGENCIES ISSUE BEST PRACTICES FOR COORDINATING MERGER REVIEWS
Builds Upon 1995 Cooperation Agreement Between the Two Countries
WASHINGTON — The Department of Justice, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and the Competition Bureau Canada today issued a set of “best practices” to make more transparent how they coordinate merger reviews that affect the United States and Canada.
Assistant Attorney General for the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division Bill Baer, FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez and Canadian Commissioner of Competition John Pecman praised the long record of successful cooperation between the two jurisdictions, and noted that cross-border coordination and cooperation in merger matters have steadily increased over the last decades.
The best practices set forth how effective day-to-day cooperation works between the two U.S. agencies and the Competition Bureau, including how the agencies communicate with each other, benefit from the similarity of their respective merger review timetables, cooperate in the analysis of evidence, use waivers of confidentiality provided by the parties and address remedies and settlements. The best practices also seek to promote cooperation and coordination between the U.S. and Canadian agencies in order to enhance the likelihood of consistent outcomes when the same merger is reviewed in both countries. In addition, the best practices acknowledge the contribution that merging parties can make in facilitating cooperation, and provide guidance to firms about how to work with the agencies to coordinate and facilitate the reviews of their proposed transactions.
“The strong relationship between the U.S. and Canadian competition agencies has allowed us to cooperate closely and effectively on many merger investigations,” said Assistant Attorney General Baer. “The best practices we are issuing today are a testimony to our agencies’ long-standing and productive working relationship and the importance all of our agencies place on transparency.”
“We have developed a very close working relationship with our Canadian colleagues based on our shared approach to the implementation of our competition laws and policies,” said FTC Chairwoman Ramirez. “These best practices exemplify our commitment to cooperation and convergence, benefiting our agencies, merging parties, and ultimately consumers.”
The best practices, which do not modify existing law, build upon the framework of the 1995 antitrust cooperation agreement between the United States and Canada and the experience gained under that framework.
U.S. AND CANADA ANTITRUST AGENCIES ISSUE BEST PRACTICES FOR COORDINATING MERGER REVIEWS
Builds Upon 1995 Cooperation Agreement Between the Two Countries
WASHINGTON — The Department of Justice, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and the Competition Bureau Canada today issued a set of “best practices” to make more transparent how they coordinate merger reviews that affect the United States and Canada.
Assistant Attorney General for the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division Bill Baer, FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez and Canadian Commissioner of Competition John Pecman praised the long record of successful cooperation between the two jurisdictions, and noted that cross-border coordination and cooperation in merger matters have steadily increased over the last decades.
The best practices set forth how effective day-to-day cooperation works between the two U.S. agencies and the Competition Bureau, including how the agencies communicate with each other, benefit from the similarity of their respective merger review timetables, cooperate in the analysis of evidence, use waivers of confidentiality provided by the parties and address remedies and settlements. The best practices also seek to promote cooperation and coordination between the U.S. and Canadian agencies in order to enhance the likelihood of consistent outcomes when the same merger is reviewed in both countries. In addition, the best practices acknowledge the contribution that merging parties can make in facilitating cooperation, and provide guidance to firms about how to work with the agencies to coordinate and facilitate the reviews of their proposed transactions.
“The strong relationship between the U.S. and Canadian competition agencies has allowed us to cooperate closely and effectively on many merger investigations,” said Assistant Attorney General Baer. “The best practices we are issuing today are a testimony to our agencies’ long-standing and productive working relationship and the importance all of our agencies place on transparency.”
“We have developed a very close working relationship with our Canadian colleagues based on our shared approach to the implementation of our competition laws and policies,” said FTC Chairwoman Ramirez. “These best practices exemplify our commitment to cooperation and convergence, benefiting our agencies, merging parties, and ultimately consumers.”
The best practices, which do not modify existing law, build upon the framework of the 1995 antitrust cooperation agreement between the United States and Canada and the experience gained under that framework.
RESEARCHER BELIEVES YELLOWSTONE SUPERVOLCANO WILL NOT ERUPT FOR A LONG TIME
FROM: NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
Will the Yellowstone supervolcano erupt in our lifetime?
Researcher studies the past to predict the future
As with many things in nature, it helps to understand the past when trying to predict the future.
Ilya Bindeman, an associate professor of geological sciences at the University of Oregon, believes this is true of the Yellowstone supervolcano and the likelihood that it will produce an apocalyptic eruption as it has three times over the last the last 2 million years.
"Yellowstone is one of the biggest supervolcanos in the world," he says. "Sometimes it erupts quietly with lava flow, but once or twice every million years, it erupts very violently, forming large calderas," which are very large craters measuring tens of kilometers in diameter.
If it happens again, and he says most scientists think that it will, he predicts such an eruption will obliterate the surroundings within a radius of hundreds of kilometers, and cover the rest of the United States and Canada with multiple inches of ash. This, effectively, would shut down agriculture and cause global climate cooling for as long as a decade, or more, he says. A volcanic event of such magnitude "hasn't happened in modern civilization," he says.
However, the National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded scientist doesn't think it's going to happen anytime soon--at least not for another 1 million to 2 million years.
"Our research of the pattern of such volcanism in two older, 'complete' caldera clusters in the wake of Yellowstone allows a prognosis that Yellowstone is on a dying cycle, rather than on a ramping up cycle," he says.
By this, he is referring to an ongoing cycle that occurs within the so-called Yellowstone "hot spot," an upwelling plume of hot mantle beneath the Earth's surface, when magma chambers, which are large underground pools of liquid rock, reuse rocks, eject lava, melt again and prompt large eruptions many thousands of years later.
It is a complicated process that also involves the position of the North American plate, which is moving at the rate of two to four centimeters a year, and its relationship to the hot spot, as well as the continuing interaction of the Earth's crust with basalt, a common volcanic rock derived from the mantle.
"Yellowstone is like a conveyer belt of caldera clusters," he says. "By investigating the patterns of behavior in two previously completed caldera cycles, we can suggest that the current activity of Yellowstone is on the dying cycle."
Calderas first form due to the hot spot's interaction with the North American plate, forming new magma after about a two-million-year delay.
"It takes a long time to build magma bodies in the crust," he says. "We discovered a consistent pattern: subsequent volcanism is a combination of new magma production and the recycling of already erupted material, which includes lava and tuff," a rock composed of consolidated volcanic ash.
By comparing Yellowstone to previous completed caldera cycles, "we can detect that the Yellowstone hot spot is re-using the already erupted and buried material, rather than producing just new magma, " he says. "Either the crust under Yellowstone is turning into hard-to-melt basalt, or because the movement of North American plate has changed the magma pluming system away from Yellowstone, or both of these reasons."
The Yellowstone hot spot has produced multiple clusters of nested volcanic craters, known as calderas, during the last 16 million years. "Caldera cycles go on for maybe several million years, and then it is done," he adds. "The current magmatic activity in Yellowstone is in the middle of the cycle, or at the end, as three caldera forming eruptions have already happened."
The three most recent eruptions, which occurred 2 million, 1.3 million, and 640,000 years ago, resulted in a series of nested calderas forming what we know as Yellowstone National Park and its immediate vicinity.
Eventually, the cycle comes to an end for unknown reasons.
"By performing micro-analytical isotopic investigation of tiny minerals in rocks, we are trying to understand when it's done," he says. "We know the behavior of the past and we know at what comparative stage Yellowstone is right now. We think Yellowstone is currently on a third cycle, and it's a dying cycle. We've observed a lot of material that represent recycled volcanic rocks, which were once buried inside of calderas and are now getting recycled. Yellowstone has erupted enough of this material already to suggest that the future melting potential of the crust is getting exhausted."
To be sure, however, he also points out that "everything is possible in geology, and not very precise."
Bindeman is conducting his research under an NSF Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award, which he received in 2009. The award supports junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through outstanding research, excellent education, and the integration of education and research within the context of the mission of their organization. NSF is funding his work with $533,606 over five years.
As part of the grant's education component, Bindeman is training graduate and undergraduate students using lab-based learning, summer research programs for undergraduates and community college students, and through new courses.
He also has developed exchanges and collaboration among graduate and undergraduate students and scientists in the United States, Switzerland, Russia, France and Iceland.
"International exchange will involve collaborative lab visits, joint fieldwork, excursions for foreign students, and international student and postdoc hiring," he says. He recently led a two-week Yellowstone field school for graduate students and professors visiting from Switzerland.
Bindeman's research involves using radioactive dating to determine the age of volcanic materials, such as tuff and lava, "with the goal of understanding its history," he says. "Knowing the age is important as a context for understanding everything else."
They analyze oxygen isotope ratios in quartz and zircon, and water- and heat-resistant minerals, from volcanic rocks. Despite re-melting, the zircon crystals have retained their isotope signatures, enabling the scientists to date their cores and rims, and look into the history of the magma assembly.
"We found patterns indicating that material was recycled as older volcanic rocks forming the roofs of magma chambers collapsed and re-melted during eruptions, only to be re-ejected in the next volcanic outburst," he says.
Specifically he and his team studied the two most recently completed cycles, that is, the cycle that produced the eruption of 2 million years ago, known as Heise, and the one that followed, producing the eruption of 1.3 million years ago, known as Picabo.
The results of those studies enabled them to determine the current state of the supervolcano, and predict that a new catastrophic caldera-forming eruption likely will happen only in 1 million to 2 million years, probably in Montana.
An eruption of power has not occurred in the world for at least 74,000 years. "The last one was in Toba, Indonesia," he says.
Bindeman also is investigating the potential effects of the next massive eruption on the atmosphere. "Sulfur dioxide gas will be released in large quantities, resulting in global cooling and ozone destruction, but nobody knows yet how cold it's going to get and what will be the effects of temporary ozone layer destruction," he says.
To convey the power of the last Yellowstone eruption, and quite possibly the next one, Bindeman cites two recent examples for comparison purposes: The 1980 eruption of Mt. St. Helens in Washington State, which killed 57 people and caused widespread destruction, spewed one cubic kilometer of material into the air, he says. The 1991 eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in the Philippines, which killed hundreds of people and for several years decreased global temperatures, released ten cubic kilometers, he says.
"The last Yellowstone eruption 640,000 years ago was 1,000 kilometers of material," he says.
-- Marlene Cimons, National Science Foundation
Investigators
Ilya Bindeman
Related Institutions/Organizations
University of Oregon Eugene
Will the Yellowstone supervolcano erupt in our lifetime?
Researcher studies the past to predict the future
As with many things in nature, it helps to understand the past when trying to predict the future.
Ilya Bindeman, an associate professor of geological sciences at the University of Oregon, believes this is true of the Yellowstone supervolcano and the likelihood that it will produce an apocalyptic eruption as it has three times over the last the last 2 million years.
