SUNTRUST MAKES NEARLY $1 BILLION AGREEMENT TO SETTLE ALLEGED MORTGAGE AND FORECLOSURE ABUSES

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT 

Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Federal Government and State Attorneys General Reach Nearly $1 Billion Agreement with SunTrust to Address Mortgage Loan Origination as Well as Servicing and Foreclosure Abuses

Agreement Provides Homeowner Relief and New Protections, Stops Abuses
The Justice Department, Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), along with 49 state attorneys general and the District of Columbia’s attorney general have reached a $968 million agreement with SunTrust Mortgage Inc. (SunTrust) to address mortgage origination, servicing, and foreclosure abuses.

The joint agreement is the result of extensive investigations by federal agencies, including the Department of Justice, HUD and the HUD Office of the Inspector General (HUD-OIG), CFPB and state attorneys general across the country, and includes recoveries for both improper mortgage origination and servicing practices.

“SunTrust’s conduct is a prime example of the widespread underwriting failures that helped bring about the financial crisis,” Attorney General Eric Holder said. “From mortgage origination to servicing to securitization, the Department of Justice is attacking every facet of conduct that led to the Great Recession. We will continue to hold accountable financial institutions that, in the pursuit of their own financial interests, misuse public funds and cause harm to hardworking Americans. We expect that there will be more cases like this to come.”

“This agreement, which totals nearly $1 billion, not only holds SunTrust accountable for years of abusive practices mortgage origination practices; it also provides for restoration,” said Associate Attorney General Tony West. “By the terms of this resolution, SunTrust is required to provide $500 million in consumer relief for homeowners as well as abide by terms that will help to prevent the abuses of the past from being repeated. It's a result attained thanks to the close coordination among our enforcement agency partners throughout the government."

As part of the settlement, SunTrust has agreed to pay $418 million to resolve its potential liability under the federal False Claims Act for originating and underwriting loans that violated its obligations as a participant in the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) insurance program.  As a participant in that program, SunTrust had the authority to originate, underwrite and certify mortgages for FHA insurance.

SunTrust admitted that between January 2006 and March 2012, it originated and underwrote FHA-insured mortgages that did not meet FHA requirements, that it failed to carry out an effective quality control program to identify non-compliant loans, and that it failed to self-report to HUD even the defective loans it did identify.  SunTrust also admitted that numerous audits and other documents disseminated to its management between 2009 and 2012 described significant flaws and inadequacies in SunTrust’s origination, underwriting, and quality control processes, and notified SunTrust management that as many as 50 percent or more of SunTrust’s FHA-insured mortgages did not comply with FHA requirements.  For example, a 2012 internal SunTrust document noted two “significant” issues that had been plaguing the company for years – a “Broken Loan Origination Process” coupled with a “Deficient Government Insuring Process.”  Other reports received by SunTrust management described its quality control program as “severely flawed” and “ineffective.”  These reports described to management that the volume of problems in the program was “excessive,” and that the error rates were “elevated” and at an “unacceptable level.”
“SunTrust’s irresponsible FHA lending practices caused grievous harm to homeowners and the housing market, as well as wasting hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer funds,” said Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Civil Division Stuart F. Delery.  “As this settlement demonstrates, we will continue to hold accountable financial institutions that misuse public funds and ruin the lives of hardworking Americans in the pursuit of their own financial interests.”
The servicing portion of the agreement parallels the $25 billion National Mortgage Settlement (NMS) reached in February 2012 between the federal government, 49 state attorneys general and the District of Columbia’s attorney general and the five largest national mortgage servicers.  Under the agreement announced today, SunTrust has agreed to provide $500 million in additional relief in the next three years directly to borrowers and homeowners in the form of reducing the principal on mortgages for borrowers who are at risk of default, reducing mortgage interest rates for homeowners who are current but underwater on their mortgages, and other relief.  The settlement will likely provide direct benefits to borrowers far in excess of $500 million because SunTrust will not be permitted to claim credit for every dollar spent on the required consumer relief.  SunTrust has also agreed to pay $50 million in cash to redress its servicing practices, $40 million of which will be distributed to borrowers and homeowners through the Borrower Payment Fund established by the NMS and administered by the states.
“This agreement with SunTrust is another step forward in the Obama Administration’s ongoing effort to hold mortgage lenders accountable,” said HUD Acting Deputy Secretary Helen Kanovsky. “By using the framework of the National Mortgage Settlement, we will ensure that SunTrust provides mortgage relief to struggling homeowners in the hardest hit communities and changes their worst practices.  HUD will continue working with the Department of Justice, CFPB and state attorneys general to hold lenders accountable and require them to institute practices that are beneficial to borrowers and the FHA fund.”
“The culmination of this case today represents the long hours dedicated by auditors, investigators, counsel and the data analytics team in the Office of Inspector General to address the significant problems we identified in SunTrust’s underwriting,” said HUD Inspector General David A. Montoya.  “The case begins and ends with the crucial work produced by this office and the commitment by my staff to work with the Department of Justice, HUD and others in a concerted effort to combat misrepresentation and fraud against vital government programs.  My office will continue to aggressively seek out instances in which the FHA, and by extension the American taxpayer, are harmed by misconduct that should not be tolerated.”

