NSF: RISING SEAS THREATEN WETLANDS

Credit:  Wikimedia

FROM:  NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION 
Wetlands' ability to overcome sea level rise threatened

When do wetlands reach their limit, and how are we lowering that point?
Left to themselves, coastal wetlands can resist rapid sea level rise.

But humans could be sabotaging some of wetlands' best defenses, according to results published in this week's issue of the journal Nature.

Thanks to an intricate system of feedbacks, wetlands are remarkably good at building up soils to outpace sea level rise. The questions are: When do they reach their limit, and how have we lowered that point?

Without human-caused climate change, "we wouldn't be worried about wetlands surviving the rates of sea level rise we're seeing today," says lead paper author Matthew Kirwan of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science and the National Science Foundation (NSF) Virginia Coast Reserve Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) site.

Virginia Coast Reserve is one of 26 such NSF LTER sites around the globe in ecosystems from deserts to mountains and marshes to grasslands.

In an unchanged world, "wetlands would build vertically at faster rates," says Kirwan, "or move inland to higher elevations."

The paper's co-author is Patrick Megonigal of the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center.

A wetland is land that's saturated with water, whether permanently or seasonally. The water found in wetlands can be saltwater, freshwater or brackish water. Main wetland types include swamps, marshes, bogs and fens.

Wetlands have developed several ways to build elevation to keep from drowning.

Aboveground, tidal flooding provides one of the biggest assists. When marshes flood during high tides, sediment settles out of the water, adding new soil. As sea level rises and flooding occurs more often, marshes react by building soil faster.

Belowground, the growth and decay of plant roots add organic matter.

Even erosion can work in wetlands' favor, as sediment lost at one marsh may be deposited in another. While a particular wetland may lose ground, the total wetland area may remain unchanged.

But, if a wetland becomes so submerged that its vegetation dies off, these "positive feedback loops" are lost. Similarly, if sediment delivery to a wetland is cut off, that wetland can no longer build soil to outpace rising seas.

"This study reveals the complex, long-term interplay among processes that maintain coastal wetlands in the face of sea level rise," says Saran Twombly, program director in NSF's Division of Environmental Biology, which funds the NSF Virginia Coast Reserve LTER site.

"Humans are newcomers to this delicate balance. The future of a habitat so essential to human well-being depends on how severely we alter it."

For example, groundwater withdrawal and artificial drainage can cause the land to sink, as is happening in Chesapeake Bay.

Because of this subsidence, eight of the world's 20 largest coastal cities have relative sea level rise greater than climate change projections.

Dams and reservoirs also prevent 20 percent of the global sediment load from reaching the coast.

Marshes on the Yangtze River Delta, for example, have survived a relative sea level rise of more than 50 millimeters per year since the 7th century--until the recent building of more than 50,000 dams cut off the supply of sediment and accelerated erosion.

"Tidal marshes are amazing ecosystem engineers that can raise themselves upward if they remain healthy, especially if there is sediment in the water," says Megonigal.

"We know there are limits, however. Those limits are changing as people alter the environment."

-NSF-

UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE WEEKLY CLAIMS REPORT FOR WEEK ENDING NOVEMBER 30, 2013

SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA

In the week ending November 30, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 298,000, a decrease of 23,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 321,000. The 4-week moving average was 322,250, a decrease of 10,750 from the previous week's revised average of 333,000.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.1 percent for the week ending November 23, unchanged from the prior week's unrevised rate. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending November 23 was 2,744,000, a decrease of 21,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 2,765,000. The 4-week moving average was 2,796,500, a decrease of 32,500 from the preceding week's revised average of 2,829,000.

UNADJUSTED DATA
The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 313,973 in the week ending November 30, a decrease of 54,507 from the previous week. There were 500,163 initial claims in the comparable week in 2012.

The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.9 percent during the week ending November 23, a decrease of 0.2 percentage point from the prior week. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 2,480,863, a decrease of 192,783 from the preceding week. A year earlier, the rate was 2.6 percent and the volume was 3,315,644.
The total number of people claiming benefits in all programs for the week ending November 16 was 4,096,901, an increase of 183,227 from the previous week. There were 4,959,201 persons claiming benefits in all programs in the comparable week in 2012.

No states were triggered "on" the Extended Benefits program during the week ending November 16.

Initial claims for UI benefits filed by former Federal civilian employees totaled 2,395 in the week ending November 23, an increase of 452 from the prior week. There were 2,144 initial claims filed by newly discharged veterans, an increase of 117 from the preceding week.

There were 20,409 former Federal civilian employees claiming UI benefits for the week ending November 16, an increase of 1,217 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 32,030, an increase of 753 from the prior week.

States reported 1,350,604 persons claiming Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) benefits for the week ending November 16, an increase of 45,705 from the prior week. There were 2,008,608 persons claiming EUC in the comparable week in 2012. EUC weekly claims include first, second, third, and fourth tier activity.

The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending November 23 were in Alaska (5.5), Puerto Rico (3.7), Virgin Islands (3.3), New Jersey (3.2), California (3.1), Pennsylvania (2.9), Connecticut (2.8), Oregon (2.6), Illinois (2.5), and Nevada (2.5).

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending November 23 were in California (+8,326), Pennsylvania (+4,416), Michigan (+3,426), Illinois (+2,638), and Texas (+2,099), while the largest decreases were in New Jersey (-572), Florida (-492), Idaho (-293), Mississippi (-287), and Virginia (-72).

SECRETARY OF STATE KERRY ISSUES STATEMENT ON DEATH OF NELSON MANDELA

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT 
Death of Nelson Mandela
Press Statement
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
December 5, 2013

Madiba’s 'long walk to freedom' gave new meaning to courage, character, forgiveness, and human dignity. Now that his long walk has ended, the example he set for all humanity lives on. He will be remembered as a pioneer for peace.

There are some truly brave people in this world whom you meet and you’re forever changed for the experience. Nelson Mandela remains Teresa’s hero, and a person who inspired her as a young woman to march with her classmates against apartheid. We had the honor of sitting with Mandela over the Thanksgiving holidays of 2007. I was struck by how warm, open, and serene he was. I stood in his tiny cell on Robben Island, a room with barely enough space to lie down or stand up, and I learned that the glare of the white rock quarry permanently damaged his eyesight. It hit home even more just how remarkable it was that after spending 27 years locked away, after having his own vision impaired by the conditions, that this man could still see the best interests of his country and even embrace the very guards who kept him prisoner. That is the story of a man whose ability to see resided not in his eyes but in his conscience. It is hard to imagine any of us could summon such strength of character.

Nelson Mandela was a stranger to hate. He rejected recrimination in favor of reconciliation and knew the future demands we move beyond the past. He gave everything he had to heal his country and lead it back into the community of nations, including insisting on relinquishing his office and ensuring there would be a peaceful transfer of power. Today, people all around the world who yearn for democracy look to Mandela’s nation and its democratic Constitution as a hopeful example of what is possible.