"Yellowstone is one of the biggest supervolcanos in the world," he says. "Sometimes it erupts quietly with lava flow, but once or twice every million years, it erupts very violently, forming large calderas," which are very large craters measuring tens of kilometers in diameter.
If it happens again, and he says most scientists think that it will, he predicts such an eruption will obliterate the surroundings within a radius of hundreds of kilometers, and cover the rest of the United States and Canada with multiple inches of ash. This, effectively, would shut down agriculture and cause global climate cooling for as long as a decade, or more, he says. A volcanic event of such magnitude "hasn't happened in modern civilization," he says.
However, the National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded scientist doesn't think it's going to happen anytime soon--at least not for another 1 million to 2 million years.
"Our research of the pattern of such volcanism in two older, 'complete' caldera clusters in the wake of Yellowstone allows a prognosis that Yellowstone is on a dying cycle, rather than on a ramping up cycle," he says.
By this, he is referring to an ongoing cycle that occurs within the so-called Yellowstone "hot spot," an upwelling plume of hot mantle beneath the Earth's surface, when magma chambers, which are large underground pools of liquid rock, reuse rocks, eject lava, melt again and prompt large eruptions many thousands of years later.
It is a complicated process that also involves the position of the North American plate, which is moving at the rate of two to four centimeters a year, and its relationship to the hot spot, as well as the continuing interaction of the Earth's crust with basalt, a common volcanic rock derived from the mantle.
"Yellowstone is like a conveyer belt of caldera clusters," he says. "By investigating the patterns of behavior in two previously completed caldera cycles, we can suggest that the current activity of Yellowstone is on the dying cycle."
Calderas first form due to the hot spot's interaction with the North American plate, forming new magma after about a two-million-year delay.
"It takes a long time to build magma bodies in the crust," he says. "We discovered a consistent pattern: subsequent volcanism is a combination of new magma production and the recycling of already erupted material, which includes lava and tuff," a rock composed of consolidated volcanic ash.
By comparing Yellowstone to previous completed caldera cycles, "we can detect that the Yellowstone hot spot is re-using the already erupted and buried material, rather than producing just new magma, " he says. "Either the crust under Yellowstone is turning into hard-to-melt basalt, or because the movement of North American plate has changed the magma pluming system away from Yellowstone, or both of these reasons."
The Yellowstone hot spot has produced multiple clusters of nested volcanic craters, known as calderas, during the last 16 million years. "Caldera cycles go on for maybe several million years, and then it is done," he adds. "The current magmatic activity in Yellowstone is in the middle of the cycle, or at the end, as three caldera forming eruptions have already happened."
The three most recent eruptions, which occurred 2 million, 1.3 million, and 640,000 years ago, resulted in a series of nested calderas forming what we know as Yellowstone National Park and its immediate vicinity.
Eventually, the cycle comes to an end for unknown reasons.
"By performing micro-analytical isotopic investigation of tiny minerals in rocks, we are trying to understand when it's done," he says. "We know the behavior of the past and we know at what comparative stage Yellowstone is right now. We think Yellowstone is currently on a third cycle, and it's a dying cycle. We've observed a lot of material that represent recycled volcanic rocks, which were once buried inside of calderas and are now getting recycled. Yellowstone has erupted enough of this material already to suggest that the future melting potential of the crust is getting exhausted."
To be sure, however, he also points out that "everything is possible in geology, and not very precise."
Bindeman is conducting his research under an NSF Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award, which he received in 2009. The award supports junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through outstanding research, excellent education, and the integration of education and research within the context of the mission of their organization. NSF is funding his work with $533,606 over five years.
As part of the grant's education component, Bindeman is training graduate and undergraduate students using lab-based learning, summer research programs for undergraduates and community college students, and through new courses.
He also has developed exchanges and collaboration among graduate and undergraduate students and scientists in the United States, Switzerland, Russia, France and Iceland.
"International exchange will involve collaborative lab visits, joint fieldwork, excursions for foreign students, and international student and postdoc hiring," he says. He recently led a two-week Yellowstone field school for graduate students and professors visiting from Switzerland.
Bindeman's research involves using radioactive dating to determine the age of volcanic materials, such as tuff and lava, "with the goal of understanding its history," he says. "Knowing the age is important as a context for understanding everything else."
They analyze oxygen isotope ratios in quartz and zircon, and water- and heat-resistant minerals, from volcanic rocks. Despite re-melting, the zircon crystals have retained their isotope signatures, enabling the scientists to date their cores and rims, and look into the history of the magma assembly.
"We found patterns indicating that material was recycled as older volcanic rocks forming the roofs of magma chambers collapsed and re-melted during eruptions, only to be re-ejected in the next volcanic outburst," he says.
Specifically he and his team studied the two most recently completed cycles, that is, the cycle that produced the eruption of 2 million years ago, known as Heise, and the one that followed, producing the eruption of 1.3 million years ago, known as Picabo.
The results of those studies enabled them to determine the current state of the supervolcano, and predict that a new catastrophic caldera-forming eruption likely will happen only in 1 million to 2 million years, probably in Montana.
An eruption of power has not occurred in the world for at least 74,000 years. "The last one was in Toba, Indonesia," he says.
Bindeman also is investigating the potential effects of the next massive eruption on the atmosphere. "Sulfur dioxide gas will be released in large quantities, resulting in global cooling and ozone destruction, but nobody knows yet how cold it's going to get and what will be the effects of temporary ozone layer destruction," he says.
To convey the power of the last Yellowstone eruption, and quite possibly the next one, Bindeman cites two recent examples for comparison purposes: The 1980 eruption of Mt. St. Helens in Washington State, which killed 57 people and caused widespread destruction, spewed one cubic kilometer of material into the air, he says. The 1991 eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in the Philippines, which killed hundreds of people and for several years decreased global temperatures, released ten cubic kilometers, he says.
"The last Yellowstone eruption 640,000 years ago was 1,000 kilometers of material," he says.
-- Marlene Cimons, National Science Foundation
Investigators
Ilya Bindeman
Related Institutions/Organizations
University of Oregon Eugene
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
BRITISH, U.S. DEFENSE LEADERS MEET OVER CRIMEA-UKRAINE SITUATION
FROM: U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
U.S., British Defense Leaders Discuss Ukraine, NATO
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, March 26, 2014 – U.S. and United Kingdom defense leaders today reiterated that there must be consequences for Russia following President Vladimir Putin’s forced annexation of Crimea from Ukraine.
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel hosted British Defense Secretary Philip Hammond at the Pentagon. The two discussed a range of subjects, but the main focus was Ukraine, Hagel said at a news conference with Hammond after their meeting.
“I thanked Secretary Hammond for the U.K.'s steadfast support of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity and for the U.K.’s important contributions to NATO,” Hagel said. “We reaffirmed the strong commitment of both our countries to NATO's collective defenses, as President Obama has emphasized throughout his trip to Europe.”
Economic and diplomatic sanctions that have been imposed against Russia by the European Union and the United States will further isolate Russia, Hagel noted. “As the leaders of both our countries and the other G-7 nations affirmed this week in the Netherlands, we will continue to coordinate closely on future actions and sanctions we may take against Russia,” he added.
Hammond said Russia’s action was completely unacceptable, and he called the Russian occupation of Crimea “illegal annexation of a sovereign territory.”
The United Kingdom stands with the United States and the rest of NATO in opposing the Russian action and supports “wide-ranging economic and diplomatic sanctions to force President Putin to stop his bullying behavior,” Hammond said.
“The Russian government should be in no doubt that should there be further acts of aggression, there will be further consequences for Russia,” he added.
Hammond confirmed that in addition to the offer of Royal Air Force Typhoon combat jets to bolster the Baltic air policing mission, the United Kingdom is working with its allies and partners to scope options for additional measures of reassurance to Eastern European and Baltic allies.
Hammond stated that evidence suggests that the Russian agenda is being run by Putin personally. “Other Russian players, including [Defense] Minister [Sergei] Shoigu, may express views, but it's a moot point, and we cannot know, we do not know, to what extent all of those people are really inside the inner circle in which President Putin is planning this exercise,” the British leader said.
The situation in Ukraine demonstrates the continued need for NATO, Hagel said. “The essential character and commitment of this alliance, of its 28 members to one another, remains unchanged, but we will look for new ways to collaborate and improve the alliance’s capabilities and readiness,” the secretary said. “That means we will make continued necessary investments in defense.”
The two men and their staffs also discussed the progress of the campaign in Afghanistan.
Both countries are grappling with budget constraints, and both leaders look on this as an opportunity to explore new areas of cooperation. Hammond said the United States and United Kingdom could work together in nuclear deterrence, special operations forces, intelligence, unmanned aerial vehicles, surveillance aircraft and carrier strike regeneration.
U.S., British Defense Leaders Discuss Ukraine, NATO
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, March 26, 2014 – U.S. and United Kingdom defense leaders today reiterated that there must be consequences for Russia following President Vladimir Putin’s forced annexation of Crimea from Ukraine.
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel hosted British Defense Secretary Philip Hammond at the Pentagon. The two discussed a range of subjects, but the main focus was Ukraine, Hagel said at a news conference with Hammond after their meeting.
“I thanked Secretary Hammond for the U.K.'s steadfast support of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity and for the U.K.’s important contributions to NATO,” Hagel said. “We reaffirmed the strong commitment of both our countries to NATO's collective defenses, as President Obama has emphasized throughout his trip to Europe.”
Economic and diplomatic sanctions that have been imposed against Russia by the European Union and the United States will further isolate Russia, Hagel noted. “As the leaders of both our countries and the other G-7 nations affirmed this week in the Netherlands, we will continue to coordinate closely on future actions and sanctions we may take against Russia,” he added.
Hammond said Russia’s action was completely unacceptable, and he called the Russian occupation of Crimea “illegal annexation of a sovereign territory.”
The United Kingdom stands with the United States and the rest of NATO in opposing the Russian action and supports “wide-ranging economic and diplomatic sanctions to force President Putin to stop his bullying behavior,” Hammond said.
“The Russian government should be in no doubt that should there be further acts of aggression, there will be further consequences for Russia,” he added.
Hammond confirmed that in addition to the offer of Royal Air Force Typhoon combat jets to bolster the Baltic air policing mission, the United Kingdom is working with its allies and partners to scope options for additional measures of reassurance to Eastern European and Baltic allies.
Hammond stated that evidence suggests that the Russian agenda is being run by Putin personally. “Other Russian players, including [Defense] Minister [Sergei] Shoigu, may express views, but it's a moot point, and we cannot know, we do not know, to what extent all of those people are really inside the inner circle in which President Putin is planning this exercise,” the British leader said.