“Deceptive and illegal mortgage servicing practices have pushed families into foreclosure and devastated communities across the nation,” said CFPB Director Richard Cordray.  “Today’s action will help homeowners and consumers harmed by SunTrust’s unlawful foreclosure practices.  The Consumer Bureau will continue to investigate mortgage servicers that mistreat consumers, and we will not hesitate to take action against any company that violates our new servicing rules.”

“Homeownership is the bedrock of the American dream, and we continue to address the many mortgage servicing nightmares that homeowners across the country experienced for years,” said Iowa state Attorney General Tom Miller.  “State attorneys general are working across party lines with our federal partners to address past practices, and we’re trying to ensure that borrowers are treated more fairly in the future.”

The joint federal-state agreement also requires SunTrust to implement significant changes in how they service mortgage loans, handle foreclosures, and ensure the accuracy of information provided in federal bankruptcy court.  The agreement requires new servicing standards which will prevent foreclosure abuses of the past, such as robo-signing, improper documentation and lost paperwork, and create dozens of new consumer protections.  The new standards provide for strict oversight of foreclosure processing, including third-party vendors, and new requirements to undertake pre-filing reviews of certain documents filed in bankruptcy court.

The new servicing standards ensure that foreclosure is a last resort by requiring SunTrust to evaluate homeowners for other loss mitigation options first.  In addition, SunTrust is restricted from foreclosing while the homeowner is being considered for a loan modification.  The new standards also include procedures and timelines for reviewing loan modification applications and give homeowners the right to appeal denials.  SunTrust will also be required to simplify the process for homeowners needing help by creating a single point of contact for borrowers seeking information about their loans and—importantly—maintaining adequate staff to handle calls.

The agreement will be filed as a consent judgment in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.  Compliance with the agreement will be overseen by an independent monitor, Joseph A. Smith Jr., who is also the monitor for the NMS.  Smith has served as the North Carolina Commissioner of Banks since 2002, and is also the former Chairman of the Conference of State Banks Supervisors (CSBS).  The monitor will oversee implementation of the servicing standards required by the agreement; impose penalties of up to $1 million per violation (or up to $5 million for certain repeat violations); and publish regular public reports that identify any quarter in which a servicer fell short of the standards imposed in the settlement.

