FROM: U.S. VETERANS ADMINISTRATION
On VA’s Mental Health Wait Times
April 24, 2012 by Alex Horton
When Brian Chevalier was killed in an explosion during a complex ambush, our platoon didn’t take it as an exception to otherwise professional soldiering, or as a mistake that could be corrected on the spot. Chevy’s death was a failure on our part, despite our training, our weapons, and our vigilance. It didn’t matter that the triggerman was hidden from view, or the massive bomb was concealed under concrete. We let him down, and he’s not here because we didn’t keep him safe.
Just like physical trauma, psychological trauma can occur in a matter of seconds, but the consequences are felt for a lifetime. We arm troops for conflict—we teach them to shoot, move as a team, and patch each other up—but there is no equivalent steeling once they become civilians. Part of that is the complex nature of mental health; you can protect flesh and organs with armor, but what can shield the mind from the horrors of war?
After more than a decade of conflict, the rising demand for mental health services—coupled with the tragedy of Veteran suicides—has shown we must do more. Just like our platoon couldn’t save Chevy, we fail when a Veteran turns to suicide instead of help, or leaves a VA facility because no appointments are available, or when the culture and language of the military creates a divide between clinicians and Veterans.
VA has taken steps to treat all aspects of the problem—from nightmares to short tempers to suicide—by increasing its mental health budget in the last three years by 39 percent. Additionally, the Department announced the hiring of an additional 1,900 mental health staffers across the country—an increase of nearly 10 percent. The boost will bring in what Vets need—over 1,600 nurses, psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, licensed professional counselors, and marriage and family therapists, as well as 300 support staff to assist in the heavy lift. This is one boost in an ongoing assessment of all VA mental health operations that has been underway since 2011.
That would go far to ease what a recent VA Inspector General report identified as a major issue: Veterans are not being seen for mental health appointments as quickly as had been reported.
According to the investigation, the Veterans Health Administration met its goal of fully evaluating patients within 14 days only about 49 percent of the time. The remaining 51 percent waited an average of 50 days for full evaluations (though situations considered mental health emergencies are handled differently). For follow-up treatments, the report indicated an appointment is scheduled within 14 days about 88 percent of the time. When seconds and minutes count—as they do in combat—VA did not meet its own standard.
Many Veterans seek basic mental health care each day. That’s why the staff increase isn’t meant to simply prevent suicides before they happen. It’s about providing increased availability of appointments and resources. But more fundamentally, it helps VA build a community of care that includes trained mental health clinicians, peer support specialists, outreach workers, group support and more to promote the wellness of Veterans. It’s that kind of deep community involvement in mental health treatment—much like a military unit—that we hope improves lives.
When a Veteran calls and says he or she needs help, and we say the first available appointment is several weeks away, we have failed that Veteran by our own standard. It’s past time to say we will fix the problem, or that solutions are on the horizon. The best we can do now is to honor the living and the dead by being advocates and taking the failures we accumulate not as statistics, but scars. It should grind us up; eat at us and shock us. It should drive us. We must face the idea that thousands of returned Veterans need assistance every single day. Then we must look forward, anticipate their needs, and do better. Each of us owes that much to the Vet out there, in a dark place, looking to us to help heal the trauma inflicted on our behalf.
Chevy is not coming back. The failure to protect him haunts the men of second platoon, whose men can never say, “We’ll work to prevent this from happening in the future.” Like in war, future responses don’t make up for past failures. There are still men and women coming home healthy on the outside but eventually succumbing to mental wounds sustained in combat. Chevy’s death made us look sharper, shoot straighter, and move quicker. It’s our memory of failure that helped us protect each other’s life.
Thursday, April 26, 2012
U.S. GIVES SUPPORT TO ANTI-LRA FORCES
FROM: AMERICAN FORCES PRESS SERVICE
U.S. Supports Pushback Against Lord's Resistance Army
By Karen Parrish
WASHINGTON, April 25, 2012 - The United States is part of a successful effort to help counter the Lord's Resistance Army in Central Africa, but a four-pillared approach to neutralizing the terrorist group must continue, senior defense, diplomatic and aid officials told senators here yesterday.
That approach, officials explained, includes increasing protection for civilians in LRA-affected areas, apprehending and removing Joseph Kony and other LRA leaders, disarming, demobilizing and reintegrating remaining LRA fighters, and sustaining humanitarian relief to affected areas.
Amanda J. Dory, deputy assistant Secretary of Defense for African affairs, joined Donald Yamamoto, principal deputy assistant Secretary of State for African affairs, and Earl Gast, U.S. Agency for International Development assistant administrator for Africa, in testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee's African Affairs Subcommittee yesterday.
The LRA is composed mostly of kidnapped children forced to conduct Kony's terrorist tactics over the past 20 years, administration officials have said. Tens of thousands of people have been murdered and as many as 1.8 million have been displaced by the LRA, they said.
President Barack Obama announced April 23 that a U.S. military advise-and-assist mission to Central Africa, begun in October, will remain in place with periodic review.
"Our advisers will continue their efforts to bring this madman to justice and to save lives," the president said in announcing the mission's extension.
The 100-member U.S. team of trainers is working to help nations affected by the LRA to "help realize a future where no African child is stolen from their family and no girl is raped and no boy is turned into a child soldier," Obama said.
Dory described U.S. contributions to the effort, which include training local forces and assisting in intelligence and logistics coordination.
"The militaries of Uganda, the Central African Republic, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in collaboration with the African Union, continue to pursue the LRA and seek to protect local populations," she said. "They are leading this effort."
U.S. advisors in Uganda synchronize and oversee the department's counter-LRA efforts and coordinate with Ugandan forces, she said, while other U.S. service members work in field locations with forces from Uganda, the Central African Republic and South Sudan.
"U.S. advisors have helped to set up operations fusion centers to enable daily coordination, information sharing and tactical coordination," she said. "[They] are also integrating local civilian leaders into the work of the partner forces to improve the effectiveness of the civil-military relations."
Yamamoto said the State Department's role in the counter-LRA mission largely involves multinational coordination.
"We are coordinating closely with the United Nations peacekeeping missions in the region, especially to promote civilian protection," he said. "We have encouraged the U.N. to scale up its efforts when possible. We are also working very closely with the African Union to increase its efforts to address the LRA."
Gast said USAID has worked in Africa since the late 1980s to help communities build security, to reintegrate children formerly abducted by the LRA, and to strengthen economic development in affected areas.
"As the conflict first began to exact severe economic losses, cause mass displacement and weaken governance in Northern Uganda, USAID focused on providing lifesaving assistance to those affected by the conflict," Gast said. "When the LRA was finally driven out of Northern Uganda, our programs shifted from relief to recovery and then to longer-term development, which is taking place now."
Dory noted the LRA operates in a remote and rugged zone that includes parts of several countries. U.S. forces have effectively only been in the area since December and January, she said, but they have seen results from their efforts.
"We believe the U.S. military advisors have established a good foundation and made initial progress, especially considering the complexity of the operating environment, the number of partners involved and the remoteness of the operational areas," Dory said. "We will continue to monitor the situation closely with our interagency partners to ensure our support is having the intended impact."
SECRETARY OF STATE CLINTON ON ISRAEL'S INDEPENDENCE DAY
FROM: U.S STATE DEPARTMENT
Israel's Independence Day
Press Statement Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State Washington, DC
April 25, 2012
On behalf of President Obama and the people of the United States, I am delighted to send best wishes to the people of Israel as you celebrate your 64th Independence Day this April 26th. For many around the world, Israel remains a beacon of hope and an inspiring example.
Israel and the United States are united by a deep and unbreakable bond based on mutual interests and respect. Our relationship grows stronger every day as we work to promote regional security, create new economic partnerships, increase two-way trade and broaden our energy cooperation. We are steadfast in our commitment to Israel’s security, which is a cornerstone of our foreign policy in the Middle East.
Over the past year, people throughout the Middle East and North Africa have demanded their universal rights and human dignity. As you celebrate your Independence Day and changes continue to sweep across the region, know that the United States stands with you to embrace new opportunities and address difficult challenges. And we will continue to work with you and your neighbors to achieve the shared goal of a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace in the Middle East. Congratulations and best wishes for peace and prosperity in the years to come.
ATTORNEY GENERAL ERIC HOLDER'S TASK FORCE ON CHILDREN EXPOSED TO VIOLENCE PUBLIC HEARING
FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Attorney General Eric Holder’s Task Force on Children Exposed to Violence Holds Final Public Hearing in Detroit New DOJ Study Reveals School Officials More Likely to Learn of Child Victimization than Police or Medical Authorities
At the final hearing of Attorney General Eric Holder’s National Task Force on Children Exposed to Violence in Detroit, officials from the Justice Department and the city of Detroit underscored efforts to keep kids safe and prevent youth violence. The task force is a key part of Attorney General Holder’s Defending Childhood Initiative to prevent and reduce children’s exposure to violence.
At the hearing, Acting Associate Attorney General Tony West announced the release of a new Justice Department research bulletin showing that 46 percent of victimized children were known to school, police or medical authorities. The bulletin, Child and Youth Victimization Known to Police, School, and Medical Authorities draws from the National Survey of Children’s Exposure to Violence sponsored by the Office of Justice Programs’ Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention with support from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“While more children are reporting violence to authorities, many continue to endure the pain of victimization in silence,” said Acting Associate Attorney General West. “Through the work of the Attorney General’s task force, we hope to find more ways to identify those children in need and make sure they have access to effective prevention and treatment options.”
