FROM: THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
Belly up to the bamboo buffet: Pandas vs. horses
Livestock, particularly horses, have been identified as a significant threat to panda survival
2014 is the Year of the Horse in China. But pandas, it turns out, aren't celebrating
Why not? Because livestock, particularly horses, have been identified as a significant threat to panda survival. The reason: Horses have been beating pandas to the bamboo buffet. The oft-hidden, yet significant, conservation conflict between pandas and horses was revealed in a recent article in the Journal for Nature Conservation by Michigan State University (MSU) panda habitat experts.
"Across the world, people are struggling to survive in the same areas as endangered animals, and often trouble surfaces in areas we aren't anticipating," said Jianguo "Jack" Liu of MSU. "Creating and maintaining successful conservation policy means constantly looking for breakdowns in the system. In this case, something as innocuous as a horse can be a big problem."
Pandas have specific habitat needs--they live in gently sloping areas far from human populations. And they only eat bamboo. (Watch a panda bellying up to the bamboo buffet.) China invests billions to protect its panda habitat and conserve the 1,600 remaining endangered supported by this habitat.
For years, timber harvesting has been the panda's biggest threat. But conservation programs limiting timber harvesting have chalked up wins in preserving panda habitat.
Vanessa Hull, a doctoral student at MSU's Center for Systems Integration and Sustainability (CSIS), has been living off and on for seven years in the Wolong Nature Reserve, most recently tracking pandas that she has outfitted with GPS collars.
Over the years, she started noticing that uninvited guests had apparently been serving themselves at the bamboo buffet--and they were eating like horses…literally.
"It didn't take particular panda expertise to know that something was amiss when we'd come upon horse-affected bamboo patches. They were in the middle of nowhere and it looked like someone had been in there with a lawn mower," Hull said.
Alarmed by the increasing devastation, Hull learned that keeping a horse in this region serves a similar function as maintaining a bank account. Because horses are prohibited from grazing in designated grazing areas, to prevent them from competing for food with cattle, some farmers have been letting horses graze unattended in forests. When these horse-keeping farmers need cash, they track down their horses in the forest and sell them.
Eventually, some Wolong farmers, though not traditionally horse-keepers, learned from horse-keeping friends who lived outside of the reserve that they too could cash in by keeping horses--and letting them loose to graze unattended in Wolong. Where, unfortunately, they would compete for food with pandas.
Over time, the popularity of this practice soared. In 1998, only 25 horses lived in Wolong. By 2008, 350 horses lived there in 20 to 30 herds.
To understand the scope of the problem, Hull and her colleagues put the same type of GPS collars they were using to track pandas on one horse in each of four herds they studied. Then, over a year they compared the activity of the horses with that of three collared adult pandas in some of the same areas, and combined resulting data with habitat data.
The researchers discovered that the galloping gourmets are indeed big on bamboo--and are drawn to the same sunny, gently sloped spots as pandas. Pandas and horses eat about the same amount of bamboo, but a herd of more than 20 horses created veritable feeding frenzies, destroying areas that the reserve was established to protect.
The researchers presented their findings to Wolong's managers, who have since banned horses from the reserve. But Hull and Liu note that this work has shed light on how competitive livestock can be in sensitive habitat--an issue that is duplicated across the globe.
"Livestock affect most of the world's biodiversity hotspots," Liu said. "They make up 20 percent of all of the earth's land mammals and therefore monopolize key resources needed to maintain the earth's fragile ecosystems."
This research project received funding from the National Science Foundation.
Editor's Note: This Behind the Scenes article was first provided to LiveScience in partnership with the National Science Foundation.
-- Sue Nichols, Michigan State University
Investigators
Li An
Jianguo Liu
Lisa Pearce
Scott Yabiku
William Axinn
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT CONTRACTS FOR MARCH 25, 2014
FROM: U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
CONTRACTS
NAVY
Lockheed Martin Corp., Fort Worth, Texas, is being awarded a $698,032,385 fixed-price-incentive, firm target, advanced acquisition contract to procure long lead parts, materials and components in support of 57 Low Rate Initial Production Lot IX F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) aircraft, including: 26 F-35A Conventional Takeoff and Landing (CTOL) aircraft for the Air Force; six F-35B Short Takeoff Vertical Landing (STOVL) aircraft for the Marine Corps; two F-35C Carrier Variant aircraft for the Navy; six F-35A CTOL aircraft for the government of Norway; one F-35A CTOL for the government of Italy; seven F-35A CTOL aircraft for the government of Israel; two CTOL aircraft for the government of Japan; six F-35B STOVL for the United Kingdom, and one F-35B STOVL aircraft for the government of Italy. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas, and is expected to be completed in May 2015. Fiscal 2014 aircraft procurement, Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy funds and international partner funds in the amount of $698,032,384 are being obligated on this award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1). The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity (N00019-14-C-0002).
Lockheed Martin Mission Systems and Training, Moorestown, N.J., is being awarded a $93,049,896 modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-14-C-5114) to exercise options for production of Aegis Ashore Missile Defense System (AAMDS) in Poland and to provide multi-year procurement funding for Aegis Weapon System (AWS) MK 7 equipment sets. Work will be performed in Moorestown, N.J. (85.5 percent), Clearwater, Fla. (13.1 percent), and Akron, Ohio (1.4 percent), and is expected to be completed by September 2021. Fiscal 2014 defense wide procurement and fiscal 2013 shipbuilding and conversion, Navy contract funds in the amount of $93,049,896 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity.
Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., Stratford, Conn., is being awarded a $21,624,392 modification to a previously awarded indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (N00019-07-D-0004) to exercise an option for special progressive aircraft rework for one VH-3D and twoVH-60N presidential helicopters, including two months of field level support. Work will be performed in Stratford, Conn. (99 percent) and Quantico, Va. (1 percent), and is expected to be completed in September 2014. No funds will be obligated at time of award; funds will be obligated on individual delivery orders as they are issued. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.
Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems, Portsmouth, R.I., is being awarded a $17,683,352 modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-10-C-6307) to fabricate, assemble, test and deliver three Airborne Mine Neutralization System (AMNS) low-rate initial production systems and provide engineering services and support. The AMNS will explosively neutralize bottom and moored mines using an expendable mine neutralize device. The system will be deployed from the MH-60 helicopter as part of the littoral combat ship mine countermeasures mission module. Work will be performed in Portsmouth, R.I., and is expected to be completed May 2016. Fiscal 2012 and 2013 other procurement, Navy funds in the amount of $17,683,352 will be obligated at time of award. Contract funds in the amount of $5,180,655 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington D.C., is the contracting activity.
AIR FORCE
Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Marietta, Ga., has been awarded an $84,289,101 cost-plus-incentive-fee contract for the C-5 Core Mission Computer/Color Weather Radar Engineering, Manufacturing and Development Program. Work will be performed at Marietta, Ga., and is expected to be completed by March 31, 2017. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition. Fiscal 2013 aircraft procurement funds in the amount of $11,120,000 are being obligated at time of award. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center/WLSK, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA8625-14-C-6596).
DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY
Philips Medical Systems, Andover, Mass., has been awarded a maximum $77,172,660 modification (P00102) exercising the fifth option period on a one-year base contract (SPM2D1-09-D-8349) with nine one-year option periods for patient monitoring systems, subsystems, accessories, consumables, spare and repair parts, and training. This is a fixed-price with economic-price adjustment contract. Location of performance is Massachusetts with a March 29, 2015 performance completion date. Using military services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2014 through fiscal 2015 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pa.
Landmark Aviation Miami LLC, Miami, Fla., has been awarded a maximum $6,602,581 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment contract for into-plane aircraft fuel services. This is a competitive acquisition, and one offer was received. Location of performance is Florida with a March 31, 2017 performance completion date. Using military services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2014 through fiscal 2017 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Energy, Fort Belvoir, Va., (SP0600-14-D-0061).
ARMY
Cardno TEC-GMI Joint Venture, Charlottesville, Va. (W9126G-14-D-0012); HDR Environmental, Operations and Construction Inc., Englewood, Colo. (W9126G-14-D-0013); Leidons Inc., Reston, Va. (W9126-14-D-0014); and URS/Arcadis, Dallas, Texas (W9126-14-D-0015), were awarded a maximum $27,750,000 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, multiple-award task order contract for environmental consulting support services for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Primary emphasis of the contract is assistance for the southwest Fort Worth district. The contract consists of an unrestricted business pool of contractors to support military and civilian entities with their compliance with environmental laws and regulations. Funding and performance locations will be determined with each order. Each company will receive minimum guarantee of $2,500 at award. Bids were solicited via the Web with four received. The estimated completion date is March 24, 2017. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers-Fort Worth District, Fort Worth, Texas, is the contracting activity.
Professional Contract Services Inc., Austin, Texas, was awarded a $14,594,454 firm-fixed-price sole-source contract for full food and dining facility attendant support services. Fiscal 2014 operations and maintenance, Army funding will be obligated on future task orders. Work will be performed in Fort Hood, Texas, with an estimated completion date of March 31, 2015. The U.S. Army Contracting Command-Fort Hood, Fort Hood, Texas, is the contracting activity (W91151-10-D-0001).
CONTRACTS
NAVY
Lockheed Martin Corp., Fort Worth, Texas, is being awarded a $698,032,385 fixed-price-incentive, firm target, advanced acquisition contract to procure long lead parts, materials and components in support of 57 Low Rate Initial Production Lot IX F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) aircraft, including: 26 F-35A Conventional Takeoff and Landing (CTOL) aircraft for the Air Force; six F-35B Short Takeoff Vertical Landing (STOVL) aircraft for the Marine Corps; two F-35C Carrier Variant aircraft for the Navy; six F-35A CTOL aircraft for the government of Norway; one F-35A CTOL for the government of Italy; seven F-35A CTOL aircraft for the government of Israel; two CTOL aircraft for the government of Japan; six F-35B STOVL for the United Kingdom, and one F-35B STOVL aircraft for the government of Italy. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas, and is expected to be completed in May 2015. Fiscal 2014 aircraft procurement, Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy funds and international partner funds in the amount of $698,032,384 are being obligated on this award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1). The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity (N00019-14-C-0002).
Lockheed Martin Mission Systems and Training, Moorestown, N.J., is being awarded a $93,049,896 modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-14-C-5114) to exercise options for production of Aegis Ashore Missile Defense System (AAMDS) in Poland and to provide multi-year procurement funding for Aegis Weapon System (AWS) MK 7 equipment sets. Work will be performed in Moorestown, N.J. (85.5 percent), Clearwater, Fla. (13.1 percent), and Akron, Ohio (1.4 percent), and is expected to be completed by September 2021. Fiscal 2014 defense wide procurement and fiscal 2013 shipbuilding and conversion, Navy contract funds in the amount of $93,049,896 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity.
Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., Stratford, Conn., is being awarded a $21,624,392 modification to a previously awarded indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (N00019-07-D-0004) to exercise an option for special progressive aircraft rework for one VH-3D and twoVH-60N presidential helicopters, including two months of field level support. Work will be performed in Stratford, Conn. (99 percent) and Quantico, Va. (1 percent), and is expected to be completed in September 2014. No funds will be obligated at time of award; funds will be obligated on individual delivery orders as they are issued. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.
Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems, Portsmouth, R.I., is being awarded a $17,683,352 modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-10-C-6307) to fabricate, assemble, test and deliver three Airborne Mine Neutralization System (AMNS) low-rate initial production systems and provide engineering services and support. The AMNS will explosively neutralize bottom and moored mines using an expendable mine neutralize device. The system will be deployed from the MH-60 helicopter as part of the littoral combat ship mine countermeasures mission module. Work will be performed in Portsmouth, R.I., and is expected to be completed May 2016. Fiscal 2012 and 2013 other procurement, Navy funds in the amount of $17,683,352 will be obligated at time of award. Contract funds in the amount of $5,180,655 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington D.C., is the contracting activity.
AIR FORCE
Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Marietta, Ga., has been awarded an $84,289,101 cost-plus-incentive-fee contract for the C-5 Core Mission Computer/Color Weather Radar Engineering, Manufacturing and Development Program. Work will be performed at Marietta, Ga., and is expected to be completed by March 31, 2017. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition. Fiscal 2013 aircraft procurement funds in the amount of $11,120,000 are being obligated at time of award. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center/WLSK, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA8625-14-C-6596).
DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY
Philips Medical Systems, Andover, Mass., has been awarded a maximum $77,172,660 modification (P00102) exercising the fifth option period on a one-year base contract (SPM2D1-09-D-8349) with nine one-year option periods for patient monitoring systems, subsystems, accessories, consumables, spare and repair parts, and training. This is a fixed-price with economic-price adjustment contract. Location of performance is Massachusetts with a March 29, 2015 performance completion date. Using military services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2014 through fiscal 2015 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pa.
Landmark Aviation Miami LLC, Miami, Fla., has been awarded a maximum $6,602,581 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment contract for into-plane aircraft fuel services. This is a competitive acquisition, and one offer was received. Location of performance is Florida with a March 31, 2017 performance completion date. Using military services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2014 through fiscal 2017 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Energy, Fort Belvoir, Va., (SP0600-14-D-0061).
