FROM: U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Wednesday, December 11, 2013
German Engineering Firm Bilfinger Resolves Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Charges and Agrees to Pay $32 Million Criminal Penalty
Bilfinger SE, an international engineering and services company based in Mannheim, Germany, has agreed to pay a $32 million penalty to resolve charges that it violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) by bribing government officials of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to obtain and retain contracts related to the Eastern Gas Gathering System (EGGS) project, which was valued at approximately $387 million.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Assistant Director in Charge Valerie Parlave of the FBI’s Washington Field Office made the announcement.
As part of the agreed resolution, the department today filed a three-count criminal information in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas charging Bilfinger with violating and conspiring to violate the FCPA’s anti-bribery provisions. The department and Bilfinger agreed to resolve the charges by entering into a deferred prosecution agreement for a term of three years. In addition to the monetary penalty, Bilfinger agreed to implement rigorous internal controls, continue cooperating fully with the department, and retain an independent corporate compliance monitor for at least 18 months. The agreement acknowledges Bilfinger’s cooperation with the department and its remediation efforts.
According to court documents, from late 2003 through June 2005, Bilfinger conspired with Willbros Group Inc. and others to make corrupt payments totaling more than $6 million to Nigerian government officials to assist in obtaining and retaining contracts related to the EGGS project. Bilfinger and Willbros formed a joint venture to bid on the EGGS project and inflated the price of the joint venture’s bid by 3 percent to cover the cost of paying bribes to Nigerian officials. As part of the conspiracy, Bilfinger employees bribed Nigerian officials with cash that Bilfinger employees sent from Germany to Nigeria. At another point in the conspiracy, when Willbros employees encountered difficulty obtaining enough money to make their share of the bribe payments, Bilfinger loaned them $1 million, with the express purpose of paying bribes to the Nigerian officials.
Including today’s action, the department has filed criminal charges in the Southern District of Texas against three institutions and four executives and consultants in connection with the EGGS bribery scheme:
· On Sept. 14, 2006, Jim Bob Brown, a former Willbros executive, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the FCPA in connection with his role in making corrupt payments to Nigerian government officials to obtain and retain the EGGS contract and in connection with his role in making corrupt payments in Ecuador. Brown was sentenced on Jan. 28, 2010, to serve 12 months and one day in prison, to be followed by two years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $17,500 fine.
· On Nov. 5, 2007, Jason Steph, also a former Willbros executive, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the FCPA in connection with his role in making corrupt payments to Nigerian government officials to obtain and retain the EGGS contract. Steph was sentenced on Jan. 28, 2010, to serve 15 months in prison, to be followed by two years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $2,000 fine.
· On May 14, 2008, Willbros Group Inc. and Willbros International Inc. entered into a deferred prosecution agreement and agreed to pay a $22 million criminal penalty in connection with the company’s payment of bribes to government officials in Nigeria and Ecuador. On March 30, 2012, the government moved to dismiss the charges against Willbros on the grounds that Willbros had satisfied its obligations under the deferred prosecution agreement, and on April 2, 2012, the court granted the United States’ motion.
· On Dec. 19, 2008, Kenneth Tillery, a former Willbros executive, was charged with conspiring to make and making bribe payments to Nigerian and Ecuadoran officials in connection with the EGGS project and pipeline projects in Ecuador and conspiring to launder the bribe payments. Tillery remains a fugitive. The charges against Tillery are merely accusations, and he is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
· On Nov. 12, 2009, Paul Grayson Novak, a former Willbros consultant, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the FCPA and one substantive count of violating the FCPA in connection with his role in making corrupt payments to Nigerian government officials to obtain and retain the EGGS contract. Novak was sentenced on May 3, 2013, to serve 15 months in prison, to be followed by two years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $1 million fine.
The case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office and its team of special agents dedicated to the investigation of foreign bribery cases. The case is being prosecuted by Senior Trial Attorney Laura N. Perkins of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.
Wednesday, December 11, 2013
U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT CONTRACTS FOR DECEMBER 11,2013
FROM: U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
CONTRACTS
DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY
Equilon Enterprises doing business as Shell Oil Products, Houston, Texas, has been awarded a maximum $1,359,019,230 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for aviation turbine fuel. This contract is a competitive acquisition, and 26 offers were received. Location of performance is Texas with an April 30, 2015 performance completion date. This contract has a delivery period of 14 months with a 30-day carryover. Using service is Defense Logistics Agency Energy. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2014 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Energy, Fort Belvoir, Va., (SP0600-14-D-0463).
ExxonMobil Fuels Marketing Co., Fairfax, Va., has been awarded a maximum $872,570,007 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for aviation turbine fuel. This contract is a competitive acquisition, and 26 offers were received. Locations of performance are Virginia, Texas, and Louisiana with an April 30, 2015 performance completion date. This contract has a delivery period of 14 months with a 30-day carryover. Using service is Defense Logistics Agency Energy. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2014 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Energy, Fort Belvoir, Va., (SP0600-14-D-0480).
Valero Marketing and Supply Co., San Antonio, Texas, has been awarded a maximum $769,729,995 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for aviation turbine fuel. This contract is a competitive acquisition, and 26 offers were received. Location of performance is Texas with an April 30, 2015 performance completion date. This contract has a delivery period of 14 months with a 30-day carryover. Using service is Defense Logistics Agency Energy. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2014 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Energy, Fort Belvoir, Va., (SP0600-14-D-0474).
Placid Refining Company LLC*, Port Allen, La., has been awarded a maximum $320,296,759 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for aviation turbine fuel. This contract is a competitive acquisition, and 26 offers were received. Location of performance is Louisiana with an April 30, 2015 performance completion date. This contract has a delivery period of 14 months with a 30-day carryover. Using service is Defense Logistics Agency Energy. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2014 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Energy, Fort Belvoir, Va., (SP0600-14-D-0477).
Phillips 66 Co., Bartlesville, Okla., has been awarded a maximum $292,016,625 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for aviation turbine fuel. This contract is a competitive acquisition, and 26 offers were received. Locations of performance are Oklahoma and Colorado with an April 30, 2015 performance completion date. This contract has a delivery period of 14 months with a 30-day carryover. Using service is Defense Logistics Agency Energy. Type of appropriation is fiscal year 2014 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Energy, Fort Belvoir, Va., (SP0600-14-D-0465).
Equilon Enterprises doing business as Shell Oil Products, Houston, Texas, has been awarded a maximum $281,774,306 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for aviation turbine fuel. This contract is a competitive acquisition, and 26 offers were received. Locations of performance are Texas and Alabama with an April 30, 2015 performance completion date. This contract has a delivery period of 14 months with a 30-day carryover. Using service is Defense Logistics Agency Energy. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2014 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Energy, Fort Belvoir, Va., (SP0600-14-D-0464).
Husky Marketing and Supply Co., Dublin, Ohio, has been awarded a maximum $194,906,385 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for aviation turbine fuel. This contract is a competitive acquisition, and 26 offers were received. Location of performance is Ohio with an April 30, 2015 performance completion date. This contract has a delivery period of 14 months with a 30-day carryover. Using service is Defense Logistics Agency Energy. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2014 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Energy, Fort Belvoir, Va., (SP0600-14-D-0479).
Calumet Shreveport Fuels LLC, Indianapolis, Ind., has been awarded a maximum $189,694,644 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for aviation turbine fuel. This contract is a competitive acquisition, and 26 offers were received. Locations of performance are Indiana and Louisiana with an April 30, 2015 performance completion date. This contract has a delivery period of 14 months with a 30-day carryover. Using service is Defense Logistics Agency Energy. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2014 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Energy, Fort Belvoir, Va., (SP0600-14-D-0476).
Wynnewood Energy Co., Oklahoma City, Okla., has been awarded a maximum $179,238,610 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for aviation turbine fuel. This contract is a competitive acquisition, and 26 offers were received. Location of performance is Oklahoma with an April 30, 2015 performance completion date. This contract has a delivery period of 14 months with a 30-day carryover. Using service is Defense Logistics Agency Energy. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2014 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Energy, Fort Belvoir, Va., (SP0600-14-D-0469).
Alon USA LP., Dallas, Texas, has been awarded a maximum $159,634,730 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for aviation turbine fuel. This contract is a competitive acquisition, and 26 offers were received. Location of performance is Texas with an April 30, 2015 performance completion date. This contract has a delivery period of 14 months with a 30-day carryover. Using service is Defense Logistics Agency Energy. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2014 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Energy, Fort Belvoir, Va., (SP0600-14-D-0471).
Petromax LLC.*, Pasadena, Texas, has been awarded a maximum $154,116,245 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for aviation turbine fuel. This contract is a competitive acquisition, and 26 offers were received. Location of performance is Texas with an April 30, 2015 performance completion date. This contract has a delivery period of 14 months with a 30-day carryover. Using service is Defense Logistics Agency Energy. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2014 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Energy, Fort Belvoir, Va., (SP0600-14-D-0475).
Tesoro Refining & Marketing Co., San Antonio, Texas, has been awarded a maximum $89,568,843 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for aviation turbine fuel. This contract is a competitive acquisition, and 26 offers were received. Locations of performance are Texas, North Dakota, and Minnesota with an April 30, 2015 performance completion date. This contract has a delivery period of 14 months with a 30-day carryover. Using service is Defense Logistics Agency Energy. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2014 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Energy, Fort Belvoir, Va., (SP0600-14-D-0470).
Hunt Refining Co., Tuscaloosa, Ala., has been awarded a maximum $65,314,925 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for aviation turbine fuel. This contract is a competitive acquisition, and 26 offers were received. Location of performance is Alabama with an April 30, 2015 performance completion date. This contract has a delivery period of 14 months with a 30-day carryover. Using service is Defense Logistics Agency Energy. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2014 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Energy, Fort Belvoir, Va., (SP0600-14-D-0468).
Wyoming Refining Company, Rapid City, S.D., has been awarded a maximum $59,814,800 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for aviation turbine fuel. This contract is a competitive acquisition, and 26 offers were received. Locations of performance are South Dakota and Wyoming with an April 30, 2015 performance completion date. This contract has a delivery period of 14 months with a 30-day carryover. Using service is Defense Logistics Agency Energy. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2014 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Energy, Fort Belvoir, Va., (SP0600-14-D-0481).
Irving Oil Terminals, Portsmouth, N.H., has been awarded a maximum $42,164,940 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for aviation turbine fuel. This contract is a competitive acquisition, and 26 offers were received. Locations of performance are New Hampshire and Maine with an April 30, 2015 performance completion date. This contract has a delivery period of 14 months with a 30-day carryover. Using service is Defense Logistics Agency Energy. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2014 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Energy, Fort Belvoir, Va., (SP0600-14-D-0467).
Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc.*, Titusville, N.J., has been awarded a maximum $41,402,283 modification (P00008) exercising the second one-year option period on a one-year base contract (SPM2D0-127-D-0001) with seven one-year option periods for various pharmaceutical products. This is a firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract. Location of performance is New Jersey with a Dec. 15, 2014 performance completion date. Using military services are Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2014 warstopper funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pa.
Epic Aviation LLC*, Salem, Ore., has been awarded a maximum $9,011,683 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for aviation turbine fuel. This contract is a competitive acquisition, and 26 offers were received. Locations of performance are Oregon and Minnesota with an April 30, 2015 performance completion date. This contract has a delivery period of 14 months with a 30-day carryover. Using service is Defense Logistics Agency Energy. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2014 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Energy, Fort Belvoir, Va., (SP0600-14-D-0473).
NAVY
Interstate Electronics Corp., Anaheim, Calif., was awarded a $47,401,675 cost-plus-incentive fee, cost-plus-fixed-fee, level of effort, completion type contract for specialized technical support for flight test instrumentation systems in support of Trident II flight tests. This contract provides for, but is not limited to, engineering services for flight test mission support requirements for strategic systems programs, to include flight test operations and data acquisition, operations and maintenance, systems engineering, post-mission processing and analysis, instrumentation refreshes, and strategic weapons system training program support. Work will be performed in Anaheim, Calif. (55.5 percent); Cape Canaveral, Fla. (25 percent); Newark, Calif. (3.2 percent); Bremerton, Wash. (3 percent); Kings Bay, Ga. (3 percent); Norfolk, Va. (3 percent); Washington, D.C. (3 percent); Silverdale, Wash. (2 percent); Austin, Texas (1.3 percent); San Jose, Calif. (less than 1 percent); Huntsville, Ala. (less than 1 percent); Sunnyvale, Calif. (less than 1 percent); and El Segundo, Calif. (less than 1 percent); with an expected completion date of Sept. 30, 2016. The maximum dollar value, including the base period and two option years, is $177,254,512. Fiscal 2012 weapons procurement, Air Force contract funds in the amount of $292,528; fiscal 2013 weapons procurement, Navy contract funds in the amount of $1,465,757; fiscal 2014 weapons procurement, Navy contract funds in the amount of $1,982,000; fiscal 2013 other procurement, Navy contract funds in the amount of $1,015,335; fiscal 2014 other procurement, Navy contract funds in the amount of $3,212,000; fiscal 2014 research, development, test & evaluation, Navy contract funds in the amount of $802,415; Fiscal year 2014 operations and maintenance, Navy contract funds in the amount of $13,216,055; and United Kingdom contract funds in the amount of $2,624,809. Contract funds in the amount of $292,528 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was a sole-source acquisition pursuant to 10 U.S.C. 2304(c) (5). The Department of the Navy, Strategic Systems Programs Office, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity (N00030-14-C-0006). (Awarded Dec. 9, 2013)
EMCOR Government Services, Inc., Arlington, Va., is being awarded a $30,755,772 modification under a previously awarded firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery indefinite-quantity contract to exercise option three for regional base operating support services at Naval Support Activity Washington, Naval Support Activity Bethesda, Naval Support Activity South Potomac, and Quantico Marine Corp Base. The National Capitol Region Base Operating Support Services including, but not limited to, repair and maintenance of property, facilities, and assets. The total contract amount after exercise of this option will be $198,088,060. Work will be performed in the Washington Navy Yard, Washington, D.C. (40 percent); Bethesda, Md. (40 percent); Anacostia, Washington, D.C. (eight percent); Arlington, Va. (six percent); Quantico, Va. (five percent); and Dahlgren, Va. (one percent), and work is expected to be completed December 2014. Fiscal 2014 operations and maintenance, Navy; fiscal 2014 working capital funds, Defense; fiscal 2014 health program, Defense; fiscal 2014 operations and maintenance, Marine Corps; fiscal 2014 operations and maintenance, Defense contract funds in the amount of $23,586,019 are obligated on this award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Washington, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity (N40080-07-D-0374).
AIR FORCE
EDO Corp., Defense Systems Division, Amityville, N.Y., has been awarded an estimated $10,206,061 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity requirements contract for depot level repair efforts of ALQ-161 radio frequency surveillance/electronic countermeasure (RFS/ECM) system components. Contractor will acquire depot level repair on a combination of line replaceable and shop replaceable units consisting of 235 national stock numbers in support of ALQ-161A RFS/ECM used on the B-1 aircraft. Work will be performed at Amityville, N.Y., and is expected to be complete by Dec. 5, 2014. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition. No fiscal 2012 consolidated sustainment activity group supply division funds from working capital funds will be obligated at time of award. Air Force Sustainment Center/PZABB, Robins Air Force Base, Ga., is the contracting activity. (FA8522-14-D-0002)
Northrop Grumman Technical Services Inc., Hill Air Force Base, Utah, has been awarded a $7,697,898 modification (P03927) for an existing contract (F42610-98-C-0001) for the Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Remote Visual Assessment (RVA) Wing III Retrofit program. The contract modification is to provide interim contractor support (ICS) maintenance. This will include all ICS support at the missile alert facility such as Launch Control Center RVA feeds, closed circuit television system, flight security controller functions and all supporting equipment. This will include all ICS support at the Launch Facility and all supporting equipment. Work will be performed at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Mont., Minot AFB, N.D., and F.E. Warren AFB, Wyo., and is expected to be completed by Sept. 30, 2014. Fiscal 2013 missile procurement funds in the amount of $7,697,898 are being obligated at time of award. Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center/PZBE, Hill AFB, Utah, is the contracting activity.
ARMY
Circle City Telcom Inc.*, Ala., was awarded a $7,870,392 firm-fixed-price contract to complete the installation, and testing of upgrades to the information technology infrastructure at Fort Rucker, Ala. The work will complete the installation, and secure and test upgrades to Fort Rucker's installation information infrastructure. It will install the remaining outside plant core and fiber optic cable, inside plant fiber optic cable terminations, complete site preparation for two communication shelters, and core data node installations. It will also complete data network fielding at the remaining end-user locations, and the cutover and migration of data users to the new installation information infrastructure modernization network. Fiscal 2014 other procurement, Army funds in the amount of $7,870,392 were obligated at the time of the award. Estimated completion date is Dec. 11, 2014. Bids were solicited via the Internet with one received. Work will be performed at Fort Rucker, Ala. Army Contracting Command, Rock Island Arsenal Rock Island, Ill., is the contracting activity (W52P1J-14-C-0063).
