Erste Nutzlast für die nächsten Galileo-Satelliten ist bereit

Erste Nutzlast für die nächsten Galileo-Satelliten ist bereit

TWO FORMER EXECUTIVES PLEAD GUILTY IN BRIBERY CONSPIRACY INVOLVING AT LEAST 30 COUNTRIES

FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Two Former Executives of California Valve Company Plead Guilty to Foreign Bribery Offenses

WASHINGTON – Stuart Carson, the former president of Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.-based valve company Control Components Inc. (CCI), and Hong “Rose” Carson, the former CCI director of sales for China and Taiwan, have pleaded guilty to violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), announced the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.

The Carsons, who are married and reside in San Clemente, Calif., each pleaded guilty late yesterday before U.S. District Judge James V. Selna in Santa Ana, Calif., to separate one-count superseding informations charging them with making a corrupt payment to a foreign government official in violation of the FCPA.  According to court documents, CCI designed and manufactured service control valves for use in the nuclear, oil and gas, and power generation industries worldwide.  At sentencing, Stuart Carson, 73, faces up to 10 months in prison.  Rose Carson, 48, faces a sentence of three years probation, which may include up to six months of home confinement.  Sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 15, 2012.

On Apr. 8, 2009, the Carsons and four other former executives of CCI were charged in a 16-count indictment for their roles in the foreign bribery scheme.  The four former CCI executives charged include Paul Cosgrove, CCI’s former director of worldwide sales; David Edmonds, CCI’s former vice president of worldwide customer service; Flavio Ricotti, the former CCI vice president of sales for Europe, Africa and the Middle East; and Han Yong Kim, the former president of CCI’s Korean office.  On Apr. 28, 2011, Ricotti pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the FCPA.  The trial of Cosgrove and Edmonds is scheduled for Jun. 5, 2012.  The charges against Kim are pending as well.  An indictment merely contains allegations and defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

In related cases, two defendants previously pleaded guilty to conspiring to bribe officers and employees of foreign state-owned companies on behalf of CCI.  On Jan. 8, 2009, Mario Covino, the former director of worldwide factory sales for CCI, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the FCPA.  On Feb. 3, 2009, Richard Morlok, the former CCI finance director, also pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the FCPA.  Covino, Morlok and Ricotti are scheduled to be sentenced in November and December 2012.

On July 31, 2009, CCI pleaded guilty to a three-count criminal information charging the company with conspiracy to violate the FCPA and the Travel Act, and two substantive violations of the FCPA.  CCI was ordered to pay an $18.2 million criminal fine, placed on organizational probation for three years, and ordered to create and implement a compliance program and retain an independent compliance monitor for three years.  CCI admitted that from 2003 through 2007, it made corrupt payments in more than 30 countries, which resulted in net profits to the company of approximately $46.5 million from sales related to those corrupt payments.

The case is being prosecuted by Deputy Chief Charles G. La Bella and Trial Attorney Andrew Gentin of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Douglas McCormick and Gregory Staples of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.  The case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and its team of special agents dedicated to the investigation of foreign bribery cases.

HHS AND HEALTHCARE COMPANY SETTLE OVER PATIENT INFORMATION SAFEGUARDS

FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

HHS settles case with Phoenix Cardiac Surgery for lack of HIPAA safeguards

Phoenix Cardiac Surgery, P.C., of Phoenix and Prescott, Arizona, has agreed to pay the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) a $100,000 settlement and take corrective action to implement policies and procedures to safeguard the protected health information of its patients. 

The settlement with the physician practice follows an extensive investigation by the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) for potential violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Privacy and Security Rules.

The incident giving rise to OCR’s investigation was a report that the physician practice was posting clinical and surgical appointments for its patients on an Internet-based calendar that was publicly accessible.   On further investigation, OCR found that Phoenix Cardiac Surgery had implemented few policies and procedures to comply with the HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules, and had limited safeguards in place to protect patients’ electronic protected health information (ePHI). 

“This case is significant because it highlights a multi-year, continuing failure on the part of this provider to comply with the requirements of the Privacy and Security Rules,” said Leon Rodriguez, director of OCR.  “We hope that health care providers pay careful attention to this resolution agreement and understand that the HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules have been in place for many years, and OCR expects full compliance no matter the size of a covered entity.”

OCR’s investigation also revealed the following issues:

• Phoenix Cardiac Surgery failed to implement adequate policies and procedures to appropriately safeguard patient information; 
• Phoenix Cardiac Surgery failed to document that it trained any employees on its policies and procedures on the Privacy and Security Rules;
• Phoenix Cardiac Surgery failed to identify a security official and conduct a risk analysis; and
• Phoenix Cardiac Surgery failed to obtain business associate agreements with Internet-based email and calendar services where the provision of the service included storage of and access to its ePHI.