The task force is co-chaired by Joe Torre, chairman of the board of the Joe Torre Safe At Home Foundation, and Robert Listenbee, Jr., chief of the Juvenile Unit of the Defender Association of Philadelphia. Co-chair Listenbee, a Detroit-area native, highlighted the urgency and opportunity of the task force’s work.
“I grew up just 20 miles outside of Detroit in Mt. Clemens, Michigan. During my high school years, violence was commonplace,” said Listenbee. “Similar violence still occurs in cities and towns across the country, but today we know so much more about how to address it. The resounding message this task force has heard is that we can – and must – change the norm of violence in children’s lives.”
During the opening session, Detroit Police Chief Ralph Godbee discussed the police department’s work with youth. He was joined by Lawnya Sherrod, a former Detroit gang member turned community organizer, who highlighted her work to get youth out of gangs and to help them graduate from high school and become productive, successful members of the community.
In a panel discussion about successful programs, Wayne County Child and Family Services Director Tadarial Sturdivant described his agency’s efforts to reform the juvenile justice system through a program called First Contact.
“[The program] creates an opportunity to collaborate with the Detroit Police Department and offer services at the street level to support the patrol officer who has first contact with the juvenile,” said Sturdivant. “As an alternative to arrest and detention, [the department] will convey youth to the Juvenile Assessment Center for stabilization, parental contact, brief assessment, transportation home, and referral for voluntary services.”
In a panel about public-private partnerships, Dr. William Bell, President and CEO of Casey Family Programs, discussed the need to meet the “overwhelming circumstances” of violence against children “with deliberate and intentional action.” Bell outlined concrete steps that every city in America could take to build “communities of hope” to reverse these violent trends.
Mary Lee, Deputy Director of PolicyLink, described how place influences many child outcomes. “ Just by knowing his or her zip code, a young person’s health, life expectancy, success in school, adult income¯all of these can be predicted,” noted Lee in her testimony, which described ways to improve the places children live to improve long-term outcomes.
The task force is composed of 13 leading experts, including practitioners, child and family advocates, academic experts and licensed clinicians, who will identify promising practices, programming and community strategies to prevent and respond to children’s exposure to violence. Their findings will inform their final report to the Attorney General in late 2012, which will present policy recommendations and serve as a blueprint for preventing and reducing the negative effects of such violence across the United States.
U.S. AND DEFENSE LEADERS MET TO FURTHER CEMENT MILITARY PARTNERSHIP
FROM: U.S DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta holds a joint press conference with Brazilian Minister of Defense Celso Amorim in Brasilia, Brazil, April 24, 2012. DOD photo by U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Chad J. McNeeley
U.S., Brazil Launch New Defense Cooperative Dialogue
By Cheryl Pellerin
American Forces Press Service
BRASILIA, Brazil, April 24, 2012 - Here in the capital of the largest country in South America, U.S. and Brazilian defense leaders met for the first time under a new cooperative agreement that will expand an already close military partnership.
U.S. Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta and Brazilian Defense Minister Celso Amorim today conducted the first U.S.-Brazil Defense Cooperation Dialogue, an initiative established April 9 in Washington by U.S. President Barack Obama and Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff.
"Brazil is a global power. Brazil is a positive force for stability, not only in the Americas but across the world," said Panetta, here during a weeklong visit to South America, his first as defense secretary.
"For that reason," he added, "it is a privilege for me to come here to Brasilia to conduct the first Defense Cooperation Dialogue with Minister Amorim, a dialogue that both our presidents signed and supported."
"We need to be ready for a broader type of defense," Amorim said of his nation and its 360,000-member armed forces, "and the United States is certainly a very important partner in this process."
Amorim accepted Panetta's invitation to visit Washington, adding that a convenient date must be found to continue his and the secretary's "extremely productive and open" discussion.
After a press briefing with Amorim, Panetta met with retired Gen. Jose Elito Carvalho Sigueira, minister of institutional security and responsible among other duties for Brazil's cyber security.
In April 2010, the two nations signed the U.S.-Brazil Defense Cooperation Agreement, the provisions of which framed the discussion today.
During their meeting, Panetta and Amorim said they intend that defense cooperation between the nations will focus on priority categories of activity during 2012.
These include cyber security; science, innovation and technology transfer; logistics; communications; humanitarian assistance and disaster response; and cooperation in support of Africa nations.
Panetta said exchanging more information on cyber security will be beneficial in "a whole new arena. I think both of our nations are concerned about ... how we can effectively defend against those potential attacks."
About humanitarian assistance and disaster response, the secretary said Brazil has performed an outstanding role in Haiti since that island nation experienced a devastating and deadly earthquake and tsunami in January 2010.
"I commend them on the work they've done there," Panetta added. "They have learned a lot of lessons with regard to humanitarian aid and we look forward to being able to share those lessons and to build even greater cooperation in this area in the future."
Panetta and Amorim also discussed a shared desire to expand the nations' already significant two-way trade in advanced defense technology," he said.
"We think Brazil is a very important partner in that area," the secretary added, "and we continue to look for ways to improve the technology we share with Brazil so hopefully Brazil can provide jobs and opportunities for its people as we provide jobs and opportunities for ours."
The best such example is the United States' entry into the Brazilian Air Force's F-X2 fighter competition, in which it will compete with two other contenders.
"We've made a strong offer to provide the Super Hornet" Panetta said, a marine strike attack aircraft manufactured by an American company.
"It's an advanced aircraft to the Brazilian Air Force, and we think it can help provide Brazil with the kind of fighter technology that it needs for the future," the secretary said.
A key element in the recently unveiled new U.S. defense strategy "is to strengthen our global security partnerships in very innovative ways," he said.
"That's why this Defense Cooperation Dialogue is very important for us," the secretary added, "because it provides a vehicle for Brazil and the United States to build an innovative defense partnership for the 21st Century."
There was a time in the past when the United States discouraged countries in Latin America and Central America from developing military capabilities, Panetta said.
"The fact is, today we think the development of those kinds of capabilities is important," he said, "and that if we can use those capabilities to develop the kind of innovative partnerships that I'm talking about, that will ... advance the security of this region and the security of the countries involved."
The secretary added, "We think this is a real opportunity. The United States, just like other countries, is facing budget constrictions with regard to the future. And what we believe is that the best way to approach the future is to develop partnerships, alliances [and] relationships with other countries, [to] share information, share assistance, share capabilities."
In that way, Panetta said, "we can provide greater security for the future. That's our goal, and I think that's the goal of Brazil as well."
17TH AIR FORCE STANDS DOWN TO PASS AFRICAN MISSION TO USAFE
17th Air Force stands down, passes African mission to USAFE
(Left to right) 17th Air Force Command Chief CMSgt Michael Grimm, U.S. Air Forces in Europe Commander Gen. Mark Welsh and 17th AF Commander Maj. Gen. Margaret Woodward furl and case the 17th AF flag during an inactivation ceremony here April 20. The unit, which served as the air component for U.S. Africa Command, was also designated as Air Forces Africa. During the ceremony, the Air Forces Africa mission was transferred to USAFE and 3rd Air Force. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman Basic Brea Miller)
by Master Sgt. Jim Fisher
U.S. Air Forces in Europe Public Affairs
4/24/2012 - RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany -- Seventeenth Air Force stood down in an inactivation ceremony here today and the Air Forces Africa flag and mission were passed to U.S. Air Forces in Europe.
The numbered Air Force, which has also been known as Air Forces Africa, served as the air component for U.S. Africa Command. USAFE now takes up air component responsibilities for the African area of activity.
U.S. Africa Command commander Gen. Carter F. Ham was joined by USAFE commander Gen. Mark A. Welsh III in overseeing the inactivation and transfer, both lauding 17th Air Force commander Maj. Gen. Margaret Woodward and her organization.
"Air power is defined by speed, agility, decisive application of combat power, teamwork, and audacity. I think those characteristics perfectly describe the 17th Air Force and they especially describe its commander. I have not known General Maggie Woodward all that long, but what a year it's been," Ham said, adding that the period which included Operation ODYSSEY DAWN and the Libyan conflict might be the defining epoch of this incarnation of 17th Air Force.
Taking note of the importance of 17th's accomplishments, Welsh said that as the Air Force prepared to close the latest chapter of 17th history, it also was prepared to continue executing the Air Forces Africa mission. The responsibilities for planning, engagement and command and control of air operations conducted in support of AFRICOM now transfer to USAFE and 3rd Air Force.
"I think [General Ham] and I understand the significance of this transfer, and we understand the significance of the accomplishments of the men and women who have been serving in this air component," Welsh said. "As we get ready to case the colors and close this chapter of 17th Air Force history I need to remind everyone of one very important thing: the mission is not going away. There are still operations to conduct and partnerships to strengthen. The unstable regions of Africa are not suddenly stable. The commitments made to leaders in Africa must be honored. There is no indication that Africa will be any less busy in the future than it has been in the past."
Woodward said she was confident the mission, vital to U.S. national security, was in good hands.
"Even as we pause to reflect on what we have done, we reaffirm the commitment to what we must do because today we know more than ever that there remains a mission in Africa as critical as any other to the protection of America's freedom and the security of our nation," she said, adding that General Welsh overseeing the transition was especially advantageous. "I know of no Airman with a deeper understanding of what airpower brings to the joint force. Our African partners are indeed fortunate to have you leading our new AFAFRICA command. Thanks to you and all the men and women of USAFE for their dedicated support."
Many of the Airmen formerly assigned to 17th Air Force have joined USAFE and 3rd Air Force and remain focused on the African mission.
