HHS SAYS 71 MILLION AMERICANS WILL RECEIVE PREVENTITIVE CARE DUE TO AFFORDABLE CARE ACT

Credit:  Veterans Affairs

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Affordable Care Act extended free preventive care to 71 million Americans with private health insurance
Health Care Law’s third anniversary sees health costs slowing down, more value for consumers

Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced today that about 71 million Americans in private health insurance plans received coverage for at least one free preventive health care service, such as a mammogram or flu shot, in 2011 and 2012 because of the Affordable Care Act. The new data was released in a report from HHS today.

Additionally, an estimated 34 million Americans in traditional Medicare and Medicare Advantage plans have received at least one preventive service, such as an annual wellness visit at no out of pocket cost because of the health care law.

Taken together, this means about 105 million Americans with private health plans and Medicare beneficiaries have been helped by the Affordable Care Act’s prevention coverage improvements.

Preventive services, consumer protections, and other reforms under the Affordable Care Act are giving millions of Americans of all ages more value for their health care dollars and contributing to the slowest growth in health care costs in 50 years.

"Preventing illnesses before they become serious and more costly to treat helps Americans of all ages stay healthier," Secretary Sebelius said. "No longer do Americans have to choose between paying for preventive care and groceries."

Secretary Sebelius released the preventive services report as HHS celebrates the Affordable Care Act’s third anniversary this week. The law is keeping down costs and providing more value for consumers and taxpayers through new consumer protections, holding insurance companies accountable, building a smarter health care system, and providing seniors with vital savings on their prescription drugs.

The Affordable Care Act is giving Americans better value for their health insurance plans by:
Eliminating lifetime dollar caps on essential health benefits, and phasing out annual caps. About 105 million Americans no longer have to fear their benefits will disappear when they need them most because their insurer put a lifetime cap on the amount it would pay.
Prohibiting health insurance companies from denying coverage to children based on a pre-existing condition, such as asthma or cancer.
And in 2014, it will be illegal for health insurance companies to deny coverage to any American or to charge more because of a pre-existing condition. No longer will 129 million Americans with health conditions have to fear seeing their premiums increased or getting locked out of the insurance market.
The law will also make it illegal for a health insurer to charge women more simply because they are women. "That means," Secretary Sebelius said, "being a woman will no longer be a pre-existing condition."

U.S. CONFRONTS TRANSNATIONAL CRIME IN CENTRAL AMERICA

A U.S. Navy sailor pulls rear security on a rivercraft in Corozal, Belize, during joint river operations as part of Southern Partnership Station 2013 in the U.S. 4th Fleet area of responsibility, Feb. 25, 2013. Southern Partnership Station is an annual deployment that exchanges training and expertise between U.S. military and civilian agencies and their counterparts in Central and South America and the Caribbean. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Ashley Hyatt

FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Southern Partnership Station Confronts Transnational Crime
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, March 18, 2013 - Working with three Central American counterparts to help them build capability to counter transnational criminals, participants in Southern Partnership Station 2013 are supporting U.S. Southern Command's outreach to the region, and by extension, U.S. national security, a Southcom official told American Forces Press Service.

After completing the first stop of their visit, to Belize, participants arrived last week in Guatemala, where they will remain through the month's end, reported Navy Cmdr. Robert Skinner, maritime plans chief for Southcom's future operations directorate. They then will continue on for bilateral engagements in Honduras before wrapping up the overall mission in late May.

Throughout the U.S. 4th Fleet operation, the focus is on building partner-nation capacity to help regional nations better stand up to challenges than transcend their national borders, Skinner said.

To support the mission, USNS Swift, a high-speed catamaran, left Mayport, Fla., in mid-February with an embarked command element and members of every military service and participants from the Coast Guard, the FBI and other government agencies.

The assigned units are focusing on locally identified needs, such as port security, noncommissioned officer professional development, operational risk management, medical readiness, outboard motor maintenance and patrol-craft operation, Navy Lt. Cmdr. Corey Barker, the 4th Fleet public affairs officer, reported.

In Belize, Seabees from Construction Battalion Maintenance Unit 202 built an open-bay structure to support Belize Defense Force operations while members of Riverine Squadron 2 helped their Belizean counterparts improve skills in interdiction and security team inserts and extractions on the water.

Meanwhile, agents from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service's Security Training Assistance and Assessment Team Atlantic spent almost three weeks sharing law enforcement techniques with Belizean coast guard and police forces.

With the mission now unfolding in Guatemala, about 150 service members are concentrating their efforts on explosive ordnance disposal teams and riverine and law enforcement operations. Additionally, Seabees are helping to improve infrastructure at the Guatemalan military's Kaibil base.

"Swift is a unique platform that allows us to make lasting bonds with our partner nations in Latin America," said Navy Cmdr. Bob Poling, the mission commander. "What we do on this deployment will make a difference and it will have a lasting impact on our partners in the region."

The Southern Partnership Station mission is part of Southcom's broader Partnership of the Americas maritime engagement strategy, Skinner explained. Adopted in 2008, the strategy provides a coordinated, holistic approach to U.S. maritime engagement in Central and South America and the Caribbean.

Other key elements of the strategy include Continuing Promise, which features medical services and humanitarian and civic activities, and Southern Seas, which encompasses a variety of large-scale, multilateral exercises and exchanges designed to improve operational readiness and enhance relationships in the region, Skinner said.

Southern Partnership Station is more bilateral in nature, offering an opportunity for participants to focus on specific capability gaps partner nations identify. This, Skinner said, helps to make them stronger partners and enables them to play a greater role in confronting transnational criminals and drug traffickers that no single country can confront alone.

The mission, along with other Southcom-sponsored engagements in the theater, also promotes regional interoperability so nations can better work together to address these challenges, Skinner said.

"We feel we have common interests and security concerns," he said. "The transitional challenges we have requires cooperative action among the different states. And by building up our partner nations, we are multiplying our own capabilities downrange."

Southern Partnership Station also makes an important statement in reaffirming the United States' commitment to its regional neighbors, Skinner said.

"We want to be an enduring partner," he said. "We want to be their partner of choice."

(Navy Lt. Cmdr. Corey Barker, public affairs officer for the U.S. 4th Fleet, and Air Force Master Sgt. Chris Stagner contributed to this article.)