Under the HHS resolution agreement, Phoenix Cardiac Surgery has agreed to pay a $100,000 settlement amount and a corrective action plan that includes a review of recently developed policies and other actions taken to come into full compliance with the Privacy and Security Rules.

Airdrops could play key role in eventual Afghanistan transition

Airdrops could play key role in eventual Afghanistan transition

U.S. Navy Photos of the Day Update

U.S. Navy Photos of the Day Update

FIRST SECRETARY-GENERAL APPOINTED BY COMMUNITY OF DEMOCRACIES

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Community of Democracies Appoints First Secretary-General
Press Statement Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State Washington, DC
April 17, 2012
I was pleased to learn that the Governing Council of the Community of Democracies (CD) unanimously selected Sweden’s Ambassador-at-Large for Democracy, Maria Leissner, as the CD’s first Secretary-General-Designate. Her appointment marks a major step in the Community’s transformation from a forum for democracies to convene, into an operational hub for democracy assistance and promotion. As chair of the CD’s reform working group and a key leader of the intergovernmental coalition’s revitalization over the last two years, Ambassador Leissner has brought together a diverse array of partners to provide concrete support for democracies in transition. I send my deepest congratulations to Ambassador Leissner, and I look forward to working with her as we support emerging democracies and civil society around the world.

PRESIDENT OBAMA AND NASCAR CHAMPION

FROM:  WHITE HOUSE
President Barack Obama looks at the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship trophy as he approaches Tony Stewart's car during an event on the South Lawn of the White House, April 17, 2012. NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers Tony Stewart, center, Kyle Busch, and Ryan Newman, right, watch nearby. (Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy)

EPA FINALIZED STANDARDS TO REDUCE AIR POLLUTION ASSOCIATED WITH NATURAL GAS AND OIL

FROM:  EPA

Statements on EPA's Updated, Achievable Air Pollution Standards for Oil and Natural Gas

In response to a court deadline, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has finalized standards to reduce harmful air pollution associated with oil and natural gas production. The updated standards, required by the Clean Air Act, were informed by the important feedback from a range of stakeholders including the public, public health groups, states and industry. As a result, the final standards reduce implementation costs while also ensuring they are achievable and can be met by relying on proven, cost-effective technologies as well as processes already in use at approximately half of the fractured natural gas wells in the United States. These technologies will not only reduce 95 percent of the harmful emissions from these wells that contribute to smog and lead to health impacts, they will also enable companies to collect additional natural gas that can be sold. Here’s what people across the country are saying about EPA’s updated, achievable air pollution standards for oil and natural gas:
Albert A. Rizzo, M.D., Chair, Board of Directors of the American Lung Association: 
 
“…The cleanup of air pollution from oil and natural gas wells is essential to protect public health and growing in importance as the industry expands.  We applaud EPA’s response to this rapidly expanding source of air pollution…”
 
Howard Feldman, American Petroleum Institute (API) Director of Regulatory and Scientific Affairs:
“The industry has led efforts to reduce emissions by developing new technologies that were adopted in the rule. EPA has made some improvements in the rules that allow our companies to continue reducing emissions while producing the oil and natural gas our country needs. This is a large and complicated rulemaking for an industry so critical to the economy, and we need to thoroughly review the final rule to fully understand its impacts.” 
 
 Lynn Thorp, Clean Water Action National Campaigns Director:
 
“Our members in Pennsylvania, Texas, and Colorado have suffered because state regulators haven’t acted to control oil and gas operations, so these standards are a win-win-win. They protect people from air pollution, help curb climate change and save the industry money. People expect the federal government to use their authority to protect their health, their drinking water and the air they breathe and this is a good first step.”
 
Trip Van Noppen, Earthjustice President:
 
“Left to its own devices, the oil and gas industry has turned the clear skies over Wyoming as smoggy as the car-choked highways of Los Angeles. For decades, industry had a free pollution pass. Thanks to a court victory, that changes today. There is more work to be done to protect Americans living near oil and gas fields from cancer and other unacceptable health threats, but this rule from EPA is an important first step.”
  
John Rumpler, senior attorney for Environment America:
 
“From Colorado to Pennsylvania, the gas industry is making a killing from drilling, and at the very least they should cut dirty and dangerous air pollution that threatens our families’ health. EPA’s action today is a breath of fresh air for every man, woman, and child living in the shadow of the gas drilling boom.”
 