She also reserved the highest praise for the men and women of 17th Air Force, taking a final opportunity to say thank you to her troops.
"To the men and women of 17th Air Force, it seems like only yesterday that we started this journey," General Woodward said, noting the accomplishments over the last 22 months of her tenure. "We locked arms, and stood together to form one extraordinary team. We may not have been the largest NAF in the Air Force but in my opinion we were certainly the best."
In the almost four years since 17th was reactivated in October 2008 to coincide with the standup of AFRICOM as a unified command, the unit accomplished more than 200 engagement events with 36 partner nations in Africa. They also took planning and command and control responsibility for air operations in Africa. While intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance and contingency response activity was ongoing through its existence, 17th's most momentous accomplishments may have come during the air campaign over Libya.
In Support of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1973 to protect Libyan civilians from Momar Qaddafi's regime forces, Woodward and 17th Air Force served as the Joint Forces Air Component Command, executing command and control via the 617th and 603rd Air and Space Operations Centers, over the coalition air campaign. Seventeenth Air Force was given the Outstanding Unit Award for its role, and Woodward, the first woman to lead an air campaign, was named one of Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People for 2011.
TOP 3 GREEN-POWERED ORGANIZATIONS ACCORDING TO EPA
FROM: EPA
EPA Releases List of Top 50 Green-Powered Organizations Intel, Kohl’s, Microsoft rank in top three WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released an updated list of the Top 50 Green Power Partnership organizations voluntarily using clean, renewable electricity from resources such as solar, wind, and low-impact hydropower. Intel Corporation tops the list as the largest single user of green power, followed by Kohl’s Department Stores and Microsoft Corporation. Combined, the Top 50 partners are using more than 15 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of green power annually. Through their use of green power, these top organizations are avoiding carbon pollution equal to that created by the electricity use of more than 1.3 million American homes each year.
EPA’s Green Power Partnership works with more than 1,300 partner organizations, over half of which are small businesses and nonprofit organizations, to voluntarily use green power. Green power resources produce electricity with an environmental profile superior to conventional power technologies, and produce significantly fewer greenhouse gas emissions.
“We applaud all of our Green Power Partners for their use of clean, renewable energy. For the first time, each of the Top 50 partners is using more than 100 million kilowatt-hours of green power annually,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. “Their actions help to reduce harmful carbon pollution that threatens the health of our planet and the air we breathe, and mark another step toward a new era of clean, innovative American energy.”
Intel has ranked number one on the list since 2008 and uses more than 2.5 billion kWh annually, or 88 percent of the company’s nationwide electricity use. Microsoft, which holds the number three spot, and McDonald’s USA LLC, which ranks eleventh, are new to the list.
The Green Power Partnership also updated the rankings of the 100 Percent Green Power Users list, which highlights close to 700 partners using green power for their entire electricity load, as well as its Top 20 Retailers and Top 20 Local Governments lists. Kohl’s ranks number one on both the Top 20 Retailers and 100 Percent Green Power Users lists while the City of Houston ranks number one on the Top 20 Local Governments list.
EPA Releases List of Top 50 Green-Powered Organizations Intel, Kohl’s, Microsoft rank in top three WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released an updated list of the Top 50 Green Power Partnership organizations voluntarily using clean, renewable electricity from resources such as solar, wind, and low-impact hydropower. Intel Corporation tops the list as the largest single user of green power, followed by Kohl’s Department Stores and Microsoft Corporation. Combined, the Top 50 partners are using more than 15 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of green power annually. Through their use of green power, these top organizations are avoiding carbon pollution equal to that created by the electricity use of more than 1.3 million American homes each year.
EPA’s Green Power Partnership works with more than 1,300 partner organizations, over half of which are small businesses and nonprofit organizations, to voluntarily use green power. Green power resources produce electricity with an environmental profile superior to conventional power technologies, and produce significantly fewer greenhouse gas emissions.
“We applaud all of our Green Power Partners for their use of clean, renewable energy. For the first time, each of the Top 50 partners is using more than 100 million kilowatt-hours of green power annually,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. “Their actions help to reduce harmful carbon pollution that threatens the health of our planet and the air we breathe, and mark another step toward a new era of clean, innovative American energy.”
Intel has ranked number one on the list since 2008 and uses more than 2.5 billion kWh annually, or 88 percent of the company’s nationwide electricity use. Microsoft, which holds the number three spot, and McDonald’s USA LLC, which ranks eleventh, are new to the list.
The Green Power Partnership also updated the rankings of the 100 Percent Green Power Users list, which highlights close to 700 partners using green power for their entire electricity load, as well as its Top 20 Retailers and Top 20 Local Governments lists. Kohl’s ranks number one on both the Top 20 Retailers and 100 Percent Green Power Users lists while the City of Houston ranks number one on the Top 20 Local Governments list.
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
SECRETARY OF STATE CLINTON'S PRES STATEMENT ON MASS ATROCITIES
FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Preventing Mass Atrocities
Press Statement Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State Washington, DC
April 23, 2012
In a speech at the Holocaust Memorial Museum, President Obama made clear that the United States is taking concrete steps to prevent mass atrocities, protect civilians, and ensure that we hold the perpetrators of atrocities accountable. Presidential Study Directive-10, released last August, stated that “preventing mass atrocities and genocide is a core national security interest and a core moral responsibility of the United States.” And as the President outlined, that is why this administration has led the international effort to bring pressure to bear on the Qhadafi and Asad regimes, supported diplomacy to end the crisis in Sudan, and is supporting efforts to track down Joseph Kony and senior leaders of the Lord’s Resistance Army in Central Africa. But we are not just working to stop atrocities today. We are taking a number of steps to strengthen the U.S. government’s capacity to prevent them in the future -- including creating an Atrocities Prevention Board, enhancing the collection and analysis of intelligence, and expanding our multilateral diplomatic efforts. And while we pledge to do everything we can, preventing mass atrocities is a responsibility that the United States and all peoples and countries around the world share, and that is why we must all commit to work together to turn our promise of “never again” into a reality.
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"WE MUST TELL OUR CHILDREN" SAID PRESIDENT OBAMA
President Barack Obama tours the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., with Sara Bloomfield, museum director, and Elie Wiesel, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Holocaust survivor, April 23, 2012. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
Yesterday, President Obama spoke at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum about honoring the pledge of "never again" by making sure we are doing everything we can to prevent and end atrocities and save lives.
After being introduced by Professor Elie Wiesel, a Holocaust survivor, the President spoke of the importance of telling our children -- and all future generations -- about the Holocaust:
We must tell our children. But more than that, we must teach them. Because remembrance without resolve is a hollow gesture. Awareness without action changes nothing. In this sense, "never again" is a challenge to us all -- to pause and to look within.
NEW DEFENSE ORGANIZATION CALLED "DEFENSE CLANDESTINE SERVICE"
FROM: AMERICAN FORCES PRESS SERVICE
New Defense Service Enhances Intelligence Capabilities
By Army Sgt. 1st Class Tyrone C. Marshall Jr.
WASHINGTON, April 24, 2012 - The Defense Department has begun a new effort to better integrate defense intelligence with the broader intelligence community and make the department a better, more versatile organization, a senior Pentagon spokesman told reporters today.
"What we've done here is we've formed a new effort here called the Defense Clandestine Service," said Navy Capt. John Kirby, the deputy assistant Secretary of Defense for media operations. "It's essentially designed to integrate defense intelligence capabilities with the broader intelligence community by leveraging unique military capabilities.
"It's also designed to further professionalize our intelligence workforce and offer some career progression inside the intelligence community," Kirby added. "And we'll also provide general direct support, not only to DOD collection, but also to the intelligence community's collection."
Kirby said the intent is to use "existing capabilities and existing personnel to better focus on this particular kind of intelligence."
He noted this new, joint effort, which has already began, is intended to be complementary to other intelligence efforts.
"I think the practical result will be a rebalancing of our efforts and our focus on the human side of intelligence collection," Kirby said. "We're very, very proficient at the technical side of intelligence collection and I think this will help us get a little bit better at the human intelligence effort."
Another benefit of this new effort, according to Kirby, will be better career progression for military officers in the intelligence community as "another professional track for they can pursue."
Kirby noted while the Defense Clandestine Service is a DOD initiative, it will be in support and complementary to the Director of National Intelligence's work.
"Yes, there are other intelligence communities who do this and they will continue to do this," Kirby said. "This isn't about supplanting anybody, it's not about taking over anything, it's not about militarization of intelligence collection; it's about making us better contributors to the overall team effort."
Kirby emphasized this initiative will build upon the best intelligence practices and lessons learned during the past decade.
"We're a learning organization and we've learned a lot over the last 10 years," he said, "and one of the things we've learned is that we can do better in this realm and we can contribute better to the intelligence community across the interagency in this realm."
U.S. DAILY STATE DEPARTMENT MEETING
FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Victoria Nuland
Spokesperson
Daily Press Briefing
Washington, DC
April 25, 2012
TRANSCRIPT:
1:06 p.m. EDT
MS. NULAND: Good afternoon, everybody. In keeping with our Free the Press campaign heading up to May 3rd, our journalist of the day is from Eritrea. And he is Dawit Isaak, who’s an independent Eritrean journalist. He co-owned the first Eritrean independent newspaper, which often reported on alleged abuses of regime power. He was arrested in 2001 without any formal charges or a trial, and he has since been held incommunicado by the Government of Eritrea. And we take this opportunity to call on the government to release him immediately. And you can learn more about him at our website humanrights.gov.