*Small Business
CONTRACTS
DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY
Equilon Enterprises doing business as Shell Oil Products, Houston, Texas, has been awarded a maximum $1,359,019,230 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for aviation turbine fuel. This contract is a competitive acquisition, and 26 offers were received. Location of performance is Texas with an April 30, 2015 performance completion date. This contract has a delivery period of 14 months with a 30-day carryover. Using service is Defense Logistics Agency Energy. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2014 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Energy, Fort Belvoir, Va., (SP0600-14-D-0463).
ExxonMobil Fuels Marketing Co., Fairfax, Va., has been awarded a maximum $872,570,007 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for aviation turbine fuel. This contract is a competitive acquisition, and 26 offers were received. Locations of performance are Virginia, Texas, and Louisiana with an April 30, 2015 performance completion date. This contract has a delivery period of 14 months with a 30-day carryover. Using service is Defense Logistics Agency Energy. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2014 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Energy, Fort Belvoir, Va., (SP0600-14-D-0480).
Valero Marketing and Supply Co., San Antonio, Texas, has been awarded a maximum $769,729,995 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for aviation turbine fuel. This contract is a competitive acquisition, and 26 offers were received. Location of performance is Texas with an April 30, 2015 performance completion date. This contract has a delivery period of 14 months with a 30-day carryover. Using service is Defense Logistics Agency Energy. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2014 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Energy, Fort Belvoir, Va., (SP0600-14-D-0474).
Placid Refining Company LLC*, Port Allen, La., has been awarded a maximum $320,296,759 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for aviation turbine fuel. This contract is a competitive acquisition, and 26 offers were received. Location of performance is Louisiana with an April 30, 2015 performance completion date. This contract has a delivery period of 14 months with a 30-day carryover. Using service is Defense Logistics Agency Energy. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2014 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Energy, Fort Belvoir, Va., (SP0600-14-D-0477).
Phillips 66 Co., Bartlesville, Okla., has been awarded a maximum $292,016,625 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for aviation turbine fuel. This contract is a competitive acquisition, and 26 offers were received. Locations of performance are Oklahoma and Colorado with an April 30, 2015 performance completion date. This contract has a delivery period of 14 months with a 30-day carryover. Using service is Defense Logistics Agency Energy. Type of appropriation is fiscal year 2014 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Energy, Fort Belvoir, Va., (SP0600-14-D-0465).
Equilon Enterprises doing business as Shell Oil Products, Houston, Texas, has been awarded a maximum $281,774,306 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for aviation turbine fuel. This contract is a competitive acquisition, and 26 offers were received. Locations of performance are Texas and Alabama with an April 30, 2015 performance completion date. This contract has a delivery period of 14 months with a 30-day carryover. Using service is Defense Logistics Agency Energy. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2014 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Energy, Fort Belvoir, Va., (SP0600-14-D-0464).
Husky Marketing and Supply Co., Dublin, Ohio, has been awarded a maximum $194,906,385 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for aviation turbine fuel. This contract is a competitive acquisition, and 26 offers were received. Location of performance is Ohio with an April 30, 2015 performance completion date. This contract has a delivery period of 14 months with a 30-day carryover. Using service is Defense Logistics Agency Energy. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2014 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Energy, Fort Belvoir, Va., (SP0600-14-D-0479).
Calumet Shreveport Fuels LLC, Indianapolis, Ind., has been awarded a maximum $189,694,644 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for aviation turbine fuel. This contract is a competitive acquisition, and 26 offers were received. Locations of performance are Indiana and Louisiana with an April 30, 2015 performance completion date. This contract has a delivery period of 14 months with a 30-day carryover. Using service is Defense Logistics Agency Energy. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2014 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Energy, Fort Belvoir, Va., (SP0600-14-D-0476).
Wynnewood Energy Co., Oklahoma City, Okla., has been awarded a maximum $179,238,610 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for aviation turbine fuel. This contract is a competitive acquisition, and 26 offers were received. Location of performance is Oklahoma with an April 30, 2015 performance completion date. This contract has a delivery period of 14 months with a 30-day carryover. Using service is Defense Logistics Agency Energy. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2014 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Energy, Fort Belvoir, Va., (SP0600-14-D-0469).
Alon USA LP., Dallas, Texas, has been awarded a maximum $159,634,730 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for aviation turbine fuel. This contract is a competitive acquisition, and 26 offers were received. Location of performance is Texas with an April 30, 2015 performance completion date. This contract has a delivery period of 14 months with a 30-day carryover. Using service is Defense Logistics Agency Energy. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2014 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Energy, Fort Belvoir, Va., (SP0600-14-D-0471).
Petromax LLC.*, Pasadena, Texas, has been awarded a maximum $154,116,245 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for aviation turbine fuel. This contract is a competitive acquisition, and 26 offers were received. Location of performance is Texas with an April 30, 2015 performance completion date. This contract has a delivery period of 14 months with a 30-day carryover. Using service is Defense Logistics Agency Energy. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2014 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Energy, Fort Belvoir, Va., (SP0600-14-D-0475).
Tesoro Refining & Marketing Co., San Antonio, Texas, has been awarded a maximum $89,568,843 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for aviation turbine fuel. This contract is a competitive acquisition, and 26 offers were received. Locations of performance are Texas, North Dakota, and Minnesota with an April 30, 2015 performance completion date. This contract has a delivery period of 14 months with a 30-day carryover. Using service is Defense Logistics Agency Energy. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2014 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Energy, Fort Belvoir, Va., (SP0600-14-D-0470).
Hunt Refining Co., Tuscaloosa, Ala., has been awarded a maximum $65,314,925 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for aviation turbine fuel. This contract is a competitive acquisition, and 26 offers were received. Location of performance is Alabama with an April 30, 2015 performance completion date. This contract has a delivery period of 14 months with a 30-day carryover. Using service is Defense Logistics Agency Energy. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2014 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Energy, Fort Belvoir, Va., (SP0600-14-D-0468).
Wyoming Refining Company, Rapid City, S.D., has been awarded a maximum $59,814,800 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for aviation turbine fuel. This contract is a competitive acquisition, and 26 offers were received. Locations of performance are South Dakota and Wyoming with an April 30, 2015 performance completion date. This contract has a delivery period of 14 months with a 30-day carryover. Using service is Defense Logistics Agency Energy. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2014 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Energy, Fort Belvoir, Va., (SP0600-14-D-0481).
Irving Oil Terminals, Portsmouth, N.H., has been awarded a maximum $42,164,940 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for aviation turbine fuel. This contract is a competitive acquisition, and 26 offers were received. Locations of performance are New Hampshire and Maine with an April 30, 2015 performance completion date. This contract has a delivery period of 14 months with a 30-day carryover. Using service is Defense Logistics Agency Energy. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2014 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Energy, Fort Belvoir, Va., (SP0600-14-D-0467).
Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc.*, Titusville, N.J., has been awarded a maximum $41,402,283 modification (P00008) exercising the second one-year option period on a one-year base contract (SPM2D0-127-D-0001) with seven one-year option periods for various pharmaceutical products. This is a firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract. Location of performance is New Jersey with a Dec. 15, 2014 performance completion date. Using military services are Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2014 warstopper funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pa.
Epic Aviation LLC*, Salem, Ore., has been awarded a maximum $9,011,683 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for aviation turbine fuel. This contract is a competitive acquisition, and 26 offers were received. Locations of performance are Oregon and Minnesota with an April 30, 2015 performance completion date. This contract has a delivery period of 14 months with a 30-day carryover. Using service is Defense Logistics Agency Energy. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2014 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Energy, Fort Belvoir, Va., (SP0600-14-D-0473).
NAVY
Interstate Electronics Corp., Anaheim, Calif., was awarded a $47,401,675 cost-plus-incentive fee, cost-plus-fixed-fee, level of effort, completion type contract for specialized technical support for flight test instrumentation systems in support of Trident II flight tests. This contract provides for, but is not limited to, engineering services for flight test mission support requirements for strategic systems programs, to include flight test operations and data acquisition, operations and maintenance, systems engineering, post-mission processing and analysis, instrumentation refreshes, and strategic weapons system training program support. Work will be performed in Anaheim, Calif. (55.5 percent); Cape Canaveral, Fla. (25 percent); Newark, Calif. (3.2 percent); Bremerton, Wash. (3 percent); Kings Bay, Ga. (3 percent); Norfolk, Va. (3 percent); Washington, D.C. (3 percent); Silverdale, Wash. (2 percent); Austin, Texas (1.3 percent); San Jose, Calif. (less than 1 percent); Huntsville, Ala. (less than 1 percent); Sunnyvale, Calif. (less than 1 percent); and El Segundo, Calif. (less than 1 percent); with an expected completion date of Sept. 30, 2016. The maximum dollar value, including the base period and two option years, is $177,254,512. Fiscal 2012 weapons procurement, Air Force contract funds in the amount of $292,528; fiscal 2013 weapons procurement, Navy contract funds in the amount of $1,465,757; fiscal 2014 weapons procurement, Navy contract funds in the amount of $1,982,000; fiscal 2013 other procurement, Navy contract funds in the amount of $1,015,335; fiscal 2014 other procurement, Navy contract funds in the amount of $3,212,000; fiscal 2014 research, development, test & evaluation, Navy contract funds in the amount of $802,415; Fiscal year 2014 operations and maintenance, Navy contract funds in the amount of $13,216,055; and United Kingdom contract funds in the amount of $2,624,809. Contract funds in the amount of $292,528 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was a sole-source acquisition pursuant to 10 U.S.C. 2304(c) (5). The Department of the Navy, Strategic Systems Programs Office, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity (N00030-14-C-0006). (Awarded Dec. 9, 2013)
EMCOR Government Services, Inc., Arlington, Va., is being awarded a $30,755,772 modification under a previously awarded firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery indefinite-quantity contract to exercise option three for regional base operating support services at Naval Support Activity Washington, Naval Support Activity Bethesda, Naval Support Activity South Potomac, and Quantico Marine Corp Base. The National Capitol Region Base Operating Support Services including, but not limited to, repair and maintenance of property, facilities, and assets. The total contract amount after exercise of this option will be $198,088,060. Work will be performed in the Washington Navy Yard, Washington, D.C. (40 percent); Bethesda, Md. (40 percent); Anacostia, Washington, D.C. (eight percent); Arlington, Va. (six percent); Quantico, Va. (five percent); and Dahlgren, Va. (one percent), and work is expected to be completed December 2014. Fiscal 2014 operations and maintenance, Navy; fiscal 2014 working capital funds, Defense; fiscal 2014 health program, Defense; fiscal 2014 operations and maintenance, Marine Corps; fiscal 2014 operations and maintenance, Defense contract funds in the amount of $23,586,019 are obligated on this award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Washington, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity (N40080-07-D-0374).
AIR FORCE
EDO Corp., Defense Systems Division, Amityville, N.Y., has been awarded an estimated $10,206,061 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity requirements contract for depot level repair efforts of ALQ-161 radio frequency surveillance/electronic countermeasure (RFS/ECM) system components. Contractor will acquire depot level repair on a combination of line replaceable and shop replaceable units consisting of 235 national stock numbers in support of ALQ-161A RFS/ECM used on the B-1 aircraft. Work will be performed at Amityville, N.Y., and is expected to be complete by Dec. 5, 2014. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition. No fiscal 2012 consolidated sustainment activity group supply division funds from working capital funds will be obligated at time of award. Air Force Sustainment Center/PZABB, Robins Air Force Base, Ga., is the contracting activity. (FA8522-14-D-0002)
Northrop Grumman Technical Services Inc., Hill Air Force Base, Utah, has been awarded a $7,697,898 modification (P03927) for an existing contract (F42610-98-C-0001) for the Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Remote Visual Assessment (RVA) Wing III Retrofit program. The contract modification is to provide interim contractor support (ICS) maintenance. This will include all ICS support at the missile alert facility such as Launch Control Center RVA feeds, closed circuit television system, flight security controller functions and all supporting equipment. This will include all ICS support at the Launch Facility and all supporting equipment. Work will be performed at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Mont., Minot AFB, N.D., and F.E. Warren AFB, Wyo., and is expected to be completed by Sept. 30, 2014. Fiscal 2013 missile procurement funds in the amount of $7,697,898 are being obligated at time of award. Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center/PZBE, Hill AFB, Utah, is the contracting activity.
ARMY
Circle City Telcom Inc.*, Ala., was awarded a $7,870,392 firm-fixed-price contract to complete the installation, and testing of upgrades to the information technology infrastructure at Fort Rucker, Ala. The work will complete the installation, and secure and test upgrades to Fort Rucker's installation information infrastructure. It will install the remaining outside plant core and fiber optic cable, inside plant fiber optic cable terminations, complete site preparation for two communication shelters, and core data node installations. It will also complete data network fielding at the remaining end-user locations, and the cutover and migration of data users to the new installation information infrastructure modernization network. Fiscal 2014 other procurement, Army funds in the amount of $7,870,392 were obligated at the time of the award. Estimated completion date is Dec. 11, 2014. Bids were solicited via the Internet with one received. Work will be performed at Fort Rucker, Ala. Army Contracting Command, Rock Island Arsenal Rock Island, Ill., is the contracting activity (W52P1J-14-C-0063).
*Small Business
SECRETARY OF STATE KERRY'S STATEMENT ON HUMAN RIGHTS DAY 2013
FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Human Rights Day 2013
Press Statement
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
December 10, 2013
Around the world, the fundamental struggle for dignity – for economic justice, political freedom, and personal expression – continues every day and in many forms. I’ve seen firsthand what can happen when we work together to change things for the better. As a young Senator visiting Manila, I saw tears of joy in the eyes of a Filipino woman who emerged from a voting booth casting her ballot for the first time after 17 years of dictatorship. As Secretary of State, I’ve seen pride on the faces of young girls in Afghanistan, who would have been denied an education under the Taliban. And I’ve seen the courage of Libyans who filled Freedom Square – first to bring down a dictator and then to let Libya’s democratically elected government know their demands. Just in recent days, I've seen Ukrainians peacefully fill the city squares in Kyiv and across their country to demand that their voices be heard loudly and clearly.
Across the world, the struggle is not over; the march of human dignity is not complete. More than six decades after the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, we are still working to ensure that the rights set forth in it become “a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations.”
Making this vision a reality requires both the persistent protection of governments as well as the active participation of citizens. Nothing can match the power of grassroots movements. In my own generation's struggle, I saw vividly how activists came together to change our nation through movements committed to advance labor rights, civil rights, women’s rights, LGBT rights, the rights of the disabled, the environment and peace. America grew stronger because courageous citizens were willing to take a stand to fight for the things they believed in, willing to risk their lives on picket lines and voting lines and even go to jail for justice, to help their country live up to its ideals.
Around the world today, some of today’s greatest advocates for change – from Gao Zhisheng of China to Ales Byalyatski of Belarus to Angel Yunier Remon Arzuaga of Cuba – sit in prison simply because they fought for the rule of law and the right of human beings to express themselves.
There are many whose names we will never know, whose courage goes unremarked but is all the more remarkable because they put their lives on the line in the face of beatings, imprisonment, and even death in the near certainty that their sacrifice will be anonymous.
On this Human Rights Day, the United States honors the courage and commitment of men, women, and children around the world who risk their lives to secure universal rights for all.
Today and every day, we will continue to support their efforts to achieve a world that is more just, more free, and more peaceful and secure.
Human Rights Day 2013
Press Statement
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
December 10, 2013
Around the world, the fundamental struggle for dignity – for economic justice, political freedom, and personal expression – continues every day and in many forms. I’ve seen firsthand what can happen when we work together to change things for the better. As a young Senator visiting Manila, I saw tears of joy in the eyes of a Filipino woman who emerged from a voting booth casting her ballot for the first time after 17 years of dictatorship. As Secretary of State, I’ve seen pride on the faces of young girls in Afghanistan, who would have been denied an education under the Taliban. And I’ve seen the courage of Libyans who filled Freedom Square – first to bring down a dictator and then to let Libya’s democratically elected government know their demands. Just in recent days, I've seen Ukrainians peacefully fill the city squares in Kyiv and across their country to demand that their voices be heard loudly and clearly.