Michael Brune, Executive Director of the Sierra Club:
“EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson is taking an important first step in closing loopholes for the natural gas industry and addressing dangerous air quality levels in and near frack-fields across the country. The natural gas industry dumps massive amounts of air pollutants into our air every day, sickening families and children.  An industry that touts its ability to efficiently drill thousands of wells thousands of feet into the earth is crying wolf when it claims it can’t build enough tanks to capture wellhead pollution.  It’s time we clean up the natural gas industry’s dirty and reckless practices.”

STATE DEPARTMENT SAYS DIPLOMACY SUPPORTS U.S SMALL BUSINESS ABROAD

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
U.S. Diplomatic Support for Small Business Abroad
Remarks Reta Jo Lewis
Special Representative for Global Intergovernmental Affairs Washington Forum 2012; The Liaison Capitol Hill Hotel
State International Development Organizations
Washington, DC
April 12, 2012

Good afternoon and thank you Manny for that very kind introduction.
I am delighted to have the opportunity to meet with SIDO as you devote two days to engaging in rich and substantive dialogue on ways to expand trade and investment opportunities for your states.

I was enthused when I learned that SIDO requested that I discuss how U.S. diplomacy supports American small businesses abroad. This topic is particularly timely in light of Secretary Clinton’s doctrine of “economic statecraft,” which places economics at the center of our foreign policy agenda.
Secretary Clinton firmly believes that America’s foreign policy can champion U.S. businesses abroad and drive recovery here at home, and also help provide a strong foundation and effective economic tools that can strengthen and sustain America’s global leadership.

Given the Department of State’s far-reaching work overseas, she asked the Department leadership to identify ways to use our platforms and relationships abroad to strengthen the connection between diplomacy and economics. In other words, she asked the Department of State to answer the question of what we can do for business.

In furtherance of this agenda, Secretary Clinton hosted the first-ever Global Business Conference at the Department of State in February. Over 200 private sector representatives from more than 120 countries met with senior U.S. Government officials to focus on regional issues and how we can move forward together to seize opportunities, grow the global economy, and create American jobs.

These issues have not always been a traditional focus for the State Department. So why, you might ask, is the Secretary of State now spending as much time thinking about market swings as missile silos?

Well, to put it very plainly, Americans need jobs. And every $1 billion of goods we export supports more than 5,000 jobs here at home – even more in industries like telecommunications and aerospace. That is why President Obama announced the National Export Initiative in his 2010 State of the Union address and set the ambitious goal of doubling America’s exports by the end of 2014. And, we are very proud that we now expect to hit that target ahead of schedule.

We also understand that America’s economic strength and our global leadership are a package deal. You’re not going to have one without the other. Our power in the 21st century depends not just on the size of our military but also on what we grow, how well we innovate, what we make, and how effectively we sell.

Finally, we fundamentally believe that increasing trade and growing prosperity will benefit not just our own people, but people everywhere. Our economies are interdependent as never before. America’s economic renewal depends to a large degree on the strength of the global economy, and the global economy depends on the strength of America.
Secretary Clinton has made “Jobs Diplomacy” a priority mission at the State Department, with the clear goal of being the most effective diplomatic champions for prosperity and growth.

To achieve these goals, Secretary Clinton has developed a plan which begins with good people and good partners.

So, the Department of State is improving training for diplomats in economics, finance, and markets, and working more closely with colleagues across government to leverage the best possible skills and resources. Secretary Clinton has directed all of our senior diplomats to conduct business outreach and advocacy when they travel overseas. In addition, the Secretary created a new, unified under secretariat for economic growth, energy, and the environment.

Effective Jobs Diplomacy also requires partners on the ground with deep knowledge and extensive networks – and that is why American chambers of commerce and other bilateral trade associations are at the heart of our effort.

So we train our people, we find our partners, but the real questions is: Can Jobs Diplomacy deliver results that make a difference to Americans throughout the country, to the bottom line of companies and to the daily lives of U.S. citizens?
We are pursuing three lines of action to do just that: first, promoting U.S. businesses; second, attracting investment back to the United States; and third, leveling the playing field for fair competition.

Let’s start with how we advocate for U.S. companies trying to win contracts and make sales. This is not about picking winners and losers. It’s about helping all American companies put the best foot forward overseas to get a fair shot in every market.

The State Department is the face of the United States in over 190 countries and at 274 posts around the world. We fight for the rights of the business community. Over the past 60 years, we have helped establish the rules and institutions to safeguard healthy economic competition and spur unprecedented global growth.

For decades, our diplomats, trade negotiators, agriculture experts, and commercial service officers have worked hard to advocate for U.S. businesses. We have over 1,000 State Department economic officers around the world who strive to help American companies, large and small, compete, connect, and win.