Let’s go to what’s on your minds.
QUESTION: I don’t have anything that’s significant enough to begin with, so --
MS. NULAND: Excellent.
QUESTION: (Inaudible) with the Free the Press campaign.
MS. NULAND: Yeah.
QUESTION: Are you aware that the Palestinian Authority blocked something like eight websites that are critical of Mahmoud Abbas? And if you are, do you have a comment on that?
MS. NULAND: I do have something on this. We have seen these reports, and we are concerned about any uses of technology that would restrict access to information. We are raising these concerns with the Palestinian Authority. You know that we’ve had these concerns in other parts of the world, and we wouldn’t want to see the PA going in the direction that some of those regimes have gone in. You know how strongly we advocate freedom of expression, freedom of information. So we will raise these things and endeavor to figure out what’s going on.
QUESTION: Are any of these news agencies and websites U.S.-financed?
MS. NULAND: Said, we started to do a little investigation of that. None of them is funded by the State Department programs under MEPI. I don’t have a full picture of the USAID programs yet. As soon as we do, we’ll get something back to you.
QUESTION: Thank you.
MS. NULAND: Yeah.
Please, Andy.
QUESTION: I have a related – slightly related question. In an interview with CNN yesterday, President – Prime Minister Netanyahu said that he supported the idea of a contiguous Palestinian state – which commentators said seemed to be a new line from him – that it wouldn’t look like Swiss cheese under any future arrangement. Is that – do you see that as progress? Is that something that is – marks a step forward?
MS. NULAND: Well, I think you know that our goal remains a comprehensive peace that creates and allows for a secure Israel and a prosperous and contiguous Palestinian state. But as we’ve always said, we can’t do this through press announcements. We can only do this when the parties sit down together and do the negotiating they have to do.
QUESTION: But I guess my question is: Is Netanyahu’s statement a – does this mark a new – an advance in Israel’s position toward this goal that you’re referring to, contiguous state being now --
MS. NULAND: Well, we ourselves have always called for a contiguous state, so that’s a good thing. But what’s most important is that these parties really roll up their sleeves and work together.
Shaun.
QUESTION: On a somewhat related note, the head of the Israeli military, Lieutenant General Gantz, made some remarks about Iran, saying that he considers the Iranians to be – the Iranian leadership to be rational, and hinting that pressure can work in terms of making them refrain from a bomb. What is your – do you have a reaction to his remarks, an assessment?
MS. NULAND: I don’t, Shaun. I really don’t. I mean, you know where we are. We are working on this approach of pressure and talks in the hope that we can make progress on this. But I think it’s really only Iranian behavior that’s going to tell the true story of what their intentions are.
QUESTION: Also on Iran? There’s the report that apparently, according to the Iranian ambassador to Russia, that the country is now thinking about giving up its nuclear program in order to avoid the looming EU sanctions. Does the U.S know about this? What can you say about it? If this is indeed true, is this a positive development?
MS. NULAND: Well, frankly, these issues have to be negotiated at the table that we have now created and restarted with the P-5+1 process. So the ambassador of Iran to Russia is not a central player in those, and frankly, what’s most important is what Iran says and does at the negotiating table.
QUESTION: But the fact that he is indicating that they are seriously looking at the long-term impact – we believe – ostensibly – on the Iranian economy, is that perhaps a leverage point for the P-5+1 process?
MS. NULAND: I don’t think that we consider it new that the sanctions are biting on the Iranian economy, and that it is a direct result of the international pressure that we’ve been able to bring to bear – more sanctions than we’ve ever been able to muster against Iran – that has brought them back to the negotiating table. But now, what’s most important is that they actually roll up their sleeves and work with us and come clean on their program.
QUESTION: Have there been any conversations with the Embassy in Moscow to see if indeed this was directly communicated, perhaps, to the Russian Government to actually see whether this is just speculation in the press or there might be some sort of signal coming out of this?
MS. NULAND: Again, I think you’re taking this far more seriously than we are. What matters to us is what happens in the room.
Please.
QUESTION: If I can go back to Andy’s question for a second?
MS. NULAND: Yeah.
QUESTION: Do you see – does the prime minister’s statement present you with an opportunity to drive the point home about settlement and outposts and so on, the fact that he acknowledged the need for a contiguous contiguity for a possible Palestinian state?
MS. NULAND: Well, I don’t think there’s any lack of emphasis on our part with regard to how we feel about settlements. I mentioned yesterday that we had been in to talk to the Israelis about this latest move, just to confirm that our Ambassador Shapiro did speak to Israeli negotiator Molho on this issue. So I don’t think there’s any lack of attention to that matter.
QUESTION: Yeah. But up to this point, there has been either a dismissal on the part of the Israelis or they just flat out snub your call to stop the settlements and so on. Now the prime minister himself has spoke of the need for contiguity. Don’t you think that this is a good opportunity to sort of emphatically make the point once more?
MS. NULAND: Well, we’ve been emphatically making the point all week long, but thanks, Said.
Please.
QUESTION: What was the Israeli response when Shapiro went in to --
MS. NULAND: The Israelis have made their views known on this publicly as well as privately. I don’t think that what they said to us privately differed all that much from what they’ve said privately[1]. But I’ll let them speak for themselves.
QUESTION: Which is that?
MS. NULAND: I’m going to let them speak for themselves.
QUESTION: Well, what’s your – I want to get – find out what your – is your understanding that they have legalized these outposts?
MS. NULAND: I am not going to get into what happened in the room with them. I’m going to let them characterize their own views. But they’ve been pretty clear publicly --
QUESTION: Well, forget about that. What’s your understanding? I don’t know what they’ve said. I’m asking you: What have they said? What is your understanding of what their position is?
MS. NULAND: I’m going to send you to them on their position.
QUESTION: No, no. (Laughter.)
MS. NULAND: Yeah, yeah. I am.
Go ahead. Please.North Korea?
MS. NULAND: Yeah.
QUESTION: No. I need to stay with the Palestinian for a second.
MS. NULAND: Yeah. Right. You can ask the Israelis about their own views
.
QUESTION: Yeah. This has to do with a determination that was in today’s Federal Register signed by Bill Burns, who I believe is a U.S. official, right?
It says – and I’m not going to read the whole thing, but it says: “I hereby determine and certify that the Palestinians have not, since the date of the enactment of that act -- ” which refers to the appropriations bill – “obtained in the UN or any specialized agency thereof the same standing as member-states or full membership as a state outside of an agreement negotiated between Israel and the Palestinians and waive the provisions of Section 1003 of the Anti-Terrorism Act,” et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.
Basically what this means is that the Palestinians can still have a waiver to have an office here. Now, I’ve got a couple of questions about this. One, I’m not aware – and maybe I’m wrong, but I am not aware that the Foreign Operations and Related Programs Appropriations Act of 2012 has actually been enacted yet.
So one, is that correct? And two, how is possible that you’re waiving this if they got membership in UNESCO in November?
MS. NULAND: Well, I haven’t seen this citation that you’re reading from, so why don’t I take it from you and why don’t we endeavor to come back to you with answers on both of those.
Okay.
QUESTION: A question on North Korea.
MS. NULAND: Please.
QUESTION: The Chinese vice foreign minister today appeared to make a veiled warning to North Korea not to carry out this supposed or possible nuclear test. I was curious if you had seen or had a reaction to those comments from the Chinese vice foreign minister, and if there’s – what the thinking is, if China is doing enough with their leverage with North Korea to put off a possible nuclear test.
MS. NULAND: Well, as we’ve said all through this period, we have been working closely with the Chinese, encouraging them to use all of the political and other kinds of leverage that they have with the DPRK to encourage it to change course. So obviously, public statements of this kind are most welcome. And we look forward to consulting with the Chinese on what more they think can and should be done when we go to – when the Secretary and Secretary Geithner are in Beijing for the Strategic and Economic Dialogue next week.
Please, in the back.
QUESTION: A question to Iran again. They – Iran reported that there was a cyber attack on its oil industry last week. The implications were that the West was behind it, although the United States weren’t named specifically. Have you any idea what might be behind those attacks, who might be, or can you even confirm that these attacks occurred?
MS. NULAND: I don’t have any information on that one way or the other. I refer you to the Iranians.
QUESTION: Former negotiator Larijani said today that this is a really good time for the negotiations to go on between Iran and the West. Do you feel that this is really a propitious time for Iran to go forward with --
MS. NULAND: Well, I think it’s going to be a matter of what these talks produce. So we are obviously committed to working hard. As we said at the time, we believe the first meeting in Istanbul was worth having. We’re going to have another meeting in Baghdad. But I think we’re now getting down to concrete proposals. If there are real steps, we’ll be prepared to respond, but we need to now see some real steps.
QUESTION: So your feeling is that the meeting on May 23rd in Baghdad will be far more substantive than the meeting in Istanbul, which basically set the date of the meeting?
MS. NULAND: I think we’ve sort of set the table at Istanbul. Now we need to start seeing what the meal’s going to look like.
QUESTION: And when you say concrete proposal, do you expect Iran to submit like a – to open up its facilities and to submit to whatever it needs from the West to aid it in a civilian program?
MS. NULAND: Well, I think you know all of the issues of concern to us with regard to Iran’s program. They’re clearly outlined in the repeated IAEA reports. So we had a chance to have that opening meeting of this round of talks and to talk about all the issues that we care about, and now we have to do some more technical exchanges between now and Baghdad, and then we have to see whether at the Baghdad round we can really get down to what the Iranians are prepared to do and what steps we might be willing to take to respond if the steps are real.