Across the world, the struggle is not over; the march of human dignity is not complete. More than six decades after the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, we are still working to ensure that the rights set forth in it become “a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations.”
Making this vision a reality requires both the persistent protection of governments as well as the active participation of citizens. Nothing can match the power of grassroots movements. In my own generation's struggle, I saw vividly how activists came together to change our nation through movements committed to advance labor rights, civil rights, women’s rights, LGBT rights, the rights of the disabled, the environment and peace. America grew stronger because courageous citizens were willing to take a stand to fight for the things they believed in, willing to risk their lives on picket lines and voting lines and even go to jail for justice, to help their country live up to its ideals.
Around the world today, some of today’s greatest advocates for change – from Gao Zhisheng of China to Ales Byalyatski of Belarus to Angel Yunier Remon Arzuaga of Cuba – sit in prison simply because they fought for the rule of law and the right of human beings to express themselves.
There are many whose names we will never know, whose courage goes unremarked but is all the more remarkable because they put their lives on the line in the face of beatings, imprisonment, and even death in the near certainty that their sacrifice will be anonymous.
On this Human Rights Day, the United States honors the courage and commitment of men, women, and children around the world who risk their lives to secure universal rights for all.
Today and every day, we will continue to support their efforts to achieve a world that is more just, more free, and more peaceful and secure.
HHS ANNOUNCES $50 MILLION IN MENTAL HEALTH FUNDING THROUGH AFFORDABLE CARE ACT
FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 10, 2013
HHS announces Affordable Care Act mental health services funding
$50 million from the health care law will expand mental health and substance use disorder services in approximately 200 Community Health Centers nationwide
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today announced that it plans to issue a $50 million funding opportunity announcement to help Community Health Centers establish or expand behavioral health services for people living with mental illness, and drug and alcohol problems. Community Health Centers will be able to use these new funds, made available through the Affordable Care Act, for efforts such as hiring new mental health and substance use disorder professionals, adding mental health and substance use disorder services, and employing team-based models of care.
“Most behavioral health conditions are treatable, yet too many Americans are not able to get needed treatment,” said Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Administrator Mary K. Wakefield, Ph.D., R.N. “These new Affordable Care Act funds will expand the capacity of our network of community health centers to respond to the mental health needs in their communities.”
“These new funds will further the Department’s work to develop integrated primary and behavioral health care services to better meet the needs of people with mental health and substance use conditions,” said Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Administrator, Pamela S. Hyde.
It is estimated these awards will support behavioral health expansion in approximately 200 existing health centers nationwide.
Over the past year the Obama administration has taken a number of steps to reduce the barriers that too often prevent people from getting the help they need for behavioral health problems.
The Affordable Care Act expands mental health and substance use disorder benefits and parity protections for approximately 60 million Americans.
The President’s Fiscal Year 2014 Budget includes a new $130 million initiative to help teachers recognize signs of mental illness in students and refer them to services, support innovative state-based programs to improve mental health outcomes for young people ages, and train 5,000 more mental health professionals. For more information please visit: http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/factsheet/improving-mental-health-prevention-and-treatment-services.
The Administration has also finalized rules under the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act. Because of these parity protections, many insurance plans will now include coverage for mental health and substance use conditions that is comparable to their medical and surgical coverage.
The Administration also launched www.mentalhealth.gov a new website featuring easy-to-understand information about basic signs of mental health problems, how to talk about mental health, and how to find help.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 10, 2013
HHS announces Affordable Care Act mental health services funding
$50 million from the health care law will expand mental health and substance use disorder services in approximately 200 Community Health Centers nationwide
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today announced that it plans to issue a $50 million funding opportunity announcement to help Community Health Centers establish or expand behavioral health services for people living with mental illness, and drug and alcohol problems. Community Health Centers will be able to use these new funds, made available through the Affordable Care Act, for efforts such as hiring new mental health and substance use disorder professionals, adding mental health and substance use disorder services, and employing team-based models of care.
“Most behavioral health conditions are treatable, yet too many Americans are not able to get needed treatment,” said Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Administrator Mary K. Wakefield, Ph.D., R.N. “These new Affordable Care Act funds will expand the capacity of our network of community health centers to respond to the mental health needs in their communities.”
“These new funds will further the Department’s work to develop integrated primary and behavioral health care services to better meet the needs of people with mental health and substance use conditions,” said Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Administrator, Pamela S. Hyde.
It is estimated these awards will support behavioral health expansion in approximately 200 existing health centers nationwide.
Over the past year the Obama administration has taken a number of steps to reduce the barriers that too often prevent people from getting the help they need for behavioral health problems.
The Affordable Care Act expands mental health and substance use disorder benefits and parity protections for approximately 60 million Americans.
The President’s Fiscal Year 2014 Budget includes a new $130 million initiative to help teachers recognize signs of mental illness in students and refer them to services, support innovative state-based programs to improve mental health outcomes for young people ages, and train 5,000 more mental health professionals. For more information please visit: http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/factsheet/improving-mental-health-prevention-and-treatment-services.
The Administration has also finalized rules under the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act. Because of these parity protections, many insurance plans will now include coverage for mental health and substance use conditions that is comparable to their medical and surgical coverage.
The Administration also launched www.mentalhealth.gov a new website featuring easy-to-understand information about basic signs of mental health problems, how to talk about mental health, and how to find help.
DOD ARTICLE ON SIGNIFICANCE OF YAMA SAKURA EXERCISE
FROM: U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
Yama Sakura Reflects New Approaches in Historic Alliance
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Dec. 10, 2013 – An exercise underway in Japan is giving U.S. forces an opportunity to apply the leadership and problem-solving skills they developed in Iraq and Afghanistan as they refocus on the Asia-Pacific theater.
Yama Sakura 65, an annual bilateral exercise between U.S. and Japan, kicked off for its 33rd iteration Nov. 29 and will wrap up within the next few days, Army Lt. Gen. Robert B. Brown, the I Corps commander, told American Forces Press Service.
The largest bilateral ground exercise for the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force, Yama Sakura includes about 1,500 U.S. military members and about 4,500 Japanese forces.
For Brown, who first participated in Yama Sakura in the mid-1990s, this year’s exercise represents a tremendous evolution from the one he remembers 17 years ago.
“It’s totally different, like night and day,” he said during a telephone interview today from Japan. “Back then, the Japanese were in one building, planning, and we were in another building. It was really hard to interact.”
Not so today. “Now we are right next to each other, truly working together bilaterally, and learning from each other,” he said.
Working together to confront a notional invasion of Northern Japan, the military forces are maximizing the advantages of technology never dreamed of in the early days of Yama Sakura.
Only about 1,000 of the U.S. participants are on the ground in Japan. The rest, Brown explained, are in simulation centers at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.; in Hawaii, South Korea and several other locations.
“We are much more efficient today than in the past because we put money into simulations. That has really paid dividends in saving money, yet still providing an effective and realistic exercise,” he said. “Instead of everyone having to Japan to participate, they are up on [video teleconferences] at their home bases every single day. So you still have that realism, but in a more efficient manner.”
Another departure for Yama Sakura is that military forces are operating directly with their interagency and intergovernmental counterparts to replicate a joint, interagency, inter-governmental and multinational or “JIIM” domain.
For example, during the course of the execution phase of the exercise wrapping up this week, Japanese civil authorities worked shoulder-to-shoulder with the military participants to conduct a notional civilian evacuation. They hammered out the specifics of how they would conduct it and where they would send the evacuees and planned for some of the complications they would likely confront during a real-world event.
“I wish we had exercises more in the JIIM environment before deploying to Iraq and Afghanistan, because it is more realistic,” Brown said. “We used to say we wouldn’t fight unless we were joint. Well, that is a given now. But I don’t think we will ever fight again unless we are truly joint, interagency, intergovernmental and multinational. It is the way the world has changed.”
Among those changes are the operational challenges posed by cyber threats. “Cyber is something we didn’t use to practice a lot, but now we include it in every exercise,” including Yama Sakura, Brown said.
Participants are practicing defensive cyber operations, which Brown said begins with recognizing attacks or attempted attacks on networks and reporting them to the appropriate authorities.
Many cyber attacks go unrecognized because users mistake temporary outages or unusual activity on their networks for the kind of interruptions they sometimes get on their cell phones, he explained. “It’s often a cyber attack or somebody trying to phish for information and folks don’t even know,” he said. “So the first thing is getting them to pay attention and report it, and we are playing that a lot in the exercise.”
While much has changed in the Yama Sakura exercise, Brown said its goals of promoting communication, understanding and interoperability haven’t.
Although the scenario was based on a fictitious invasion, Brown said the way Japanese and U.S. military and governmental personnel responded could apply to just about any situation – including one like the devastating earthquake-tsunami-nuclear disaster that struck Japan in 2011.
“This really could be about just anything,” he said. “It is putting you in a challenging situation so you learn to work together and build trust and confidence among your allies.”
Like many other U.S. allies and partners in the region, Japan Ground Self-Defense Force members are anxious to learn the lessons U.S. forces have learned over the past 12 years of sustained combat, Brown said.
“This is the most experienced generation, operationally, that we have ever had,” he said. “They bring in incredible experience that our allies are very hungry for….[Those allies] definitely respect that we have been tested in the toughest of conditions in combat, and they really want to learn the lessons.”
Those lessons, he noted, include leadership and problem-solving skills that would apply as much during a humanitarian assistance and disaster response mission as in combat.
U.S. allies “understand that it is not technology, it is our noncommissioned officers that make us the best Army in the world,” Brown said.
As U.S. NCOs partnered extensively with Japanese forces during Yama Sakura, they shared insights into areas beyond traditional military operations, including suicide prevention, resiliency and sexual assault and sexual harassment prevention, he noted.
But the learning wasn’t all one-way. The Japan Ground Self-Defense Force has “tremendous planning skills,” Brown said, and its members happily shared them with the U.S. forces.
“I can’ tell you how excited the soldiers are to be here,” he said. “They are working right next to their Japanese counterparts. They are learning about their culture, their traditions, and learning from them about how they plan and operate. It’s just neat to see.”
Brown said he expects the after-action review to follow the exercise’s conclusion to be “fascinating” as it takes the process from past Yama Sakura exercises to a new level. “I think we are going to get even better lessons learned,” he said.
As I Corps continues to change from its Middle East focus to support the U.S. balance to the Asia-Pacific theater, Brown said the experiences gained during exercises like Yama Sakura will go a long way in promoting the relationships that will allow the U.S.-Japan alliance to continue to grow.
“When you learn about each other and learn how to operate together and cooperate better, you get a personal view of each other than can pay off in the long term,” he said. “And in the future, if something would happen, … we know we could come together and work together well.”
That foundation is critical, he said, borrowing what has become a popular truism, “because you can surge troops and numbers, but you can’t surge trust.”
“We exercise and practice together because you don’t want to learn this the first time in the middle of a crisis,” he said. “You don’t want to go to the Super Bowl without having scrimmaged or worked together. You have to have those repetitions: be together to learn and build trust that enables effective command.
“If you can do it efficiently and effectively in exercises like this, it is worth its weight in gold, because you are training the way you are going to end up fighting or responding to a crisis,” he said.
Yama Sakura Reflects New Approaches in Historic Alliance
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Dec. 10, 2013 – An exercise underway in Japan is giving U.S. forces an opportunity to apply the leadership and problem-solving skills they developed in Iraq and Afghanistan as they refocus on the Asia-Pacific theater.
Yama Sakura 65, an annual bilateral exercise between U.S. and Japan, kicked off for its 33rd iteration Nov. 29 and will wrap up within the next few days, Army Lt. Gen. Robert B. Brown, the I Corps commander, told American Forces Press Service.
The largest bilateral ground exercise for the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force, Yama Sakura includes about 1,500 U.S. military members and about 4,500 Japanese forces.
For Brown, who first participated in Yama Sakura in the mid-1990s, this year’s exercise represents a tremendous evolution from the one he remembers 17 years ago.
“It’s totally different, like night and day,” he said during a telephone interview today from Japan. “Back then, the Japanese were in one building, planning, and we were in another building. It was really hard to interact.”
Not so today. “Now we are right next to each other, truly working together bilaterally, and learning from each other,” he said.
Working together to confront a notional invasion of Northern Japan, the military forces are maximizing the advantages of technology never dreamed of in the early days of Yama Sakura.
Only about 1,000 of the U.S. participants are on the ground in Japan. The rest, Brown explained, are in simulation centers at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.; in Hawaii, South Korea and several other locations.
“We are much more efficient today than in the past because we put money into simulations. That has really paid dividends in saving money, yet still providing an effective and realistic exercise,” he said. “Instead of everyone having to Japan to participate, they are up on [video teleconferences] at their home bases every single day. So you still have that realism, but in a more efficient manner.”
Another departure for Yama Sakura is that military forces are operating directly with their interagency and intergovernmental counterparts to replicate a joint, interagency, inter-governmental and multinational or “JIIM” domain.
For example, during the course of the execution phase of the exercise wrapping up this week, Japanese civil authorities worked shoulder-to-shoulder with the military participants to conduct a notional civilian evacuation. They hammered out the specifics of how they would conduct it and where they would send the evacuees and planned for some of the complications they would likely confront during a real-world event.
“I wish we had exercises more in the JIIM environment before deploying to Iraq and Afghanistan, because it is more realistic,” Brown said. “We used to say we wouldn’t fight unless we were joint. Well, that is a given now. But I don’t think we will ever fight again unless we are truly joint, interagency, intergovernmental and multinational. It is the way the world has changed.”
Among those changes are the operational challenges posed by cyber threats. “Cyber is something we didn’t use to practice a lot, but now we include it in every exercise,” including Yama Sakura, Brown said.
Participants are practicing defensive cyber operations, which Brown said begins with recognizing attacks or attempted attacks on networks and reporting them to the appropriate authorities.
Many cyber attacks go unrecognized because users mistake temporary outages or unusual activity on their networks for the kind of interruptions they sometimes get on their cell phones, he explained. “It’s often a cyber attack or somebody trying to phish for information and folks don’t even know,” he said. “So the first thing is getting them to pay attention and report it, and we are playing that a lot in the exercise.”
While much has changed in the Yama Sakura exercise, Brown said its goals of promoting communication, understanding and interoperability haven’t.
Although the scenario was based on a fictitious invasion, Brown said the way Japanese and U.S. military and governmental personnel responded could apply to just about any situation – including one like the devastating earthquake-tsunami-nuclear disaster that struck Japan in 2011.
“This really could be about just anything,” he said. “It is putting you in a challenging situation so you learn to work together and build trust and confidence among your allies.”
Like many other U.S. allies and partners in the region, Japan Ground Self-Defense Force members are anxious to learn the lessons U.S. forces have learned over the past 12 years of sustained combat, Brown said.
“This is the most experienced generation, operationally, that we have ever had,” he said. “They bring in incredible experience that our allies are very hungry for….[Those allies] definitely respect that we have been tested in the toughest of conditions in combat, and they really want to learn the lessons.”
Those lessons, he noted, include leadership and problem-solving skills that would apply as much during a humanitarian assistance and disaster response mission as in combat.
U.S. allies “understand that it is not technology, it is our noncommissioned officers that make us the best Army in the world,” Brown said.
As U.S. NCOs partnered extensively with Japanese forces during Yama Sakura, they shared insights into areas beyond traditional military operations, including suicide prevention, resiliency and sexual assault and sexual harassment prevention, he noted.
But the learning wasn’t all one-way. The Japan Ground Self-Defense Force has “tremendous planning skills,” Brown said, and its members happily shared them with the U.S. forces.
“I can’ tell you how excited the soldiers are to be here,” he said. “They are working right next to their Japanese counterparts. They are learning about their culture, their traditions, and learning from them about how they plan and operate. It’s just neat to see.”
Brown said he expects the after-action review to follow the exercise’s conclusion to be “fascinating” as it takes the process from past Yama Sakura exercises to a new level. “I think we are going to get even better lessons learned,” he said.
As I Corps continues to change from its Middle East focus to support the U.S. balance to the Asia-Pacific theater, Brown said the experiences gained during exercises like Yama Sakura will go a long way in promoting the relationships that will allow the U.S.-Japan alliance to continue to grow.
“When you learn about each other and learn how to operate together and cooperate better, you get a personal view of each other than can pay off in the long term,” he said. “And in the future, if something would happen, … we know we could come together and work together well.”
That foundation is critical, he said, borrowing what has become a popular truism, “because you can surge troops and numbers, but you can’t surge trust.”
“We exercise and practice together because you don’t want to learn this the first time in the middle of a crisis,” he said. “You don’t want to go to the Super Bowl without having scrimmaged or worked together. You have to have those repetitions: be together to learn and build trust that enables effective command.