The agreement resolves potential violations of civil law based on SunTrust’s deficient mortgage loan origination and servicing activities.  The agreement does not prevent state and federal authorities from pursuing criminal enforcement actions related to this or other conduct by SunTrust, or from punishing wrongful securitization conduct that is the focus of the Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities Working Group of President Barack Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force.  The agreement does not prevent the CFPB from pursing civil enforcement actions against SunTrust for violations of the CFPB’s new mortgage servicing rules that took effect on Jan. 10, 2014.   State attorneys general also preserved, among other things, all claims against the Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems (MERS), and all claims brought by borrowers.  Additionally, the agreement does not prevent any action by individual borrowers who wish to bring their own lawsuits.

SunTrust is a mortgage lender and servicer headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of SunTrust Banks Inc., a bank and financial services company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.

The settlement announced today was the result of investigations conducted by the Civil Division and the U.S. Trustee Program of the Department of Justice, state attorney general offices throughout the country, HUD-OIG and HUD’s FHA, and the CFPB.  The Department of the Treasury, the Federal Trade Commission, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Department of Veterans Affairs and the U.S. Department of Agriculture also made critical contributions.

The joint federal-state agreement is part of enforcement efforts by President Barack Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force.  President Obama established the interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes.  The task force includes representatives from a broad range of federal agencies, regulatory authorities, inspectors general and state and local law enforcement who, working together, bring to bear a powerful array of criminal and civil enforcement resources.  The task force is working to improve efforts across the federal executive branch, and with state and local partners, to investigate and prosecute significant financial crimes, ensure just and effective punishment for those who perpetrate financial crimes, combat discrimination in the lending and financial markets and recover proceeds for victims of financial crimes.

MARINES PATROL IN AFGHANISTAN

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 

U.S. Marine Corps CH-53E Super Stallion helicopters take off after transporting U.S. Marines during a mission in Helmand province, Afghanistan, June 6, 2014. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Joseph Scanlan.

U.S. Marines conduct a security patrol during a mission in Helmand province, Afghanistan, June 6, 2014. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Joseph Scanlan.

FTC TESTIFIES BEFORE SENATE ON DECEPTIVE CLAIMS IN THE WEIGHT-LOSS INDUSTRY

FROM:  U.S. FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION 

FTC Testifies Before Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Agency Efforts to Combat Fraudulent and Deceptive Claims for Weight-Loss Products

The Federal Trade Commission testified before Congress about its ongoing efforts to combat fraudulent and deceptive claims for weight-loss products through law enforcement, media outreach, and consumer education.

Testifying on behalf of the FTC before the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Insurance, Mary Engle, Associate Director for Advertising Practices at the Federal Trade Commission, said that amid an ongoing obesity epidemic – in which nearly 70 percent of U.S. adults are obese or overweight – the FTC’s most recent fraud study shows that more consumers were victims of fraudulent weight-loss claims than of any other specific fraud type covered by the survey.

The testimony also noted that despite consumer spending of $2.4 billion on weight-loss products and services last year, there is very little evidence that pills or supplements alone will cause sustained, meaningful weight loss – without changes to diet and lifestyle. According to the testimony, consumers are especially susceptible to weight-loss fraud, there is an enormous amount of money to be made in the diet industry, and fraudsters will continue to gravitate toward the money.

“The endless flood of unfounded claims being made in the weight-loss industry vividly illustrates the challenges we, and consumers, are up against,” the testimony stated.

The FTC’s program to combat fraud in the weight-loss industry includes:

Law enforcement: In the past 10 years, the FTC has brought 82 weight-loss-related law enforcement actions, and since 2010, it has collected nearly $107 million for consumer restitution. Early this year, the agency announced Operation Failed Resolution, targeting new weight-loss fads that include food additives, human hormones, skin creams and acai berries.

The Commission has also noted several disturbing developments in weight-loss advertising:

reliance on proprietary studies using erroneous or fabricated data.
marketers capitalizing on weight-loss fads propelled to popularity by trusted spokespeople such as one recent FTC case involving marketers of the Pure Green Coffee dietary supplement. Within weeks of an April 2012 Dr. Oz Show touting green coffee bean extract, these marketers were making overblown claims about the supplement online, such as, “lose 20 pounds in four weeks” and “lose 20 pounds and two to four inches of belly fat in two to three months.”
Media Outreach: To combat the promotion of fraudulent weight-loss products in respected media outlets, the FTC recently issued a “Gut Check” reference guide that advises media outlets on seven claims in weight-loss ads that experts say simply cannot be true and that should cause media outlets to think twice about running the ads.