ARMY
Cardno TEC-GMI Joint Venture, Charlottesville, Va. (W9126G-14-D-0012); HDR Environmental, Operations and Construction Inc., Englewood, Colo. (W9126G-14-D-0013); Leidons Inc., Reston, Va. (W9126-14-D-0014); and URS/Arcadis, Dallas, Texas (W9126-14-D-0015), were awarded a maximum $27,750,000 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, multiple-award task order contract for environmental consulting support services for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Primary emphasis of the contract is assistance for the southwest Fort Worth district. The contract consists of an unrestricted business pool of contractors to support military and civilian entities with their compliance with environmental laws and regulations. Funding and performance locations will be determined with each order. Each company will receive minimum guarantee of $2,500 at award. Bids were solicited via the Web with four received. The estimated completion date is March 24, 2017. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers-Fort Worth District, Fort Worth, Texas, is the contracting activity.
Professional Contract Services Inc., Austin, Texas, was awarded a $14,594,454 firm-fixed-price sole-source contract for full food and dining facility attendant support services. Fiscal 2014 operations and maintenance, Army funding will be obligated on future task orders. Work will be performed in Fort Hood, Texas, with an estimated completion date of March 31, 2015. The U.S. Army Contracting Command-Fort Hood, Fort Hood, Texas, is the contracting activity (W91151-10-D-0001).
PRESIDENT OBAMA'S LETTER REGARDING WAR POWERS RESOLUTION
FROM: THE WHITE HOUSE
Letter from the President -- -- IDLs -- War Powers Resolution
Dear Mr. Speaker: (Dear Mr. President:)
As I initially reported on October 14, 2011, and most recently reported on December 13, 2013, the United States is pursuing a comprehensive strategy to help the governments and people of central Africa in their efforts to stop the atrocities committed by the Lord's Resistance Army. In furtherance of that strategy, U.S. military personnel with appropriate combat equipment have deployed to Uganda, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the Central African Republic to support regional forces from the African Union's Regional Task Force that are working to apprehend or remove Lord's Resistance Army leader Joseph Kony and other senior leaders from the battlefield and to protect local populations.
Regional forces have consistently identified air mobility support with increased range and speed as one of the most-needed capabilities to pursue the remaining Lord's Resistance Army leaders across a wide swath of one of the world's poorest, least governed, and most remote regions. To enhance U.S. support to these regional forces, U.S. aircraft, aircrews, and support personnel deployed to central Africa on March 23 and 24, 2014. The approximately 150 additional personnel will principally operate and maintain U.S. aircraft to provide air mobility support to foreign partner forces.
The total number of U.S. military personnel deployed to the central Africa region for this mission is now approximately 280. The aircraft and personnel providing the enhanced air mobility support will deploy to the Lord's Resistance Army-affected areas of central Africa episodically, as they are available, consistent with other Department of Defense requirements.
During these deployments, the number of U.S. Armed Forces deployed to the central Africa region will fluctuate, and may increase to as many as approximately 300.
As I previously reported, U.S. forces will not themselves engage Lord's Resistance Army forces unless necessary in self-defense.
This deployment is in furtherance of the national security and foreign policy interests of the United States, including the policy expressed in the Lord's Resistance Army Disarmament and
Northern Uganda Recovery Act of 2009, Public Law 111-172, enacted May 24, 2010. I have approved this deployment pursuant to my constitutional authority to conduct U.S. foreign relations and as Commander in Chief and Chief Executive.
I am making this supplemental report as part of my efforts to keep the Congress fully informed, consistent with the War Powers Resolution (Public Law 93-148). I appreciate the support of the Congress in this matter. A classified annex to this report provides additional detail.
Sincerely,
BARACK OBAMA
PRESIDENT OBAMA'S REMARKS AT CLOSING OF NUCLEAR SECURITY SUMMIT
FROM: THE WHITE HOUSE
Remarks by President Obama at Closing Session of the Nuclear Security Summit
The World Forum
The Hague, The Netherlands
The Hague, The Netherlands
3:15 P.M. CET
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well, thank you very much, Mark. Let me begin just by saying that -- to Prime Minister Rutte and all the people here in the Netherlands who were involved in organizing this summit, you did an extraordinary job. And I think we would all agree that this was as well-designed and well-executed as any international summit that we’ve attended. And so we’re very grateful, and you’ve set a high bar for the work that needs to be done in Chicago.
Two things I want to do is, number one, just remind everybody what has been accomplished. In previous summits, as a consequence to the work that’s been done collectively, 12 countries and two dozen nuclear facilities around the world have rid themselves entirely of highly-enriched uranium and plutonium. Dozens of nations have boosted security at their nuclear storage sites; built their own counter-smuggling teams; or created new centers to improve nuclear security and training. The IAEA is stronger. More countries have ratified the treaties and international partnerships at the heart of our efforts.
And at this particular summit, we’ve seen such steps as Belgium and Italy completing the removal of their excess supplies of highly-enriched uranium and plutonium so that those supplied s can be eliminated. In a major commitment, Japan announced that it will work with the United States to eliminate hundreds of kilograms of weapons-usable nuclear material from one of their experimental reactors, which would be enough for a dozen nuclear weapons. Dozens of other nations have agreed to take specific steps towards improving nuclear security in their own countries and to support global efforts.
So what’s been valuable about this summit is that it has not just been talk, it’s been action. And that is because of the leadership that has been shown by heads of state and government -- and heads of government that have participated in this effort, as well as the extraordinary work of foreign ministers and sherpas and others who have helped to move this process forward.
I’m looking forward to hosting all of you in the United States, in 2016. We had a good discussion this afternoon about how we should conceive of this summit two years from now. The consensus, based on what I heard, was that we should recognize this next summit will be a transition summit in which heads of state and government are still participating, but that we are shifting towards a more sustainable model that utilizes our ministers, our technical people, and we are building some sort of architecture that can effectively focus and implement on these issues and supplement the good work that is being done by the IAEA and others.
So I see two tasks before us over the next two years. Number one is we have to set very clearly what are the actionable items that we’ve already identified that we know can get done if we have the political will to do them, and let’s go ahead and get them done so that in 2016 we can report out that we have made extraordinary progress and achieved many of the benchmarks and targets that we had set at the very first Nuclear Security Summit. In other words, I think it is important for us not to relax, but rather accelerate our efforts over the next two years, sustain momentum so that we finish strong in 2016. And my team will be contacting all of you to find out specific ways in which you think we can move the ball forward over the next two years.
The second thing we’ll be doing is soliciting ideas from each of you about the ultimate architecture that should be constructed to ensure that beyond 2016 we are able to keep this process alive and effective, and that we are able to sync up the efforts of the Nuclear Security Summit with existing institutions like the IAEA, Interpol, the United Nations, some of the treaties that are already in force.
All of you have important views on that, and we’re going to want to make sure that you provide them so that by the time we get to 2016 we have a well thought-out process that can be ratified at that meeting.
So I cannot thank you enough for the extraordinary efforts that all of you have already made. I cannot guarantee that the videos will be as good at the Washington conference as they’ve been here. We may not be as creative and imaginative as Mark and his team have been. But I promise you that we will continue to stay focused on this very important issue, and we look forward to your contributions in 2016 in the United States.
Thank you very much, Mark. (Applause.)
U.S. CONGRATULATES SALVADOR CEREN ON HIS ELECTION TO PRESIDENCY OF EL SALVADOR
FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
El Salvador Presidential Elections
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
March 25, 2014
We congratulate Salvador Sanchez Ceren on his election as president, and we particularly congratulate the Salvadoran people for their participation in a process that the OAS election observer mission called calm and orderly.
We recognize that there are pending legal matters, and we urge continued respect for the legal processes and institutions of El Salvador.
El Salvador is a country and a people that I first got to know well as a freshman Senator, and it is a relationship that remains just as important to me as Secretary of State. The United States looks forward to working with President Salvador Sanchez Ceren and to continuing joint efforts to promote security and economic development through the Partnership for Growth. Our longstanding partnership and commitment to El Salvador and the Salvadoran people continues.
We recognize that there are pending legal matters, and we urge continued respect for the legal processes and institutions of El Salvador.
El Salvador is a country and a people that I first got to know well as a freshman Senator, and it is a relationship that remains just as important to me as Secretary of State. The United States looks forward to working with President Salvador Sanchez Ceren and to continuing joint efforts to promote security and economic development through the Partnership for Growth. Our longstanding partnership and commitment to El Salvador and the Salvadoran people continues.
AG HOLDER SPEAKS ON BOOSTING TREATMENT SERVICES TO INMATES PRIOR TO RELEASE
FROM: U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
RELEASE
Monday, March 24, 2014
In New Step to Fight Recidivism, Attorney General Holder Announces Justice Department to Require Federal Halfway Houses to Boost Treatment Services for Inmates Prior to Release
New Rules Also Instruct Federal Halfway Houses to Provide Transportation Assistance, Cell Phone Access in Order to Help Inmates Seek Employment Opportunities
WASHINGTON—In a new step to further the Justice Department’s efforts towards enhancing reentry among formerly incarcerated individuals, Attorney General Eric Holder announced Monday that the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) will impose new requirements on federal halfway houses that help inmates transition back into society. Under the proposed new requirements, these halfway houses will have to provide a specialized form of treatment to prisoners, including those with mental health and substance abuse issues. For the first time, halfway houses will also have to provide greater assistance to inmates who are pursuing job opportunities, such as permitting cell phones to be used by inmates and providing funds for transportation. The new requirements also expand access to electronic monitoring equipment, such as GPS-equipped ankle bracelets, to allow more inmates to utilize home confinement as a reentry method.
Holder announced the changes in a video message posted on the Department’s website.
The BOP’s new policies have the potential to be far-reaching. To ease their transition, those exiting prison typically spend the last few months of their sentence in either a federal halfway house—known as a residential reentry center (RRC)—or under home confinement, or a combination of the two. These community-based programs provide much needed assistance to returning citizens in finding employment and housing, facilitating connections with service providers, reestablishing ties to family and friends, and more.
Last year alone, more than 30,000 federal inmates passed through a halfway house.
Among the most significant changes Holder announced is the requirement for standardized Cognitive Behavioral Programming (CBP) to be offered at all federal halfway houses. This treatment will address behavior that places formerly incarcerated individuals at higher risk of recidivism. As part of this treatment requirement, BOP is setting guidelines for instructor qualifications, class size and length, and training for all staff at the halfway houses.
Several other modifications are being made to the standard contracts that apply to federal halfway houses in order to provide greater support to returning citizens. Examples include requiring halfway houses to provide public transportation vouchers or transportation assistance to help residents secure employment, requiring all federal halfway houses to allow residents to have cell phones to facilitate communication with potential employers and family, and improving and expanding home confinement by increasing the use of GPS monitoring.
The proposed new requirements will be posted today on the Federal Business Opportunities website (www.fbo.gov). Interested parties will have a 30-day period to comment on the proposal. The BOP anticipates implementing the new requirements beginning with contracts expiring in 2014.
The complete text of the Attorney General’s video message is below:
“Today, America’s federal prison population is experiencing a period of significant negative growth, with nearly 4,000 fewer inmates behind bars than at the end of the last fiscal year. This is the first major reduction in the federal prison population in three decades.
“Thanks to a variety of effective, evidence-based reentry programs and services, we’re doing more than ever to ensure that the tens of thousands of federal inmates who return to their communities each year have access to the substance abuse treatment, job training, affordable housing, parenting education, and other resources that so many need to break the cycle of poverty, criminality, and incarceration.
“Through innovative strategies like the Justice Department’s ‘Smart on Crime’ initiative, we’re working hard to tear down unnecessary barriers to opportunity and independence – while building up programs that enable former prisoners to reintegrate into their communities. And nowhere is this work stronger than at the Federal Bureau of Prisons – where groundbreaking efforts are underway to make our criminal justice expenditures both smarter and more productive.
“Today, I’m pleased to announce that the Justice Department – through the Bureau of Prisons – is taking a critical step forward that will enable us to build on this important work – and improve the way reentry programming is implemented from coast to coast.
“For the first time, we will require all 200-plus halfway houses in the federal system to offer standardized treatment to prisoners with mental health and substance abuse issues. This treatment will be intensive, and must follow rigorous standards set forth by the Bureau of Prisons. Once fully implemented, these services will be available to every single one of the approximately 30,000 inmates who are released through halfway houses each year. This will ensure consistency and continuity of care between federal prisons and community-based facilities. And it will enhance the programs that help prisoners overcome their past struggles, get on the right path, and stay out of our criminal justice system.
“These important changes and others are codified in BOP’s published requirements for halfway houses – which will be posted online this week. Over the next 30 days, those who operate halfway houses will have the opportunity to provide feedback on these newly proposed requirements. And I encourage members of the public to visit this site, learn about these tools, and make your voices heard as well – so we can all take an active part in constructing the more effective, more efficient, and more just system that everyone in this country deserves.”
