U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT CONTRACTS FOR JUNE 9, 2014

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 

CONTRACTS

ARMY

Dell Federal Systems L.P., Round Rock, Texas (91QUZ-07-D-0006, MOD P00019); IBM Corp., Bethesda, Maryland (W91QUZ-07-D-0007, MOD P00017); Unicom Government, Inc., Herndon, Virginia (W91QUZ-07-D-0008, MOD P00017); CDW Government LLC, Vernon Hills, Illinois (W91QUZ-07-D-0009, MOD P00022); Iron Bow Technologies, LLC, Chantilly, Virginia (W91QUZ-07-D-0010, MOD P00024); and World Wide Technology, Inc., Maryland Heights, Missouri (W91QUZ-07-D-0011, MOD P00019), were awarded a $774,000,000 modification to their existing contracts for the Information Technology Enterprise Solutions - 2 Hardware, which encompasses all requirements for information technology, including hardware, software and related incidental services for providing end-to-end solutions. Funding and work locations will be determined with each order. The estimated completion date is June 23, 2015. Army Contracting Command, Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, is the contracting activity.
Miltec Corp., Huntsville, Alabama, was awarded a $44,000,000 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract with options for labor, material, travel for research and development for the Advanced Hypersonic Weapon - Technology Demonstration for Space and Missile Defense Command, with an estimated completion date of June 5, 2019. Work will be performed in Huntsville, Alabama. Fiscal 2013 research, development, testing and evaluation funds in the amount of $10,786,000 were obligated at the time of the award. Bids were solicited via the Internet with one received. Army Space and Missile Defense Command is the contracting activity (W9113M-14-C-0015).

A-T Solutions, Fredericksburg, Virginia, was awarded a $23,889,413 modification (P00004) to contract W911S0-13-C-0009 to exercise option one for the Asymmetric Warfare Group (AWG) operations support requirement. Option one will provide personnel, expertise and the skills required to support AWG’s mission to Army and joint forces worldwide to predict, mitigate, counter, and defeat asymmetric and emerging hybrid threats. Fiscal 2014 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $6,847,926 and fiscal 2014 other procurement funds in the amount of $17,041,487 were obligated at the time of the award. Estimated completion date is June 14, 2015. Work will be performed at Fort Meade, Maryland. Army Contracting Command, Fort Eustis, Virginia, is the contracting activity.

Raass Brothers, Inc., Provo, Utah, was awarded a $9,540,270 firm-fixed-price contract with options for constructing B-52 munitions storage igloos at Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota, with an estimated completion date of Nov. 30, 2015. Bids were solicited via the Internet with 10 received. Fiscal 2010 military construction funds in the amount of $1,891,908 and fiscal 2014 military construction funds in the amount of $7,648,362 are being obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha, Nebraska, is the contracting activity (W9128F-14-C-0009).

NAVY

General Dynamics National Steel and Shipbuilding Co., San Diego, California, is being awarded a not-to-exceed $64,056,766 modification under a previously awarded contract (N00024-09-C-2229) to procure advance material for the Mobile Landing Platform 4 Afloat Forward Staging Base platform. This action allows the procurement of ship sets for the purchase specifications supporting integrated propulsion, main diesel generator engines, propeller and shafting, integrated bridge, and voice communications. Work will be performed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (38 percent); Beloit, Wisconsin (37 percent); San Diego (15 percent), Chesapeake, Virginia (9 percent); and Deerfield, Florida (1 percent), and is expected to be completed by March 2017. Fiscal 2014 ship conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $48,042,574 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity.
Science Applications International Corp., McLean, Virginia (N00421-10-D-0016); Booz Allen Hamilton, Inc., McLean, Virginia (N00421-10-D-0017); Engility Corp., Chantilly, Virginia (N00421-10-D-0018); and National Technologies, Inc., Alexandria, Virginia (N00421-10-D-0019), are each being awarded modifications to previously awarded indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity multiple award contracts to exercise options for business financial management and program, and business analysis services in support of the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD). A not-to-exceed shared ceiling of $10,553,653 exists for the ordering period, and each contractor will be provided a fair opportunity to compete for individual task orders. Work will be performed at NAWCAD Patuxent River, Maryland (89.9 percent), and NAWCAD Lakehurst, New Jersey (10.1 percent), and is expected to be completed in June 2015. No funding will be obligated at time of award; funds will be obligated on individual task orders as they are issued. The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity.

AH Environmental Consultants, Inc.*, Newport News, Virginia, is being awarded a maximum amount $10,000,000 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity architect-engineering contract for environmental consulting services located in the Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Southeast area of responsibility (AOR). The work to be performed provides for professional architect-engineering services for potable water, wastewater, stormwater, spill control and other related miscellaneous environmental services, to include various forms of support for these environmental programs. All work on this contract will be performed at various activities in the NAVFAC Southeast AOR. The term of the contract is not to exceed 60 months with an expected completion date of June 2019. Task order 0001 is being awarded at $71,935 for a sanitary survey at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base New Orleans, Louisiana. Work for this task order is expected to be completed by December 2014. Fiscal 2014 operation and maintenance (Navy) contract funds in the amount of $71,935 are obligated on this award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online website, with 14 proposals received. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Southeast, Jacksonville, Florida, is the contracting activity (N69450-14-D-0029).
Navmar Applied Sciences Corp.,* Warminster, Pennsylvania, is being awarded a $7,958,350 modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N68335-12-C-0353) to exercise an option for the procurement of logistic services and mission travel in support of the TigerShark Persistent Surveillance Unmanned Aerial System Air Vehicles. Work will be performed in Afghanistan (92 percent), and Warminster (8 percent), and is expected to be completed in June 2015. Fiscal 2014 operations and maintenance (Army) funds in the amount of $7,958,350 are being obligated on this award, all of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Lakehurst, New Jersey, is the contracting activity.

DEFENSE ADVANCED RESEARCH PROJECTS AGENCY

Aurora Flight Sciences Corporation, Manassas, Virginia, has been awarded a $10,457,663 modification (P00003) exercising the first option period on a seven-month base contract (HR0011-14-C-0014), with one 16-month option period. The contractor shall provide the personnel, equipment, materials, tools, facilities, and program management and technical effort to design, develop, integrate, test, and deliver the contractual requirements of the program for building two X-Plane aircraft. This is a cost-plus-fixed-fee contract. Locations of performance are Manassas, Virginia (81 percent); Indianapolis, Indiana (13 percent); Tucson, Arizona (1 percent); and Ventura, California (5 percent), with an Oct. 10, 2015, performance completion date. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2014 through fiscal 2015 research, development, test and evaluation in the amount of $10,457,663. The contracting activity is the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Arlington, Virginia.

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

Raytheon Company, McKinney, Texas, has been awarded a maximum $8,735,016 firm-fixed-price contract for receiver exciters. This contract was a sole-source acquisition. This is a 30-month base contract with no option periods. Location of performance is Texas with a Dec. 31, 2016, performance completion date. Type of appropriation is Navy working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Aviation, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPRPA1-14-G-001X-1010).

UPDATE: Harlan Global Manufacturing LLC,* Kansas City, Kansas (SPE8EC-14-D-0020), has been added as an awardee to the multiple award contract issued against solicitation #SPM8EC-11-R-0001 announced Aug. 1, 2011.
*Small business

PRESIDENT OBAMA MAKES REMARKS ON COLLEGE AFFORDABILITY

FROM:  THE WHITE HOUSE 

Remarks by the President on Opportunity for All: Making College More Affordable

1:51 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.  Everybody have a seat.  Welcome to the White House.  And I want to thank Andy for the terrific introduction.  And this is commencement season, and it’s always a hopeful and exciting time, and I’ll bet we might have some folks who just graduated here today.  Raise your hands.  Let’s see -- yes, we’ve got a couple of folks who are feeling pretty good.  (Laughter.) 