The situation in Ukraine demonstrates the continued need for NATO, Hagel said. “The essential character and commitment of this alliance, of its 28 members to one another, remains unchanged, but we will look for new ways to collaborate and improve the alliance’s capabilities and readiness,” the secretary said. “That means we will make continued necessary investments in defense.”
The two men and their staffs also discussed the progress of the campaign in Afghanistan.
Both countries are grappling with budget constraints, and both leaders look on this as an opportunity to explore new areas of cooperation. Hammond said the United States and United Kingdom could work together in nuclear deterrence, special operations forces, intelligence, unmanned aerial vehicles, surveillance aircraft and carrier strike regeneration.
U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT CONTRACTS FOR MARCH 26, 2014
FROM: U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT DEFENSE
CONTRACTS
DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY
Siemens Medical Solutions Inc., Malvern, Pa., has been awarded a maximum $1,789,537,539 modification (P00101) exercising the fifth option period on a one-year base contract (SPM2D1-09-D-8314) with seven one-year option periods for radiology systems, subsystems, accessories, service, and repair and parts. This is a fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract. Location of performance is Pennsylvania with a March 30, 2015 performance completion date. Using military services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2014 through fiscal 2015 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pa.
Hitachi Medical Systems America Inc., Twinsburg, Ohio, has been awarded a maximum $90,254,284 modification (P00017) exercising the fifth option period on a one-year base contract (SPM2D1-09-D-8331) with seven one-year option periods for radiology systems, components, upgrades, accessories, and installation. This is a fixed-price with economic-price adjustment contract. Location of performance is Ohio with a March 29, 2015 performance completion date. Using military services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2014 through fiscal 2015 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pa.
AIR FORCE
Gulfstream Aerospace Corp., Savannah, Ga., has been awarded a maximum $102,062,349 modification (P00002) exercising option period one on firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (FA8106-13-D-0002) for contractor logistics support services to the C-20 and C-37 fleet for Air Force, Army, Navy, Marines, and Coast Guard. Work will be performed worldwide, and is expected to be completed by Jan. 31, 2015. Fiscal 2014 operations and maintenance, Air Force, Army, Navy, Marines, and Coast Guard funds in the amount of $60,841,191 are being obligated at time of award. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center/WLKLB, Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., is the contracting activity.
The Raytheon Co., El Segundo, Calif., has been awarded a maximum $33,680,614 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for the hypertemporal imaging space experiment payload. The primary objective of the hypertemporal imaging space experiment payload effort is to design, fabricate, test, and deliver a space-flight ready instrument capable of conducting hypertemporal imaging from a geosynchronous earth orbit. Work will be performed in El Segundo, Calif., and is expected to be completed in January 2017. Fiscal 2013 and 2014 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $6,387,630 are being obligated at award. This award is the result of a broad agency announcement, and two proposals were received. Detachment 8, Air Force Research Laboratory, Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M., is the contracting activity (FA9453-14-C-0211).
Beechcraft Corp., Wichita, Kan., has been awarded a $24,500,000 firm-fixed-price and cost- reimbursable, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for King Air 350 aircraft maintenance training. Contractor provided training shall be based on standard commercial-off-the shelf configured King Air 350 proline 21 avionics. Work will be performed at New Al-Muthana Airbase, Iraq and Wichita, Kan., and is expected to be completed by Dec. 31, 2015. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition. This is 100 percent foreign military sales for Iraq. 338 Specialized Contracting Squadron, Joint Base San Antonio, Randolph Air Force Base, Texas, is the contracting activity (FA3002-14-D-0003).
Newbegin Enterprise Inc.*, Johnson City, Tenn., has been awarded a $15,000,000 modification (P00005) on indefinite-quantity/indefinite-delivery contract (FA4803-11-D-0001) to exercise option year three for U.S. Air Forces Central (USAFCENT) Internet-Based Contractor Operated Part Store. The contract modification provides for the contractor to provide automotive and related vehicle parts, automotive chemicals, corrosion control materials, upholstery material, and accessories for USAFCENT vehicles/equipment located in USAFCENT area of responsibility. Fiscal 2014 operations and maintenance funding for this modification will be issued against individual delivery orders. Work will be performed at Johnson City, Tenn., and is expected to be completed March 31, 2015. 20th Contracting Squadron, Shaw Air Force Base, S.C., is the contracting activity.
NAVY
L-3 Communications Vertex Aerospace LLC, Madison, Miss., is being awarded a $58,488,748 indefinite-delivery, requirements contract to provide logistics services and materials for organizational, intermediate, and depot level maintenance required to support T45TS aircraft based at Naval Air Station (NAS) Meridian, Miss.; NAS Kingsville, Texas; and NAS Pensacola, Fla. This requirement also includes the support and maintenance of the T-45 aircraft at all operational sites, numerous outlying fields, and various detachment sites. Work will be performed in Kingsville, Texas (58 percent); Meridian, Miss. (36 percent); and Pensacola, Fla. (6 percent), and is expected to be completed in July 2014. Contract funds will not be obligated at time of award. Funds will be obligated on individual delivery orders as they are issued. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to FAR 6.302-1. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity (N00019-14-D-0019).
Rolls-Royce Corp., Indianapolis, Ind., is being awarded a $39,599,668 modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-10-C-0020) for the procurement of 26,495 V-22 flight hours and 26 low power MV-22 repairs under the Mission Care™ contract. Work will be performed in Oakland, Calif. (70 percent) and Indianapolis, Ind. (30 percent), and is expected to be completed in February 2015. Fiscal 2014 operations and maintenance, Navy and U.S. Special Operations funds in the amount of $39,599,668 are being obligated on this award, all of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.
CasePro Inc., San Antonio, Texas (N62645-14-D-5003); Catalyst Professional Services Inc.*, Colorado Springs, Colo. (N62645-14-D-5004); Cherokee Medical Services LLC*, Stillwell, Okla. (N62645-14-D-5005); Chesapeake Educational Services LLC*, Vienna, Va. (N62645-14-D-5006); OMV Medical Inc., Takoma Park, Md. (N62645-14-D-5007); Professional Performance Development Group Inc., San Antonio, Texas (N62645-14-D-5008); Saratoga Medical Center Inc.*, Fairfax, Va. (N62645-14-D-5009); TCMP Staffing Services LLC, Springfield, Va. (N62645-14-D-5010) are each being awarded a nine-month, firm-fixed-priced, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, multiple-award task order bridge contract to continue extending physician, allied health, nursing, technologist, technician and assistant services currently being provided in support of the Naval Hospital Jacksonville, Fla.; Naval Health Clinic Pensacola, Fla.; Naval Health Clinic Corpus Christi, Texas, and their affiliated clinics within Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee and Texas. The aggregate not-to-exceed amount for these multiple award contracts combined is $28,000,000. Work will be performed in Jacksonville, Fla. (46 percent); Pensacola, Fla. (44 percent); Corpus Christi, Texas (10 percent) and affiliated clinics within Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee and Texas, and work is expected to be completed January 31, 2015. Fiscal 2014 Defense Health Program contract funding in the amount of $21,391,455 will be obligated at the time of award. Contract funds in the amount of $5,000,000 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Other funding initiatives such as psychological health/traumatic brain injury, overseas contingency operations and wounded, ill, and injured may be used. These contracts were issued as sole source requirements in accordance with 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1)-only one responsible source or only a limited number of responsible sources. The Naval Medical Logistics Command, Fort Detrick, Md., is the contracting activity.
General Dynamics-Advanced Information Systems, Pittsfield, Mass., is being awarded a $10,485,397 cost-plus-incentive-fee modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-09-C-6206) for fiscal 2014 and 2015 multi-purpose processor (MPP) cabinet and the Total Ship Monitoring System (TSMS). The contract provides funding for the development and production of the MPPs and TSMS (TI-14) for the U.S. submarine fleet. Work will be performed in Pittsfield, Mass. (70 percent), and Fairfax, Va. (30 percent), and is expected to be completed by December 2015. Fiscal 2014 shipbuilding and conversion, Navy; fiscal 2014 other procurement, Navy; fiscal 2014 research, development, test and evaluation; and fiscal 2014 operations and maintenance, Navy contract funds in the amount $5,736,478 will be obligated at the time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity.
United Technologies Corp., Pratt & Whitney Military Engines, East Hartford, Conn., is being awarded a $10,242,104 modification to a previously awarded advance acquisition contract (N00019-13-C-0016) for long-lead components, parts and materials associated with the low rate initial production Lot VIII of eight F135 conventional take off and landing propulsion systems for the governments of Japan (6) and Israel (2). Work will be performed in East Hartford, Conn. (67 percent); Bristol, United Kingdom (16.5 percent); and Indianapolis, Ind. (16.5 percent), and is expected to be completed in September 2016. Foreign military sales funds in the amount of $10,242,104 are being obligated on this award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract combines purchases for the governments of Japan; ($7,681,578; 75 percent); and Israel ($2,560,526; 25 percent) under the Foreign Military Sales Program. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.
Detyens Shipyards Inc.*, North Charleston, S.C., is being awarded an $8,529,497 firm-fixed-price contract for a 55-calendar day regular overhaul and dry-docking of USNS Laramie (T-AO 203). Work will include clean and gas free tanks, voids, and cofferdams; deck non-skid resurfacing; ballast tank preservation, cylinder head and liner overhaul, main engine turbo overhaul, cargo system wire replacement; cargo console mechanical support; auxiliary boiler maintenance and inspection; annual lifeboat certification; house ventilation system cleaning; docking and undocking; propeller system maintenance and hub replacement; overhauling sea valves; and underwater hull cleaning and painting. Laramie’s primary mission is to provide fuel to U.S. Navy ships at sea and jet fuel to aircraft assigned to aircraft carriers. The contract includes options, which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $9,520,492. Work will be performed in Charleston, S.C., and is expected to be completed by June 2014. Fiscal 2014 Navy working capital funds in the amount of $8,529,497 are obligated and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured as a small business set-aside, with proposals solicited via the Federal Business Opportunities website, with two proposals received. The U.S. Navy’s Military Sealift Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity (N32205-14-C-1001).
ARMY
Olin Corp.-Winchester Division, East Alton, Ill., was awarded a $28,748,479 modification (P00036) to contract W52P1J-11-C-0038 to exercise option period three to procure .50 caliber and 5.56mm ammunition. Fiscal 2013 other procurement funds in the amount of $2,132,226 and fiscal 2014 other procurement funds in the amount of $21,124,202 were obligated at the time of the award. Estimated completion date is Sept 30, 2016. Work will be performed at East Alton, Ill. Army Contracting Command, Rock Island Arsenal, Ill., is the contracting activity.