RELEASE
Monday, March 24, 2014
In New Step to Fight Recidivism, Attorney General Holder Announces Justice Department to Require Federal Halfway Houses to Boost Treatment Services for Inmates Prior to Release
New Rules Also Instruct Federal Halfway Houses to Provide Transportation Assistance, Cell Phone Access in Order to Help Inmates Seek Employment Opportunities
WASHINGTON—In a new step to further the Justice Department’s efforts towards enhancing reentry among formerly incarcerated individuals, Attorney General Eric Holder announced Monday that the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) will impose new requirements on federal halfway houses that help inmates transition back into society. Under the proposed new requirements, these halfway houses will have to provide a specialized form of treatment to prisoners, including those with mental health and substance abuse issues. For the first time, halfway houses will also have to provide greater assistance to inmates who are pursuing job opportunities, such as permitting cell phones to be used by inmates and providing funds for transportation. The new requirements also expand access to electronic monitoring equipment, such as GPS-equipped ankle bracelets, to allow more inmates to utilize home confinement as a reentry method.
Holder announced the changes in a video message posted on the Department’s website.
The BOP’s new policies have the potential to be far-reaching. To ease their transition, those exiting prison typically spend the last few months of their sentence in either a federal halfway house—known as a residential reentry center (RRC)—or under home confinement, or a combination of the two. These community-based programs provide much needed assistance to returning citizens in finding employment and housing, facilitating connections with service providers, reestablishing ties to family and friends, and more.
Last year alone, more than 30,000 federal inmates passed through a halfway house.
Among the most significant changes Holder announced is the requirement for standardized Cognitive Behavioral Programming (CBP) to be offered at all federal halfway houses. This treatment will address behavior that places formerly incarcerated individuals at higher risk of recidivism. As part of this treatment requirement, BOP is setting guidelines for instructor qualifications, class size and length, and training for all staff at the halfway houses.
Several other modifications are being made to the standard contracts that apply to federal halfway houses in order to provide greater support to returning citizens. Examples include requiring halfway houses to provide public transportation vouchers or transportation assistance to help residents secure employment, requiring all federal halfway houses to allow residents to have cell phones to facilitate communication with potential employers and family, and improving and expanding home confinement by increasing the use of GPS monitoring.
The proposed new requirements will be posted today on the Federal Business Opportunities website (www.fbo.gov). Interested parties will have a 30-day period to comment on the proposal. The BOP anticipates implementing the new requirements beginning with contracts expiring in 2014.
The complete text of the Attorney General’s video message is below:
“Today, America’s federal prison population is experiencing a period of significant negative growth, with nearly 4,000 fewer inmates behind bars than at the end of the last fiscal year. This is the first major reduction in the federal prison population in three decades.
“Thanks to a variety of effective, evidence-based reentry programs and services, we’re doing more than ever to ensure that the tens of thousands of federal inmates who return to their communities each year have access to the substance abuse treatment, job training, affordable housing, parenting education, and other resources that so many need to break the cycle of poverty, criminality, and incarceration.
“Through innovative strategies like the Justice Department’s ‘Smart on Crime’ initiative, we’re working hard to tear down unnecessary barriers to opportunity and independence – while building up programs that enable former prisoners to reintegrate into their communities. And nowhere is this work stronger than at the Federal Bureau of Prisons – where groundbreaking efforts are underway to make our criminal justice expenditures both smarter and more productive.
“Today, I’m pleased to announce that the Justice Department – through the Bureau of Prisons – is taking a critical step forward that will enable us to build on this important work – and improve the way reentry programming is implemented from coast to coast.
“For the first time, we will require all 200-plus halfway houses in the federal system to offer standardized treatment to prisoners with mental health and substance abuse issues. This treatment will be intensive, and must follow rigorous standards set forth by the Bureau of Prisons. Once fully implemented, these services will be available to every single one of the approximately 30,000 inmates who are released through halfway houses each year. This will ensure consistency and continuity of care between federal prisons and community-based facilities. And it will enhance the programs that help prisoners overcome their past struggles, get on the right path, and stay out of our criminal justice system.
“These important changes and others are codified in BOP’s published requirements for halfway houses – which will be posted online this week. Over the next 30 days, those who operate halfway houses will have the opportunity to provide feedback on these newly proposed requirements. And I encourage members of the public to visit this site, learn about these tools, and make your voices heard as well – so we can all take an active part in constructing the more effective, more efficient, and more just system that everyone in this country deserves.”
OTEZLA APPROVED BY FDA TO TREAT ADULT ACTIVE PSORIATIC ARTHRITIS
FDA NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release: March 21, 2014
Media Inquiries: Morgan Liscinsky, 301-796-0397, morgan.liscinsky@fda.hhs.gov
Consumer Inquiries: 888-INFO-FDA
Media Inquiries: Morgan Liscinsky, 301-796-0397, morgan.liscinsky@fda.hhs.gov
Consumer Inquiries: 888-INFO-FDA
FDA approves Otezla to treat psoriatic arthritis
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Otezla (apremilast) to treat adults with active psoriatic arthritis (PsA).
PsA is a form of arthritis that affects some people with psoriasis. Most people develop psoriasis first and are later diagnosed with PsA. Joint pain, stiffness and swelling are the main signs and symptoms of PsA. Currently approved treatments for PsA include corticosteroids, tumor necrosis factor (TNF) blockers, and an interleukin-12/interleukin-23 inhibitor.
“Relief of pain and inflammation and improving physical function are important treatment goals for patients with active psoriatic arthritis,” said Curtis Rosebraugh, M.D., M.P.H., director of the Office of Drug Evaluation II in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. “Otezla provides a new treatment option for patients suffering from this disease.”
The safety and effectiveness of Otezla, an inhibitor of phosphodieasterase-4 (PDE-4), were evaluated in three clinical trials involving 1,493 patients with active PsA. Patients treated with Otezla showed improvement in signs and symptoms of PsA, including tender and swollen joints and physical function, compared to placebo.
Patients treated with Otezla should have their weight monitored regularly by a healthcare professional. If unexplained or clinically significant weight loss occurs, the weight loss should be evaluated and discontinuation of treatment should be considered. Treatment with Otezla was also associated with an increase in reports of depression compared to placebo.
The FDA is requiring a pregnancy exposure registry as a post-marketing requirement to assess the risks to pregnant women related to Otezla exposure.
In clinical trials, the most common side effects observed in patients treated with Otezla were diarrhea, nausea, and headache.
In clinical trials, the most common side effects observed in patients treated with Otezla were diarrhea, nausea, and headache.
RECENT U.S. NAVY PHOTOS
FROM: U.S. NAVY
140322-N-RB579-323 ICE CAMP NAUTILUS (March 22, 2014) Sailors aboard the Virginia-class attack submarine USS New Mexico (SSN 779) tie mooring lines after the submarine surfaces through the arctic ice during Ice Exercise (ICEX) 2014. ICEX 2014 is a U.S. Navy exercise highlighting submarine capabilities in an arctic environment. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Joshua Davies/Released)
140321-N-CP762-171 WATERS NEAR GUAM (March 21, 2014) A torpedo is launched from the deck of Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Mustin (DDG 89) during Multi-Sail 2014. Multi-Sail is an annual exercise in the 7th Fleet area of responsibility supporting security and stability in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region. (U.S. Navy photo by Culinary Specialist 2nd Class Fidel Hart/Released).
JUSTICE DEPARTMENT CITES FIRST CONVICTIONS FOR DISTRIBUTION OF COUNTERFEIT APPS
FROM: U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Monday, March 24, 2014
Leader and Co-Conspirator of Android Mobile Device App Piracy Group Plead Guilty
Florida Individuals Represent First U.S. Convictions for Distributing Counterfeit Apps
The leader of a piracy group engaged in the illegal distribution of copies of copyrighted Android mobile device applications and a co-conspirator have pleaded guilty for their roles in the scheme that distributed more than one million copies of copyrighted apps with a total retail value of more than $700,000.
Acting Assistant Attorney General David A. O’Neil of the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates of the Northern District of Georgia and Special Agent in Charge J. Britt Johnson of the FBI’s Atlanta Field Office made the announcement.
“These mark the first convictions secured by the Justice Department against those who illegally distribute counterfeit mobile apps,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General O’Neil. “These men trampled on the intellectual property rights of others when they and other members of the Appbucket group distributed more than one million copies of pirated apps. The Criminal Division has made fighting intellectual property crime a top priority, and these convictions demonstrate our determination to prosecute those who undermine the innovations of others in new technologies.”
“Copyright infringement discourages smart, innovative people from using their talents to create things that the rest of society can use and enjoy,” said U.S. Attorney Yates. “Theft is theft – whether the property taken is intellectual or tangible – and we will continue to prosecute those who steal copyrighted material.”
“The wholesale theft of intellectual property as seen in this case cannot and will not go unaddressed,” said FBI SAC Johnson. “The FBI will continue to work with its various law enforcement partners in identifying, investigating and presenting for prosecution those individuals and groups engaged in such criminal activities that involve the attempt to profit from the hard work and the developed creative ideas of others.”
Nicholas Anthony Narbone, 26, of Orlando, Fla., pleaded guilty today to one count of conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement, and Thomas Allen Dye, 21, of Jacksonville, Fla., pleaded guilty to the same change on March 10, 2014. Sentencing is scheduled for July 8, 2014, and June 12, 2014, respectively.
An information filed on Jan. 24, 2014, charged Narbone, Dye and others with one count of conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement. According to the information, Narbone, Dye and their fellow conspirators identified themselves as the Appbucket group, with Narbone as the leader, and, from August 2010 to August 2012, they conspired with other members of the Appbucket group to reproduce and distribute more than one million copies of copyrighted Android mobile device apps through the Appbucket alternative online market without permission from the copyright owners of the apps.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI. The prosecution is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Bly of the Northern District of Georgia and Assistant Deputy Chief for Litigation John H. Zacharia of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS). Significant assistance was provided by the CCIPS Cybercrime Lab, and the Office of International Affairs also provided assistance in this matter.
Monday, March 24, 2014
Leader and Co-Conspirator of Android Mobile Device App Piracy Group Plead Guilty
Florida Individuals Represent First U.S. Convictions for Distributing Counterfeit Apps
The leader of a piracy group engaged in the illegal distribution of copies of copyrighted Android mobile device applications and a co-conspirator have pleaded guilty for their roles in the scheme that distributed more than one million copies of copyrighted apps with a total retail value of more than $700,000.
Acting Assistant Attorney General David A. O’Neil of the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates of the Northern District of Georgia and Special Agent in Charge J. Britt Johnson of the FBI’s Atlanta Field Office made the announcement.
“These mark the first convictions secured by the Justice Department against those who illegally distribute counterfeit mobile apps,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General O’Neil. “These men trampled on the intellectual property rights of others when they and other members of the Appbucket group distributed more than one million copies of pirated apps. The Criminal Division has made fighting intellectual property crime a top priority, and these convictions demonstrate our determination to prosecute those who undermine the innovations of others in new technologies.”
“Copyright infringement discourages smart, innovative people from using their talents to create things that the rest of society can use and enjoy,” said U.S. Attorney Yates. “Theft is theft – whether the property taken is intellectual or tangible – and we will continue to prosecute those who steal copyrighted material.”
“The wholesale theft of intellectual property as seen in this case cannot and will not go unaddressed,” said FBI SAC Johnson. “The FBI will continue to work with its various law enforcement partners in identifying, investigating and presenting for prosecution those individuals and groups engaged in such criminal activities that involve the attempt to profit from the hard work and the developed creative ideas of others.”
Nicholas Anthony Narbone, 26, of Orlando, Fla., pleaded guilty today to one count of conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement, and Thomas Allen Dye, 21, of Jacksonville, Fla., pleaded guilty to the same change on March 10, 2014. Sentencing is scheduled for July 8, 2014, and June 12, 2014, respectively.
An information filed on Jan. 24, 2014, charged Narbone, Dye and others with one count of conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement. According to the information, Narbone, Dye and their fellow conspirators identified themselves as the Appbucket group, with Narbone as the leader, and, from August 2010 to August 2012, they conspired with other members of the Appbucket group to reproduce and distribute more than one million copies of copyrighted Android mobile device apps through the Appbucket alternative online market without permission from the copyright owners of the apps.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI. The prosecution is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Bly of the Northern District of Georgia and Assistant Deputy Chief for Litigation John H. Zacharia of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS). Significant assistance was provided by the CCIPS Cybercrime Lab, and the Office of International Affairs also provided assistance in this matter.
JUSTICE FILES SUIT TO ENFORCE REEMPLOYMENT RIGHTS OF TEMPORARILY DISABLED SERVICEMEMBER
FROM: U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Monday, March 24, 2014
Justice Department Files Lawsuit Against Con-Way Freight Inc. to Enforce Reemployment Rights of Temporarily Disabled Servicemember
The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit today against Con-Way Freight Inc. alleging that the company violated the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) by failing to promptly reassign Naval Reservist Dale Brown to his former position as a driver with appropriate seniority once he notified the company that he had fully recovered from a temporary service-related medical disability.