Teresa and I join those from around the world in honoring the life of this great man. Our deepest condolences go out to his wife, Graça, his family, all the people of South Africa and everyone who today enjoys the freedom Madiba fought for his entire life.

U.S. DEFENSE CONTRACTS FOR DECEMBER 5, 2013

CONTRACTS
ARMY

M1 Support Services L.P., Denton, Texas, was awarded a $38,722,328 firm-fixed-price contract for advanced instructor pilot support services for the U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence, 110TH Aviation Brigade Support at Fort Rucker, Ala. Work will be performed in Alabama with an estimated completion date of Dec. 12, 2017. Funds will be determined with each order. Bids were solicited via the Internet with seven received. Army Contracting Command, Fort Eustis, Va., is the contracting activity (W911S0-14-D-0001).

FEDCON Joint Venture, Clearwater, Fla., was awarded a $34,536,510 firm-fixed-price contract for resilient features for the west bank and vicinity, hurricane storm damage and risk reduction system, Mississippi River Levee, Augusta to Oakville La. (A), WBV-MRL 1.2A. Fiscal 2014 other procurement funds in the amount of $34,536,510 were obligated at the time of the award. Estimated completion date is Oct. 23, 2015. Bids were solicited via the Internet with 13 received. Work will be performed in Belle Chasse La. Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans, La., is the contracting activity (W912P8-14-C-0011).

Aecom National Security Programs Inc., Springfield, Va., was awarded a $10,019,790 contract modification (000328) to contract W52P1J-09-D-0043 to provide U.S. Forces-Afghanistan with the capability to passively gather, analyze, and disseminate open sources atmospheric information throughout the Afghanistan Combined Joint Operating Area; monitor, track and measure trends in local sentiment regarding U.S. Forces-Afghanistan programs and policies. It will also provide professional advice and assistance with regard to cultural professional advice and assistance with regard to social, religious, political, economic, and tribal matters and communication strategies; produce open source atmospheric information that support Afghanistan related strategic, operational and tactical decision making. Fiscal 2014 operations and maintenance, Army funds in the amount of $5,009,895 were obligated at the time of the award. Estimated completion date is Dec. 4, 2015. Work will be performed in Afghanistan. Army Contracting Command, Rock Island Arsenal, Rock Island, Ill., is the contracting activity.

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

Cottonwood Inc., Lawrence, Kan., has been awarded a maximum $15,000,000 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-quantity contract for vehicle cargo tie downs. This contract is a sole-source acquisition. Location of performance is Kansas with a Dec. 4, 2018 performance completion date. This is a two-year base contract with three one-year option periods. Using military services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and federal civilian agencies. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2014 through fiscal 2019 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pa., (SPE8EF-14-D-0001).

NAVY

Jacobs Technology Inc., Fort Walton Beach, Fla., is being awarded an $11,341,989 cost-plus-fixed-fee task order under the previously awarded General Services Administration Alliant Multiple Award contract for information technology services (GS0QBG-09-D-0059-GM01). This contract provides services for IT, information management, information assurance product service delivery mechanisms, software development, engineering and enterprise architectural compliance, server support services and information assurance compliance. The level of effort for the base year is 177,270 man hours. Work will be performed in China Lake, Calif. (82 percent); Point Mugu, Calif. (13 percent), and Norfolk, Va. (5 percent), and is expected to be completed in January 2015. Fiscal 2014 Navy working capital funds in the amount of $5,477,268 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division, China Lake, Calif., is the contracting activity.

SECRETARY OF STATE KERRY'S REMARKS TO CHISINAU STAFF AND FAMILIES

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT 

Meeting With Embassy Chisinau Staff and Families

Remarks

John Kerry
Secretary of State

Embassy Chisinau

Chisinau, Moldova

December 4, 2013

---

SECRETARY KERRY: (In progress) -- really delighted. I’m traveling with our Assistant Secretary of State who’s responsible for all this area, Victoria Nuland over here – Toria, as we call her. (Applause.) And --

PARTICIPANT: (Inaudible.) (Laughter.)

SECRETARY KERRY: Hopefully you’ll all be seeing a lot of her over time as we get out here.
But let me just say a quick thank you. I don’t want to give a speech, a long-haul, or anything like that. I’d like to just have a chance to run up and down the line, shake your hands, and say thank you. But we have a great Embassy out here. And you are right now engaged in a really important enterprise, which is helping Moldova to be able to make this shift of focus so it can choose to be affiliated with the economies and the countries and the values and the opportunities that it wants to be. And that means integration with Europe. What happened in Vilnius a few days ago with the initialing of the documents for the association agreement and also for the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement is a critical step towards this full integration.

Now, in my meetings with the prime minister who was here a moment ago – where did Prime Minister Leanca go? I think he’s out there talking to Michael Gordon. Is he still here? Or he’s in the other room?

PARTICIPANT: He’s across the hall.

SECRETARY KERRY: He’s across the hall. He went over to talk to The New York Times. He knows what he needs to do right now. (Laughter.) Much more important. But anyway, we had a terrific conversation. But he made it clear to me that the road ahead is not automatic. It’s not easy, and there will be pressures. And we’ve all seen what’s happened in Ukraine in the last few days. So this is not always easy, but it’s the right thing to do.

And so what I’ve gained out of this very short, quick visit, which I apologize to you for – I hate coming in and going out – but I thought it was far more important on my way to Israel, where I have to go for our Middle East peace process, that since we had the chance to come by here at this important time, and given what’s happening in Ukraine, I wanted to come here in order to be able to send a message about the importance of the choices that the government is making and what you’re working on.

So we’re going to work hard at this. We’ve got the Millennium Challenge Corporation grant that’s going on, Compact. We’ve got other initiatives that we’re engaged in, in helping them to deal with competitiveness, with businesses. I just came from the winery where we had a chance not only to taste a little wine – (laughter) – very little, I might add – but importantly, we were able to see a business that we think we can make a difference in with respect to how they market what their opportunities are. And particularly since Russia sort of brought the wall down and said, “We’re not going to let you sell your wine because you want to affiliate with Europe,” well, we’ve got to help open up the market so that they can see that that choice pays off.
So all of this is what matters to us going forward, the work you do every single day. I know we have a bunch of folks who make this Embassy work who are local hires, and I think we got about 160 or so, something like that. Now, can you raise your hands, those of you who are local hires? Thank you very, very much. We very much appreciate what you do for us. (Applause.)
And everybody else, whether you are a civil servant, Foreign Service national, foreign national, whatever it is, we thank you for the work that you’re doing.

Final word, because I can tell the kids are getting into – they want playtime or different time or something, I don’t know – (laughter) – I just want to say thank you personally as your Secretary of State.

As the Ambassador said, I was the – I am – was the son of a Foreign Service officer who served for a period of time. And I served right in the midst of the Cold War in the 1950s. I came over to Berlin, which was a divided city with a British sector, a French sector, an American sector, and a Russian sector, and guards, and divisions, and you came through on a special train from Frankfurt and it was right through the Russian sector, and they didn’t let you pick the blinds up, and it was pretty foreboding and imposing to a young kid. But I learned a lot at that stage about what it meant to be abroad, what it meant to be representing your country even though you’re a kid in another place. I went to school abroad and I learned what it was like to pack up and leave home and leave your friends and go to another place.