RECENT U.S. NAVY PHOTOS

FROM: U.S. NAVY
130311-N-ZQ631-124 U.S. 5TH FLEET AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY (March 11, 2013) Sailors aboard the guided-missile destroyer USS William P. Lawrence (DDG 110) prepare to offer rescue assistance to a burning vessel during a transit of the Strait of Hormuz. William P. Lawrence is deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility promoting maritime security operations, theater security cooperation efforts and support missions for Operation Enduring Freedom. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Carla Ocampo/Released)

130317-N-TG831-497 WATERS TO THE WEST OF THE KOREAN PENINSULA (March 17, 2013) The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain (DDG 56), front, the Republic of Korea Navy Aegis-class destroyer ROKS Seoae-Yu-Seong-Ryong (DDG 993), middle, and the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS McCampbell (DDG 85) move into formation during exercise Foal Eagle 2013. McCampbell and McCain are members of Destroyer Squadron 15, forward deployed to Yokosuka, Japan, and are underway to conduct exercise Foal Eagle 2013 with allied nation Republic of Korea in support of regional security and stability of the Asia-Pacific region. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Declan Barnes/Released)

U.S. AND SOUTH KOREA BASE

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
More than 28,000 American service membes are based in South Korea
Bombers Show U.S. Resolve to Defend South Korea, Spokesman Says
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, March 18, 2013 - It isn't just American capabilities in South Korea that North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un has to consider -- capabilities based outside South Korea also figure in the strategic calculus, Pentagon Press Secretary George Little said today.

In a meeting with reporters, Little said B-52 bombers based at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, flew a mission over South Korea on March 8 as part of Exercise Foal Eagle.

"It's not any secret that we are in the midst of sending a very strong signal that we have a firm commitment to the alliance with our South Korean allies," he added.

Little called this "a stepped-up training effort" to demonstrate American resolve to protect South Korea and to preserve peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.

The flight was not a one-of—a-kind exercise. The B-52 is part of U.S. Pacific Command's Continuous Bomber Presence. The Foal Eagle mission highlights the extended deterrence and conventional capabilities of the B-52 Stratofortress, Little said, stressing that the B-52 is just one of the many capabilities the United States can call on to defend South Korea.

The bomber missions are routine and a literal symbol of American resolve in the Pacific, the press secretary said. "Despite challenges with fiscal constraints, training opportunities remain important to ensure U.S. and [South Korean] forces are battle-ready and trained to employ airpower to deter aggression, defend South Korea and defeat any attack against the alliance," he added.

The bomber program is based in Guam, where Air Force strategic bombing units routinely deploy. The aircraft can perform a variety of missions, including carrying precision-guided conventional or nuclear ordnance.

　

STARS FORMED IN UNIVERSE EARLIER THAN THOUGHT SAY SCIENTISTS

Photo:   Telescope In Antartica.  Credit:  NSF.

FROM: NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
Credit-South Pole Telescope-NSF
NSF-funded Telescopes in Antarctica and Chile Discover Bursts of Star Formation in the Early Universe

Distant, dust-filled galaxies were bursting with newborn stars much earlier in cosmic history than previously thought, according to newly published research.

So-called "starburst galaxies" produce stars at the equivalent of a thousand new suns per year. Now, astronomers have found starbursts that were churning out stars when the universe was just a billion years old.

"I find that pretty amazing," said Joaquin Vieira, a postdoctoral scholar at the California Institute of Technology and leader of the study. "These aren't normal galaxies. These galaxies [reveal star formation] at an extraordinary rate, when the universe was very young. I don't think anyone expected us to find galaxies like this so early in the history of the universe."

An international team of astronomers, whose work is reported in the March 14 issue of the journal Nature, found dozens of these galaxies with the National Science Foundation- (NSF) funded South Pole Telescope (SPT).

SPT is a 10-meter dish in Antarctica that surveys the sky in millimeter-wavelength light, whose waves fall between radio waves and infrared on the electromagnetic spectrum.

The team then took a more detailed look using the new Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile's Atacama Desert, which is funded in part by NSF. ALMA is an international facility and is a partnership between North America, Europe and East Asia in cooperation with the Republic of Chile.

"The new observations represent some of ALMA's most significant scientific results yet," Vieira said. "We couldn't have done this without the combination of SPT and ALMA. ALMA is so sensitive, it is going to change our view of the universe in many different ways."

The "energy of a trillion suns"

Vieira and team's Nature paper is titled: "Dusty starburst galaxies in the early universe as revealed by gravitational lensing." The research enables astronomers to study the earliest bursts of star formation and to understand how galaxies formed and evolved.

Shining in the infrared with the energy of a trillion suns, these newly discovered starburst galaxies represent what the most massive galaxies in our cosmic neighborhood looked like in their star-making youth.

With ALMA, the astronomers found that more than 30 percent of the new galaxies are from a time period just 1.5 billion years after the Big Bang. Previously, only nine such galaxies were known to exist, and it wasn't clear whether galaxies could produce stars at such high rates so early in cosmic history.

Now, with the new discoveries, that number has nearly doubled, providing valuable data that will help other researchers constrain and refine computer models of star and galaxy formation in the early universe.

But what's particularly special about the new findings, Vieira says, is that the team determined the distance to these starburst galaxies by directly analyzing the star-forming dust itself. Previously, astronomers had to rely on a cumbersome combination of indirect optical and radio observations using multiple telescopes to study the galaxies.

These measurements were also made possible because of the unique properties of these objects, the astronomers say. The observed galaxies were selected specifically because they are gravitationally lensed--a phenomenon predicted by Einstein in which, like a magnifying glass, a galaxy in the foreground of a viewer on earth bends the light from a more distant background galaxy that is also in the viewer's line of sight.

This lensing effect makes the background galaxies appear brighter, cutting the amount of telescope time needed to observe them by 100 times. As a result, the galaxies appear just as bright in these wavelengths no matter how far away they are--like a "magic" lightbulb that appears just as bright no matter how distant it is.

"A jewel in the crown"

Vladimir Papitashvili, program manager for Antarctic Astrophysics and Geospace Sciences in NSF's Division of Polar Programs, said, "SPT is a jewel in the crown of Antarctic astronomy. Its primary purpose is to study the Cosmic Microwave Background radiation--the faint "echo" of the Big Bang--and the early universe. But the telescope has also made other surprising and scientifically significant discoveries, such as the one described here."

NSF, through its Polar Programs Division, manages the U.S. Antarctic Program, and maintains three year-round stations in Antarctica, including Amundsen-Scott.