We support American businesses overseas by providing commercial information and identifying market opportunities for American firms, advocating on their behalf and encouraging corporate responsibility. We answer questions from the business community and provide information on important issues such as corruption and bribery in overseas markets, export controls on sensitive equipment and technologies, and business-related visas for employees, partners, and clients of U.S. firms. The State Department Business Visa Center in Washington, D.C. assists businesses located in the United States by providing information about the application process for business visitor visa travel to the United States.

Jobs Diplomacy is not just about the giants of business. We are just as committed to helping small and medium-sized businesses. After all, that is where most of the jobs are in the United States. For example, when Iceland began looking for help converting its vehicles to electric power, our embassy championed a dynamic startup from Loveland, Ohio that does this work as well as anyone in the world. And in the end, the Ohio company won a contract worth $500 million and sold 1,000 electric SUVs.

The second focus of Jobs Diplomacy is helping to attract foreign direct investment – we call it “Global Investment” – into American communities. In order to make attracting and retaining foreign investment in the United States a priority across our government, President Obama launched last summer SelectUSA, a federal initiative to attract and retain foreign investment. The Departments of State and Commerce are working hand-in-hand on this program and we are already seeing results. Together we are looking for foreign companies and investors in the top 25 overseas markets to come to your states to make investments.

Several of our embassies have hosted programs for U.S. governors, and have supported promotional agendas for many states, cities and regions from across the United States. For example, the U.S. Commercial Service in Spain has developed the ServiceSolutionsUSA initiative which promotes business links between Spanish investors and American service providers, including lawyers, accountants and consultants. ServiceSolutionsUSA introduces Spanish investors to U.S. service providers as well as to state economic development offices from all 50 states. Many American service providers have already successfully supported Spanish investors in the United States, and this service is now being replicated at other U.S. Embassies.

In furtherance of the Secretary’s vision, the Office of Global Intergovernmental Affairs has leveraged U.S. state and local officials in our economic strategy in China and India, among other nations.

My office supported the establishment of the U.S. China Governors Forum in 2011 which brought together American and Chinese governors to discuss trade and investment, energy, the environment, agriculture, and education issues. And not long afterwards, one of the largest heavy equipment manufacturers in China announced a $60 million investment in Peachtree City, Georgia, with plans to add an additional $25 million across the state and hire 300 engineers in the next five years.

The U.S. Embassy and five Consulates in China work with our office, in cooperation with the Foreign Commercial Service and Foreign Agricultural Service, to provide tailored programs and services to U.S. governors visiting China. At the same time, Ambassador Gary Locke has made promoting U.S. exports and facilitating bilateral investment a top priority. In addition, the U.S. Mission to China works hard to counter the mistaken impression in China that the United States discriminates against Chinese investment.
We also collaborated with Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley on his historic trade mission to India in 2011. In preparation for the mission, our office, the U.S. Mission to India, including the U.S. Foreign Commercial Service, worked closely with Governor O’Malley’s Office, the Maryland Secretary of State’s Office, and Signe Pringle, Program Director of the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development, who is here with us today. The mission opened new doors between the State of Maryland and India to strengthen trade and investment.

Two Indian companies plan investments in Maryland and eight Maryland businesses signed deals with Indian partners, with a combined total of nearly $60 million in business deals for the state and several additional deals worth millions still on the horizon.

We continue to work with city and state leaders to help them replicate these successes.
The third focus of Jobs Diplomacy is leveling the playing field for all, so American companies can compete and succeed everywhere. The United States is committed to a global economic system that is open, free, transparent, and fair. And we’re working to institutionalize those norms in regional and global trade agreements and institutions. We’re pushing for reforms that allow more people in more places to participate in the formal economy – especially women.

We stand up for entire industries. For instance, our team in Australia helped beat back unwarranted legal actions against American pork producers, leading to a significant increase in exports last year.
And, we stand up for small companies, like the bedding producer in Washington State that faced a crisis when Canadian regulators hit its products with a higher tariff. After the State Department, working closely with the Canadian Embassy, intervened, the Canadian regulators realized they had made a mistake and reversed their decision.

Big or small, we’re standing up for an economic system that benefits everyone. The State Department is here to help. So when businesses confront unfair regulations, when they need help cutting through red tape, of if they just want advice on local customs, they can come to the State Department.

To make this even easier, in key markets across the world, our ambassadors are now holding monthly conference calls with the U.S. business community.

We’re standardizing commercial information on all of our embassy websites so U.S. companies can find the answers they need in one place. This will complement the newly launched BusinessUSA website, a virtual one-stop for the services and information companies need to help them grow, hire, and export.