But it was a fabulous experience, and I’m sure you feel that way or you wouldn’t be doing it. It’s invaluable to our country. You are, every single one of you, ambassadors. And in many cases, you may be the only American that some people will ever meet. So the impression you leave and the service that you can provide and whatever it is you do for people leaves an indelible message about who we are, what kind of people we are, what we care about, and whether we care about people and how we take care of people. That’s very, very important.

We have a lot of other things that are going on, obviously. This is the first visit of the Secretary of State since Jim Baker in 1992 opened this mission. So I’m privileged to be here tonight. I’m glad to be in good company with our Assistant Secretary.

And I thank you all very much for this very, very important work you are doing at a critical time where we are transitioning into the 21^st century with a whole set of different challenges – from cyber warfare to trade to the globalization to the movement of people in unfettered and amazing ways that we never imagined, a huge number of workers from Moldova in other countries sending remittances back, including from Russia – all of which creates this global fabric that we are still learning how to manage and how to navigate our way through. You all are at the vanguard of that and I thank you profoundly on behalf of President Obama, on behalf of the American people. We are grateful for your service. We really can’t do what we need to do for our country without you. And that includes our local hires; we thank you for what you do.
Thank you all. Great to be with you. Happy to be here. Appreciate it. (Applause.)

SEC CHARGES HOLDING COMPANY OF FIFTH THIRD BANK WITH IMPROPER ACCOUNTING DURING FINANCIAL CRISIS

FROM:  U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION 

The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged the holding company of Cincinnati-based Fifth Third Bank and its former chief financial officer with improper accounting of commercial real estate loans in the midst of the financial crisis.

Fifth Third agreed to pay $6.5 million to settle the SEC’s charges, and Daniel Poston agreed to pay a $100,000 penalty and be suspended from practicing as an accountant on behalf of any publicly traded company or other entity regulated by the SEC.

According to the SEC’s order instituting settled administrative proceedings, Fifth Third experienced a substantial increase in “non-performing assets” as the real estate market declined in 2007 and 2008 and borrowers failed to repay their loans as originally required.  Fifth Third decided in the third quarter of 2008 to sell large pools of these troubled loans.  Once Fifth Third formed the intent to sell the loans, U.S. accounting rules required the company to classify them as “held for sale” and value them at fair value.  Proper accounting would have increased Fifth Third’s pretax loss for the quarter by 132 percent.  Instead, Fifth Third continued to classify the loans as “held for investment,” which incorrectly suggested that the company had not made the decision to sell the loans.

“Improper accounting by Fifth Third and Poston misled investors during a time of significant upheaval and financial distress for the company,” said George S. Canellos, co-director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement.  “It is important for investors to know the financial consequences of decisions made by management, so accounting rules that depend on management’s intent must be scrupulously observed.”

According to the SEC’s order, Poston was familiar with the company’s loan sale efforts, which included entering into agreements with brokers during the third quarter of 2008 to market and sell loans.  Despite understanding the relevant accounting rules, Poston failed to direct Fifth Third to classify and value the loans as required.  Poston also made inaccurate statements to Fifth Third’s auditors about the company’s loan classifications, and certified the company’s inaccurate results for the third quarter of 2008.

“By failing to classify large pools of loans as required, Fifth Third and Poston kept investors from knowing the full truth behind its commercial real estate loan portfolio,” said Stephen L. Cohen, an associate director in the SEC’s Division of Enforcement.

Fifth Third and Poston consented to the entry of the order finding that they violated or caused violations of Sections 17(a)(2) and (3) of the Securities Act of 1933 as well as the reporting, books and records, and internal controls provisions of the federal securities laws.  Without admitting or denying the findings, they agreed to cease and desist from committing or causing any violations and any future violations of these provisions.  Poston is suspended from appearing or practicing before the SEC as an accountant pursuant to Rule 102(e) of the Commission’s Rules of Practice with the right to apply for reinstatement after one year.

The SEC’s investigation was conducted by Beth Groves, Paul Harley, Jonathan Jacobs, and Jim Blenko.  The SEC appreciates the assistance of the Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP).

UK centre stone-laying launches European space celebrations

UK centre stone-laying launches European space celebrations

FTC CONGRESSIONAL TESTIMONY ON 100TH ANNIVERSARY

FROM:  U.S. FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION 
FTC Testifies on Its Work to Protect Consumers and Promote Competition As the Agency Approaches Its 100th Anniversary

The Federal Trade Commission testified before Congress on the agency’s long track record of protecting consumers and promoting competition in the U.S. economy, as well as the agency’s ongoing work and future challenges as it approaches its 100th anniversary next year.

Testifying before the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade, FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez and Commissioners Julie Brill, Maureen K. Ohlhausen and Joshua D. Wright told lawmakers that the FTC is a highly productive and efficient, small independent agency with jurisdiction to protect consumers and maintain competition in broad sectors of the economy.

“Our agency structure, research capacity, continued commitment to bipartisanship and cooperation, and exceptional staff will allow the FTC to continue to adapt to external changes and successfully fulfill its mission of protecting consumers and competition into its next century,” the testimony states.

President Woodrow Wilson signed the Federal Trade Commission Act and the Clayton Act in 1914, and the FTC opened its doors on March 16, 1915.  The Commission was given enforcement authority and was empowered to conduct investigations, gather information, and publish reports.  Since then, Congress has expanded the FTC’s responsibilities through a number of other statutes, such as the Fair Credit Reporting Act; the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act; and the 1994 Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act, which led to establishment of the popular National Do Not Call Registry.

The testimony outlines the FTC’s current work to protect consumers and promote competition.  In recent years, the FTC has emphasized protecting financially distressed consumers from fraud, protecting consumer privacy and data security, prosecuting false or deceptive health claims, and safeguarding children in the marketplace.

In fiscal year 2013, the FTC filed 72 new consumer protection complaints in federal district court and obtained 100 permanent injunctions and orders (including two civil contempt orders) requiring defendants to pay approximately $198 million in consumer redress or disgorgement of ill-gotten gains.

The FTC’s efforts to maintain competition focus on stopping anticompetitive mergers and other anticompetitive business practices in a wide range of industries of critical importance to American consumers, the testimony states.  These include health care, technology, energy, consumer goods and services, and manufacturing.  This work is critical to protect and strengthen free and open markets – the cornerstone of a vibrant economy.

In fiscal year 2013, the agency pursued 27 new competition law enforcement actions (merger and nonmerger) and undertook several important workshops, reports, and advocacy opportunities to promote competition and educate its stakeholders about the importance of competition to consumers.  Over the past three years, the agency estimated that it saved consumers approximately $3 billion in potential price increases by stopping illegal anticompetitive practices and mergers in the marketplace.