Of course, once the glow wears off, this can be a stressful time for millions of students.  And they’re asking themselves, how on Earth am I going to pay off all these student loans?  And that’s what we’re here to talk about.  And Andy I think gave a vivid example of what’s going through the minds of so many young people who have the drive and the energy and have succeeded in everything that they do but because of family circumstances have found themselves in a situation where they’ve got significant debt.

Now, we know, all of you know, that in a 21st century economy, a higher education is the single best investment that you can make in yourselves and your future, and we’ve got to make sure that investment pays off.

And here’s why:  For 51 months in a row, our businesses have created new jobs -- 9.4 million new jobs in total.  And over the last year, we’ve averaged around 200,000 new jobs every month.  That’s the good news.  But while those at the top are doing better than ever, average wages have barely budged.  And there are too many Americans out there that are working harder and harder just to get by.

Everything I do is aimed towards reversing those trends that put a greater burden on the middle class and are diminishing the number of ladders to get into the middle class, because the central tenet of my presidency, partly because of the story of my life and Michelle’s life, is this is a country where opportunity should be available for anybody -- the idea that no matter who you are, what you look like, where you come from, how you were raised, who you love, if you’re willing to work hard, if you’re willing to live up to your responsibilities, you can make it here in America.

And in America, higher education opens the doors of opportunity for all.  And it doesn’t have to be a four-year college education.  We’ve got community colleges, we’ve got technical schools, but we know that some higher education, some additional skills is going to be your surest path to the middle class.  The typical American with a bachelor’s degree or higher earns over $28,000 more per year than somebody with just a high school education -- 28 grand a year.  And right now, the unemployment rate for workers with a bachelor’s degree is about half of what it is for folks with just a high school education.

So you know that this is a smart investment.  Your parents know this is a smart investment.  That’s why so many of them made such big sacrifices to make sure that you could get into college, and nagged you throughout your high school years.  (Laughter.) 

Here’s the problem:  At a time when higher education has never been more important, it’s also never been more expensive.  Over the last three decades, the average tuition at a public university has more than tripled.  At the same time, the typical family’s income has gone up just 16 percent. 

Michelle and I both went to college because of loans and grants and the work that we did.   But I’ll be honest with you -- now, I’m old, I’ve got to admit -- (laughter) -- but when I got out of school, it took me about a year to pay off my entire undergraduate education.  That was it.  And I went to a private school; I didn’t even go to a public school.  So as recently as the ‘70s, the ‘80s, when you made a commitment to college, you weren’t anticipating that you’d have this massive debt on the back end. 

Now, when I went to law school it was a different story.  But that made sense because the idea was if you got a professional degree like a law degree, you would probably be able to pay it off.  And so I didn’t feel sorry for myself or any lawyers who took on law school debt. 

But compare that experience just half a generation, a generation ago to what kids are going through now.  These rising costs have left middle-class families feeling trapped.  Let’s be honest:  Families at the top, they can easily save more than enough money to pay for school out of pocket.  Families at the bottom face a lot of obstacles, but they can turn to federal programs designed to help them handle costs.  But you’ve got a lot of middle-class families who can’t build up enough savings, don’t qualify for support, feel like nobody is looking out for them.  And as Andy just described vividly, heaven forbid that the equity in their home gets used up for some other family emergency, or, as we saw in 2008, suddenly home values sink, and then people feel like they’re left in the lurch. 

So I’m only here because this country gave me a chance through education.  We are here today because we believe that in America, no hardworking young person should be priced out of a higher education. 

This country has always made a commitment to put a good education within the reach of young people willing to work for it.  I mentioned my generation, but think about my grandfather’s generation.  I just came back from Normandy, where we celebrated D-Day.  When that generation of young people came back from World War II, at least the men, my grandfather was able to go to college on the GI Bill.  And that helped build the greatest middle class the world has ever known. 

Grants helped my mother raise two kids by herself while she got through school.  And she didn’t have $75,000 worth of debt, and she was raising two kids at the same time.  Neither Michelle or I came from a lot of money, but with hard work, and help from scholarships and student loans, we got to go to great schools.  We did not have this kind of burden that we’re seeing, at least at the undergraduate stages.  As I said, because of law school, we only finished paying off our own student loans just 10 years ago.  So we know what many of you are going through or look forward -- or don’t look forward to.  (Laughter.)  And we were doing it at the same time -- we already had to start saving for Malia and Sasha’s education. 

But this is why I feel so strongly about this.  This is why I’m passionate about it.  That’s why we took on a student loan system that basically gave away tens of billions of taxpayer dollars to big banks.  We said, let’s cut out the middle man.  Banks should be making a profit on what they do, but not off the backs of students.  We reformed it; more money went directly to students.  We expanded grants for low-income students through the Pell grant program.  We created a new tuition tax credit for middle-class families.  We offered millions of young people the chance to cap their student loan payments at 10 percent of their income -- that’s what Andy was referring to.  Michelle right now is working with students to help them “Reach Higher,” and overcome the obstacles that stand between them and graduation.  This is something we are deeply invested in.

But as long as college costs keep soaring, we can’t just keep throwing money at the problem.  We’re going to have to initiate reforms from the colleges themselves.  States have to invest more in higher education.  Historically, the reason we had such a great public education system, public higher education system was states understood we will benefit if we invest in higher education.  And somewhere along the line, they started thinking, we’ve got to invest more in prisons than we do in higher education.  And part of the reason that tuition has been jacked up year after year after year is state legislators are not prioritizing this.  They’re passing the costs onto taxpayers.  It’s not sustainable.

So that’s why I laid out a plan to shake up our higher education system and encourage colleges to finally bring down college costs.  And I proposed new rules to make sure for-profit colleges keep their promises and train students with the skills for today’s jobs without saddling them with debt.  Too many of these for-profit colleges -- some do a fine job, but many of them recruit kids in, the kids don’t graduate, but they’re left with the debt.  And if they do graduate, too often they don’t have the marketable skills they need to get the job that allows them to service the debt.     

None of these fights have been easy.  All of them have been worth it.  You’ve got some outstanding members of Congress right here who have been fighting right alongside us to make sure that we are giving you a fair shake.  And the good news is, more young people are earning college degrees than ever before.  And that’s something we should be proud of, and that’s something we should celebrate. 

But more of them are graduating with debt.  Despite everything we’re doing, we’re still seeing too big a debt load on too many young people.  A large majority of today’s college seniors have taken out loans to pay for school.  The average borrower at a four-year college owes nearly $30,000 by graduation day.  Americans now owe more on student loans than they do on credit cards.  And the outrage here is that they’re just doing what they’ve been told they’re supposed to do.  I can’t tell you how many letters I get from people who say I did everything I was supposed to and now I’m finding myself in a situation where I’ve got debts I can’t pay off, and I want to pay them off, and I’m working really hard, but I just can’t make ends meet.

If somebody plays by the rules, they shouldn’t be punished for it.  A young woman named Ashley, in Santa Fe, wrote me a letter a few months ago.  And Ashley wanted me to know that she’s young, she’s ambitious, she’s proud of the degree she earned.  And she said, “I am the future” -- she put “am” in capital letters so that I’d know she means business.  (Laughter.)  And she told me that because of her student loan debt, she’s worried she’ll never be able to buy a car or a house.  She wrote, “I’m not even 30, and I’ve given up on my future because I can’t afford to have one.”  I wrote her back and said it’s a little early in your 20s to give up.  (Laughter.)  So I’m sure Ashley was trying to make a point, but it’s a point that all of us need to pay attention to.  In America, no young person who works hard and plays by the rules should feel that way. 

Now, I’ve made it clear that I want to work with Congress on this issue.  Unfortunately, a generation of young people can’t afford to wait for Congress to get going.  The members of Congress who are here are working very hard and putting forward legislation to try to make this stuff happen, but they have not gotten some of the support that they need.  In this year of action, wherever I’ve seen ways I can act on my own to expand opportunity to more Americans, I have.  And today, I’m going to take three actions to help more young people pay off their student loan debt.