Holland and Holland, Hinesville, Ga., was awarded a $9,035,374 modification (P00004) to indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract W9124M-12-D-0005 for paving at Fort Stewart, Ga. Funding and performance locations will be determined with each order. Estimated completion date is March 31, 2015. Army Contracting Command, Fort Stewart, Ga., is the contracting activity.
*Small Business
CONTRACTS
DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY
Siemens Medical Solutions Inc., Malvern, Pa., has been awarded a maximum $1,789,537,539 modification (P00101) exercising the fifth option period on a one-year base contract (SPM2D1-09-D-8314) with seven one-year option periods for radiology systems, subsystems, accessories, service, and repair and parts. This is a fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract. Location of performance is Pennsylvania with a March 30, 2015 performance completion date. Using military services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2014 through fiscal 2015 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pa.
Hitachi Medical Systems America Inc., Twinsburg, Ohio, has been awarded a maximum $90,254,284 modification (P00017) exercising the fifth option period on a one-year base contract (SPM2D1-09-D-8331) with seven one-year option periods for radiology systems, components, upgrades, accessories, and installation. This is a fixed-price with economic-price adjustment contract. Location of performance is Ohio with a March 29, 2015 performance completion date. Using military services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2014 through fiscal 2015 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pa.
AIR FORCE
Gulfstream Aerospace Corp., Savannah, Ga., has been awarded a maximum $102,062,349 modification (P00002) exercising option period one on firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (FA8106-13-D-0002) for contractor logistics support services to the C-20 and C-37 fleet for Air Force, Army, Navy, Marines, and Coast Guard. Work will be performed worldwide, and is expected to be completed by Jan. 31, 2015. Fiscal 2014 operations and maintenance, Air Force, Army, Navy, Marines, and Coast Guard funds in the amount of $60,841,191 are being obligated at time of award. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center/WLKLB, Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., is the contracting activity.
The Raytheon Co., El Segundo, Calif., has been awarded a maximum $33,680,614 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for the hypertemporal imaging space experiment payload. The primary objective of the hypertemporal imaging space experiment payload effort is to design, fabricate, test, and deliver a space-flight ready instrument capable of conducting hypertemporal imaging from a geosynchronous earth orbit. Work will be performed in El Segundo, Calif., and is expected to be completed in January 2017. Fiscal 2013 and 2014 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $6,387,630 are being obligated at award. This award is the result of a broad agency announcement, and two proposals were received. Detachment 8, Air Force Research Laboratory, Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M., is the contracting activity (FA9453-14-C-0211).
Beechcraft Corp., Wichita, Kan., has been awarded a $24,500,000 firm-fixed-price and cost- reimbursable, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for King Air 350 aircraft maintenance training. Contractor provided training shall be based on standard commercial-off-the shelf configured King Air 350 proline 21 avionics. Work will be performed at New Al-Muthana Airbase, Iraq and Wichita, Kan., and is expected to be completed by Dec. 31, 2015. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition. This is 100 percent foreign military sales for Iraq. 338 Specialized Contracting Squadron, Joint Base San Antonio, Randolph Air Force Base, Texas, is the contracting activity (FA3002-14-D-0003).
Newbegin Enterprise Inc.*, Johnson City, Tenn., has been awarded a $15,000,000 modification (P00005) on indefinite-quantity/indefinite-delivery contract (FA4803-11-D-0001) to exercise option year three for U.S. Air Forces Central (USAFCENT) Internet-Based Contractor Operated Part Store. The contract modification provides for the contractor to provide automotive and related vehicle parts, automotive chemicals, corrosion control materials, upholstery material, and accessories for USAFCENT vehicles/equipment located in USAFCENT area of responsibility. Fiscal 2014 operations and maintenance funding for this modification will be issued against individual delivery orders. Work will be performed at Johnson City, Tenn., and is expected to be completed March 31, 2015. 20th Contracting Squadron, Shaw Air Force Base, S.C., is the contracting activity.
NAVY
L-3 Communications Vertex Aerospace LLC, Madison, Miss., is being awarded a $58,488,748 indefinite-delivery, requirements contract to provide logistics services and materials for organizational, intermediate, and depot level maintenance required to support T45TS aircraft based at Naval Air Station (NAS) Meridian, Miss.; NAS Kingsville, Texas; and NAS Pensacola, Fla. This requirement also includes the support and maintenance of the T-45 aircraft at all operational sites, numerous outlying fields, and various detachment sites. Work will be performed in Kingsville, Texas (58 percent); Meridian, Miss. (36 percent); and Pensacola, Fla. (6 percent), and is expected to be completed in July 2014. Contract funds will not be obligated at time of award. Funds will be obligated on individual delivery orders as they are issued. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to FAR 6.302-1. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity (N00019-14-D-0019).
Rolls-Royce Corp., Indianapolis, Ind., is being awarded a $39,599,668 modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-10-C-0020) for the procurement of 26,495 V-22 flight hours and 26 low power MV-22 repairs under the Mission Care™ contract. Work will be performed in Oakland, Calif. (70 percent) and Indianapolis, Ind. (30 percent), and is expected to be completed in February 2015. Fiscal 2014 operations and maintenance, Navy and U.S. Special Operations funds in the amount of $39,599,668 are being obligated on this award, all of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.
CasePro Inc., San Antonio, Texas (N62645-14-D-5003); Catalyst Professional Services Inc.*, Colorado Springs, Colo. (N62645-14-D-5004); Cherokee Medical Services LLC*, Stillwell, Okla. (N62645-14-D-5005); Chesapeake Educational Services LLC*, Vienna, Va. (N62645-14-D-5006); OMV Medical Inc., Takoma Park, Md. (N62645-14-D-5007); Professional Performance Development Group Inc., San Antonio, Texas (N62645-14-D-5008); Saratoga Medical Center Inc.*, Fairfax, Va. (N62645-14-D-5009); TCMP Staffing Services LLC, Springfield, Va. (N62645-14-D-5010) are each being awarded a nine-month, firm-fixed-priced, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, multiple-award task order bridge contract to continue extending physician, allied health, nursing, technologist, technician and assistant services currently being provided in support of the Naval Hospital Jacksonville, Fla.; Naval Health Clinic Pensacola, Fla.; Naval Health Clinic Corpus Christi, Texas, and their affiliated clinics within Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee and Texas. The aggregate not-to-exceed amount for these multiple award contracts combined is $28,000,000. Work will be performed in Jacksonville, Fla. (46 percent); Pensacola, Fla. (44 percent); Corpus Christi, Texas (10 percent) and affiliated clinics within Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee and Texas, and work is expected to be completed January 31, 2015. Fiscal 2014 Defense Health Program contract funding in the amount of $21,391,455 will be obligated at the time of award. Contract funds in the amount of $5,000,000 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Other funding initiatives such as psychological health/traumatic brain injury, overseas contingency operations and wounded, ill, and injured may be used. These contracts were issued as sole source requirements in accordance with 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1)-only one responsible source or only a limited number of responsible sources. The Naval Medical Logistics Command, Fort Detrick, Md., is the contracting activity.
General Dynamics-Advanced Information Systems, Pittsfield, Mass., is being awarded a $10,485,397 cost-plus-incentive-fee modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-09-C-6206) for fiscal 2014 and 2015 multi-purpose processor (MPP) cabinet and the Total Ship Monitoring System (TSMS). The contract provides funding for the development and production of the MPPs and TSMS (TI-14) for the U.S. submarine fleet. Work will be performed in Pittsfield, Mass. (70 percent), and Fairfax, Va. (30 percent), and is expected to be completed by December 2015. Fiscal 2014 shipbuilding and conversion, Navy; fiscal 2014 other procurement, Navy; fiscal 2014 research, development, test and evaluation; and fiscal 2014 operations and maintenance, Navy contract funds in the amount $5,736,478 will be obligated at the time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity.
United Technologies Corp., Pratt & Whitney Military Engines, East Hartford, Conn., is being awarded a $10,242,104 modification to a previously awarded advance acquisition contract (N00019-13-C-0016) for long-lead components, parts and materials associated with the low rate initial production Lot VIII of eight F135 conventional take off and landing propulsion systems for the governments of Japan (6) and Israel (2). Work will be performed in East Hartford, Conn. (67 percent); Bristol, United Kingdom (16.5 percent); and Indianapolis, Ind. (16.5 percent), and is expected to be completed in September 2016. Foreign military sales funds in the amount of $10,242,104 are being obligated on this award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract combines purchases for the governments of Japan; ($7,681,578; 75 percent); and Israel ($2,560,526; 25 percent) under the Foreign Military Sales Program. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.
Detyens Shipyards Inc.*, North Charleston, S.C., is being awarded an $8,529,497 firm-fixed-price contract for a 55-calendar day regular overhaul and dry-docking of USNS Laramie (T-AO 203). Work will include clean and gas free tanks, voids, and cofferdams; deck non-skid resurfacing; ballast tank preservation, cylinder head and liner overhaul, main engine turbo overhaul, cargo system wire replacement; cargo console mechanical support; auxiliary boiler maintenance and inspection; annual lifeboat certification; house ventilation system cleaning; docking and undocking; propeller system maintenance and hub replacement; overhauling sea valves; and underwater hull cleaning and painting. Laramie’s primary mission is to provide fuel to U.S. Navy ships at sea and jet fuel to aircraft assigned to aircraft carriers. The contract includes options, which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $9,520,492. Work will be performed in Charleston, S.C., and is expected to be completed by June 2014. Fiscal 2014 Navy working capital funds in the amount of $8,529,497 are obligated and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured as a small business set-aside, with proposals solicited via the Federal Business Opportunities website, with two proposals received. The U.S. Navy’s Military Sealift Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity (N32205-14-C-1001).
ARMY
Olin Corp.-Winchester Division, East Alton, Ill., was awarded a $28,748,479 modification (P00036) to contract W52P1J-11-C-0038 to exercise option period three to procure .50 caliber and 5.56mm ammunition. Fiscal 2013 other procurement funds in the amount of $2,132,226 and fiscal 2014 other procurement funds in the amount of $21,124,202 were obligated at the time of the award. Estimated completion date is Sept 30, 2016. Work will be performed at East Alton, Ill. Army Contracting Command, Rock Island Arsenal, Ill., is the contracting activity.
Holland and Holland, Hinesville, Ga., was awarded a $9,035,374 modification (P00004) to indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract W9124M-12-D-0005 for paving at Fort Stewart, Ga. Funding and performance locations will be determined with each order. Estimated completion date is March 31, 2015. Army Contracting Command, Fort Stewart, Ga., is the contracting activity.
