FROM: U.S. EXPORT-IMPORT BANK
Ex-Im Bank Chairman Hochberg Visits India to Promote Made-in-America Exports
Washington, D.C. – Export-Import Bank of the U.S. (Ex-Im Bank) Chairman Fred P. Hochberg is visiting India this week to promote made-in-America exports in support of U.S. jobs.
“The U.S. and India share complementary aspirations when it comes to our economic future,” said Chairman Hochberg. “When quality American goods and services are deployed to buyers in India, their nation benefits from increased capacity and a reliable foundation for long-term economic growth—and the U.S. benefits by creating new jobs back home.”
Today, Chairman Hochberg delivered comments at a roundtable hosted by the U.S.-India Business Council, where he discussed energy growth, especially when it comes to the renewable energy sector, and infrastructure expansion in India and what role U.S. companies can play in both. He also addressed similar subjects at the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry later in the day.
In addition, Chairman Hochberg held a lunch with Indian businesswomen, to learn more about the challenges and opportunities they have in starting and growing a business in the country.
Throughout his trip, Chairman Hochberg has also taken the opportunity to highlight how Ex-Im Bank’s financing tools have enabled American businesses both large and small to export their products to India.
Some examples include:
Polyguard, of Ennis, Texas, employs 120 people and manufactures corrosion-preventing and waterproof linings for industrial processes and pipelines. The company utilizes Ex-Im trade credit insurance and is exporting to 34 countries. Since making use of Ex-Im insurance, the company’s export sales have increased by more than 230 percent.
Preferred Popcorn of Chapman, Nebraska is a small-business vendor that exports popcorn, concessions supplies, and coconut oil to India and other international markets. Started in 1998, the company currently employs 40 people in Nebraska, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, and Kentucky. Since its founding, the company has relied upon Ex-Im Bank products and now fills orders in 60 countries around the globe. As a consistent policy holder of Ex-Im Bank export credit insurance, Preferred Popcorn has watched its sales mount to $43 million, 50 percent of which are export-related. Moreover, Ex-Im Bank support has translated into approximately 25 new jobs.
Tomorrow, Chairman Hochberg will attend and give keynote remarks at the India-U.S. Technology Summit. The Summit will be an opportunity for businesses, research institutions and government agencies from both countries to exchange ideas and forge new partnerships to increase trade and investment in the knowledge sector. Chairman Hochberg’s remarks will focus on the mutual benefits that can be realized by choosing quality U.S. goods and American innovation.
Wednesday, November 19, 2014
SEC SANCTIONS TWO FORMER DEFENSE CONTRACTOR EMPLOYEES FOR FOREIGN CORRUPT PRACTICES ACT VIOLATIONS
FROM: U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
November 17, 2014
The Securities and Exchange Commission sanctioned two former employees in the Dubai office of a U.S.-based defense contractor for violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) by taking government officials in Saudi Arabia on a “world tour” to help secure business for the company. The two employees later falsified records in an attempt to hide their misconduct.
Stephen Timms and Yasser Ramahi, who worked in sales at FLIR Systems Inc., agreed to settle the SEC’s charges and pay financial penalties. The SEC’s investigation is continuing.
“This case shows we will pursue employees of public companies who think it is acceptable to buy foreign officials’ loyalty with lavish gifts and travel,” said Andrew J. Ceresney, Director of the SEC Enforcement Division. “By making illegal payments and causing them to be recorded improperly, employees expose not only their firms but also themselves to an enforcement action.”
FLIR is headquartered in Oregon and produces thermal imaging, night vision, and infrared cameras and sensor systems. According to the SEC’s order instituting a settled administrative proceeding, FLIR entered into a multi-million dollar contract to provide thermal binoculars to the Saudi government in November 2008. Timms and Ramahi were the primary sales employees responsible for the contract, and also were involved in negotiations to sell FLIR’s security cameras to the same government officials. At the time, Timms was the head of FLIR’s Middle East office in Dubai and Ramahi reported to him.
The SEC’s order finds that Timms and Ramahi traveled to Saudi Arabia in March 2009 and provided five officials with expensive luxury watches during meetings to discuss several business opportunities. Timms and Ramahi believed these officials were important to sales of both the binoculars and the security cameras. A few months later, they arranged for key officials, including two who received watches, to embark on what Timms referred to as a “world tour” of personal travel before and after they visited FLIR’s Boston facilities for a factory equipment inspection that was a key condition to fulfillment of the contract. The officials traveled for 20 nights with stops in Casablanca, Paris, Dubai, Beirut, and New York City. There was no business purpose for the stops outside of Boston, and the airfare and hotel accommodations were paid for by FLIR. Prior to providing the gifts and travel to the Saudi Arabian officials, Ramahi and Timms each had taken FCPA training at the company that specifically identified luxury watches and side trips as prohibited gifts.
According to the SEC’s order, when FLIR’s finance department flagged the expense reimbursement request for the watches during an unrelated review of expenses in the Dubai office and questioned the $7,000 cost, Timms and Ramahi obtained a second, fabricated invoice showing a cost of 7,000 Saudi Riyal (approximately $1,900 in U.S. dollars) instead of the true cost of $7,000 in U.S. dollars. They directed FLIR’s local third-party agent to provide false information to the company to back up their story that the original submission was merely a mistake. Ramahi and Timms also falsely claimed that FLIR’s payment for the world tour had been a billing mistake by FLIR’s travel agent, and again used false documentation and FLIR’s third-party agent to bolster their cover-up efforts.
Timms and Ramahi are U.S. citizens who reside in Thailand and the United Arab Emirates respectively. The SEC’s order finds that they violated the anti-bribery provisions of Section 30A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the internal controls and false records provisions of Section 13(b)(5) and Rule 13b2-1 of the Exchange Act. The SEC’s order further finds that Timms and Ramahi caused FLIR’s violations of the books and records provisions of Section 13(b)(2)(A) of the Exchange Act. Without admitting or denying the findings, Timms and Ramahi consented to the entry of the order and agreed to pay financial penalties of $50,000 and $20,000 respectively.
The SEC’s investigation is being conducted by FCPA Unit members Cameron P. Hoffman and Tracy L. Davis in the San Francisco office. The SEC appreciates the assistance of the Justice Department’s Fraud Section, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the United Arab Emirates Securities and Commodities Authority.
November 17, 2014
The Securities and Exchange Commission sanctioned two former employees in the Dubai office of a U.S.-based defense contractor for violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) by taking government officials in Saudi Arabia on a “world tour” to help secure business for the company. The two employees later falsified records in an attempt to hide their misconduct.
Stephen Timms and Yasser Ramahi, who worked in sales at FLIR Systems Inc., agreed to settle the SEC’s charges and pay financial penalties. The SEC’s investigation is continuing.
“This case shows we will pursue employees of public companies who think it is acceptable to buy foreign officials’ loyalty with lavish gifts and travel,” said Andrew J. Ceresney, Director of the SEC Enforcement Division. “By making illegal payments and causing them to be recorded improperly, employees expose not only their firms but also themselves to an enforcement action.”
FLIR is headquartered in Oregon and produces thermal imaging, night vision, and infrared cameras and sensor systems. According to the SEC’s order instituting a settled administrative proceeding, FLIR entered into a multi-million dollar contract to provide thermal binoculars to the Saudi government in November 2008. Timms and Ramahi were the primary sales employees responsible for the contract, and also were involved in negotiations to sell FLIR’s security cameras to the same government officials. At the time, Timms was the head of FLIR’s Middle East office in Dubai and Ramahi reported to him.
The SEC’s order finds that Timms and Ramahi traveled to Saudi Arabia in March 2009 and provided five officials with expensive luxury watches during meetings to discuss several business opportunities. Timms and Ramahi believed these officials were important to sales of both the binoculars and the security cameras. A few months later, they arranged for key officials, including two who received watches, to embark on what Timms referred to as a “world tour” of personal travel before and after they visited FLIR’s Boston facilities for a factory equipment inspection that was a key condition to fulfillment of the contract. The officials traveled for 20 nights with stops in Casablanca, Paris, Dubai, Beirut, and New York City. There was no business purpose for the stops outside of Boston, and the airfare and hotel accommodations were paid for by FLIR. Prior to providing the gifts and travel to the Saudi Arabian officials, Ramahi and Timms each had taken FCPA training at the company that specifically identified luxury watches and side trips as prohibited gifts.
According to the SEC’s order, when FLIR’s finance department flagged the expense reimbursement request for the watches during an unrelated review of expenses in the Dubai office and questioned the $7,000 cost, Timms and Ramahi obtained a second, fabricated invoice showing a cost of 7,000 Saudi Riyal (approximately $1,900 in U.S. dollars) instead of the true cost of $7,000 in U.S. dollars. They directed FLIR’s local third-party agent to provide false information to the company to back up their story that the original submission was merely a mistake. Ramahi and Timms also falsely claimed that FLIR’s payment for the world tour had been a billing mistake by FLIR’s travel agent, and again used false documentation and FLIR’s third-party agent to bolster their cover-up efforts.
Timms and Ramahi are U.S. citizens who reside in Thailand and the United Arab Emirates respectively. The SEC’s order finds that they violated the anti-bribery provisions of Section 30A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the internal controls and false records provisions of Section 13(b)(5) and Rule 13b2-1 of the Exchange Act. The SEC’s order further finds that Timms and Ramahi caused FLIR’s violations of the books and records provisions of Section 13(b)(2)(A) of the Exchange Act. Without admitting or denying the findings, Timms and Ramahi consented to the entry of the order and agreed to pay financial penalties of $50,000 and $20,000 respectively.
The SEC’s investigation is being conducted by FCPA Unit members Cameron P. Hoffman and Tracy L. Davis in the San Francisco office. The SEC appreciates the assistance of the Justice Department’s Fraud Section, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the United Arab Emirates Securities and Commodities Authority.
DOD ANNOUNCES ALLEGED DRUG CARTEL LEADER EXTRADITED FROM MEXICO TO U.S.
FROM: U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Monday, November 17, 2014
Alleged Leader of a Mexican Drug Cartel Extradited to United States
One of the alleged leaders of the Beltran Leyva Organization, a Mexican drug-trafficking cartel responsible for importing multi-ton quantities of cocaine and methamphetamine into the United States, was extradited to the United States from Mexico on Nov. 15, 2014, and will be making an initial appearance this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Alan Kay of the District of Columbia.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Assistant Director Joseph S. Campbell of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division, New York Division Special Agent in Charge James J. Hunt of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Executive Associate Director Peter T. Edge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (ICE HSI) made the announcement.
“Over the past two decades, the Beltran Leyva Cartel has distributed tens of thousands of kilograms of dangerous narcotics and engaged in a campaign of violence that sparked drug wars and jeopardized public safety across North America,” said Assistant Attorney General Caldwell. “Today’s extradition of alleged kingpin Alfredo Beltran Leyva is an important step toward stamping out an organization that has ruined the lives of so many. The Justice Department is committed to working with our international partners to bring the rest of the organization to justice.”
“The arrest and extradition of Alfredo Beltran Leyva represents a significant milestone in combating transnational criminal organizations,” said FBI Assistant Director Campbell. “It is through collaborative efforts with our law enforcement partners that the United States will stem the tide of this continuing threat.”
“For years Alfredo Beltran Leyva, along with his brothers, was responsible for not only smuggling tons of cocaine to the United States, but also for the violence that has plagued the lives of Mexican citizens,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Hunt. “His extradition to the United States is an example of a commitment to international cooperation and the rule of law.”
“The illegal drugs distributed throughout the United States by the Beltran Levya Cartel ruined countless lives in this country and sowed violence and chaos throughout Mexico,” said HSI Executive Associate Director Edge. “The arrest and extradition of Alfredo Beltran Levya to face justice here for his crimes is a great victory for ICE HSI and our partner agencies.”
Alfredo Beltran Levya, 43, was indicted on Aug. 24, 2012, for international narcotics trafficking conspiracy in connection with his leadership role in theinternational drug-trafficking cartel bearing his family name.
According to a motion for pretrial detention filed by prosecutors, between the early 1990s until his January 2008 arrest by Mexican law enforcement, Beltran Levya allegedly led the Beltran Levya Organization with his brothers Hector Beltran Levya and Arturo Beltran Levya, the latter of whom was killed in a December 2009 shootout with the Mexican army. Since the 1990s, the Beltran Levya Organization, together with the Sinaloa Cartel, allegedly directed a large-scale drug transportation network, shipping multi-ton quantities of cocaine from South America, through Central America and Mexico, and finally into the United States via land, air and sea. The organization also employed “sicarios,” or hitmen, who allegedly carried out hundreds of acts of violence, including murders, kidnappings, tortures and violent collections of drug debts, at the direction of the organization.
Following the January 2008 arrest of Alfredo Beltran Leyva by Mexican law enforcement authorities, the Beltran Leyva Organization severed its relationship with the Sinaloa Cartel, which was blamed for the arrest. This resultedin a violent war between the two drug cartels, and the murder of thousands of citizens in Mexico, including numerous law enforcement officers and officials.
On May 30, 2008, the President added the Beltran Leyva Organization to the Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Asset Control’s Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons list pursuant to the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act. On Aug. 20, 2009, the President specifically designated Beltran Leyva as a specially designated drug trafficker under the same Kingpin Act.
The charges in the indictment are merely allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The investigation is led by the FBI’s El Paso Office, in partnership with the DEA’s New York Field Division and HSI’s New York Office, as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force. This case is being prosecuted by the Criminal Division’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drugs Section, with the assistance of the Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs. The Justice Department thanks the government of Mexico for their assistance in this extradition.
Monday, November 17, 2014
Alleged Leader of a Mexican Drug Cartel Extradited to United States
One of the alleged leaders of the Beltran Leyva Organization, a Mexican drug-trafficking cartel responsible for importing multi-ton quantities of cocaine and methamphetamine into the United States, was extradited to the United States from Mexico on Nov. 15, 2014, and will be making an initial appearance this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Alan Kay of the District of Columbia.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Assistant Director Joseph S. Campbell of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division, New York Division Special Agent in Charge James J. Hunt of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Executive Associate Director Peter T. Edge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (ICE HSI) made the announcement.
“Over the past two decades, the Beltran Leyva Cartel has distributed tens of thousands of kilograms of dangerous narcotics and engaged in a campaign of violence that sparked drug wars and jeopardized public safety across North America,” said Assistant Attorney General Caldwell. “Today’s extradition of alleged kingpin Alfredo Beltran Leyva is an important step toward stamping out an organization that has ruined the lives of so many. The Justice Department is committed to working with our international partners to bring the rest of the organization to justice.”
“The arrest and extradition of Alfredo Beltran Leyva represents a significant milestone in combating transnational criminal organizations,” said FBI Assistant Director Campbell. “It is through collaborative efforts with our law enforcement partners that the United States will stem the tide of this continuing threat.”
“For years Alfredo Beltran Leyva, along with his brothers, was responsible for not only smuggling tons of cocaine to the United States, but also for the violence that has plagued the lives of Mexican citizens,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Hunt. “His extradition to the United States is an example of a commitment to international cooperation and the rule of law.”
“The illegal drugs distributed throughout the United States by the Beltran Levya Cartel ruined countless lives in this country and sowed violence and chaos throughout Mexico,” said HSI Executive Associate Director Edge. “The arrest and extradition of Alfredo Beltran Levya to face justice here for his crimes is a great victory for ICE HSI and our partner agencies.”
Alfredo Beltran Levya, 43, was indicted on Aug. 24, 2012, for international narcotics trafficking conspiracy in connection with his leadership role in theinternational drug-trafficking cartel bearing his family name.
According to a motion for pretrial detention filed by prosecutors, between the early 1990s until his January 2008 arrest by Mexican law enforcement, Beltran Levya allegedly led the Beltran Levya Organization with his brothers Hector Beltran Levya and Arturo Beltran Levya, the latter of whom was killed in a December 2009 shootout with the Mexican army. Since the 1990s, the Beltran Levya Organization, together with the Sinaloa Cartel, allegedly directed a large-scale drug transportation network, shipping multi-ton quantities of cocaine from South America, through Central America and Mexico, and finally into the United States via land, air and sea. The organization also employed “sicarios,” or hitmen, who allegedly carried out hundreds of acts of violence, including murders, kidnappings, tortures and violent collections of drug debts, at the direction of the organization.