Number one, I’m directing our Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, to give more Americans who are already making their loan payments a chance to cap those payments at 10 percent of their income.  We call it “Pay As You Earn.”  We know it works, because we’ve already offered it to millions of young people.  It’s saving folks like Andy hundreds of dollars potentially every month. It’s giving graduates the opportunity to pursue the dreams that inspired them to go to school in the first place, and that’s good for everybody.  And we want more young people to start their own businesses.  We want more young people becoming teachers and nurses and social workers.  We want young people to be in a position to pursue their dreams.  And we want more young people who act responsibly to be able to manage their debt over time.  So we’re announcing steps that will open up “Pay As You Earn” to nearly 5 million more Americans.  That’s the first action we’re taking today.

The second action is to renegotiate contracts with private companies like Sallie Mae that service our student loans.  And we’re going to make it clear that these companies are in the business of helping students, not just collecting payments, and they owe young people the customer service, and support, and financial flexibility that they deserve.  That’s number two.

Number three -- we’re doing more to help every borrower know all the options that are out there, so that they can pick the one that’s right for them.  So we’re going to work with the teachers’ associations, and the nurses’ associations, with business groups; with the YMCA, and non-profits and companies like TurboTax and H&R Block.  And tomorrow, I’m going to do a student loan Q&A with Tumblr to help spread the word -- you’re laughing because you think, what does he know about Tumblr?  (Laughter.)  But you will recall that I have two teenage daughters so that I am hip to all these things.  (Laughter.)  Plus I have all these twenty-somethings who are working for me all the time.  (Laughter.)

But to give even more student borrowers the chance to save money requires action from Congress.  I’m going to be signing this executive order.  It’s going to make progress, but not enough.  We need more.  We’ve got to have Congress to make some progress.  Now, the good news is, as I said, there are some folks in Congress who want to do it.  There are folks here like Jim Clyburn, John Tierney, who are helping lead this fight in the House.  We’ve got Elizabeth Warren, who’s leading this fight in the Senate.  Elizabeth has written a bill that would let students refinance their loans at today’s lower interest rates, just like their parents can refinance a mortgage.  It pays for itself by closing loopholes that allow some millionaires to pay a lower tax rate than middle-class families. 

I don’t know, by the way, why folks aren’t more outraged about this.  I’m going to take a pause out of my prepared text.  You would think that if somebody like me has done really well in part because the country has invested in them, that they wouldn’t mind at least paying the same rate as a teacher or a nurse.  There’s not a good economic argument for it, that they should pay a lower rate.  It’s just clout, that’s all.  So it’s bad enough that that’s already happening.  It would be scandalous if we allowed those kinds of tax loopholes for the very, very fortunate to survive while students are having trouble just getting started in their lives. 

So you’ve got a pretty straightforward bill here.  And this week, Congress will vote on that bill.  And I want Americans to pay attention to see where their lawmakers’ priorities lie here:  lower tax bills for millionaires, or lower student loan bills for the middle class.

This should be a no-brainer.  You’ve got a group of far-right Republicans in Congress who push this trickle-down economic plan, telling hard-working students and families, “You’re on your own.”  Two years ago, Republicans in Congress nearly let student loan interest rates double for 7 million young people.  Last year, they tried to strip protections from lower-income students.  This year, House Republicans voted overwhelmingly to slash Pell grants and make it harder for thousands of families to afford college.  If you’re a big oil company, they’ll go to bat for you.  If you’re a student, good luck. 

Some of these Republicans in Congress seem to believe that it’s just because -- that just because some of the young people behind me need some help, that they’re not trying hard enough.  They don’t get it.  Maybe they need to talk to Andy.  These students worked hard to get where they are today. 

Shanelle Roberson -- where is Shanelle?  Shanelle is the first in her family to graduate from a four-year college.  (Applause.)  Shanelle is not asking for a handout, none of these folks are.  They’re working hard.  They’re working while they’re going to school.  They’re doing exactly what we told them they should do.  But they want a chance.  If they do exactly what they’re told they should do, that they’re not suddenly loaded up where they’ve got so much debt that they can’t buy a house, they can’t think about starting a family, they can’t imagine starting a business on their own. 

I’ve been in politics long enough to hear plenty of people, from both parties, pay lip service to the next generation, and then they abandon them when it counts.  And we, the voters, let it happen.  This is something that should be really straightforward, just like the minimum wage should be straightforward, just like equal pay for equal work should be straightforward.  And one of the things I want all the voters out there to consider, particularly parents who are struggling trying to figure out how am I going to pay my kid’s college education, take a look and see who is that’s fighting for you and your kids, and who is it that’s not.  Because if there are no consequences, then this kind of irresponsible behavior continues on the part of members of Congress.

So I ran for this office to help more young people go to college, graduate, and pay off their debt.  And we’ve made some really good progress despite the best efforts of some in Congress to block that progress.  Think about how much more we could do if they were not standing in the way. 

This week, they have a chance to help millions of young people.  I hope they do.  You should let them know you are watching and paying attention to what they do.  If they do not look out for you, and then throw up a whole bunch of arguments that are meant to obfuscate -- meaning confuse, rather than to clarify and illuminate -- (laughter) -- then you should call them to account.  And in the meantime, I’m going to take these actions today on behalf of all these young people here, and every striving young American who shares my belief that this is a place where you can still make it if you try. 

Thank you, everybody.  God bless you.  God bless America. 

END                                                                     
2:12 P.M. EDT

U.S. CONGRATULATES PEOPLE OF PORTUGAL ON PORTUGAL DAY

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT 

On the Occasion of Portugal Day

Press Statement

John Kerry

Secretary of State

Washington, DC

June 9, 2014

---

On behalf of President Obama and the American people, I congratulate the people of Portugal as you celebrate Portugal Day on June 10.

The United States and Portugal share a close bond, dating back to the founding of the United States. In the centuries that have followed, millions of Portuguese and Americans have crossed the Atlantic in pursuit of opportunity and adventure.

For many of us, the bonds between our two nations are rooted not just in history, but also in family. My wife Teresa’s Portuguese heritage and my experience representing one of America’s largest Portuguese-American communities for nearly three decades in the United States Senate have made Portuguese culture an important part of my personal and public life. I was pleased to welcome Portuguese Foreign Minister Rui Machete to Washington in January and to share with him my personal affection for the people of Portugal and Portuguese culture.
Today, the strong partnership between our two countries is more vital than ever. We work together to advance global peace and security at NATO and the United Nations, and to promote shared prosperity by expanding our commercial ties, encouraging entrepreneurship and innovation, and creating opportunities for young people around the world.

As you honor Luís de Camões, reflect on Portugal’s rich culture, and enjoy time with family and friends, the American people celebrate with you. I am confident that our partnership will continue to deepen in the years to come.

DOD REPORT SAYS CHINA MILITARY MODERNIZING, PREPARING CONTINGENCIES FOR TERRITORIAL DISPUTES

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 

China Continues Military Modernization, Report Says

By Jim Garamone

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, June 5, 2014 – China continues to modernize and improve its military capabilities, according to an annual DOD report to Congress, and is also preparing for contingencies in the South and East China Seas where Beijing has been involved in increasingly tense territorial disputes with its neighbors.
The just-released “Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China for 2014” report said China’s military expenditures continue to grow in keeping with its goal of being a regional and world power.
The main mission for the People’s Liberation Army, the report said, is to improve the capacity of its armed forces to fight and win short-duration, high-intensity regional contingencies.

China continues to prepare for potential conflict in the Taiwan Strait -- which includes deterring or defeating the United States, according to the report.
“The People’s Liberation Army also is placing emphasis on preparing for contingencies other than Taiwan, including potential contingencies in the South and East China Seas,” the report says.