ALMA consists of 45 antennas, each 12 meters in diameter, provided by North America and Europe, with four additional 12-meter and a dozen 7-meter antennas provided by Japan. ALMA is located near San Pedro de Atacama, Chile, at an altitude of 5,000 meters.

ALMA is an international astronomy facility and is a partnership between North America, Europe and Japan in cooperation with the Republic of Chile.

ALMA is funded in North America by NSF in cooperation with the National Research Council of Canada and the National Science Council of Taiwan; in Europe by the European Southern Observatory; and in Japan by the National Institutes of Natural Science of Japan in cooperation with the Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics of Taiwan.

Having come online only last year, ALMA is the largest ground-based astronomy project in history, involving hundreds of astronomers from around the world.  
In remarks given at the dedication event, NSF Director Subra Suresh noted not only that ALMA represents a wide-ranging international partnership in so-called "big science," but also that "ALMA represents the largest single NSF investment in any facility."

"I am very proud of the scientific advances that ALMA represents, and I am also proud that we will be making the data that emerges from ALMA available to many users around the world, bringing the fruits of scientific discovery to virtually all the world's scientific communities," he added.

Making possible the previously impossible

Phil Puxley, ALMA Program Manager in NSF's Mathematical and Physical Science (MPS) Directorate, which funds ALMA, noted that the sensitivity of the ALMA array made these studies of the early universe possible.

"The vast improvement in sensitivity [allowed by ALMA] enables observations of galaxies in the distant universe to be made in a matter of minutes, observations which previously would have taken days, or even been impossible, on existing telescopes," he said.

The astronomers used only 16 of the 45 dishes that will eventually come online as part of ALMA, which is the most powerful telescope observing in the millimeter and sub-millimeter wavelengths.

"To me, these results are really exciting because they confirm the expectation that when ALMA is fully available, it can really allow astronomers to probe star formation all the way up to the edge of the observable universe," said Fred Lo, director emeritus and Distinguished Astronomer for the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, the North American partner of ALMA. He is also a Moore Distinguished Scholar at Caltech who was not a part of the study.

These research results arise from only about a quarter of the data taken by Vieira and his colleagues, and they anticipate finding even more of these dusty starburst galaxies.

The ultimate goal for astronomers is to observe galaxies at all wavelengths throughout the history of the universe, piecing together the complete story of how galaxies formed and evolved. So far, astronomers have made much progress in creating computer models and simulations of early galaxy formation, Lo says.

But only with new observational data--such as the information on these new galaxies gathered by SPT and ALMA--will cosmic history ever be truly pieced together.

Computer "simulations are simulations," Lo says. "What really counts is what you see."

-NSF-

COUNTER NARCOTICS DEAL SIGNED IN KABUL, AFGHANISTAN

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
U.S. Embassy in Kabul and Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs Sign Agreement to Support Counter Narcotics and Law Enforcement Programs in Afghanistan
Media Note
Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC
March 14, 2013

U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Stephen G. McFarland and Afghan Foreign Deputy Minister Jawid Ludin signed agreements allocating $249 million for joint programs in counternarcotics, rule of law and law enforcement. The funds will support key programs that aim to achieve shared goals toward better governance in improving the administration of justice and enhanced rule of law, continuing the development of a safe, secure and humane corrections system; and increasing security through curtailment of the narcotics trade.

These efforts will support Drug Demand Reduction programs in Afghanistan, and community-led development projects in provinces that have successfully reduced or eliminated poppy cultivation. Our joint cooperation will continue to help establish legal assistance bureaus and promote gender justice initiatives such as the Violence Against Women Units housed in the Attorney General’s Office. Funds will also be used toward in-service training for judges, attorneys, prosecutors, defense attorneys, and correctional officials.

Ambassador McFarland praised Afghans saying that "the cooperation between the United States and Afghanistan in these areas cannot be measured by money, but rather by the implementation of our peoples’ shared values."

By partnering with Afghan law enforcement agencies, the United States aims to boost anti-drug trafficking efforts that fund terrorist and criminal activities, promote citizen safety, and help all Afghans access justice

THE LAST BRIGADE



Leaders from the 2nd Cavalry Regiment meet with replicated Afghan officials during a mission rehearsal exercise at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Hohenfels, Germany, March 11, 2013. The training focuses on enabling Afghan national security forces to assume responsibilities for security operations. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Ruth Harvie

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Final Afghanistan-bound Stryker Brigade Trains for Deployment
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, March 13, 2013 - Members of the last Stryker brigade combat team scheduled to deploy to Afghanistan are preparing for a distinctly different mission there, while also instituting new measures to promote resilience for soldiers and their families during the deployment.

The 2nd Cavalry Regiment "Dragoons" are midway through a mission rehearsal exercise at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center at Hohenfels, Germany.

The training, to help ramp up the unit for its nine-month deployment to Afghanistan this summer, represents a major shift from the combat-focused operations Army Col. Douglas Sims, the regimental commander, and many of his soldiers have undergone before previous rotations.

"As the security forces assistance brigade, what we are trying to do is very different than what we have done in the past," Sims told American Forces Press Service during a phone interview from Hohenfels.

"In the past, we talked a lot about how we would deal specifically with the enemy -- how we will clear the enemy from a certain location or how we will work to help a village or help governance," he said. "But in this case, in every respect, we are talking about how we will work to enable the Afghan security forces do all those things."

Sims, who deployed to Afghanistan as one of the regiment's squadron commanders in 2010, admitted this shift takes him and many of his battle-tested soldiers out of their "comfort zone."

He likened his soldiers as a soccer team now serving as coaches to new players. "We spent all this time playing by ourselves on the field, and then after awhile, we were playing for a team that was half Afghan and half coalition," he said. "Now that team is all Afghan, and we have moved to the sidelines.

"So we are still there to help with the game plan -- still talking to them about how they can be better players, still offering support and assistance in terms of strategy," Sims continued. "But when the game starts, we are on that sideline, ... and the goal has to be taken by the Afghans."

The JMTC cadre made big changes in the exercise design based on the transition on the ground in Afghanistan to security force assistance and Afghan-led operations, Army Maj. William Griffin, the training center public affairs officer, explained.

They've made the training as challenging and realistic as possible, he said, with partners from 12 nations replicating Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police units. Working across cultures and language barriers as they will in Afghanistan, the cavalry soldiers deal with scenarios in which they support the role-playing Afghan forces that plan, resource and execute independent operations, Griffin said.

The actual exercise play kicked off last week, with the situational training exercise leading up to the final "force-on-force" phase of the training expected to begin late this week.