Consumer Education: Recent FTC brochures, articles, and blog posts geared toward consumers hammer home the message that the only thing they will lose is money if they fall for ads promising quick weight loss without diet or exercise. The FTC also has created teaser websites designed to reach people who are surfing online for weight-loss products.

Today, the agency is also launching a new consumer video and game – the FTC Weight Loss Challenge. The Challenge is an interactive game designed to help consumers think critically about weight-loss products and claims. Available in English and Spanish, the game separates fact from fiction in ads for products touting fast weight loss without the need for diet and exercise.

The Commission vote approving the testimony and its inclusion in the formal record was 5-0.

SECRETARY KERRY'S REMARKS AT OUR OCEAN CONFERENCE RECEPTION

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT 

Reception Remarks at Our Ocean Conference

Remarks

John Kerry

Secretary of State

Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History

Sant Ocean Hall

Washington, DC

June 16, 2014

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Thank you very much. I remind all of you that Winston Churchill said the only reason people give a standing ovation is they desperately need an excuse to shift their underwear. (Laughter.) He really – he said that, I promise you. But I know you had a much more noble cause in mind. (Laughter.)

Anyway, I was really baffled standing up here for a moment. I’m staring at this elephant. I kept looking around for the donkey. I can’t find the donkey in here. (Laughter.) Let’s rectify that, don’t you think? (Applause.) I’m an equal stuffed animal opportunity guy. (Laughter.)
I walked into the hold room back here where I had a chance to say hi to Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen and His Serene Highness and others, and at least they had the goodness to put us in a room where the sign above it said “mammals,” so I felt right at home.

Wayne, thank you very much for not just your kind introduction, but thank you for making this extraordinary national asset of ours, this museum, available to this group, which has come together to fight for the preservation, if not survival, of our oceans. And we are deeply, deeply grateful – very grateful to you, to Kirk Johnson, the director of the Natural History Museum, for hosting us here tonight in this remarkable place.

I also – thank you. (Applause.) I also want to say a special thank you in absentia to Roger and Vicki Sant. So many of you know Roger and Vicki. They have been truly our patrons of all of our initiatives with respect to the ocean. And they couldn’t be here tonight, but their daughter Shari is here, and I wish everybody would say thank you for what they have done to contribute so much to this museum’s ability to be able to give millions of visitors a year a better understanding of our relationship with the ocean. Shari, please take back to your parents our gratitude. I don’t know where she is, somewhere here. (Applause.) Thank you.

We’re in for a great treat tonight. I’m not going to give a speech about the oceans, et cetera, but we are going to do a few special things. And one of them is master chef Barton Seaver has developed a terrific menu of entirely sustainable seafood for all of us to devour. And I understand that he first became interested in sustainable seafood years ago when he spent time in a small village on the coast of Morocco. And he learned about generations-old fishing methods that the locals were using, and he saw firsthand how they linked the local economy of that entire region to the ocean. This is what made him realize that sustainability is not only an ecological imperative, but it’s a humanitarian one. And he will tell you a little bit more about that and the food that we will be eating tonight in a few moments.

We’re also going to hear from Ted Danson. Ted reminded me a few minutes ago we met 25 years ago, I think he said. I thought it was slightly less. (Laughter.) But that’s okay. I’ll accept it. And we were talking about the oceans way back then. It was when he was beginning his efforts on the oceans, and he’s a long-termer, long-timer at this effort.