The PLA Navy, the report said, conducted its largest-ever fleet exercise in the Philippine Sea.

China also conducted a series of joint military exercises in September and October, according to the report. “These exercises combined PLA ground, navy and air forces in large-scale maneuvers along China’s southern and southeastern coasts,” the report said.

“As China’s interests, capabilities, and international influence have grown, its military modernization program has also become increasingly focused on military investments for a range of missions beyond China’s coast, including sea lane security, counterpiracy, peacekeeping and humanitarian assistance/disaster relief,” the report says. The United States has worked with China on some of these missions.

Chinese leaders, the report said, see this era as a “period of strategic opportunity” to advance national development.

China is using the strategic space to prioritize economic growth and development and to achieve “national rejuvenation” by 2049, according to the report.
“At the same time, Chinese leaders express a desire to maintain peace and stability along their country’s periphery; expand their diplomatic influence to facilitate access to markets, capital, and resources; and avoid direct confrontation with the United States and other countries,” the report said.

Following this strategy, China’s presence is growing in all regions of the world, the report said. This has led to friction between some of its regional neighbors, including allies and partners of the United States.

The U.S.-China relationship is expanding and improving, the report said. In the military area there are questions about the rate of growth. The Chinese have not been transparent about their spending, with U.S. experts believing the country spends roughly $145 billion on defense, far beyond the $119 billion that China has officially announced.

China has sustained its investments in strategic forces modernization, as well as key anti-access/area-denial capabilities such as advanced intermediate- and medium-range conventional ballistic missiles, long-range land-attack and anti-ship cruise missiles, counter-space weapons, and offensive cyber capabilities, according to the report.

DOD WILL SAVE MONEY RETURNING SITES TO EUROPEAN HOST NATIONS

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 

Breedlove Supports Returning European Sites to Host Nations

By Army Sgt. 1st Class Tyrone C. Marshall Jr.

American Forces Press Service

DEAUVILLE, France, June 8, 2014 – The Defense Department will save money but will not reduce military readiness when it returns more than 20 sites across Europe that have been designated for return to host nations, the top U.S. military commander in Europe said.

In an interview with American Forces Press Service during events marking the 70th anniversary of D-Day, Air Force Gen. Philip Breedlove, supreme allied commander Europe and commander, U.S. European Command, reaffirmed cutting excess infrastructure will produce DOD savings.

“What I have said ever since I’ve taken command -- even now after we are beginning to look at how do we respond to Russia -- I still believe that we have excess infrastructure here in Europe just like we do in the United States,” he said.
“We’re having to pay to maintain some of that infrastructure,” Breedlove said. “We need to skinny down and get rid of it.”

The Defense Department announced May 23 it will fully return 21 sites to their host nations in Europe, saving the U.S. government approximately $60 million annually. Military officials have said that neither existing force structure nor military capabilities will be affected.

Breedlove emphasized the cuts are intended to reduce excess infrastructure only.
“Infrastructure -- not force structure,” he said. “I believe we’ve probably gone too far in drawing down our force structure in Europe. We need to re-look at that as well.”

“But in the meantime,” Breedlove said, “giving back infrastructure saves us money, and it returns these lands and properties to their nations.”

NSF INVESTIGATES PRECURSORS OF AN EL NINO

FROM:  NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION 

World Oceans Day: 12 things to know about El Niño: Is it coming, and when?

How will it affect coastal species--and the fish on our dinner tables?

June 5, 2014

Just in time for World Oceans Day on June 8, cometh El Niño. But is El Niño really on the horizon? How certain are we of its arrival? And how will we know it's here? What effect will it have on the weather, on coastal species and on what's on our dinner tables?

To find out, the National Science Foundation (NSF) talked with biological oceanographer Mark Ohman and physical oceanographer Dan Rudnick of California's Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Their work is funded by NSF's Division of Ocean Sciences.

1) What is El Niño?

(Ohman) El Niño is the formation of warmer-than-usual ocean waters in the equatorial Pacific, with extensive temperature changes along the coast of South America during the month of December--hence the Spanish name "El Niño," the Christmas child. Scientists refer to the phenomenon as the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Its warm ocean phase is termed El Niño, and cool ocean phase La Niña.

2) Is El Niño predictable?

(Rudnick) Yes, to some extent. Scientists have identified the precursors of an El Niño; observations to monitor them are taking place near the equator. These observations are used in sophisticated models to predict the timing and magnitude of a developing El Niño. Right now, the models show anything from a weak to a strong El Niño ahead.

3) How do we know that changes in the ocean are the result of El Niño?

(Ohman) El Niño is the strongest year-to-year "signal" on Earth, with distinct temperature and precipitation changes over land and in the sea. Because the ocean is variable on many time scales (tidal, seasonal, year-to-year and decade-to-decade), it's essential to have a baseline of ocean measurements against which to measure departures from normal conditions.

Scientists at the NSF California Current Ecosystem Long-Term Ecological Research site, located in Southern California waters, have access to records of ocean conditions as far back as 1916.

4) Are all El Niños alike?

(Ohman) Not at all. Not only do El Niños vary in intensity, there are at least two major types. In one El Niño, termed Eastern Pacific, the most extreme temperature changes happen off the South American coast. In Central Pacific (CP) El Niños, the center of ocean temperature changes is much farther to the west. Some evidence suggests that the frequency of CP El Niños may be increasing.

(Rudnick) Ultimately every El Niño is different, and only some will strongly affect the coasts of the Americas.

5) When are the effects of El Niño the strongest?

(Ohman) The development of an El Niño is seasonal. The first ocean temperature changes usually begin during the Northern summer (June through September) then continue to grow, reaching their maximum during winter, from November to the following January. But precursors can sometimes be detected as early as February or March of the year of an El Niño's onset.

6) How often do El Niños occur, and how long do they last?

(Ohman) El Niños happen about every two to seven years. The last one was in 2009-10. Their duration is variable, but is usually six to eight months along the equator, with shorter time periods in higher latitudes. There have been exceptional cases of very long El Niños that lasted for two or more years, such as in 1957-59.

7) Are there new ways of observing developing El Niños?

(Rudnick) Yes, we're doing transects--criss-crossings of the ocean--using bullet-shaped, winged robotic gliders that collect underwater data. They're part of a project called Repeat Observations by Gliders in the Equatorial Region (ROGER).

These futuristic-looking gliders, called Spray gliders, traverse the oceans under their own power and are taking measurements in the Pacific Ocean near the Galapagos Islands. The information that returns with a glider tells us how the ocean is changing, and whether those changes indicate the coming of an El Niño.

8) How do the Spray gliders work?

(Rudnick) Spray gliders dive from the surface down to 1,000 meters (3,281 feet) and back, completing a cycle in six hours and covering six kilometers (3.7 miles) during that time.

The gliders carry sensors to measure temperature, salinity, current velocity, chlorophyll fluorescence (a measure of the abundance of phytoplankton), and acoustic backscatter (a measure of zooplankton). Spray gliders are launched for missions lasting about 100 days.

9) How do you know when to send out the gliders?

(Rudnick) The ROGER project wasn't originally designed to observe an El Niño, but the gliders were always capable of doing so. With a scientific project funded by NSF for two years, we couldn't realistically expect to catch an El Niño.

But science does involve serendipity, and we're fortunate to have the gliders in position just as an El Niño is appearing. We expect our data to include the most high-resolution repeated ocean transects ever done across the equator during an El Niño. Results from the gliders are showing the classic signs of an El Niño, including a strengthening equatorial undercurrent.

10) What effects will El Niño have on marine ecosystems along the U.S. West Coast?

(Ohman) During El Niño, the spawning grounds of coastal fish like sardines and anchovies often move closer to the coast. As warming waters from the open ocean come ever nearer to the California coast, cool upwelled water is found mostly along the edge of the land.