Following the January 2008 arrest of Alfredo Beltran Leyva by Mexican law enforcement authorities, the Beltran Leyva Organization severed its relationship with the Sinaloa Cartel, which was blamed for the arrest. This resultedin a violent war between the two drug cartels, and the murder of thousands of citizens in Mexico, including numerous law enforcement officers and officials.
On May 30, 2008, the President added the Beltran Leyva Organization to the Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Asset Control’s Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons list pursuant to the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act. On Aug. 20, 2009, the President specifically designated Beltran Leyva as a specially designated drug trafficker under the same Kingpin Act.
The charges in the indictment are merely allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The investigation is led by the FBI’s El Paso Office, in partnership with the DEA’s New York Field Division and HSI’s New York Office, as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force. This case is being prosecuted by the Criminal Division’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drugs Section, with the assistance of the Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs. The Justice Department thanks the government of Mexico for their assistance in this extradition.
Tuesday, November 18, 2014
FTC APPROVES FINAL CONSENT SETTLING CHRGES REGARDING MADE IN USA BRAND, LLC
FROM: U.S. FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
FTC Approves Final Consent Settling Charges that Made in USA Brand, LLC Deceived Consumers
Following a public comment period, the Federal Trade Commission has approved a final consent order settling charges that a company providing a “Made in USA” certification seal to marketers did so without verifying the companies’ Made in USA claims, or disclosing that the companies had certified themselves.
First announced in July 2014, the settlement prohibits Made in USA Brand, LLC’s deceptive claims, and bars the company from providing the marketers it certifies with the means to deceive consumers.
The Commission vote to approve the final order in this case was 5-0.
FTC Approves Final Consent Settling Charges that Made in USA Brand, LLC Deceived Consumers
Following a public comment period, the Federal Trade Commission has approved a final consent order settling charges that a company providing a “Made in USA” certification seal to marketers did so without verifying the companies’ Made in USA claims, or disclosing that the companies had certified themselves.
First announced in July 2014, the settlement prohibits Made in USA Brand, LLC’s deceptive claims, and bars the company from providing the marketers it certifies with the means to deceive consumers.
The Commission vote to approve the final order in this case was 5-0.
PRESIDENT OBAMA CONDEMNS ATTACK AT JERUSALEM SYNAGOGUE
FROM: THE WHITE HOUSE
November 18, 2014
Statement by the President on Attack in Jerusalem
I strongly condemn today’s terrorist attack on worshipers at a synagogue in Jerusalem, which killed four innocent people, including U.S. citizens Aryeh Kupinsky, Cary William Levine, and Mosheh Twersky, and injured several more. There is and can be no justification for such attacks against innocent civilians. The thoughts and prayers of the American people are with the victims and families of all those who were killed and injured in this horrific attack and in other recent violence. At this sensitive moment in Jerusalem, it is all the more important for Israeli and Palestinian leaders and ordinary citizens to work cooperatively together to lower tensions, reject violence, and seek a path forward towards peace.
November 18, 2014
Statement by the President on Attack in Jerusalem
I strongly condemn today’s terrorist attack on worshipers at a synagogue in Jerusalem, which killed four innocent people, including U.S. citizens Aryeh Kupinsky, Cary William Levine, and Mosheh Twersky, and injured several more. There is and can be no justification for such attacks against innocent civilians. The thoughts and prayers of the American people are with the victims and families of all those who were killed and injured in this horrific attack and in other recent violence. At this sensitive moment in Jerusalem, it is all the more important for Israeli and Palestinian leaders and ordinary citizens to work cooperatively together to lower tensions, reject violence, and seek a path forward towards peace.
DEFENSE SECRETARY HAGEL'S MEDIA AVAILABILITY AT FORT IRWIN, CA
FROM: U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
Media Availability with Secretary Hagel Conducted at Fort Irwin, California
Presenter: Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel
November 16, 2014
REAR ADMIRAL JOHN KIRBY: Okay, folks, I'm Admiral John Kirby, the Pentagon press secretary.
The secretary is going to come on up here. He's got no opening statements. This obviously will be on the record. Only going to be able to take a few questions.
Bob, we're going to start with you, and then I'll call on a couple of -- some of the local reporters here as well.
And then I think -- where's John?
John, you had one, too.
Okay, is everybody ready?
Mr. Secretary?
SECRETARY OF DEFENSE CHUCK HAGEL: General Abrams is in the tank there. I hope that we're not in the way.
(UNKNOWN): He couldn't help himself.
SEC. HAGEL: He couldn't help himself. I'm not sure we shouldn't be off to the side, but he is a general.
So yes. All right, Bob?
Q: Mr. Secretary a question for you about the (inaudible) strategy that (inaudible) today. You said it's working and you said it's (inaudible). (inaudible) it could be accelerated (inaudible). General Dempsey had talked this weekend about (inaudible).
SEC. HAGEL: Yes, we -- at the recommendation of General Austin, have agreed with General Austin's recommendations to take some of the special operations forces that he has in Iraq and give them some early missions working with the Iraqi security forces in Anbar province just to kind of continue to mission accelerate the mission of preparing for training and equipping, and the things that we need to do to start setting that up.
Because it is a process, it has to be done right; we've got to get the right trainers in there, coalition partners. So yes, we are doing what we can with the resources we have to give some acceleration to that.
Q: Has this just begun in the last couple of days or a week?
SEC. HAGEL: Last couple of days that he has moved some of this advisers into Anbar province to work with the Iraqi security forces.
Q: (off mic) You talked a little bit about (inaudible). You know that (inaudible) on the (inaudible). (inaudible). Can you talk a little bit about how the environment here is critical to the U.S. military?
SEC. HAGEL: Well, this is really a critically important base for our training. Yes, partly because of the environment that it represents, and it does give our trainers a very realistic geography to work with, and we've invested a lot of effort here and resources, and it has really been a very smart investment, because it's paid off in the training and the capabilities that our men and women get through this training here. So it's a unique location. It's an important location.
Q: (off mic)
SEC. HAGEL: Well, first, I think everybody knew from the beginning, because this is a rotational overall mission, that we would be requiring National Guard assistance and participation. So I went ahead and authorized the beginning of that last week. Nothing is moving; it takes time to -- but you've got to notify our Guardsmen and their families and their employers.
But anticipating any further call-ups, not in our planned -- at this point.
Q: (off mic)
SEC. HAGEL: Well, it depends on how successful we all are in stopping the spread of Ebola. Working, as you know, with the USAID and CDC and the Liberian government, we're hopeful that it won't be a long mission at all.
But we're uncertain until we know that we have been able to stop it. There are positive signs, but we're planning for a six-month mission, but we'll see. It just depends on how successful we all are in stopping the spread of Ebola.
REAR ADM. KIRBY: We've got one more question.
Sir, we'll go to you.
Q: You mentioned in budget constraints that there were facilities that (inaudible). Are any of those in California? And if so, (inaudible)?
SEC. HAGEL: (Laughter.) I'm not going to get into which ones.
Q: (off mic)
SEC. HAGEL: We have a pretty clear inventory of where we have excess capacity. We've shared at least our thinking, some of our thinking, with the Congress on this, but that's the whole point behind a BRAC, a base closing commission that allows an independent look at what facilities are still being used, which facilities are important to the future of our country, our security, and which are not.
And it was setup, you'll recall, many years ago, to give not only an honest assessment of that, but also take it out of politics.
And so, what we're asking for, again, is for the Congress to authorize another base relocation closing commission to go in and take a hard look, an insightful, honest look, and evaluate where that excess capacity is. And I would hope the Congress will allow us to do that, and I would hope that they would support another round of BRAC.
REAR ADM. KIRBY: Thanks, everybody. Appreciate it.
SEC. HAGEL: Thank you.
Media Availability with Secretary Hagel Conducted at Fort Irwin, California
Presenter: Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel
November 16, 2014
REAR ADMIRAL JOHN KIRBY: Okay, folks, I'm Admiral John Kirby, the Pentagon press secretary.
The secretary is going to come on up here. He's got no opening statements. This obviously will be on the record. Only going to be able to take a few questions.
Bob, we're going to start with you, and then I'll call on a couple of -- some of the local reporters here as well.
And then I think -- where's John?
John, you had one, too.
Okay, is everybody ready?
Mr. Secretary?
SECRETARY OF DEFENSE CHUCK HAGEL: General Abrams is in the tank there. I hope that we're not in the way.
(UNKNOWN): He couldn't help himself.
SEC. HAGEL: He couldn't help himself. I'm not sure we shouldn't be off to the side, but he is a general.
So yes. All right, Bob?
Q: Mr. Secretary a question for you about the (inaudible) strategy that (inaudible) today. You said it's working and you said it's (inaudible). (inaudible) it could be accelerated (inaudible). General Dempsey had talked this weekend about (inaudible).
SEC. HAGEL: Yes, we -- at the recommendation of General Austin, have agreed with General Austin's recommendations to take some of the special operations forces that he has in Iraq and give them some early missions working with the Iraqi security forces in Anbar province just to kind of continue to mission accelerate the mission of preparing for training and equipping, and the things that we need to do to start setting that up.
Because it is a process, it has to be done right; we've got to get the right trainers in there, coalition partners. So yes, we are doing what we can with the resources we have to give some acceleration to that.
Q: Has this just begun in the last couple of days or a week?
SEC. HAGEL: Last couple of days that he has moved some of this advisers into Anbar province to work with the Iraqi security forces.
Q: (off mic) You talked a little bit about (inaudible). You know that (inaudible) on the (inaudible). (inaudible). Can you talk a little bit about how the environment here is critical to the U.S. military?
SEC. HAGEL: Well, this is really a critically important base for our training. Yes, partly because of the environment that it represents, and it does give our trainers a very realistic geography to work with, and we've invested a lot of effort here and resources, and it has really been a very smart investment, because it's paid off in the training and the capabilities that our men and women get through this training here. So it's a unique location. It's an important location.
Q: (off mic)
SEC. HAGEL: Well, first, I think everybody knew from the beginning, because this is a rotational overall mission, that we would be requiring National Guard assistance and participation. So I went ahead and authorized the beginning of that last week. Nothing is moving; it takes time to -- but you've got to notify our Guardsmen and their families and their employers.
But anticipating any further call-ups, not in our planned -- at this point.
Q: (off mic)
SEC. HAGEL: Well, it depends on how successful we all are in stopping the spread of Ebola. Working, as you know, with the USAID and CDC and the Liberian government, we're hopeful that it won't be a long mission at all.
But we're uncertain until we know that we have been able to stop it. There are positive signs, but we're planning for a six-month mission, but we'll see. It just depends on how successful we all are in stopping the spread of Ebola.
REAR ADM. KIRBY: We've got one more question.
Sir, we'll go to you.
Q: You mentioned in budget constraints that there were facilities that (inaudible). Are any of those in California? And if so, (inaudible)?
SEC. HAGEL: (Laughter.) I'm not going to get into which ones.
Q: (off mic)
SEC. HAGEL: We have a pretty clear inventory of where we have excess capacity. We've shared at least our thinking, some of our thinking, with the Congress on this, but that's the whole point behind a BRAC, a base closing commission that allows an independent look at what facilities are still being used, which facilities are important to the future of our country, our security, and which are not.
And it was setup, you'll recall, many years ago, to give not only an honest assessment of that, but also take it out of politics.
And so, what we're asking for, again, is for the Congress to authorize another base relocation closing commission to go in and take a hard look, an insightful, honest look, and evaluate where that excess capacity is. And I would hope the Congress will allow us to do that, and I would hope that they would support another round of BRAC.
REAR ADM. KIRBY: Thanks, everybody. Appreciate it.
SEC. HAGEL: Thank you.
NATO AND THE SOUTHERN FLANK
FROM: U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
NATO Official Discusses Southern Flank, Mediterranean Dialogue
By Jim Garamone
DoD News, Defense Media Activity
WASHINGTON, Nov. 17, 2014 – Russia’s blatant disregard of international norms in Ukraine is just one example of its attempts to reject an international order that promotes democracy, sovereignty and the rule of law, NATO’s deputy secretary general said in La Hulpe, Belgium, today.
Alexander Vershbow told the conference on NATO-Israel cooperation that challenges from Russia and from NATO’s southern flank share many of the same attributes.
Russia’s continued attempts to destabilize Ukraine “have blatantly breached international agreements and confidence-building measures,” Vershbow said.
And on NATO’s southern flank, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant continues to spew its hatred, “pouring oil on the fire of extremism and sectarianism that is already burning across the Middle East and North Africa,” he said.
“ISIL’s advances in Iraq and the Levant also risk exporting terrorism much further afield, including to NATO and [European Union] member states,” the deputy secretary general added.
NATO Determined to Defeat ISIL, Similar Threats
ISIL is working to overthrow rules-based and values-based order that is the guarantor of freedom, security and prosperity for all nations, Vershbow said, and NATO is determined to play its part to defeat this threat and those like it.
“The capabilities and forces that we are now developing are very clearly aimed at enhancing NATO’s overall resilience,” the deputy secretary general said. “We want to be able to deploy them quickly not only whenever, but also wherever, threats emerge – whether it’s in our eastern or our southern neighborhoods.”
At NATO’s summit held in Wales in September, the alliance also decided to strengthen cooperation with partner nations. The summit also launched an initiative to help partners strengthen their ability to address security challenges.
“This initiative builds upon NATO’s extensive expertise in defense capacity building -- for instance, in Kosovo and Afghanistan,” Vershbow explained. “And we made clear that we stand ready to assist Iraq in strengthening its security sector, if the new government so requests.”
Risk of Extremism Has Grown on NATO’s Southern Flank
The risk of extremism on NATO’s southern flank has grown and produced more fertile territory since the Arab Spring, the deputy secretary general said. The Mediterranean Dialogue – a NATO initiative celebrating 20 years – is more valuable than ever, he added.
“The Mediterranean Dialogue was never intended to have a direct influence on the Middle East peace process, or in tackling the wider challenges of the region,” he said. “But it was a genuine attempt to improve mutual understanding, to dispel misconceptions and to foster a dialogue that otherwise would not exist.”
The dialogue has developed into a unique multilateral forum, he noted. “It’s the only structured framework where the 28 NATO allies, Israel and key Arab countries sit together on a regular basis,” he said.
But more can be done, Vershbow told the forum audience:
-- A firm offer to assist countries in transition with defense and security sector reform, including planning and budgeting;
-- Dealing with surplus ammunition; and
-- Encouraging what he called “good security governance.”
NATO nations have unique expertise in these areas, he said, and the alliance will look to include the European Union in these efforts.
More Focus on Capability Building
Vershbow said he would like to see more focus on capability building. “We want to help the countries of the region to be better able both to address security concerns in their own region and to participate in international peacekeeping and crisis management operations – including those led by NATO,” he said.
This, he added, could involve greater military-to-military cooperation, and invitations to participate in NATO training, exercises and education programs.
“But it could also involve more structured cooperation between NATO and organizations like the African Union and the Arab League,” he said.
The deputy secretary general said he expects a further strengthening of dialogue and cooperation where NATO shares the same values and interests with its partners to better address specific concerns and requirements. “And I see particular scope here for our relations with longstanding, active partners like Israel,” he added.
NATO Official Discusses Southern Flank, Mediterranean Dialogue
By Jim Garamone
DoD News, Defense Media Activity
WASHINGTON, Nov. 17, 2014 – Russia’s blatant disregard of international norms in Ukraine is just one example of its attempts to reject an international order that promotes democracy, sovereignty and the rule of law, NATO’s deputy secretary general said in La Hulpe, Belgium, today.
Alexander Vershbow told the conference on NATO-Israel cooperation that challenges from Russia and from NATO’s southern flank share many of the same attributes.
Russia’s continued attempts to destabilize Ukraine “have blatantly breached international agreements and confidence-building measures,” Vershbow said.
And on NATO’s southern flank, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant continues to spew its hatred, “pouring oil on the fire of extremism and sectarianism that is already burning across the Middle East and North Africa,” he said.
“ISIL’s advances in Iraq and the Levant also risk exporting terrorism much further afield, including to NATO and [European Union] member states,” the deputy secretary general added.