According to the complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Brown began working for Con-Way on Nov. 9, 1987, as a driver sales representative (DSR). In 2006, Brown was working at Con-Way’s Rock Island, Ill., facility when he deployed for active duty. While in Iraq, Brown suffered a serious shoulder injury in a truck accident during a night mission and returned to Con-Way in 2009 following an honorable discharge. Con-Way placed him in a lower-paying position due to medical restrictions that prevented him from returning to the DSR position. By 2012, Brown had made a full recovery and notified the company that he was able to resume work as a DSR without medical restrictions. Con-Way refused to return Brown to the DSR position and instead made him apply for open positions as they became available. Months later, Brown was eventually hired as a DSR, but, Con-Way treated him as a new employee with no seniority to bid on assignments. As a result, Brown effectively received a 40 percent reduction in pay compared to what he was earning as a DSR prior to his military leave. He also no longer has a regular work schedule because his seniority was not restored upon resinstatement and he must call in each day to see if and for how long he will work on a given day.
USERRA obligates employers to promptly reemploy returning servicemembers and place them as near as possible in the position that they would have been in absent military service, or a position of similar seniority, status and pay. For servicemembers like Brown who return with a service-connected disability, the reemployment obligation extends to providing accommodations to the servicemember, which can include a temporary position until the servicemember has recovered and is able to return to his or her proper reemployment position. Contrary to these requirements, Con-Way violated USERRA by treating Brown as a newly hired DSR, with no accrued seniority, rather than placing him in the position that he would have held had he not served his country and suffered a serious and debilitating injury that required temporary accomodation.
The lawsuit seeks an adjustment to Brown’s seniority date as a DSR to his pre-deployment date with back wages for Con-Way’s six month delay in reemploying Brown once he asked for reinstatement as a DSR following his medical clearance, and his inability to bid on desirable shifts and routes due to his lack of seniority.
“Employers have a legal obligation under USERRA to accommodate servicemembers who suffer a disability while serving their country,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Jocelyn Samuels for the Civil Rights Division. “The Civil Rights Division is committed to protecting the rights of those who have served their country through military service.”
This case stems from a referral by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) following an investigation by the DOL’s Veterans’ Employment and Training Service. The case is being handled by the Employment Litigation Section of the Civil Rights Division.
Monday, March 24, 2014
Justice Department Files Lawsuit Against Con-Way Freight Inc. to Enforce Reemployment Rights of Temporarily Disabled Servicemember
The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit today against Con-Way Freight Inc. alleging that the company violated the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) by failing to promptly reassign Naval Reservist Dale Brown to his former position as a driver with appropriate seniority once he notified the company that he had fully recovered from a temporary service-related medical disability.
According to the complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Brown began working for Con-Way on Nov. 9, 1987, as a driver sales representative (DSR). In 2006, Brown was working at Con-Way’s Rock Island, Ill., facility when he deployed for active duty. While in Iraq, Brown suffered a serious shoulder injury in a truck accident during a night mission and returned to Con-Way in 2009 following an honorable discharge. Con-Way placed him in a lower-paying position due to medical restrictions that prevented him from returning to the DSR position. By 2012, Brown had made a full recovery and notified the company that he was able to resume work as a DSR without medical restrictions. Con-Way refused to return Brown to the DSR position and instead made him apply for open positions as they became available. Months later, Brown was eventually hired as a DSR, but, Con-Way treated him as a new employee with no seniority to bid on assignments. As a result, Brown effectively received a 40 percent reduction in pay compared to what he was earning as a DSR prior to his military leave. He also no longer has a regular work schedule because his seniority was not restored upon resinstatement and he must call in each day to see if and for how long he will work on a given day.
USERRA obligates employers to promptly reemploy returning servicemembers and place them as near as possible in the position that they would have been in absent military service, or a position of similar seniority, status and pay. For servicemembers like Brown who return with a service-connected disability, the reemployment obligation extends to providing accommodations to the servicemember, which can include a temporary position until the servicemember has recovered and is able to return to his or her proper reemployment position. Contrary to these requirements, Con-Way violated USERRA by treating Brown as a newly hired DSR, with no accrued seniority, rather than placing him in the position that he would have held had he not served his country and suffered a serious and debilitating injury that required temporary accomodation.
The lawsuit seeks an adjustment to Brown’s seniority date as a DSR to his pre-deployment date with back wages for Con-Way’s six month delay in reemploying Brown once he asked for reinstatement as a DSR following his medical clearance, and his inability to bid on desirable shifts and routes due to his lack of seniority.
“Employers have a legal obligation under USERRA to accommodate servicemembers who suffer a disability while serving their country,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Jocelyn Samuels for the Civil Rights Division. “The Civil Rights Division is committed to protecting the rights of those who have served their country through military service.”
This case stems from a referral by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) following an investigation by the DOL’s Veterans’ Employment and Training Service. The case is being handled by the Employment Litigation Section of the Civil Rights Division.
DISEASE SCREENING ACCORDING TO AN INDIVIDUAL'S RISKS
FROM: NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
Tailoring disease screening programs to individuals
Researcher developed a customized computer algorithm that provides a better decision support tool
Oguzhan Alagoz believes that many existing disease screening programs all too often take a one-size-fits-all approach. To be sure, "it is important to catch a disease early," he says. "But still, most screening programs treat everyone the same."
In breast cancer, for example, "they say any woman who turns 40, or 50, should start screening every year, and they don't differentiate women by individual risks," says Alagoz, an associate professor of industrial and systems engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
"The common characteristic of all of these guidelines is age," he adds. "They specify age, but don't specify whether women with higher or lower risk should or should not be screened, nor do they take into consideration a woman's personal preferences about mammography. We have to start tailoring screening recommendations to the individual woman."
To try to address this, the National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded scientist has developed a computer algorithm that will allow women to reach a decision customized for them. "You enter your age, your risk factors and how you personally feeling about screening," he says. "Then our model helps you make a decision about mammography."
Although implementation is beyond the scope of his research, he believes the ideal scenario would be to have a woman use the computer model in consultation with her personal physician. "We shouldn't over-trust the model," says Alagoz, who also holds a secondary appointment as an associate professor of population sciences in the university's school of medicine and public health.
"Over-trusting technology in medicine may not be the best thing to do, but it will help you," he adds. "It also will help the physician and the women who might be missing certain things. I see this not as a method to guide the whole decision, but as a decision support tool."
Ultimately, he sees the research as a framework for developing better screening policies for other cancers as well, including prostate and colorectal cancers as well as other conditions, such as diabetic retinopathy.
"Any improvement on cancer screening and diagnosis would directly affect millions of people being screened for cancer, and indirectly affect almost the whole population being screened for other diseases," he says. "Furthermore, the potential life savings and dollar savings of the proposed research are substantial."
Alagoz is conducting his work with an NSF Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award, which he received in 2009 as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The award supports junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through outstanding research, excellent education, and the integration of education and research within the context of the mission of their organization. NSF is funding his work with about $430,000 over five years.
As part of the grant's educational component, he is training doctoral students to use such operations research techniques to solve complicated decision problems in medicine, and plans to integrate his findings into new courses. "The research will introduce operations research tools to the medical community through a successful application of these tools to a complicated and controversial problem in medicine," he says.
He says there were a number of computational challenges he had to overcome in developing the model, and hopes to soon test it in a local clinic, although widespread clinical practice is likely several years away. "This is really very much still only on paper and in the computer," he says.
His description of the algorithm and how it works appeared in the journal Operations Research.
"Every model is a representation of a real life system," he says. "For this algorithm to work, we have to somehow represent the existence of cancer and probability of getting it over a lifetime."
For this, he used the so-called Markov decision process model, a popular operations research tool used in various areas of applications. His model only considers the present state--for example, the current condition of a patient--to predict the probability of a future state, in this case, the chances of a patient's developing cancer over a certain time period.
"There are already several risk assessment/predictions models that can tell you the probability of getting cancer over the next five or ten years, but this model also will consider your preferences and your risk and tell you at what age you should get a mammogram," Alagoz says. "Then it will tell you, if it is negative, you should get it at such and such an age. It makes a recommendation to you about when you should get your next mammogram and all kinds of other statistics."
The major difference between this model and other existing predictive algorithms "is that it takes into account how the woman feels about the procedure," he says, citing fears over mammography, the risk of false positives that could result in unnecessary biopsies and other tests. "We have to somehow translate your feelings into numbers, that is, how much quality of life is lost due to your feeling toward mammography, a false positive, a biopsy, and the possibility of breast cancer."
Alagoz hopes to include compliance as a factor in the next generation model. "What if she doesn't come back, how should we adjust our model to recommend more or less aggressive screening?" he says. "If compliance is very high, then less aggressive screening recommendations make more sense."
He also is using the model for investigating important screening policy questions such as what age to stop screening, what ages should be screened more aggressively, and the role of compliance in screening recommendations, among other things.
Alagoz is conducting his research with input from the medical community.
"The physicians are helping me build the models," he says. "When you build these models, you have to make some assumptions. I am not a physician, so I meet with physicians/epidemiologists every week who help me build the correct models."
-- Marlene Cimons, National Science Foundation
Investigators
Oguzhan Alagoz
Related Institutions/Organizations
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Tailoring disease screening programs to individuals
Researcher developed a customized computer algorithm that provides a better decision support tool
Oguzhan Alagoz believes that many existing disease screening programs all too often take a one-size-fits-all approach. To be sure, "it is important to catch a disease early," he says. "But still, most screening programs treat everyone the same."
In breast cancer, for example, "they say any woman who turns 40, or 50, should start screening every year, and they don't differentiate women by individual risks," says Alagoz, an associate professor of industrial and systems engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
"The common characteristic of all of these guidelines is age," he adds. "They specify age, but don't specify whether women with higher or lower risk should or should not be screened, nor do they take into consideration a woman's personal preferences about mammography. We have to start tailoring screening recommendations to the individual woman."
To try to address this, the National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded scientist has developed a computer algorithm that will allow women to reach a decision customized for them. "You enter your age, your risk factors and how you personally feeling about screening," he says. "Then our model helps you make a decision about mammography."
Although implementation is beyond the scope of his research, he believes the ideal scenario would be to have a woman use the computer model in consultation with her personal physician. "We shouldn't over-trust the model," says Alagoz, who also holds a secondary appointment as an associate professor of population sciences in the university's school of medicine and public health.
"Over-trusting technology in medicine may not be the best thing to do, but it will help you," he adds. "It also will help the physician and the women who might be missing certain things. I see this not as a method to guide the whole decision, but as a decision support tool."
Ultimately, he sees the research as a framework for developing better screening policies for other cancers as well, including prostate and colorectal cancers as well as other conditions, such as diabetic retinopathy.
"Any improvement on cancer screening and diagnosis would directly affect millions of people being screened for cancer, and indirectly affect almost the whole population being screened for other diseases," he says. "Furthermore, the potential life savings and dollar savings of the proposed research are substantial."
Alagoz is conducting his work with an NSF Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award, which he received in 2009 as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The award supports junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through outstanding research, excellent education, and the integration of education and research within the context of the mission of their organization. NSF is funding his work with about $430,000 over five years.
As part of the grant's educational component, he is training doctoral students to use such operations research techniques to solve complicated decision problems in medicine, and plans to integrate his findings into new courses. "The research will introduce operations research tools to the medical community through a successful application of these tools to a complicated and controversial problem in medicine," he says.
He says there were a number of computational challenges he had to overcome in developing the model, and hopes to soon test it in a local clinic, although widespread clinical practice is likely several years away. "This is really very much still only on paper and in the computer," he says.
His description of the algorithm and how it works appeared in the journal Operations Research.
"Every model is a representation of a real life system," he says. "For this algorithm to work, we have to somehow represent the existence of cancer and probability of getting it over a lifetime."
For this, he used the so-called Markov decision process model, a popular operations research tool used in various areas of applications. His model only considers the present state--for example, the current condition of a patient--to predict the probability of a future state, in this case, the chances of a patient's developing cancer over a certain time period.
"There are already several risk assessment/predictions models that can tell you the probability of getting cancer over the next five or ten years, but this model also will consider your preferences and your risk and tell you at what age you should get a mammogram," Alagoz says. "Then it will tell you, if it is negative, you should get it at such and such an age. It makes a recommendation to you about when you should get your next mammogram and all kinds of other statistics."
The major difference between this model and other existing predictive algorithms "is that it takes into account how the woman feels about the procedure," he says, citing fears over mammography, the risk of false positives that could result in unnecessary biopsies and other tests. "We have to somehow translate your feelings into numbers, that is, how much quality of life is lost due to your feeling toward mammography, a false positive, a biopsy, and the possibility of breast cancer."
Alagoz hopes to include compliance as a factor in the next generation model. "What if she doesn't come back, how should we adjust our model to recommend more or less aggressive screening?" he says. "If compliance is very high, then less aggressive screening recommendations make more sense."
He also is using the model for investigating important screening policy questions such as what age to stop screening, what ages should be screened more aggressively, and the role of compliance in screening recommendations, among other things.