Okay.
QUESTION: And finally, is the feeling in this town that the sanctions are so biting that Iran is beginning to approach these talks seriously?
MS. NULAND: Well, again, we’ve said that we believe that the sanctions are biting, as I said at the top of the briefing. We think that that has led to their decision to come back to the table, and we hope that it’ll continue to contribute to working through this issue diplomatically, because that’s obviously the best way to get this done.
Yeah.
QUESTION: Did you have an update on David Hale?
MS. NULAND: I did, especially after I mangled it yesterday.
QUESTION: Oh. Was he not in Saudi?
MS. NULAND: Yeah. He actually went to Saudi last night. He had a meeting with Deputy Foreign Minister bin Abdullah today in Riyadh. He then went on to Cairo this evening. In Cairo, he’s going to meet with Egyptian officials. But he’s also going to meet with Qatari Prime Minister Al Thani, who is also going to be in Cairo at the same time.
QUESTION: So --
MS. NULAND: And then he is coming back to Washington on the weekend.
QUESTION: So he’s not going to Qatar, he’s --
MS. NULAND: Correct, correct.
QUESTION: And wasn’t there another one that he was going to – wasn’t he going to go to the UAE or something like that? Maybe --
MS. NULAND: Net on this trip: He will have been in Jerusalem, Jericho, Amman, Riyadh – I think he was in Kuwait at the front end, I can’t remember – Saudi, et cetera.
QUESTION: All right. And so he decided that it’s not worth his while, it’s not worth his time to go back to Israel and the PA after Cairo?
MS. NULAND: I think he – that he wants to come home and report and consult here before he makes another trip. That’s the current planning.
QUESTION: When he is in Cairo, isn’t he going to bring up the gas issue between Egypt and Israel?
MS. NULAND: The which issue?
QUESTION: The gas.
QUESTION: Gas.
QUESTION: Natural gas.
MS. NULAND: I’m sure that’ll be one of the subjects that he discusses, yes.
QUESTION: Any message he will bring to Cairo in this regard?
MS. NULAND: I think we’ll let him have his consultations in Cairo and we see what we want to read out on those.
Please.
QUESTION: Do you have a readout on Ambassador Grossman’s travel to Copenhagen, Ankara, and Abu Dhabi?
MS. NULAND: I do have some info on Ambassador Grossman’s travels.
First, on his European stops, as you know, he was primarily focused on support for the Afghan National Security Forces in line with the Chicago summit agenda that the Secretary laid out when she was in Brussels last week. He also was yesterday in Turkey for the same purposes, in Ankara. Today, he is in Abu Dhabi, and he – there was also a meeting of the International Contact Group on Afghanistan in the UAE.
And he is going on tonight to Islamabad, where he will be having bilateral conversations, and he will also be taking part in a core group meeting – this is Afghanistan, U.S., and Pakistan – that’ll be attended for the Pakistanis by Foreign Secretary Jilani, and by the Afghans by Deputy Foreign Minister Ludin.
QUESTION: So when he visits Islamabad and meets the foreign ministers, is he carrying any message from Secretary Clinton on --
MS. NULAND: When he goes to Pakistan?
QUESTION: Yeah.
MS. NULAND: Well, this is, as you know, in the context of the parliament concluding its review. We have begun our process of reengaging with the Pakistani Government to work through the issues that have come up during the review. So this will be an effort to really take up those issues one at a time and to see how we work through them.
QUESTION: So has Pakistan formally informed you about the parliamentary review or the conditions that they have announced publicly?
MS. NULAND: Well, I think we mentioned a week ago that the Secretary had spoken to Foreign Minister Khar, so she gave some views on this, and it was agreed at that time that Ambassador Grossman would make a trip to Pakistan to deepen and broaden the conversation that we’ve been having. I think you know that we had also had Deputy Secretary Nides in Pakistan, I think it was two weeks ago. And we had
USAID Administrator Shah there, we had Generals Allen and Dempsey there. So you can see us working hard now with the Pakistanis to work through the issues.
QUESTION: And this is a day-long trip?
MS. NULAND: He will be there – he’s arriving this evening. I think he will be there through Friday is my understanding, because the core group meeting is on Friday.
QUESTION: And he’s also going to Afghanistan?
MS. NULAND: He’s not going to Afghanistan on this trip.
QUESTION: He’s going back to D.C.?
MS. NULAND: Correct, yeah.
QUESTION: As part of the deepening of the relationship, did Pakistan inform the U.S. that it was going to conduct this missile test in the last 24 hours?
MS. NULAND: I don’t know what kind of advanced information we have – we had. I assume we had some, because I do know that they did have contact with the Indian Government before they proceeded with this.
QUESTION: Any reaction to that, to the missile test, to this – obviously it comes after the Indian test.
MS. NULAND: Well, we – obviously, the same message that we gave at the time of the Indian test, that we urge all nuclear-capable states to exercise restraint regarding nuclear and missile capabilities. We understand that this was a planned launch. The Pakistanis have said it wasn’t a direct response to the Indian test. But what’s most important is that they do seem to have taken steps to inform the Indians, and we, as you know, are quite intent on those two countries continuing to work together and improve their dialogue.
QUESTION: Sorry, just on Grossman’s meetings with the Pakistanis, not the core group --
MS. NULAND: Yeah.
QUESTION: So Ambassador Grossman is prepared to discuss everything that’s on the list of Pakistani concerns?
MS. NULAND: I think he’s open to working through the results of the parliamentary review with the Pakistani Government. I don’t want to prejudge or preempt how those conversations will go or what agenda the Pakistani side will bring, but as we said, we had been waiting for that review to be concluded before we could fully reengage. So this is our opportunity to do that.
QUESTION: But do you see the results of that review as something that can be negotiated, or is it something that you’re just going to accept flat out or --
MS. NULAND: I think we want to hear the Pakistani Government’s presentation of where it thinks the bilateral relationship needs to go, and then we will present our views and work through the issues, as partners do. That’s the expectation, so --
QUESTION: So it is something that you see as a negotiation process?
MS. NULAND: This is a conversation. This is a bilateral consultation about how we can improve our relationship along all of the lines that have been difficult. So I don’t want to prejudge what he’s going to hear or where we’re going to go in response. But as you know, we had said that we really needed them to complete their internal work and then come back to us, give us a sense of what they think this ought to lead to, and then we can talk. So that’s – this is the talk.
QUESTION: Does he have the authority to – or the authorization to discuss things like drone strikes, which are very high on the Pakistanis’ list? Well, I mean, at the top of the Pakistanis’ list.
MS. NULAND: Well, I think you can imagine that (a) I’m not going to get into intelligence issues and how we talk about them or don’t talk about them; and I’m certainly not going to get into the precise instructions of our fully empowered special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan.
QUESTION: So he is? He can negotiate with the Pakistanis on this and any other issue?
MS. NULAND: I am not using the “n” word and I’m not going to get into his instructions.
Go ahead.
QUESTION: Just briefly on that?
MS. NULAND: Yes.
QUESTION: Do you when the last time he was in Pakistan, when his last visit was to Pakistan?
MS. NULAND: I do not have that. I will take it for you.
Yeah, please.
QUESTION: In the same region, Afghanistan. Congressman Rohrabacher has been giving interviews talking about his co-del he was on where he did not end up going to Afghanistan. He said he had a conversation with the Secretary, who, basically, what he is saying is told her it would be best if he did not go to Afghanistan. I was curious if you had any comment on that situation and whether the Secretary might have had any conversations with President Karzai about letting Congressman Rohrabacher come to Afghanistan as part of that co-del.
MS. NULAND: Well, I don’t think we can improve on what Congressman Rohrabacher himself has said, so why don’t we just leave it there.
QUESTION: Any reason why we would support President Karzai’s wishes over a U.S. congressman going on this trip?
MS. NULAND: I think you know whenever any American travels, including members of Congress, members of the Executive Branch, traditionally there’s a visa process engaged there. In this case, sometimes when they fly in, it’s sort of handled more administratively. We were advised, as Congressman Rohrabacher made clear, that the sovereign government didn’t think this visit was timely. So it was in that context that he made his decision after our advice.
Okay, please.
QUESTION: I have a question on South America --
MS. NULAND: Yeah.
QUESTION: -- for what Americans might consider the ongoing soap opera involving the Secret Service, except this doesn’t involve the Secret Service. We’re talking about three U.S. Marines who apparently have been punished as well as an employee of the U.S. Embassy in Brasilia who apparently were implicated in tossing a prostitute out of a moving car sometime last year. And I wanted to find out, since we know that the Marines have been punished, who was the employee of the Embassy? Was this person an American? Was this person a local hire? What can you say about a pending lawsuit now, apparently, against the Embassy?
MS. NULAND: Well, first of all, your report of the incident in question is not accurate in terms of what actually happened. Second, this is something that happened back in December. There was a State Department employee involved. The – we did cooperate fully with the appropriate Brazilian authorities, including with the civil police. None of the Americans involved in the incident are still in Brazil. The civil police, as I understand it, are still working on their case, and no charges have been brought by the Brazilian authorities.
QUESTION: When you say that none of the people involved are still in Brazil, does that imply that the Embassy employee is an American?
MS. NULAND: Correct.
QUESTION: And does that person still work for the U.S. Government?
MS. NULAND: I do not have the answer to that. I believe so. But as you know, we don’t talk about our personnel for privacy reasons.