Finally, the testimony describes the challenges facing the FTC as it nears its 100th anniversary. In light of resource constraints and a growing workload, the FTC will continue to leverage its resources through careful case selection, by partnering with public and private entities, and by improving its own technological infrastructure to allow its staff to work more effectively, among other things.

The FTC will continue to adapt as technology continues to evolve.  The agency convenes public meetings, such as its recent workshop exploring the Internet of Things, that help the agency to identify the consumer protection and competition issues that may be raised by the use of new technology.

In addition, the testimony states, the FTC will seek to address challenges posed by increased globalization and an international marketplace, and will continue its longstanding initiative to review FTC rules and guides to ensure that they enhance consumer welfare without imposing undue burdens on business.

“As we approach our 100th anniversary, the FTC remains committed to finding ways to enhance its effectiveness in protecting consumers and promoting competition, to anticipate and respond to changes in the marketplace, and to meet current and future challenges,” the testimony states.

The Commission vote approving the testimony and its inclusion in the formal record was 4-0.

SECRETARY KERRY, EU HIGH REPRESENTATIVE ASHTON MAKE REMARKS AT START OF MEETING IN GENEVA

U.S. State Department Photo

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT 
Remarks at Top of Meeting With EU High Representative Cathy Ashton
Remarks
John Kerry
Secretary of State
NATO
Brussels, Belgium
December 4, 2013

SECRETARY KERRY: Thank you very, very much. Let me just say how much we look forward to continuing to work with High Representative Ashton. Her efforts in Geneva with respect to the initial Iran first step have been key, and now we’re going to talk about how we proceed to try to move towards the comprehensive agreement, as well as some other important issues that we face. Nice to be with her again. Thank you.

HIGH REPRESENTATIVE ASHTON: Thank you. Just to say it’s a great partnership, and the work that we do between the European Union and the U.S. on so many issues, of which Iran is one of the greatest examples but by no means the only example, it’s crucial we share the same values, we work together to try and deliver for people across the world. And I know that as we think about some of the issues and challenges we’re facing right now, this partnership is going to be even more important in the future.

SECRETARY KERRY: Thank you all very much. Appreciate it. Cathy, please.

TWO PLEAD GUILTY FOR ROLES IN IDENTITY TRAFFICKING CONSPIRACY

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
Two Foreign Nationals Plead Guilty in Puerto Rican Identity Trafficking Conspiracy

A Dominican national and a Mexican national each pleaded guilty today in connection with their roles in trafficking the identities of Puerto Rican U.S. citizens and corresponding identity documents.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Rosa E. Rodríguez-Vélez of the District of Puerto Rico, Acting Director John Sandweg of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Chief Postal Inspector Guy J. Cottrell of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), Director Gregory B. Starr of the U.S. State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) and Chief Richard Weber of the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) made the announcement.

Jorge Luis “Daniel” Mendez, 37, formerly of San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Enrique Rogelio Mendez-Solis, 37, formerly of Seymour, Ind., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Juan M. Pérez-Giménez in the District of Puerto Rico to one count of conspiracy to commit identification fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit alien smuggling for financial gain and three counts of aggravated identity theft.   They face a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison for conspiracy to commit identification fraud, 10 years in prison for conspiracy to commit alien smuggling for financial gain, and two years in prison for each aggravated identity theft count when they are sentenced on April 28, 2014.

Both defendants were charged in a superseding indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Puerto Rico on March 22, 2012.   To date, 53 individuals have been charged for their roles in the identity trafficking scheme, 49 defendants have been arrested, and 49 have pleaded guilty.

Court documents allege that individuals located in the Savarona area of Caguas, Puerto Rico, obtained Puerto Rican identities and corresponding identity documents.   Other conspirators located in various cities throughout the United States allegedly solicited customers and sold Social Security cards and corresponding Puerto Rico birth certificates for prices ranging from $700 to $2,500 per set.   The superseding indictment alleges that these identity brokers in the United States ordered the identity documents from the document suppliers in Savarona on behalf of their customers by making coded telephone calls.   The conspirators are charged with using text messages, money transfer services, and express, priority, or regular U.S. mail to complete their illicit transactions.

Court documents allege that some of the conspirators assumed a Puerto Rican identity themselves and used that identity in connection with the trafficking operation.   Their customers generally obtained the identity documents to assume the identity of Puerto Rican U.S. citizens and to obtain additional identification documents, such as legitimate state driver’s licenses.   Some customers allegedly obtained the documents to commit financial fraud and attempted to obtain a U.S. passport.

According to court documents, various identity brokers were operating in Rockford, DeKalb and Aurora, Ill.; Seymour, Columbus and Indianapolis, Ind.; Hartford, Conn.; Clewiston, Fla.; Lilburn and Norcross, Ga.; Salisbury, Md.; Columbus and Fairfield, Ohio; Dorchester, Lawrence, Salem and Worcester, Mass.; Grand Rapids, Mich.; Nebraska City, Neb.; Elizabeth, N.J.; Burlington and Hickory, N.C.; Hazelton and Philadelphia, Penn.; Houston; Abingdon and Albertville, Ala.; and Providence, R.I.

Mendez admitted that he operated as a Savarona supplier.   Mendez-Solis admitted that he operated as an identity broker in the Seymour, Ind., area.

The charges are the result of Operation Island Express, an ongoing, nationally coordinated investigation led by the ICE Homeland Security Investigations’ (ICE-HSI) Chicago Office and USPIS, DSS and IRS-CI offices in Chicago, in coordination with the ICE-HSI San Juan Office and the DSS Resident Office in Puerto Rico.   The Illinois Secretary of State Police; Elgin, Ill., Police Department; Seymour, Ind., Police Department; and Indiana State Police provided substantial assistance.   The ICE-HSI Assistant Attaché office in the Dominican Republic and International Organized Crime Intelligence and Operations Center (IOC-2), as well as various ICE, USPIS, DSS and IRS-CI offices around the country, provided invaluable support.

The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys James S. Yoon, Hope S. Olds, Courtney B. Schaefer and Christina Giffin of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section, with the assistance of the Criminal Division’s Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section, and the support of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Puerto Rico.   The U.S. Attorney’s Offices in the Northern District of Illinois, Southern District of Indiana, District of Connecticut, District of Massachusetts, District of Nebraska, Middle District of North Carolina, Southern District of Ohio, Middle District of Pennsylvania, District of Rhode Island, Southern District of Texas and Western District of Virginia provided substantial assistance.

NSF DISCUSSES ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING AS IT PERTAINS TO 3-D PRINTING

FROM:  NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION 
The engineering behind additive manufacturing and the 3-D printing revolution
December 3, 2013

While 3-D pens and printers are enjoyed by students, artists and makers, innovative American companies are using similar equipment to manufacture aerospace, automotive and medical technologies. The number of technologies customized and created using additive manufacturing processes is growing each year.

But understanding how the processes work takes more than prying open your 3-D pen.