*Small Business
REMARKS BY ASSISTANT SECRETARY COUNTRYMAN ON EFFORTS TO ELIMINATE SYRIAN CHEMICAL WEAPONS
FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Efforts of the United Nations and the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to Accomplish the Elimination of Syrian Chemical Weapons
Thomas M. Countryman
Assistant Secretary, Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation
Assistant Secretary, Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation
Senate Foreign Relations Committee
Washington, DC
March 26, 2014
Chairman Menendez, Ranking Member Corker, and Members of the Committee; thank you for the opportunity to testify today about international efforts to support the United Nations (UN) and the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in the complete and verifiable elimination of the Syrian chemical weapons program. While we have made important progress in the past months toward the elimination of Syria’s chemicals weapons program, considerable work remains to be done to ensure the Asad regime can never again use these terrible weapons against its own people, or threaten our regional and international partners with them.
Just last year, the regime did not even publicly acknowledge that it possessed chemical weapons, despite having used them on multiple occasions, including in attacks that killed over 1,400 people. Today, OPCW inspectors on the ground in Syria, with UN support, have conducted full inspections of Syria’s declared chemical weapons-related sites, and have verified the functional destruction of the chemical weapons production, mixing, and filling equipment at those sites. In addition, as of today, more than 49 percent of Syria’s declared chemical weapons materials slated for destruction outside of Syria have been removed, including all of Syria’s declared sulfur mustard agent, and the OPCW has verified the destruction in Syria of 93 percent of Syria’s declared isopropanol, a binary component of the nerve agent sarin. But that’s not good enough. Syria has yet to remove 65 percent of its most dangerous (Priority 1) declared chemicals. We must continue to work with the international community to maintain pressure on the Asad regime to remove all of these chemicals as urgently as possible.
The international community has established a firm legal framework, through UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 2118 and decisions of the OPCW Executive Council, to ensure that this immense undertaking is completed in a transparent, expeditious, and verifiable manner, with a target for destroying all of Syria’s declared chemicals by June 30 of this year.
The progress made in the past months has been achieved by diplomacy backed by a willingness to use military force. It remains critically important, as this process continues, that members of the international community continue to monitor closely the Syrian regime’s compliance with its Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC)-related obligations. Syria’s obligations are clear, and we will continue to underscore the importance of the Asad regime’s continued cooperation. The Security Council decided in UNSCR 2118 to impose Chapter VII measures in the event of non-compliance with the resolution.
While we have made progress, the task before us remains considerable. After months of Syrian foot dragging, we have made clear to the Asad regime that the internationally agreed upon schedule for chemical weapons destruction is simply not up for negotiation; the regime has all the equipment that it needs and has run out of excuses. We remain focused on underscoring the need for Syria to move forward rapidly with transporting chemical weapons materials to the port of Latakia for removal, consistent with its responsibilities under the CWC and UNSCR 2118. The next few weeks are critical in the removal effort, and we and the rest of the world are watching. We have, of course, also been in contact with Syrian opposition leaders, updating them throughout this process, and confirming their commitment that they will not interfere with the activities of the international elimination effort.
With the continuing support of the international community, and the dedicated commitment of the OPCW-UN Joint Mission, we believe the Syrians are capable of completing the removal effort by late April. The international community continues to work toward the June 30 target date for the complete elimination of the program. While Syrian delays have placed that timeline in some danger, we continue to believe they remain achievable.
The path ahead is not an easy one. Syria has missed several intermediate target dates, including most recently the target date for the destruction of chemical weapons production facilities. The regime must meet all chemical weapons destruction obligations, including for the physical destruction of chemical weapons production facilities, consistent with the CWC. The OPCW is currently advising Syria on an appropriate facilities destruction plan. It is essential that Syria accept its recommendations, and submit a revised facilities destruction plan for consideration by the OPCW Executive Council at its next scheduled meeting.
The United States and the international community have provided extensive assistance to the international effort to eliminate the Syrian chemical weapons program. There are no more excuses on the part of the Asad regime for not meeting the agreed timeline. We continue to encourage all countries to make whatever contribution they can to this important undertaking – whether that contribution is financial, technical, or in-kind – to enable the OPCW and UN to complete their missions. The United States has led by example in providing tens of millions of dollars in assistance to the OPCW-UN Joint Mission, including the provision of containers, trucks, forklifts and other materials necessary for the safe transportation of chemical weapons materials in Syria. The State Department’s Nonproliferation and Disarmament Fund has provided eight million dollars in financial and in-kind assistance to the OPCW inspection team, including armored vehicles, training, protective equipment, and medical countermeasures. Most significantly, the United States is also contributing unique capabilities to the elimination effort through the Department of Defense’s provision of a U.S. vessel, the Motor Vessel (M/V) Cape Ray, equipped with deployable hydrolysis technology to neutralize at sea Syria’s highest priority chemical weapons materials (sulfur mustard agent and the sarin precursor chemical, DF).
While U.S. contributions to the elimination efforts are significant, this is ultimately a mission that reflects a remarkable international division of labor. Many of our international partners are participating and providing financial and in-kind assistance that is critical to the effort’s success: Danish and Norwegian ships (with Finnish and British support) are removing chemical weapons materials from the Syrian port of Latakia. Russia and China are assisting with security in Syrian territorial waters for the port loading operations. Italy has agreed to provide a port to allow transloading operations from the Danish cargo ship to the Cape Ray. The United Kingdom has agreed to destroy nerve agent precursor chemicals through commercial incineration. Germany has agreed to destroy the by-product resulting from neutralization of the sulfur mustard agent aboard the M/V Cape Ray as an in-kind contribution. Countries like Japan, Canada, the European Union and many other states have made generous financial contributions. Companies in the United States and Finland have been awarded contracts from the OPCW for the destruction of the remaining materials.
As the removal and elimination process continues, we will also continue to fully support the OPCW’s verification and inspection efforts, to ensure the accuracy and completeness of Syria’s declaration. We have never taken the Asad regime at its word, and will continue to press for a robust verification regime to ensure the absence of undeclared materials and facilities. We approach this process with our eyes wide open, and will insist on international verification.
The path ahead will not be smooth, given the unprecedented scope and timeline for the mission. But we remain resolute in addressing these challenges, given the high stakes for the Syrian people, the region, and the world. Thank you again for the opportunity to discuss this important issue with you. I look forward to your questions and to consulting with you closely as we continue our efforts to verifiably eliminate Syria’s chemical weapons program.
Just last year, the regime did not even publicly acknowledge that it possessed chemical weapons, despite having used them on multiple occasions, including in attacks that killed over 1,400 people. Today, OPCW inspectors on the ground in Syria, with UN support, have conducted full inspections of Syria’s declared chemical weapons-related sites, and have verified the functional destruction of the chemical weapons production, mixing, and filling equipment at those sites. In addition, as of today, more than 49 percent of Syria’s declared chemical weapons materials slated for destruction outside of Syria have been removed, including all of Syria’s declared sulfur mustard agent, and the OPCW has verified the destruction in Syria of 93 percent of Syria’s declared isopropanol, a binary component of the nerve agent sarin. But that’s not good enough. Syria has yet to remove 65 percent of its most dangerous (Priority 1) declared chemicals. We must continue to work with the international community to maintain pressure on the Asad regime to remove all of these chemicals as urgently as possible.
The international community has established a firm legal framework, through UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 2118 and decisions of the OPCW Executive Council, to ensure that this immense undertaking is completed in a transparent, expeditious, and verifiable manner, with a target for destroying all of Syria’s declared chemicals by June 30 of this year.
The progress made in the past months has been achieved by diplomacy backed by a willingness to use military force. It remains critically important, as this process continues, that members of the international community continue to monitor closely the Syrian regime’s compliance with its Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC)-related obligations. Syria’s obligations are clear, and we will continue to underscore the importance of the Asad regime’s continued cooperation. The Security Council decided in UNSCR 2118 to impose Chapter VII measures in the event of non-compliance with the resolution.
While we have made progress, the task before us remains considerable. After months of Syrian foot dragging, we have made clear to the Asad regime that the internationally agreed upon schedule for chemical weapons destruction is simply not up for negotiation; the regime has all the equipment that it needs and has run out of excuses. We remain focused on underscoring the need for Syria to move forward rapidly with transporting chemical weapons materials to the port of Latakia for removal, consistent with its responsibilities under the CWC and UNSCR 2118. The next few weeks are critical in the removal effort, and we and the rest of the world are watching. We have, of course, also been in contact with Syrian opposition leaders, updating them throughout this process, and confirming their commitment that they will not interfere with the activities of the international elimination effort.
With the continuing support of the international community, and the dedicated commitment of the OPCW-UN Joint Mission, we believe the Syrians are capable of completing the removal effort by late April. The international community continues to work toward the June 30 target date for the complete elimination of the program. While Syrian delays have placed that timeline in some danger, we continue to believe they remain achievable.
The path ahead is not an easy one. Syria has missed several intermediate target dates, including most recently the target date for the destruction of chemical weapons production facilities. The regime must meet all chemical weapons destruction obligations, including for the physical destruction of chemical weapons production facilities, consistent with the CWC. The OPCW is currently advising Syria on an appropriate facilities destruction plan. It is essential that Syria accept its recommendations, and submit a revised facilities destruction plan for consideration by the OPCW Executive Council at its next scheduled meeting.
The United States and the international community have provided extensive assistance to the international effort to eliminate the Syrian chemical weapons program. There are no more excuses on the part of the Asad regime for not meeting the agreed timeline. We continue to encourage all countries to make whatever contribution they can to this important undertaking – whether that contribution is financial, technical, or in-kind – to enable the OPCW and UN to complete their missions. The United States has led by example in providing tens of millions of dollars in assistance to the OPCW-UN Joint Mission, including the provision of containers, trucks, forklifts and other materials necessary for the safe transportation of chemical weapons materials in Syria. The State Department’s Nonproliferation and Disarmament Fund has provided eight million dollars in financial and in-kind assistance to the OPCW inspection team, including armored vehicles, training, protective equipment, and medical countermeasures. Most significantly, the United States is also contributing unique capabilities to the elimination effort through the Department of Defense’s provision of a U.S. vessel, the Motor Vessel (M/V) Cape Ray, equipped with deployable hydrolysis technology to neutralize at sea Syria’s highest priority chemical weapons materials (sulfur mustard agent and the sarin precursor chemical, DF).