We also got to know each other because Cheers was not too many blocks away from where I hung out in Boston. And on one occasion, I was walking by at night heading home. And the producers, they were shooting this scene outside, and I think Norm and someone were out there. I can’t remember who else – Cliff. I think Norm and Cliff were in the thing or something. But anyway, they stopped me on the way and they said, Senator, we got to put you in this thing. So we literally ad-libbed this thing on the spur of the moment. And they were hanging out outside and they had me walk up and they said, hey, can we get your autograph? And I started to sign the autograph very proud and peacocked because I was being asked for an autograph. And then they start talking to each other and say, God, we really liked that weather report you did the other day on the news. It was so terrific. (Laughter.) And then I said, who do you think I am? And they said, you’re so-and-so, the local weatherman. And I said, no, I’m Senator Kerry. And they both shrug and walk away. (Laughter.) So it was a great lesson in humility, and the residuals have gone to a charity for years. But thank you, Ted, for helping me to support the charity. I’m very appreciative. (Applause.)

Ted has had, as everybody here knows, an extraordinary career. And he started out with his work to create the Oceans Campaign in 1987, and has provided consistent leadership. He provides leadership in Oceana to this day, and his deep interest in what has brought all of us together has made an impact, and we’re grateful to him.

Right now, though, it’s my privilege – let me just say one quick word. I really want to thank again – I said it earlier, but I think Cathy Novelli and our team have done an absolutely superb job of putting this together. (Applause.) And tomorrow we will not only have more vibrant discussion and I think the kind of interactivity and visual presentations that have been made have really sort of excited people and given us a reminder of what this is all about, and I wish every person in the nation could stop cold and see and hear all of it. But our job is to continue to do that over the course of these next months and years. But tomorrow it’s important we really come together to do the action agenda. If we don’t leave here with a sense of a plan and direction, shame on us, and I think we can do that.

I want to welcome someone who has been a friend and partner in the State Department’s effort to champion ocean conservation at the international level, and that is the Foreign Minister of New Zealand Murray McCully. (Applause.) Murray and I have done a duet here in Washington before. We’ve had a chance to see each other along the way here and there, but I called him because I knew that as the steward of an island nation in the Pacific, he really has as good an understanding about this as anybody around. And like other island nations, New Zealand is obviously on the frontlines of climate change and the other challenges that are facing the marine world.

Murray has spent a career pushing for safeguards to preserve the ocean and to preserve the many species that are really unique to New Zealand’s waters. And he and I have worked closely on the environmental priorities that we share, including our efforts to move forward a proposal that would establish the world’s largest marine protected area in Antarctica’s Ross Sea. And we will continue to do that. (Applause.) I am really delighted that he made the long trek here to Washington so he could be with us tonight. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome with me my colleague, my counterpart, the Foreign Minister of New Zealand Murray McCully. (Applause.)

CYBERSPACE AND FUTURE WAR 2025

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 

Cybercom Chief: Cyberspace Operations Key to Future Warfare

By Cheryl Pellerin

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, June 16, 2014 – In the cyber domain of 2025, the ability of military formations to operate offensively and defensively will be a core mission set, and commanders will maneuver the capability much as they maneuver ground forces today, the commander of U.S. Cyber Command said recently.

Cybercom Commander Navy Adm. Michael S. Rogers, who also is director of the National Security Agency, was the keynote speaker at a June 12 meeting here at a cyber seminar hosted by the Association of the U.S. Army’s Institute of Land Warfare.

The theme was Army Networks and Cybersecurity in 2025.

“In the world of 2025, I believe the ability of Army formations to operate within the cyber domain, offensively and defensively, will be a core mission set for the U.S. Army and its operational forces,” Rogers told the audience. The Cybercom commander said that by 2025 the military services will have ingrained into their culture the reality that networks and cyber are a commander's business.
The admiral, who most recently served as commander of the U.S. Fleet Cyber Command and the U.S. 10th Fleet, said this has been a major cultural challenge in the Navy.