QUESTION: What is the policy? Much has been made about the Secret Service reviewing its standards of behavior for its employees when they’re detailed overseas. What is the standard for the State Department and its employees and how they’re expected to behave, conform to local laws overseas?
MS. NULAND: We have a zero-tolerance policy for any kind of conduct of the kind that was of – that involves prostitution or anything of that nature. I can give you the Foreign Affairs Manual regulations, if that’s helpful to you.
QUESTION: Mm-hmm.
MS. NULAND: Not only for the reasons of morality and local law, but also because any kind of conduct of that kind exposes our employees to blackmail and other things.
QUESTION: Even though that a country like Colombia may have legalized activity in this (inaudible)?
MS. NULAND: Correct.
QUESTION: Just a couple things on that. What about the description that you were read of the incident isn’t correct?
MS. NULAND: Well, Ros talked about somebody being thrown out of a car and this kind of thing. That is not what happened in this case.
QUESTION: What did happen?
QUESTION: Because that’s the description that the Secretary of Defense offered to reporters who were traveling with him. So --
MS. NULAND: Our information is that after four Embassy personnel left the club, the – a woman involved in this incident attempted to open a car door and get into a closed and moving vehicle. She was not able to do so. She fell and she injured herself. All of the Embassy personnel involved in this incident were interviewed by the Brazilian civil police. We have also conducted our own investigation into the incident, and we’ve taken all the appropriate steps regarding the individuals involved consistent with our laws and our regulations.
QUESTION: Did these – did any of these – in particular, the Embassy employee, did they violate any rule?
MS. NULAND: Well, as I said, they haven’t been charged by Brazilian authorities.
QUESTION: Right. But I mean any of the FAM rules.
MS. NULAND: I’m not going to get into the precise adjudication of the case for reasons of privacy with regard to our employee.
QUESTION: Well, yeah, but you said that none of the people are still in the country.
MS. NULAND: Correct.
QUESTION: But someone can be moved without being punished. I mean, you could be transferred just simply because this person – for another reason. So do you know if there was any – was there any reprimand or punishment handed out, and was there any reason to? Did they – did these people do anything wrong?
MS. NULAND: Again, my information is that we conducted our own investigation of this issue, and we took the appropriate steps. What I’m not at liberty to get into is what steps those might have been, given the privacy issues involving the employee. And that’s our policy that we don’t talk about disciplinary steps taken with employees.
QUESTION: Well, the Secret Service didn’t either until just recently.
MS. NULAND: I understand that.
QUESTION: Well, that’s why it’s important to know whether they actually did something wrong or they were just transferred or moved to – or demoted or whatever. I mean, maybe – I mean, the description that you just read, it sounds like it could be perfectly plausible that these people didn’t do anything wrong at all. So that’s --
MS. NULAND: And it may well be. I just don’t have information with regard to the case beyond what I’ve just given you.
QUESTION: Well, I would suggest that the Department might want to come clean on this, considering the interest in the – in that. The other thing is that in the FAM, it talks about – it said “notorious behavior” or something like that. But it only talks about that being a problem if it were to become publicly known.
MS. NULAND: Well, I don’t have the FAM in front of me. I think I should get it for you.
QUESTION: So I’m not sure I – okay. But I’m not – I’m curious as to – you say it’s a zero-tolerance policy, but it’s not clear to me that it is, in fact, zero tolerance if the only way it gets you into trouble is if other people find out about it.
MS. NULAND: But the problem – but this is the problem. This is why you have to have a zero-tolerance policy, because at any given time, if you open yourself up to such behavior, it could become known. And you can’t, as somebody engaged in behavior of that kind, predict when that might happen. And so you’re immediately vulnerable, and so is the U.S. Government. So that’s why we have the regulations that we have.
QUESTION: Okay. Can we --
QUESTION: Is there a lawsuit pending against the U.S. Government?
MS. NULAND: As I said, we have – I have information to indicate that there have been no charges filed by the – in Brazil.
QUESTION: FAM stands for foreign manual?
QUESTION: Wait, wait. I just want to make sure that you understand that – what I’m trying to get. I want – basically, I want to know if the people involved in this violated that FAM regulation.
MS. NULAND: I understand that, and I – my expectation is that we are not going to talk about an individual personnel case from the podium.
QUESTION: I’m just curious as to what FAM stands for.
MS. NULAND: Sorry. Foreign Affairs Manual, which are our published rules and regulations for ourselves. But anybody who’s interested in those, we’ll get them for you. I did have them a couple of days ago. I don’t have them here.
Please.
QUESTION: On Japan?
MS. NULAND: Yes.
QUESTION: There are reports that a U.S.-Japan joint announcement on the realignment of the U.S. forces in Japan scheduled on Wednesday, today, has been delayed because there are some senators have been criticizing it. I am curious if it’s really a reason – if you – do you think you can make an announcement before Japan’s prime minister visit to D.C. at this – at the end of this April?
MS. NULAND: Well, let me say that we have made progress in these negotiations. As you know, and as members of Congress have made clear, we have obligations to consult and to brief. And there are implications, including budgetary implications, that the Congress has to be happy with. So we are having those consultations. I’m not prepared to predict right now when we’ll go public with where we are, but everybody has their internal procedures, and we’re working through those now.
QUESTION: Toria?
MS. NULAND: Yeah.
QUESTION: I wonder if you’re aware, but the head of the Syrian National Council, Burhan Ghalioun, cancelled his trip to Washington. Are you aware of that, or do you have a comment on that?
MS. NULAND: I am. I frankly don’t have any back story. He’s a pretty busy guy, so maybe he had things to --
QUESTION: Okay. So it was not done at the suggestion, let’s say, of Washington?
MS. NULAND: No, not at all. Not at all. Not to my knowledge.
QUESTION: Okay. Do you find yourself in a position where the options towards Syria are actually – they range from bad to worse?
MS. NULAND: Well, the Secretary talked about this quite a bit yesterday. She made clear that we’re at a crossroads, and we’re at a very difficult crossroads as these monitors are starting to come in, are trying to do their job. In some cases, they are able to provide space and bear witness to what is going on, but in other cases, either they’ve had difficulty getting where they need to go, they’ve had difficulty in getting agreement with regard to the makeup of the personnel, and they have – as we talked about yesterday, we’ve had at least one incident where they went into a town, they were able to interview people, and then there were reprisals afterwards, which is just deplorable.
QUESTION: To follow up on my question that I raised a couple days ago on the number of monitors: Are you comfortable that 300 will be able to do their jobs, considering that there are so many flashpoints and there are so many places and villages and hamlets that they need to be at?
MS. NULAND: Well, frankly, we’re – right now we’re at 12, so let us get this scaled up and let us see what a mission of 300 that’s truly able to operate freely, truly able to do what it thinks is necessary in terms of interviewing people, in terms of gathering information, moving around, and then we’ll go from there. But at the moment, we’re at 12, and that’s not enough.
QUESTION: Okay. Going back to the Balkans experience, I mean, we – they had, like, thousands of monitors to be able to do the job. Do you see a point in time where this actually needs to be done?
MS. NULAND: Said, I think we have to take this one step at a time. We’ve seen what just a handful have been able to do in the towns where they’ve been – they’ve shown up. We’ve had outpourings of Syrian civilians thanking them, able to express themselves, so let’s see what we can do with 300. The most important thing now is to get them in and get them deployed and get them deployed freely.
Ros.
QUESTION: The French foreign minister, Mr. Juppe, suggested today that even if we let the full complement of monitors try to do its work in Syria, that it may well be time for the world to start looking at some sort of military intervention. Is he jumping the gun? Pardon the pun.
MS. NULAND: I think the Secretary made clear again yesterday, as she had in Paris, that even as we do our best to get these monitors in and doing their job, we also have to look at increased pressure in case this Annan plan doesn’t succeed. With regard to external military forces, our position on that has not changed, Ros.
Please.
QUESTION: Was the Secretary intending to meet with Burhan Ghalioun?
MS. NULAND: I don’t think we’d gotten that far in the planning of his schedule. She has met with him, I think, three times now. She – and most recently when we were in Istanbul some three weeks ago. So I think one of the issues was whether he was going to be here when she was here, but yeah.
QUESTION: A U.S. Congressman Joe Walsh from Illinois has written a letter to Secretary Clinton on reviewing a U.S. decision of 2005 not to issue a visa to the Gujarat chief minister in India, Narendra Modi. Is Secretary Clinton responding to the letter? And are you reviewing the U.S. position on that issue?
MS. NULAND: I haven’t seen the letter. I think you know that our position on the visa issue hasn’t changed at all, so I would guess that if we do respond, it’ll be along familiar lines.
I’m getting the high sign here because we have --
QUESTION: One more, on Burma.
MS. NULAND: Yeah.
QUESTION: Nine NGOs have – in a statement, have expressed concern on Secretary’s decision to ease sanctions on Burma. They are saying this is not going to be fruitful as far as Burma is concerned. How do you address their concerns?
MS. NULAND: If you’re referring – you’re referring to the letter from the American NGOs, right?
QUESTION: Yes.
MS. NULAND: Yeah. Well, as you know, we are not at the step with Burma yet that the NGOs are concerned about. We do have a very strong, vibrant dialogue with our own NGOs, with Burmese NGOs, as we develop this action for action policy, and we’ll continue to do that.
Thanks, everybody.