Many of the foundational techniques for additive manufacturing, briefly described below, were discovered and patented in the 1980s. The development of three of these methods--selective laser sintering, sheet lamination and 3-D printing--had critical support from the National Science Foundation (NSF).

Additive manufacturing is a way of making 3-D objects by building up material, layer upon layer, with the guidance of a digital design. The processes are engineered to use material more efficiently, give designs more flexibility and produce objects more precisely. Above all, they make things quickly.

"Early research led to making prototypes to determine the form and fit of the parts in an assembly, such as an engine," said Kesh Narayanan, deputy assistant director for NSF's Engineering Directorate. "Large-scale manufacturing of parts, especially critical components, at attractive cost is the ongoing challenge for broader use of additive manufacturing."

More and more companies are taking on the challenge of commercializing these foundational technologies, including the very first one, stereolithography.

Stereolithography was invented by Charles Hull, the founder of 3D Systems, Inc. (patent 4575330 filed in 1984, awarded in 1986). This process, sometimes called vat photopolymerization, begins with a vat filled with a special resin; resins are thick liquids that can permanently harden into solids. Some resins cure rapidly when exposed to a certain light spectrum. Dentists use similar light-activated materials as adhesives, because they can be set quickly with the help of a laser.

Next, following a digital design, a laser targets an area just above a platform within the vat, causing the liquid resin there to selectively harden. Then, the platform moves down slightly, and the laser activates the next layer of liquid resin, linking the molecules together in a process called polymerization to form a solid object.

Selective laser sintering was invented by a University of Texas at Austin graduate student, Carl Deckard, and his advisor, Joseph Beaman (patent 4863538 filed in 1986, awarded in 1989). Also known as powder bed fusion, the technique uses a computer-controlled laser to selectively "sinter," or fuse, cross-sections of powder into a solid. The powder can be ceramic, metal, plastic or polymer, depending on what properties the object must have.

The energy from the laser heats the powder just enough to join the pieces together, similar to how the gentle warmth of hands can form powdery snow into a solid snowball. After one layer is sintered, the next layer of powder is applied and sintered according to the design.

Sheet lamination, also known as laminated object manufacturing, was invented by Michael Feygin, the founder of Helisys, Inc., formerly Hydronetics, Inc. (patent 4752352 filed in 1987, awarded in 1988). In this process, a laser cuts a thin sheet of paper, plastic or metal into the desired shape, and then another layer is bonded on top and also cut. By repeating these steps, objects with intricate, complicated shapes can be quickly formed at low cost.

Material extrusion was invented by S. Scott Crump, founder of Stratasys Ltd. (patent 5121329 filed in 1989, awarded in 1992). The process, sometimes called fused deposition modeling, pushes liquid plastic or metal out through a nozzle, right along the path on the digital map. A similar technique is used by a pastry chef while piping a layer of melted chocolate through the pointy tip of a pastry bag.

The molten material quickly cools and hardens, and a new layer can then be added on top. Just as chefs may use different concoctions and piping tips to create unique shapes with exactly the flavor, stiffness or other properties needed, material extrusion allows engineers--and enthusiasts--to quickly make new designs into objects meeting their specifications.

3-D printing was developed by a Massachusetts Institute of Technology team led by Emanuel Sachs (patent 5204055 filed in 1989, awarded in 1993). Also known as binder jetting, the technique involves laying down a layer of a powder and then squirting a liquid binder on the areas to be solidified. While similar to conventional ink jet printers, 3-D printers are able to build additional layers on top of previous ones to construct 3-D objects, even sophisticated objects that could serve one day as medical implants.

Other additive manufacturing techniques include various material jetting processes and directed energy deposition.

The origins of additive manufacturing processes can be traced to the 1970s and 1980s, when researchers began exploring new ways to make things. Then, as now, common manufacturing processes included casting/molding, forming, joining and machining.

At this same time, new techniques for solid modeling were coming to fruition. The modeling techniques enabled researchers to translate 3-D geometries into mathematical terms, which could then serve as instructions for equipment control systems.

The new additive processes, combined with advances in solid modeling, today enable rapid fabrication from a digital model, in a range of geometries beyond the capabilities of other methods.

"Additive manufacturing--with its versatility, efficiency and ability to quickly link geometric design to distributed production--can really accelerate product deployment," said Steve McKnight, director of the NSF Division of Civil, Mechanical, and Manufacturing Innovation.

McKnight continued, "To realize the full promise of additive manufacturing, researchers will need to discover new ways to increase speed, lower costs, improve consistency and develop and qualify novel materials for all kinds of applications. It will take the ingenuity of engineers, students and makers."

NSF's investment in additive manufacturing is part of a broader effort to accelerate the convergence of frontier research in materials, cyber-enabled systems and manufacturing science with the goal of spurring U.S. marketplace innovation to yield high-technology jobs and industrial growth.

SECRETARY OF STATE KERRY'S REMARKS BEFORE MEETING WITH MOLDOVAN PRESIDENT TIMOFTI

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Remarks Before His Meeting With Moldovan President Nicolae Timofti
Remarks
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Presidential Residence
Chisinau, Moldova
December 4, 2013

Well, thank you very much, Mr. President. And Mr. Prime Minister, leaders of the parliament, and Madam Foreign Minister, it’s a great, great privilege for me to be here in Moldova. This is my first visit here, as you know well. Vice President Biden came here in 2011. I think I’m the first Secretary of State to come here since Jim Baker in the 1990s. That’s too long, too much of a gap. So it’s a real privilege for me to be able to be here.

Let me congratulate you and your government on the very important steps that you have taken and are taking. The reforms that you are putting in place, the courage that you are showing and your people are showing to express their determination to align themselves with Europe and with opportunity, to be free to choose where and how you will engage in your economic activity is fundamental. And we applaud you for it.

I know this is a short visit, and I apologize upfront for its brevity. But I would rather come here for part of the day today than miss it altogether. And I think it’s a very important moment for me to be able to come here. I have just come from the meetings of NATO in Brussels. There was a great deal of discussion about the Vilnius meeting and about your signature, your initials on both the Association Agreement as well as on the deep and concentrated free trade agreement. We are convinced that any country ought to be able to make a choice of where it wants to affiliate, where it wants to conduct its economic activities, and in what way at which it conducts its affairs without external interference, and certainly without external pressures that have a profound impact on your people.

So I am here to affirm to you that the United States will stand with you. We are strongly supportive of what you are trying to achieve. We’ve provided some assistance and we will provide more. And we will continue to work with you on this road to your return, if you will, to this affiliation with Europe. And we look forward to it. And I’m very grateful to you for your very generous welcome here today.

EXPORT-IMPORT BANK REPORTS "U.S. EXPORTS REACH RECORD 192.7 BILLION IN OCTOBER"

FROM:  U.S. EXPORT-IMPORT BANK
U.S. Exports Reach a Record $192.7 Billion in October

Washington, D.C. – The United States exported a record $192.7 billion in goods and services in October 2013, according to data released today by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) of the U.S. Commerce Department.