NATO Determined to Defeat ISIL, Similar Threats
ISIL is working to overthrow rules-based and values-based order that is the guarantor of freedom, security and prosperity for all nations, Vershbow said, and NATO is determined to play its part to defeat this threat and those like it.
“The capabilities and forces that we are now developing are very clearly aimed at enhancing NATO’s overall resilience,” the deputy secretary general said. “We want to be able to deploy them quickly not only whenever, but also wherever, threats emerge – whether it’s in our eastern or our southern neighborhoods.”
At NATO’s summit held in Wales in September, the alliance also decided to strengthen cooperation with partner nations. The summit also launched an initiative to help partners strengthen their ability to address security challenges.
“This initiative builds upon NATO’s extensive expertise in defense capacity building -- for instance, in Kosovo and Afghanistan,” Vershbow explained. “And we made clear that we stand ready to assist Iraq in strengthening its security sector, if the new government so requests.”
Risk of Extremism Has Grown on NATO’s Southern Flank
The risk of extremism on NATO’s southern flank has grown and produced more fertile territory since the Arab Spring, the deputy secretary general said. The Mediterranean Dialogue – a NATO initiative celebrating 20 years – is more valuable than ever, he added.
“The Mediterranean Dialogue was never intended to have a direct influence on the Middle East peace process, or in tackling the wider challenges of the region,” he said. “But it was a genuine attempt to improve mutual understanding, to dispel misconceptions and to foster a dialogue that otherwise would not exist.”
The dialogue has developed into a unique multilateral forum, he noted. “It’s the only structured framework where the 28 NATO allies, Israel and key Arab countries sit together on a regular basis,” he said.
But more can be done, Vershbow told the forum audience:
-- A firm offer to assist countries in transition with defense and security sector reform, including planning and budgeting;
-- Dealing with surplus ammunition; and
-- Encouraging what he called “good security governance.”
NATO nations have unique expertise in these areas, he said, and the alliance will look to include the European Union in these efforts.
More Focus on Capability Building
Vershbow said he would like to see more focus on capability building. “We want to help the countries of the region to be better able both to address security concerns in their own region and to participate in international peacekeeping and crisis management operations – including those led by NATO,” he said.
This, he added, could involve greater military-to-military cooperation, and invitations to participate in NATO training, exercises and education programs.
“But it could also involve more structured cooperation between NATO and organizations like the African Union and the Arab League,” he said.
The deputy secretary general said he expects a further strengthening of dialogue and cooperation where NATO shares the same values and interests with its partners to better address specific concerns and requirements. “And I see particular scope here for our relations with longstanding, active partners like Israel,” he added.
NSF PRESENTS FINDINGS FROM PAPER ON LARGE ANIMALS AND EFFECTS ON TROPICAL FORESTS
FROM: THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
Fruits of the forest gone: Overhunting of large animals has catastrophic effects on trees
As the animals go, so go tropical forests
The elephant has long been an important spiritual, cultural and national symbol in Thailand. At the beginning of the 20th century, its numbers exceeded 100,000.
Today, those numbers have plunged to 2,000. Elephants, as well as other large, charismatic animals such as tigers, monkeys and civet cats, are under attack from hunters and poachers.
Overhunting of animals affects entire forest
While the loss of these animals is concerning for species conservation, now researchers at the University of Florida have shown that overhunting can have widespread effects on the forest itself.
Overhunting leads to the extinction of a dominant tree species, Miliusa horsfieldii, or the Miliusa beech, with likely cascading effects on other forest biota.
The scientists report their results in the current issue of the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
Co-authors of the paper are Trevor Caughlin and Jeremy Lichstein of the University of Florida and Doug Levey, formerly of the University of Florida and now a program director in the National Science Foundation's Division of Environmental Biology.
Other co-authors are researchers at King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi in Thailand, Wageningen University in the Netherlands and the Royal Thai Forest Department.
Loss of one tree species has far-reaching implications
The ecologists show how vital large animals are to maintaining the biodiversity of tropical forests in Thailand.
The team looked at how these mammals contribute to moving seeds through the forest.
"It's not surprising that seed dispersers help trees get to new places," says Levey. "The effects of hunting can extend far beyond the hunted, threatening the overall health of the trees that make up the forest."
Adds Caughlin, "On the surface, it doesn't seem that seed dispersal would be important for tree populations. But seed dispersal has an effect over the whole life of a tree."
Animals critical to seed transport through the forest
The scientists looked at the growth and survival of trees that sprouted from parent trees and grew up in crowded environs, compared to trees from seeds that were widely transported across the forest by animals.
The information was supplemented with a dataset from the Thai Royal Forest Department that contains more than 15 years of data on trees.
The researchers then created a long-term simulation and ran it on the University of Florida's supercomputer, the HiPerGator.
"Having that computing power was very important," says Caughlin, "because we had to simulate the fate of millions of seeds."
The scientists discovered that trees that grow from seeds transported by now-overhunted animals are hardier and healthier.
"Our study is the first to quantify the decades-long effects of animal seed dispersal across the entire tree life cycle, from seeds to seedlings to adult trees," says Lichstein.
Probability of tree extinction increased tenfold
The results show that loss of animal seed-dispersers increases the probability of tree extinction by more than tenfold over a 100-year period.
"The entire ecosystem is at risk," says Caughlin.
"We hope the study will provide a boost for those trying to curb overhunting," he says, "and provide incentives to stop the wildlife trade."
-- Cheryl Dybas, NSF
-- Gigi Marino, University of Florida
WHITE HOUSE FACT SHEET ON THE G-20 BRISBANE SUMMIT
FROM: THE WHITE HOUSE
November 16, 2014
FACT SHEET: The G-20 Brisbane Summit
The G-20 is the world’s premier forum for economic policy cooperation – where Leaders representing economies generating 85 percent of global GDP assemble around the table to promote strong, sustainable and balanced growth and to address urgent global economic challenges.
The Brisbane G-20 Summit – the eighth that President Obama has attended since taking office – focused on growth and jobs. With the global economic recovery still fragile, G-20 Leaders sent a clear signal of their commitment to take decisive steps, recognizing that the global economy is being held back by a shortfall in demand. G-20 Leaders announced a Brisbane Action Plan of individual country commitments and collective actions that could increase the G-20’s combined output by 2.1 percent or more over the next five years.
Leaders agreed on a number of specific steps to strengthen the resilience of the global economy and to address challenges such as climate change. These include new initiatives on infrastructure investment, female labor force participation, combating corruption, and remittances. Leaders also issued a separate statement about Ebola and global health security.
Among the most significant agreements were:
launching the Global Infrastructure Initiative to unlock private financing for infrastructure investment worldwide, including the creation of a Global Infrastructure Hub to support best practices and coordination;
a commitment by each country to close the gap between its male and female labor-force participation rates by 25% by 2025; this will bring an estimated 100 million additional women into the labor force by that year;
principles that would help prevent the abuse of anonymous shell companies to facilitate illicit financial flows stemming from corruption, tax evasion, and money laundering a commitment to addressing the challenge of climate change including communicating post-2020 domestic climate targets as soon as possible and preferably by the first quarter of 2015. G-20 leaders also stressed the importance of climate finance, including additional contributions to the Green Climate Fund following the United States’ $3 billion commitment to the GCF;
an Energy Efficiency Action Plan that includes, among other initiatives, a program to increase fuel quality and reduce carbon emissions by heavy-duty vehicles;
advancing the implementation of the international financial reform agenda;
agreement to complete by the end of 2015 an implementation plan on combating tax avoidance by multinational companies; and agreement on principles on energy markets that could serve as the basis for ongoing discussions on reform of the international energy architecture.
Building a Stronger Global Economy through Jobs and Growth
The United States is a major source of strength in the global economy, with 56 straight months of private sector job growth creating 10.6 million jobs. The Administration’s comprehensive response to the economic crisis — including through macroeconomic and structural policies — has laid the foundation for growth in the United States.
The pace of global economic growth and job creation, however, has disappointed since the recovery from recession began in 2009. Economic activity in advanced countries has been particularly weak, while growth in emerging markets is uneven. As the G-20 Leaders acknowledged, there is a shortfall in global demand.
To help strengthen medium-term potential growth, G-20 Leaders endorsed the Brisbane Action Plan to boost collective G-20 growth by 2 percent or more over the next five years. The Action Plan includes a U.S. Growth Strategy based on Administration priorities such as infrastructure investment, raising household income, increasing access to quality skills development, increasing trade, comprehensive immigration reform, and assisting working families. The U.S. reform commitments were critical in allowing the G-20 to meet its 2 percent goal.
Increasing Infrastructure Investment
A key constraint to growth across the G-20 is inadequate infrastructure. At the same time, infrastructure investment creates construction jobs and can provide a strong impetus to growth. This year, the G-20 launched a Global Infrastructure Initiative, paired with a new Global Infrastructure Hub that will be based here in Australia, to help tap into the large pool of potential private financing for infrastructure investment.
We’ve also made significant advances in expanding the amount of money that the World Bank and other multilateral development banks can deploy to emerging economies through more efficient use of their existing balance sheets.
Female Labor Force Participation
The G-20 made a new commitment to bring more women into the workforce and improve the quality of their jobs. All G-20 countries committed to reduce the gap between the share of men and women in the workforce by 25 percent by 2025. That would bring an additional 100 million women into the formal workforce and increase global GDP.
Fighting corruption
The G-20 has taken significant steps over the last four years to fight the scourge of corruption in our own countries and overseas. In Brisbane, Leaders adopted a two-year plan to strengthen enforcement, enhance transparency, and facilitate the recovery of assets stolen by corrupt officials. This includes meaningful steps to ensure that corrupt actors cannot exploit our financial and legal systems. The G-20 also reached a significant agreement to end the abuse of anonymous shell companies by endorsing implementation of “Beneficial Ownership” principles. The G-20 will work to ensure that corrupt actors can no longer use these shell companies to evade taxes or launder the proceeds of their crimes, and the Administration has proposed legislation to end the use of anonymous shell companies in the United States.
Remittances and Financial inclusion
G-20 leaders today agreed on a set of concrete steps that will reduce the cost of sending money home for people working overseas. These remittances are a life-line for millions of people in the developing world and a critical source of development financing for emerging and developing economies. This action plan will lower the cost of remittances to an average of 5 percent by increasing competition and expanding access to money transfer services, making the financial system more inclusive for billions of people and again demonstrating the G-20’s capacity to make the global economy work better for everyone.
Enhancing Energy Efficiency and Addressing Climate Change
G-20 leaders increased their commitment to energy and climate change through energy deliverables and a strong endorsement of the need for action to address climate change. Leaders agreed to:
Endorse a new set of Principles on Energy Collaboration that outline key elements for future G-20 energy and climate change work. These principles can set the agenda for future discussions of how we should adapt the global energy architecture to reflect recent transformations in the world’s energy markets – including the energy revolution in the United States.
An Energy Efficiency Action Plan that will guide efficiency work in six important sectors. Central to this Action Plan is an agreement to develop country-specific plans in 2015 to improve efficiency of heavy-duty vehicles – trucks, buses, and other large vehicles which account for as much as half of all vehicle emissions even though they represent only 10 percent of all vehicles. Three quarters of these vehicles globally are sold in G-20 countries. The plan will lead to cleaner fuel, lower fuel consumption and carbon emissions, and reduced public health costs. The United States is a global leader in heavy-duty vehicles standards for tailpipe emissions, fuel quality and efficiency, as well as green freight programs.
Reaffirm the G-20 commitment to rationalize and phase out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies. The United States, China, and Germany have committed to undergo fossil fuel subsidy peer reviews, which can help countries assess their subsidies and provide recommendations for reform. The European Union has also offered to participate as a reviewer.
Send a clear signal that G-20 Leaders support strong and effective action to address climate change by reaffirming their resolve to adopt a protocol, another legal instrument or an agreed outcome with legal force at the UN climate negotiations in Paris in 2015. In order to accomplish this, G-20 Leaders committed to communicate their post-2020 domestic climate targets as soon as possible and preferably by early 2015. They also stressed the importance of contributions to the Green Climate Fund, and the United States announced a $3 billion commitment to the GCF.
Ebola and Global Health Security
The G-20 also demonstrated its ability to respond to new and fast-breaking challenges to the global economy, such as the threat posed by the Ebola epidemic. In a statement released yesterday, G-20 leaders called for faster action to end the Ebola epidemic in West Africa. Participating countries also committed to take steps to build the capacity to prevent, detect, and rapidly respond to future outbreaks – before they become epidemics. And to make sure these aren’t just idle promises, the G-20 will review progress in building that capacity in at a major international meeting next May. These steps are consistent with the Global Health Security Agenda, which the United States helped launch in February and the President hosted for an event at the White House in September.
For the three countries whose economies have been devastated by this epidemic, G-20 leaders also endorsed an IMF initiative to provide them with $300 million in low-cost or no-cost financing and debt relief.
Strengthening the Global Financial System and addressing tax evasion and avoidance
The G-20 came into being during the financial crisis, and repairing and strengthening the resilience of the global financial system has been one of the most important elements of our cooperation. While there is critical work to be done, this year we are close to finalizing the majority of the work on new rules to strengthen the financial system, end too-big-too fail, and promote a level playing field around the world.
U.S. leadership has played a transformational role by engaging others in a “race to the top” to improve the quality of regulation and level the playing field across major and emerging financial centers. The United States led the way in this area with our Dodd-Frank reforms. Now the key is for all G-20 countries to implement these commitments. After the damage wrought by the financial crisis, we owe it to our citizens to complete our work in creating a safer and more resilient financial system.
This year, the G-20 took significant steps forward to strengthening bank capital and liquidity by reducing leverage, addressing “too big to fail” by ensuring tax payers will not have to bear the costs of resolution for large financial institutions, committing to make the derivatives markets more transparent and safe, and addressing the systemic risks posed by shadow banking.
November 16, 2014
FACT SHEET: The G-20 Brisbane Summit
The G-20 is the world’s premier forum for economic policy cooperation – where Leaders representing economies generating 85 percent of global GDP assemble around the table to promote strong, sustainable and balanced growth and to address urgent global economic challenges.
The Brisbane G-20 Summit – the eighth that President Obama has attended since taking office – focused on growth and jobs. With the global economic recovery still fragile, G-20 Leaders sent a clear signal of their commitment to take decisive steps, recognizing that the global economy is being held back by a shortfall in demand. G-20 Leaders announced a Brisbane Action Plan of individual country commitments and collective actions that could increase the G-20’s combined output by 2.1 percent or more over the next five years.
Leaders agreed on a number of specific steps to strengthen the resilience of the global economy and to address challenges such as climate change. These include new initiatives on infrastructure investment, female labor force participation, combating corruption, and remittances. Leaders also issued a separate statement about Ebola and global health security.
Among the most significant agreements were:
launching the Global Infrastructure Initiative to unlock private financing for infrastructure investment worldwide, including the creation of a Global Infrastructure Hub to support best practices and coordination;
a commitment by each country to close the gap between its male and female labor-force participation rates by 25% by 2025; this will bring an estimated 100 million additional women into the labor force by that year;
principles that would help prevent the abuse of anonymous shell companies to facilitate illicit financial flows stemming from corruption, tax evasion, and money laundering a commitment to addressing the challenge of climate change including communicating post-2020 domestic climate targets as soon as possible and preferably by the first quarter of 2015. G-20 leaders also stressed the importance of climate finance, including additional contributions to the Green Climate Fund following the United States’ $3 billion commitment to the GCF;
an Energy Efficiency Action Plan that includes, among other initiatives, a program to increase fuel quality and reduce carbon emissions by heavy-duty vehicles;
advancing the implementation of the international financial reform agenda;
agreement to complete by the end of 2015 an implementation plan on combating tax avoidance by multinational companies; and agreement on principles on energy markets that could serve as the basis for ongoing discussions on reform of the international energy architecture.
Building a Stronger Global Economy through Jobs and Growth
The United States is a major source of strength in the global economy, with 56 straight months of private sector job growth creating 10.6 million jobs. The Administration’s comprehensive response to the economic crisis — including through macroeconomic and structural policies — has laid the foundation for growth in the United States.