Alagoz is conducting his research with input from the medical community.
"The physicians are helping me build the models," he says. "When you build these models, you have to make some assumptions. I am not a physician, so I meet with physicians/epidemiologists every week who help me build the correct models."
-- Marlene Cimons, National Science Foundation
Investigators
Oguzhan Alagoz
Related Institutions/Organizations
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Monday, March 24, 2014
FTC STUDY RELEASED ON ALCOHOL ADVERTISING AND UNDERAGE AUDIENCES
FROM: FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
FTC Releases Fourth Major Study on Alcohol Advertising and Industry Efforts to Reduce Marketing to Underage Audiences
Study Shows Over 93 Percent Compliance with Placement Guidelines
The Federal Trade Commission released its fourth major study on alcohol industry compliance with self-regulatory guidelines, including those designed to address concerns about youth access to alcohol marketing.
For the study, the FTC ordered 14 major alcohol companies to provide information on advertising and marketing expenditures from the 2011 calendar year, and advertising placement data (including audience data) for the first six months of 2011. For the first time, the agency obtained substantial information on Internet and digital marketing and data collection and use practices.
Presented in an aggregate, anonymous fashion, the findings include:
How Companies Allocate Marketing Dollars: 31.9 percent of expenditures were directed to advertising in traditional media such as television, radio, magazine, and newspaper advertising. The study found that 28.6 percent of expenditures were used to help wholesalers and retailers promote alcohol; 17.8 percent were allocated to sponsorships (sports and non-sports) and public entertainment; 7.9 percent were directed to online and other digital marketing – almost a four-fold increase from the 2 percent reported in the 2008 study; and 6.8 percent were directed to outdoor and transit marketing efforts.
Meeting Industry Standards on Ad Placement. In the first half of 2011, 93.1 percent of all measured media combined (including traditional media and online/other digital) met the alcohol industry’s placement standard at the time, which required that 70 percent or more of the audience viewing the ads be 21 years old or older, based on reliable data. Further, because compliance shortfalls were primarily in media with smaller audiences (such as local radio), over 97 percent of individual consumer exposures to alcohol ads were from placements meeting the 70 percent standard. The industry has since adopted a new ad placement standard requiring that 71.6 percent of the audience viewing alcohol ads be 21 years old or older.
Ad Placement on Online and Other Digital Media. In the first half of 2011, 99.5 percent of alcohol ads that advertisers placed on sites owned by others – such as news, entertainment, and sports sites – met the alcohol industry’s 70 percent placement standard. The alcohol companies’ web sites and social media pages are “age gated,” meaning that a consumer must either enter a date of birth that shows him or her to be 21 years old or older, or must certify to being over 21 to enter the site.
Privacy Concerns on Online and Other Digital Media. The report stated that alcohol industry members appear to have considered privacy impacts in the marketing of their products. It appears that, at least in the context of online registration opportunities, alcohol companies generally advise consumers how their information will be used and that they require consumers to opt-in to receive marketing information and consumers can readily opt-out when they want to stop receiving such information. Use of cookies and tracking tools on brand websites appears to be limited to those needed to ensure that only consumers who have stated they are 21 or older can re-enter the site.
Product Placements. Product placement in movies, television shows, and other entertainment media accounted for a very small portion – about one-tenth of one percent – of expenditures. Most product placements involve the provision of props (such as bottles and signs) rather than money.
Outside Review of Complaints. The report found that all three major alcohol industry trade groups – the Beer Institute, the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, and the Wine Institute – have procedures for external review of complaints regarding alcohol advertising, but only the Distilled Spirits Council received any complaints between January 2009 and December 2012. In the majority of cases (including all cases involving Council members), the advertiser agreed to comply with the decision of the Council’s review board.
The report’s key recommendations include:
When placement compliance levels fall below 90 percent for a brand in a particular media, and lack of compliance is due to wide fluctuations in measured audience composition due to small sample size, the company should consider using a higher audience composition threshold at the time of placement, to increase the likelihood of meeting the standard at the time the ad actually appears.
Because audience demographic data for radio is now available for larger markets showing all audience members age 6 and older, the companies should review this more comprehensive data when making placements.
Companies should take advantage of age-gating technologies offered by social media, including YouTube, and age gates on company websites should require consumers to enter their date of birth, rather than simply asking them to certify that they are of legal drinking age.
Companies should improve posted privacy policies to make them brief, transparent regarding data collection and use, and understandable to ordinary consumers.
Regarding user-generated content, companies should use blocking technologies and engage in frequent monitoring to reduce the potential for violations of the voluntary advertising and marketing codes established by the Beer Institute, the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, and the Wine Institute.
Alcohol companies and the industry as a whole should continue their efforts to facilitate compliance with the voluntary codes, including staff training and cross-company identification of best practices.
State regulatory authorities, consumer advocacy organizations, and others who are concerned about alcohol marketing should participate in the industry’s external complaint review system when they see advertising that appears to violate the voluntary codes.
Industry and others concerned with reducing underage access to alcohol are encouraged to use the free “We Don’t Serve Teens” alcohol education materials available on DontServeTeens.gov.
The FTC released previous studies in 1999, 2003, and 2008. Recommendations from past reports have resulted in agreements by the Beer Institute, the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, and the Wine Institute, to adopt improved voluntary advertising placement standards; buying guidelines for placing ads on radio, in print, on television, and on the Internet; a requirement that suppliers conduct periodic internal audits of past placements; and systems for external review of complaints about compliance.
The Commission vote to authorize release of the report was 4 - 0.
FTC Releases Fourth Major Study on Alcohol Advertising and Industry Efforts to Reduce Marketing to Underage Audiences
Study Shows Over 93 Percent Compliance with Placement Guidelines
The Federal Trade Commission released its fourth major study on alcohol industry compliance with self-regulatory guidelines, including those designed to address concerns about youth access to alcohol marketing.
For the study, the FTC ordered 14 major alcohol companies to provide information on advertising and marketing expenditures from the 2011 calendar year, and advertising placement data (including audience data) for the first six months of 2011. For the first time, the agency obtained substantial information on Internet and digital marketing and data collection and use practices.
Presented in an aggregate, anonymous fashion, the findings include:
How Companies Allocate Marketing Dollars: 31.9 percent of expenditures were directed to advertising in traditional media such as television, radio, magazine, and newspaper advertising. The study found that 28.6 percent of expenditures were used to help wholesalers and retailers promote alcohol; 17.8 percent were allocated to sponsorships (sports and non-sports) and public entertainment; 7.9 percent were directed to online and other digital marketing – almost a four-fold increase from the 2 percent reported in the 2008 study; and 6.8 percent were directed to outdoor and transit marketing efforts.
Meeting Industry Standards on Ad Placement. In the first half of 2011, 93.1 percent of all measured media combined (including traditional media and online/other digital) met the alcohol industry’s placement standard at the time, which required that 70 percent or more of the audience viewing the ads be 21 years old or older, based on reliable data. Further, because compliance shortfalls were primarily in media with smaller audiences (such as local radio), over 97 percent of individual consumer exposures to alcohol ads were from placements meeting the 70 percent standard. The industry has since adopted a new ad placement standard requiring that 71.6 percent of the audience viewing alcohol ads be 21 years old or older.
Ad Placement on Online and Other Digital Media. In the first half of 2011, 99.5 percent of alcohol ads that advertisers placed on sites owned by others – such as news, entertainment, and sports sites – met the alcohol industry’s 70 percent placement standard. The alcohol companies’ web sites and social media pages are “age gated,” meaning that a consumer must either enter a date of birth that shows him or her to be 21 years old or older, or must certify to being over 21 to enter the site.
Privacy Concerns on Online and Other Digital Media. The report stated that alcohol industry members appear to have considered privacy impacts in the marketing of their products. It appears that, at least in the context of online registration opportunities, alcohol companies generally advise consumers how their information will be used and that they require consumers to opt-in to receive marketing information and consumers can readily opt-out when they want to stop receiving such information. Use of cookies and tracking tools on brand websites appears to be limited to those needed to ensure that only consumers who have stated they are 21 or older can re-enter the site.
Product Placements. Product placement in movies, television shows, and other entertainment media accounted for a very small portion – about one-tenth of one percent – of expenditures. Most product placements involve the provision of props (such as bottles and signs) rather than money.
Outside Review of Complaints. The report found that all three major alcohol industry trade groups – the Beer Institute, the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, and the Wine Institute – have procedures for external review of complaints regarding alcohol advertising, but only the Distilled Spirits Council received any complaints between January 2009 and December 2012. In the majority of cases (including all cases involving Council members), the advertiser agreed to comply with the decision of the Council’s review board.
The report’s key recommendations include:
When placement compliance levels fall below 90 percent for a brand in a particular media, and lack of compliance is due to wide fluctuations in measured audience composition due to small sample size, the company should consider using a higher audience composition threshold at the time of placement, to increase the likelihood of meeting the standard at the time the ad actually appears.
Because audience demographic data for radio is now available for larger markets showing all audience members age 6 and older, the companies should review this more comprehensive data when making placements.
Companies should take advantage of age-gating technologies offered by social media, including YouTube, and age gates on company websites should require consumers to enter their date of birth, rather than simply asking them to certify that they are of legal drinking age.
Companies should improve posted privacy policies to make them brief, transparent regarding data collection and use, and understandable to ordinary consumers.
Regarding user-generated content, companies should use blocking technologies and engage in frequent monitoring to reduce the potential for violations of the voluntary advertising and marketing codes established by the Beer Institute, the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, and the Wine Institute.
Alcohol companies and the industry as a whole should continue their efforts to facilitate compliance with the voluntary codes, including staff training and cross-company identification of best practices.
State regulatory authorities, consumer advocacy organizations, and others who are concerned about alcohol marketing should participate in the industry’s external complaint review system when they see advertising that appears to violate the voluntary codes.
Industry and others concerned with reducing underage access to alcohol are encouraged to use the free “We Don’t Serve Teens” alcohol education materials available on DontServeTeens.gov.
The FTC released previous studies in 1999, 2003, and 2008. Recommendations from past reports have resulted in agreements by the Beer Institute, the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, and the Wine Institute, to adopt improved voluntary advertising placement standards; buying guidelines for placing ads on radio, in print, on television, and on the Internet; a requirement that suppliers conduct periodic internal audits of past placements; and systems for external review of complaints about compliance.
The Commission vote to authorize release of the report was 4 - 0.
SECRETARY KERRY'S REMARKS WITH DUTCH FOREIGN MINISTER TIMMERMANS
FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Remarks With Dutch Foreign Minister Frans Timmermans
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Secretary of State
Deputy Chief of Mission Residence
The Hague, Netherlands
March 24, 2014
SECRETARY KERRY: Thank you. Frans, thank you.
FOREIGN MINISTER TIMMERMANS: Thank you, Mr. Secretary.
SECRETARY KERRY: Nice to see you again. I’m happy to see you – very very much so.
FOREIGN MINISTER TIMMERMANS: Absolutely.
SECRETARY KERRY: Let me say how very grateful we are to The Netherlands for hosting the nuclear summit, and I am particularly grateful to Frans for his friendship and for the extraordinary efforts of The Netherlands with respect to human rights, freedom, standing up on Ukraine, a partner in so many different respects. We’re very, very grateful for that.
We also recognize that The Netherlands is the third-largest investor in the United States, responsible for some 700,000 jobs in our country, a great friend, and also importantly, a helpful advocate for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, which we all recognize will help lift our countries economically.
So we’re really delighted to be here with you and thank you very much for a generous welcome.
FOREIGN MINISTER TIMMERMANS: Well, thank you very much for attending. And I have to say you have shown us great leadership on Syria, on the Middle East peace process, on Ukraine, all these things that preoccupy foreign ministers, you’re the leader of the pack in terms of our values, in terms of where we want to go, and in terms of the solutions we want to bring to the table. And I believe we from The Netherlands, the European Union, and the United States – we need to stand together in this period of great challenges to the international system. Especially on Ukraine, I believe we have the great responsibility to break with the logic that you
can change borders by military means if you don’t agree with the policy of our government.
SECRETARY KERRY: Couldn’t agree more. Thank you, Frans.
FOREIGN MINISTER TIMMERMANS: Thank you very much.
SECRETARY KERRY: Thank you for your hospitality. Thank you. Thank you all very much, appreciate it.
FOREIGN MINISTER TIMMERMANS: Thank you, Mr. Secretary.
SECRETARY KERRY: Nice to see you again. I’m happy to see you – very very much so.
FOREIGN MINISTER TIMMERMANS: Absolutely.
SECRETARY KERRY: Let me say how very grateful we are to The Netherlands for hosting the nuclear summit, and I am particularly grateful to Frans for his friendship and for the extraordinary efforts of The Netherlands with respect to human rights, freedom, standing up on Ukraine, a partner in so many different respects. We’re very, very grateful for that.
We also recognize that The Netherlands is the third-largest investor in the United States, responsible for some 700,000 jobs in our country, a great friend, and also importantly, a helpful advocate for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, which we all recognize will help lift our countries economically.