“If you can do it efficiently and effectively in exercises like this, it is worth its weight in gold, because you are training the way you are going to end up fighting or responding to a crisis,” he said.
MAN FACES PRISON SENTENCE, FINE FOR CLAIMING FALSE TAX REFUNDS
FROM: U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Monday, December 9, 2013
Utah Resident Pleads Guilty to Filing False Claims for Tax Refunds Totaling $653,884
Stanley J. Wardle, 65, of Spanish Fork, Utah, pleaded guilty today in the U.S. District Court in Salt Lake City to nine counts of filing false claims for income tax refunds, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced. Wardle, who was indicted on Feb. 15, 2012, is scheduled to be sentenced before U.S. District Judge Dee Benson on Feb. 27, 2014.
According to the indictment, on or about Jan. 22, 2009, Wardle prepared and filed a false U.S. Individual Income Tax Return for the year 2008, in which he claimed a tax refund of $32,115. In addition, between Dec. 8, 2008 and May 13, 2009, he caused additional false claims for tax refunds to be made on behalf of others. In total, Wardle was involved in false claims for refunds totaling $653,884.
Wardle faces a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss caused by the defendant for each false claim charge.
Assistant Attorney General Kathryn Keneally for the department’s Tax Division commended the special agents of IRS - Criminal Investigation who investigated the case, and Tax Division Trial Attorneys Michael Romano and Stuart Wexler, who prosecuted the case.
Monday, December 9, 2013
Utah Resident Pleads Guilty to Filing False Claims for Tax Refunds Totaling $653,884
Stanley J. Wardle, 65, of Spanish Fork, Utah, pleaded guilty today in the U.S. District Court in Salt Lake City to nine counts of filing false claims for income tax refunds, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced. Wardle, who was indicted on Feb. 15, 2012, is scheduled to be sentenced before U.S. District Judge Dee Benson on Feb. 27, 2014.
According to the indictment, on or about Jan. 22, 2009, Wardle prepared and filed a false U.S. Individual Income Tax Return for the year 2008, in which he claimed a tax refund of $32,115. In addition, between Dec. 8, 2008 and May 13, 2009, he caused additional false claims for tax refunds to be made on behalf of others. In total, Wardle was involved in false claims for refunds totaling $653,884.
Wardle faces a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss caused by the defendant for each false claim charge.
Assistant Attorney General Kathryn Keneally for the department’s Tax Division commended the special agents of IRS - Criminal Investigation who investigated the case, and Tax Division Trial Attorneys Michael Romano and Stuart Wexler, who prosecuted the case.
SECRETARY OF STATE KERRY'S STATEMENT ON AGREEMENT WITH IRAN ON NUCLEAR PROGRAM
FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT,
The P5+1's First Step Agreement With Iran on its Nuclear Program
Testimony
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Opening Remarks Before the House Foreign Affairs Committee
Washington, DC
December 10, 2013
SECRETARY KERRY: Well, Mr. Chairman, thank you very, very much. Ranking Member Engel, Members of the Committee, thanks very much for welcoming me back, and I am happy to be back here. There’s no more important issue in American foreign policy than the question of the one we’re focused on here today.
And obviously, from the Chairman’s introduction, you know that I come here with an enormous amount of respect for your prerogatives on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, as we did in the Senate. And it’s entirely appropriate that we’re here to satisfy your questions, hopefully allay your concerns and fears, because I believe the agreement that we have ought to do that and I think the path that we’re on should do that. And as I describe it to you, I hope you’ll leave here today with a sense of confidence that we know what we’re doing, our eyes are open, we have no illusions. It’s a tough road. I don’t come here with any guarantees whatsoever. And I think none of what we’ve done in this agreement begs that notion. In other words, everything is either verifiable or clear, and there are a set of requirements ahead of us which will even grow more so in the course of a comprehensive agreement. And we can talk about that – I’m sure we will – in the course of the day.
Let me just begin by saying that President Obama and I have both been very clear, as every member of this committee has been, that Iran must not acquire a nuclear weapon. And it is the President’s centerpiece of his foreign policy: Iran will not acquire a nuclear weapon. This imperative is at the top of our national security agenda, and I know it’s at the top of yours as well. So I really do welcome the opportunity to have a discussion not only about what the first-step agreement does, but also to clarify – I hope significantly – what it doesn’t do, because there’s a certain, as there is in any of these kinds of things, a certain mythology that sometimes grows up around them.
The title of today’s hearing is “The Iran Nuclear Deal: Does It Further U.S. National Security?” And I would state to you unequivocally the answer is yes. The national security of the United States is stronger under this first-step agreement than it was before. Israel’s national security is stronger than it was the day before we entered into this agreement. And the Gulf and Middle East interests are more secure than they were the day before we entered this agreement.
Now, here’s how:
Put simply, once implemented – and it will be in the next weeks – this agreement halts the progress of Iran’s nuclear program – halts the progress – and rolls it back in certain places for the first time in nearly ten years. It provides unprecedented monitoring and inspections. While we negotiate to see if we can conclude a comprehensive agreement – if we can conclude – and I came away from our preliminary negotiations with serious questions about whether or not they’re ready and willing to make some of the choices that have to be made. But that’s what we put to test over the next months. While we negotiate to see if we can conclude a comprehensive agreement that addresses all of our concerns, there’s an important fact: Iran’s nuclear program will not move forward.
Under this agreement, Iran will have to neutralize – end – its entire stockpile of 20 percent enriched uranium, which you all know is a short step away from weapons-grade uranium. So if you remember when Prime Minister Netanyahu held up that cartoon at the UN with the bomb in it in 2012, he showed the world a chart that highlighted the type of uranium that he was most concerned about – and he was talking about that 20 percent stockpile. Under this agreement, Iran will forfeit all – not part, all – of that 20 percent, that 200 kilogram stockpile. Gone.
Under this agreement, Iran will also halt the enrichment above 5 percent and it will not be permitted to grow its stockpile of 3.5 percent enriched uranium. Iran cannot increase the number of centrifuges in operation, and it will not install or use any next-generation centrifuges to enrich uranium.
Under this agreement, we will have increased transparency of Iran’s nuclear program, giving us a window into their activities that we don’t have today. We will have access to Fordow, a secret facility in a mountaintop that we’ve never been in. We will now get into it not once or twice – every single day. We will get into Natanz and have the ability to know not once or twice, but every single day what is happening in Natanz. And we will have access each month to the Arak facility, where we will have an extraordinary ability to be able to know through inspections whether or not they are complying with their requirements.
Now, this monitoring is going to increase our visibility into Iran’s nuclear program as well as our ability to react should Iran renege on this agreement. And taken together, these first steps will help prevent Iran from using the cover of negotiations to continue advancing its nuclear program in secret – a concern that everybody on this dais shares.
Now, in addition – this is very important – one of our greatest concerns has been the Arak – A-r-a-k – nuclear reactor facility. And this is a heavy-water, plutonium-capable reactor. That’s unacceptable to us. In the first step, we have now succeeded in preventing them from doing any additional fuel testing, from transferring any fuel rods into the reactor, and from installing any of the uninstalled components which are critical to their ability to be able to advance that particular reactor. So it’s frozen stone cold where it is in terms of its nuclear threat and capacity. Iran will not be able to commission the Arak reactor during the course of this interim first-step agreement. That’s very important.
Now, we have strong feelings about what will happen in a final comprehensive agreement. From our point of view, Arak is unacceptable. You can’t have a heavy-water reactor. But we’ve taken the first step in the context of a first step, and they will have to halt production of fuel for this reactor and not transfer any fuel or heavy water to the reactor site. It cannot conduct any additional fuel testing for this. and Iran is required to give us design information for the site. We’re actually going to have the plans for the site delivered to us. We’ve long sought this information, and it will provide critical insight into the reactor that has not been previously available to us through intel or any other sources.
Now, those are the highlights of what we get in this agreement. And I know many of you have asked, “Well, what does Iran get in return?” And I’ve seen outlandish numbers out there in some articles talking about 30, 40, 50 billion dollars and so forth, or disintegration of the sanctions. My friends, that’s just not true. It’s absolutely not true. We have red-teamed and vetted and cross-examined and run through all the possible numbers through the intel community, through the Treasury Department, through the people in charge of sanctions, and our estimates are that at the end of the six months, if they fully comply, if this holds, they would have somewhere in the vicinity of $7 billion total.
And this is something that I think you ought to take great pride in. I was here as chairman when we put his in place. I voted for these sanctions, like we all did in the United States Senate. I think we were 100 to nothing as a matter of fact. And we put them in place for a purpose. The purpose was to get to this negotiation. The purpose was to see whether or not diplomacy and avoidance of war could actually deliver the same thing or better than you might be able to get through confrontation.
Now, sanctions relief is limited to the very few targeted areas that are specified in this agreement for a total of about the $7 billion that I’ve described. And we will continue to vigorously – Ranking Member Engel, we will absolutely not only will we – I mean, this is going to actually result in a greater intensity of focus on the sanctions because I’ve sent a message to every single facility of the United States anywhere in the world that every agency is to be on alert to see any least movement by anybody towards an effort to try to circumvent or undo the sanctions. We don’t believe that will happen. And one of the reasons it won’t happen is we have a united P5+1. Russia, China, the United States, France, Germany, and Great Britain are all united in this assurance that we will not undo the sanctions and that we will stay focused on their enforcement.
Now, all the sanctions on Iran further on its abysmal human rights record, over its support for terrorism, which you’ve mentioned, and over its destabilizing activities in places like Syria – those sanctions will all remain in effect. They’ve nothing to do with the nuclear. They’re there for the reasons they’re there, and we’re not taking them off. This agreement does provide Iran with a very limited, temporary, and reversible relief. And it’s reversible at any time in the process if there is noncompliance. If Iran fails to meet its commitments, we can and will revoke this relief. And we will be the first ones to come to you if this fails to ask you for additional sanctions.
The total amount of relief is somewhere between the 6 and 7 billion that I described. That is less than one percent of Iran’s $1 trillion dollar economy, and it is a small fraction of the $100 billion-plus of oil revenue alone that we have deprived Iran of since 2012.
I want you to keep in mind this really pales in comparison to the amount of pressure that we are leaving in place. Iran will lose $30 billion over the course of this continued sanctions regime over the next six months. So compare that – they may get $7 billion of relief, but they’re going to lose $30 billion. It’s going to go into the frozen accounts. It will be added to the already 45 billion or so that’s in those accounts now that they can’t access.
And during the six-month negotiating period, Iran’s crude oil sales cannot increase. Oil sanctions continue as they are today. There’s no diminishment of the oil and banking sanctions that you put in place. We have not lifted them. We haven’t eased them. That means that as we negotiate, oil sanctions will continue to cost Iran about the 30 billion I just described, and Iran will actually lose more money each month that we negotiate than it will gain in relief as a result of this agreement. And while we provide 4.2 billion in relief over the six months, which is direct money we will release from the frozen account, we are structuring this relief in a way that it is tied to concrete, IAEA-verified steps that they’ve agreed to take on the nuclear program. That means that the funds will be transferred not all at once, but in installments, in order to ensure that Iran fulfills its commitments. And it means that Iran will not get the full measure of relief until the end of the negotiating period, when and if we verify, certify, that they have complied.
So now we have committed – along with our P5+1 partners – to not impose any new nuclear-related sanctions for the period of the six months. I’m sure there are questions about this. I know I’ve seen, and there are some in Congress who’ve suggested they ought to do it. I’m happy to answer them. I will tell you that in my 29 years, just about shy of the full 29 I’ve served in the Senate, I was always a leading proponent of the sanctions against Iran. I’m proud of what we did here. But it was undeniable that the pressure we put on Iran through these sanctions is exactly what has brought Iran to the table today, and I think Congress deserves an enormous amount of credit for that.
But I don’t think that any of us thought we were just imposing these sanctions for the sake of imposing them. We did it because we knew that it would hopefully help Iran dismantle its nuclear program. That was the whole point of the regime.
Now, has Iran changed its nuclear calculus? I honestly don’t think we can say for sure yet. And we certainly don’t just take words at face value. Believe me, this is not about trust. And given the history – and Mr. Chairman, you mentioned the question of deception – given the history, we are all rightly skeptical about whether or not people are ready to make the hard choices necessary to live up to this. But we now have the best chance we’ve ever had to rigorously test this proposition without losing anything. At least twice in this agreement, it is mentioned that nothing is agreed until everything is agreed, and that is specific as to the final agreement. In addition, where it does talk about the potential of enrichment in the future, it says “mutually agreed upon” at least four times – three or four times in that paragraph. It has to be agreed. We don’t agree, it doesn’t happen.
Every one of us remembers Ronald Reagan’s maxim when he was negotiating with the Soviet Union: Trust, but verify. We have a new one: Test, but verify. Test, but verify. And that is exactly what we intend to do in the course of this process.
Now, we’ve all been through tough decisions. Those of you in the top dais have been around here a long time, and you’ve seen – we all know the kinds of tough decisions we have to make. But we’re asking you to give our negotiators and our experts the time and the space to do their jobs, and that includes asking you while we negotiate that you hold off imposing new sanctions.
Now, I’m not saying never. I just told you a few minutes ago if this doesn’t work, we’re coming back and asking you for more. I’m just saying not right now. Let me be very clear. This is a very delicate diplomatic moment, and we have a chance to address peacefully one of the most pressing national security concerns that the world faces today with gigantic implications of the potential of conflict. We’re at a crossroads. We’re at one of those, really, hinge points in history. One path could lead to an enduring resolution in international community’s concerns about Iran’s nuclear program. The other path could lead to continued hostility and potentially to conflict. And I don’t have to tell you that these are high stakes.
We have an obligation to give these negotiations an opportunity to succeed. And we can’t ask the rest of the P5+1 and our partners around the world to hold up their ends of the bargain if the United States isn’t going to uphold its end of the bargain. If we appear to be going off on our own tangent and do whatever we want, we will potentially lose their support for the sanctions themselves. Because we don’t just enforce them by ourselves; we need their help. And I don’t want to threaten the unity that we currently have with respect to this approach, particularly when it doesn’t cost us a thing to go through this process knowing that we could put sanctions in place additionally in a week, and we would be there with you seeking to do it.
I don’t want to give the Iranians a public excuse to flout the agreement. It could lead our international partners to think that we’re not an honest broker and that we didn’t mean it when we said that sanctions were not an end in and of themselves, but a tool to pressure the Iranians into a diplomatic solution. Well, we’re in that. And six months will fly by so fast, my friends, that before you know it we’re either going to know which end of this we’re at or not.
It's possible, also, that it could even end up decreasing the pressure on Iran by leading to the fraying of the sanctions regime. I will tell you that there were several P5+1 partners at the table ready to accept an agreement significantly less than what we fought for and got in the end.
Mr. Chairman, do you want me to wrap?
CHAIRMAN ROYCE: If you could, Mr. Secretary.
SECRETARY KERRY: Okay. Let me just say to you that the Iranians know that this threat is on the table.
I do want to say one quick word about Israel and Prime Minister Netanyahu. I speak to the Prime Minister usually a couple times a week or several times. I talked to him yesterday morning, and I am leaving tomorrow and I'll be seeing him Thursday night. We are totally agreed that we need to focus on this final comprehensive agreement. And Yossi Cohen, the national security advisor to the Prime Minister, is here in Washington this week working with our experts. And we will work hand in hand closely, not just with Israel, but with our friends in the Gulf and others around the world, to understand everybody's assessment of what constitutes the best comprehensive agreement that absolutely guarantees that the program, whatever it is to be, is peaceful, and that we have expanded by an enormous amount the breakout time.
This first-step agreement, Mr. Chairman, actually does expand the breakout time. Because of the destruction of the 20 percent, because of the lack of capacity to move forward on all those other facilities, we are expanding the amount of time that it would take them to break out. And, clearly, in a final agreement, we intend to make this failsafe that we can guarantee that they will not have access to nuclear weapons.
So I’d just simply put the rest of my testimony in the record, Mr. Chairman. I look forward to your questions.
The P5+1's First Step Agreement With Iran on its Nuclear Program
Testimony
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Opening Remarks Before the House Foreign Affairs Committee
Washington, DC
December 10, 2013
SECRETARY KERRY: Well, Mr. Chairman, thank you very, very much. Ranking Member Engel, Members of the Committee, thanks very much for welcoming me back, and I am happy to be back here. There’s no more important issue in American foreign policy than the question of the one we’re focused on here today.