Sims said he was impressed by how quickly the cadre adapted the training to ensure it was in synch with the mission the regiment will conduct on the ground -- one he acknowledged has evolved significantly since he assumed command in mid-January.

"It was phenomenal how quickly they turned this around to make this a security force assistance brigade rotation," he said. "There is simply not a training center as flexible and relevant as this one."

The training will be invaluable to his soldiers as they conduct a historic mission in Afghanistan, Sims said, calling it another milestone to add to the legacy of the Army's longest continuously serving active cavalry regiment.

"My belief is that we are going to hand off a continually improving Afghan security force," he said. "When we leave, those elements will be very, very capable of operating independently, providing that strength and that backbone that the government of Afghanistan will need. Whichever direction the country chooses to go, I believe we are going to hand off a force that is ready to work for them."

Sims credited his soldiers -- about one-quarter of whom will deploy to Afghanistan for the first time -- with rising to every task they have been given to ensure this happens.

"We have some really phenomenal people. I can't overstate that," Sims said. "I'm amazed each time we do this at how good these guys are, and how they take complex problems and make them seem very simple. And this is probably the most complex of the problems I've seen."

After returning to its home station in Vilseck, Germany, the 2nd ACR will build on lessons learned through the JRTC training as round-out forces arrive to fill out its ranks before the deployment.

As part of the unit's pre-deployment preparation, Sims has instituted a rigorous program to boost the resilience of his soldiers and their families.

"Just as we are going about the deployment in a different way, we are also going about the preparation of our soldiers a little differently in regard to resiliency and behavioral health," he said.

The Dragoon Total Fitness Program incorporates the Army's Comprehensive Soldier Fitness and Family program, with an emphasis on instilling resilience within the ranks and helping leaders understand resilience, positive psychology and post-traumatic stress.

Sims eliminated a day of physical training every 10 days, designating it a "resiliency day" to focus on these issues. He also lined up sessions in which his regimental leaders, troop commanders and first sergeants meet individually with behavioral health experts to talk through deployment matters.

"We are trying to incorporate all aspects of fitness: not concentrating just on mental or physical fitness, but working through the emotional and family [aspects]," Sims said. "That way, when we deploy, and when our families are left here, we are all able to fall back on this baseline of resiliency."

Sims admitted the initiatives weren't universally embraced, but he said his previous positions within the 2nd ACR helped pave the way to acceptance. "I told them, 'Trust me. Just give me the benefit of the doubt,'" he said.

"My personal opinion is that they will come back and tell me there is some value to this," Sims said. "My belief is that strong families and strong soldiers will make our deployment better and the full surrounding organization better."

HOUSE WAYS AND MEANS CHAIRMAN DAVE CAMP PROPOSES CUTS TO "WASTEFUL SPENDING"

FROM: CONGRESSMAN DAVE CAMP,
CHAIRMAN OF THE HOUSE WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEE
Stop Washington’s Wasteful Spending

While much of Washington and the news media are in a frenzy about the President’s "sequester," the simple truth is that it amounts to two cents out of every dollar Washington spends. That’s right, the President’s sequester will cut only 2 percent out of the massive federal budget.

Even as millions of Americans have been forced to cut back their family budgets, the President doesn’t think Washington should cut this two percent. Instead, the President thinks Washington should again increase taxes. But a recent report from the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office shows tax revenue will double over the next ten years (wouldn’t it be nice if your salary was going to double over the next decade?). Clearly, Washington is getting enough tax revenues. The real problem in Washington is the spending.

Congressman Dave Camp (R-MI) agrees that there is a better way to cut spending than through the President’s sequester plan. In fact, Republicans in the House have voted twice to replace the President’s sequester with targeted, bipartisan spending cuts.

Below are just some pieces of wasteful spending that we should cut. And, if we did, we could reduce the debt. The debt is not just some number – it has a direct impact on American families. During the Bowles-Simpson fiscal commission, which Camp served on, non-partisan experts testified that when the debt gets as large as ours is, the economy begins to slow down. That has meant about one million fewer jobs for American workers and less take home pay.

Reduce Health and Human Services (HHS) International Travel
SPENDING CUT: $65.5 million

In FY2011 HHS spent $65.5 million on international travel. Trimming the Department’s international travel by a mere 20 percent could free up funds to ensure that staffing and resources are available to programs serving children and seniors.

Collect Improper Medicare Payments for Prisoners
SPENDING CUT: $33.6 million

The HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) released a report highlighting that Medicare improperly paid $33.6 million for services provided to 11,600 incarcerated individuals from 2009 through 2011.

Prisons are responsible for providing care to Medicare-eligible individuals who are incarcerated. However, the OIG noted again that the Center for Medicare and Medicate Services (CMS) did not have procedures in place to detect these improper payments. Additionally, CMS did not utilize standardized claims processing, allowing Medicare contractors to approve payments other contractors would have denied. The OIG recommends CMS recoup the $33.6 million in improper payments identified, and establish policies to detect and recoup future payments.

Implement Social Security Administration (SSA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) Recommendations
SPENDING CUT: $8.1 Billion

The SSA OIG continually recommends numerous steps that SSA could take for cost savings. According to an April 12, 2012 report to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, had SSA implemented all open recommendations made by the OIG over the previous five years, SSA would have achieved savings of approximately $8.1 billion. SSA’s timely adoption of these and all OIG recommendations would save taxpayers billions of dollars.

Tighten SSA Bargaining Agreements to Reduce Taxpayer Funding of Union Activities
SPENDING CUT: $12.7 million

In FY2011, taxpayers footed a bill of $12.7 million for Social Security employees to conduct union business instead of Social Security business. These employees worked 229,195 hours on union activities, the equivalent of 110 people working full time to help the public with their retirement and disability benefits.

Eliminate IRS TV Production Studio
SPENDING CUT: $4 million

The IRS has a full-service TV production studio in New Carrolton, Maryland and runs the IRS Satellite Network that beams into 140 IRS offices and employs at least 8 producer/directors and spent $4 million on equipment and services in FY2012 alone.