Warm-water plankton and fish may be transported far to the north of their normal ranges. In some El Niños, species that live along the coast of Baja California, Mexico, may be found as far north as off British Columbia.

11) Do seabirds and marine mammals respond to El Niño?

(Ohman) It all comes down to where the fish are. Some seabirds, especially those with limited foraging ranges or narrow food preferences, may have reduced reproductive success during an El Niño. California sea lions may have less fish prey available and therefore depressed birth weights of pups. Some whales, dolphins and porpoises may move to different foraging grounds where the fishing is better.

12) Will fisheries off California be affected?

(Ohman) El Niño may have a substantial effect on the catch of, for example, market squid, one of the most commercially important species off California. The spawning of this cool-water species may be severely curtailed, or take place in deeper waters than usual.

During an El Niño, U.S. West Coast sportfishers often catch more warm-water fish such as yellowfin tuna, dolphinfish (dorado), and yellowtail, and fewer cool-water fish like rockfish and lingcod. What's on your dinner table may, for a time, look just a bit different.

-- Cheryl Dybas, NSF

2 INMATES SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR MURDER OF FELLOW INMATE

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT 

Tuesday, June 3, 2014

Two Federal Inmates Sentenced to Death for Murder

Two inmates of the U.S. Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield, Missouri, who were convicted by a federal jury for murdering another inmate at the facility were sentenced to death late yesterday.

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and United States Attorney Tammy Dickinson of the Western District of Missouri made the announcement.


“Two federal inmates senselessly killed another inmate, and today, they have been brought to justice,” said Assistant Attorney General Caldwell.   “The Justice Department is committed to ensuring the safety and security of all Bureau of Prisons employees and inmates.”

“Achieving justice sometimes requires us to ask our citizens to make the most difficult sentencing decisions,” said U.S. Attorney Dickinson.    “We appreciate their patience and commitment throughout trial.   The defendants’ conduct strikes at the heart of our justice system, which depends upon the safety and security of our penal institutions.   Mr. Castro was targeted for murder, in part, because he intervened to help a Bureau of Prisons employee as he was being attacked by another inmate.”

Wesley Paul Coonce Jr., 34, and Charles Michael Hall, 43, who are both inmates at the U.S. Medical Center for Federal Prisoners, were found guilty on May 7, 2014, of one count of murder in the first degree.   Coonce was also found guilty of one count of murder by an inmate serving a life sentence.  The trial began on April 28, 2014, before U.S. District Judge Gary A. Fenner of the Western District of Missouri.

The evidence presented at trial demonstrated that another inmate at the prison medical center, Victor Castro-Rodriguez, 51, was found dead on the floor of his cell on Jan. 26, 2010, and had been murdered by Coonce and Hall.   At the time of the murder, Coonce was serving a life sentence for a kidnapping and carjacking that involved the brutal rape of a young woman, and Hall was serving a combined 194-month sentence from the District of Maine for making threatening communications against a federal judge and a federal prosecutor.


This case was investigated by the FBI and the Bureau of Prisons and it was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Randall D. Eggert and Trial Attorney James D. Peterson of the Capital Case Section of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Criminal Division.

WHITE HOUSE REPORT ON HEALTH AND CLIMATE CHANGE

FROM:  THE WHITE HOUSE 

White House Release Report on the Health Impacts of Climate Change on Americans

 June 6, 2014

Today, the White House released a report on the health impacts of climate change on Americans. The report summarizes the ways that climate change will be felt across the Nation.

In the past three decades, the percentage of Americans with asthma has more than doubled, and climate change is putting those Americans at greater risk of landing in the hospital. And extreme weather events are becoming more frequent across the country – from more rain falling in downpours in many regions, to longer and hotter heat waves in others, to more severe droughts and wildfires in some (notably the West and Southwest).

The effects of climate change impact the most vulnerable Americans – putting the elderly, kids, and people already suffering from burdensome allergies, asthma and other illnesses at greater risk.

The President believes we have a moral obligation to leave our children a planet that’s not irrevocably polluted or damaged. While no single step can reverse the effects of climate change, we must take steady, responsible action to cut carbon pollution, protect our children’s health, and begin to slow the effects of climate change so that we leave behind a cleaner, more stable environment. That’s why the President put forward the Climate Action Plan last year and earlier this week, the Environmental Protection Agency released a vital component of that plan – common-sense carbon pollution standards for existing power plants.

Through common-sense measures to cut carbon pollution we can protect the health of our Nation, while stimulating the economy and helping to prevent the worst impacts of climate change.

SEC FILES ACTION TO HALT ALLEGED ONGOING FRAUD

FROM:  SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION 

The Securities and Exchange Commission filed an emergency
 enforcement action to halt an ongoing fraud by an investment adviser based in Albany, N.Y., who is charged with lying to clients about the success of their investments while stealing their money for his personal use.

The SEC alleges that Scott Valente and his firm The ELIV Group LLC have fraudulently raised more than $8.8 million from approximately 80 clients by falsely claiming they achieve consistent and outsized positive returns among other misrepresentations about the safety of the investments.  ELIV Group has in fact earned no positive results at all, instead sustaining consistent investment losses for the past three years. Meanwhile, Valente has been making substantial cash withdrawals of client funds and spending their money on his home improvements and mortgage payments as well as jewelry and a vacation condominium.  Valente’s unsuccessful trading strategies and misappropriations have severely diluted the amount of client funds on hand at ELIV Group, and the SEC is seeking an asset freeze to halt the fraud as Valente continues to solicit new clients with his false claims.  ELIV Group has offices in Albany and Warwick, N.Y.

“Valente used his one-man advisory firm to fraudulently lure unsuspecting investors in the Albany and Warwick communities to invest millions of dollars with him as advisory clients,” said Andrew M. Calamari, director of the SEC’s New York Regional Office.  “He said all the right things to make investors believe he was making the right investments and taking the right precautions with their money, but he was merely telling blatant false tales about the safety and success of the investments.”

Sanjay Wadhwa, senior associate director for enforcement in the SEC’s New York office, added, “Beyond the lies to his clients regarding his investment performance, Valente’s abuse of his fiduciary obligations included the theft of at least $2.66 million in client funds for personal spending, including hefty credit card bills, a vacation home, and jewelry.”

According to the SEC’s complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Valente misleadingly told his clients that he has a 30-year record of investing experience “dedicated to the highest standards of service” and that he founded ELIV Group after leaving the “corporate financial industry” upon concluding there “had to be a better way for clients to achieve financial independence.”  What he failed to disclose was that he twice filed for bankruptcy and started ELIV Group only after the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) permanently expelled him from the broker-dealer industry in 2009 for engaging in serial misconduct against numerous customers.

The SEC alleges that Valente and ELIV Group attracted clients by falsely assuring them that the principal amount of their investments was fully liquid and “guaranteed” because it was backed by a large money market fund.  Client funds were in fact never guaranteed or backed by any money market funds, and the majority of ELIV Group’s investments were in highly illiquid investments in privately-held companies.  Valente and ELIV Group also assured clients that the firm’s books and records were audited independently.  However, ELIV Group never had an auditor, and the firm sent clients monthly investment reports in which they actually inflated the monthly returns, assets under management, and client account values.

The SEC’s complaint charges Valente and ELIV with violating Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5(b) as well as Sections 206(1) and 206(2) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940.  The SEC is seeking a temporary restraining order to freeze their assets and prohibit Valente and ELIV from committing further violations of the federal securities laws.  The SEC seeks a final judgment ordering them to disgorge their ill-gotten gains plus prejudgment interest and pay financial penalties.