And obviously, from the Chairman’s introduction, you know that I come here with an enormous amount of respect for your prerogatives on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, as we did in the Senate. And it’s entirely appropriate that we’re here to satisfy your questions, hopefully allay your concerns and fears, because I believe the agreement that we have ought to do that and I think the path that we’re on should do that. And as I describe it to you, I hope you’ll leave here today with a sense of confidence that we know what we’re doing, our eyes are open, we have no illusions. It’s a tough road. I don’t come here with any guarantees whatsoever. And I think none of what we’ve done in this agreement begs that notion. In other words, everything is either verifiable or clear, and there are a set of requirements ahead of us which will even grow more so in the course of a comprehensive agreement. And we can talk about that – I’m sure we will – in the course of the day.
Let me just begin by saying that President Obama and I have both been very clear, as every member of this committee has been, that Iran must not acquire a nuclear weapon. And it is the President’s centerpiece of his foreign policy: Iran will not acquire a nuclear weapon. This imperative is at the top of our national security agenda, and I know it’s at the top of yours as well. So I really do welcome the opportunity to have a discussion not only about what the first-step agreement does, but also to clarify – I hope significantly – what it doesn’t do, because there’s a certain, as there is in any of these kinds of things, a certain mythology that sometimes grows up around them.
The title of today’s hearing is “The Iran Nuclear Deal: Does It Further U.S. National Security?” And I would state to you unequivocally the answer is yes. The national security of the United States is stronger under this first-step agreement than it was before. Israel’s national security is stronger than it was the day before we entered into this agreement. And the Gulf and Middle East interests are more secure than they were the day before we entered this agreement.
Now, here’s how:
Put simply, once implemented – and it will be in the next weeks – this agreement halts the progress of Iran’s nuclear program – halts the progress – and rolls it back in certain places for the first time in nearly ten years. It provides unprecedented monitoring and inspections. While we negotiate to see if we can conclude a comprehensive agreement – if we can conclude – and I came away from our preliminary negotiations with serious questions about whether or not they’re ready and willing to make some of the choices that have to be made. But that’s what we put to test over the next months. While we negotiate to see if we can conclude a comprehensive agreement that addresses all of our concerns, there’s an important fact: Iran’s nuclear program will not move forward.
Under this agreement, Iran will have to neutralize – end – its entire stockpile of 20 percent enriched uranium, which you all know is a short step away from weapons-grade uranium. So if you remember when Prime Minister Netanyahu held up that cartoon at the UN with the bomb in it in 2012, he showed the world a chart that highlighted the type of uranium that he was most concerned about – and he was talking about that 20 percent stockpile. Under this agreement, Iran will forfeit all – not part, all – of that 20 percent, that 200 kilogram stockpile. Gone.
Under this agreement, Iran will also halt the enrichment above 5 percent and it will not be permitted to grow its stockpile of 3.5 percent enriched uranium. Iran cannot increase the number of centrifuges in operation, and it will not install or use any next-generation centrifuges to enrich uranium.
Under this agreement, we will have increased transparency of Iran’s nuclear program, giving us a window into their activities that we don’t have today. We will have access to Fordow, a secret facility in a mountaintop that we’ve never been in. We will now get into it not once or twice – every single day. We will get into Natanz and have the ability to know not once or twice, but every single day what is happening in Natanz. And we will have access each month to the Arak facility, where we will have an extraordinary ability to be able to know through inspections whether or not they are complying with their requirements.
Now, this monitoring is going to increase our visibility into Iran’s nuclear program as well as our ability to react should Iran renege on this agreement. And taken together, these first steps will help prevent Iran from using the cover of negotiations to continue advancing its nuclear program in secret – a concern that everybody on this dais shares.
Now, in addition – this is very important – one of our greatest concerns has been the Arak – A-r-a-k – nuclear reactor facility. And this is a heavy-water, plutonium-capable reactor. That’s unacceptable to us. In the first step, we have now succeeded in preventing them from doing any additional fuel testing, from transferring any fuel rods into the reactor, and from installing any of the uninstalled components which are critical to their ability to be able to advance that particular reactor. So it’s frozen stone cold where it is in terms of its nuclear threat and capacity. Iran will not be able to commission the Arak reactor during the course of this interim first-step agreement. That’s very important.
Now, we have strong feelings about what will happen in a final comprehensive agreement. From our point of view, Arak is unacceptable. You can’t have a heavy-water reactor. But we’ve taken the first step in the context of a first step, and they will have to halt production of fuel for this reactor and not transfer any fuel or heavy water to the reactor site. It cannot conduct any additional fuel testing for this. and Iran is required to give us design information for the site. We’re actually going to have the plans for the site delivered to us. We’ve long sought this information, and it will provide critical insight into the reactor that has not been previously available to us through intel or any other sources.
Now, those are the highlights of what we get in this agreement. And I know many of you have asked, “Well, what does Iran get in return?” And I’ve seen outlandish numbers out there in some articles talking about 30, 40, 50 billion dollars and so forth, or disintegration of the sanctions. My friends, that’s just not true. It’s absolutely not true. We have red-teamed and vetted and cross-examined and run through all the possible numbers through the intel community, through the Treasury Department, through the people in charge of sanctions, and our estimates are that at the end of the six months, if they fully comply, if this holds, they would have somewhere in the vicinity of $7 billion total.
And this is something that I think you ought to take great pride in. I was here as chairman when we put his in place. I voted for these sanctions, like we all did in the United States Senate. I think we were 100 to nothing as a matter of fact. And we put them in place for a purpose. The purpose was to get to this negotiation. The purpose was to see whether or not diplomacy and avoidance of war could actually deliver the same thing or better than you might be able to get through confrontation.
Now, sanctions relief is limited to the very few targeted areas that are specified in this agreement for a total of about the $7 billion that I’ve described. And we will continue to vigorously – Ranking Member Engel, we will absolutely not only will we – I mean, this is going to actually result in a greater intensity of focus on the sanctions because I’ve sent a message to every single facility of the United States anywhere in the world that every agency is to be on alert to see any least movement by anybody towards an effort to try to circumvent or undo the sanctions. We don’t believe that will happen. And one of the reasons it won’t happen is we have a united P5+1. Russia, China, the United States, France, Germany, and Great Britain are all united in this assurance that we will not undo the sanctions and that we will stay focused on their enforcement.
Now, all the sanctions on Iran further on its abysmal human rights record, over its support for terrorism, which you’ve mentioned, and over its destabilizing activities in places like Syria – those sanctions will all remain in effect. They’ve nothing to do with the nuclear. They’re there for the reasons they’re there, and we’re not taking them off. This agreement does provide Iran with a very limited, temporary, and reversible relief. And it’s reversible at any time in the process if there is noncompliance. If Iran fails to meet its commitments, we can and will revoke this relief. And we will be the first ones to come to you if this fails to ask you for additional sanctions.
The total amount of relief is somewhere between the 6 and 7 billion that I described. That is less than one percent of Iran’s $1 trillion dollar economy, and it is a small fraction of the $100 billion-plus of oil revenue alone that we have deprived Iran of since 2012.
I want you to keep in mind this really pales in comparison to the amount of pressure that we are leaving in place. Iran will lose $30 billion over the course of this continued sanctions regime over the next six months. So compare that – they may get $7 billion of relief, but they’re going to lose $30 billion. It’s going to go into the frozen accounts. It will be added to the already 45 billion or so that’s in those accounts now that they can’t access.
And during the six-month negotiating period, Iran’s crude oil sales cannot increase. Oil sanctions continue as they are today. There’s no diminishment of the oil and banking sanctions that you put in place. We have not lifted them. We haven’t eased them. That means that as we negotiate, oil sanctions will continue to cost Iran about the 30 billion I just described, and Iran will actually lose more money each month that we negotiate than it will gain in relief as a result of this agreement. And while we provide 4.2 billion in relief over the six months, which is direct money we will release from the frozen account, we are structuring this relief in a way that it is tied to concrete, IAEA-verified steps that they’ve agreed to take on the nuclear program. That means that the funds will be transferred not all at once, but in installments, in order to ensure that Iran fulfills its commitments. And it means that Iran will not get the full measure of relief until the end of the negotiating period, when and if we verify, certify, that they have complied.
So now we have committed – along with our P5+1 partners – to not impose any new nuclear-related sanctions for the period of the six months. I’m sure there are questions about this. I know I’ve seen, and there are some in Congress who’ve suggested they ought to do it. I’m happy to answer them. I will tell you that in my 29 years, just about shy of the full 29 I’ve served in the Senate, I was always a leading proponent of the sanctions against Iran. I’m proud of what we did here. But it was undeniable that the pressure we put on Iran through these sanctions is exactly what has brought Iran to the table today, and I think Congress deserves an enormous amount of credit for that.
But I don’t think that any of us thought we were just imposing these sanctions for the sake of imposing them. We did it because we knew that it would hopefully help Iran dismantle its nuclear program. That was the whole point of the regime.
Now, has Iran changed its nuclear calculus? I honestly don’t think we can say for sure yet. And we certainly don’t just take words at face value. Believe me, this is not about trust. And given the history – and Mr. Chairman, you mentioned the question of deception – given the history, we are all rightly skeptical about whether or not people are ready to make the hard choices necessary to live up to this. But we now have the best chance we’ve ever had to rigorously test this proposition without losing anything. At least twice in this agreement, it is mentioned that nothing is agreed until everything is agreed, and that is specific as to the final agreement. In addition, where it does talk about the potential of enrichment in the future, it says “mutually agreed upon” at least four times – three or four times in that paragraph. It has to be agreed. We don’t agree, it doesn’t happen.
Every one of us remembers Ronald Reagan’s maxim when he was negotiating with the Soviet Union: Trust, but verify. We have a new one: Test, but verify. Test, but verify. And that is exactly what we intend to do in the course of this process.
Now, we’ve all been through tough decisions. Those of you in the top dais have been around here a long time, and you’ve seen – we all know the kinds of tough decisions we have to make. But we’re asking you to give our negotiators and our experts the time and the space to do their jobs, and that includes asking you while we negotiate that you hold off imposing new sanctions.
Now, I’m not saying never. I just told you a few minutes ago if this doesn’t work, we’re coming back and asking you for more. I’m just saying not right now. Let me be very clear. This is a very delicate diplomatic moment, and we have a chance to address peacefully one of the most pressing national security concerns that the world faces today with gigantic implications of the potential of conflict. We’re at a crossroads. We’re at one of those, really, hinge points in history. One path could lead to an enduring resolution in international community’s concerns about Iran’s nuclear program. The other path could lead to continued hostility and potentially to conflict. And I don’t have to tell you that these are high stakes.
We have an obligation to give these negotiations an opportunity to succeed. And we can’t ask the rest of the P5+1 and our partners around the world to hold up their ends of the bargain if the United States isn’t going to uphold its end of the bargain. If we appear to be going off on our own tangent and do whatever we want, we will potentially lose their support for the sanctions themselves. Because we don’t just enforce them by ourselves; we need their help. And I don’t want to threaten the unity that we currently have with respect to this approach, particularly when it doesn’t cost us a thing to go through this process knowing that we could put sanctions in place additionally in a week, and we would be there with you seeking to do it.
I don’t want to give the Iranians a public excuse to flout the agreement. It could lead our international partners to think that we’re not an honest broker and that we didn’t mean it when we said that sanctions were not an end in and of themselves, but a tool to pressure the Iranians into a diplomatic solution. Well, we’re in that. And six months will fly by so fast, my friends, that before you know it we’re either going to know which end of this we’re at or not.
It's possible, also, that it could even end up decreasing the pressure on Iran by leading to the fraying of the sanctions regime. I will tell you that there were several P5+1 partners at the table ready to accept an agreement significantly less than what we fought for and got in the end.
Mr. Chairman, do you want me to wrap?
CHAIRMAN ROYCE: If you could, Mr. Secretary.
SECRETARY KERRY: Okay. Let me just say to you that the Iranians know that this threat is on the table.
I do want to say one quick word about Israel and Prime Minister Netanyahu. I speak to the Prime Minister usually a couple times a week or several times. I talked to him yesterday morning, and I am leaving tomorrow and I'll be seeing him Thursday night. We are totally agreed that we need to focus on this final comprehensive agreement. And Yossi Cohen, the national security advisor to the Prime Minister, is here in Washington this week working with our experts. And we will work hand in hand closely, not just with Israel, but with our friends in the Gulf and others around the world, to understand everybody's assessment of what constitutes the best comprehensive agreement that absolutely guarantees that the program, whatever it is to be, is peaceful, and that we have expanded by an enormous amount the breakout time.
This first-step agreement, Mr. Chairman, actually does expand the breakout time. Because of the destruction of the 20 percent, because of the lack of capacity to move forward on all those other facilities, we are expanding the amount of time that it would take them to break out. And, clearly, in a final agreement, we intend to make this failsafe that we can guarantee that they will not have access to nuclear weapons.
So I’d just simply put the rest of my testimony in the record, Mr. Chairman. I look forward to your questions.
FEDERAL AGENCIES RETURN TO WORLD TRADE CENTER IN 2015
FROM: U.S. GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION
Federal Agencies to Move to One World Trade Center
The General Services Administration, Customs and Border Protection, and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers slated to move to World Trade Center in 2015
December 10, 2013
NEW YORK -- Today, the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) announced that federal agencies will be moving to One World Trade Center in New York City. GSA plans to move its regional headquarters, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) New York District headquarters, and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) New York Field Office to six floors of high-quality office space in the iconic building. This move marks the return of the federal government to the site and delivers on the federal government’s commitment to the redevelopment of the World Trade Center.
“We are excited to return to the World Trade Center Complex, which federal agencies have been a part of since 1973. From the day that the Port Authority started planning reconstruction, the federal government committed to remaining an important part of this building and the redevelopment of Lower Manhattan,” said GSA Administrator Dan Tangherlini. “Through this lease agreement, these three federal agencies will have the office space they need to serve the American people in providing goods and services, tackling vital infrastructure projects, and protecting our nation’s borders.”
"I once again applaud GSA and the federal government for committing to the rebuilding of Lower Manhattan,” said Senator Chuck Schumer. “After 9/11 many wondered if Downtown would become a ghost town, but it has flourished with new residents, stores and businesses.”
The agencies are planning to move in late 2015 to floors 50 through 55. Last year, GSA secured a lease agreement for approximately 270,000 feet of space for an initial term of 20 years. GSA will create flexible and collaborative workspaces that reduce these agencies’ footprints by an average of 40 percent.
“For the past twelve years, we have been resilient in our resolve to rebuild and become stronger. Today’s announcement is another important step in rebuilding New York. I am proud to see that U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which had its offices destroyed by the horrific attacks of September 11th, 2001, will be returning to its historic home in Lower Manhattan,” said Congressman Jerrold Nadler (NY-10). “1 WTC will stand as a symbol that our great city and our great nation will never be defeated by those who seek to destroy our way of life. Appropriately, 1 WTC will be one of the world’s finest and most secure new office buildings and will house important offices of the federal government.”
This lease will help the federal government reduce its overall real estate needs in Manhattan as it occupies space in One World Trade Center. In preparation for the move, GSA will offer government-owned space at the Jacob K. Javits Federal Building at 26 Federal Plaza in Manhattan to other tenants in the region, helping to reduce leased space.
GSA and the USACE will leave the Javits Federal Building and CBP will leave leased space in Midtown Manhattan.
“The GSA has been an important part of Lower Manhattan for many decades,” said Al Sanfilippo, World Trade Center Project Manager for The Durst Organization. “We look forward to working with the GSA, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and U.S. Customs and Border Protection on their build-out and occupancy at One World Trade Center.”
“When GSA, the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers and Customs and Border Protection move into One World Trade Center, they will experience world-class transportation, shopping and dining options on the site, in addition to commercial office space in one of the safest and most environmentally friendly structures in the world,” said Port Authority Executive Director Pat Foye.
Port Authority Deputy Executive Director Bill Baroni said, “The GSA’s lease at One World Trade Center is essential in our effort to being one of the most successful commercial developments in the world, and a significant generator of jobs and economic activity.”
The Port Authority is owner and developer of One World Trade Center, the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere. The Durst Organization is an equity partner in the property and bears primary responsibility for leasing, operating and managing the building.
Federal Agencies to Move to One World Trade Center
The General Services Administration, Customs and Border Protection, and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers slated to move to World Trade Center in 2015
December 10, 2013
NEW YORK -- Today, the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) announced that federal agencies will be moving to One World Trade Center in New York City. GSA plans to move its regional headquarters, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) New York District headquarters, and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) New York Field Office to six floors of high-quality office space in the iconic building. This move marks the return of the federal government to the site and delivers on the federal government’s commitment to the redevelopment of the World Trade Center.