So we’re really delighted to be here with you and thank you very much for a generous welcome.
FOREIGN MINISTER TIMMERMANS: Well, thank you very much for attending. And I have to say you have shown us great leadership on Syria, on the Middle East peace process, on Ukraine, all these things that preoccupy foreign ministers, you’re the leader of the pack in terms of our values, in terms of where we want to go, and in terms of the solutions we want to bring to the table. And I believe we from The Netherlands, the European Union, and the United States – we need to stand together in this period of great challenges to the international system. Especially on Ukraine, I believe we have the great responsibility to break with the logic that you
can change borders by military means if you don’t agree with the policy of our government.
SECRETARY KERRY: Couldn’t agree more. Thank you, Frans.
FOREIGN MINISTER TIMMERMANS: Thank you very much.
SECRETARY KERRY: Thank you for your hospitality. Thank you. Thank you all very much, appreciate it.
U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT CONTRACTS FOR MARCH 24, 2014
FROM: U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY
General Electric Co., Waukesha, Wis., has been awarded a maximum $72,955,840 modification (P00101) exercising the first option period on a two-year base contract (SPM2D1-12-D-8310) with one two-year option and one one-year option period for digital imaging network-picture archive communication system. This is a fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment contract. Location of performance is Wisconsin with a March 26, 2016 performance completion date. Using military services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and federal civilian agencies. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2014 through fiscal 2016 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pa.
FLIR Systems Inc., Wilsonville, Ore., has been awarded a maximum $18,191,712 firm-fixed-price contract for weapon system turret unites. This is a sole-source acquisition. Location of performance is Oregon with a May 30, 2014 performance completion date. Using military service is Navy. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2014 Navy working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Aviation, Philadelphia, Pa., (SPRPA1-14-C-U003).
DeRossi & Son Company Inc.*, Vineland, N.J., has been awarded a maximum $13,824,000 modification (P00100) exercising the fourth option period on a one-year base contract (SPM1C1-10-D-1029) with four one-year option periods for men’s poly/wool, dress blue, Army coats. This is a firm-fixed-price contract. Location of performance is New Jersey with a March 25, 2015 performance completion date. Using military service is Army. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2014 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pa.
Lockheed Martin Corp., Owego, N.Y., has been awarded a maximum $8,053,848 firm-fixed-price contract for radar data processors. This is a sole-source acquisition. Location of performance is New York with a Feb. 28, 2017 performance completion date. Using military service is Navy. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2014 Navy working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Aviation, Philadelphia, Pa., (SPRWA1-13-D-2000-THAG).
AIR FORCE
InDyne Inc., Reston, Va., has been awarded a $30,805,507 cost-plus-incentive-fee and cost-plus-fixed-fee modification (P00500) to contract (F04684-03-C-0050) to exercise option 12 for the operations and maintenance support services, training, command, control, communications, information and computer systems services, testing, modification and installation of communications, electronic, and security systems at launch facilities, launch control centers and test facilities for the 30th Space Wing, Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. Work will be performed at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., and is expected to be completed by Sept. 30, 2014. Fiscal 2014 operations and maintenance funds will be obligate upon availability of funds. The 30th Contracting Squadron/LGCZ, Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., is the contracting activity.
NAVY
Systems Application & Technologies Inc.*, Oxnard, Calif., is being awarded a $15,934,440 modification to a previously awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee contract (N68936-13-C-0083) to exercise an option for maintenance and operations of aerial and seaborne target assets in for the U.S. Navy and the governments of Japan and Australia. Work will be performed at the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division (NAWCWD), Point Mugu, Calif. (40 percent); the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Port Hueneme, Calif. (30 percent); various at sea locations (15 percent); NAWCWD China Lake, Ridgecrest, Calif. (7 percent); the White Sands Missile Range, Las Cruces, N.M. (3 percent); the Pacific Missile Range Facility, Kauai, Hawaii (2 percent); the Utah Test and Training Range, Salt Lake City, Utah (2 percent) and Vandenburg Air Force Base, Lompoc, Calif. (1 percent), and is expected to be completed in March 2015. Fiscal 2014 Major Range and Test Facility Base funds in the amount of $7,400,554 will be obligated at time of award, all of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract combines purchases for the U.S. Navy ($15,456,406, 97 percent), and the governments of Japan ($318,689, 2 percent), and Australia ($159,345, 1 percent) under the Foreign Military Sales Program. The Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division, China Lake, Calif., is the contracting activity.
Bilbro Construction Co., Inc.*, Escondido, Calif., is being awarded $11,009,552 for firm-fixed-price task order 0007 under a previously awarded multiple award construction contract (N62473-09-D-1653) for the design, engineering, and construction of a tracked vehicle maintenance cover at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms. The work to be performed provides for the design, engineering, and construction of primary and supporting facilities for the 1st Tank Battalion. The task order also contains four unexercised options and one planned modification, which if exercised would increase cumulative task order value to $13,232,180. Work will be performed in Twentynine Palms, Calif., and is expected to be completed by December 2015. Fiscal 2012 military construction, Navy contract funds in the amount of $11,009,552 are being obligated on this award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Three proposals were received for this task order. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Southwest, San Diego, Calif., is the contracting activity.
Rockwell Collins Inc., Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is being awarded an $8,292,793 modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-priced contract (N00019-09-C-0069) to exercise an option for the procurement of AN/ARC-210(V) electronic radios and ancillary equipment for a variety of aircraft. Equipment being procured includes 57 control radio sets, 57 high power amplifiers, 57 low noise amplifier diplexers and 62 receiver transmitters. Work will be performed in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and is expected to be completed in May 2015. Fiscal 2014 aircraft procurement, Navy funds in the amount of $8,292,793 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.
ARMY
Mike Hooks Inc., Westlake, La., is being awarded a $45,000,000 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-delivery contract to provide tools in support of dredging projects in Alabama, Mississippi and Florida. Performance location will be determined with each order. Funding will be obligated on each order. The contract is expected to be completed in June 2015. The Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile, Ala., is the contracting activity (W91278-14-D-0024).
CACI Inc. – Federal, Chantilly, Va., is being awarded a $27,114,681 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for logistics and engineering services performed at contingency locations. Work is expected to be completed in December 2014. A combination of fiscal 2014 operations and maintenance funds and fiscal 2014 procurement funds in the amount of $5,446,985 are being obligated on this award. One bid was solicited, with one bid received. The Army Intelligence and Security Command, Fort Belvoir, Va., is the contracting activity (W911W4-14-C-0006).
Donal L. Mooney LLC, San Antonio, Texas, is being awarded a $23,717,819 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, sole-source contract to provide licensed vocational nurses at San Antonio Military Medical Center over the period of one year. Work will be performed in San Antonio, and is expected to be completed in March 2015. Funding will be obligated with each order. The Army Medical Command, Fort Sam Houston, Texas, is the contracting activity (W81K00-14-D-0015).
MedTrust LLC, San Antonio, Texas, is being awarded a $20,746,074 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, sole-source contract to provide registered nurses of various specialties, ranging from clinical to intensive care to the burn unit. Performance location will be determined with each order. Funding will be obligated on each order. The estimated completion date of the contract is September 2014. The Army Medical Command, Fort Sam Houston, Texas, is the contracting activity (W81K00-14-D-0014).
Baum, Romstedt Technology Research Corp., Vienna, Va., is being awarded a $9,608,333 time-and-materials contract to provide operational and field-support services for the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle. Work will be performed in Afghanistan; Warren, Mich.; Vienna, Va.; El Paso, Texas; and Chambersburg, Penn., and is expected to be completed in December 2014. A combination of fiscal 2014 operations and maintenance funds and fiscal 2014 procurement funds are being obligated on this award. Fifteen bids were solicited, with five bids received. The Army Contracting Command, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity (W56HZV-09-A-A909).
*Small Business
DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY
General Electric Co., Waukesha, Wis., has been awarded a maximum $72,955,840 modification (P00101) exercising the first option period on a two-year base contract (SPM2D1-12-D-8310) with one two-year option and one one-year option period for digital imaging network-picture archive communication system. This is a fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment contract. Location of performance is Wisconsin with a March 26, 2016 performance completion date. Using military services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and federal civilian agencies. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2014 through fiscal 2016 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pa.
FLIR Systems Inc., Wilsonville, Ore., has been awarded a maximum $18,191,712 firm-fixed-price contract for weapon system turret unites. This is a sole-source acquisition. Location of performance is Oregon with a May 30, 2014 performance completion date. Using military service is Navy. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2014 Navy working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Aviation, Philadelphia, Pa., (SPRPA1-14-C-U003).
DeRossi & Son Company Inc.*, Vineland, N.J., has been awarded a maximum $13,824,000 modification (P00100) exercising the fourth option period on a one-year base contract (SPM1C1-10-D-1029) with four one-year option periods for men’s poly/wool, dress blue, Army coats. This is a firm-fixed-price contract. Location of performance is New Jersey with a March 25, 2015 performance completion date. Using military service is Army. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2014 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pa.
Lockheed Martin Corp., Owego, N.Y., has been awarded a maximum $8,053,848 firm-fixed-price contract for radar data processors. This is a sole-source acquisition. Location of performance is New York with a Feb. 28, 2017 performance completion date. Using military service is Navy. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2014 Navy working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Aviation, Philadelphia, Pa., (SPRWA1-13-D-2000-THAG).
AIR FORCE
InDyne Inc., Reston, Va., has been awarded a $30,805,507 cost-plus-incentive-fee and cost-plus-fixed-fee modification (P00500) to contract (F04684-03-C-0050) to exercise option 12 for the operations and maintenance support services, training, command, control, communications, information and computer systems services, testing, modification and installation of communications, electronic, and security systems at launch facilities, launch control centers and test facilities for the 30th Space Wing, Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. Work will be performed at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., and is expected to be completed by Sept. 30, 2014. Fiscal 2014 operations and maintenance funds will be obligate upon availability of funds. The 30th Contracting Squadron/LGCZ, Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., is the contracting activity.
NAVY
Systems Application & Technologies Inc.*, Oxnard, Calif., is being awarded a $15,934,440 modification to a previously awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee contract (N68936-13-C-0083) to exercise an option for maintenance and operations of aerial and seaborne target assets in for the U.S. Navy and the governments of Japan and Australia. Work will be performed at the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division (NAWCWD), Point Mugu, Calif. (40 percent); the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Port Hueneme, Calif. (30 percent); various at sea locations (15 percent); NAWCWD China Lake, Ridgecrest, Calif. (7 percent); the White Sands Missile Range, Las Cruces, N.M. (3 percent); the Pacific Missile Range Facility, Kauai, Hawaii (2 percent); the Utah Test and Training Range, Salt Lake City, Utah (2 percent) and Vandenburg Air Force Base, Lompoc, Calif. (1 percent), and is expected to be completed in March 2015. Fiscal 2014 Major Range and Test Facility Base funds in the amount of $7,400,554 will be obligated at time of award, all of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract combines purchases for the U.S. Navy ($15,456,406, 97 percent), and the governments of Japan ($318,689, 2 percent), and Australia ($159,345, 1 percent) under the Foreign Military Sales Program. The Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division, China Lake, Calif., is the contracting activity.
Bilbro Construction Co., Inc.*, Escondido, Calif., is being awarded $11,009,552 for firm-fixed-price task order 0007 under a previously awarded multiple award construction contract (N62473-09-D-1653) for the design, engineering, and construction of a tracked vehicle maintenance cover at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms. The work to be performed provides for the design, engineering, and construction of primary and supporting facilities for the 1st Tank Battalion. The task order also contains four unexercised options and one planned modification, which if exercised would increase cumulative task order value to $13,232,180. Work will be performed in Twentynine Palms, Calif., and is expected to be completed by December 2015. Fiscal 2012 military construction, Navy contract funds in the amount of $11,009,552 are being obligated on this award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Three proposals were received for this task order. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Southwest, San Diego, Calif., is the contracting activity.
Rockwell Collins Inc., Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is being awarded an $8,292,793 modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-priced contract (N00019-09-C-0069) to exercise an option for the procurement of AN/ARC-210(V) electronic radios and ancillary equipment for a variety of aircraft. Equipment being procured includes 57 control radio sets, 57 high power amplifiers, 57 low noise amplifier diplexers and 62 receiver transmitters. Work will be performed in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and is expected to be completed in May 2015. Fiscal 2014 aircraft procurement, Navy funds in the amount of $8,292,793 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.
ARMY
Mike Hooks Inc., Westlake, La., is being awarded a $45,000,000 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-delivery contract to provide tools in support of dredging projects in Alabama, Mississippi and Florida. Performance location will be determined with each order. Funding will be obligated on each order. The contract is expected to be completed in June 2015. The Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile, Ala., is the contracting activity (W91278-14-D-0024).