The pace of global economic growth and job creation, however, has disappointed since the recovery from recession began in 2009. Economic activity in advanced countries has been particularly weak, while growth in emerging markets is uneven. As the G-20 Leaders acknowledged, there is a shortfall in global demand.
To help strengthen medium-term potential growth, G-20 Leaders endorsed the Brisbane Action Plan to boost collective G-20 growth by 2 percent or more over the next five years. The Action Plan includes a U.S. Growth Strategy based on Administration priorities such as infrastructure investment, raising household income, increasing access to quality skills development, increasing trade, comprehensive immigration reform, and assisting working families. The U.S. reform commitments were critical in allowing the G-20 to meet its 2 percent goal.
Increasing Infrastructure Investment
A key constraint to growth across the G-20 is inadequate infrastructure. At the same time, infrastructure investment creates construction jobs and can provide a strong impetus to growth. This year, the G-20 launched a Global Infrastructure Initiative, paired with a new Global Infrastructure Hub that will be based here in Australia, to help tap into the large pool of potential private financing for infrastructure investment.
We’ve also made significant advances in expanding the amount of money that the World Bank and other multilateral development banks can deploy to emerging economies through more efficient use of their existing balance sheets.
Female Labor Force Participation
The G-20 made a new commitment to bring more women into the workforce and improve the quality of their jobs. All G-20 countries committed to reduce the gap between the share of men and women in the workforce by 25 percent by 2025. That would bring an additional 100 million women into the formal workforce and increase global GDP.
Fighting corruption
The G-20 has taken significant steps over the last four years to fight the scourge of corruption in our own countries and overseas. In Brisbane, Leaders adopted a two-year plan to strengthen enforcement, enhance transparency, and facilitate the recovery of assets stolen by corrupt officials. This includes meaningful steps to ensure that corrupt actors cannot exploit our financial and legal systems. The G-20 also reached a significant agreement to end the abuse of anonymous shell companies by endorsing implementation of “Beneficial Ownership” principles. The G-20 will work to ensure that corrupt actors can no longer use these shell companies to evade taxes or launder the proceeds of their crimes, and the Administration has proposed legislation to end the use of anonymous shell companies in the United States.
Remittances and Financial inclusion
G-20 leaders today agreed on a set of concrete steps that will reduce the cost of sending money home for people working overseas. These remittances are a life-line for millions of people in the developing world and a critical source of development financing for emerging and developing economies. This action plan will lower the cost of remittances to an average of 5 percent by increasing competition and expanding access to money transfer services, making the financial system more inclusive for billions of people and again demonstrating the G-20’s capacity to make the global economy work better for everyone.
Enhancing Energy Efficiency and Addressing Climate Change
G-20 leaders increased their commitment to energy and climate change through energy deliverables and a strong endorsement of the need for action to address climate change. Leaders agreed to:
Endorse a new set of Principles on Energy Collaboration that outline key elements for future G-20 energy and climate change work. These principles can set the agenda for future discussions of how we should adapt the global energy architecture to reflect recent transformations in the world’s energy markets – including the energy revolution in the United States.
An Energy Efficiency Action Plan that will guide efficiency work in six important sectors. Central to this Action Plan is an agreement to develop country-specific plans in 2015 to improve efficiency of heavy-duty vehicles – trucks, buses, and other large vehicles which account for as much as half of all vehicle emissions even though they represent only 10 percent of all vehicles. Three quarters of these vehicles globally are sold in G-20 countries. The plan will lead to cleaner fuel, lower fuel consumption and carbon emissions, and reduced public health costs. The United States is a global leader in heavy-duty vehicles standards for tailpipe emissions, fuel quality and efficiency, as well as green freight programs.
Reaffirm the G-20 commitment to rationalize and phase out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies. The United States, China, and Germany have committed to undergo fossil fuel subsidy peer reviews, which can help countries assess their subsidies and provide recommendations for reform. The European Union has also offered to participate as a reviewer.
Send a clear signal that G-20 Leaders support strong and effective action to address climate change by reaffirming their resolve to adopt a protocol, another legal instrument or an agreed outcome with legal force at the UN climate negotiations in Paris in 2015. In order to accomplish this, G-20 Leaders committed to communicate their post-2020 domestic climate targets as soon as possible and preferably by early 2015. They also stressed the importance of contributions to the Green Climate Fund, and the United States announced a $3 billion commitment to the GCF.
Ebola and Global Health Security
The G-20 also demonstrated its ability to respond to new and fast-breaking challenges to the global economy, such as the threat posed by the Ebola epidemic. In a statement released yesterday, G-20 leaders called for faster action to end the Ebola epidemic in West Africa. Participating countries also committed to take steps to build the capacity to prevent, detect, and rapidly respond to future outbreaks – before they become epidemics. And to make sure these aren’t just idle promises, the G-20 will review progress in building that capacity in at a major international meeting next May. These steps are consistent with the Global Health Security Agenda, which the United States helped launch in February and the President hosted for an event at the White House in September.
For the three countries whose economies have been devastated by this epidemic, G-20 leaders also endorsed an IMF initiative to provide them with $300 million in low-cost or no-cost financing and debt relief.
Strengthening the Global Financial System and addressing tax evasion and avoidance
The G-20 came into being during the financial crisis, and repairing and strengthening the resilience of the global financial system has been one of the most important elements of our cooperation. While there is critical work to be done, this year we are close to finalizing the majority of the work on new rules to strengthen the financial system, end too-big-too fail, and promote a level playing field around the world.
U.S. leadership has played a transformational role by engaging others in a “race to the top” to improve the quality of regulation and level the playing field across major and emerging financial centers. The United States led the way in this area with our Dodd-Frank reforms. Now the key is for all G-20 countries to implement these commitments. After the damage wrought by the financial crisis, we owe it to our citizens to complete our work in creating a safer and more resilient financial system.
This year, the G-20 took significant steps forward to strengthening bank capital and liquidity by reducing leverage, addressing “too big to fail” by ensuring tax payers will not have to bear the costs of resolution for large financial institutions, committing to make the derivatives markets more transparent and safe, and addressing the systemic risks posed by shadow banking.
Monday, November 17, 2014
WHITE HOUSE FACT SHEET ON SUPPLIERPAY INITIATIVE EXPANSION
FROM: THE WHITE HOUSE
November 17, 2014
FACT SHEET: President Obama’s SupplierPay Initiative Expands; 20 Additional Companies Pledge to Strengthen America’s Small Businesses
Today, the White House announced an expansion of President Obama’s SupplierPay initiative, a partnership with the private sector to strengthen small businesses by increasing their working capital, so they can grow and hire more workers.
Twenty companies are joining the 26 companies that adopted the SupplierPay pledge at a launch announcement with President Obama in July. As part of the SupplierPay initiative, companies pledge to pay their small suppliers faster or enable a financing solution that helps them access working capital at a lower cost.
The SupplierPay initiative helps address the difficulties small businesses face in accessing affordable working capital. Reducing the time it takes for smaller suppliers to get paid or lowering their short-term borrowing costs enables them to devote more of their resources to investing in their business, hiring, and growing.
Also today, the Commerce Department is releasing a new report which finds that the larger companies participating in the SupplierPay initiative also have the potential to realize significant economic benefits. High working capital costs for small suppliers can get passed onto large customers in the form of lower-quality goods and services, less stable suppliers, and higher prices. Reducing working capital costs—as SupplierPay companies are doing—unlocks capital to be put to work for the benefit of large buyers, and for the entire economy, according to the report.
Today’s SupplierPay Working Session
Also today, the White House will hold a SupplierPay working session hosted by National Economic Council Director Jeff Zients and SBA Administrator Maria Contreras-Sweet. The working session will bring together both existing and new SupplierPay companies to discuss actions companies are taking to implement the SupplierPay pledge, and ensure the metrics are in place to track and measure impact of this initiative going forward.
The following new companies have signed on to SupplierPay:
Akima
Chugach Alaska
Cook Inlet Region, Inc.
ConAgra Foods, Inc.
Dominion Resources, Inc.
Dun & Bradstreet Credibility Corp.
Intel Corp.
Hallmark Cards, Inc.
Kaiser Permanente
McGraw Hill Financial, Inc.
Nova Corp., Inc.
Oracle Corp.
Sacramento Municipal Utility District
Sealaska
Siemens Corp.
Sempra Energy
Southern California Edison Co.
3M Co.
Xerox Corp.
Zappos.com., Inc.
A list of the 26 SupplierPay participants announced in July is available here.
SupplierPay Builds on Success of Federal Government’s QuickPay Initiative
SupplierPay builds on the success of the Federal Government’s QuickPay initiative, which President Obama launched in 2011 and renewed in July to help accelerate payments to federal small business subcontractors. Under QuickPay, the federal government pays its large contractors faster and, in return, requires them to pay their small business subcontractors faster.
SupplierPay Impact
SupplierPay companies participating in today’s meeting will be providing updates on how they are implementing this initiative and accelerating payments to their small suppliers. Among the examples that will be discussed:
Intuit. After taking the pledge, Intuit surveyed its supplier base and offered 10-day payment terms to 320 small businesses. Intuit also moved all of its 80+ independent contractors to contracts that committed to pay them within 10 days. Intuit’s actions will impact an estimated $40 million in payments this year, and an estimated $80 million in annual payments when more small and medium-sized suppliers are brought on board. “Prompt payment is important to small firms such as mine,” said Jeff Adams, owner of Jeff Adams Copywriting in Santee, CA.
Lockheed Martin. Lockheed Martin, the world’s largest security and aerospace company, sources more than 60 percent of its work through its supply chain, which includes more than 15,000 companies across all 50 states. More than half of these suppliers are small businesses, with whom the company did $4.9 billion worth of business in fiscal year 2014. Lockheed Martin is committed to expedited payments and is paying 100 percent of small business supplier invoices on an accelerated schedule. The company’s supplier portal flags small businesses so Lockheed Martin can accelerate payment, cutting time to payment in half to just 15 days.
Siemens. Siemens has more than 100 U.S. manufacturing sites and more than 60,000 U.S. employees. Just last year, Siemens’ Procurement & Logistics small business spending was approximately $266 million, and its spending on small and diverse companies was 16 percent of its total overall annual spending. A new participant in the SupplierPay initiative, Siemens offers small business suppliers a supply chain finance program which includes several supplier benefits such as cash flow improvement, working capital optimization, cost reduction, and cash flow transparency. About 1,300 Siemens North America suppliers participate in its supply chain finance program.
ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND:
Small businesses play a vital role in the American economy – employing half the workforce, creating about 60 percent of net new American jobs, and often being the source of the next great American innovation.
Small businesses were disproportionately impacted by the Great Recession, losing 40 percent more jobs than the rest of the private sector combined. When the President took office, small business credit markets were effectively frozen. Today, trends are moving in the right direction. For 15 straight quarters, small firms have contributed to employment growth. According to a recent survey, more than a quarter of small business owners are planning capital investments, the second highest such reading since 2008.
Small business capital access has been an area of focus for this Administration, starting with the Recovery Act in 2009 and continuing with the Small Business Jobs Act in 2010 and the JOBS Act in 2012. Collectively, this legislation has been instrumental in driving improvement from the depths of the recession. The Administration has achieved record SBA small business lending volumes and recent Federal Reserve Small Business surveys indicate improved access to financing. Yet, more can be done. Too many small businesses still struggle to access the capital they need:
A 2014 Pepperdine and D&B study reported that 66 percent of small businesses found it “difficult to raise new business financing.”
Regional survey data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York showed that 40 percent of the roughly one-third of small businesses that applied for credit in late 2013 received either none or less than the amount they requested. And another fifth of small businesses didn’t even apply for credit, because they assumed the process was too difficult, or they would not qualify.
Capital access challenges are magnified by the fact that small businesses are waiting longer to get paid for their products and services. The amount of time it took a corporation to pay an invoice increased from an average of 35 days in March 2009 to 46 days in July 2014, according to the Georgia Tech Financial Analysis Lab. Extended payment terms mean small businesses are spending unnecessary funds to cover cash flow. These are funds that could be otherwise spent on growing their business and creating new jobs.
November 17, 2014
FACT SHEET: President Obama’s SupplierPay Initiative Expands; 20 Additional Companies Pledge to Strengthen America’s Small Businesses
Today, the White House announced an expansion of President Obama’s SupplierPay initiative, a partnership with the private sector to strengthen small businesses by increasing their working capital, so they can grow and hire more workers.
Twenty companies are joining the 26 companies that adopted the SupplierPay pledge at a launch announcement with President Obama in July. As part of the SupplierPay initiative, companies pledge to pay their small suppliers faster or enable a financing solution that helps them access working capital at a lower cost.
The SupplierPay initiative helps address the difficulties small businesses face in accessing affordable working capital. Reducing the time it takes for smaller suppliers to get paid or lowering their short-term borrowing costs enables them to devote more of their resources to investing in their business, hiring, and growing.
Also today, the Commerce Department is releasing a new report which finds that the larger companies participating in the SupplierPay initiative also have the potential to realize significant economic benefits. High working capital costs for small suppliers can get passed onto large customers in the form of lower-quality goods and services, less stable suppliers, and higher prices. Reducing working capital costs—as SupplierPay companies are doing—unlocks capital to be put to work for the benefit of large buyers, and for the entire economy, according to the report.
Today’s SupplierPay Working Session
Also today, the White House will hold a SupplierPay working session hosted by National Economic Council Director Jeff Zients and SBA Administrator Maria Contreras-Sweet. The working session will bring together both existing and new SupplierPay companies to discuss actions companies are taking to implement the SupplierPay pledge, and ensure the metrics are in place to track and measure impact of this initiative going forward.
The following new companies have signed on to SupplierPay:
Akima
Chugach Alaska
Cook Inlet Region, Inc.
ConAgra Foods, Inc.
Dominion Resources, Inc.
Dun & Bradstreet Credibility Corp.
Intel Corp.
Hallmark Cards, Inc.
Kaiser Permanente
McGraw Hill Financial, Inc.
Nova Corp., Inc.
Oracle Corp.
Sacramento Municipal Utility District
Sealaska
Siemens Corp.
Sempra Energy
Southern California Edison Co.
3M Co.
Xerox Corp.
Zappos.com., Inc.
A list of the 26 SupplierPay participants announced in July is available here.
SupplierPay Builds on Success of Federal Government’s QuickPay Initiative
SupplierPay builds on the success of the Federal Government’s QuickPay initiative, which President Obama launched in 2011 and renewed in July to help accelerate payments to federal small business subcontractors. Under QuickPay, the federal government pays its large contractors faster and, in return, requires them to pay their small business subcontractors faster.
SupplierPay Impact
SupplierPay companies participating in today’s meeting will be providing updates on how they are implementing this initiative and accelerating payments to their small suppliers. Among the examples that will be discussed:
Intuit. After taking the pledge, Intuit surveyed its supplier base and offered 10-day payment terms to 320 small businesses. Intuit also moved all of its 80+ independent contractors to contracts that committed to pay them within 10 days. Intuit’s actions will impact an estimated $40 million in payments this year, and an estimated $80 million in annual payments when more small and medium-sized suppliers are brought on board. “Prompt payment is important to small firms such as mine,” said Jeff Adams, owner of Jeff Adams Copywriting in Santee, CA.
Lockheed Martin. Lockheed Martin, the world’s largest security and aerospace company, sources more than 60 percent of its work through its supply chain, which includes more than 15,000 companies across all 50 states. More than half of these suppliers are small businesses, with whom the company did $4.9 billion worth of business in fiscal year 2014. Lockheed Martin is committed to expedited payments and is paying 100 percent of small business supplier invoices on an accelerated schedule. The company’s supplier portal flags small businesses so Lockheed Martin can accelerate payment, cutting time to payment in half to just 15 days.
Siemens. Siemens has more than 100 U.S. manufacturing sites and more than 60,000 U.S. employees. Just last year, Siemens’ Procurement & Logistics small business spending was approximately $266 million, and its spending on small and diverse companies was 16 percent of its total overall annual spending. A new participant in the SupplierPay initiative, Siemens offers small business suppliers a supply chain finance program which includes several supplier benefits such as cash flow improvement, working capital optimization, cost reduction, and cash flow transparency. About 1,300 Siemens North America suppliers participate in its supply chain finance program.
ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND:
Small businesses play a vital role in the American economy – employing half the workforce, creating about 60 percent of net new American jobs, and often being the source of the next great American innovation.
Small businesses were disproportionately impacted by the Great Recession, losing 40 percent more jobs than the rest of the private sector combined. When the President took office, small business credit markets were effectively frozen. Today, trends are moving in the right direction. For 15 straight quarters, small firms have contributed to employment growth. According to a recent survey, more than a quarter of small business owners are planning capital investments, the second highest such reading since 2008.
Small business capital access has been an area of focus for this Administration, starting with the Recovery Act in 2009 and continuing with the Small Business Jobs Act in 2010 and the JOBS Act in 2012. Collectively, this legislation has been instrumental in driving improvement from the depths of the recession. The Administration has achieved record SBA small business lending volumes and recent Federal Reserve Small Business surveys indicate improved access to financing. Yet, more can be done. Too many small businesses still struggle to access the capital they need:
A 2014 Pepperdine and D&B study reported that 66 percent of small businesses found it “difficult to raise new business financing.”
Regional survey data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York showed that 40 percent of the roughly one-third of small businesses that applied for credit in late 2013 received either none or less than the amount they requested. And another fifth of small businesses didn’t even apply for credit, because they assumed the process was too difficult, or they would not qualify.
Capital access challenges are magnified by the fact that small businesses are waiting longer to get paid for their products and services. The amount of time it took a corporation to pay an invoice increased from an average of 35 days in March 2009 to 46 days in July 2014, according to the Georgia Tech Financial Analysis Lab. Extended payment terms mean small businesses are spending unnecessary funds to cover cash flow. These are funds that could be otherwise spent on growing their business and creating new jobs.
FTC, FLORIDA AG SETTLEMENT STOPS ROBOCALL OPERATION THAT PUSHED SALES OF MEDICAL ALERT DEVICES TO SENIORS
FROM: U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Settlement with the FTC and Florida Attorney General Stops Operations that Used Robocalls to Fraudulently Pitch Medical Alert Devices to Seniors
A settlement obtained by the Federal Trade Commission and the Office of the Florida Attorney General permanently shuts down an Orlando-based operation that bilked seniors by using pre-recorded robocalls to sell them supposedly free medical alert systems.
The settlement order bans the defendants from making robocalls, prohibits other telemarketing activities, and bars them from making misrepresentations related to the sale of any product or service. The order includes a judgment of nearly $23 million, most of which will be suspended after the defendants surrender assets including cash, cars, and a boat.
”This case is a great example of how federal and state law enforcement can work together to stop fraudulent telemarketing targeting older consumers,” said Jessica Rich, Director of the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “The FTC will continue to work with its state partners to protect senior citizens from pernicious schemes like this one.”
“We must do everything within our power to protect Florida’s consumers. The scheme we have stopped allegedly targeted Florida’s senior citizens, and we, along with our Federal Trade Commission partners, have held these individuals accountable,” said Attorney General Pam Bondi.
According to the joint agency complaint, announced in January, the defendants violated the FTC Act, the Commission’s Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR), and Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act (FDUTPA) by blasting robocalls to senior citizens falsely stating that they were eligible to receive a free medical alert system that was bought for them by a friend, family member, or acquaintance. Many of the consumers who received the defendants’ calls were elderly, live alone, and have limited or fixed incomes.
Consumers who pressed one (1) on their phones for more information were transferred to a live representative who continued the deception by falsely saying that their medical alert systems are recommended by the American Heart Association, the American Diabetes Association, and the National Institute on Aging. In addition, the telemarketers falsely said that the $34.95 monthly monitoring fee would be charged only after the system has been installed and activated. In reality, consumers were charged immediately, regardless of whether the system was activated or not.
The court order settling the agencies’ charges also imposes a judgment of $22,989,609, the total amount consumers paid for monthly monitoring services for their medical alert devices. The judgment will be suspended as to all of the settling defendants once the individual defendants turn over cash and other assets valued at about $79,000, including $24,000 that was transferred in violation of a court-ordered asset freeze.
Assets that will be sold include a 2008 BMW, a 1984 Hans Christian sailboat, a 2004 Mercedes, and a 2008 Lincoln Navigator. In addition, defendant Joseph Settecase is subject to a second judgment of $39,300, which will not be suspended. This judgment reflects the funds that Settecase retained after selling his Ferrari in violation of the asset freeze and transferring a portion of the proceeds to another defendant.
The defendants subject to the settlement include: 1) Worldwide Info Services, Inc., also doing business as (d/b/a) The Credit Voice; 2) Elite Information Solutions Inc., also d/b/a The Credit Voice; 3) Absolute Solutions Group Inc., also d/b/a The Credit Voice; 4) Global Interactive Technologies, Inc., also d/b/a The Credit Voice Inc.; 5) Global Service Providers, Inc.; 6) Arcagen, Inc., also d/b/a ARI; 7) American Innovative Concepts, Inc.; 8) Unique Information Services Inc.; 9) National Life Network, Inc., and their principals 10) Michael Hilgar; 11) Gary Martin; 12) Joseph Settecase; and 13) Yuluisa Nieves.
One defendant, Live Agent Response 1 LLC, also d/b/a LAR, has not settled, and the FTC and Florida AG are seeking a default judgment against it. In May, the parties stipulated to the dismissal of The Credit Voice, Inc. as a defendant.
The FTC and Florida Attorney General’s Office appreciate the assistance of the following agencies, offices, and organizations in helping to investigate and bring this case: 1) the Indiana Office of the Attorney General; 2) the Minnesota Office of the Attorney General; 3) the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services; 4) the Better Business Bureau Serving Eastern Missouri and Southern Illinois; 5) the American Heart Association; 6) the American Diabetes Association; 7) the National Institute on Aging; 8) the United States Postal Inspection Service, including its Atlanta, Boston, and Houston divisions; and 9) the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office, Financial Crimes Task Force.
Settlement with the FTC and Florida Attorney General Stops Operations that Used Robocalls to Fraudulently Pitch Medical Alert Devices to Seniors
A settlement obtained by the Federal Trade Commission and the Office of the Florida Attorney General permanently shuts down an Orlando-based operation that bilked seniors by using pre-recorded robocalls to sell them supposedly free medical alert systems.
The settlement order bans the defendants from making robocalls, prohibits other telemarketing activities, and bars them from making misrepresentations related to the sale of any product or service. The order includes a judgment of nearly $23 million, most of which will be suspended after the defendants surrender assets including cash, cars, and a boat.
”This case is a great example of how federal and state law enforcement can work together to stop fraudulent telemarketing targeting older consumers,” said Jessica Rich, Director of the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “The FTC will continue to work with its state partners to protect senior citizens from pernicious schemes like this one.”
“We must do everything within our power to protect Florida’s consumers. The scheme we have stopped allegedly targeted Florida’s senior citizens, and we, along with our Federal Trade Commission partners, have held these individuals accountable,” said Attorney General Pam Bondi.
According to the joint agency complaint, announced in January, the defendants violated the FTC Act, the Commission’s Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR), and Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act (FDUTPA) by blasting robocalls to senior citizens falsely stating that they were eligible to receive a free medical alert system that was bought for them by a friend, family member, or acquaintance. Many of the consumers who received the defendants’ calls were elderly, live alone, and have limited or fixed incomes.
Consumers who pressed one (1) on their phones for more information were transferred to a live representative who continued the deception by falsely saying that their medical alert systems are recommended by the American Heart Association, the American Diabetes Association, and the National Institute on Aging. In addition, the telemarketers falsely said that the $34.95 monthly monitoring fee would be charged only after the system has been installed and activated. In reality, consumers were charged immediately, regardless of whether the system was activated or not.
The court order settling the agencies’ charges also imposes a judgment of $22,989,609, the total amount consumers paid for monthly monitoring services for their medical alert devices. The judgment will be suspended as to all of the settling defendants once the individual defendants turn over cash and other assets valued at about $79,000, including $24,000 that was transferred in violation of a court-ordered asset freeze.
Assets that will be sold include a 2008 BMW, a 1984 Hans Christian sailboat, a 2004 Mercedes, and a 2008 Lincoln Navigator. In addition, defendant Joseph Settecase is subject to a second judgment of $39,300, which will not be suspended. This judgment reflects the funds that Settecase retained after selling his Ferrari in violation of the asset freeze and transferring a portion of the proceeds to another defendant.
The defendants subject to the settlement include: 1) Worldwide Info Services, Inc., also doing business as (d/b/a) The Credit Voice; 2) Elite Information Solutions Inc., also d/b/a The Credit Voice; 3) Absolute Solutions Group Inc., also d/b/a The Credit Voice; 4) Global Interactive Technologies, Inc., also d/b/a The Credit Voice Inc.; 5) Global Service Providers, Inc.; 6) Arcagen, Inc., also d/b/a ARI; 7) American Innovative Concepts, Inc.; 8) Unique Information Services Inc.; 9) National Life Network, Inc., and their principals 10) Michael Hilgar; 11) Gary Martin; 12) Joseph Settecase; and 13) Yuluisa Nieves.
One defendant, Live Agent Response 1 LLC, also d/b/a LAR, has not settled, and the FTC and Florida AG are seeking a default judgment against it. In May, the parties stipulated to the dismissal of The Credit Voice, Inc. as a defendant.
The FTC and Florida Attorney General’s Office appreciate the assistance of the following agencies, offices, and organizations in helping to investigate and bring this case: 1) the Indiana Office of the Attorney General; 2) the Minnesota Office of the Attorney General; 3) the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services; 4) the Better Business Bureau Serving Eastern Missouri and Southern Illinois; 5) the American Heart Association; 6) the American Diabetes Association; 7) the National Institute on Aging; 8) the United States Postal Inspection Service, including its Atlanta, Boston, and Houston divisions; and 9) the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office, Financial Crimes Task Force.
FORMER SWISS BANKER CHARGED FOR ROLE IN CASE INVOLVING THE HIDING OF HUNDREDS OF MILLION OF DOLLARS FROM IRS
FROM: U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Thursday, November 13, 2014
Former Swiss Banker Charged in Manhattan Federal Court for Conspiring with U.S. Taxpayers to Hide Hundreds of Millions of Dollars in Swiss Bank Accounts
U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara for the Southern District of New York and Acting Special Agent in Charge Shantelle P. Kitchen of the New York Field Office of the Internal Revenue Service- Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) announced today the indictment of Martin Dunki, a former client advisor and Senior Vice President at a Swiss bank headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland (Swiss Bank No. 1), for conspiring with U.S. taxpayer-clients and others to hide hundreds of millions of dollars in offshore accounts from the IRS, and to evade U.S. taxes on the income earned in those accounts.
“As alleged, Martin Dunki went to great lengths to help his U.S. taxpayer clients secret away millions of dollars in Swiss bank accounts,” said U.S. Attorney Bharara. “With today’s Indictment, Dunki joins the ranks of many other individuals this Office has charged in connection with hiding money in offshore bank accounts from the Internal Revenue Service.”
“The vigorous pursuit of unreported income in hidden offshore accounts is a top priority for the Internal Revenue Service,” said Acting IRS-CI Special Agent in Charge Shantelle P. Kitchen. “As part of our strategy, we will continue to identify and investigate banking and finance professionals who advise U.S. clients about ways to conceal their assets from the U.S. Government.”
According to the allegations contained in the indictment, which was unsealed today in Manhattan federal court, and other publicly available information:
Between 1995 and 2012, Dunki helped U.S. taxpayers evade taxes and hide hundreds of millions of dollars in undeclared accounts at Swiss Bank No. 1. Dunki provided this advice and assistance to U.S. taxpayers in his capacity as a client advisor at Swiss Bank No. 1, where he was employed until early 2012.
One of Dunki’s co-conspirators was Edgar Paltzer, an attorney based in Zurich, Switzerland, who previously pleaded guilty in the Southern District of New York for his role in assisting U.S. taxpayers and others to evade taxes. In 1999, Dunki, Paltzer and an attorney from Santa Barbara, California (Attorney 1), began working together in the management of undeclared accounts at Swiss Bank No. 1 for a number of U.S. taxpayers (collectively, the Dunki/Attorney 1 Clients). The undeclared assets of the Dunki/Attorney 1 Clients were maintained in accounts held in the names of sham foreign foundations, rather than in the names of the clients individually, to help the clients conceal their ownership of these undeclared accounts from the IRS. Initially, the sham foundations that held the accounts were organized under the laws of Liechtenstein. In December 2008, however, Liechtenstein and the United States signed a Tax Information Exchange Treaty (TIEA), under which Liechtenstein agreed to provide the United States with access to certain bank and other information needed to enforce U.S. tax laws. As a result of the TIEA between Liechtenstein and the United States, and to prevent disclosure to the IRS of the undeclared accounts maintained by the Dunki/Attorney 1 Clients, Dunki and others transferred the undeclared assets of the Dunki/Attorney 1 Clients to new accounts at Swiss Bank No. 1, held by new sham foundations organized under the laws of Panama. Moreover, beginning in August 2009, in response to the investigation of another Swiss bank, UBS AG, for helping U.S. taxpayers maintain undeclared accounts in Switzerland, Dunki and others helped to further conceal the undeclared accounts of the Dunki/Attorney 1 Clients by using assets in those accounts to purchase gold and other precious metals. The gold and precious metals, which amounted to tens of millions of dollars, were then transferred to escrow accounts opened at Swiss Bank No. 1 and hidden, along with substantial sums of cash, in a vault in Switzerland for the benefit of the Dunki/Attorney 1 Clients.
In addition to opening, maintaining, and managing undeclared accounts at Swiss Bank No. 1 for the Dunki/Attorney 1 Clients, Dunki opened, maintained and managed undeclared accounts at Swiss Bank No. 1 for other U.S. taxpayers. For instance, between 2000 and 2012, Dunki helped one U.S. taxpayer hide nearly $300 million in assets at Swiss Bank No. 1, in undeclared accounts held in the names of sham Liberian corporations. Further, between 1995 and 2008, Dunki helped another U.S. taxpayer maintain approximately $70 million in an undeclared account at Swiss Bank No. 1. When Dunki met with this taxpayer in the United States, the account statements that Dunki brought with him were deliberately cut off at the top, to omit the account number and the name of Swiss Bank No. 1, because – as Dunki himself acknowledged to the taxpayer – Dunki had to be careful not to leave a trace when going through U.S. customs.
Dunki also helped U.S. taxpayers bring funds back to the United States in ways designed to ensure that U.S. authorities would not discover the existence of the taxpayers’ undeclared accounts at Swiss Bank No. 1. For example, on at least one occasion, Dunki met a U.S. taxpayer in the United States and provided the taxpayer with an envelope containing approximately $10,000 in cash, which represented a cash withdrawal from the taxpayer’s undeclared account at Swiss Bank No. 1. On other occasions, Dunki helped send money from a U.S. taxpayer’s undeclared account at Swiss Bank No. 1 to another account in Geneva, Switzerland, and, from there, to a diamond dealer in Manhattan. Once the money was received by the diamond dealer, the U.S. taxpayer would pick it up and give the diamond dealer a fraction of the money as a commission.
Dunki, 66, a Swiss citizen, resides in Switzerland and has not been arrested. Dunki is charged with one count of conspiracy to defraud the IRS, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. The maximum potential sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.
U.S. Attorney Bharara praised the outstanding efforts of IRS-CI in the investigation, which he noted is ongoing. He also thanked the Justice Department’s Tax Division for their significant assistance in the investigation.
This case is being handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sarah E. Paul and Jason H. Cowley are in charge of the prosecution.
The charge and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Thursday, November 13, 2014
Former Swiss Banker Charged in Manhattan Federal Court for Conspiring with U.S. Taxpayers to Hide Hundreds of Millions of Dollars in Swiss Bank Accounts
U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara for the Southern District of New York and Acting Special Agent in Charge Shantelle P. Kitchen of the New York Field Office of the Internal Revenue Service- Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) announced today the indictment of Martin Dunki, a former client advisor and Senior Vice President at a Swiss bank headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland (Swiss Bank No. 1), for conspiring with U.S. taxpayer-clients and others to hide hundreds of millions of dollars in offshore accounts from the IRS, and to evade U.S. taxes on the income earned in those accounts.