The SEC’s investigation, which is continuing, has been conducted by Gerald Gross, Richard Primoff, and Barry O’Connell of the New York Regional Office.  The inquiry that led to the investigation was conducted by Richard Heaphy, Yvette Panetta, Dee-Ann DiSalvo, and Edward Cody of the New York Regional Office.  The SEC appreciates the assistance of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

SECRETARY KERRY'S REMARKS AT LIBERATION COMMEMORATION CEREMONY IN ST. BRIAC, FRANCE

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT 

Remarks at the Liberation Commemoration Ceremony and Dedication of City Hall Square

Remarks

John Kerry

Secretary of State

St. Briac, France

June 7, 2014

---

SECRETARY KERRY: (In French.)

I’m going to deliver remarks in French, but I want to start by saying a few words in English for the Americans who want to know why the American Secretary of State is here today and what we are celebrating. And I want to quickly explain why St. Briac and all of Brittany means so much to me and to my entire family, and it is why we wanted to come here today to celebrate the liberation even though the liberation was in August, but yesterday we were at the beginning of that liberation, celebrating with people from all of Europe and the world who know the meaning of D-Day and of freedom.

My grandfather was an American businessman, and he discovered the beauty of the Emerald Coast and raised his family of 11 children, 11 brothers and sisters, including my mother, Brice’s mother, between St. Briac and England. When the Nazis arrived here in St. Briac, they took over our house and they turned it into their local headquarters. And after the liberation, as they were leaving, they set it on fire and bombed it to the ground.

Just this morning, one of my cousins showed me the telegram from my grandmother, who was in England, who sent word to my grandfather, who was then in Washington, D.C., about the house being bombed. And my mother told me that before the Nazis reached this village, the people of St. Briac collected some of our family items, things that were special – the linens, silverware, and so forth – and they kept them for safe keeping during the war. And when they gave these items back to my grandmother years later, she was overwhelmed with gratitude. So I know I speak for my entire family when I say we will never forget the people of St. Briac, this town’s courage and kindness. Thank you. (Applause.)

The very first time that my parents brought me to St. Briac is really one of the most – is one of the earliest, most vivid memories, but the earliest memories of my childhood. I was about four years old or so when you begin to remember. And it was a couple of years, a few years after the war had ended. It was the first time that my mother had come back here since she had fled France during the war, and I can still hear the sounds of the rubble and the broken glass that was crunching under our feet as we walked through what used to be her house. Almost nothing was left – just a stone staircase that rose up to the sky and an old brick chimney also rising up.
A few years later my grandparents rebuilt the house, and we have spent a family decades since filling it with happy memories. In a sense, that represents the story of France. Certainly this country saw and felt and experienced the tragedy of World War II as very few others did. But France rebuilt itself, brick by brick, and today she is as strong as ever. (Applause.)
A few minutes ago I had the privilege of visiting the American memorial which you have so graciously placed there above the port. And we had a chance to lay wreaths and celebrate those who gave their lives in the liberation of St. Briac, three Americans: Private Ralph Posey from Louisiana, Private Sim McDaniel from Arkansas, and Captain John Wilmer from Washington, D.C.

Captain Wilmer’s wife was pregnant when he left for Normandy. So before he died, Captain Wilmer wrote a letter to his unborn daughter. And he knew that he might not make it back to the United States alive, and he wanted to explain why he took the risk – what exactly he was fighting for. And his explanation was very simple. He told his daughter that he never met, “…family, home, and the right to breathe freely. I am willing to die fighting for these things. I am happy to fight for them.”

This sentiment – this dream of uncompromising defense of liberty – is at the heart of the partnership the United States and France have long shared and will continue to share. It is what has united us from the beginning of American history. (Applause.)

(In French.)

(Applause and cheers.)

AEOLIAN BEDFORMS ON MARS

FROM:  NASA 

Sandy landforms formed by the wind, or aeolian bedforms, are classified by the wavelength--or length--between crests. On Mars, we can observe four classes of bedforms (in order of increasing wavelengths): ripples, transverse aeolian ridges (known as TARs), dunes, and what are called “draa.” All of these are visible in this Juventae Chasma image. Ripples are the smallest bedforms (less than 20 meters) and can only be observed in high-resolution images commonly superposed on many surfaces. TARs are slightly larger bedforms (wavelengths approximately 20 to 70 meters), which are often light in tone relative to their surroundings. Dark-toned dunes (wavelengths 100 meters to 1 kilometer) are a common landform and many are active today. What geologists call “draa” is the highest-order bedform with largest wavelengths (greater than 1 kilometer), and is relatively uncommon on Mars. Here, this giant draa possesses steep faces or slip faces several hundreds of meters tall and has lower-order superposed bedforms, such as ripples and dunes. A bedform this size likely formed over thousands of Mars years, probably longer. This image was acquired by the HiRISE camera aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on Jan. 6, 2014. The University of Arizona, Tucson, operates the HiRISE camera, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colo. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for the NASA Science Mission Directorate, Washington. > More information and image products.  Image Credit-NASA-JPL-University of Arizona Caption: Matthew Chojnacki.

U.S. FACTSHEET: PROMOTING PEACE IN BURMA

Description:  Map of Burma.  U.S. State Department Image. 

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT 

Promoting Peace in Burma

Fact Sheet

Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations

May 30, 2014

Opportunity

Changes in Burma provide an opening for investment, promoting human rights, and political and economic reform. These opportunities hinge on building an inclusive political system where parties use dialogue, not violence, to address ethnic identity and reconciliation issues. Longstanding conflicts between the central government and ethnic minorities as well as recent flare-ups of communal violence in areas such as Rakhine State threaten a lasting peace. The U.S. government can help break cycles of violence, particularly in high-risk ethnic minority strongholds, to advance national reconciliation and a lasting political solution between the Government of Burma and diverse ethnic and religious groups.

How CSO Works

CSO supports Department of State conflict prevention and crisis response efforts through locally grounded analysis, strategic planning, and operational support for local partners. CSO deploys civilian talent at the subnational level to catalyze local efforts to build civilian security and connect program implementation to policymaking.


ObjectivesCSO in Burma 

In Burma, CSO officers provide conflict and reconciliation expertise to Embassy Rangoon, focusing particularly on Rakhine State, trust-building through humanitarian mine action, and the peace process. In Washington, a CSO team advises the Department of State on Burma’s peace and reconciliation processes as well as on local conflict.

Support efforts to reduce violence and build community relations, especially in Rakhine State.

Build trust between ethnic groups and the government through issues of common concern, including landmines.

Empower civil society to participate more fully in peace-related initiatives.
U.S. Support for Violence Reduction: CSO contributes to U.S. efforts to reduce violence and strengthen community relations.

Increase U.S. Government understanding of ethnic minority groups’ priorities and concerns. CSO helps the Embassy sharpen U.S. understanding of states facing ethnic armed conflict, increase engagement and trust with ethnic nationalities, and demonstrate U.S. support for the vulnerable, particularly in Rakhine State.
Help shape U.S. Government approaches that support Embassy Rangoon’s mission goals. CSO’s conflict analysis, strategic planning, and violence prevention recommendations are incorporated into post’s approaches.

Facilitate donor and diplomatic coordination. CSO helped establish regular donor meetings to coordinate humanitarian mine action and reinforce conflict-sensitive approaches.

Build Trust: The government, army, civil society, and ethnic minorities share a common interest in reducing the number of landmines. CSO supports the Department of State’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs and Embassy efforts to use mine-risk education and survivor assistance to build trust and support positive interactions between civilians and the military in ethnic states.

Build momentum for mine risk education and survivor assistance as a trust-building tool.

In coordination with the Kayah State government and armed groups, CSO is facilitating small grants to community-based organizations so they can identify and develop landmine-related projects.

In May 2013, CSO convened Burmese Government officials, armed groups, and civil society in Kayah State to build broader community dialogue around mine action.

In May 2013, CSO organized a workshop for journalists to improve the accuracy of conflict coverage and cast mine action as a contributor to national reconciliation.