　

U.S. Department of Defense Armed with Science Update

U.S. Department of Defense Armed with Science Update

NEWS FROM AFGHANISTAN FOR MARCH 18, 2013

U.S. Army Spc. Austin M. Weyerman and fellow soldiers move into a village with a suspected weapons cache during Operation Southern Fist III in the district of Spin Boldak, Kandahar Province, Afghanistan, March 3, 2013. Weyermann and the other sodliers are assigned to the 2nd Infantry Division's Company B, 2nd Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 4th Striker Brigade Combat Team, enabled Afghan border police and soldiers to search for weapons caches and eliminate infiltration routes. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Shane Hamann

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Combined Force Arrests Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan Leader
Compiled from International Security Assistance Force Joint Command News Releases

WASHINGTON, March 18, 2013 - A combined Afghan and coalition security force arrested an Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan leader in the Kunduz district of Afghanistan's Kunduz province today, military officials reported.

The leader is believed to have coordinated multiple attacks against Afghan and coalition forces, and has had a vital role in acquiring weapons for extremist fighters, officials said.

Also today, a combined force in Kandahar province's Panjwai district detained several insurgents while searching for a Taliban leader suspected of being the deputy commander of a cell of insurgent fighters involved in kidnappings, roadside bomb operations and direct-fire attacks against Afghan and coalition forces.

In Afghanistan operations yesterday:

-- An Afghan and coalition security force killed an insurgent in Helmand province's Nad-e Ali district after seeing him engaged in insurgent activity.

-- In Kandahar's Panjwai district, a combined force killed Taliban facilitator Abdul Satar and another insurgent. Satar was directly involved in obtaining bomb-making materials, weapons and supplies for enemy fighters and recruiting operatives. He also participated in attacks targeting Afghan local police.

-- Also in Kandahar's Panjwai district, a combined force arrested a Taliban leader accused of being in charge of a large cell of insurgent fighters known for attacking Afghan and coalition forces. The security force also detained several other insurgents.

-- In Nangarhar province's Khugyani district, a combined force killed an armed insurgent after seeing him engaging in insurgent activity.

-- A combined force in Kandahar's Panjwai district arrested five insurgents during a search for a Taliban leader believed to be in charge of a large cell of insurgent fighters known for attacking Afghan and coalition forces.

In March 16 operations:

-- A combined force in Khost province's Musa Khel district arrested a Haqqani network leader who is accused of having operational control over several extremist cells and to have personally led attacks against Afghan and coalition forces. He also had a crucial role in obtaining weapons for militants.

-- In Helmand's Nad-e Ali district, a combined force killed a Taliban leader who directed and executed attacks and kidnappings targeting Afghan and coalition forces.

-- A combined force detained a several insurgents in Logar province's Pul-e Alam district during a search for a Taliban facilitator believed to be responsible for coordinating and conducting attacks against Afghan and coalition forces and procuring and distributing weapons and ammunition to insurgents.

In a March 15 operation, a combined force in Jowzjan province detained an insurgent during a search for a pair of Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan high-profile attack coordinators who work together to orchestrate attacks against Afghan and coalition forces.

In March 14 operations:

-- A combined force arrested an Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan suicide attack coordinator during in Kunduz's Imam Sahib district. At the time of his arrest, he was actively planning an operation against Afghan forces, officials said.

-- A combined force in Nimroz province's Delaram district arrested a Taliban logistics leader who is believed to be in charge of the entire supply chain for an insurgent network operating in the central Helmand River valley area supervising the acquisition, transportation and distribution of weapons, IEDs and IED materials to several Taliban leaders. The security force also detained another insurgent.

-- In Logar's Pul-e Alam district, a combined force arrested a Taliban leader who is believed to be heavily involved in insurgent operations throughout the district. He is accused of having engaged in a campaign of intimidation against Afghan authorities in the region and of obtaining weapons for extremists. The security force also detained another insurgent.

-- A combined force in Logar's Baraki Barak district arrested a Haqqani network IED expert suspected of having authority over a cell of fighters responsible for mortar and rocket attacks against Afghan and coalition fighters. The security force also detained two other insurgents.

-- In Logar's Pul-e Alam district, a combined force arrested a Haqqani facilitator accused of acquiring weapons, IEDs and other supplies for insurgent networks. He also is believed to have coordinated and participated in attacks against Afghan and coalition forces. The security force also arrested several other insurgents.

CYBERCOMMAND ON OFFENSE AND DEFENSE

Credit:  U.S. Navy.

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Cybercom Builds Teams for Offense, Defense in Cyberspace
By Cheryl Pellerin
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, March 12, 2013 - As escalating rounds of exploits and attacks mar the strategic landscape of cyberspace, U.S. Cyber Command is standing up a highly trained cadre focused on national defense in that domain, the Cybercom commander told Congress today.

Army Gen. Keith B. Alexander told the Senate Armed Services Committee that the command is developing teams that will protect the nation's interests in cyberspace, along with tactics, techniques and procedures, and doctrine describing how the teams will work in that environment.

"These defend-the-nation teams are not defensive teams, these are offensive teams that the Defense Department would use to defend the nation if it were attacked in cyberspace," said Alexander, who also serves as National Security Agency director. "Thirteen of the teams we're creating are for that mission set alone. We're also creating 27 teams that would support combatant commands and their planning process for offensive cyber capabilities."

Cybercom also has a series of teams that will defend DOD networks in cyberspace, the general said.

The intent at Cybercom is to stand up roughly one-third of the teams by September, the next third by September 2014, and the final third by September 2015, he added.

"Those three sets of teams are the core construct for what we're working on with the services to develop our cyber cadre," he said, adding that the effort is on track thanks to efforts by the service chiefs, who are pushing the initiative.

Training is key to the teams' development, the general said. "The most important partnership we have with NSA and others is in ensuring that training standards are at the highest level," he added.

Alexander told the panel that, from Cybercom's perspective, the environment on the strategic landscape of cyberspace is becoming more contentious.

"Cyber effects are growing. We've seen attacks on Wall Street -- 140 over the last six months -- grow significantly. In August, we saw a destructive attack on Saudi Aramco, where data on over 30,000 systems was destroyed," he said.

In industry, the antivirus community of companies believes attacks will increase this year, Alexander said, "and there's a lot we need to do to prepare for this."

The general said command and control is an important part of Cybercom's cyber strategy. Combatant commands and service chiefs are looking at the command and control of working together, he said.

"We've done a lot of work on that, and have ironed out how the joint cyber centers at each combatant command will work with Cyber Command, how we push information back and forth, and how we'll have operational and direct support of teams operating in their areas," Alexander said. "We'll have more to do on this as the teams come online."

Another important part of the strategy is situational awareness, the general said, or seeing an attack unfold in cyberspace.

"Today, seeing that attack is almost impossible for the Defense Department," he said. "We would probably not see an attack on Wall Street -- it's going to be seen by the private sector first, and that [highlights] a key need for information sharing."