CACI Inc. – Federal, Chantilly, Va., is being awarded a $27,114,681 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for logistics and engineering services performed at contingency locations. Work is expected to be completed in December 2014. A combination of fiscal 2014 operations and maintenance funds and fiscal 2014 procurement funds in the amount of $5,446,985 are being obligated on this award. One bid was solicited, with one bid received. The Army Intelligence and Security Command, Fort Belvoir, Va., is the contracting activity (W911W4-14-C-0006).
Donal L. Mooney LLC, San Antonio, Texas, is being awarded a $23,717,819 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, sole-source contract to provide licensed vocational nurses at San Antonio Military Medical Center over the period of one year. Work will be performed in San Antonio, and is expected to be completed in March 2015. Funding will be obligated with each order. The Army Medical Command, Fort Sam Houston, Texas, is the contracting activity (W81K00-14-D-0015).
MedTrust LLC, San Antonio, Texas, is being awarded a $20,746,074 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, sole-source contract to provide registered nurses of various specialties, ranging from clinical to intensive care to the burn unit. Performance location will be determined with each order. Funding will be obligated on each order. The estimated completion date of the contract is September 2014. The Army Medical Command, Fort Sam Houston, Texas, is the contracting activity (W81K00-14-D-0014).
Baum, Romstedt Technology Research Corp., Vienna, Va., is being awarded a $9,608,333 time-and-materials contract to provide operational and field-support services for the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle. Work will be performed in Afghanistan; Warren, Mich.; Vienna, Va.; El Paso, Texas; and Chambersburg, Penn., and is expected to be completed in December 2014. A combination of fiscal 2014 operations and maintenance funds and fiscal 2014 procurement funds are being obligated on this award. Fifteen bids were solicited, with five bids received. The Army Contracting Command, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity (W56HZV-09-A-A909).
*Small Business
AGRICULTURE DEPARTMENT EXPANDS LOAN OPPORTUNITIES FOR FARMERS
FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack Announces Increased Opportunity for Producers as part of New Farm Bill
Farm Loan Program Modifications Create Flexibility for New and Existing Farmers and Ranchers Alike
WASHINGTON, March 24, 2014 — Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced increased opportunity for producers as a result of the 2014 Farm Bill. A fact sheet outlining modifications to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) Farm Loan Programs is available here.
"Our nation's farmers and ranchers are the engine of the rural economy. These improvements to our Farm Loan Programs will help a new generation begin farming and grow existing farm operations," said Secretary Vilsack. "Today's announcement represents just one part of a series of investments the new Farm Bill makes in the next generation of agriculture, which is critical to economic growth in communities across the country."
The Farm Bill expands lending opportunities for thousands of farmers and ranchers to begin and continue operations, including greater flexibility in determining eligibility, raising loan limits, and emphasizing beginning and socially disadvantaged producers.
Changes that will take effect immediately include:
Elimination of loan term limits for guaranteed operating loans.
Modification of the definition of beginning farmer, using the average farm size for the county as a qualifier instead of the median farm size.
Modification of the Joint Financing Direct Farm Ownership Interest Rate to 2 percent less than regular Direct Farm Ownership rate, with a floor of 2.5 percent. Previously, the rate was established at 5 percent.
Increase of the maximum loan amount for Direct Farm Ownership down payments from $225,000 to $300,000.
Elimination of rural residency requirement for Youth Loans, allowing urban youth to benefit.
Debt forgiveness on Youth Loans, which will not prevent borrowers from obtaining additional loans from the federal government.
Increase of the guarantee amount on Conservation Loans from 75 to 80 percent and 90 percent for socially disadvantaged borrowers and beginning farmers.
Microloans will not count toward loan term limits for veterans and beginning farmers.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack Announces Increased Opportunity for Producers as part of New Farm Bill
Farm Loan Program Modifications Create Flexibility for New and Existing Farmers and Ranchers Alike
WASHINGTON, March 24, 2014 — Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced increased opportunity for producers as a result of the 2014 Farm Bill. A fact sheet outlining modifications to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) Farm Loan Programs is available here.
"Our nation's farmers and ranchers are the engine of the rural economy. These improvements to our Farm Loan Programs will help a new generation begin farming and grow existing farm operations," said Secretary Vilsack. "Today's announcement represents just one part of a series of investments the new Farm Bill makes in the next generation of agriculture, which is critical to economic growth in communities across the country."
The Farm Bill expands lending opportunities for thousands of farmers and ranchers to begin and continue operations, including greater flexibility in determining eligibility, raising loan limits, and emphasizing beginning and socially disadvantaged producers.
Changes that will take effect immediately include:
Elimination of loan term limits for guaranteed operating loans.
Modification of the definition of beginning farmer, using the average farm size for the county as a qualifier instead of the median farm size.
Modification of the Joint Financing Direct Farm Ownership Interest Rate to 2 percent less than regular Direct Farm Ownership rate, with a floor of 2.5 percent. Previously, the rate was established at 5 percent.
Increase of the maximum loan amount for Direct Farm Ownership down payments from $225,000 to $300,000.
Elimination of rural residency requirement for Youth Loans, allowing urban youth to benefit.
Debt forgiveness on Youth Loans, which will not prevent borrowers from obtaining additional loans from the federal government.
Increase of the guarantee amount on Conservation Loans from 75 to 80 percent and 90 percent for socially disadvantaged borrowers and beginning farmers.
Microloans will not count toward loan term limits for veterans and beginning farmers.
REMARKS BY SECRETARY KERRY AND PAKISTAN PRIME MINISTER SHARIF
FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Remarks With Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif After Their Meeting
Remarks
John Kerry
Secretary of State
The Hague, Netherlands
March 24, 2014
SECRETARY KERRY: (In progress) – it is to meet with Prime Minister Sharif of Pakistan. We – Pakistan and the United States – have enormous mutual interests. We are both striving to combat extremism, terrorism, deal with the challenge of global energy, as well as to provide for the prosperity of our people and deal with nuclear security. And it’s nuclear security that particularly brings us here to The Hague.
But we are working very, very closely together. I visited with the prime minister in August of last year. We began a strategic dialogue again. We have worked together with our Security, Strategic Stability, and Nonproliferation Working Group. That group is engaged in dealing with issues of nuclear security as well as other challenges. And in addition, we met recently in Washington. Dr. Aziz and I engaged in our strategic dialogue. And we look forward to welcoming Finance Minister Dar, who will be coming to Washington for our finance component of that discussion.
So we are deeply engaged, and I might add that we affirmed recently and we reaffirm that we have great confidence in Pakistan’s nuclear security. They’ve really done an enormous amount of work. I know the prime minister will probably talk about that here at the summit. But we do have important issues of cooperation with respect to the extremism, terror, counterterrorism, and Afghanistan. And we look forward to discussing those issues this morning.
PRIME MINISTER SHARIF: Thank you, John. Thank you very much.
SECRETARY KERRY: Thank you, sir.
PRIME MINISTER SHARIF: It’s always a pleasure to welcome you, and you’ve been a great friend of Pakistan. Of course, we are very happy to have met here also. And as John has been saying, that there are a lot of challenges – we are meeting these challenges in Pakistan. We have been in office for almost about nine months and we’ve had very constructive discussions with our American friends. I had a very good meeting with President Obama a few months ago in Washington, and we are now following up all that we have discussed and agreed.
SECRETARY KERRY: Good.
PRIME MINISTER SHARIF: Thank you.
SECRETARY KERRY: Thank you, Nawaz. Thank you.
Remarks With Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif After Their Meeting
Remarks
John Kerry
Secretary of State
The Hague, Netherlands
March 24, 2014
SECRETARY KERRY: (In progress) – it is to meet with Prime Minister Sharif of Pakistan. We – Pakistan and the United States – have enormous mutual interests. We are both striving to combat extremism, terrorism, deal with the challenge of global energy, as well as to provide for the prosperity of our people and deal with nuclear security. And it’s nuclear security that particularly brings us here to The Hague.
But we are working very, very closely together. I visited with the prime minister in August of last year. We began a strategic dialogue again. We have worked together with our Security, Strategic Stability, and Nonproliferation Working Group. That group is engaged in dealing with issues of nuclear security as well as other challenges. And in addition, we met recently in Washington. Dr. Aziz and I engaged in our strategic dialogue. And we look forward to welcoming Finance Minister Dar, who will be coming to Washington for our finance component of that discussion.
So we are deeply engaged, and I might add that we affirmed recently and we reaffirm that we have great confidence in Pakistan’s nuclear security. They’ve really done an enormous amount of work. I know the prime minister will probably talk about that here at the summit. But we do have important issues of cooperation with respect to the extremism, terror, counterterrorism, and Afghanistan. And we look forward to discussing those issues this morning.
PRIME MINISTER SHARIF: Thank you, John. Thank you very much.
SECRETARY KERRY: Thank you, sir.
PRIME MINISTER SHARIF: It’s always a pleasure to welcome you, and you’ve been a great friend of Pakistan. Of course, we are very happy to have met here also. And as John has been saying, that there are a lot of challenges – we are meeting these challenges in Pakistan. We have been in office for almost about nine months and we’ve had very constructive discussions with our American friends. I had a very good meeting with President Obama a few months ago in Washington, and we are now following up all that we have discussed and agreed.
SECRETARY KERRY: Good.
PRIME MINISTER SHARIF: Thank you.
SECRETARY KERRY: Thank you, Nawaz. Thank you.
U.S. & ALLIES WILL NOT ATTEND G-8 SUMMIT IN SOCHI, RUSSIA
FROM: THE WHITE HOUSE
The Hague Declaration
1. We, the leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States, the President of the European Council and the President of the European Commission met in The Hague to reaffirm our support for Ukraine’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence.
2. International law prohibits the acquisition of part or all of another state’s territory through coercion or force. To do so violates the principles upon which the international system is built. We condemn the illegal referendum held in Crimea in violation of Ukraine’s constitution. We also strongly condemn Russia’s illegal attempt to annex Crimea in contravention of international law and specific international obligations. We do not recognize either.
3. Today, we reaffirm that Russia’s actions will have significant consequences. This clear violation of international law is a serious challenge to the rule of law around the world and should be a concern for all nations. In response to Russia’s violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and to demonstrate our determination to respond to these illegal actions, individually and collectively we have imposed a variety of sanctions against Russia and those individuals and entities responsible. We remain ready to intensify actions including coordinated sectoral sanctions that will have an increasingly significant impact on the Russian economy, if Russia continues to escalate this situation.
4. We remind Russia of its international obligations, and its responsibilities including those for the world economy. Russia has a clear choice to make. Diplomatic avenues to de-escalate the situation remain open, and we encourage the Russian Government to take them. Russia must respect Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, begin discussions with the Government of Ukraine, and avail itself of offers of international mediation and monitoring to address any legitimate concerns.
5. The Russian Federation’s support for the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe’s Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine is a step in the right direction. We look forward to the mission’s early deployment, in order to facilitate the dialogue on the ground, reduce tensions and promote normalization of the situation, and we call on all parties to ensure that Special Monitoring Mission members have safe and secure access throughout Ukraine to fulfill their mandate.
6. This Group came together because of shared beliefs and shared responsibilities. Russia’s actions in recent weeks are not consistent with them. Under these circumstances, we will not participate in the planned Sochi Summit. We will suspend our participation in the G-8 until Russia changes course and the environment comes back to where the G-8 is able to have a meaningful discussion and will meet again in G-7 format at the same time as planned, in June 2014, in Brussels, to discuss the broad agenda we have together. We have also advised our Foreign Ministers not to attend the April meeting in Moscow. In addition, we have decided that G-7 Energy Ministers will meet to discuss ways to strengthen our collective energy security.
7. At the same time, we stand firm in our support for the people of Ukraine who seek to restore unity, democracy, political stability, and economic prosperity to their country. We commend the Ukrainian government’s ambitious reform agenda and will support its implementation as Ukraine seeks to start a new chapter in its history, grounded on a broad-based constitutional reform, free and fair presidential elections in May, promotion of human rights and respect of national minorities.
8. The International Monetary Fund has a central role leading the international effort to support Ukrainian reform, lessening Ukraine's economic vulnerabilities, and better integrating the country as a market economy in the multilateral system. We strongly support the IMF's work with the Ukrainian authorities and urge them to reach a rapid conclusion. IMF support will be critical in unlocking additional assistance from the World Bank, other international financial institutions, the EU, and bilateral sources. We remain united in our commitment to provide strong financial backing to Ukraine, to co-ordinate our technical assistance, and to provide assistance in other areas, including measures to enhance trade and strengthen energy security.
SECRETARY KERRY AND OPCW DIRECTOR-GENERAL UZUMCU MAKE REMARKS BEFORE MEETING
FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Remarks With OPCW Director-General Ahmet Uzumcu Before Their Meeting
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Secretary of State
The Hague, Netherlands
March 24, 2014
DIRECTOR GENERAL UZUMCU: Mr. Secretary, we are very pleased to receive you here at the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. This is the first visit by a Secretary of State from the United States to our organization. We are, of course, very grateful for the continued support by the United States to the OPCW, and the latest one is the fact that in Syria we think that the success of this operation mission in Syria will further strengthen the norm against chemical weapons throughout the world. And we’ll look forward to our exchange of views today. Thank you very much.