In an October 2012 speech, the U.S. Ambassador reinforced to mine action organizations and the Government of Burma that humanitarian mine action should be inclusive, conflict-sensitive, and coordinated.

Advance Mine Risk Education and Survivor Assistance. In cooperation with a number of Department of State and USAID offices, including the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs and the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, CSO facilitated the obligation of $3 million to build trust and strengthen civil society around mine risk education and survivor assistance.
Empower Civil Society:

Strengthen civil society’s ability to engage in peace-related initiatives. CSO helped organize a “TechCamp” in January 2014 to introduce local civil society, including members of ethnic minority groups, to new technologies that should strengthen their ability to mitigate conflict.

Empower women and marginalized groups. Through roundtables, CSO helped to advance gender equality and disabled people’s rights and inclusion in conflict resolution.

SEC CHARGES BROKERAGE FIRM WITH IMPROPER USE OF TRADER CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION

FROM:  U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION 

The Securities and Exchange Commission charged a New York-based brokerage firm that operates a dark pool alternative trading system with improperly using subscribers’ confidential trading information in marketing its services.

Regulations require an alternative trading system (ATS) to establish and enforce safeguards and procedures to protect the confidential trading information of its subscribers.  Among them is limiting access to subscribers’ data to employees who operate the ATS or have a direct compliance role.

An SEC investigation found that Liquidnet Inc. violated its regulatory obligations and its own promises to its ATS subscribers during a nearly three-year period when it improperly allowed a business unit outside the dark pool operation to access the confidential trading data.  Employees in that unit used the confidential information about Liquidnet’s dark pool subscribers during marketing presentations and various communications to other customers.  Liquidnet also used subscribers’ confidential trading information in two ATS sales tools that it devised.

SEC examiners spotted potential data access problems during an examination of Liquidnet and referred the matter to the Enforcement Division for further investigation.  Liquidnet has agreed to settle the SEC’s charges and pay a $2 million penalty.

“Dark pool operators violate the law when they fail to protect the confidential trading information that their subscribers entrust to them, as Liquidnet did here when it used this confidential information to try to expand its business,” said Andrew J. Ceresney, director of the SEC Enforcement Division.  “We will continue to aggressively police broker-dealers who operate an ATS and fail to rigorously ensure the protection of confidential trading information.”

According to the SEC’s order instituting a settled administrative proceeding, Liquidnet’s core business is operating a block-trading dark pool for large institutional investors.  Liquidnet has represented to its dark pool subscribers that it would keep their trading information confidential and allow them to trade with maximum anonymity and minimum information leakage.  In an effort to find additional sources of liquidity for its dark pool, Liquidnet launched an Equity Capital Markets (ECM) desk in 2009 to offer block execution services to corporate issuers and control persons of corporate issuers as well as private equity and venture capital firms looking to execute large equity capital markets transactions with minimal market impact.

The SEC’s order finds that Liquidnet provided ECM employees with access to the confidential trading information of dark pool subscribers from 2009 to late 2011, and they used it to market ECM’s services.  For example, ECM employees would provide issuers with descriptions of ATS subscribers who had recently indicated interest in buying or selling shares of issuers’ stock.  These descriptions included the geographic locations, approximate assets under management, and investment styles of those dark pool subscribers.  ECM employees used dark pool subscribers’ trading data to advise issuers about which institutional investors they should meet during investor conferences or non-deal roadshows.  They also used dark pool subscriber data to advise ECM customers when they should execute transactions in the ATS given the liquidity the ECM employees could see in the dark pool.

“Liquidnet’s subscribers trusted and believed that the firm was safeguarding their confidential information,” said Daniel M. Hawke, chief of the SEC Enforcement Division’s Market Abuse Unit.  “Instead, the firm breached its assurances of confidentiality and anonymity to them by allowing its ECM employees to improperly access subscriber trading data.”

According to the SEC’s order, Liquidnet also improperly used the confidential trading data of dark pool subscribers in two ATS sales tools.  Liquidnet created “ships passing” alerts that alerted ATS sales employees to missed execution opportunities between subscriber algorithmic orders and subscriber indications.  The firm also developed an application called Aqualytics, which identified subscribers to be contacted about Liquidnet’s recent dominance in certain stocks.

The SEC’s order charges Liquidnet with violating Section 17(a)(2) of the Securities Act of 1933, which prohibits obtaining money or property by means of materially false or misleading statements in the offer or sale of securities.  Liquidnet also violated Rule 301(b)(2) of Regulation ATS, which requires that an ATS file certain amendments on Form ATS with the SEC, as well as Rule 301(b)(10) of Regulation ATS, which requires an ATS to establish adequate safeguards and procedures for protecting confidential trading information of its subscribers.  Without admitting or denying the findings, Liquidnet consented to the SEC’s order, which censures the firm and requires it to pay the $2 million penalty and cease and desist from committing the violations.

The SEC’s investigation was conducted by Simona Suh, Stephen A. Larson, and Mandy B. Sturmfelz of the Market Abuse Unit and Thomas P. Smith Jr. and Jordan Baker of the New York Regional Office.  The case was supervised by Amelia A. Cottrell of the New York office.  The SEC examiners who conducted the examination of Liquidnet that led to the investigation were June Reinertsen, Maggie Simmermon, Ronald Sukhu, Ilan S. Felix, and Richard A. Heaphy of the New York office.  The SEC appreciates the cooperation of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.

WHITE HOUSE FACT SHEET ON EUROPEAN REASSURANCE INITIATIVE

FROM:  THE WHITE HOUSE 

FACT SHEET: European Reassurance Initiative and Other U.S. Efforts in Support of NATO Allies and Partners

Since early March, the United States has taken action, both bilaterally and through NATO, to reassure allies of our solemn commitment to their security and territorial integrity as members of the NATO Alliance.  A persistent U.S. air, land, and sea presence in the region, especially in Central and Eastern Europe, is a necessary and appropriate show of support to allies who have contributed robustly and bravely to Alliance operations in Afghanistan and elsewhere and who are now deeply concerned by Russia’s occupation and attempted annexation of Crimea and other provocative actions in Ukraine.  The United States stands by its allies, as they have stood by us.  We will continue to take actions that increase the capability, readiness, and responsiveness of NATO forces to address any threat and that aid in deterring further destabilizing activities.  That is why the President today called on Congress to support a European Reassurance Initiative of up to $1 billion, which will enable us in the next year to undertake measures to:

• Increase exercises, training, and rotational presence across Europe but especially on the territory of our newer allies.  Many of the U.S. air and ground forces participating in these activities would rotate from the United States.
• As we have done in Poland, deploy detachments of U.S. planners to augment the capability of our allies to design and host a broad range of training and exercise opportunities.
• Increase the responsiveness of U.S. forces to reinforce NATO by exploring initiatives such as the prepositioning of equipment and improvements to other reception facilities and infrastructure in Europe.
• Increase participation by the U.S. Navy in NATO naval force deployments, including more persistent deployments to the Black and Baltic seas.
• Build the partner capacity of close friends such as Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine so they can better work alongside the United States and NATO, as well as provide for their own defense.

This initiative will build on existing tools and authorities and will be included in the Department of Defense’s FY 2015 Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) request to Congress.

In addition to this initiative, we are reviewing our force presence in Europe in light of the new security challenges on the continent.  These efforts will not come at the expense of other defense priorities, such as our commitment to the Asia Pacific rebalance.