“With exports rising and the trade deficit falling, it is clear that President Obama’s National Export Initiative is getting results,” said Export-Import Bank Chairman and President Fred P. Hochberg. “Today’s numbers are a welcome reminder of the importance of exports to the U.S. economy. Ex-Im plays a critical role in insuring that financing will not stand in the way of American businesses closing a sale overseas and creating jobs. And as another record month for American exporters and American jobs shows—the ‘Made in America’ brand remains a top seller.”

October’s figure is slightly larger than the previous high recorded in June, which was revised upward this month to $190.9 billion.

Exports of goods and services over the last twelve months totaled $2.3 trillion, which is 43.1 percent above the level of exports in 2009. Over the last twelve months, exports have been growing at an annualized rate of 9.8 percent when compared to 2009.

Over the last twelve months, among the major export markets (i.e., markets with at least $6 billion in annual imports of U.S. goods), the countries with the largest annualized increase in U.S. goods purchases, when compared to 2009, were Panama (27.6 percent), Russia (22.3 percent), United Arab Emirates (20.9 percent), Hong Kong (20.7 percent), Peru (20.2 percent), Chile (19.3 percent), Colombia (18.7 percent), Argentina (17.2 percent), Ecuador (16.9 percent), and Saudi Arabia (16.0 percent).

ABOUT EX-IM BANK:

Ex-Im Bank is an independent federal agency that creates and maintains U.S. jobs by filling gaps in private export financing at no cost to American taxpayers. In the past five years (from Fiscal Year 2008), Ex-Im Bank has earned for U.S. taxpayers nearly $1.6 billion above the cost of operations. The Bank provides a variety of financing mechanisms, including working capital guarantees, export-credit insurance and financing to help foreign buyers purchase U.S. goods and services.

Ex-Im Bank approved $35.8 billion in total authorizations in FY 2012 – an all-time Ex-Im record. This total includes more than $6.1 billion directly supporting small-business export sales – also an Ex-Im record. Ex-Im Bank's total authorizations are supporting an estimated $50 billion in U.S. export sales and approximately 255,000 American jobs in communities across the country.

SEC CHARGES TRADER WITH INSIDER TRADING OF STOCK IN A CHINESE COMPANY

FROM:  U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION 
The Securities and Exchange Commission charged a Miami-based trader with insider trading in the stock of a Chinese company and conducting illegal short sales in the securities of three other companies.

The SEC alleges that Charles Raymond Langston III learned confidential information in advance of a public announcement that significantly decreased the value of AutoChina International’s stock.  Langston was solicited by placement agents to invest in a secondary offering of AutoChina stock.  Despite agreeing to keep information confidential and not trade on it, he promptly sold short 29,000 shares of AutoChina stock in advance of the company’s public announcement that it had completed the secondary offering.  To avoid detection, Langston made the trades through an entity he owned using a different broker and different account than he used to purchase shares in AutoChina’s initial offering.  Langston made $193,108 in illegal profits by trading on the inside information.

“Langston agreed to keep confidential the information he learned from AutoChina’s placement agent and abstain from trading on it.  Yet he chose to place personal greed ahead of the integrity of the securities markets,” said Eric I. Bustillo, director of the SEC’s Miami Regional Office.

The SEC’s complaint filed in federal court in Miami further alleges that Langston and two of his companies, Guarantee Reinsurance and CRL Management, violated Rule 105 of Regulation M, which prohibits the short sale of an equity security during a restricted period – generally five business days before a public offering – and the purchase of that same security through the offering.  The rule addresses illegal short selling that can reduce offering proceeds received by companies by artificially depressing the market price shortly before the company prices its public offering.  The SEC alleges that Langston through Guarantee Reinsurance and CRL Management made short sales in advance of separate secondary offerings by Wells Fargo, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, and Alcoa.  He purchased shares in the same offerings.  Langston and his companies’ violations of Rule 105 resulted in unlawful gains of more than $1.3 million.

“During restricted periods, Langston and his companies executed short sales that gamed the system and resulted in illegal profits,” said Glenn S. Gordon, associate director for enforcement in the SEC’s Miami Regional Office.  “The SEC is resolutely committed to pursuing those who violate Rule 105.”

Langston has agreed to settle the insider trading charges by paying disgorgement of $193,108, prejudgment interest of $22,204, and a penalty of $193,108.  Langston and the two companies also agreed to be enjoined for the short selling violations with monetary sanctions to be determined by the court at a later date.  Langston neither admits nor denies the allegations that he violated Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 as well as Rule 105 of Regulation M of the Exchange Act.

The SEC’s case against Langston and his companies was investigated by Andre J. Zamorano and Kathleen Strandell in the Miami office, and supervised by Thierry Olivier Desmet.  The SEC’s litigation is being led by Christopher E. Martin.  The SEC appreciates the assistance of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.

IRS REPORTS MORE THAN 122 MILLION TAX RETURNS e-FILED IN 2013

FROM:  U.S. INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE 
More than 122 million Returns e-Filed in 2013

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today announced a milestone for IRS e-file – more than 122 million returns were e-filed during 2013. The statistics provided today contain complete e-file totals for 2013.

This year, the IRS received more than 45.2 million returns from those who prepared and e-filed their own returns on home computers, up from 43.2 million a year earlier, an increase of 4.6 percent. E-filed returns from tax professionals increased slightly, totaling more than 77 million returns. Whether they are self prepared or prepared by a tax return preparer, 91 percent of all tax returns filed by individuals are prepared on computers using tax preparation software, which improves the accuracy of those returns.

Other highlights from the new filing season statistics show:

During 2013, the IRS issued more than 109 million refunds worth almost $300 billion.
Almost 77 percent of refund recipients chose to receive their refunds through direct deposit.
More people are using IRS.gov to get answers, file their returns and resolve issues. So far in 2013, the IRS web site has been accessed more than 430 million times, up almost 24 percent compared to the same time last year.

U.S. DEFENSE CONTRACTS FOR NOVEMBER 4, 2013

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
CONTRACTS

ARMY

Science Applications International Corp., McLean, Va., (W91CRB-11-D-0001) (P00010); Battelle Memorial Institute, Columbus, Ohio, (W91CRB-11-D-0002) (P00005); Booz Allen Hamilton, Mc Lean, Va., (W91CRB-11-D-0003) (P00007); Exelis Inc., Alexandria, Va., (W91CRB-11-D-0004) (P00010); Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Herndon, Va., (W91CRB-11-D-0005) (P00007); Wintec Arrowmaker, Inc.*, Fort Washington, Md., (W91CRB-11-D-0006) (P00006); Technical and Project Engineering LLC.*, Alexandria, Va. (W91CRB-11-D-0007) (P00005) were awarded an $80,000,000 cost-plus-fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract modification.  The modification increases the award ceiling from $400,000,000 to $480,000,000 in order to support the Army Research Laboratory’s increased unique mission cell requirements.  Funding and location will be determined with each order.  Bids were solicited via the Internet with seven received.  Army Contracting Command, Research Triangle Park, N.C., is the contracting activity.