In addition, the State Department has established the Direct Line program which provides a unique opportunity for American businesses, particularly small- and medium-sized enterprises, to engage directly via teleconference with U.S. ambassadors overseas. The program is open to American companies which are already in the country where the ambassador serves or which are interested in expanding their businesses into those countries.

So, these are all the ways in which Jobs Diplomacy is helping deliver results. And in the days and months ahead, we’re going to push even harder. We will not rest until the U.S. Government is the most effective champion of business and trade anywhere.
We look forward to working with you on your international needs.

VIETNAM WAR HERO WILL RECEIVE POSTHUMOUS MEDAL OF HONOR

FROM:  AMERICAN FORCES PRESS SERVICE 
Army Spc. 4 Leslie H. Sabo Jr., who served with Company B, 3rd Battalion, 506th Infantry, 101st Airborne Division. Sabo will receive the Medal of Honor posthumously in a May 16, 2012, White House ceremony for his valor in the Vietnam War. Photo courtesy of George Sabo  
Vietnam War Hero to Receive Posthumous Medal of Honor
Army News Service


WASHINGTON, April 17, 2012 - Army Spc. 4 Leslie H. Sabo Jr., a rifleman with the 101st Airborne Division during the Vietnam War, will posthumously receive the Medal of Honor in a May 16 ceremony, White House officials announced yesterday.
Sabo is credited with saving the lives of several of his comrades in Company B, 3rd Battalion, 506th Infantry, when his platoon was ambushed near the Se San River in eastern Cambodia on May 10, 1970. Sabo shielded a comrade from an enemy grenade and silenced a machine-gun bunker before he was killed.

Sabo's widow, Rose Mary Sabo-Brown, and his brother, George Sabo, have been invited to the White House for the ceremony. President Barack Obama recently telephoned Sabo-Brown to inform her that her late husband would receive the nation's highest award for valor.

"It was a very emotional day -- a very, very emotional day," she said. I couldn't even sleep that night. And ... when I did fall asleep finally and I woke up the next morning, I went, 'Now wait a minute, did I dream this? Is it really real?' I couldn't be more proud of him.
In her home near New Castle, Pa., Sabo-Brown has set up a museum of sorts in tribute to her late husband and his comrades who were killed in Cambodia.

When his platoon was ambushed from all sides by a large enemy force, Sabo charged the enemy position, killing several enemy soldiers. He then assaulted an enemy flanking force, successfully drawing their fire away from friendly soldiers and ultimately forcing the enemy to retreat. While the platoon was securing a re-supply of ammunition, an enemy grenade landed nearby. Sabo picked it up, threw it, and shielded a wounded comrade with his own body -- absorbing the brunt of the blast and saving his comrade's life.
Although wounded by the grenade blast, Sabo continued to charge the enemy's bunker. After receiving several serious wounds from automatic weapons fire, he crawled toward the enemy emplacement and, when in position, threw a grenade into the bunker. The resulting explosion silenced the enemy fire, but also ended Sabo's life.

Sabo's unit nominated him for the Medal of Honor, but the paperwork was lost until Tony Mabb, a Vietnam veteran of the 101st Airborne Division and a writer for the Screaming Eagle Association magazine, came across a thick file on Sabo while on a research trip to the National Archives military repository in College Park, Md.

Mabb contacted his congresswoman, who recommended that the Defense Department reconsider a medal of valor for Sabo. Mabb also made contact with Sabo's widow.
"The Leslie I know would give his life to anybody," she said. "He would. He would give you the shirt off his back. That's the kind of man he was."
(From a White House news release, with additional reporting by Elizabeth M. Collins of Soldiers magazine.)

2013 DEFENSE DEPARTMENT BUDGET "ALIGNS SCIENCE WITH STRATEGY"

FROM:  AMERICAN FORCES PRESS SERVICE

Budget Request Aligns Science With Strategy, Official Says

By Lisa Daniel

WASHINGTON, April 18, 2012 - The Defense Department's fiscal 2013 budget request maintains science and technology spending in accordance with President Barack Obama's strategic guidance for a smaller, leaner, more flexible and agile military, the Pentagon's head of research and engineering told a Senate subcommittee yesterday.

The department's fiscal 2013 request of $11.9 billion, down from $12.2 billion this year, maintains $2.1 billion for basic research; $2.8 billion to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to develop strategic concepts; $1 billion for countering weapons of mass destruction; and maintains science and technology funding in each of the military departments at about $2 billion, Zachary J. Lemnios, assistant secretary of defense for research and engineering, told the Senate Armed Services Committee's emerging threats and capabilities subcommittee.