“As alleged, Martin Dunki went to great lengths to help his U.S. taxpayer clients secret away millions of dollars in Swiss bank accounts,” said U.S. Attorney Bharara. “With today’s Indictment, Dunki joins the ranks of many other individuals this Office has charged in connection with hiding money in offshore bank accounts from the Internal Revenue Service.”
“The vigorous pursuit of unreported income in hidden offshore accounts is a top priority for the Internal Revenue Service,” said Acting IRS-CI Special Agent in Charge Shantelle P. Kitchen. “As part of our strategy, we will continue to identify and investigate banking and finance professionals who advise U.S. clients about ways to conceal their assets from the U.S. Government.”
According to the allegations contained in the indictment, which was unsealed today in Manhattan federal court, and other publicly available information:
Between 1995 and 2012, Dunki helped U.S. taxpayers evade taxes and hide hundreds of millions of dollars in undeclared accounts at Swiss Bank No. 1. Dunki provided this advice and assistance to U.S. taxpayers in his capacity as a client advisor at Swiss Bank No. 1, where he was employed until early 2012.
One of Dunki’s co-conspirators was Edgar Paltzer, an attorney based in Zurich, Switzerland, who previously pleaded guilty in the Southern District of New York for his role in assisting U.S. taxpayers and others to evade taxes. In 1999, Dunki, Paltzer and an attorney from Santa Barbara, California (Attorney 1), began working together in the management of undeclared accounts at Swiss Bank No. 1 for a number of U.S. taxpayers (collectively, the Dunki/Attorney 1 Clients). The undeclared assets of the Dunki/Attorney 1 Clients were maintained in accounts held in the names of sham foreign foundations, rather than in the names of the clients individually, to help the clients conceal their ownership of these undeclared accounts from the IRS. Initially, the sham foundations that held the accounts were organized under the laws of Liechtenstein. In December 2008, however, Liechtenstein and the United States signed a Tax Information Exchange Treaty (TIEA), under which Liechtenstein agreed to provide the United States with access to certain bank and other information needed to enforce U.S. tax laws. As a result of the TIEA between Liechtenstein and the United States, and to prevent disclosure to the IRS of the undeclared accounts maintained by the Dunki/Attorney 1 Clients, Dunki and others transferred the undeclared assets of the Dunki/Attorney 1 Clients to new accounts at Swiss Bank No. 1, held by new sham foundations organized under the laws of Panama. Moreover, beginning in August 2009, in response to the investigation of another Swiss bank, UBS AG, for helping U.S. taxpayers maintain undeclared accounts in Switzerland, Dunki and others helped to further conceal the undeclared accounts of the Dunki/Attorney 1 Clients by using assets in those accounts to purchase gold and other precious metals. The gold and precious metals, which amounted to tens of millions of dollars, were then transferred to escrow accounts opened at Swiss Bank No. 1 and hidden, along with substantial sums of cash, in a vault in Switzerland for the benefit of the Dunki/Attorney 1 Clients.
In addition to opening, maintaining, and managing undeclared accounts at Swiss Bank No. 1 for the Dunki/Attorney 1 Clients, Dunki opened, maintained and managed undeclared accounts at Swiss Bank No. 1 for other U.S. taxpayers. For instance, between 2000 and 2012, Dunki helped one U.S. taxpayer hide nearly $300 million in assets at Swiss Bank No. 1, in undeclared accounts held in the names of sham Liberian corporations. Further, between 1995 and 2008, Dunki helped another U.S. taxpayer maintain approximately $70 million in an undeclared account at Swiss Bank No. 1. When Dunki met with this taxpayer in the United States, the account statements that Dunki brought with him were deliberately cut off at the top, to omit the account number and the name of Swiss Bank No. 1, because – as Dunki himself acknowledged to the taxpayer – Dunki had to be careful not to leave a trace when going through U.S. customs.
Dunki also helped U.S. taxpayers bring funds back to the United States in ways designed to ensure that U.S. authorities would not discover the existence of the taxpayers’ undeclared accounts at Swiss Bank No. 1. For example, on at least one occasion, Dunki met a U.S. taxpayer in the United States and provided the taxpayer with an envelope containing approximately $10,000 in cash, which represented a cash withdrawal from the taxpayer’s undeclared account at Swiss Bank No. 1. On other occasions, Dunki helped send money from a U.S. taxpayer’s undeclared account at Swiss Bank No. 1 to another account in Geneva, Switzerland, and, from there, to a diamond dealer in Manhattan. Once the money was received by the diamond dealer, the U.S. taxpayer would pick it up and give the diamond dealer a fraction of the money as a commission.
Dunki, 66, a Swiss citizen, resides in Switzerland and has not been arrested. Dunki is charged with one count of conspiracy to defraud the IRS, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. The maximum potential sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.
U.S. Attorney Bharara praised the outstanding efforts of IRS-CI in the investigation, which he noted is ongoing. He also thanked the Justice Department’s Tax Division for their significant assistance in the investigation.
This case is being handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sarah E. Paul and Jason H. Cowley are in charge of the prosecution.
The charge and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
A.G. HOLDER'S REMARKS AFTER MEETING WITH EU OFFICIALS REGARDING FOREIGN TERRORIST FIGHTERS AND COOPERATION
FROM: U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Remarks by Attorney General Holder at the Media Availability Following Meeting with European Union Officials About Foreign Terrorist Fighters and Other Areas of Mutual Concern
Washington, DCUnited States ~ Thursday, November 13, 2014
Thank you all for being here. It has been a pleasure to welcome so many of my colleagues and counterparts to Washington, D.C., for this week’s important ministerial meeting.
Over the past two days, we have discussed the considerable work that’s currently enabling the U.S. and the EU to coordinate on common threats – in addition to the steps that we can, and must, take together in the days ahead.
In the last year alone, our nations have taken tough, coordinated action against cyber criminals, online child pornographers, and transnational organized crime. We had the privilege of hearing today from some of our lead prosecutors on the Game Over Zeus cyber investigation and the action against Tor dark markets, including the second edition of the Silk Road website, that have taken place over the past few days. Both, of course, involved U.S. authorities and multiple EU member states.
And we also have heard how we have worked together against traditional organized crime groups, including ’Ndranghta – where our coordinated work with Italy led to 25 arrests in New York and Calabria earlier this year.
Importantly, we also discussed a number of steps that the U.S. – and the EU and its member states – can take together to address the issue of foreign terrorist fighters, including through information sharing, investigations and prosecutions, and countering violent extremism.
One important area, we agreed, was developing the capabilities of our partner governments to deal with foreign terrorist fighters.
The Department of Justice is part of a U.S. Government-wide effort in this regard.
I can announce today that, with the support of the State Department’s Bureau of Counterterrorism, the Department of Justice has detailed federal prosecutors and senior law enforcement advisors to reside in key regions – including the Balkans, the Middle East and North Africa – to work with countries seeking to increase their capacity to investigate and prosecute foreign terrorist fighters.
The Department of Justice has advisors residing in four Balkans countries. And we will soon be placing a regional counterterrorism advisor in the area.
Justice Department prosecutors have also been placed in ten countries in the Middle East and North Africa. These personnel will provide critical assistance to our allies in order to help prosecute those who return from the Syrian region bent on committing acts of terrorism.
Our counterterrorism prosecutors here in the U.S. also travel to other countries to collaborate with their counterparts.
And we have assigned a U.S. prosecutor as the Interim Director of the International Institute for Justice and the Rule of Law, or IIJ – located in Malta – which provides a forum to discuss the Foreign Terrorist Fighter problem and work with international partners to arrive at solutions.
The Justice Department provides vital expertise and support to the IIJ, in partnership with the State Department’s Bureau of Counterterrorism, and in collaboration with the UN Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate.
Finally, we are working with other partners, including the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, to help build the capacity of partners world-wide to engage in mutual legal assistance on cases involving terrorism and transnational crime.
Our goal in all these efforts is to build the capacity to fight Foreign Terrorist Fighters within the rule of law – so we can stop the flow of fighters into conflict regions, stem the tide of violence, and aggressively combat violent extremism.
As our discussions have shown, in all of these areas, we can succeed only as partners. And I am happy to have partners such as these on both sides of the Atlantic.
I appreciate this chance to join so many invaluable colleagues and counterparts here in Washington, as we keep advancing these critical discussions – and building on the great work that’s underway. And I look forward to all that our nations must – and surely will – achieve together in the months and years ahead.
Thank you.
Remarks by Attorney General Holder at the Media Availability Following Meeting with European Union Officials About Foreign Terrorist Fighters and Other Areas of Mutual Concern
Washington, DCUnited States ~ Thursday, November 13, 2014
Thank you all for being here. It has been a pleasure to welcome so many of my colleagues and counterparts to Washington, D.C., for this week’s important ministerial meeting.
Over the past two days, we have discussed the considerable work that’s currently enabling the U.S. and the EU to coordinate on common threats – in addition to the steps that we can, and must, take together in the days ahead.
In the last year alone, our nations have taken tough, coordinated action against cyber criminals, online child pornographers, and transnational organized crime. We had the privilege of hearing today from some of our lead prosecutors on the Game Over Zeus cyber investigation and the action against Tor dark markets, including the second edition of the Silk Road website, that have taken place over the past few days. Both, of course, involved U.S. authorities and multiple EU member states.
And we also have heard how we have worked together against traditional organized crime groups, including ’Ndranghta – where our coordinated work with Italy led to 25 arrests in New York and Calabria earlier this year.
Importantly, we also discussed a number of steps that the U.S. – and the EU and its member states – can take together to address the issue of foreign terrorist fighters, including through information sharing, investigations and prosecutions, and countering violent extremism.
One important area, we agreed, was developing the capabilities of our partner governments to deal with foreign terrorist fighters.
The Department of Justice is part of a U.S. Government-wide effort in this regard.
I can announce today that, with the support of the State Department’s Bureau of Counterterrorism, the Department of Justice has detailed federal prosecutors and senior law enforcement advisors to reside in key regions – including the Balkans, the Middle East and North Africa – to work with countries seeking to increase their capacity to investigate and prosecute foreign terrorist fighters.
The Department of Justice has advisors residing in four Balkans countries. And we will soon be placing a regional counterterrorism advisor in the area.
Justice Department prosecutors have also been placed in ten countries in the Middle East and North Africa. These personnel will provide critical assistance to our allies in order to help prosecute those who return from the Syrian region bent on committing acts of terrorism.
Our counterterrorism prosecutors here in the U.S. also travel to other countries to collaborate with their counterparts.
And we have assigned a U.S. prosecutor as the Interim Director of the International Institute for Justice and the Rule of Law, or IIJ – located in Malta – which provides a forum to discuss the Foreign Terrorist Fighter problem and work with international partners to arrive at solutions.
The Justice Department provides vital expertise and support to the IIJ, in partnership with the State Department’s Bureau of Counterterrorism, and in collaboration with the UN Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate.
Finally, we are working with other partners, including the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, to help build the capacity of partners world-wide to engage in mutual legal assistance on cases involving terrorism and transnational crime.
Our goal in all these efforts is to build the capacity to fight Foreign Terrorist Fighters within the rule of law – so we can stop the flow of fighters into conflict regions, stem the tide of violence, and aggressively combat violent extremism.
As our discussions have shown, in all of these areas, we can succeed only as partners. And I am happy to have partners such as these on both sides of the Atlantic.
I appreciate this chance to join so many invaluable colleagues and counterparts here in Washington, as we keep advancing these critical discussions – and building on the great work that’s underway. And I look forward to all that our nations must – and surely will – achieve together in the months and years ahead.
Thank you.
THE RELATIONSHIP OF THE "MICROBIOME" AND INFECTIOUS DISEASE OUTBREAKS
FROM: THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
"Microbiome" of Sierra Nevada yellow-legged frogs shifts during infectious disease outbreaks
Interaction between microbiome and infectious pathogens may drive disease
The adult human body is made up of some 37 trillion cells. But microbes, mainly bacteria, outnumber our body's cells by a ratio of 10-to-1.
Scientists now recognize that this huge community of benign microbes--called the microbiome--affects the health, development and evolution of all multicellular organisms, including humans.
Studies show that interactions between such microbiomes and pathogens, or disease-causing microorganisms, can have profound effects on infectious diseases.
In results of a new study, scientists from the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) demonstrate that a fungal pathogen of amphibians does just that. The findings appear this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Infectious pathogens may disrupt the microbiome
Experiments with model organisms such as mice have shown that infectious pathogens can disrupt the microbiome, but the extent to which this process shapes disease outbreaks is largely unknown.
The work, conducted by scientists Cherie Briggs and Andrea Jani of UCSB, addresses a gap in disease ecology and microbiome research.
"This study shows the importance of knowing how the many benign microbes living on and in our bodies interact with those that cause disease," says Sam Scheiner, National Science Foundation program director for the joint NSF-NIH-USDA Ecology and Evolution of Infectious Disease Program, which funded the research.
"The results are important for developing responses to a disease that's causing amphibians to go extinct worldwide," says Scheiner, "and have implications for future studies of human health."
Jani and Briggs found that the fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) drives changes in the frogs' skin microbiomes during disease outbreaks in four populations of the Sierra Nevada yellow-legged frog (Rana sierrae).
Chytridiomycosis, an infectious disease of amphibian skin caused by the Bd pathogen, is a leading cause of amphibian losses worldwide.
"Since amphibian skin is the organ infected by Bd, there has been a lot of interest in how anti-fungal properties of some skin bacteria may protect the frogs," says Briggs.
"We focused on the flip side of this interaction: how infection with Bd can disrupt the skin microbial community."
Next-generation DNA sequencing documents changes
"We used next-generation DNA sequencing to document shifts in skin bacteria communities of the frogs during Bd outbreaks," Jani says.
"We paired field surveys with laboratory infection experiments, demonstrating a causal relationship in which Bd altered the frog's microbiome."
The researchers found that the severity of infection with Bd is strongly correlated with the composition of bacteria communities on the frogs' skin.
"It was surprising that across the different frog populations, there was a striking consistency in the correlation with Bd," says Jani.
One of the populations crashed due to Bd infection, but the other three populations tolerated Bd infections.
"There are different disease dynamics going on," says Jani, "yet there's a similar relationship between the microbiome and Bd."
Answers still elusive
The researchers were unable to conclusively determine whether the Bd-induced disturbance of the frog skin microbiome contributed to the disease symptoms.
The pathogens may interact with the microbiome directly or by manipulating the frogs' immune systems.
It's possible, the biologists say, that the pathogens directly compete with certain bacteria for space or resources or release compounds that affect some bacteria species.
Or the pathogens may control frog immune responses to favor their own growth and disrupt the normal microbiome.
The researchers say that promise exists for probiotic treatments as a way of fighting the decline of frogs due to Bd, but they're careful to qualify the statement.
There is a lot they still don't understand about the environmental effects of such treatments or the interactions between the frogs' microbiomes and the Bd pathogen.
-- Cheryl Dybas, NSF
-- Julie Cohen, UCSB (
Related Programs
Ecology of infectious disease
Sunday, November 16, 2014
PRESIDENT OBAMA'S STATEMENT ON DEATH OF ABDUL-RAHMAN KASSIG AT THE HANDS OF ISIL
FROM: THE WHITE HOUSE
November 16, 2014
Statement by the President on the Death of Abdul-Rahman Kassig
Today we offer our prayers and condolences to the parents and family of Abdul-Rahman Kassig, also known to us as Peter. We cannot begin to imagine their anguish at this painful time.
Abdul-Rahman was taken from us in an act of pure evil by a terrorist group that the world rightly associates with inhumanity. Like Jim Foley and Steven Sotloff before him, his life and deeds stand in stark contrast to everything that ISIL represents. While ISIL revels in the slaughter of innocents, including Muslims, and is bent only on sowing death and destruction, Abdul-Rahman was a humanitarian who worked to save the lives of Syrians injured and dispossessed by the Syrian conflict. While ISIL exploits the tragedy in Syria to advance their own selfish aims, Abdul-Rahman was so moved by the anguish and suffering of Syrian civilians that he traveled to Lebanon to work in a hospital treating refugees. Later, he established an aid group, SERA, to provide assistance to Syrian refugees and displaced persons in Lebanon and Syria. These were the selfless acts of an individual who cared deeply about the plight of the Syrian people.