U.S. EXPORT-IMPORT BANK REPORT
FROM: U.S. EXPORT-IMPORT BANK
During the first half of fiscal year 2012, Ex-Im Bank approved $10.7 billion in authorizations. This financing is supporting approximately 96,000 American jobs. Although total authorizations decreased by 18% when compared to the first half of fiscal year 2011 ($13.1 billion in FY’11 and $10.7 billion in FY’12), small business transactions went up. Ex-Im authorizations during this period included $2.1 billion for small business, which was, as a percentage of total authorizations, an increase over last year’s performance, bringing this portfolio slightly below 20% of overall activity. Additionally, we added 273 new small companies to our ranks in the first half of fiscal year 2012.Working capital loan guarantees, which primarily support small business, were the highest volume of transactions in the second quarter.
Pending our reauthorization, long-term transactions in our pipeline put Ex-Im on track for another record-setting year. In addition, small business authorizations are expected to exceed the historic high of $6 billion achieved in fiscal year 2011.
Our pipeline contains a large number of Structured/Project Finance transactions, which have longer lead times. These are primarily located in Australia, the Middle East, and North Africa with concentrations in the manufacturing and power industries.
Ex-Im transactions contributed to the increase in overall U.S. goods and services exported in February, valued at $181.2 billion. The Commerce Department reported that over the last twelve months, the U.S. exports totaled $2.134 trillion, which is the largest amount the U.S. has ever exported in one year. In support of the National Export Initiative, we are still on track to doubling exports by 2015.
U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL HOLDER'S TASK FORCE ON CHILDREN EXPOSED TO VIOLENCE
FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Attorney General Eric Holder’s Task Force on Children Exposed to Violence Holds Final Public Hearing in Detroit New DOJ Study Reveals School Officials More Likely to Learn of Child Victimization than Police or Medical Authorities
At the final hearing of Attorney General Eric Holder’s National Task Force on Children Exposed to Violence in Detroit, officials from the Justice Department and the city of Detroit underscored efforts to keep kids safe and prevent youth violence. The task force is a key part of Attorney General Holder’s Defending Childhood Initiative to prevent and reduce children’s exposure to violence.
At the hearing, Acting Associate Attorney General Tony West announced the release of a new Justice Department research bulletin showing that 46 percent of victimized children were known to school, police or medical authorities. The bulletin, Child and Youth Victimization Known to Police, School, and Medical Authorities draws from the National Survey of Children’s Exposure to Violence sponsored by the Office of Justice Programs’ Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention with support from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“While more children are reporting violence to authorities, many continue to endure the pain of victimization in silence,” said Acting Associate Attorney General West. “Through the work of the Attorney General’s task force, we hope to find more ways to identify those children in need and make sure they have access to effective prevention and treatment options.”
The task force is co-chaired by Joe Torre, chairman of the board of the Joe Torre Safe At Home Foundation, and Robert Listenbee, Jr., chief of the Juvenile Unit of the Defender Association of Philadelphia. Co-chair Listenbee, a Detroit-area native, highlighted the urgency and opportunity of the task force’s work.
“I grew up just 20 miles outside of Detroit in Mt. Clemens, Michigan. During my high school years, violence was commonplace,” said Listenbee. “Similar violence still occurs in cities and towns across the country, but today we know so much more about how to address it. The resounding message this task force has heard is that we can – and must – change the norm of violence in children’s lives.”
During the opening session, Detroit Police Chief Ralph Godbee discussed the police department’s work with youth. He was joined by Lawnya Sherrod, a former Detroit gang member turned community organizer, who highlighted her work to get youth out of gangs and to help them graduate from high school and become productive, successful members of the community.
In a panel discussion about successful programs, Wayne County Child and Family Services Director Tadarial Sturdivant described his agency’s efforts to reform the juvenile justice system through a program called First Contact.
“[The program] creates an opportunity to collaborate with the Detroit Police Department and offer services at the street level to support the patrol officer who has first contact with the juvenile,” said Sturdivant. “As an alternative to arrest and detention, [the department] will convey youth to the Juvenile Assessment Center for stabilization, parental contact, brief assessment, transportation home, and referral for voluntary services.”
In a panel about public-private partnerships, Dr. William Bell, President and CEO of Casey Family Programs, discussed the need to meet the “overwhelming circumstances” of violence against children “with deliberate and intentional action.” Bell outlined concrete steps that every city in America could take to build “communities of hope” to reverse these violent trends.
Mary Lee, Deputy Director of PolicyLink, described how place influences many child outcomes. “ Just by knowing his or her zip code, a young person’s health, life expectancy, success in school, adult income¯all of these can be predicted,” noted Lee in her testimony, which described ways to improve the places children live to improve long-term outcomes.
The task force is composed of 13 leading experts, including practitioners, child and family advocates, academic experts and licensed clinicians, who will identify promising practices, programming and community strategies to prevent and respond to children’s exposure to violence. Their findings will inform their final report to the Attorney General in late 2012, which will present policy recommendations and serve as a blueprint for preventing and reducing the negative effects of such violence across the United States.
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Attorney General Eric Holder’s Task Force on Children Exposed to Violence Holds Final Public Hearing in Detroit New DOJ Study Reveals School Officials More Likely to Learn of Child Victimization than Police or Medical Authorities
At the final hearing of Attorney General Eric Holder’s National Task Force on Children Exposed to Violence in Detroit, officials from the Justice Department and the city of Detroit underscored efforts to keep kids safe and prevent youth violence. The task force is a key part of Attorney General Holder’s Defending Childhood Initiative to prevent and reduce children’s exposure to violence.
At the hearing, Acting Associate Attorney General Tony West announced the release of a new Justice Department research bulletin showing that 46 percent of victimized children were known to school, police or medical authorities. The bulletin, Child and Youth Victimization Known to Police, School, and Medical Authorities draws from the National Survey of Children’s Exposure to Violence sponsored by the Office of Justice Programs’ Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention with support from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“While more children are reporting violence to authorities, many continue to endure the pain of victimization in silence,” said Acting Associate Attorney General West. “Through the work of the Attorney General’s task force, we hope to find more ways to identify those children in need and make sure they have access to effective prevention and treatment options.”
The task force is co-chaired by Joe Torre, chairman of the board of the Joe Torre Safe At Home Foundation, and Robert Listenbee, Jr., chief of the Juvenile Unit of the Defender Association of Philadelphia. Co-chair Listenbee, a Detroit-area native, highlighted the urgency and opportunity of the task force’s work.
“I grew up just 20 miles outside of Detroit in Mt. Clemens, Michigan. During my high school years, violence was commonplace,” said Listenbee. “Similar violence still occurs in cities and towns across the country, but today we know so much more about how to address it. The resounding message this task force has heard is that we can – and must – change the norm of violence in children’s lives.”
During the opening session, Detroit Police Chief Ralph Godbee discussed the police department’s work with youth. He was joined by Lawnya Sherrod, a former Detroit gang member turned community organizer, who highlighted her work to get youth out of gangs and to help them graduate from high school and become productive, successful members of the community.
In a panel discussion about successful programs, Wayne County Child and Family Services Director Tadarial Sturdivant described his agency’s efforts to reform the juvenile justice system through a program called First Contact.
“[The program] creates an opportunity to collaborate with the Detroit Police Department and offer services at the street level to support the patrol officer who has first contact with the juvenile,” said Sturdivant. “As an alternative to arrest and detention, [the department] will convey youth to the Juvenile Assessment Center for stabilization, parental contact, brief assessment, transportation home, and referral for voluntary services.”
In a panel about public-private partnerships, Dr. William Bell, President and CEO of Casey Family Programs, discussed the need to meet the “overwhelming circumstances” of violence against children “with deliberate and intentional action.” Bell outlined concrete steps that every city in America could take to build “communities of hope” to reverse these violent trends.
Mary Lee, Deputy Director of PolicyLink, described how place influences many child outcomes. “ Just by knowing his or her zip code, a young person’s health, life expectancy, success in school, adult income¯all of these can be predicted,” noted Lee in her testimony, which described ways to improve the places children live to improve long-term outcomes.
The task force is composed of 13 leading experts, including practitioners, child and family advocates, academic experts and licensed clinicians, who will identify promising practices, programming and community strategies to prevent and respond to children’s exposure to violence. Their findings will inform their final report to the Attorney General in late 2012, which will present policy recommendations and serve as a blueprint for preventing and reducing the negative effects of such violence across the United States.
SEC. OF STATE CLINTON'S REMARKS AT TIME 100 GALA
FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Remarks at the TIME 100 Gala
Remarks Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State Lincoln Center
New York, NY
April 24, 2012
Thank you very much. Thank you all. Thank you and welcome to my announcement to run for president of Malta. (Laughter.) I am so delighted to be here in New York in the United States of America at this event, and I want to thank Rick Stengel and everyone at TIME for bringing together this remarkable group of people and for including me as well. Truth be told, as Richard just mentioned, I did invite him to travel with me to all those countries, including Libya, just after the revolution, and it was, frankly, a transparent ploy to make the TIME 100 list. (Laughter.) So if you ever want to make the list again, or for the first time, just follow that example.
We’re here in the greatest city in the world, and I’m delighted that TIME has included two of the newest residents: Jeremy Lin and Tim Tebow. And for both of them, I’m sure they will have already discovered what a welcoming, exciting place New York is. And if you want any advice, if you need a little help getting your bearings, I’ve put together some ideas for a Listening Tour – and if you just travel around, you’ll hear all kinds of things from New Yorkers. And for me it was a great experience representing this exciting state.