Choctaw Transportation Company Inc., Dyersburg, Tenn., (W912EQ-14-D-0001); Luhr Bros., Inc., Columbia, Ill., (W912EQ-14-D-0002); Patton-Tully Marine LLC.*, Memphis, Tenn., (W912EQ-14-D-0003); Pine Bluff Sand and Gravel Co., White Hall, Ark., (W912EQ-14-D-0004), were awarded a $48,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for the construction of various types of stone navigation structures to include all types of dikes, chevrons, bend-way weirs, hardpoints, and other river training structures in the Mississippi River between river miles 954.0 to 320.  Funds and location will be determined with each order.  Estimated completion date is Dec. 3, 2016.  Bids were solicited via the Internet with four received.  Army Corps of Engineers, Memphis, Tenn., is the contracting activity.

Northrop-Grumman, Huntsville, Ala. was awarded a $19,800,000 cost-plus-incentive-fee contract for research and development of the Integrated Air and Missile Defense and Battle Command System. Work will be performed in Huntsville, with an estimated completion date of Sept. 30, 2015.  Fiscal 2014 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of a $19,800,000 were obligated at the time of the award.  Two bids were solicited, with two received.  Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity (W31P4Q-08-C-0418). (Awarded Dec 3, 2013)

Oshkosh Corp, Oshkosh, Wisc., was awarded a $9,500,000 contract modification (P00029) to contract W56HZV-09-D-0159 to extend the vehicle ordering year for the family of medium tactical vehicles to cover Jan. 1 to May 15, 2014.  This extension is based on lost ordering time due to a protest that occurred within ten days of this contract's award, Aug. 26, 2009, that lasted 131 days.  Fiscal 2014 other procurement funds will be determined by each order. Work will be performed in Oshkosh. Bids were solicited via the Internet, with three received.  Army Contracting Command, Tank and Automotive, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity. (Awarded Dec. 3, 2013)


NAVY

Maersk Line Ltd., Norfolk, Va., is being awarded a $14,223,440 modification under a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00033-11-C-5400) to exercise option period two for the worldwide charter of one U.S.-flagged, Ice-class certified, double-hulled product tanker.  The vessel provides worldwide bulk fuel support to the Department of Defense, including a delivery each year to Antarctica for the National Science Foundation and a delivery each year to Greenland for the Department of Defense, Defense Logistics Agency-Energy.  Work will be performed worldwide, and is expected to be completed December 2014.  If all option periods are exercised, work will continue through November 2016.  Fiscal 2014 working capital contract funds in the amount of $11,495,657 are obligated on this award, and will not expire at the end of the fiscal year.  Military Sealift Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity.

CDM Federal Programs Corp., Fairfax, Va., is being awarded $10,730,846 for firm-fixed-price task order 0012 under a previously awarded indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (N62470-09-D-9037) for the Naval Facilities Engineering Command utility inventory and risk assessment pilot.  The work to be performed is to migrate existing AutoCAD (computer aided design) data and/or version 2.6 geographic information system data for the water, wastewater, thermal, gas, compressed air, saltwater and electrical commodities into the latest respective version of the utilities geographic information systems models.  The work to be performed is to also combine geographic information systems data with existing MAXIMO data, asset data in spreadsheets and other databases.  Work will be performed at several Naval Facility Engineering Commands located at Jacksonville, Fla., San Diego, Calif., and Washington, D.C.  Work is expected to be completed by September 2015.  Fiscal 2014 Navy working capital funds in the amount of $10,730,846 are obligated on this award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year.  One proposal was received for this task order.  The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Atlantic, Norfolk, Va., is the contracting activity.

The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Mo., is being awarded $8,481,104 for firm-fixed-price delivery order 2035 against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N00019-11-G-0001) for follow-on integrated logistics support/engineering services for Harpoon/SLAM-ER Missile System and Harpoon Launch Systems for the U.S. Navy and various foreign military sales customers.  Work will be performed in St. Charles, Mo. (91.17 percent); St. Louis, Mo. (5.43 percent); Yorktown, Va. (2.64 percent); Pt. Mugu, Calif. (.71 percent); and Oklahoma City, Okla. (.05 percent), and is expected to be completed in July 2014.  This contract combines purchases for the U.S. Navy ($3,122,737; 36.82 percent); the governments of Korea ($759,253; 8.95 percent); Taiwan ($715,517; 8.43 percent); Turkey ($632,914; 7.46 percent); Egypt ($421,912; 4.97 percent); United Kingdom ($317,393; 3.74 percent); Japan ($302,563; 3.57 percent); Pakistan ($283,035; 3.34 percent); Australia ($260,331; 3.07 percent); Chile ($223,047; 2.63 percent); Saudi Arabia ($223,212; 2.63 percent); Canada ($204,204; 2.41 percent); Israel ($165,053; 1.95 percent); Bahrain ($109,006; 1.29 percent); United Arab Emirates ($106,102; 1.25 percent); the Netherlands ($83,584; .99 percent); Germany ($83,582; .99 percent); Kuwait ($77,246; .91 percent); Singapore ($75,386; .89 percent); Oman ($71,439; .84 percent); India ($64,462; .76 percent); Portugal ($62,687; .74 percent); Thailand ($45,825; .54 percent); Denmark ($41,791; .49 percent); and Malaysia ($28,823; .34 percent) under the Foreign Military Sales program.  Fiscal 2014 operations and maintenance, Navy and FMS contract funds in the amount $8,481,104 will be obligated at time of award; $3,122,737 of which expire at the end of the current fiscal year.  The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.

DEFENSE ADVANCED RESEARCH PROJECTS AGENCY

Pfizer, Inc., has been awarded a $7,670,632 technology investment agreement.  Pfizer shall perform a research and development program designed to develop a technology platform to identify and subsequently induce the production of protective antibodies to an emerging pathogen directly in an infected or exposed individual.  Work will be performed in Cambridge, Mass. The estimated completion date is Dec. 8, 2016.  Fiscal 2013 research and development funds are being obligated at time of award. The contracting activity is the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Arlington, Va., (HR0011-14-3-0001).


*Small Business

HHS ARTICLE ON HOT-AIR BALLOON SAFETY

Credit:  Wikimedia.

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

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

Riding in a hot-air balloon can give you beautiful views – but just like riding in a car, while mostly things go right, sometimes they can go seriously wrong. Researcher Sarah-Blythe Ballard of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found this in a look at 12 years of federal transportation data on hot-air balloon tours:

“Of the 78 crashes that occurred during the study period, 83 percent resulted in serious injury or death.”

Ballard says most crashes occurred on landing. She advises passengers to listen carefully and follow their pilot’s instructions – including not standing up, or leaping out of the gondola, as the balloon lands.