While U.S. contributions to the elimination efforts are significant, this is ultimately a mission that reflects a remarkable international division of labor. Many of our international partners are participating and providing financial and in-kind assistance that is critical to the effort’s success: Danish and Norwegian ships (with Finnish and British support) are removing chemical weapons materials from the Syrian port of Latakia. Russia and China are assisting with security in Syrian territorial waters for the port loading operations. Italy has agreed to provide a port to allow transloading operations from the Danish cargo ship to the Cape Ray. The United Kingdom has agreed to destroy nerve agent precursor chemicals through commercial incineration. Germany has agreed to destroy the by-product resulting from neutralization of the sulfur mustard agent aboard the M/V Cape Ray as an in-kind contribution. Countries like Japan, Canada, the European Union and many other states have made generous financial contributions. Companies in the United States and Finland have been awarded contracts from the OPCW for the destruction of the remaining materials.
As the removal and elimination process continues, we will also continue to fully support the OPCW’s verification and inspection efforts, to ensure the accuracy and completeness of Syria’s declaration. We have never taken the Asad regime at its word, and will continue to press for a robust verification regime to ensure the absence of undeclared materials and facilities. We approach this process with our eyes wide open, and will insist on international verification.
The path ahead will not be smooth, given the unprecedented scope and timeline for the mission. But we remain resolute in addressing these challenges, given the high stakes for the Syrian people, the region, and the world. Thank you again for the opportunity to discuss this important issue with you. I look forward to your questions and to consulting with you closely as we continue our efforts to verifiably eliminate Syria’s chemical weapons program.
REMARKS ON ELIMINATION OF SYRIAN CHEMICAL WEAPONS BY ASSISTANT SECRETARY PATTERSON
Statement for the Record - Elimination of Syrian Chemical Weapons
Anne W. Patterson
Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs
Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs
Senate Foreign Relations Committee
Washington, DC
March 26, 2014
Thank you, Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member Corker and Members of the Committee, for inviting me today to discuss the crisis in Syria. I am well aware that many members of this Committee are not satisfied with our progress to date. Neither are we. Let me say that the Administration appreciates your concern and the support this committee has shown for efforts to address this challenge.
The Committee heard from Deputy Secretary Burns three weeks ago on the challenge of sectarian and extremist violence related to the conflict. Today I will supplement Deputy Secretary Burns’ remarks by describing the coordinated strategy that we are developing. I am pleased to be accompanied today by my colleague, Assistant Secretary for International Security and Nonproliferation Tom Countryman, who will address the international community’s progress in the removal and destruction of Syria’s chemical weapons.
The Crisis
The popular demands for economic and political reform sweeping the Middle East began three years ago in Syria as peaceful protests. Syria’s large youthful population sought an end to oppression and new opportunities. The Asad regime’s response to these demands has torn the nation apart, fueling extremism and inflaming regional tensions.
More than 146,000 people have been killed since the unrest and violence began. The number of conflict-affected civilians seeking refuge in neighboring countries has increased to more than 2.5 million people while, inside Syria, an additional 6.5 million people are displaced and at least 9.3 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance. The U.N. Security Council has condemned the denial of humanitarian access to civilians in need and has urged immediate steps to facilitate relief operations throughout the country, yet the regime has continued to obstruct humanitarian access. Again last week, the U.N. Commission of Inquiry on Syria reported on the continuing human rights violations being committed by the regime, as well as human rights abuses by the al-Qaeda linked groups and their offshoots that have taken root in the ungoverned spaces that Asad’s actions and atrocities have created.
Opposition to the Asad regime in Syria is broad and deep. Most Syrians who side with the opposition are moderates. In large areas of the country they have thrown off regime control, yet the situation on the ground is constantly in flux. In some areas, regime forces – with Hizballah and Iranian Revolutionary Guard support – have regained control of territory they had lost earlier in the conflict. Syrian troops are well armed with Iranian and Russian weapons, and also resort to barrel bombs or starvation to terrorize civilians. But peace will not come to Syria from a military victory. The only sustainable solution to the Syria crisis is a negotiated political settlement.
The United States is a leader of the ‘London 11’ contact group that has worked to move forward the Syrian transition, end the violence, and achieve a political solution. Although the U.N.-sponsored Geneva II negotiations have stalled due to regime intransigence aided by the tacit support of Russia, the process served to unify components of the Syrian opposition and to enable it to articulate its vision for a transitional government.
The continuing civil war has proved a magnet for foreign violent extremists – some with substantial combat experience – who are drawn to the ungoverned regions left by the deterioration of the Asad regime. Our colleagues at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence have estimated that there are nearly 23,000 violent extremist fighters in Syria, including more than 7,000 foreign fighters. They represent a minority of the total rebel ranks inside Syria, which are estimated to be between 75,000 – 110,000 fighters. The violent extremist fighters belong to several groups but most notably al-Qaeda’s official affiliate in Syria, Nusra Front, and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), formerly known as al-Qaeda in Iraq, whose new name indicates its growing ambitions. ISIL is responsible for most of the violence that has been taking place in Iraq’s Anbar province aimed at destabilizing Iraq. These groups offer weapons and money to Syrian men who oppose the regime, yet who might not otherwise be drawn to violent extremist causes but for the money and avenue for action against the regime they provide.
Bashar al-Asad bears responsibility for this metastasizing problem. His regime has released terrorists from its jails, allowed violent extremist bases to emerge, and invited other foreign terrorist organizations including Lebanese Hizballah, as well as Iranian-trained militia fighters from Iraq and Pakistan, to join the fight on its side.
Mr. Chairman, we are reviewing our policy and identifying priorities for coordinated action.
Countering Violent Extremist Activity
In Pakistan, we clearly saw the dangers that arise when terrorists are able to set up safe havens – and how difficult and costly in lives and money it becomes to dislodge or destroy them. For that reason, a top priority in the Syria crisis is preventing the establishment of a permanent terrorist safe-haven. In coordination with allies and partners, we are now better organizing ourselves to address the growing challenge of violent extremist fighters in Syria and the flow of these fighters into and out of the country. With our partners, we will apply tools, tactics, and best practices to mitigate potential threats and build upon existing lines of cooperation.
We are working with members of the opposition, Syria’s neighbors and other regional states to cut off their sources of funding and recruits. Saudi Arabia has criminalized participation in foreign conflicts by its citizens and is prosecuting individuals who have done so. Our allies in the Gulf increasingly, and correctly, see the flood of violent extremists from their countries as a threat to themselves. We have new initiatives to work with our allies to identify violent extremists who have travelled to the region.
We are also working to strengthen the moderate Syrian opposition, both inside and outside of Syria, because they are now facing a two-front war against both the Asad regime and the violent extremists.
Preventing Collapse and Nonlethal Support
In parts of Syria where the regime has been ousted, we want to prevent the wholesale collapse of Syria’s institutions and public services and keep regime hardliners and violent extremists from asserting control. As the fighting has continued, the regime has increasingly targeted civilian populations by denying basic services and cutting them off from food, fuel and medical care. But some provincial and local councils and civil society organizations continue struggling, against great odds, to maintain local government and continue critical services. We need to help them.
Mr. Chairman, members of this committee have been rightly concerned about the pace and effectiveness of support for the civilian opposition. Without a direct U.S. government presence inside the country – as well as control of many border entry points by al-Qaeda-linked groups or their offshoots – it has been difficult to increase our assistance to the Syrian opposition. Our strategy had been to use $260 million in non-lethal assistance to link the Syrian Coalition (SOC) to councils and NGOs inside the country, helping to unify and strengthen the opposition.
However, based on our experience on the ground over the past year, we have been refocusing our activity. Over the past few months the State Department and USAID have stepped up efforts to channel resources directly to local and provincial governments and civil society groups, as well as the SOC.
Our focus is increasingly on ways to help communities maintain basic security, keep the lights on, provide water, food and basic medical care – staving off the advances of extremist groups who seek to exploit peoples’ desperation. It allows these localities to maintain the basic public institutions that will be so critical in rebuilding a post-Asad Syria.
In towns and cities under opposition control, we are beginning to provide cash grants to pay local law enforcement and teachers. We continue to train local councils and civil society organizations in administration and local governance. And we are providing equipment and supplies to help them, including heavy equipment such as generators, cranes, trucks, and ambulances. In one major city, for example, we have helped reopen 17 schools serving 9,300 students. In another major city, we funded the refurbishment of 60 police stations and are providing non-lethal equipment and basic stipends to 1,300 policemen, who are struggling to maintain order. Paying stipends not only helps keep these people on the job, but it also helps deprive the extremist groups of the chance to fill the vacuum themselves.
Make no mistake: this is extremely difficult work and nobody is saying that this assistance will turn the tide against what remains an extremely serious and deteriorating situation. As we learned in Iraq – even with 160,000 American troops, ten years of effort, tens of thousands of schools refurbished, and hundreds of millions of dollars spent – it takes generations to restore stability in societies wrecked by decades of dictatorship and civil wars. We are determined, however, to stand with those struggling to rebuild and stabilize their local communities even in the most horrific circumstances imaginable. These brave individuals will be the future leaders of Syria; they deserve our support, and they will continue to receive it through the types of assistance I just described.
As part of this $260 million in non-lethal overall assistance, moreover, we are providing $80 million in support to the Supreme Military Command (SMC). Providing this support to groups engaged in a highly fluid battle zone has been challenging. In December, an SMC warehouse in Syria containing U.S. supplies was overrun by a faction of extremist fighters. We suspended SMC assistance until they could reestablish secure supply routes and storage facilities. By February, when the SMC regained control of its facility and accounted for its contents, we began sending supplies again – this time directly to trusted commanders.
In providing non-lethal assistance to the SMC, needs are identified by commanders and have included food rations, medical kits, and vehicles – as well as communications and other personal gear. These supplies not only fill gaps identified by opposition troops fighting both the regime and violent extremists, but they are tangible evidence of our support for the moderate opposition.
Although a leadership debate has opened up within the SMC – as the Syrian opposition discusses how to fight the regime more effectively – the dispute has not affected our ability to deliver non-lethal assistance to the moderate armed opposition through trusted commanders.
None of the non-lethal assistance we are providing will be determinative in defeating regime forces, nor will it, on its own, force Asad to change his calculus about trying to hold on to power. However, our assistance does provide needed equipment while sending a signal both to those inside and outside Syria of our strong support for the moderate opposition; help maintain basic administrative institutions; help prevent the formation of vacuums in services and security that extremists aggressively exploit; and create relationships with moderates who can, when this conflict is over, form the basis of a transitional government.
Eliminating the Threat of Chemical Weapons
The Asad regime used chemical weapons against its citizens, and its continued possession of chemical weapons material represents a sustained danger to Syria’s population and all of its neighbors, including Israel. Last year, the international community, led by the United States and Russia, united to defend a long-standing international norm against the use of chemical weapons. Under a Joint Mission organized by the United Nations and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), the international community is supporting the safe elimination of Syria’s chemical weapons program. U.S. assistance includes outfitting a vessel to neutralize Syria’s highest priority chemical precursors and agents.