“We are excited to return to the World Trade Center Complex, which federal agencies have been a part of since 1973. From the day that the Port Authority started planning reconstruction, the federal government committed to remaining an important part of this building and the redevelopment of Lower Manhattan,” said GSA Administrator Dan Tangherlini. “Through this lease agreement, these three federal agencies will have the office space they need to serve the American people in providing goods and services, tackling vital infrastructure projects, and protecting our nation’s borders.”
"I once again applaud GSA and the federal government for committing to the rebuilding of Lower Manhattan,” said Senator Chuck Schumer. “After 9/11 many wondered if Downtown would become a ghost town, but it has flourished with new residents, stores and businesses.”
The agencies are planning to move in late 2015 to floors 50 through 55. Last year, GSA secured a lease agreement for approximately 270,000 feet of space for an initial term of 20 years. GSA will create flexible and collaborative workspaces that reduce these agencies’ footprints by an average of 40 percent.
“For the past twelve years, we have been resilient in our resolve to rebuild and become stronger. Today’s announcement is another important step in rebuilding New York. I am proud to see that U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which had its offices destroyed by the horrific attacks of September 11th, 2001, will be returning to its historic home in Lower Manhattan,” said Congressman Jerrold Nadler (NY-10). “1 WTC will stand as a symbol that our great city and our great nation will never be defeated by those who seek to destroy our way of life. Appropriately, 1 WTC will be one of the world’s finest and most secure new office buildings and will house important offices of the federal government.”
This lease will help the federal government reduce its overall real estate needs in Manhattan as it occupies space in One World Trade Center. In preparation for the move, GSA will offer government-owned space at the Jacob K. Javits Federal Building at 26 Federal Plaza in Manhattan to other tenants in the region, helping to reduce leased space.
GSA and the USACE will leave the Javits Federal Building and CBP will leave leased space in Midtown Manhattan.
“The GSA has been an important part of Lower Manhattan for many decades,” said Al Sanfilippo, World Trade Center Project Manager for The Durst Organization. “We look forward to working with the GSA, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and U.S. Customs and Border Protection on their build-out and occupancy at One World Trade Center.”
“When GSA, the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers and Customs and Border Protection move into One World Trade Center, they will experience world-class transportation, shopping and dining options on the site, in addition to commercial office space in one of the safest and most environmentally friendly structures in the world,” said Port Authority Executive Director Pat Foye.
Port Authority Deputy Executive Director Bill Baroni said, “The GSA’s lease at One World Trade Center is essential in our effort to being one of the most successful commercial developments in the world, and a significant generator of jobs and economic activity.”
The Port Authority is owner and developer of One World Trade Center, the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere. The Durst Organization is an equity partner in the property and bears primary responsibility for leasing, operating and managing the building.
NORTHROP GRUMMAN CORP. PAID $11.4 MILLION TO RESOLVE ALLEGATIONS OF IMPROPER CHARGES ON GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS
FROM: U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Monday, December 9, 2013
Northrop Grumman Corp. Pays $11.4 Million to Resolve Allegations That It Improperly Charged Costs to Government Contracts
The Justice Department announced today that Northrop Grumman Corp. has paid the United States $11.4 million to settle a government claim for penalties provided under the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and False Claims Act allegations stemming from its failure to abide by a 2002 settlement agreement with the Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA). The government alleged that Northrop charged to its federal contracts certain costs for deferred compensation awards to key employees, even though it had promised not to do so as part of the earlier 2002 settlement.
“Federal contractors must abide by the obligations they accept when contracting with the government, including compliance with federal regulations restricting the types and amount of costs they can charge to their federal contracts,” said Assistant Attorney General for the Department of Justice’s Civil Division Stuart F. Delery. “The Department of Justice is committed to enforcing these fundamental obligations using every available tool, including FAR penalties assessed under the contract and, where appropriate, fraud-based counterclaims.”
Northrop had agreed in its 2002 settlement with DCMA that it would limit the amount of deferred compensation it would include in proposals for subsequent contracts. The government’s contracting officer found that Northrop had failed to honor this commitment and should be assessed a penalty equal to twice the amount of the unallowable costs claimed. Northrop challenged the decision in a complaint filed in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims in Washington, D.C. The Department of Justice responded to the suit with counterclaims alleging that in addition to the FAR penalties, Northrop also had violated the False Claims Act by passing along these unallowable costs to the government in indirect rates applicable to hundreds of 2004 contracts with the government. The government alleged that as a consequence of Northrop’s knowing misrepresentations, it was induced to pay more than $1.9 million in unallowable costs in thousands of vouchers and invoices.
The settlement was the result of a consolidated effort spearheaded by the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch in conjunction with the DCMA and the Defense Contract Audit Agency, Western Region Investigative Support Division. The claims settled by this agreement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability. The case is captioned Northrop Grumman Corporation v. United States, Fed. Cl. No. 07-482C.
Monday, December 9, 2013
Northrop Grumman Corp. Pays $11.4 Million to Resolve Allegations That It Improperly Charged Costs to Government Contracts
The Justice Department announced today that Northrop Grumman Corp. has paid the United States $11.4 million to settle a government claim for penalties provided under the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and False Claims Act allegations stemming from its failure to abide by a 2002 settlement agreement with the Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA). The government alleged that Northrop charged to its federal contracts certain costs for deferred compensation awards to key employees, even though it had promised not to do so as part of the earlier 2002 settlement.
“Federal contractors must abide by the obligations they accept when contracting with the government, including compliance with federal regulations restricting the types and amount of costs they can charge to their federal contracts,” said Assistant Attorney General for the Department of Justice’s Civil Division Stuart F. Delery. “The Department of Justice is committed to enforcing these fundamental obligations using every available tool, including FAR penalties assessed under the contract and, where appropriate, fraud-based counterclaims.”
Northrop had agreed in its 2002 settlement with DCMA that it would limit the amount of deferred compensation it would include in proposals for subsequent contracts. The government’s contracting officer found that Northrop had failed to honor this commitment and should be assessed a penalty equal to twice the amount of the unallowable costs claimed. Northrop challenged the decision in a complaint filed in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims in Washington, D.C. The Department of Justice responded to the suit with counterclaims alleging that in addition to the FAR penalties, Northrop also had violated the False Claims Act by passing along these unallowable costs to the government in indirect rates applicable to hundreds of 2004 contracts with the government. The government alleged that as a consequence of Northrop’s knowing misrepresentations, it was induced to pay more than $1.9 million in unallowable costs in thousands of vouchers and invoices.
The settlement was the result of a consolidated effort spearheaded by the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch in conjunction with the DCMA and the Defense Contract Audit Agency, Western Region Investigative Support Division. The claims settled by this agreement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability. The case is captioned Northrop Grumman Corporation v. United States, Fed. Cl. No. 07-482C.
UNDERSTANDING A STAR'S SURFACE AND THE EXTREME FORCES OF NATURE
Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
Neutron Stars’ X-ray
STORY FROM: LOS ALAMOS NATIONAL LABORATORY
Superbursts Mystify, Inspire Los Alamos Scientists
New neutrino cooling theory changes understanding of stars’ surface
LOS ALAMOS, N.M., Dec. 6, 2013—Massive X-ray superbursts near the surface of neutron stars are providing a unique window into the operation of fundamental forces of nature under extreme conditions.
“Scientists are intrigued by what exactly powers these massive explosions, and understanding this would yield important insights about the fundamental forces in nature, especially on the astronomical/cosmological scale,” said Peter Moller of Los Alamos National Laboratory’s Theoretical Division.
A neutron star is created during the death of a giant star more massive than the sun, compressed to a tiny size but with gravitational fields exceeded only by those of black holes. And in the intense, neutron-rich environment, nuclear reactions cause strong explosions that manifest themselves as X-ray bursts and the X-ray superbursts that are more rare and 1000 times more powerful.
Los Alamos researchers and former postdocs contributed to the paper “Strong neutrino cooling by cycles of electron capture and beta decay in neutron star crusts” that was published in Nature’s online edition of Dec. 1, 2013.
The importance of discovering an unknown energy source of titanic magnitude in the outermost layers of accreting neutron star surfaces is heightened by the unresolved issue of neutrino masses, the recent discovery of the Higgs boson and the fact that highly-neutron-rich nuclei with low-lying states enable “Weak Interactions,” prominent in stellar explosions. (The weak nuclear force is one of four fundamental sources, such as gravity, which interacts with the neutrinos; it is responsible for some types of radioactive decay.)
These hitherto celestially operative nuclei are expected to be within the experimental reach of the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB), a proposed user facility at Michigan State University funded by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science.
“The terrestrial experimental study of Weak Interactions in highly deformed, neutron-rich nuclei that FRIB can potentially provide is lent support by this ground-breaking Nature letter, since Los Alamos has been one of the few homes to theoretical studies of deformed nuclei and their role in astrophysics, and remains so to this day,” said Moller, who coauthored the paper with a multidisciplinary team including former Los Alamos postdoctoral researchers Sanjib Gupta, now a faculty member at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Ropar and Andrew Steiner, now a research assistant professor at INT, Seattle.
Previously a common assumption was that that the energy released in these radioactive decays would power the X-ray superburst explosions. This was based on simple models of nuclear beta-decay, sometimes postulating the same decay properties for all nuclei. It turns out, however, that it is of crucial importance to develop computer models that realistically describe the shape of each individual nuclide since they are not all spherical.
At Los Alamos scientists have carried out detailed calculations of the specific, individual beta-decay properties of thousands of nuclides, all with different decay properties, and created databases with these calculated properties.
The databases are then used at MSU as input into models that trace the decay pathways with the passage of time in accreting neutron stars and compute the total energy that is released in these reactions.
The new, unexpected result is that so much energy escapes by neutrino emission that the remaining energy released in the beta decays is not sufficient to ignite the X-ray superbursts that are observed. Thus the superbursts’ origin has now become a puzzle.
Solving the puzzle will require that we calculate in detail the consequences of shapes of neutron-rich nuclei, the authors said, and it requires that they simultaneously analyze the role played by neutrinos in neutron star X-ray bursts whose energetic magnitudes are exceeded only by explosions in the nova/supernova class.
The strong nuclear deformations that formed the basis for the neutrino cooling in neutron star crusts also play a role in a number of astrophysical settings, and have been taken into account in studies of supernovae explosions and subsequent collapses, funded by Los Alamos’ Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) programs.
Nuclear-structure databases valued worldwide
The large databases compiled by use of these and other nuclear-structure models are also used in several other Los Alamos programs. For example in modeling nuclear-reactor behavior, researchers have had to take into account beta-decay both because delayed neutrons are emitted, which governs the criticality of the reactor, and because it generates heat, just as in the neutron star.
Another current application is in nuclear non-proliferation programs. One method for detecting clandestine nuclear material in cargo shipments is to bombard cargoes with a small number of neutrons. If emission of delayed neutrons is detected after neutron bombardment, scientists have a sure signature of fissile nuclear material. The theoretical databases compiled at Los Alamos are not just used internally but are also part of nuclear-structure databases maintained by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
The authors, an international team
The authors on the paper are Hendrik Schatz from MSU; Sanjib Gupta from IIT Ropar; Peter Mller from LANL; Mary Beard and Michael Wiescher from the University of Notre Dame; Edward F. Brown, Alex T. Deibel, Laurens Keek, and Rita Lau from MSU; Leandro R. Gasques from the Universidade de Sao Paulo; William Raphael Hix from Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Tennessee; and Andrew W. Steiner from the University of Washington.
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
PRESIDENT OBAMA'S STATEMENT ON THE VOLCKER RULE
FROM: THE WHITE HOUSE
Statement by the President on the Volcker Rule
Five years ago, a financial catastrophe on Wall Street was rapidly fueling a punishing recession on Main Street that ultimately cost millions of jobs and hurt families across the country. So as we prepared steps to rescue our economy and put Americans back to work, we also put in place tough rules of the road to make sure a crisis like that never happened again – rules that reward sound financial practices, allow honest innovation and strengthen the financial system’s ability to support job creation and durable economic growth.
As part of this Wall Street reform, we fought to include the Volcker Rule – a rule that makes sure big banks can’t make risky bets with their customer’s deposits. The Volcker Rule will make it illegal for firms to use government-insured money to make speculative bets that threaten the entire financial system, and demand a new era of accountability from CEOs who must sign off on their firm’s practices.
Our financial system will be safer and the American people are more secure because we fought to include this protection in the law. I thank Paul Volcker, a former Chairman of the Federal Reserve and advisor I trust, for helping to create this important safeguard. I also thank Secretary Lew and the regulators who worked diligently to finalize the rule by the end of this year as we called on them to do. I encourage Congress to give these regulators adequate funding to effectively and efficiently implement the rule, which will help protect hardworking families and business owners from future crisis, and restore everyone’s certainty and confidence in America’s dynamic financial system.
Statement by the President on the Volcker Rule
Five years ago, a financial catastrophe on Wall Street was rapidly fueling a punishing recession on Main Street that ultimately cost millions of jobs and hurt families across the country. So as we prepared steps to rescue our economy and put Americans back to work, we also put in place tough rules of the road to make sure a crisis like that never happened again – rules that reward sound financial practices, allow honest innovation and strengthen the financial system’s ability to support job creation and durable economic growth.
As part of this Wall Street reform, we fought to include the Volcker Rule – a rule that makes sure big banks can’t make risky bets with their customer’s deposits. The Volcker Rule will make it illegal for firms to use government-insured money to make speculative bets that threaten the entire financial system, and demand a new era of accountability from CEOs who must sign off on their firm’s practices.
Our financial system will be safer and the American people are more secure because we fought to include this protection in the law. I thank Paul Volcker, a former Chairman of the Federal Reserve and advisor I trust, for helping to create this important safeguard. I also thank Secretary Lew and the regulators who worked diligently to finalize the rule by the end of this year as we called on them to do. I encourage Congress to give these regulators adequate funding to effectively and efficiently implement the rule, which will help protect hardworking families and business owners from future crisis, and restore everyone’s certainty and confidence in America’s dynamic financial system.
SECRETARY OF DEFENSE HAGEL FINISHES VISITS WITH TROOPS, NATIONS
FROM: U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
Hagel Concludes Six-day Troop, Partner Nation Visits
By Karen Parrish
American Forces Press Service
DOHA, Qatar, Dec. 10, 2013 – Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel wrapped up a dual-purpose six-day trip to the Middle East and Southwest Asia here today.
As the secretary told troops at his last stop here, “The first priority and the real reason I was out here and spent time was to thank our troops, thank our men and women who do so much for all of us.”
Hagel also spent time engaging with allies and partners to assure them of the United States’ commitment to the region. He delivered a speech on the U.S. regional force posture in Manama, Bahrain. Hagel also spent two days in Afghanistan talking with Afghan military leaders and U.S. troops and ground commanders. And, he attended high-level meetings in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and here.
The secretary’s day in Qatar started at a palace and concluded at a semi-secret military facility. In the interim, Hagel and Qatari Defense Minister Maj. Gen. Hamad bin Ali Al Attiyah formally renewed the U.S.-Qatar Defense Cooperation Agreement. The agreement governs training, exercises and other cooperative interactions between U.S. and Qatari forces.
“This agreement promotes cooperation and is a testament to the longstanding security partnership enjoyed by the United States and Qatar,” Assistant Pentagon Press Secretary Carl Woog said in a written statement.
Woog added that the accord “underscores the close partnership between the United States and its [Gulf Cooperation Council] partners, which Secretary Hagel highlighted in his remarks at the Manama Dialogue this past weekend.”
The secretary’s first stop today was the Sea Palace, where he met with Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad, Qatar’s emir. He then moved on to the signing ceremony at Qatar’s government headquarters, and then paid a visit to U.S. and coalition forces at the Combined Air and Space Operations Center, located at Al Udeid Airbase, a Qatari base that hosts the U.S. command-and-control facility.
Addressing service members there -- his fourth troop talk this week -- Hagel thanked them and their families, offering his and President Barack Obama’s best wishes for the holiday season.
“I know occasionally you’re stuck in remote places and you wonder if anybody even knows where you are or who you are or what you’re doing,” the secretary said. “Let me assure you, we do.”
The center where they work coordinates military air operations in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility by integrating nearly 30 nations’ capabilities into a complete, real-time overview of mission execution. Hagel told troops that multinational approach is “where the world’s going.”
A senior defense official traveling with the secretary told reporters on background that the center might be unique in the degree of talent it brings together.
“[There’s] probably no other facility where you can go and see so many partners operating together at once,” the official said. “So that’s a story that is important, to reassure our allies and our partners.”
The official added that the center, which military leaders have in the past been reluctant to publicize because of regional sensitivities, makes it “visible to the world that we’re working together on common defense.”
Hagel told the airmen, sailors, soldiers and Marines at Al Udeid that the experience and training Gulf nation representatives receive there, along with integrated allied participation from the United Kingdom and Canada, furthers U.S. aims to build partner capacity.