Such sharing has to be real-time from Internet service providers to the Defense Department, the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI, all at the same time, the general said.

"If we're going to see [an attack] in time to make a difference, we have to see it in real time," he said. And companies that are sharing the information with the Defense Department have to have protection against privacy lawsuits from customers and other potential liabilities, he added.

Legislation that would have provided some of these protections along with a national cybersecurity framework failed to pass the Senate in August, and in an Executive Order signed Feb. 12, President Barack Obama directed federal departments and agencies to use existing authorities to provide better cybersecurity for the nation.

"The Executive Order issued last month is a step in the right direction, but it does not take away the need for cyber legislation," Alexander said, pointing out that that civil liberties, oversight and compliance are critical for Cyber Command and NSA in operating in cyberspace.

"We take that requirement sincerely and to heart, ... [and] we can do both -- protect civil liberties and privacy and protect our nation in cyberspace," he said. "That's one of the things we need to educate the American people about."

Cyber Command experts also are building an operational picture the command would share with combatant commands, the DHS, the FBI and other national leaders, and the command also is working hard on authorities and policies related to DOD activities in cyberspace, Alexander said.

"This is a new area for many of our folks, especially within the administration, within Congress and for the American people," he acknowledged. "We're being cautious in ensuring that we're doing that exactly right and sharing the information we have with Congress."

No one actor, the general added, "is to blame for our current level of preparedness in cyberspace."

"We must address this as a team, sharing unique insights across government and with the private sector," he added. "We must leverage the nation's ingenuity through an exceptional cyber workforce and rapid technological innovation."

The U.S. government has made significant strides in defining cyber doctrine, organizing cyber capabilities and building cyber capacity, Alexander told the panel.

"We must do much more to sustain our momentum," he added, "in an environment where adversary capabilities continue to evolve as fast as or faster than our own."

CDC DISCUSSES TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY

Credit:  Wikimedia Commons.

FROM: CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL
TBI: What You Should Know

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a serious public health issue for Americans. Each year, TBI contributes to a substantial number of deaths and permanent disability. A TBI is caused by a bump, blow or jolt to the head or a penetrating head injury that disrupts the normal function of the brain. The severity of a TBI may range from "mild" to "severe".

According to research from CDC, approximately 3.5 million persons have a TBI in the United States. Of these individuals:
2.1 million received care in emergency departments,
300,000 were hospitalized,
84,000 were seen in outpatient departments,
1.1 million received care from office-based physicians, and
53,000 died.
Previously referred to as the "Silent Epidemic," individuals with this injury may not have any visible scars, and symptoms may not show up or be noticed until hours or days later. Still, a TBI can cause short or long-term problems se¬riously affecting thinking, learning, memory, and/or emotions. A TBI can affect all aspects of an individual’s life, as well as that of their loved ones. This may include relationships with family and friends, as well as their ability to work or be employed, do household tasks, or drive a car.

The most common causes of TBI are from falls and car crashes. While there is no one-size-fits all solution, there are many ways to reduce the chances of a TBI, including:
Wearing a seat belt every time you drive or ride in a motor vehicle.
Never driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
Avoiding activities that can distract you while you drive, such as using a cell phone, texting, and eating.
Wearing a helmet and making sure your children wear helmets while riding a bike.
Helping prevent falls by:
Encouraging older adults to improve their balance and coordination by exercising.
Using safety gates at the top and bottom of stairs to prevent young children from falling.
This March, in recognition of Brain Injury Awareness Month, CDC encourages you to learn more about TBI prevention.

U.S. CONCERNED OVER DETERIOATING SITUATION IN THE CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC

FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Deteriorating Situation in the Central African Republic
Press Statement
Victoria Nuland
Department Spokesperson, Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC
March 17, 2013

The United States is deeply concerned about the continued deterioration in the security situation in the Central African Republic (CAR). We call on President Bozize and the leadership of the Seleka alliance to cease hostilities immediately, and implement the provisions of the Libreville Agreement.

The Economic Community of Central African States (CEAAC) should rapidly convene the mediation committee called for by the Libreville Agreement in order to support the transitional government and help restore national peace and security. The Government of National Unity is the single, representative entity agreed to by all the parties in the Libreville Agreement to govern the country in this critical transitional period. Parties should therefore act within this political framework and refrain from acts that undermine it. We strongly urge regional leadership and the international community to adhere to the Libreville Agreement and provide their full support to Prime Minister Tiangaye and his government.

The United States urgently calls on the Seleka leadership and on the CAR government to ensure that their forces respect the human rights of the Central African people. We are very concerned by the worsening humanitarian situation in CAR and credible, widespread reports of human rights abuses by both national security forces and Seleka fighters. Perpetrators of such abuses must be held accountable.

MARS SCIENCE TEAM TOUTS CHEMCAM DATA



This image shows the ChemCam mast unit mounted on the Curiosity rover as it is being prepared in the clean room prior to the launch of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission. ChemCam fires a powerful laser that can sample Martian rocks and provide critical clues about the Red Planet's habitability. (Credit: Los Alamos National Laboratory)

FROM: LOS ALAMOS NATIONAL LABORATORY
ChemCam Data Abundant at Planetary Conference
Laser instrument aboard Curiosity rover provides well over 40,000 shots so far

LOS ALAMOS, N.M., March 15, 2013—Members of the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover ChemCam team will present more than two dozen posters and talks next week during the 44th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in The Woodlands, Texas.

"ChemCam has performed flawlessly in its first six months, providing more than a gigabyte of exciting new information about the Red Planet," said Los Alamos National Laboratory planetary scientist Roger Wiens, Principal Investigator of the ChemCam Team. "Since Curiosity’s successful landing on Mars on August 6, 2012, ChemCam has fired more than 40,000 shots at more than a thousand different locations with its high-powered laser. Each of those shots has yielded exciting information about the Martian habitat, and our team has been extremely busy making sense of what we’re seeing in anticipation of presenting it to planetary scientists and the public. The Curiosity mission continues to amaze us with new discoveries, finding Mars to be very Earth-like in many ways."

The ChemCam team’s work will be showcased during a series of special sessions at the conference on Monday and during a blitz of poster sessions on Tuesday. The international team of researchers will provide everything from a geological tour of the Martian landscape during the first six months of the SUV-sized rover’s cross-country journey, to investigations of the dusty coating that covers every Martian rock, to a discussion of how scientists used calibration targets mounted on the rover to fine tune differences between spectral readings taken on Earth and on Mars.