"I can assure this committee that we are all mindful of the budget pressures facing our nation," Lemnios said in a prepared statement. "We have made a collective commitment to ensure that the taxpayers' dollars provided to the department's [science and technology] enterprise are invested wisely with a laser-like focus on needed capabilities for our national security."

The budget request adds $700 million to enhance the services' ability to operate jointly across all domains, Lemnios said. The funding would initiate an Air Force hypersonic cruise missile capability demonstration, accelerate the development of advanced electronic warfare concepts, accelerate technology development for the long range anti-ship missile program, and launch technology development efforts in anti-jam precision-guided munitions, he said.

Adjustments were made to increase funding in the priority areas of cyber, electronic warfare, robotics and advanced manufacturing by realigning funding in lower-priority areas, Lemnios said. The request also would increase investments in a next-generation, high-efficiency turbine engine, the Adaptive Versatile Engine Technology, he said.

Lemnios and representatives from each of the services also spoke of the importance of maintaining a highly capable workforce in DOD and service laboratories. "Most critical to the success of the laboratories and their ability to support the department's mission is the workforce," he said.

Of the tens of thousands of lab employees – military, civilian, and contracted – 9 percent hold doctorate degrees and 26 percent hold a master's degree, Lemnios said. Special hiring authorities have allowed the department to maintain the high standard, he said, as well as build tomorrow's workforce with the SMART internship program and support for students pursuing science, technology, engineering and math degrees.

Marilyn Freeman, deputy assistant secretary of the Army for research and technology, said that by maintaining the Army's 22 labs and their 19,000-plus employees, the service can ensure it can address the specific challenges of soldiers.

"I hear often from the soldiers themselves that technology saved their lives and was critical to their remarkable accomplishments," Freeman said. Such feedback motivates Army scientists and engineers to research, develop and add maturity to everything from armor to combat casualty care to air and ground vehicles to food and uniforms, she added.

"They apply their accumulated knowledge and expertise, experimental data, and innovative products to solve problems, enhance performance, provide new desired capabilities, and forecast what capabilities are within the realm of the possible for our Army," she said.

U.S. OFFICIAL TESTIFIES BEFORE SENATE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURAL TRADE I

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
The Asia Pacific: Trade Opportunities for Agriculture and Food Producers from the Great Plains to the Pacific Northwest Northwest
Testimony Robert D. Hormats
Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment Statement Before the Senate Committee on Finance, Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness
Washington, DC
April 18, 2012
Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member Thune, and Members of the Senate Finance Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness, thank you for inviting me to testify today.

It is my pleasure to be here with my colleagues, Deputy Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Service Darci Vetter, and USTR Chief Agricultural Negotiator Ambassador Isi Siddiqui. State works closely with our USDA and USTR colleagues to facilitate trade worldwide.

I’m also pleased to be here together with the very impressive private sector panel to follow. Cooperation with the U.S. agricultural community is an essential part of our efforts to serve the interests of the American people – since many millions of jobs depend directly on agriculture and many more depend on it indirectly.
The State Department aims to improve our bilateral and multilateral relationships with foreign countries. This supports foreign trade and enhances U.S. competitiveness abroad. Secretary Clinton has emphasized the importance of economic statecraft in order to further strengthen these ties. As the Secretary stated in Hong Kong last year, “economic progress depends on strong diplomatic ties and diplomatic progress depends on stronger economic ties.”

Nowhere is this reality more important than in the Asia Pacific, and much of our foreign policy strategy therefore focuses on building stronger relations with the countries of the region, applying diplomacy, negotiation, and multilateral outreach to promote trade and security in the Asia Pacific. An Asia Pacific that is prosperous and integrated into the global economy is good for American growth, jobs, and competitiveness.
This is particularly true for the American agricultural sector which literally produces food for the world. While we are fortunate to live in a country that is food secure, by globalizing our agricultural sector, we are able to tap into larger markets and grow our exports. The U.S. agricultural sector will continue to benefit from Asia’s economic growth, as a new generation of consumers comes of age in the region.
What makes the State Department’s contribution to this goal unique is our team of ambassadors and nearly 1,000 economic officers, located in almost every country in the world. Through this presence, we work directly with host government officials to improve our bilateral and multilateral economic relationships. I’d like to take this opportunity to tell you about some of our work in the Asia Pacific region, specifically to open new markets and remove barriers to U.S. agricultural exports.

Centrality of the Asia Pacific Region
An Asia Pacific that is prosperous and integrated into the global economy – on the basis of agreed rules, norms, and values – is good for American growth, jobs, and competitiveness. This is particularly true for the U.S. agricultural sector, which will continue to benefit from Asia’s economic growth, as a new generation of consumers comes of age, and dramatically grows in size, in the region.