“Our partners are going to be as important, and probably more so, than they’ve ever been, for our own national security [and] for their national security,” the secretary said, emphasizing a message he has delivered throughout his time in office.
“The more we can understand each other [and] work with each other, the better the world is going to be,” Hagel told the troops. “I’m particularly impressed with that part of what you’re doing here.”
The secretary began his trip telling delegates to the Manama Dialogue in Bahrain that the United States will maintain its troop posture in the region and that it seeks to strengthen coalitions there. He repeated that message today.
“We’re not going to get disconnected from our allies in this region,” he told reporters traveling with him before boarding the plane for Washington. “Our common interests are very clear here.”
Hagel Concludes Six-day Troop, Partner Nation Visits
By Karen Parrish
American Forces Press Service
DOHA, Qatar, Dec. 10, 2013 – Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel wrapped up a dual-purpose six-day trip to the Middle East and Southwest Asia here today.
As the secretary told troops at his last stop here, “The first priority and the real reason I was out here and spent time was to thank our troops, thank our men and women who do so much for all of us.”
Hagel also spent time engaging with allies and partners to assure them of the United States’ commitment to the region. He delivered a speech on the U.S. regional force posture in Manama, Bahrain. Hagel also spent two days in Afghanistan talking with Afghan military leaders and U.S. troops and ground commanders. And, he attended high-level meetings in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and here.
The secretary’s day in Qatar started at a palace and concluded at a semi-secret military facility. In the interim, Hagel and Qatari Defense Minister Maj. Gen. Hamad bin Ali Al Attiyah formally renewed the U.S.-Qatar Defense Cooperation Agreement. The agreement governs training, exercises and other cooperative interactions between U.S. and Qatari forces.
“This agreement promotes cooperation and is a testament to the longstanding security partnership enjoyed by the United States and Qatar,” Assistant Pentagon Press Secretary Carl Woog said in a written statement.
Woog added that the accord “underscores the close partnership between the United States and its [Gulf Cooperation Council] partners, which Secretary Hagel highlighted in his remarks at the Manama Dialogue this past weekend.”
The secretary’s first stop today was the Sea Palace, where he met with Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad, Qatar’s emir. He then moved on to the signing ceremony at Qatar’s government headquarters, and then paid a visit to U.S. and coalition forces at the Combined Air and Space Operations Center, located at Al Udeid Airbase, a Qatari base that hosts the U.S. command-and-control facility.
Addressing service members there -- his fourth troop talk this week -- Hagel thanked them and their families, offering his and President Barack Obama’s best wishes for the holiday season.
“I know occasionally you’re stuck in remote places and you wonder if anybody even knows where you are or who you are or what you’re doing,” the secretary said. “Let me assure you, we do.”
The center where they work coordinates military air operations in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility by integrating nearly 30 nations’ capabilities into a complete, real-time overview of mission execution. Hagel told troops that multinational approach is “where the world’s going.”
A senior defense official traveling with the secretary told reporters on background that the center might be unique in the degree of talent it brings together.
“[There’s] probably no other facility where you can go and see so many partners operating together at once,” the official said. “So that’s a story that is important, to reassure our allies and our partners.”
The official added that the center, which military leaders have in the past been reluctant to publicize because of regional sensitivities, makes it “visible to the world that we’re working together on common defense.”
Hagel told the airmen, sailors, soldiers and Marines at Al Udeid that the experience and training Gulf nation representatives receive there, along with integrated allied participation from the United Kingdom and Canada, furthers U.S. aims to build partner capacity.
“Our partners are going to be as important, and probably more so, than they’ve ever been, for our own national security [and] for their national security,” the secretary said, emphasizing a message he has delivered throughout his time in office.
“The more we can understand each other [and] work with each other, the better the world is going to be,” Hagel told the troops. “I’m particularly impressed with that part of what you’re doing here.”
The secretary began his trip telling delegates to the Manama Dialogue in Bahrain that the United States will maintain its troop posture in the region and that it seeks to strengthen coalitions there. He repeated that message today.
“We’re not going to get disconnected from our allies in this region,” he told reporters traveling with him before boarding the plane for Washington. “Our common interests are very clear here.”
EDUCATION DEPARTMENT BEGINS PRINCIPAL AMBASSADOR FELLOWSHIP WITH SELECTION OF THREE PRINCIPALS
FROM: U.S. EDUCATION DEPARTMENT
Education Secretary Arne Duncan Launches Principal Ambassador Fellowship with Three Principals Selected for Inaugural Program
DECEMBER 9, 2013
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan today announced the names of three principals selected to participate in the U.S. Department of Education's first Principal Ambassador Fellows (PAFs) program. They are:
Sharif El-Mekki, Mastery Charter School - Shoemaker Campus, Philadelphia, Pa.;
Jill Levine, Normal Park Museum Magnet, Chattanooga, Tenn.; and,
Rachel Skerritt, Eastern Senior High School, Washington, DC.
The principals will serve from now until August 2014 as part-time employees to lend the perspective of school principals to the work of the Department. As the first PAFs, they will also help design the fellowship program for future participants.
"Each year I have the opportunity to visit schools and meet with leaders across the country who are committed to improving educational outcomes for our nation's students," said U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan. "Principals are a linchpin in the effort to improve student success and raise achievement at any scale, and I look forward to working with the 2013 Principal Ambassador Fellows to continue a thoughtful conversation on the best ways to sustain and support school leaders for the long haul. Their firsthand knowledge of the challenges principals face will help shape policy and programs across the country to better prepare our nation's children for college and career."
Beginning today, the PAFs are participating in a two-day summit at the Department's headquarters in Washington, DC to become more familiar with federal education policy and Department staff, as well as to begin exchanging ideas for enhancing communication between school and education policy leaders.
Launched last February, the PAF program was created in recognition of the vital role principals play in every aspect of a school's success – from instruction to the school environment to staff performance -- and to better connect their expertise and talent with education policymakers. The principal fellows, in turn, will have the opportunity to lend their perspective on the best ways to implement policies at the school level and engage local communities in the outcomes.
Principals El-Mekki, Levine, and Skerritt were selected from a pool of over 450 applicants who serve in a wide variety of traditional public and charter schools, as well as alternative and private schools. Applications came from principals in nearly every state working in a range of urban, rural and suburban settings. The Principal Ambassador Fellowship program will complement and build on the benefits of the Department's Teaching Ambassador Fellowship, now in its sixth year.
Education Secretary Arne Duncan Launches Principal Ambassador Fellowship with Three Principals Selected for Inaugural Program
DECEMBER 9, 2013
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan today announced the names of three principals selected to participate in the U.S. Department of Education's first Principal Ambassador Fellows (PAFs) program. They are:
Sharif El-Mekki, Mastery Charter School - Shoemaker Campus, Philadelphia, Pa.;
Jill Levine, Normal Park Museum Magnet, Chattanooga, Tenn.; and,
Rachel Skerritt, Eastern Senior High School, Washington, DC.
The principals will serve from now until August 2014 as part-time employees to lend the perspective of school principals to the work of the Department. As the first PAFs, they will also help design the fellowship program for future participants.
"Each year I have the opportunity to visit schools and meet with leaders across the country who are committed to improving educational outcomes for our nation's students," said U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan. "Principals are a linchpin in the effort to improve student success and raise achievement at any scale, and I look forward to working with the 2013 Principal Ambassador Fellows to continue a thoughtful conversation on the best ways to sustain and support school leaders for the long haul. Their firsthand knowledge of the challenges principals face will help shape policy and programs across the country to better prepare our nation's children for college and career."
Beginning today, the PAFs are participating in a two-day summit at the Department's headquarters in Washington, DC to become more familiar with federal education policy and Department staff, as well as to begin exchanging ideas for enhancing communication between school and education policy leaders.
Launched last February, the PAF program was created in recognition of the vital role principals play in every aspect of a school's success – from instruction to the school environment to staff performance -- and to better connect their expertise and talent with education policymakers. The principal fellows, in turn, will have the opportunity to lend their perspective on the best ways to implement policies at the school level and engage local communities in the outcomes.
Principals El-Mekki, Levine, and Skerritt were selected from a pool of over 450 applicants who serve in a wide variety of traditional public and charter schools, as well as alternative and private schools. Applications came from principals in nearly every state working in a range of urban, rural and suburban settings. The Principal Ambassador Fellowship program will complement and build on the benefits of the Department's Teaching Ambassador Fellowship, now in its sixth year.
DEPUTY AG COLE'S REMARKS AT DRUG POLICY REFORM CONFERENCE
FROM: U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole Delivers Remarks at the Office of National Drug Control Policy Drug Policy Reform Conference
~ Monday, December 9, 2013
Thank you Gil for that introduction, for your partnership, and for your tireless work on drug prevention, drug treatment, and criminal justice strategies to break the cycle of drug use and crime. It is an honor to be among this dedicated and diverse group of professionals, policymakers and community leaders whose work promotes public health and safety. The agenda for this conference is both important and timely.
At the Department of Justice, we have undertaken a number of initiatives that address the law enforcement, public safety, and public health aspects of drug policy reform. Law enforcement plays an indispensable part in protecting communities from drug-related crime and violence. We know that there are dangerous people out there, running drug organizations and committing murders as part of the drug trade. Those individuals need to be incarcerated for the crimes they commit.
But there are also lower level drug defendants. Many suffer from their own drug abuse issues, and fall into a vicious cycle of drug abuse, criminal behavior, incarceration, and release. Too often, this cycle repeats. But recognizing that these lower level drug defendants don’t present the same public safety risks as the more serious criminals, our approach to dealing with the problems posed by drugs should not be one-size-fits-all. Instead, we should look to provide a range of responses that include the chance to overcome an addiction, provide the opportunity to get help before going to prison, and provide an off-ramp from the vicious cycle of drugs and crime.
This approach could result in the avoidance of a criminal conviction in the first place or it could positively affect the defendant’s ability to successfully reintegrate into society in years to come. It shifts the paradigm by providing treatment and services to individuals who are motivated and truly want to turn their lives around. The advantages to this approach are many: we not only assist individuals and their families, but we gain the ability to improve public safety and public health, directly benefiting our citizens and our society and more efficiently using taxpayer dollars.
Together with our state and local law enforcement partners in the field -- whose tireless work keeps our communities safe -- we continue to make real inroads in protecting public safety. Even within limited budgets, we have been able to focus our efforts on prevention and reentry, as well as enforcement. For example, through the Justice Reinvestment Initiative, the Department has brought state leaders, local stakeholders, private partners, and federal officials together to reform corrections and criminal justice practices. In recent years, no fewer than 17 states – supported by the Department, and led by governors and legislators of both parties – have directed funding away from prison construction and toward evidence-based programs and services that are designed to allow states to provide drug treatment and reduce recidivism. And the results are telling: many participating states have seen drops in recidivism rates and prison populations, while still maintaining public safety.
We are doing the same thing in the federal system because it has become clear that the trajectory of the federal criminal justice system, left unaltered, is unsustainable. Dollars are finite and the increasing costs of the federal prison and detention population drain funds from other enforcement priorities. They take dollars away from the Department’s prevention and recidivism reduction programs, and limi our capacity to fund other pressing criminal justice and national security priorities, such as hiring more agents and prosecutors or providing support to state and local partners to help in the fight against violent crime. Put simply, if we don’t find a way to reduce the federal prison population, public safety is going to suffer.
To try to address this problem, earlier this year the Department embarked on a review of its criminal justice policies. We made some specific changes to existing policy and strengthened our commitment to our prevailing goals. We modified the Justice Department’s charging policies so that certain low-level, non-violent drug defendants who have no significant ties to large-scale organizations, gangs, or cartels, will no longer be charged with offenses that impose mandatory minimum sentences. Instead, these low-level drug defendants will be charged with offenses for which the accompanying sentences are better suited to their individual conduct. By reserving the most severe prison terms for serious, high-level, or violent drug traffickers or kingpins, we enhance public safety.
The Department is also promoting and strengthening its diversion programs – such as drug treatment initiatives – to provide more effective alternatives to incarceration for some individuals. This summer, the Department issued a “best practices” memorandum to encourage more widespread adoption by prosecutors of programs such as drug courts, specialty courts and other treatment courts.
And to make sure these programs are a top priority, every U.S. Attorney now must designate a Prevention and Reentry Coordinator in his or her district to ensure that this work is done.
In addition, the Bureau of Prisons has expanded capacity for its Residential Drug Abuse Program, which provides important treatment to inmates. This expansion will provide more non-violent inmates with the opportunity to deal with their drug and mental health issues that are so often at the root of criminal behavior, so they can successfully re-enter and become productive members of society.
Our reforms also include changes in the Department's framework for considering compassionate release requests. We expanded the medical criteria that can be considered and announced new criteria including allowing consideration for elderly inmates and certain inmates who are the only possible caregiver for their dependents.
And finally I want to talk about the Federal Interagency Reentry Council. Created by the Attorney General, it brings together over 20 federal departments and agencies to focus an all of government approach to helping those coming out of prison. This collaboration works to reduce barriers to housing, employment and education and increase access to healthcare and treatment for those re-entering society. And this collaboration has borne fruit – not only by increasing the chances of successful re-entry for those leaving federal prison, but also helping incarcerated veterans get back on track, assisting children of the incarcerated, and reducing the unnecessary collateral consequences of a conviction. Across the federal government, we are partnering to strengthen communities, reduce recidivism, and improve public safety.
This morning, I’ve discussed several steps the Department has taken to build upon successes and make changes to our criminal justice system. In light of our limited resources, we have had to take a hard look at our policies and our priorities, and have recommitted to maintaining public safety in a manner that is both smart and efficient when battling drug related crime and the conditions that breed it.
As we move forward with these and other reforms, we will continue to stand and work alongside you, drawing upon your experience, relying on your expertise, and depending on your engagement to refine and strengthen each new proposal. Today’s conference -- and the exchange of ideas it will foster among our Nation’s drug policy experts -- is a necessary and important step in this process.
Thank you.
Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole Delivers Remarks at the Office of National Drug Control Policy Drug Policy Reform Conference
~ Monday, December 9, 2013
Thank you Gil for that introduction, for your partnership, and for your tireless work on drug prevention, drug treatment, and criminal justice strategies to break the cycle of drug use and crime. It is an honor to be among this dedicated and diverse group of professionals, policymakers and community leaders whose work promotes public health and safety. The agenda for this conference is both important and timely.
At the Department of Justice, we have undertaken a number of initiatives that address the law enforcement, public safety, and public health aspects of drug policy reform. Law enforcement plays an indispensable part in protecting communities from drug-related crime and violence. We know that there are dangerous people out there, running drug organizations and committing murders as part of the drug trade. Those individuals need to be incarcerated for the crimes they commit.
But there are also lower level drug defendants. Many suffer from their own drug abuse issues, and fall into a vicious cycle of drug abuse, criminal behavior, incarceration, and release. Too often, this cycle repeats. But recognizing that these lower level drug defendants don’t present the same public safety risks as the more serious criminals, our approach to dealing with the problems posed by drugs should not be one-size-fits-all. Instead, we should look to provide a range of responses that include the chance to overcome an addiction, provide the opportunity to get help before going to prison, and provide an off-ramp from the vicious cycle of drugs and crime.
This approach could result in the avoidance of a criminal conviction in the first place or it could positively affect the defendant’s ability to successfully reintegrate into society in years to come. It shifts the paradigm by providing treatment and services to individuals who are motivated and truly want to turn their lives around. The advantages to this approach are many: we not only assist individuals and their families, but we gain the ability to improve public safety and public health, directly benefiting our citizens and our society and more efficiently using taxpayer dollars.
Together with our state and local law enforcement partners in the field -- whose tireless work keeps our communities safe -- we continue to make real inroads in protecting public safety. Even within limited budgets, we have been able to focus our efforts on prevention and reentry, as well as enforcement. For example, through the Justice Reinvestment Initiative, the Department has brought state leaders, local stakeholders, private partners, and federal officials together to reform corrections and criminal justice practices. In recent years, no fewer than 17 states – supported by the Department, and led by governors and legislators of both parties – have directed funding away from prison construction and toward evidence-based programs and services that are designed to allow states to provide drug treatment and reduce recidivism. And the results are telling: many participating states have seen drops in recidivism rates and prison populations, while still maintaining public safety.
We are doing the same thing in the federal system because it has become clear that the trajectory of the federal criminal justice system, left unaltered, is unsustainable. Dollars are finite and the increasing costs of the federal prison and detention population drain funds from other enforcement priorities. They take dollars away from the Department’s prevention and recidivism reduction programs, and limi our capacity to fund other pressing criminal justice and national security priorities, such as hiring more agents and prosecutors or providing support to state and local partners to help in the fight against violent crime. Put simply, if we don’t find a way to reduce the federal prison population, public safety is going to suffer.