SECRETARY KERRY: Well, thank you very much, Director General. I’m very happy to be here at the OPCW. Obviously, Foreign Minister Lavrov and I relied very heavily on the capacity of the OPCW as we negotiated a removal of the weapons from Syria, and we’re very grateful for OPCW’s expertise, for their commitment, for their courage, their willingness to help get the job done.
We are just about at the 50 percent removal mark. That’s significant, but the real significance will only be when we get all of the weapons out. Regrettably, the Syrians missed a March 15th date for destruction of facilities. We have some real challenges ahead of us now in these next weeks. We in the United States are convinced that if Syria wanted to, they could move faster. And we believe it is imperative to achieve this goal and to move as rapidly as possible because of the challenges on the ground.
So I really look forward to exchanging views. We have great admiration for the work done here quietly over a long period of time in a steady basis. And I think everybody who works here should be very, very proud of the fact that a weapon of mass destruction will be taken out of a country for the first time in its entirety in this kind of an arrangement, and we all look forward to achieving that important goal.
Thank you.
QUESTION: Secretary Kerry, do you see the Crimea situation having an impact on the cooperation with Russia when it comes to the Syria chemical weapons?
SECRETARY KERRY: I hope not. All I can say is I hope the same motivations that drove Russia to be a partner in this effort will still exist. This is bigger than either of our countries. This is a global challenge, and I hope Russia will stay hard to the task. Thank you.
SECRETARY KERRY: Well, thank you very much, Director General. I’m very happy to be here at the OPCW. Obviously, Foreign Minister Lavrov and I relied very heavily on the capacity of the OPCW as we negotiated a removal of the weapons from Syria, and we’re very grateful for OPCW’s expertise, for their commitment, for their courage, their willingness to help get the job done.
We are just about at the 50 percent removal mark. That’s significant, but the real significance will only be when we get all of the weapons out. Regrettably, the Syrians missed a March 15th date for destruction of facilities. We have some real challenges ahead of us now in these next weeks. We in the United States are convinced that if Syria wanted to, they could move faster. And we believe it is imperative to achieve this goal and to move as rapidly as possible because of the challenges on the ground.
So I really look forward to exchanging views. We have great admiration for the work done here quietly over a long period of time in a steady basis. And I think everybody who works here should be very, very proud of the fact that a weapon of mass destruction will be taken out of a country for the first time in its entirety in this kind of an arrangement, and we all look forward to achieving that important goal.
Thank you.
QUESTION: Secretary Kerry, do you see the Crimea situation having an impact on the cooperation with Russia when it comes to the Syria chemical weapons?
SECRETARY KERRY: I hope not. All I can say is I hope the same motivations that drove Russia to be a partner in this effort will still exist. This is bigger than either of our countries. This is a global challenge, and I hope Russia will stay hard to the task. Thank you.
BELGIUM-U.S. JOINT STATEMENT ON 2014 NUCLEAR SECURITY SUMMIT
FROM: THE WHITE HOUSE
Joint Statement by President Obama and Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo of Belgium on the 2014 Nuclear Security Summit
Belgium and the United States of America are pleased to announce that they have jointly completed the removal of a significant amount of excess highly enriched uranium (HEU) and separated plutonium from Belgium.
At the 2012 Nuclear Security Summit, Belgium and the United States pledged to work together to remove this material prior to the 2014 Nuclear Security Summit. This removal entailed extremely complex operations that required the joint team to develop a new glovebox facility for plutonium packaging, to train and certify personnel in specialized packaging operations, to validate certificates for a U.S.-designed nuclear material package in Belgium, and to address materials in unique and unusual forms. Despite the significant technical challenges, the team successfully completed the operation on schedule.
The material was safely packaged in transport containers certified by regulators in both the United States and Belgium. The United States, Belgium, the United Kingdom, and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) worked seamlessly together and in accordance with all relevant regulations and internationally-recognized recommendations to securely transport this material to its final destination.
Belgium and the United States plan to continue their cooperation to eliminate additional stocks of excess special nuclear material, consistent with their commitment to prevent nuclear terrorism. They also pledge to work with others in the international community to assist them with the elimination of such materials.
Joint statement by the United States and the Netherlands on Climate Change and Financing the Transition to Low-Carbon Investments Abroad
The Netherlands and the United States share a common interest in urgent action to address global climate change. We affirm the importance of reaching a global climate change agreement in 2015 that can attract broad and ambitious participation. The agreement should reflect the continuous evolution of capabilities of countries in tackling this global challenge. It should also take account of the important role played by the private sector, sub-national actors, and civil society in finding solutions to addressing carbon pollution while improving the resilience of nations to the impacts of climate change. Our two countries pledge to continue our cooperation towards adopting such an agreement at the United Nations climate conference in Paris in 2015.
We reaffirm our support of internationally agreed commitments to scale up the mobilization of climate finance and recognize that different forms of financing are needed to support countries making the transition to a low-emission, climate resilient economy. We strive to deploy public resources to catalyze private climate finance in and to developing countries.
We emphasize that our work to scale up climate friendly investments in developing countries is most effective when combined with reducing public incentives for high-carbon infrastructure. To this end, the Netherlands is joining the United States, the United Kingdom, and others in agreeing to end support for public financing of new coal-fired power plants abroad except in rare circumstances. This includes our bilateral development finance institutions and projects financed through the multilateral development banks, where it should be noted that the Netherlands is a member of mixed constituencies. Complementing action already taken by the United States, our two countries are working together to promote a technology-neutral standard in the OECD Export Credit Group that limits support for high carbon intensity power plants by export credit agencies.
Joint Statement by President Obama and Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo of Belgium on the 2014 Nuclear Security Summit
Belgium and the United States of America are pleased to announce that they have jointly completed the removal of a significant amount of excess highly enriched uranium (HEU) and separated plutonium from Belgium.
At the 2012 Nuclear Security Summit, Belgium and the United States pledged to work together to remove this material prior to the 2014 Nuclear Security Summit. This removal entailed extremely complex operations that required the joint team to develop a new glovebox facility for plutonium packaging, to train and certify personnel in specialized packaging operations, to validate certificates for a U.S.-designed nuclear material package in Belgium, and to address materials in unique and unusual forms. Despite the significant technical challenges, the team successfully completed the operation on schedule.
The material was safely packaged in transport containers certified by regulators in both the United States and Belgium. The United States, Belgium, the United Kingdom, and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) worked seamlessly together and in accordance with all relevant regulations and internationally-recognized recommendations to securely transport this material to its final destination.
Belgium and the United States plan to continue their cooperation to eliminate additional stocks of excess special nuclear material, consistent with their commitment to prevent nuclear terrorism. They also pledge to work with others in the international community to assist them with the elimination of such materials.
Joint statement by the United States and the Netherlands on Climate Change and Financing the Transition to Low-Carbon Investments Abroad
The Netherlands and the United States share a common interest in urgent action to address global climate change. We affirm the importance of reaching a global climate change agreement in 2015 that can attract broad and ambitious participation. The agreement should reflect the continuous evolution of capabilities of countries in tackling this global challenge. It should also take account of the important role played by the private sector, sub-national actors, and civil society in finding solutions to addressing carbon pollution while improving the resilience of nations to the impacts of climate change. Our two countries pledge to continue our cooperation towards adopting such an agreement at the United Nations climate conference in Paris in 2015.
We reaffirm our support of internationally agreed commitments to scale up the mobilization of climate finance and recognize that different forms of financing are needed to support countries making the transition to a low-emission, climate resilient economy. We strive to deploy public resources to catalyze private climate finance in and to developing countries.
We emphasize that our work to scale up climate friendly investments in developing countries is most effective when combined with reducing public incentives for high-carbon infrastructure. To this end, the Netherlands is joining the United States, the United Kingdom, and others in agreeing to end support for public financing of new coal-fired power plants abroad except in rare circumstances. This includes our bilateral development finance institutions and projects financed through the multilateral development banks, where it should be noted that the Netherlands is a member of mixed constituencies. Complementing action already taken by the United States, our two countries are working together to promote a technology-neutral standard in the OECD Export Credit Group that limits support for high carbon intensity power plants by export credit agencies.
JAPAN-U.S. JOINT STATEMENT REGARDING GLOBAL MINIMIZATION OF NUCLEAR MATERIAL
FROM: THE WHITE HOUSE
Joint Statement by the Leaders of Japan and the United States on Contributions to Global Minimization of Nuclear Material
Recalling the history of Japan-U.S. bilateral collaboration on advanced nuclear activities as well as the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) conclusion that all nuclear materials in Japan stay in peaceful activities;
Recalling Japan-U.S. cooperation including through the Global Threat Reduction Initiative (GTRI) which strengthened nuclear security worldwide by reducing sensitive nuclear material in Japan and other countries and securely transporting the material to the United States; and,
Recalling President Obama’s remarks at Hradcany Square, Prague, Czech Republic on April 5, 2009;
Japan and the United States reaffirm our determination to strengthen nuclear security and to further cooperate, through activities such as our bilateral Nuclear Security Working Group and the GTRI, toward our mutual goal of preventing nuclear terrorism.
Today in The Hague, the Netherlands, on the occasion of the third Nuclear Security Summit, Prime Minister Abe and President Obama pledged to remove and dispose all highly-enriched uranium (HEU) and separated plutonium from the Fast Critical Assembly (FCA) at the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) in Japan. This effort involves the elimination of hundreds of kilograms of nuclear material, furthering our mutual goal of minimizing stocks of HEU and separated plutonium worldwide, which will help prevent unauthorized actors, criminals, or terrorists from acquiring such materials. This material, once securely transported to the United States, will be sent to a secure facility and fully converted into less sensitive forms. The plutonium will be prepared for final disposition. The HEU will be downblended to low enriched uranium (LEU) and utilized for civilian purposes.
By committing to remove and dispose all HEU and separated plutonium from the FCA, Japan and the United States reaffirm our belief that the most cutting edge sciences do not necessarily require the use of the most proliferation sensitive materials. In this context, our two countries plan to work together to design new enhancements to the FCA, expanding the facility’s scope to include important research on the transmutation and disposition of nuclear waste. Additionally, to ensure that Japan can safely and securely further its important work on nuclear research and medical isotope production, the United States will continue to accept research reactor spent fuel from several Japanese facilities that utilize LEU.
This pledge complements the significant role that both Japan and the United States are playing in finding new ways to continue improving global nuclear security. Many of the remaining gains that the international community can make in this area will require difficult decisions, and Japan has demonstrated its leadership by resolving to remove all special nuclear material from the FCA, consistent with all Summit Communiqués’ spirit to minimize stocks of nuclear material. Our two countries encourage others to consider what they can do to further HEU and plutonium minimization.
Joint Statement by the Leaders of Japan and the United States on Contributions to Global Minimization of Nuclear Material
Recalling the history of Japan-U.S. bilateral collaboration on advanced nuclear activities as well as the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) conclusion that all nuclear materials in Japan stay in peaceful activities;
Recalling Japan-U.S. cooperation including through the Global Threat Reduction Initiative (GTRI) which strengthened nuclear security worldwide by reducing sensitive nuclear material in Japan and other countries and securely transporting the material to the United States; and,
Recalling President Obama’s remarks at Hradcany Square, Prague, Czech Republic on April 5, 2009;
Japan and the United States reaffirm our determination to strengthen nuclear security and to further cooperate, through activities such as our bilateral Nuclear Security Working Group and the GTRI, toward our mutual goal of preventing nuclear terrorism.
Today in The Hague, the Netherlands, on the occasion of the third Nuclear Security Summit, Prime Minister Abe and President Obama pledged to remove and dispose all highly-enriched uranium (HEU) and separated plutonium from the Fast Critical Assembly (FCA) at the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) in Japan. This effort involves the elimination of hundreds of kilograms of nuclear material, furthering our mutual goal of minimizing stocks of HEU and separated plutonium worldwide, which will help prevent unauthorized actors, criminals, or terrorists from acquiring such materials. This material, once securely transported to the United States, will be sent to a secure facility and fully converted into less sensitive forms. The plutonium will be prepared for final disposition. The HEU will be downblended to low enriched uranium (LEU) and utilized for civilian purposes.
By committing to remove and dispose all HEU and separated plutonium from the FCA, Japan and the United States reaffirm our belief that the most cutting edge sciences do not necessarily require the use of the most proliferation sensitive materials. In this context, our two countries plan to work together to design new enhancements to the FCA, expanding the facility’s scope to include important research on the transmutation and disposition of nuclear waste. Additionally, to ensure that Japan can safely and securely further its important work on nuclear research and medical isotope production, the United States will continue to accept research reactor spent fuel from several Japanese facilities that utilize LEU.
This pledge complements the significant role that both Japan and the United States are playing in finding new ways to continue improving global nuclear security. Many of the remaining gains that the international community can make in this area will require difficult decisions, and Japan has demonstrated its leadership by resolving to remove all special nuclear material from the FCA, consistent with all Summit Communiqués’ spirit to minimize stocks of nuclear material. Our two countries encourage others to consider what they can do to further HEU and plutonium minimization.
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