ISIL's actions represent no faith, least of all the Muslim faith which Abdul-Rahman adopted as his own. Today we grieve together, yet we also recall that the indomitable spirit of goodness and perseverance that burned so brightly in Abdul-Rahman Kassig, and which binds humanity together, ultimately is the light that will prevail over the darkness of ISIL.
November 16, 2014
Statement by the President on the Death of Abdul-Rahman Kassig
Today we offer our prayers and condolences to the parents and family of Abdul-Rahman Kassig, also known to us as Peter. We cannot begin to imagine their anguish at this painful time.
Abdul-Rahman was taken from us in an act of pure evil by a terrorist group that the world rightly associates with inhumanity. Like Jim Foley and Steven Sotloff before him, his life and deeds stand in stark contrast to everything that ISIL represents. While ISIL revels in the slaughter of innocents, including Muslims, and is bent only on sowing death and destruction, Abdul-Rahman was a humanitarian who worked to save the lives of Syrians injured and dispossessed by the Syrian conflict. While ISIL exploits the tragedy in Syria to advance their own selfish aims, Abdul-Rahman was so moved by the anguish and suffering of Syrian civilians that he traveled to Lebanon to work in a hospital treating refugees. Later, he established an aid group, SERA, to provide assistance to Syrian refugees and displaced persons in Lebanon and Syria. These were the selfless acts of an individual who cared deeply about the plight of the Syrian people.
ISIL's actions represent no faith, least of all the Muslim faith which Abdul-Rahman adopted as his own. Today we grieve together, yet we also recall that the indomitable spirit of goodness and perseverance that burned so brightly in Abdul-Rahman Kassig, and which binds humanity together, ultimately is the light that will prevail over the darkness of ISIL.
U.S.-CANADIAN OFFICIALS DISCUSS GLOBAL SECURITY
FROM: U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
Release No: NR-571-14
November 14, 2014
November 14, 2014
Readout of Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert Work's meeting with the Canadian Deputy Minister of Defense Richard Fadden
Deputy Secretary of Defense Spokesperson Navy Lt. Cmdr. Courtney Hillson provided the following readout:
Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert Work met with the Canadian Deputy Minister of Defense Richard Fadden this afternoon at the Pentagon.
Work led off the meeting by extending his personal condolences for the loss of Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent and Corporal Nathan Cirillo last month.
The two defense leaders then discussed global security challenges and their collaboration on counter-ISIL operations in Iraq. Work commended Canada for its contributions, particularly in conducting air strikes against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) targets, and the delivery of humanitarian aid to Kurdish forces in Northern Iraq.
Deputy Secretary Work and Deputy Minister Fadden also discussed the situation in Ukraine, noting their ongoing efforts to provide assistance to Ukraine and both nations' contributions to NATO reassurance measures.
Deputy Secretary Work provided Deputy Minister Fadden with an overview of the department's review of our nuclear enterprise. He highlighted that our nuclear arsenal is safe, secure, and effective and that the department is taking action to address the issues identified in the review.
They concluded the meeting by reaffirming their commitment to sustaining a strong bilateral relationship and to continue working together on issues that transverse their shared borders.
MAN INDICTED FOR ALLEGEDLY TEACHING CUSTOMERS TO LIE DURING POLYGRAPH EXAMINATIONS
FROM: U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Friday, November 14, 2014
Owner of 'Polygraph.com' Indicted for Allegedly Training Customers to Lie During Federally Administered Polygraph Examinations
A former Oklahoma City law enforcement officer and owner of “Polygraph.com” has been indicted on obstruction of justice and mail fraud charges for allegedly training customers to lie and conceal crimes during polygraph examinations.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Acting Assistant Commissioner Mark Morgan of U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Internal Affairs and Special Agent in Charge James E. Finch of the FBI’s Oklahoma City Field Office made the announcement.
Douglas Williams, 69, of Norman, Oklahoma, was charged in a five-count indictment in the Western District of Oklahoma with mail fraud and obstruction. According to allegations in the indictment, Williams, the owner and operator of “Polygraph.com,” marketed his training services to people appearing for polygraph examinations before federal law enforcement agencies, federal intelligence agencies, and state and local law enforcement agencies, as well as people required to take polygraph examinations under the terms of their parole or probation.
The indictment further alleges that Williams trained an individual posing as a federal law enforcement officer to lie and conceal involvement in criminal activity from an internal agency investigation. Williams is also alleged to have trained a second individual posing as an applicant seeking federal employment to lie and conceal crimes in a pre-employment polygraph examination. Williams, who was paid for both training sessions, is alleged to have instructed the individuals to deny having received his polygraph training.
The charges contained in an indictment are merely accusations, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The investigation is being investigated by U.S. Custom and Border Protection’s Office of Internal Affairs and the FBI’s Oklahoma City Field Office. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Mark Angehr and Brian K. Kidd of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section.
Friday, November 14, 2014
Owner of 'Polygraph.com' Indicted for Allegedly Training Customers to Lie During Federally Administered Polygraph Examinations
A former Oklahoma City law enforcement officer and owner of “Polygraph.com” has been indicted on obstruction of justice and mail fraud charges for allegedly training customers to lie and conceal crimes during polygraph examinations.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Acting Assistant Commissioner Mark Morgan of U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Internal Affairs and Special Agent in Charge James E. Finch of the FBI’s Oklahoma City Field Office made the announcement.
Douglas Williams, 69, of Norman, Oklahoma, was charged in a five-count indictment in the Western District of Oklahoma with mail fraud and obstruction. According to allegations in the indictment, Williams, the owner and operator of “Polygraph.com,” marketed his training services to people appearing for polygraph examinations before federal law enforcement agencies, federal intelligence agencies, and state and local law enforcement agencies, as well as people required to take polygraph examinations under the terms of their parole or probation.
The indictment further alleges that Williams trained an individual posing as a federal law enforcement officer to lie and conceal involvement in criminal activity from an internal agency investigation. Williams is also alleged to have trained a second individual posing as an applicant seeking federal employment to lie and conceal crimes in a pre-employment polygraph examination. Williams, who was paid for both training sessions, is alleged to have instructed the individuals to deny having received his polygraph training.
The charges contained in an indictment are merely accusations, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The investigation is being investigated by U.S. Custom and Border Protection’s Office of Internal Affairs and the FBI’s Oklahoma City Field Office. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Mark Angehr and Brian K. Kidd of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section.
CATHERINE NOVELLI'S REMARKS ON CONNECTIVITY AND POLICY
FROM: THE STATE DEPARTMENT
Policy Choices for a Connected World
Remarks
Catherine A. Novelli
Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment
University of Pretoria
Pretoria, South Africa
November 13, 2014
Good afternoon. I am delighted to be here to speak at this distinguished university and to visit your beautiful country. Thank you so much for inviting me. South Africa is the last stop on an Africa trip that included Tanzania and Kenya. Along the way, I’ve seen incredible energy and dynamism.
I’d like to speak today about a new economic reality and the policy choices we all face. These choices are in front of every government, business, university, and individual as they determine their economic future. The reality is, the world is more connected than ever before, with goods, services, information, people, and financial resources crossing borders at an unprecedented rate.
Before this speech and after it – perhaps during it – you will be looking at mobile devices, tapping into the internet, engaging in social media, and conducting business and commercial transactions on line. The object in your hand, perhaps a smart phone, is the result of a manufacturing process that started with innovation and design at various locations around the world, manufacturing at a host of other sites, and distribution and marketing from even different corners of the globe.
That’s the reality of today’s world, whether you are in South Africa, Kenya and Tanzania – as I was in recent days – or Washington, DC, or London or Tokyo. Global supply chains have come to define the way we do business in today’s economy.
The Connected World
McKinsey Global Institute recently wrote that cross-border flows of goods and services totaled $26 trillion in 2012. This represents 36 percent of global gross domestic product, more than 50 percent larger than 20 years ago. About half of those flows are knowledge-intensive, compared to labor-intensive, and the proportion is growing. Intermediate goods – ones that are incorporated into a finished product—have become an ever-increasing proportion of trade. These goods in turn are fueling exports from the countries that have imported them. Over a quarter of the total value of global exports is made up of intermediate imports, and this share has nearly doubled since 1970. These statistics bring to light the changing nature of business. Older models of single-country, soup-to-nuts manufacturing arrangements are giving way to globally integrated supply chains. Innovation and design come from a worldwide network of research and development. Raw materials and components flow from site to site, supported by worldwide procurement systems, logistic hubs and warehousing. Marketing and financial services may be at other locales. Consumers are targeted for sales around the globe.
How Countries Can Take Advantage of Value Chains
So what are the implications for countries, companies and citizens of a world where global value chains are increasingly dominating trade? What policies should countries follow to benefit the most from value chains? I would suggest that countries need to focus on five policy areas as they enable their citizens to fully reap the benefits of today’s connected world.
First, open markets facilitated by fast customs procedures, international product standards and modern infrastructure is critical. Supply chain production is more complex than traditional export systems, with more import and export transactions for each unit of value added. This means that as goods and services move across multiple borders on their way to the final market, even small barriers can add up and affect the competitiveness of a product.
In the connected world, policies that may have offered protection to domestic firms in an earlier era, like import substitution, local content requirements, or data localization obligations, now make them less attractive as supply chain partners. An OECD study of local content requirements, found that local content requirements not only made countries less innovative, these requirements actually harmed the domestic market by raising prices for the public for products of lesser quality.
Because of just-in time production, concentrating on bread and butter trade facilitation issues like customs procedures, transportation and modern infrastructure is all the more important. Since products need to be sold in many markets, adhering to international standards is essential for their international viability.
Second, countries need to adopt legal and regulatory processes for doing business that are transparent, predictable, streamlined and include input from all stakeholders. The ability for investors to enforce contracts, and high standards for labor and environmental protections along with an intolerance for corruption are all key considerations for businesses in deciding where to locate or source.
I have heard some voices suggest that these “doing business” issues don’t matter, and that companies merely want to find the lowest labor costs. But in my experience, that’s not true. The ability to do business transparently matters a great deal to the bottom line. Morever, branded companies value their brand image, and don’t want to risk harming it due to scandals over labor or environmental conditions. Nor do they want to be in the position of being labor and environment regulators. Besides the moral issues surrounding poor labor and environmental enforcement, the need to constantly oversee these practices among suppliers when countries are not policing them themselves adds a great deal of cost.
Fostering Global Collaboration Through the Internet
Third, an open Internet, access to broadband, and free flows of data are essential to competitiveness. As I mentioned earlier, global supply chains are dynamic and highly collaborative, with teams of suppliers and purchasers from various stages of the value chain working together across borders to solve design, manufacturing, and marketing problems. This really is the essence of today’s connected world. This cannot occur without internet.
The best way to unleash the creativity and ingenuity of your people, your companies, and your universities is to let them connect with others to develop new ideas and start new businesses.
There is an inaccurate perception that the Internet mostly benefits industrialized countries. The truth is that the Internet’s economic benefits are increasingly shifting to the developing world. The Internet economy is growing at 15 to 25 percent per year in developing countries, double the rate in the developed world. In Turkey, for example, smaller businesses that use the web have experienced revenue growth 22 percent higher than those that do not. Here in South Africa, Ronnie Apteker founded the first Internet service provider and enabled countless new technology businesses. I am looking forward to meeting some of those new entrepreneurs tomorrow.
A recent report by the American think tank, the Brookings Institution, showed how the internet and cross-border data flows are providing opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises. The report notes that SMEs on eBay are almost as likely to export as large businesses and, in fact, over 80 percent of SMEs export to five or more countries.
Fourth, strong intellectual property protection allows countries to be part of a higher-value global supply chain. At a recent conference in Washington, General Electric noted that it maintains research and development centers in Shanghai, Bangalore, Munich, Rio de Janeiro and New York. Many other international firms have similar R&D footprints. This geographic diversity allows for an R&D operation that, given time zones, literally never stops. Companies look at many factors when considering where to locate their R&D centers, including the level of education, vocational training, and scientific collaboration. But the level of intellectual property protection is also critical.
Closely related to this is a fifth policy— an open market for services. We often think of trade as the physical movement of goods from place to place. But in today’s global economy, knowledge-intensive trade and investment, particularly in the services sector, plays an increasingly central role.
Economists from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development have found that services now constitute 50% of the manufacturing process. Insurance, accounting and other financial services, and creative and design services, are all integral parts of supply chains. But in many countries, markets for these services are closed, or heavily regulated. If the goal is to maximize participation in global value chains, closed market policies like these no longer make sense.
Regional Trade Liberalization
The policies I have set forth are important, but not sufficient to be globally competitive. In addition to being islands of good practices, countries need to join together to create regions where those good practices are integrated.
Last August, I chaired a roundtable on global supply chains at the U.S-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington. We invited corporate representatives as well as trade, investment, and economic ministers from African countries.
One of the most interesting themes was the need to create regional markets in Africa. Companies were clear that the markets in many individual countries in Africa are too small to support operations just for that market. That does not mean that there are no opportunities for smaller countries to benefit from the global supply chain. In fact, recent research indicates that, on average, regional trade agreements increase member countries’ trade about 86 percent within 15 years.
The European Union is perhaps the largest, best known and most successful example or regional integration. There is also the North American Free Trade Agreement, which just celebrated its 20th anniversary. With Asia, we are now negotiating a Trans-Pacific Partnership, and with Europe we have launched talks on a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership.
Arrangements such as these, which lower barriers to trade and investment, deliver a big boost to commerce in member countries. These arrangements also offer ready-made hubs for setting up a global supply chain. Countries who haven’t established some type of true regional integration will find it harder to compete for the investment that a global supply chain brings.
In Africa, regional organizations like the Economic Community of West African States, the East African Community, and the Southern African Customs Union are working to create regional integration and address barriers so that countries can achieve economies of scale and maximize their comparative advantages. Nelson Mandela recognized the importance of looking at regional integration when he conceived of Development Corridors along cross-border transportation routes.
Africa and Supply Chains
Here in South Africa, I had a wonderful illustration of the connected world yesterday at the Ford factory in Silverton. It is an American investment, creating jobs in South Africa. Inputs, like raw materials and components, arrive from various locations around the world. Local workers assemble those components and the factory exports to other African countries and to European markets.
The United States recognizes Africa as a dynamic continent where economies are growing and innovation is taking root. Many African countries are reaping the benefits of economic reforms, better governance and social investments. We would like to be a part of this positive change and contribute to Africa taking its place in the global supply chain, so that the people of Africa can reap the benefits of global growth.
The United States is supporting Africa’s growth through the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), the Trade Africa Initiative, and similar efforts. The Millennium Challenge Corporation, for example, has issued grants of almost $10 billion to support projects in sectors like transportation, education, and property rights and land policy. Through President Obama’s Power Africa initiative, a number of U.S. agencies are making available $7 billion in financial assistance to double access to power in six sub-Saharan African countries.
Some continue to argue that African nations need “protectionism” to compete. I disagree. Africans are strong, resilient, and ingenious, and I have seen in my meetings with entrepreneurs, businesses, and students people who can go toe-to-toe with the most competitive companies in the world. We need to go forward together towards openness, high standards, and opportunity for all of our citizens.
Thank you very much.
Policy Choices for a Connected World
Remarks
Catherine A. Novelli
Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment
University of Pretoria
Pretoria, South Africa
November 13, 2014
Good afternoon. I am delighted to be here to speak at this distinguished university and to visit your beautiful country. Thank you so much for inviting me. South Africa is the last stop on an Africa trip that included Tanzania and Kenya. Along the way, I’ve seen incredible energy and dynamism.
I’d like to speak today about a new economic reality and the policy choices we all face. These choices are in front of every government, business, university, and individual as they determine their economic future. The reality is, the world is more connected than ever before, with goods, services, information, people, and financial resources crossing borders at an unprecedented rate.
Before this speech and after it – perhaps during it – you will be looking at mobile devices, tapping into the internet, engaging in social media, and conducting business and commercial transactions on line. The object in your hand, perhaps a smart phone, is the result of a manufacturing process that started with innovation and design at various locations around the world, manufacturing at a host of other sites, and distribution and marketing from even different corners of the globe.