As Secretary Clinton said during a speech at the East-West Center in Honolulu in January 2010, “America’s future is linked to the future of the Asia Pacific region.”
Three initiatives, the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (KORUS), and the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), are critical to advancing U.S. economic interests and benefiting U.S. agricultural exporters in the region. I want to touch briefly on each one.

APEC
Seven of America’s top 15 trading partners are APEC members, and several APEC members have key emerging agricultural markets, such as Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam. As host of APEC in 2011, the United States sought to strengthen regional economic integration by advancing common trade and investment practices in the region.
We’ve had considerable success. For example, after high level engagement with State Department officials last year, the Indonesian government established a science-based regulatory system and embraced the potential of agricultural biotechnology. There are currently multiple crops undergoing field trials in Indonesia, with the first expected commercialization to occur later this year.

Similarly, State is working with other government agencies to help Vietnam establish a biotech regulatory framework by building the capacity of Vietnamese authorities to administer a sciencebased system. Just last week, the State Department, USDA, and EPA hosted a group of Vietnamese scientists who are preparing to issue the first environmental risk assessments for genetically engineered crops in their country’s history. We hope to see the first Vietnamese crops approved for commercialization in 2012 or 2013. In addition to facilitating market access for U.S. agricultural producers, these actions will help Vietnam to increase its food security.

Russia hosts APEC this year, and is expected to become a WTO member this summer. This could provide an enormous opportunity for American agriculture. But to seize on that opportunity, American farmers need the help of Congress – specifically to enact the necessary legislation to terminate Jackson-Vanik with regard to Russia. If not, U.S. exporters will not get the full benefits of Russia’s WTO membership, but our competitors will. Unlike other WTO members, the United States will not be able to turn to the WTO dispute settlement procedures to ensure compliance with trade rules.

For example, when Russia becomes a WTO Member, it will be required to comply with the WTO’s Agreement on Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, including obligations related to the use of science-based international standards. However, Russia would only be required to apply these rules to U.S. exports of meat, poultry, dairy, and other agricultural products if Congress terminates the application of Jackson-Vanik to Russia. Make no mistake, Russia will join the WTO, but action is required from Congress to ensure that American agriculture fully reaps the benefits.

KORUS
In line with the objective of opening markets in Asia, we worked with Congress and our interagency colleagues to advance the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (KORUS), which entered into force on March 15.
KORUS is a clear example of the kind of high quality FTA we want to promote. Specifically, KORUS will provide America’s farmers, ranchers, and food processors with improved access to Korea’s $1 trillion economy and 49 million consumers. Tariff reductions will benefit both U.S. suppliers and Korea’s consumers, and will help the United States compete against other world competitors that have increased their presence in Korea’s $15 billion agriculture market.

For example, KORUS will directly benefit Pacific Northwest food producers. Korean tariffs of 24 percent on U.S. fresh cherries will be eliminated immediately. Tariffs of 15% on wine also will be eliminated immediately. And with our diplomatic presence in Korea, U.S. State Department officials will monitor first hand Korea’s implementation of the agreement, assuring full compliance. What we negotiate, we aim to enforce.

Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)
Looking ahead to the next generation of trade agreements, the United States, along with Australia, Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam, are aiming at crafting a high-standard agreement that addresses new and emerging trade issues and challenges, including those in agricultural market access and regulations affecting agriculture, such as sanitary and phytosanitary measures, transparency, and science-based risk analysis. Our objective in the TPP is to avoid unwarranted trade barriers affecting U.S. agricultural exports by ensuring that measures to protect public, animal and plant health are transparent and science-based. Achieving this will enable U.S. companies to operate more seamlessly in TPP markets and help small- and medium-sized enterprises – a special focus of TPP – to participate more actively in international trade.

The United States also is working to ensure TPP reflects shared values, including worker rights and environmental protection. Our goal for TPP is to create not just more growth, but better growth. We believe the TPP needs to include strong protections for workers, the environment, intellectual property, and innovation. The TPP aims to ensure fair competition, including competitive neutrality among the state-owned and private enterprises.

Deploying State Department Resources
The State Department actively deploys its resources to promote U.S. agricultural trade. Our ambassadors raise stalled high-profile issues and use a variety of tools to resolve them. Ambassadors host agricultural trade missions to highlight U.S. agriculture and put exporters in touch with buyers. We also continue to raise our concerns on impediments to market access, noting that we expect countries to live up to their multilateral and bilateral trade obligations.