ChemCam team member Nina Lanza was selected by conference organizers to chronicle her experiences as a presenter and a conference attendee through microblogging activities all week. Lanza will provide commentary and highlights of each day’s events through her Twitter feed (@marsninja).

The ChemCam system is one of 10 instruments mounted on the Curiosity rover—a six-wheeled mobile laboratory that will roam more than 12 miles of the planet’s surface during the course of one Martian year (98 Earth weeks). ChemCam can fire an extremely powerful laser pulse up to 23 feet onto an area the size of a pinhead. The laser vaporizes a tiny portion of the target. A spectrometer then translates the spectral colors of the plasma into the chemical composition of the vaporized material.

The ChemCam team is comprised of researchers from Los Alamos National Laboratory and the French space agency, Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales, as well as other researchers from the U.S., France, Canada, and the United Kingdom. ChemCam operations are now commanded from centers at Los Alamos and Toulouse, France.

CARTER-ETO DISCUSS U.S.-JAPAN DEFENSE GUIDELINES

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
In Japan, Carter and Eto Discuss Common Issues
By Cheryl Pellerin
American Forces Press Service
YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan, March 17, 2013 - On the first stop of his weeklong trip to Asia, Deputy Defense Secretary Ash Carter met today with Senior Vice Defense Minister Akinori Eto at Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo.

During a substantive meeting here, the defense leaders discussed issues of importance to the U.S.-Japan alliance, a cornerstone of peace and stability for Japan and across the Asia-Pacific region, according to senior defense officials traveling with Carter.

Carter and Eto discussed the region's security situation, including the threat from North Korea, which last month conducted its third nuclear test. Last April, North Korea displayed what looked to be a mobile intercontinental ballistic missile and in December launched a Taepodong-2 missile that put a satellite into orbit.

Such exploits demonstrate North Korean progress in developing long-range missile technology, and today Carter affirmed the steadfast and enduring U.S. commitment to the defense of Japan.

The deputy secretary highlighted Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel's announcement on Friday that outlined a series of steps the United States will take to stay ahead of the challenge posed by North Korea's development of such technology.

Carter and Eto also discussed the U.S.-Japan Defense Guidelines, which define what roles the U.S. military and Japan's Self-Defense Forces would play if Japan would come under attack.

Other topics included the realignment of U.S. forces in Japan, the relocation of Marines to Guam as part of the rebalance to Asia, and the future of the alliance, officials said.

The men pledged to stay in contact and to maintain close cooperation on critical issues, and both expressed a desire to have Hagel and Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera meet in the near future.

As Carter continues his Asia trip, he will meet tomorrow with defense officials in Seoul, and then travel to Manila in the Philippines and to Jakarta in Indonesia before returning to the United States March 21

ADM. STAVRIDIS TELLS CONGRESS ABOUT NATIONAL SECURITY ISSUES

Admiral James G. Stavridis

FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Stavridis Spotlights Top National Security Issues
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
 
WASHINGTON, March 15, 2013 - Asked by Congress today where the United States needs to focus attention to promote its national security interests, the longest-serving U.S. combatant commander cited three areas: cyberspace, trafficking and special operations.

Navy Adm. James G. Stavridis, commander of U.S. European Command and NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe for almost four years, and commander of U.S. Southern Command for three years before that, quickly told the House Armed Services Committee he "would put cyber at the top" of the list.

"I think in cyber we find the greatest mismatch between our level of preparation and the level of danger," he said.

Stavridis noted extensive effort across the military to prepare for counterterrorism, weapons of mass destruction and conventional scenarios.

"But in cyber we have a lot of work to do," he said, emphasizing that he refers to the "big we" that extends beyond the Defense Department.

"This is something that cuts across all parts of government and all parts of society," he said.

Stavridis noted in his prepared remarks that continuous technological evolution has made it increasingly easy for infiltrators to disrupt network-based operations, which he said elevates its strategic impact.

While the United States pursues improved defensive countermeasures and international norms to govern cyber operations, Eucom is working with its regional allies and partners in a whole-of-government effort to build strong, resilient cyber security, he said.

Stavridis noted cyber initiatives in Europe, including the new Cyber Center at Eucom, an annual cyber exercise program conducted in collaboration with U.S. Cyber Command, and the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defense Center of Excellence in Tallinn, Estonia. In addition, NATO is working to establish a NATO incident response center similar to the one in the United States, he said.

Turning to "an enormous problem" that crosses every combatant command, Stavridis said trafficking -- in narcotics, weapons, humans, cash and weapons of mass destruction -- directly impacts the United States and its interests around the world.

"These networks pose a growing threat to the U.S. homeland, as well as the security of our allied and partner nations," he said in his prepared remarks.

Stavridis emphasized during today's hearing the importance of counter-trafficking operations to address this threat, and the need for more intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets to better understand traffickers' operations and monitor the sea, air and land routes they use to move illicit shipments.

He noted initiatives by Eucom's Joint Interagency Counter Trafficking Center in support of the president's transnational organized crime strategy.

"Through these efforts, we are contributing to U.S. interagency efforts to disrupt and dismantle these networks," he said, "and assisting our partner nations to develop and refine the counter-trafficking and counterterrorism skills and capacity needed to keep these threats as far as possible from American shores."

Stavridis also told the committee special operations capabilities will remain critical into the future.

"I believe that as we move forward, that is going to be the comparative advantage for the United States," he said.

Stavridis emphasized the need for U.S. special operators to continue to improve in capability and to ensure their interoperability with U.S. allies as they conduct joint and combined special operations missions.

"GEL MICRODROPLETS" HELP SCIENTISTS EXAMINE MULTI-ORGANISM GENOME

Los Alamos National Laboratory.  Credit:  U.S. Department Of Energy.

FROM: LOS ALAMOS NATIONAL LABORATORY
New Culturing Tool Reveals a Full Genome From Single Cells
Gel microdroplet culturing reveals intraspecies genomic diversity within the human microbiome

LOS ALAMOS, N.M., March 15, 2013—A new technique for genetic analysis, "gel microdroplets," helps scientists generate complete genomes from a single cell, thus opening the door to understanding the complex interrelationships of bacteria, viruses and eukaryotes that form "microbiome" communities in soil, in humans, and elsewhere in the natural world.

Microbes live in complex communities that function together as a whole in order to survive and thrive in their natural environments. Microbes survive almost everywhere, and they make up the majority of the living organisms on Earth and contribute to all aspects of human life, such as health, energy and even climate change.