That’s the reality of today’s world, whether you are in South Africa, Kenya and Tanzania – as I was in recent days – or Washington, DC, or London or Tokyo. Global supply chains have come to define the way we do business in today’s economy.
The Connected World
McKinsey Global Institute recently wrote that cross-border flows of goods and services totaled $26 trillion in 2012. This represents 36 percent of global gross domestic product, more than 50 percent larger than 20 years ago. About half of those flows are knowledge-intensive, compared to labor-intensive, and the proportion is growing. Intermediate goods – ones that are incorporated into a finished product—have become an ever-increasing proportion of trade. These goods in turn are fueling exports from the countries that have imported them. Over a quarter of the total value of global exports is made up of intermediate imports, and this share has nearly doubled since 1970. These statistics bring to light the changing nature of business. Older models of single-country, soup-to-nuts manufacturing arrangements are giving way to globally integrated supply chains. Innovation and design come from a worldwide network of research and development. Raw materials and components flow from site to site, supported by worldwide procurement systems, logistic hubs and warehousing. Marketing and financial services may be at other locales. Consumers are targeted for sales around the globe.
How Countries Can Take Advantage of Value Chains
So what are the implications for countries, companies and citizens of a world where global value chains are increasingly dominating trade? What policies should countries follow to benefit the most from value chains? I would suggest that countries need to focus on five policy areas as they enable their citizens to fully reap the benefits of today’s connected world.
First, open markets facilitated by fast customs procedures, international product standards and modern infrastructure is critical. Supply chain production is more complex than traditional export systems, with more import and export transactions for each unit of value added. This means that as goods and services move across multiple borders on their way to the final market, even small barriers can add up and affect the competitiveness of a product.
In the connected world, policies that may have offered protection to domestic firms in an earlier era, like import substitution, local content requirements, or data localization obligations, now make them less attractive as supply chain partners. An OECD study of local content requirements, found that local content requirements not only made countries less innovative, these requirements actually harmed the domestic market by raising prices for the public for products of lesser quality.
Because of just-in time production, concentrating on bread and butter trade facilitation issues like customs procedures, transportation and modern infrastructure is all the more important. Since products need to be sold in many markets, adhering to international standards is essential for their international viability.
Second, countries need to adopt legal and regulatory processes for doing business that are transparent, predictable, streamlined and include input from all stakeholders. The ability for investors to enforce contracts, and high standards for labor and environmental protections along with an intolerance for corruption are all key considerations for businesses in deciding where to locate or source.
I have heard some voices suggest that these “doing business” issues don’t matter, and that companies merely want to find the lowest labor costs. But in my experience, that’s not true. The ability to do business transparently matters a great deal to the bottom line. Morever, branded companies value their brand image, and don’t want to risk harming it due to scandals over labor or environmental conditions. Nor do they want to be in the position of being labor and environment regulators. Besides the moral issues surrounding poor labor and environmental enforcement, the need to constantly oversee these practices among suppliers when countries are not policing them themselves adds a great deal of cost.
Fostering Global Collaboration Through the Internet
Third, an open Internet, access to broadband, and free flows of data are essential to competitiveness. As I mentioned earlier, global supply chains are dynamic and highly collaborative, with teams of suppliers and purchasers from various stages of the value chain working together across borders to solve design, manufacturing, and marketing problems. This really is the essence of today’s connected world. This cannot occur without internet.
The best way to unleash the creativity and ingenuity of your people, your companies, and your universities is to let them connect with others to develop new ideas and start new businesses.
There is an inaccurate perception that the Internet mostly benefits industrialized countries. The truth is that the Internet’s economic benefits are increasingly shifting to the developing world. The Internet economy is growing at 15 to 25 percent per year in developing countries, double the rate in the developed world. In Turkey, for example, smaller businesses that use the web have experienced revenue growth 22 percent higher than those that do not. Here in South Africa, Ronnie Apteker founded the first Internet service provider and enabled countless new technology businesses. I am looking forward to meeting some of those new entrepreneurs tomorrow.
A recent report by the American think tank, the Brookings Institution, showed how the internet and cross-border data flows are providing opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises. The report notes that SMEs on eBay are almost as likely to export as large businesses and, in fact, over 80 percent of SMEs export to five or more countries.
Fourth, strong intellectual property protection allows countries to be part of a higher-value global supply chain. At a recent conference in Washington, General Electric noted that it maintains research and development centers in Shanghai, Bangalore, Munich, Rio de Janeiro and New York. Many other international firms have similar R&D footprints. This geographic diversity allows for an R&D operation that, given time zones, literally never stops. Companies look at many factors when considering where to locate their R&D centers, including the level of education, vocational training, and scientific collaboration. But the level of intellectual property protection is also critical.
Closely related to this is a fifth policy— an open market for services. We often think of trade as the physical movement of goods from place to place. But in today’s global economy, knowledge-intensive trade and investment, particularly in the services sector, plays an increasingly central role.
Economists from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development have found that services now constitute 50% of the manufacturing process. Insurance, accounting and other financial services, and creative and design services, are all integral parts of supply chains. But in many countries, markets for these services are closed, or heavily regulated. If the goal is to maximize participation in global value chains, closed market policies like these no longer make sense.
Regional Trade Liberalization
The policies I have set forth are important, but not sufficient to be globally competitive. In addition to being islands of good practices, countries need to join together to create regions where those good practices are integrated.
Last August, I chaired a roundtable on global supply chains at the U.S-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington. We invited corporate representatives as well as trade, investment, and economic ministers from African countries.
One of the most interesting themes was the need to create regional markets in Africa. Companies were clear that the markets in many individual countries in Africa are too small to support operations just for that market. That does not mean that there are no opportunities for smaller countries to benefit from the global supply chain. In fact, recent research indicates that, on average, regional trade agreements increase member countries’ trade about 86 percent within 15 years.
The European Union is perhaps the largest, best known and most successful example or regional integration. There is also the North American Free Trade Agreement, which just celebrated its 20th anniversary. With Asia, we are now negotiating a Trans-Pacific Partnership, and with Europe we have launched talks on a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership.
Arrangements such as these, which lower barriers to trade and investment, deliver a big boost to commerce in member countries. These arrangements also offer ready-made hubs for setting up a global supply chain. Countries who haven’t established some type of true regional integration will find it harder to compete for the investment that a global supply chain brings.
In Africa, regional organizations like the Economic Community of West African States, the East African Community, and the Southern African Customs Union are working to create regional integration and address barriers so that countries can achieve economies of scale and maximize their comparative advantages. Nelson Mandela recognized the importance of looking at regional integration when he conceived of Development Corridors along cross-border transportation routes.
Africa and Supply Chains
Here in South Africa, I had a wonderful illustration of the connected world yesterday at the Ford factory in Silverton. It is an American investment, creating jobs in South Africa. Inputs, like raw materials and components, arrive from various locations around the world. Local workers assemble those components and the factory exports to other African countries and to European markets.
The United States recognizes Africa as a dynamic continent where economies are growing and innovation is taking root. Many African countries are reaping the benefits of economic reforms, better governance and social investments. We would like to be a part of this positive change and contribute to Africa taking its place in the global supply chain, so that the people of Africa can reap the benefits of global growth.
The United States is supporting Africa’s growth through the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), the Trade Africa Initiative, and similar efforts. The Millennium Challenge Corporation, for example, has issued grants of almost $10 billion to support projects in sectors like transportation, education, and property rights and land policy. Through President Obama’s Power Africa initiative, a number of U.S. agencies are making available $7 billion in financial assistance to double access to power in six sub-Saharan African countries.
Some continue to argue that African nations need “protectionism” to compete. I disagree. Africans are strong, resilient, and ingenious, and I have seen in my meetings with entrepreneurs, businesses, and students people who can go toe-to-toe with the most competitive companies in the world. We need to go forward together towards openness, high standards, and opportunity for all of our citizens.
Thank you very much.
STATE DEPARTMENT FACT SHEET: BUREAU OF POPULATION, REFUGEES, AND MIGRATION
FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Fact Sheet
Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration
November 14, 2014
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE and U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
The United States is establishing an in-country refugee/parole program in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras to provide a safe, legal, and orderly alternative to the dangerous journey that some children are currently undertaking to the United States. This program will allow certain parents who are lawfully present in the United States to request access to the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program for their children still in one of these three countries. Children who are found ineligible for refugee admission but still at risk of harm may be considered for parole on a case-by-case basis. The refugee/parole program will not be a pathway for undocumented parents to bring their children to the United States, but instead, the program will provide certain vulnerable, at-risk children an opportunity to be reunited with parents lawfully resident in the United States.
Applications for this program are initiated in the United States. Beginning in December 2014, a parent lawfully present in the United States will be able to file Department of State form DS-7699 requesting a refugee resettlement interview for unmarried children under 21 in El Salvador, Guatemala, or Honduras. Under certain circumstances, if the second parent resides with the child in the home country and is currently married to the lawfully present parent in the United States, the second parent may be added to the child’s petition and considered for refugee status, and if denied refugee status, for parole. Form DS-7699 must be filed with the assistance of a designated resettlement agency that works with the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration to help resettle refugees in the United States. The form will not be available on the Department of State website to the general public and cannot be completed without the assistance of a Department of State-funded resettlement agency. These resettlement agencies are located in more than 180 communities throughout the United States. When the program is launched, the Department of State will provide information on how to contact one of these agencies to initiate an application.
Once a form DS-7699 has been filed, the child in his/her home country will be assisted through the program by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), which manages the U.S. Resettlement Support Center (RSC) in Latin America. IOM personnel from the RSC will contact each child directly and in the order in which the forms filed by lawfully present parents have been received by the U.S. Department of State. IOM will invite the children to attend pre-screening interviews in their country of origin in order to prepare them for a refugee interview with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). DNA relationship testing will be required to confirm the biological relationship between the parent in the United States and the in-country child. After the IOM pre-screening interview but before the DHS interview, the lawfully present parent in the United States will be notified by IOM via the resettlement agency about how to submit DNA evidence of the relationship with their claimed child(ren) in El Salvador, Guatemala, or Honduras. If DNA relationship testing confirms the claimed relationship(s), IOM will schedule the DHS refugee interview.
DHS will conduct interviews with each child to determine whether he or she is eligible for refugee status and admissible to the United States. All applicants must complete all required security checks and obtain a medical clearance before they are approved to travel as a refugee to the United States. IOM will arrange travel for the refugee(s) to the United States. The parent of the child will sign a promissory note agreeing to repay the cost of travel to the United States. Approved refugees will be eligible for the same support provided to all refugees resettled in the United States, including assignment to a resettlement agency that will assist with reception and placement, and assistance registering children in school.
Applicants found by DHS to be ineligible for refugee status in the United States will be considered on a case-by-case basis for parole, which is a mechanism to allow someone who is otherwise inadmissible to come to the United States for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit. In order for the applicant(s) to be considered for parole, the parent in the United States will need to submit a Form I-134, Affidavit of Support, with supporting documentation to DHS. An individual considered for parole may be eligible for parole if DHS finds that the individual is at risk of harm, he/she clears all background vetting, there is no serious derogatory information, and someone has committed to financially support the individual while he/she is in the United States. Those children and any eligible parent considered for parole will be responsible for obtaining and paying for a medical clearance. An individual authorized parole will not be eligible for a travel loan but must book and pay for the flight to the United States. Parole is temporary and does not confer any permanent legal immigration status or path to permanent legal immigration status in the United States. Parolees are not eligible for medical and other benefits upon arrival in the United States, but are eligible to attend school and/or apply for employment authorization. Individuals authorized parole under this program generally will be authorized parole for an initial period of two years and may request renewal.
It is anticipated that a relatively small number of children from Central America will be admitted to the United States as refugees in FY 2015, given the anticipated December launch and the length of time it takes to be processed for U.S. refugee admission. Any child or parent admitted as a refugee will be included in the Latin America/Caribbean regional allocation of the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, which is 4,000 for FY 2015. If needed, there is some flexibility within the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program to accommodate a higher than anticipated number from Latin America in FY 2015.
Fact Sheet
Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration
November 14, 2014
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE and U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
The United States is establishing an in-country refugee/parole program in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras to provide a safe, legal, and orderly alternative to the dangerous journey that some children are currently undertaking to the United States. This program will allow certain parents who are lawfully present in the United States to request access to the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program for their children still in one of these three countries. Children who are found ineligible for refugee admission but still at risk of harm may be considered for parole on a case-by-case basis. The refugee/parole program will not be a pathway for undocumented parents to bring their children to the United States, but instead, the program will provide certain vulnerable, at-risk children an opportunity to be reunited with parents lawfully resident in the United States.
Applications for this program are initiated in the United States. Beginning in December 2014, a parent lawfully present in the United States will be able to file Department of State form DS-7699 requesting a refugee resettlement interview for unmarried children under 21 in El Salvador, Guatemala, or Honduras. Under certain circumstances, if the second parent resides with the child in the home country and is currently married to the lawfully present parent in the United States, the second parent may be added to the child’s petition and considered for refugee status, and if denied refugee status, for parole. Form DS-7699 must be filed with the assistance of a designated resettlement agency that works with the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration to help resettle refugees in the United States. The form will not be available on the Department of State website to the general public and cannot be completed without the assistance of a Department of State-funded resettlement agency. These resettlement agencies are located in more than 180 communities throughout the United States. When the program is launched, the Department of State will provide information on how to contact one of these agencies to initiate an application.
Once a form DS-7699 has been filed, the child in his/her home country will be assisted through the program by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), which manages the U.S. Resettlement Support Center (RSC) in Latin America. IOM personnel from the RSC will contact each child directly and in the order in which the forms filed by lawfully present parents have been received by the U.S. Department of State. IOM will invite the children to attend pre-screening interviews in their country of origin in order to prepare them for a refugee interview with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). DNA relationship testing will be required to confirm the biological relationship between the parent in the United States and the in-country child. After the IOM pre-screening interview but before the DHS interview, the lawfully present parent in the United States will be notified by IOM via the resettlement agency about how to submit DNA evidence of the relationship with their claimed child(ren) in El Salvador, Guatemala, or Honduras. If DNA relationship testing confirms the claimed relationship(s), IOM will schedule the DHS refugee interview.
DHS will conduct interviews with each child to determine whether he or she is eligible for refugee status and admissible to the United States. All applicants must complete all required security checks and obtain a medical clearance before they are approved to travel as a refugee to the United States. IOM will arrange travel for the refugee(s) to the United States. The parent of the child will sign a promissory note agreeing to repay the cost of travel to the United States. Approved refugees will be eligible for the same support provided to all refugees resettled in the United States, including assignment to a resettlement agency that will assist with reception and placement, and assistance registering children in school.
Applicants found by DHS to be ineligible for refugee status in the United States will be considered on a case-by-case basis for parole, which is a mechanism to allow someone who is otherwise inadmissible to come to the United States for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit. In order for the applicant(s) to be considered for parole, the parent in the United States will need to submit a Form I-134, Affidavit of Support, with supporting documentation to DHS. An individual considered for parole may be eligible for parole if DHS finds that the individual is at risk of harm, he/she clears all background vetting, there is no serious derogatory information, and someone has committed to financially support the individual while he/she is in the United States. Those children and any eligible parent considered for parole will be responsible for obtaining and paying for a medical clearance. An individual authorized parole will not be eligible for a travel loan but must book and pay for the flight to the United States. Parole is temporary and does not confer any permanent legal immigration status or path to permanent legal immigration status in the United States. Parolees are not eligible for medical and other benefits upon arrival in the United States, but are eligible to attend school and/or apply for employment authorization. Individuals authorized parole under this program generally will be authorized parole for an initial period of two years and may request renewal.
It is anticipated that a relatively small number of children from Central America will be admitted to the United States as refugees in FY 2015, given the anticipated December launch and the length of time it takes to be processed for U.S. refugee admission. Any child or parent admitted as a refugee will be included in the Latin America/Caribbean regional allocation of the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, which is 4,000 for FY 2015. If needed, there is some flexibility within the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program to accommodate a higher than anticipated number from Latin America in FY 2015.
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