We are making progress, but there is tough work ahead. To date, the Joint Mission has verified the destruction of Syria’s chemical weapons-production equipment, the machines that mix the components, and the removal of nearly half of Syria’s declared stockpile. All of the sulfur mustard agent and some of the precursors for sarin, the highest priority declared chemicals, have now been removed. It is our goal to complete the removal of declared chemicals as soon as possible in April and the verified destruction of these chemical weapons and materials by June 30.
Protecting our Friends and Allies
We are committed to helping contain the conflict by bolstering the security and stability of Syria’s neighbors. Violence from the ongoing conflict has already spilled into Lebanon and Turkey, our NATO ally. Recently, Israel retaliated against Syrian army targets for an attack on an Israeli patrol on the Golan Heights. On Sunday, the Turkish Air Force shot down a Syrian plane that had encroached along the border. ISIL has used its position in Syria to pour extremist fighters and weapons into Iraq. Lebanon and Jordan are bearing an enormous burden as they work to secure their borders and meet the needs of more than 1.6 million refugees from Syria. We appreciate the support we have received from Congress as we work directly and with our international partners to support Syria’s neighbors:
We are coordinating closely with the international community to alleviate the suffering caused by this crisis. The Government of Kuwait co-hosted a donor conference with the U.N. Secretary-General in January, which resulted in $2.6 billion in new pledges. The United States is the largest single donor to the Syria humanitarian response, providing more than $1.7 billion in humanitarian assistance. Our assistance supports U.N. and other international organizations as well as numerous NGOs assisting conflict-affected civilians inside the country and throughout the region. We are specifically directing some of our funds to alleviate the growing strain on host communities, infrastructure and public services in neighboring countries. Inside Syria, our assistance provides food, basic healthcare, water and sanitation services and desperately needed relief supplies.
The Asad regime continues to deliberately block humanitarian access in Syria, citing the uncertain security situation. Last week, the first U.N. convoy reached the residents of Qamishli in northern Syria via the Turkish border crossing at Nusaybin. Although some supplies will finally reach these people in desperate need, one day of U.N. aid convoys crossing one border point is not enough. These convoys prove that the Syrian army can allow humanitarian access when it chooses to do so. The Asad regime must approve all U.N. requests for access to areas in need immediately as called for by the U.N. Security Council.
Negotiations Transitioning to a Representative Government
Transitioning to a representative government that is responsive to the needs of the Syrian people is the only way to reduce the violence and alleviate the suffering of the Syrian people. While the international community, including Russia, maintains that the conflict must end via a negotiated political agreement in line with the 2012 Geneva Communiqué, the regime has squandered every opportunity for a peaceful settlement. At the Geneva II talks, the regime’s negotiator insulted the opposition, U.N. Joint Special Representative Lakhdar Brahimi and the international community while contributing nothing of substance to the discussion.
The United States and Russia share a common interest in a successful negotiation that fully implements the Geneva Communiqué and prevents the spread of instability and violent extremism beyond Syria’s borders. To date, this common interest has motivated Russia to continue its support to the OPCW mission. However, Russia has done nothing to move its Syrian allies forward in the Geneva II negotiations. Moreover, we have seen an increase in both the quantity and the quality of weapons Russia has provided to the Syrian regime in recent months. The stability that Russia seeks in Syria will not be achieved by providing planes, tanks, bombs, and guns for use against the Syrian people. We continue to review all options for changing President Putin's calculus away from Russia's support for the Asad regime. Ambassador Brahimi told the Security Council on March 13, that he recommends against a third round of talks unless the regime commits to discuss substantively all elements of the Geneva Communiqué. In the meantime, the United States and its partners will continue to expand our support to the Syrian opposition and ratchet up pressure on the regime.
On another matter, I know that the safety of Syria’s minority communities is a key concern for members of this committee, as it is for us. We are troubled by the plight of all civilians in Syria, including Christians and other religious minorities. Protecting the security and religious rights of these communities, as well as the rights of women, is an important element of our policy and will be essential to any future political settlement. We have sought and received assurances from the Syrian opposition leadership and moderate rebel leaders that they will protect the rights of women and minorities, and engage them in plans for building Syria’s future.
Next Steps
Mr. Chairman, we are actively engaged in trying to bring the Syria crisis to an end.
March 14 letter – and will continue to work together with the Congress as we move forward.
The Syrian people reject violent extremism. They want to return home and rebuild their country – and we will help them. Thank you.
The Committee heard from Deputy Secretary Burns three weeks ago on the challenge of sectarian and extremist violence related to the conflict. Today I will supplement Deputy Secretary Burns’ remarks by describing the coordinated strategy that we are developing. I am pleased to be accompanied today by my colleague, Assistant Secretary for International Security and Nonproliferation Tom Countryman, who will address the international community’s progress in the removal and destruction of Syria’s chemical weapons.
The Crisis
The popular demands for economic and political reform sweeping the Middle East began three years ago in Syria as peaceful protests. Syria’s large youthful population sought an end to oppression and new opportunities. The Asad regime’s response to these demands has torn the nation apart, fueling extremism and inflaming regional tensions.
More than 146,000 people have been killed since the unrest and violence began. The number of conflict-affected civilians seeking refuge in neighboring countries has increased to more than 2.5 million people while, inside Syria, an additional 6.5 million people are displaced and at least 9.3 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance. The U.N. Security Council has condemned the denial of humanitarian access to civilians in need and has urged immediate steps to facilitate relief operations throughout the country, yet the regime has continued to obstruct humanitarian access. Again last week, the U.N. Commission of Inquiry on Syria reported on the continuing human rights violations being committed by the regime, as well as human rights abuses by the al-Qaeda linked groups and their offshoots that have taken root in the ungoverned spaces that Asad’s actions and atrocities have created.
Opposition to the Asad regime in Syria is broad and deep. Most Syrians who side with the opposition are moderates. In large areas of the country they have thrown off regime control, yet the situation on the ground is constantly in flux. In some areas, regime forces – with Hizballah and Iranian Revolutionary Guard support – have regained control of territory they had lost earlier in the conflict. Syrian troops are well armed with Iranian and Russian weapons, and also resort to barrel bombs or starvation to terrorize civilians. But peace will not come to Syria from a military victory. The only sustainable solution to the Syria crisis is a negotiated political settlement.
The United States is a leader of the ‘London 11’ contact group that has worked to move forward the Syrian transition, end the violence, and achieve a political solution. Although the U.N.-sponsored Geneva II negotiations have stalled due to regime intransigence aided by the tacit support of Russia, the process served to unify components of the Syrian opposition and to enable it to articulate its vision for a transitional government.
The continuing civil war has proved a magnet for foreign violent extremists – some with substantial combat experience – who are drawn to the ungoverned regions left by the deterioration of the Asad regime. Our colleagues at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence have estimated that there are nearly 23,000 violent extremist fighters in Syria, including more than 7,000 foreign fighters. They represent a minority of the total rebel ranks inside Syria, which are estimated to be between 75,000 – 110,000 fighters. The violent extremist fighters belong to several groups but most notably al-Qaeda’s official affiliate in Syria, Nusra Front, and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), formerly known as al-Qaeda in Iraq, whose new name indicates its growing ambitions. ISIL is responsible for most of the violence that has been taking place in Iraq’s Anbar province aimed at destabilizing Iraq. These groups offer weapons and money to Syrian men who oppose the regime, yet who might not otherwise be drawn to violent extremist causes but for the money and avenue for action against the regime they provide.
Bashar al-Asad bears responsibility for this metastasizing problem. His regime has released terrorists from its jails, allowed violent extremist bases to emerge, and invited other foreign terrorist organizations including Lebanese Hizballah, as well as Iranian-trained militia fighters from Iraq and Pakistan, to join the fight on its side.
Mr. Chairman, we are reviewing our policy and identifying priorities for coordinated action.
Countering Violent Extremist Activity
In Pakistan, we clearly saw the dangers that arise when terrorists are able to set up safe havens – and how difficult and costly in lives and money it becomes to dislodge or destroy them. For that reason, a top priority in the Syria crisis is preventing the establishment of a permanent terrorist safe-haven. In coordination with allies and partners, we are now better organizing ourselves to address the growing challenge of violent extremist fighters in Syria and the flow of these fighters into and out of the country. With our partners, we will apply tools, tactics, and best practices to mitigate potential threats and build upon existing lines of cooperation.
We are working with members of the opposition, Syria’s neighbors and other regional states to cut off their sources of funding and recruits. Saudi Arabia has criminalized participation in foreign conflicts by its citizens and is prosecuting individuals who have done so. Our allies in the Gulf increasingly, and correctly, see the flood of violent extremists from their countries as a threat to themselves. We have new initiatives to work with our allies to identify violent extremists who have travelled to the region.
We are also working to strengthen the moderate Syrian opposition, both inside and outside of Syria, because they are now facing a two-front war against both the Asad regime and the violent extremists.
Preventing Collapse and Nonlethal Support
In parts of Syria where the regime has been ousted, we want to prevent the wholesale collapse of Syria’s institutions and public services and keep regime hardliners and violent extremists from asserting control. As the fighting has continued, the regime has increasingly targeted civilian populations by denying basic services and cutting them off from food, fuel and medical care. But some provincial and local councils and civil society organizations continue struggling, against great odds, to maintain local government and continue critical services. We need to help them.
Mr. Chairman, members of this committee have been rightly concerned about the pace and effectiveness of support for the civilian opposition. Without a direct U.S. government presence inside the country – as well as control of many border entry points by al-Qaeda-linked groups or their offshoots – it has been difficult to increase our assistance to the Syrian opposition. Our strategy had been to use $260 million in non-lethal assistance to link the Syrian Coalition (SOC) to councils and NGOs inside the country, helping to unify and strengthen the opposition.
However, based on our experience on the ground over the past year, we have been refocusing our activity. Over the past few months the State Department and USAID have stepped up efforts to channel resources directly to local and provincial governments and civil society groups, as well as the SOC.
Our focus is increasingly on ways to help communities maintain basic security, keep the lights on, provide water, food and basic medical care – staving off the advances of extremist groups who seek to exploit peoples’ desperation. It allows these localities to maintain the basic public institutions that will be so critical in rebuilding a post-Asad Syria.
In towns and cities under opposition control, we are beginning to provide cash grants to pay local law enforcement and teachers. We continue to train local councils and civil society organizations in administration and local governance. And we are providing equipment and supplies to help them, including heavy equipment such as generators, cranes, trucks, and ambulances. In one major city, for example, we have helped reopen 17 schools serving 9,300 students. In another major city, we funded the refurbishment of 60 police stations and are providing non-lethal equipment and basic stipends to 1,300 policemen, who are struggling to maintain order. Paying stipends not only helps keep these people on the job, but it also helps deprive the extremist groups of the chance to fill the vacuum themselves.