The study in the journal Aviation, Space and Environmental Medicine was supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Learn more at healthfinder.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: December 3, 2013

SECRETARY KERRY'S REMARKS ON INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT 
International Day of Persons with Disabilities
Press Statement
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
December 3, 2013

It is my great pleasure to join the world’s one billion persons with disabilities in recognizing the 21st International Day of Persons with Disabilities.

Here in the United States, we’ve been witness to enormous progress in empowering people with disabilities to participate fully in activities that most of us take for granted. I remember the early days of the fight to make our country more accessible, from my work as a Lieutenant Governor and Senator to help open the path for the Wheelchair Division of the Boston Marathon and to open up Little League opportunities to kids with disabilities. It continued through my early Senate partnership with a Republican Senator, Lowell Weicker, to help unleash technology that has produced assistive devices for disabled people.

But my years in the Senate also taught me how much work remains to export the American gold standard – the Americans with Disabilities Act – to the rest of the world. During my final weeks as a Senator, I worked alongside Republican Senators from John McCain to John Barrasso, to try and ratify the Disabilities Treaty, an international agreement that can help protect the rights of Americans with disabilities when they live, work, travel, or study overseas. The goal is simple: to help lift other countries up to meet the standard the United States set more than 20 years ago. We fell just six votes short last year of exporting our American ideal, and now is the time to finish the job.

The need is enormous, and the imperative is urgent. What we did here at home with the ADA hasn’t even been remotely realized in many places overseas. At least 80 percent of the world’s persons with disabilities live in the developing world, too often in deplorable conditions of neglect and second class citizenship. Too many people, in too many places around the globe are subjected to unacceptable horrors simply because they have a disability. Moreover, for the more than 50 million Americans with disabilities who want to travel, study, work, and serve abroad, including our 5.5 million veterans with disabilities, the protections that they have grown accustomed to under the ADA and other ground-breaking U.S. legislation simply do not exist in many countries. We can change that. We can help expand opportunities abroad for Americans with disabilities, create new markets for American companies, and be in the strongest possible position to push for critically needed improvements around the world.

On this International Day of Persons with Disabilities, we reaffirm our determination to ensure that our disabled brothers and sisters can travel abroad with the same dignity and respect that they enjoy here at home, and that disabled people around the world can at last share in the promises that Americans believe are a right, not a privilege.

SECRETARY GENERAL RASMUSSEN IS URGING AFGHAN GOVERNMENT TO SIGN SECURITY ACCORD

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 
Rasmussen Urges Afghanistan to Sign Security Agreement
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Dec. 3, 2013 – NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen opened the NATO Foreign Ministerial in Brussels today welcoming the Loya Jirga’s endorsement of the U.S.-Afghan security accord and urging the Afghan government give it a “timely signature.”

“The recent Loya Jirga showed very clearly the progress Afghanistan is making,” he said. “The Afghan forces did a remarkable job in ensuring that a gathering of such scale took place in a peaceful manner. And the participants delivered a clear message for continued partnership and cooperation.”

Speaking to reporters at the two-day ministerial, Rasmussen called the bilateral agreement important to the legal framework for the NATO-led mission to train, advise and assist the Afghan security forces post-2014.

“We will be working closely with the Afghan government in the weeks ahead on this issue,” he said.

Afghan security forces “are already quite capable. But we do believe that they need our continued assistance, and that’s why we are prepared to deploy the so-called Resolute Support mission to Afghanistan,” Rasmussen said.
“My concern is that if we are not able to deploy a training mission to Afghanistan, it may have a negative impact on the security situation … [and] on the provision of financial aid to Afghanistan,” he said. It could also jeopardize pledges to finance the Afghan security forces and provide development assistance to the country, he noted.

Everything, he emphasized, hinges on a signed security agreement.
“It is clear that if there is no signature on the legal agreement, there can be no deployment and the planned assistance will be put at risk,” Rasmussen said. “It is my firm hope and intention, therefore, to continue our efforts to support Afghanistan once these agreements are concluded.”

Attendees at the foreign ministers’ sessions in Brussels are meeting with International Security Assistance Force partners and the Afghan foreign and interior ministers to discuss current operations and get updated on preparations for next year’s elections, he reported.

They kicked off meetings today with discussing about NATO’s summit next year in the United Kingdom. The summit is expected to focus on ensuring the alliance remains “fit, outward-looking and ready to respond to the challenges the future will bring,” Rasmussen said.

“There, we will chart the future of this alliance,” he said.

FORMER HONEYWELL INTERNATIONAL EMPLOYEE DEBARRED FOR VIOLATIONS OF EXPORT LAWS

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT 
State Department Debars Former Honeywell International Employee for Export Violations
Bureau of Political-Military Affairs
November 27, 2013

The State Department issued an order administratively debarring LeAnne Lesmeister, former compliance officer at Honeywell International, Inc. (Honeywell), from participating in any activities that are subject to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR)(22 C.F.R. parts 120-130) for violations of the Arms Export Controls Act (AECA)(22 U.S.C. § 2778) and the ITAR.

Honeywell voluntarily disclosed to the Department numerous ITAR violations carried out by Ms. Lesmeister, its senior export compliance officer in Clearwater, Florida, between 2008 and 2012. Ms. Lesmeister, who had worked in export compliance at Honeywell for twenty-seven years, used her position to circumvent Honeywell’s export compliance program in the fabrication of various export control documents that Ms. Lesmeister presented as Department of State authorizations. Relying on these falsified authorizations, Honeywell exported defense articles, including technical data, and provided defense services to various foreign persons without Department approval in violation of the AECA and ITAR.

The State Department’s Office of Defense Trade Controls Compliance in the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs performed an extensive compliance review of the disclosed violations. The results of that review indicated no direct harm to U.S. foreign policy or national security. The nature of the violations, however, prompted the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Defense Trade Controls in the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs to formally charge Ms. Lesmeister with twenty-one violations of the AECA and ITAR in connection with her creation and use of Department authorizations, containing false statements or omitting and misrepresenting material facts for the purpose of exporting, retransferring, or furnishing defense articles, technical data, or defense services, and causing the unauthorized export of technical data and provision of defense services.

This administrative debarment is the result of the Department’s first institution of an administrative proceeding by referral of a charging letter before an Administrative Law Judge for consideration pursuant to ITAR § 128.4. The referral and debarment followed Ms. Lesmeister's failure to answer the formal charges.

Acknowledging the serious nature of the violations, Honeywell cooperated fully with the Department’s review and implemented remedial measures to resolve the conditions that allowed the misconduct of one employee, in a position of authority, to bring about significant export compliance violations.

This administrative proceeding highlights the range of potential penalties that may be imposed by the Department on entities or individuals for ITAR violations. Individuals, if found culpable, may not be shielded by their employers for their independent violations. Those persons tasked with an entity’s export responsibilities, should be vigilant in their compliance with all export control regulations.

Under the terms of the administrative debarment, Ms. Lesmeister will be prevented from participating directly or indirectly in any activities that are subject to ITAR for a period of three years and until an application for reinstatement is submitted and approved by the Department. The Department determined that civil penalties were not appropriate at this time.