To try to address this problem, earlier this year the Department embarked on a review of its criminal justice policies. We made some specific changes to existing policy and strengthened our commitment to our prevailing goals. We modified the Justice Department’s charging policies so that certain low-level, non-violent drug defendants who have no significant ties to large-scale organizations, gangs, or cartels, will no longer be charged with offenses that impose mandatory minimum sentences. Instead, these low-level drug defendants will be charged with offenses for which the accompanying sentences are better suited to their individual conduct. By reserving the most severe prison terms for serious, high-level, or violent drug traffickers or kingpins, we enhance public safety.
The Department is also promoting and strengthening its diversion programs – such as drug treatment initiatives – to provide more effective alternatives to incarceration for some individuals. This summer, the Department issued a “best practices” memorandum to encourage more widespread adoption by prosecutors of programs such as drug courts, specialty courts and other treatment courts.
And to make sure these programs are a top priority, every U.S. Attorney now must designate a Prevention and Reentry Coordinator in his or her district to ensure that this work is done.
In addition, the Bureau of Prisons has expanded capacity for its Residential Drug Abuse Program, which provides important treatment to inmates. This expansion will provide more non-violent inmates with the opportunity to deal with their drug and mental health issues that are so often at the root of criminal behavior, so they can successfully re-enter and become productive members of society.
Our reforms also include changes in the Department's framework for considering compassionate release requests. We expanded the medical criteria that can be considered and announced new criteria including allowing consideration for elderly inmates and certain inmates who are the only possible caregiver for their dependents.
And finally I want to talk about the Federal Interagency Reentry Council. Created by the Attorney General, it brings together over 20 federal departments and agencies to focus an all of government approach to helping those coming out of prison. This collaboration works to reduce barriers to housing, employment and education and increase access to healthcare and treatment for those re-entering society. And this collaboration has borne fruit – not only by increasing the chances of successful re-entry for those leaving federal prison, but also helping incarcerated veterans get back on track, assisting children of the incarcerated, and reducing the unnecessary collateral consequences of a conviction. Across the federal government, we are partnering to strengthen communities, reduce recidivism, and improve public safety.
This morning, I’ve discussed several steps the Department has taken to build upon successes and make changes to our criminal justice system. In light of our limited resources, we have had to take a hard look at our policies and our priorities, and have recommitted to maintaining public safety in a manner that is both smart and efficient when battling drug related crime and the conditions that breed it.
As we move forward with these and other reforms, we will continue to stand and work alongside you, drawing upon your experience, relying on your expertise, and depending on your engagement to refine and strengthen each new proposal. Today’s conference -- and the exchange of ideas it will foster among our Nation’s drug policy experts -- is a necessary and important step in this process.
Thank you.
CFTC CHAIRMAN GENSLER'S STATEMENT BEFORE FINANCIAL STABILITY OVERSIGHT COUNCIL
FROM: COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION
Statement of Chairman Gary Gensler before the Financial Stability Oversight Council
December 9, 2013
I want to thank Secretary Lew for his kind words.
Five years ago when President-elect Obama asked me to serve, the economy was in a free fall. Americans were paying for the crisis with their jobs, their pensions and their homes.
Our financial system and our financial regulatory system had failed the American public.
Since then, the dedicated staffs of the Financial Stability Oversight Council’s (FSOC) member agencies have been hard at work to ensure finance better serves the economy.
Finance is but one part of our interconnected economy. The vast majority of opportunity, growth and innovation are outside of finance. In fact, 94 percent of private sector jobs are not in finance.
Finance best serves the economy when markets operate under common-sense rules of the road.
President Roosevelt understood this when he, along with Congress, transformed markets. Their reforms – enhancing transparency, access, and competition in the futures and securities markets and overhauling the nation’s banking laws – established the foundation for the U.S. economic growth engine for decades.
Five years ago President Obama and Congress faced similar challenges in the aftermath of this era’s financial crisis – how to modernize finance’s rules of the road so they work best for the public.
Through Dodd-Frank reforms, many of which now have been implemented by FSOC member agencies, much progress has been made.
First, at the heart of reform is ensuring that the largest financial institutions in our free-market system have the freedom to fail. That was true for my dad’s small family business in Baltimore. Nobody would have bailed him out if he didn’t make payroll each Friday.
That’s why I was pleased last month when Moody’s removed the uplift in credit ratings of the largest bank holding companies that had come from perceived government support. This is a real testament to the work of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Federal Reserve, under the leadership of Chairmen Martin Gruenberg and Ben Bernanke and Governor Daniel Tarullo.
Second, due to the U.S. banking regulators working hand-in-hand with international regulators, tougher capital and liquidity standards are becoming a reality. Further, annual stress tests of large banks determine if capital levels are sufficient.
Third, we now have an agency – with the energetic leadership of Richard Cordray – whose key mission is ensuring consumers are protected from predatory lending practices and get a fair deal on financial products from mortgages to credit cards.
Fourth, thanks to the leadership of Chairs Mary Schapiro and Mary Jo White at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), we now have real transparency into the hedge fund world and are addressing the risks of potential runs on money market funds.
Fifth, the swaps market, which was at the heart of the crisis, has been completely transformed. Bright lights of transparency now are shining on the $380 trillion market. The public can see the price and volume of every transaction, like a modern-day tickertape. Regulated trading platforms are trading a quarter of a trillion dollars in swaps each day. And more than 70 percent of the interest rate swaps market is now in central clearing – lowering risk and bringing access to everyone wishing to compete.
Sixth, each of us has been vigorous cops on the beat going after bad actors in the markets. The CFTC, working with the Department of Justice and the SEC, exposed the pervasive rigging of interest rate benchmarks and changed the entire public debate regarding LIBOR and other benchmarks.
I particularly want to thank the members of this council for the strong public policy statements included in the FSOC annual report calling for international regulators and market participants to find and transition to a replacement for LIBOR.
Lastly, is the benefit of this council. Through the leadership of Secretaries Geithner and Lew, and the collaboration of everyone around this table, we have become a real deliberative body. We have enhanced the lines of communication between the agencies, whether it’s the day to day assessing of risks in our financial system or working through the reform agenda. This week, for example, the Volcker Rule will be finalized based on our collaborative work.
Taken as a whole, the Dodd-Frank common-sense rules of the road have been truly transformative. These reforms are helping finance better serve the rest of the economy.
Once again, I want to thank all of you. It has been a real honor to serve with each of you on this council. It’s also an honor to share my last FSOC meeting with my fellow outgoing council member and seatmate, Ben Bernanke.
Statement of Chairman Gary Gensler before the Financial Stability Oversight Council
December 9, 2013
I want to thank Secretary Lew for his kind words.
Five years ago when President-elect Obama asked me to serve, the economy was in a free fall. Americans were paying for the crisis with their jobs, their pensions and their homes.
Our financial system and our financial regulatory system had failed the American public.
Since then, the dedicated staffs of the Financial Stability Oversight Council’s (FSOC) member agencies have been hard at work to ensure finance better serves the economy.
Finance is but one part of our interconnected economy. The vast majority of opportunity, growth and innovation are outside of finance. In fact, 94 percent of private sector jobs are not in finance.
Finance best serves the economy when markets operate under common-sense rules of the road.
President Roosevelt understood this when he, along with Congress, transformed markets. Their reforms – enhancing transparency, access, and competition in the futures and securities markets and overhauling the nation’s banking laws – established the foundation for the U.S. economic growth engine for decades.
Five years ago President Obama and Congress faced similar challenges in the aftermath of this era’s financial crisis – how to modernize finance’s rules of the road so they work best for the public.
Through Dodd-Frank reforms, many of which now have been implemented by FSOC member agencies, much progress has been made.
First, at the heart of reform is ensuring that the largest financial institutions in our free-market system have the freedom to fail. That was true for my dad’s small family business in Baltimore. Nobody would have bailed him out if he didn’t make payroll each Friday.
That’s why I was pleased last month when Moody’s removed the uplift in credit ratings of the largest bank holding companies that had come from perceived government support. This is a real testament to the work of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Federal Reserve, under the leadership of Chairmen Martin Gruenberg and Ben Bernanke and Governor Daniel Tarullo.
Second, due to the U.S. banking regulators working hand-in-hand with international regulators, tougher capital and liquidity standards are becoming a reality. Further, annual stress tests of large banks determine if capital levels are sufficient.
Third, we now have an agency – with the energetic leadership of Richard Cordray – whose key mission is ensuring consumers are protected from predatory lending practices and get a fair deal on financial products from mortgages to credit cards.
Fourth, thanks to the leadership of Chairs Mary Schapiro and Mary Jo White at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), we now have real transparency into the hedge fund world and are addressing the risks of potential runs on money market funds.
Fifth, the swaps market, which was at the heart of the crisis, has been completely transformed. Bright lights of transparency now are shining on the $380 trillion market. The public can see the price and volume of every transaction, like a modern-day tickertape. Regulated trading platforms are trading a quarter of a trillion dollars in swaps each day. And more than 70 percent of the interest rate swaps market is now in central clearing – lowering risk and bringing access to everyone wishing to compete.
Sixth, each of us has been vigorous cops on the beat going after bad actors in the markets. The CFTC, working with the Department of Justice and the SEC, exposed the pervasive rigging of interest rate benchmarks and changed the entire public debate regarding LIBOR and other benchmarks.
I particularly want to thank the members of this council for the strong public policy statements included in the FSOC annual report calling for international regulators and market participants to find and transition to a replacement for LIBOR.
Lastly, is the benefit of this council. Through the leadership of Secretaries Geithner and Lew, and the collaboration of everyone around this table, we have become a real deliberative body. We have enhanced the lines of communication between the agencies, whether it’s the day to day assessing of risks in our financial system or working through the reform agenda. This week, for example, the Volcker Rule will be finalized based on our collaborative work.
Taken as a whole, the Dodd-Frank common-sense rules of the road have been truly transformative. These reforms are helping finance better serve the rest of the economy.
Once again, I want to thank all of you. It has been a real honor to serve with each of you on this council. It’s also an honor to share my last FSOC meeting with my fellow outgoing council member and seatmate, Ben Bernanke.
FDA APPROVES NEW DRUG FOR TREATING CHRONIC HEPATITIS C
FROM: U.S. FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION
For Immediate Release: Dec. 6, 2013
FDA approves Sovaldi for chronic hepatitis C
Drug is third with breakthrough therapy designation to receive FDA approval
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Sovaldi (sofosbuvir) to treat chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Sovaldi is the first drug that has demonstrated safety and efficacy to treat certain types of HCV infection without the need for co-administration of interferon.
“Today’s approval represents a significant shift in the treatment paradigm for some patients with chronic hepatitis C,” said Edward Cox, M.D., director of the Office of Antimicrobial Products in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.
Sovaldi is the second drug approved by the FDA in the past two weeks to treat chronic HCV infection. On November 22, the FDA approved Olysio (simeprevir).
Hepatitis C is a viral disease that causes inflammation of the liver that can lead to diminished liver function or liver failure. Most people infected with HCV have no symptoms of the disease until liver damage becomes apparent, which may take several years. Some people with chronic HCV infection develop scarring and poor liver function (cirrhosis) over many years, which can lead to complications such as bleeding, jaundice (yellowish eyes or skin), fluid accumulation in the abdomen, infections or liver cancer. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 3.2 million Americans are infected with HCV.
Sovaldi is a nucleotide analog inhibitor that blocks a specific protein needed by the hepatitis C virus to replicate. Sovaldi is to be used as a component of a combination antiviral treatment regimen for chronic HCV infection. There are several different types of HCV infection. Depending on the type of HCV infection a patient has, the treatment regimen could include Sovaldi and ribavirin or Sovaldi, ribavirin and peginterferon-alfa. Ribavirin and peginterferon-alfa are two drugs also used to treat HCV infection.
Sovaldi’s effectiveness was evaluated in six clinical trials consisting of 1,947 participants who had not previously received treatment for their disease (treatment-naive) or had not responded to previous treatment (treatment-experienced), including participants co-infected with HCV and HIV. The trials were designed to measure whether the hepatitis C virus was no longer detected in the blood at least 12 weeks after finishing treatment (sustained virologic response), suggesting a participant’s HCV infection has been cured.
Results from all clinical trials showed a treatment regimen containing Sovaldi was effective in treating multiple types of the hepatitis C virus. Additionally, Sovaldi demonstrated efficacy in participants who could not tolerate or take an interferon-based treatment regimen and in participants with liver cancer awaiting liver transplantation, addressing unmet medical needs in these populations.
The most common side effects reported in clinical study participants treated with Sovaldi and ribavirin were fatigue and headache. In participants treated with Sovaldi, ribavirin and peginterferon-alfa, the most common side effects reported were fatigue, headache, nausea, insomnia and anemia.
Sovaldi is the third drug with breakthrough therapy designation to receive FDA approval. The FDA can designate a drug as a breakthrough therapy at the request of the sponsor if preliminary clinical evidence indicates the drug may demonstrate a substantial improvement over available therapies for patients with serious or life-threatening diseases. Sovaldi was reviewed under the FDA’s priority review program, which provides for an expedited review of drugs that treat serious conditions and, if approved, would provide significant improvement in safety or effectiveness.
Sovaldi is marketed by Gilead, based in Foster City, Calif. Olysio is marketed by Raritan, N.J.-based Janssen Pharmaceuticals.
For Immediate Release: Dec. 6, 2013
FDA approves Sovaldi for chronic hepatitis C
Drug is third with breakthrough therapy designation to receive FDA approval
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Sovaldi (sofosbuvir) to treat chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Sovaldi is the first drug that has demonstrated safety and efficacy to treat certain types of HCV infection without the need for co-administration of interferon.
“Today’s approval represents a significant shift in the treatment paradigm for some patients with chronic hepatitis C,” said Edward Cox, M.D., director of the Office of Antimicrobial Products in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.
Sovaldi is the second drug approved by the FDA in the past two weeks to treat chronic HCV infection. On November 22, the FDA approved Olysio (simeprevir).
Hepatitis C is a viral disease that causes inflammation of the liver that can lead to diminished liver function or liver failure. Most people infected with HCV have no symptoms of the disease until liver damage becomes apparent, which may take several years. Some people with chronic HCV infection develop scarring and poor liver function (cirrhosis) over many years, which can lead to complications such as bleeding, jaundice (yellowish eyes or skin), fluid accumulation in the abdomen, infections or liver cancer. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 3.2 million Americans are infected with HCV.
Sovaldi is a nucleotide analog inhibitor that blocks a specific protein needed by the hepatitis C virus to replicate. Sovaldi is to be used as a component of a combination antiviral treatment regimen for chronic HCV infection. There are several different types of HCV infection. Depending on the type of HCV infection a patient has, the treatment regimen could include Sovaldi and ribavirin or Sovaldi, ribavirin and peginterferon-alfa. Ribavirin and peginterferon-alfa are two drugs also used to treat HCV infection.
Sovaldi’s effectiveness was evaluated in six clinical trials consisting of 1,947 participants who had not previously received treatment for their disease (treatment-naive) or had not responded to previous treatment (treatment-experienced), including participants co-infected with HCV and HIV. The trials were designed to measure whether the hepatitis C virus was no longer detected in the blood at least 12 weeks after finishing treatment (sustained virologic response), suggesting a participant’s HCV infection has been cured.
Results from all clinical trials showed a treatment regimen containing Sovaldi was effective in treating multiple types of the hepatitis C virus. Additionally, Sovaldi demonstrated efficacy in participants who could not tolerate or take an interferon-based treatment regimen and in participants with liver cancer awaiting liver transplantation, addressing unmet medical needs in these populations.
The most common side effects reported in clinical study participants treated with Sovaldi and ribavirin were fatigue and headache. In participants treated with Sovaldi, ribavirin and peginterferon-alfa, the most common side effects reported were fatigue, headache, nausea, insomnia and anemia.
Sovaldi is the third drug with breakthrough therapy designation to receive FDA approval. The FDA can designate a drug as a breakthrough therapy at the request of the sponsor if preliminary clinical evidence indicates the drug may demonstrate a substantial improvement over available therapies for patients with serious or life-threatening diseases. Sovaldi was reviewed under the FDA’s priority review program, which provides for an expedited review of drugs that treat serious conditions and, if approved, would provide significant improvement in safety or effectiveness.
Sovaldi is marketed by Gilead, based in Foster City, Calif. Olysio is marketed by Raritan, N.J.-based Janssen Pharmaceuticals.
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