Make no mistake: this is extremely difficult work and nobody is saying that this assistance will turn the tide against what remains an extremely serious and deteriorating situation. As we learned in Iraq – even with 160,000 American troops, ten years of effort, tens of thousands of schools refurbished, and hundreds of millions of dollars spent – it takes generations to restore stability in societies wrecked by decades of dictatorship and civil wars. We are determined, however, to stand with those struggling to rebuild and stabilize their local communities even in the most horrific circumstances imaginable. These brave individuals will be the future leaders of Syria; they deserve our support, and they will continue to receive it through the types of assistance I just described.
As part of this $260 million in non-lethal overall assistance, moreover, we are providing $80 million in support to the Supreme Military Command (SMC). Providing this support to groups engaged in a highly fluid battle zone has been challenging. In December, an SMC warehouse in Syria containing U.S. supplies was overrun by a faction of extremist fighters. We suspended SMC assistance until they could reestablish secure supply routes and storage facilities. By February, when the SMC regained control of its facility and accounted for its contents, we began sending supplies again – this time directly to trusted commanders.
In providing non-lethal assistance to the SMC, needs are identified by commanders and have included food rations, medical kits, and vehicles – as well as communications and other personal gear. These supplies not only fill gaps identified by opposition troops fighting both the regime and violent extremists, but they are tangible evidence of our support for the moderate opposition.
Although a leadership debate has opened up within the SMC – as the Syrian opposition discusses how to fight the regime more effectively – the dispute has not affected our ability to deliver non-lethal assistance to the moderate armed opposition through trusted commanders.
None of the non-lethal assistance we are providing will be determinative in defeating regime forces, nor will it, on its own, force Asad to change his calculus about trying to hold on to power. However, our assistance does provide needed equipment while sending a signal both to those inside and outside Syria of our strong support for the moderate opposition; help maintain basic administrative institutions; help prevent the formation of vacuums in services and security that extremists aggressively exploit; and create relationships with moderates who can, when this conflict is over, form the basis of a transitional government.
Eliminating the Threat of Chemical Weapons
The Asad regime used chemical weapons against its citizens, and its continued possession of chemical weapons material represents a sustained danger to Syria’s population and all of its neighbors, including Israel. Last year, the international community, led by the United States and Russia, united to defend a long-standing international norm against the use of chemical weapons. Under a Joint Mission organized by the United Nations and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), the international community is supporting the safe elimination of Syria’s chemical weapons program. U.S. assistance includes outfitting a vessel to neutralize Syria’s highest priority chemical precursors and agents.
We are making progress, but there is tough work ahead. To date, the Joint Mission has verified the destruction of Syria’s chemical weapons-production equipment, the machines that mix the components, and the removal of nearly half of Syria’s declared stockpile. All of the sulfur mustard agent and some of the precursors for sarin, the highest priority declared chemicals, have now been removed. It is our goal to complete the removal of declared chemicals as soon as possible in April and the verified destruction of these chemical weapons and materials by June 30.
Protecting our Friends and Allies
We are committed to helping contain the conflict by bolstering the security and stability of Syria’s neighbors. Violence from the ongoing conflict has already spilled into Lebanon and Turkey, our NATO ally. Recently, Israel retaliated against Syrian army targets for an attack on an Israeli patrol on the Golan Heights. On Sunday, the Turkish Air Force shot down a Syrian plane that had encroached along the border. ISIL has used its position in Syria to pour extremist fighters and weapons into Iraq. Lebanon and Jordan are bearing an enormous burden as they work to secure their borders and meet the needs of more than 1.6 million refugees from Syria. We appreciate the support we have received from Congress as we work directly and with our international partners to support Syria’s neighbors:
- We back the Lebanese government’s efforts to contain the Syrian conflict and strongly condemn Hizballah’s intervention on behalf of the Asad regime. The U.S. has provided additional support to the Lebanese Armed Forces and Internal Security Forces to help them secure Lebanon’s borders and address internal security threats. We are helping the Lebanese government care for nearly one million refugees from Syria and strengthen the communities that are hosting them. We have provided more than $340 million in humanitarian assistance to support the needs of these refugees and to reduce the burden on Lebanese communities. In addition, our ongoing bilateral assistance is helping to address deteriorating economic conditions and gaps in the delivery of important services, particularly in communities impacted by the crisis.
- Many of you met with Jordan’s King Abdullah when he was here recently and can appreciate the contributions that Jordan is making to address this crisis. The United States is already working closely with the Jordanian Armed Forces (JAF) to address threats emanating from Syria, including providing enhanced border security and counterterrorism capabilities. DOD funds also help to assist the JAF with providing humanitarian assistance to newly arriving Syrian refugees. Longstanding development programs help relieve the strains on water infrastructure, schools, and health facilities in Jordanian communities that support large numbers of Syrian refugees. We have provided $300 million in additional budget support over the last two years and will support a $1 billion loan guarantee for Jordan as well as the renewal of our bilateral assistance Memorandum of Understanding for an additional five years, as announced by the President last month.
- In regards to Turkey, we are most importantly working with Ankara on a variety of counter-terrorism issues to address the growing threat that Syria-based terrorists pose to Turkey and the challenge posed by foreign fighters. Additionally, Turkey hosts far more than the 641,000 officially registered refugees from Syria, in addition to significant parts of the Syrian opposition leadership. We are working to mitigate the Syrian conflict’s spillover on Turkey’s security and sovereignty, including through the deployment of two U.S. Patriot batteries in southern Turkey, which join four batteries from other NATO allies. U.S. contributions to the international humanitarian response help provide critical support to refugees hosted in Turkish camps and communities. In support of the U.N., Turkey is playing an important role in facilitating cross-border humanitarian assistance in northern Syria.
- Iraq hosts more than 225,000 refugees from Syria, mostly in the Iraqi Kurdistan region. Since 2012, the United States has provided more than $90 million in humanitarian aid to international organizations and NGOs for Syrian refugees in Iraq. We are also working with the U.N. and the Iraqi government to ensure that the estimated 350,000 Iraqis displaced by the Anbar conflict are getting needed assistance and will be able to vote in Iraq’s upcoming elections, which ISIL seeks to disrupt. At the same time, we are in close contact with Iraq’s political leaders and security commanders to develop and execute a holistic campaign to isolate ISIL from the population, including through intensified information sharing and security assistance.
- In Egypt, which hosts over 135,000 Syrian refugees, political instability and polarization has contributed to a difficult environment and increasing humanitarian needs for refugees. Recognizing the burden that refugee communities can pose on host countries, we are continuing to support humanitarian partners in Egypt and to engage the government to ensure that refugees receive needed support.
- Israel has not been spared the effects of the conflict. Our governments coordinate closely to monitor violent extremist threats in Syria, and we support Israel’s right to defend itself from spillover violence. We applaud Israeli efforts to provide medical care to wounded Syrians seeking help. We are also concerned that Syria’s instability will continue to threaten the Golan.
We are coordinating closely with the international community to alleviate the suffering caused by this crisis. The Government of Kuwait co-hosted a donor conference with the U.N. Secretary-General in January, which resulted in $2.6 billion in new pledges. The United States is the largest single donor to the Syria humanitarian response, providing more than $1.7 billion in humanitarian assistance. Our assistance supports U.N. and other international organizations as well as numerous NGOs assisting conflict-affected civilians inside the country and throughout the region. We are specifically directing some of our funds to alleviate the growing strain on host communities, infrastructure and public services in neighboring countries. Inside Syria, our assistance provides food, basic healthcare, water and sanitation services and desperately needed relief supplies.
The Asad regime continues to deliberately block humanitarian access in Syria, citing the uncertain security situation. Last week, the first U.N. convoy reached the residents of Qamishli in northern Syria via the Turkish border crossing at Nusaybin. Although some supplies will finally reach these people in desperate need, one day of U.N. aid convoys crossing one border point is not enough. These convoys prove that the Syrian army can allow humanitarian access when it chooses to do so. The Asad regime must approve all U.N. requests for access to areas in need immediately as called for by the U.N. Security Council.
Negotiations Transitioning to a Representative Government
Transitioning to a representative government that is responsive to the needs of the Syrian people is the only way to reduce the violence and alleviate the suffering of the Syrian people. While the international community, including Russia, maintains that the conflict must end via a negotiated political agreement in line with the 2012 Geneva Communiqué, the regime has squandered every opportunity for a peaceful settlement. At the Geneva II talks, the regime’s negotiator insulted the opposition, U.N. Joint Special Representative Lakhdar Brahimi and the international community while contributing nothing of substance to the discussion.
The United States and Russia share a common interest in a successful negotiation that fully implements the Geneva Communiqué and prevents the spread of instability and violent extremism beyond Syria’s borders. To date, this common interest has motivated Russia to continue its support to the OPCW mission. However, Russia has done nothing to move its Syrian allies forward in the Geneva II negotiations. Moreover, we have seen an increase in both the quantity and the quality of weapons Russia has provided to the Syrian regime in recent months. The stability that Russia seeks in Syria will not be achieved by providing planes, tanks, bombs, and guns for use against the Syrian people. We continue to review all options for changing President Putin's calculus away from Russia's support for the Asad regime. Ambassador Brahimi told the Security Council on March 13, that he recommends against a third round of talks unless the regime commits to discuss substantively all elements of the Geneva Communiqué. In the meantime, the United States and its partners will continue to expand our support to the Syrian opposition and ratchet up pressure on the regime.
On another matter, I know that the safety of Syria’s minority communities is a key concern for members of this committee, as it is for us. We are troubled by the plight of all civilians in Syria, including Christians and other religious minorities. Protecting the security and religious rights of these communities, as well as the rights of women, is an important element of our policy and will be essential to any future political settlement. We have sought and received assurances from the Syrian opposition leadership and moderate rebel leaders that they will protect the rights of women and minorities, and engage them in plans for building Syria’s future.
Next Steps
Mr. Chairman, we are actively engaged in trying to bring the Syria crisis to an end.
- We are working with allies and partners to combat the growing threat of violent extremists;
- We are working to prevent a catastrophic collapse of Syrian cities in opposition controlled areas;
- We are providing nonlethal support to the armed opposition;
- We are working with the international community to end the threat of Syria’s chemical weapons;
- We are taking steps to protect and support our regional friends and allies;
- We are contributing generously to the humanitarian response both inside Syria and among its neighbors; and
- We are providing support to the Syrian opposition both directly and through the London 11.
March 14 letter – and will continue to work together with the Congress as we move forward.
The Syrian people reject violent extremism. They want to return home and rebuild their country – and we will help them. Thank you.
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