Most types of bacteria cannot grow in the laboratory as a pure, isolated culture, however, due to complicated interactions that support their growth. This makes research challenging, as identifying a single organism’s genetic profile fails to take into account the interrelationships that are extremely important to understanding the microbe’s roles and capabilities in its specific location.

Scientists from Los Alamos National Laboratory and the J. Craig Venter Institute in San Diego have made a breakthrough that gives researchers the bigger picture of the multi-organism genome, using the complete genome from a single cell.

The technique used over the past few years, metagenomics, avoids the need for culturing to produce mixed genetic info for the whole community. However, many of the biological questions, such as how the mixed bacterial or viral community members interact with each other, cannot be answered without genomic information about the various individual species in the community. The Los Alamos group, led by Cliff Han, Michael Fitzsimons (formerly of LANL), and Armand Dichosa, has been developing technologies to fulfill the need.

The technology has the potential to generate complete genomes from single cells of traditionally uncultured species. Using gel microdroplets (GMD), the science team created dozens to hundreds of identical cells from single cells, while keeping such cells separated from the rest of community and maintaining the cells’ ability to communicate with other community members.

From mixed bacterial communities inhabiting the human mouth and digestive gut, researchers captured single cells within microscopic GMD and incubated them in a defined growth medium.

The characteristic pores and channels of the agarose-based GMD allow for the movement of nutrients, chemical signals and metabolic wastes to and from the living cell as if it were in its natural environment. The captured single cells multiply to microcolonies of hundreds, thereby producing sufficient quantities of identical genomic templates. Ultimately, this allows for the completion of several genomes from the same bacterial species.

By completing and comparing the genomic profiles of these species, researchers found significant variations within the genomes of the same orally-located species, with few differences found from within gut-resident species. Such findings show how significantly active (or inactive) bacteria are in recombining specific segments of DNA with each other and raise questions as to how we identify a "species" if something as important as its neighborhood interactions can change its genetic profile.

With promising results of this human microbiome study, the team has begun to use GMD to culture bacteria and archaea in their native environments, such as wetland and water environments. Researchers want to capture known, rare and elusive species that cannot grow in laboratory settings, and also to provide completed genomes of these novel species that may, again, offer insight into the vital contributions of bacteria and archaea in local ecology and global climate change.

"We have demonstrated a novel approach for fully sequencing genomes of microorganisms found in complex communities," said Dichosa.

Previously, complete community genomes had been an unattainable goal because neither of the two competing technologies, shotgun metagenomics or single-cell sequencing, can recover a nearly complete genome from a single organism in a diverse sample. "We believe using GMDs to sequence complete genomes from environmental samples shows great promise and will allow for the first time a high throughput technology for exploring community pan-genomics," said Han.

Los Alamos National Laboratory, a multidisciplinary research institution engaged in strategic science on behalf of national security, is operated by Los Alamos National Security, LLC, a team composed of Bechtel National, the University of California, The Babcock & Wilcox Company, and URS for the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration.

Los Alamos enhances national security by ensuring the safety and reliability of the U.S. nuclear stockpile, developing technologies to reduce threats from weapons of mass destruction, and solving problems related to energy, environment, infrastructure, health, and global security concerns.

RECENT U.S. NAVY PHOTOS

FROM: U.S. NAVY

The U.S. Navy contracted vessels Jascon 25 and the tugboat Archon Tide are positioned next to the Avenger-class mine countermeasures ship ex-Guardian (MCM 5) during salvage operations. Guardian ran aground on the Tubbataha Reef Jan. 17. The U.S. Navy continues to work in close cooperation with the Philippine authorities to safely dismantle Guardian from the reef while minimizing environmental effects. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Anderson Bomjardim (Released) 130312-N-VF350-059

An F/A-18C Hornet assigned to the Wildcats of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 131 launches from the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69). Dwight D. Eisenhower departed Naval Station Norfolk on a scheduled deployment in support of maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. 5th and 6th Fleet areas of responsibility. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Andrew Schneider (Released) 130313-N-XQ474-251

SECRETARY OF STATE KERRY CONGRATULATES IRELAND ON ST. PATRICK'S DAY

 

FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
On the Occasion of St. Patrick's Day in Ireland
Press Statement
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
March 15, 2013
　

On behalf of the American people, I congratulate the Irish people as you celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.

Every day, we celebrate Ireland’s many contributions to America’s cultural heritage and the strong ties of friendship and kinship between our two countries. As someone who represented the state of Massachusetts for decades, I hold a special appreciation for the contributions that Irish-Americans have made to both countries.

This past year, the United States and Ireland worked together to expand scientific research cooperation, promote global health, protect the environment, and foster innovation, investment, and jobs. Ireland’s important role as a global advocate for peace and understanding is exemplified by its successful tenure as chair of the Organization for Security Cooperation in Europe, its ongoing presidency of the Council of the European Union, and the upcoming leadership role on the United Nation’s Human Rights Council.

We look forward to deepening our partnership with Ireland in the year ahead. In this year of the Gathering in Ireland, as you mark this St. Patrick’s Day with family and friends, know that millions of Americans celebrate with you.

SECRETARY OF STATE KERRY'S PRESS STATEMENT ON IRANIAN CRUDE OIL PURCHASES

FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Regarding Significant Reductions of Iranian Crude Oil Purchases
Press Statement
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
March 13, 2013

The United States and the international community remain committed to maintaining pressure on the Iranian regime until it fully addresses concerns about its nuclear program. That is why today I am pleased to announce that based on additional significant reductions in the volume of its crude oil purchases from Iran, Japan has again qualified for an exception to sanctions outlined in Section 1245 of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2012.

Additionally, 10 European Union countries – Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, and the United Kingdom – have also qualified for a renewal of the NDAA exception because they have not purchased Iranian oil since July 1, 2012, pursuant to a decision made by the whole of the European Union in January 2012. As a result, I will report to the Congress that exceptions to sanctions pursuant to Section 1245 of the NDAA for certain transactions will apply to the financial institutions based in these countries for a potentially renewable period of 180 days.

Today’s determination is another example of the international community’s commitment to convince Iran to meet its international obligations. A total of 20 countries and economies have continued to significantly reduce the volume of their crude oil purchases from Iran. The message to the Iranian regime from the international community is clear: take concrete actions to satisfy the concerns of the international community, or face increasing isolation and pressure.