Now, there’s a lot to be done tonight, but there’s not really a lot of room for more than one internet meme sensation, so I’m afraid that Tim Tebow and Jeremy Lin really take the cake here. Speaking of New York though, I was delighted to see that our wonderful Governor Andrew Cuomo is on the TIME 100 list, along with others like Marco Rubio. And the two of them and I have ended up on some other lists this past couple of months. (Laughter.) And I assume it’s their keen interest in foreign policy that brings us together. But for me, looking through this list and looking at that exciting video depiction of everyone, I just want to say how impressed and grateful I am.
TIME has honored so many national and global leaders; you couldn’t possibly acknowledge every one. There’s many I haven’t had a chance to meet yet – I was sort of hoping Kim Jong-un would show up. (Laughter.) I don’t think he’s here but if you catch sight of him, let me know. We’re still trying to figure out what he’s all about. (Laughter.)
But I do want to give a shout-out to Angela Merkel and Dilma Rousseff and Portia Miller, Christine Lagarde, who are also on this list and prove once again that you actually can run the world in heels and pantsuits. (Applause.) Because the day is over when women leaders could only aspire to a supporting role. And by the way, I think we may have just found Kristen Wiig’s next movie. She can call it: “Bridesmaids No Longer.” (Laughter.)
I am – just excited to have the chance to say a few semi-serious words. Because aside from the dictators – and I am not talking about my friend Harvey – (laughter) – this is a truly remarkable list with so many distinguished leaders, artists, and activists, people who are on the front lines across the globe, whether it’s fighting AIDS in India, corruption in Russia, gender-based violence in Pakistan. And I am personally pleased at how many courageous women are on the list this year.
Now what does this actually mean, besides a fabulous evening in one of the great spots of New York? You’ve been deemed as influential. And I think it means that, at least according to TIME and the process they went through, people are inspired by your grace and your grit, moved by your refusal to give up even when the challenges appear insurmountable, motivated by your focus on solving problems that actually matter in people’s lives, showing us all what it means to work hard, to innovate, to advance our common humanity, to lead.
And the challenges that so many of you and others who couldn’t be with us tonight take on every day – conflict and persecution, corruption and poverty, hunger and disease – go directly to the security and prosperity of this country and all countries.
Today a flu in Canton can become an epidemic in Chicago. Or a protest in Cairo can reverberate to Calcutta causing economic and political shockwaves. And we know too well the destruction that an extremist cell in Karachi or Kandahar can cause. The world has changed – technology and globalization have made nearly every country and community interdependent and interconnected; citizens and non-state actors like NGOs, corporations, cartels are increasingly influencing international affairs for good or for ill. And the challenges we face have become so complex, so fast-moving, so cross-cutting that no one nation can hope to solve them alone. So how we practice foreign policy needs to change as well.
And when President Obama asked me to be Secretary of State, people were asking, “Is America still up to the job of leading in this rapidly changing world?” And we faced two wars, an economy in free-fall, diplomacy had been deemphasized, our traditional alliances were fraying, the international system the United States had helped to build and defend looked increasingly obsolete.
So the President set a clear objective to secure and advance America’s global leadership in the 21st Century. And to achieve that goal, we could no longer rely primarily on military solutions or on a go-it-alone approach. We needed to expand our thinking and our horizons, to use every tool in the proverbial tool box, every asset, every partner, in an integrated approach. And that meant breaking out of old bureaucratic silos, engaging with emerging powers, and most importantly, as Rick said, with people themselves, not just governments. It also meant harnessing market forces to help solve strategic problems, finding new partners in the private sector. In short, we needed to change the way we did business from top to bottom. And we called this new approach: “Smart Power.”
And it’s been more than three years now. By the time I finish next January, I guess I’ll have traveled a million miles, visited more than 100 countries. And I know a couple of things. One, the world remains a dangerous place, but I’m very proud of what we’ve accomplished. We have integrated the three pillars of American foreign policy: diplomacy, development, and defense. And we have worked hard to restore America’s standing, especially by repairing alliances and deepening relationships, and paying a lot of attention to the so-called rising powers. And also putting together coalitions to do things like protect civilians in Libya, or to try to, through pressure and sanctions, influence behavior in Iran. Putting people at the center of our foreign policy, especially those long pushed to the margins like women and young people, religious and ethnic minorities, the LGBT community, civil society. That was important because we want to make clear that America’s values of inclusivity and democracy, of fairness and equality of opportunity really were at the core of who we are and who we will be. So we determined to make innovation and partnerships the foundation of what we did.
And America’s global leadership is not a birthright. It has to be earned by each successive generation. So putting the common good ahead of narrow interests is what I think is not just a nice thing to do, but essential. And that’s as true at home as it is abroad. To be innovative, integrated, visionary, it’s all critical to the kind of future we want.
And there is no substitute for American leadership. I feel it everywhere I travel, every time that big blue and white plane with the words United States of America on the side touches down in another country. And yes, I appreciate greatly our military and material might. But at bottom it is our values and our commitment to fairness and justice, freedom and democracy that has set us apart and hopefully, God-willing, will always set us apart. It’s what makes American leadership so exceptional.
So let me leave you with just one final thought. Because as much as the world changes, this will always be true: Sometimes nations must be willing to do what is right no matter the odds or the costs. We must be prepared to act strongly and decisively, with every tool and, even occasionally, weapon at our disposal.
Some of you might have seen that photograph from the White House Situation Room on the day Usama bin Ladin was killed. And I’m often asked: What was going through my mind during that very long, tense day? And first, I remembered all the people here in New York who I had gotten to know, who I was privileged to represent in the Senate, and how much they, and we, deserved justice for our loved ones. And I thought about America and how important it was to protect our country from another attack. And I prayed for the safety of those brave men, those Navy SEALS risking their lives on that moonless Pakistani night.
So America will not only continue to lead, we will do so because we must. It’s who we are. It’s in our DNA. And I want to be sure that as I finish off my term as Secretary of State, and eventually get to a point where I can put my feet up and actually enjoy just being a citizen again, there’s a lot of work still to be done. There’s not a moment to lose.
And as I head off to another country and go on to all the meetings that I’ll be having, I will have the privilege to meet people like those we honor tonight. I will have the privilege to see firsthand what they are doing to advance freedom and opportunity to stand up to injustice, and I will know that America needs to be on their side. We need to continue doing what America does best: solving problems, standing for our values, and making it clear that the future will be just as exciting, filled with potential, as we have enjoyed a past that has given so many of us the opportunities that we sometimes take for granted, but which we are privileged to have as we gather here tonight.
So we need your help to continue this mission, this human mission. And next year when the editors of TIME begin putting together their list, I hope that they, and we, will find a world perhaps a little more peaceful, more prosperous, and more free.
And thanks to all of you for your contributions in making that so. Thank you all. Goodnight. (Applause.)
SBA AND FDIC OFFER EDUCATION AND MENTORING SUPPORT FOR NEW ENTREPRENEURS
FROM: SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
FDIC and SBA Team Up to Offer Financial Education and Mentoring Support to New and Aspiring Entrepreneurs
WASHINGTON – The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and U.S. Small Business Administration today announced new resources to support small businesses across the nation. Acting Chairman Gruenberg and SBAs Associate Administrator for Entrepreneurial Development Michael Chodos released Money Smart for Small Business, a training curriculum for new and aspiring business owners.
Developed in partnership between both agencies, this curriculum is the latest offering in the FDIC’s award-winning Money Smart program.
Money Smart for Small Business provides an introduction to day-to-day business organization and planning and is written for entrepreneurs with limited or no prior formal business training. It offers practical information that can be applied immediately, while also preparing participants for more advanced training. FDIC and SBA will form a Training Alliance for organizations that support small businesses through training, technical assistance or mentoring.
Money Smart for Small Business provides an introduction to day-to-day business organization and planning and is written for entrepreneurs with limited or no prior formal business training. It offers practical information that can be applied immediately, while also preparing participants for more advanced training. FDIC and SBA will form a Training Alliance for organizations that support small businesses through training, technical assistance or mentoring.
“We are excited to join the FDIC in its expansion of the Money Smart curriculum for small business,” said SBA Administrator Karen Mills. “The FDIC is a vital ally in our efforts to help small business owners start, grow and create jobs. Money Smart for Small Business will help to put more information on the business basics of financial management at entrepreneurs’ fingertips and make it easier for them to build their knowledge and skill set.”
“We are excited to join the FDIC in its expansion of the Money Smart curriculum for small business,” said SBA Administrator Karen Mills. “The FDIC is a vital ally in our efforts to help small business owners start, grow and create jobs. Money Smart for Small Business will help to put more information on the business basics of financial management at entrepreneurs’ fingertips and make it easier for them to build their knowledge and skill set.”
Gruenberg and Chodos were joined by Training Alliance partners at the launch of Money Smart for Small Business, hosted by the District of Columbia’s Affinity Lab, a small business incubator. “We are proud to launch Money Smart for Small Business,” said Gruenberg. “We value our partnerships – with SBA and the Money Smart Alliance members – and recognize their importance to our work. Small businesses play a vital role in supporting a vibrant economy.”
Gruenberg and Chodos were joined by Training Alliance partners at the launch of Money Smart for Small Business, hosted by the District of Columbia’s Affinity Lab, a small business incubator. “We are proud to launch Money Smart for Small Business,” said Gruenberg. “We value our partnerships – with SBA and the Money Smart Alliance members – and recognize their importance to our work. Small businesses play a vital role in supporting a vibrant economy.”
Each of the 10 instructor-led modules in Money Smart for Small Business provides financial and business management for business owners and includes a scripted instructor guide, participant guide and overhead slides. The FDIC will host an online “town hall” for potential Training Alliance partners in the months ahead.
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