With current funding, the United States and NATO have already undertaken the following specific efforts, which are indicative of the types of activities we would seek to maintain and expand with the European Reassurance Initiative:

New U.S. Measures

• Land Force Deployments:  In April, approximately 600 paratroopers from the 173rd Airborne Brigade deployed for training rotations in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland to enhance ongoing military-to-military relationships and demonstrate assurance of America's commitment to its NATO allies.  These exercises are part of a series of expanded American land force training activities with European partners that are scheduled to take place over the next few months and beyond.
• Maritime Deployments:
  • In early April, the United States deployed the USS Donald Cook to the Black Sea, where the ship conducted operations to improve interoperability, increase readiness, and develop professional relationships with allies.  The Donald Cook conducted presence operations and a port visit in Constanta, Romania, as well as an exercise with the Romanian Navy before departing the Black Sea on April 24.
  • From April 24 through May 12, the USS Taylor, the U.S. contribution to the Standing NATO Maritime Group, was deployed to the Black Sea, where she conducted bilateral operations with Romania and Georgia, including port visits to both countries.
  • The USS Vella Gulf entered the Black Sea May 23 to conduct operations to promote peace and stability in the region.  Highlights to date include an exercise with the Turkish Navy, a port visit in Batumi, Georgia, and combined maritime training with allied naval forces.
• Air Deployments:
  • Poland Aviation Detachment (AVDET) Training:  Quarterly rotations of military aircraft and airmen through the Aviation Detachment began in late 2012, and in March 2014 the United States augmented the rotations with additional F-16s and support airmen.  These F-16s and airmen provide a persistent presence in Poland and enhance training and operability with the Polish Air Force.  Three C-130J aircraft deployed to Powidz Air Base, Poland, on March 31 as part of a regularly scheduled two-week AVDET rotation.
  • Air-to-Air Refueling Missions:  Since mid-March, the United States has been flying refueling missions in support of NATO Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) flights over Poland and Romania.
  • Open Skies Treaty Flight:  On March 14 the United States conducted -- at Ukraine’s request -- an Open Skies observation mission over Ukraine.

 Preplanned but Enhanced U.S. Measures

•  The USS Truxtun entered the Black Sea through the Turkish Straits on March 7 to conduct port calls in Constanta, Romania, and conduct an exercise with Romanian and Bulgarian naval forces.  The Truxtun’s stay in the Black Sea was extended so that she could visit the Port of Varna, Bulgaria, to hold an onboard maritime planning conference with Bulgarian and Romanian officers and conduct a second exercise.
• NATO Air Policing:  On March 6, the United States deployed an additional six F-15Cs to augment the four F-15Cs already in Lithuania filling a NATO peacetime requirement to have quick reaction interceptor aircraft “ramp-ready” for a four-month period to ensure the integrity of the airspace above Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.  The U.S. rotation began in January and ended in early May.  Poland, with augmentation from the United Kingdom, France, and Denmark, took over the air policing task in the Baltic region, and Canada deployed aircraft to augment NATO air policing in Southeast Europe.

United States Ongoing/Steady State Measures

• U.S. Force Presence:  There are approximately 67,000 service members in Europe.  Approximately 57,000 active duty service members are assigned to U.S. European Command, and approximately 10,000 support other organizations, such as U.S. Africa Command.
• NATO Response Force (NRF) Commitment:  The United States has pledged several thousand service members to the NRF, including a brigade combat team from the Texas-based 1st Cavalry Division, a hospital ship, air-to-air refueling tankers, and escort ships.
• Army Rotational Forces:  The United States sends a battalion-sized unit from the United States to Europe twice a year for up to two months per rotation.  One of these battalions recently participated in NRF exercise ROCHAMBEAU in France and is currently participating in U.S. European Command-hosted multinational exercise COMBINED RESOLVE II.  Additionally, elements of the unit participated in NATO Exercise STEADFAST JAZZ this past November.
• Missile Defense / European Phased Adaptive Approach:  The U.S. contribution to European missile defense, whose aim is to protect against emerging threats from outside of the Euro-Atlantic area, includes a missile defense radar in Turkey, plans for four Aegis destroyers to be forward deployed in Rota, Spain (the first, the USS Donald Cook, arrived in February), and two planned Aegis Ashore sites -- one in Romania (2015) and one in Poland (2018).
• Black Sea Rotational Forces (BSRF):  This force, based out of Mihail Kogalniceanu (MK) Air Base, Romania, includes 250 Marines and sailors tasked with maintaining positive relations with partner nations, enhancing regional stability, and increasing interoperability while providing the capability for rapid crisis response in the Black Sea, Balkan, and Caucasus regions.  In May, BSRF personnel participated in exercise PLATINUM LYNX, an infantry field training with the Romanian military to enhance familiarity and interoperability between U.S. and Romanian forces.  Additional U.S. forces in Romania not associated with the BSRF include:
  • 500 U.S. troops permanently stationed at MK Air Base conducting transit center operations; and   
  • 175 U.S. Marines temporarily based out of MK Air Base as part of the Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force (SPMAGTF).  The SPMAGTF is postured to respond to a broad range of military operations in Africa and Europe, including fixed-site security, non-combatant evacuation operations, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations, tactical recovery of aircraft and personnel, theater security cooperation, and other missions as directed. 
• Exercises in the Baltic Sea and Poland:  The United States sent U.S. Marines from the Black Sea Rotational Force to the Baltics this April to participate in exercise SUMMER SHIELD.  U.S. forces participated in exercises NAMEJS and FLAMING SWORD in Latvia and Lithuania, respectively, in May and are participating in multilateral exercises BALTOPS and SABER STRIKE in the Baltic region in June.  The United States will also deploy 18 F-16CJs and one KC-135 tanker to Łask Air Base, Poland, concurrent with the SABER STRIKE and BALTOPS exercise.  BALTOPS is an annual, multinational maritime exercise focusing on interoperability, maritime security, and cooperation among Baltic Sea regional partners.  SABER STRIKE is an annual, multinational ground and air exercise focused on enhancing interoperability among U.S. Army units and the land forces of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.

NATO Measures

• Revised Planning:  NATO is updating its defense plans and is developing a readiness action plan that includes a review of joint exercises, threat assessments, intelligence-sharing arrangements, early-warning procedures, and crisis response planning.
• Support to Ukraine:  On March 5, NATO allies decided on a number of measures to intensify NATO’s partnership with Ukraine and strengthen cooperation to support democratic reforms.  Measures included an increased engagement with the Ukrainian civilian and military leadership; strengthened efforts to build the capacity of the Ukrainian military, including with more joint training and exercises; and increased efforts to include Ukraine in multinational projects to develop capabilities.
• Suspension of NATO-Russia Council (NRC) Activities:  At an NRC meeting in April, NATO Foreign Ministers condemned Russian military intervention in Ukraine and suspended staff-level civilian and military meetings with Russia.  Ambassadorial-level meetings of the NRC will continue.
• New Air and Sea deployments:
  • AWACS:  On March 10, the North Atlantic Council approved establishing AWACS orbits over Poland and Romania to enhance NATO’s situational awareness of activities in the region and to reassure NATO allies.  These aircraft will only fly over NATO territory and will come from the NATO fleet and allied contributions.
  • Standing Naval Forces:  In late April, NATO activated Standing NATO Mine Counter-Measures Group One and sent it to patrol the Baltic Sea.  The group, which consists of six ships from Belgium, Estonia, Germany, The Netherlands, Norway, and Poland, is conducting port visits and participated in an annual mine clearance operation (NATO naval exercise OPEN SPIRIT 2014).  On May 12, NATO tasked its augmented Standing NATO Maritime Group One to perform maritime assurance measures alongside counter-terrorism patrols in the eastern Mediterranean.  The group includes five ships from Canada, Germany, Norway, Turkey, and the United States.
• New Exercises:  NATO launched a large-scale exercise, STEADFAST JAVELIN 1, in Estonia on May 16, which tested allied forces on their ability to work together as well as maintaining NATO’s readiness and combat effectiveness.  The exercise reflects NATO’s strong commitment to collective defense in the Baltic region.  Around 6,000 troops from Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, France, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the United Kingdom, and the United States participated in the exercise which finished on May 23.  Many participants were already in Estonia taking part in the annual Estonian-led KEVADTORM14 exercise that began on May 5 and that was merged into the NATO-led event.