For example, in Russia, Ambassador McFaul has already met with high level officials several times to ensure that when Russia fully accedes to the WTO, the Russian market will be open to U.S. chicken exports. In China, the State Department raises intellectual property enforcement rights for U.S. seed companies. Unscrupulous sellers in China will bag their low-performing seeds in counterfeit bags purporting to be high-quality U.S.-developed seeds. State Department economic officers and USDA agricultural attachés regularly address issues like this – as well as issues pertaining to market access for U.S. agricultural products or the ability to build food processing and storage facilities – with their Chinese counterparts at the highest levels.

The absence of transparent, science-based regulations has the potential to halt U.S. agricultural exports. For example, differential approval rates (known as asynchronous approvals), the lowlevel presence (LLP) of biotech products approved in the country of export but not yet in the country of import, and the lack of consistent and harmonized rules can potentially result in billions of dollars of losses. The State Department works in a variety of fora to proactively encourage economic and regulatory systems that will address these issues. For example, in APEC’s High Level Policy Dialogue on Agricultural Biotechnology, the State Department promotes the adoption of transparent, science-based regulations in Asia for the review of agricultural products produced through modern biotechnology.

Specifically, asynchronous approvals are an issue with China. The Chinese regulatory process does not allow for review of genetically engineered products developed in the United States until after they are approved by U.S. regulators. The asynchronous approval by Chinese authorities adds 18-24 months to the commercialization process, as U.S. producers are reluctant to plant crops that could be held or delayed in Chinese ports, as has happened on a few occasions in the past. The State Department, USTR, and USDA are working vigorously and regularly with our counterparts in relevant Chinese ministries to shorten and/or eliminate the approval timeframe.

The State Department also sponsors outreach programs in Asia and elsewhere to enable officials and other interested parties to be able to separate myth and misinformation from science and facts regarding agricultural biotechnology. In 2011, the State Department sponsored these programs in some 30 countries, allowing foreign audiences to hear of the contributions agricultural biotechnology can make to food security and environmental sustainability.

In addition, the State Department’s International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) brings rising global leaders to the United States to see our agricultural systems in action. For example, in the past year a group from China met with shrimp industry representatives in Texas to learn about our seafood industry’s safety techniques and regulatory compliance; a group from Japan came to Iowa to learn more about our veterinary practices and safeguards for food safety and animal health; and a group from Thailand visited New York to gain a better understanding of the effect of trade agreements on port operations. Some of our IVLP alumni already have risen to the vice minister level in their home countries, and we are seeing new agricultural policies that are consistent with international standards and U.S. policy goals, thus further opening markets to U.S. agricultural exports.

Laying Down the Framework for Global Trade in the Multilateral Context
This brings me to my final point: the State Department is active in multilateral fora in creating global conditions favorable to agricultural trade.

We work with our USDA and USTR colleagues at the World Trade Organization in Geneva in its various committees. In the most recent Committee on Agriculture meeting, for example, our joint delegation raised Egypt’s ban on cotton imports and Indonesia’s closure of a Jakarta port to fruits and vegetables. This is a regular part of State Department diplomacy at the bilateral level.

When I speak to people working for U.S. agriculture, many tell me that the most prevalent barrier to trade is arbitrary or non-science-based government regulations. There is a role for regulations to protect consumers and support commerce, but in order to facilitate trade, we support harmonizing our standards as much as possible and ensuring sound, science-based regulations that will ensure that other countries will recognize our certifications.

Multilateral diplomacy is crucial to creating those international standards and reinforcing good practices. Using international bodies such as the Codex Alimentarius, the UN body responsible for setting food safety standards, the United States is able to establish worldwide standards based on the recommendations of expert panels.

For example, the State Department has taken the lead internationally on the issue of Codex Alimantarius’s maximum residue limits in meat for ractopamine, a veterinary drug used for more efficient production of beef and pork in the United States and other countries. Our embassy personnel have and will continue to build coalitions among like-minded countries to support the establishment of Codex standards for ractopamine that are science-based and unbiased. The United States also continues to encourage Codex to adopt pesticide standards for larger product groupings instead of one standard for each fruit and vegetable, which would be a win for our Pacific Northwest producers of cherries, apples, and other specialty crops.

And building on work at APEC, and in cooperation with the private sector, the State Department has collaborated with USTR and USAID to support the Global Food Safety Partnership, a multidonor trust fund managed by the World Bank. In this innovative partnership, which first was announced at APEC, a wide-range of stakeholders creates training programs designed to enhance food safety and to facilitate trade.

Conclusion
I would like to close by emphasizing that American economic leadership in Asia is critical to our overall engagement there. We must continue to deepen our political and economic ties with the region, pressing for rule of law and trade enforcement, and supporting the global economic network that underpins the world’s economic recovery. Doing so is good for American agriculture and is good for America.
I appreciate the committee’s interest in this important topic, I thank you for inviting me here, and I look forward to your questions.