“In the year 2025, I believe … Army commanders will maneuver offensive and defensive capability much today as they maneuver ground forces,” Rogers said, adding that command and control, key terrain, commander's intent, synchronization with the broader commander's intent, and a broader commander's operational concept of operations will be cornerstones of Army cyber operations by then.
“In 2025,” he said, “the ability to integrate cyber into a broader operational concept is going to be key. Treating cyber as something so specialized, … so unique -- something that resides outside the broader operational framework -- I think that is a very flawed concept.”

Between now and 2025, Rogers said, a primary challenge will be integrating cyber and its defensive and offensive capabilities into a broader operational construct that enables commanders to apply another broader set of tools in achieving their operational missions.

When he thinks about how Cybercom and the services will get to 2025, Rogers said, he tries to keep three points in mind.

The first, he said, is that cyber is operations. Commanders must own the cyber mission set, the admiral said, integrating it into the operational vision and becoming knowledgeable about the broad capabilities of a unit, formation or organization and its potential vulnerabilities.

“I think it's going to be foundational to the warfighting construct of the future,” Rogers said, adding that the challenge is as much cultural as technical.
“To make this work, in the end, it's about our ability to synchronize the capabilities of a team,” he added, “from our junior-most individuals to our senior-most individuals, from capabilities resident within [the services] and as a department, to the [external] partnerships we're going to have to form.”
The second point Rogers said he keeps in mind is that requirements of the future include a joint network backbone for all of the Defense Department.
“I never understood why Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and, arguably, our Coast Guard teammates … were spending a lot of time and money [to independently] create, maintain, build and operate a global communications backbone,” Rogers said. Instead, he added, “make the services responsible for the last tactical mile of [a DOD-wide backbone that spans the globe], down to mobile and tactical users, whether they're in a garrison scenario or whether they're out maneuvering in the field, on an aircraft, on a ship or in a squadron.”

The third point, Rogers said, is that people and partnerships are key.
“Don’t ever forget that, in the end, [operationalizing cyberspace by 2025] is all about people and partnerships,” the admiral said. “It's about our ability to create a workforce that understands the vision, has the tools and capabilities they need to execute this vision, and is integrated into the broader effort.”

The partnership piece is a key area, he added, “because we, the Department of Defense, are not the cutting edge when it comes to networks, [communications] or information technology.”

“We are a user of technology that is largely generated by individuals and organizations that reside outside the DOD. … I don't see that trend changing between now and 2025,” he added.

As Cybercom commander and operational commander for the cyberspace mission set, the admiral said, focusing on five Cyber Command priorities will help military commanders build the joint force for 2025.

The priorities are:
-- Building a trained and ready operational cyber force;
-- Building a joint defensible network whose architecture has core design characteristics of defensibility, redundancy and resilience;
-- Creating shared situational awareness in cyberspace;
-- Creating command and control and operational concepts for use in cyberspace; and
-- Being mindful of policy and administrative changes needed to operate in cyberspace.

Addressing the department’s ability to compete on the open market for exceptional cyber talent, Rogers said, cyber is no different from any other DOD mission in terms of going after talented individuals.

“If the view is that pay is the primary criteria to get people with cyber expertise to join the department, I don't think that's going to work for us,” he added. “We’ll compete because of what makes us different. We will appeal to men and women who have an ethos of service [and] who believe in the idea of being part of something bigger than themselves.”

“We're going to compete for the same people because, quite frankly, we're going to give them the opportunity to apply their knowledge in a way that you can't legally do on the outside,” he added, prompting chuckles from the audience.
“I think we're going to do well,” the admiral said. “[Over the past 10 years], we have exceeded my wildest expectations in terms of our abilities to recruit and retain a high-end cyber workforce, because we’ve been able to focus on why they want to be with us as opposed to why they don't want to be with us.”

CELL-BASED INFLUENZA VACCINE FACILITY TO BE BUILT IN NORTH CAROLINA

FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES 
June 17, 2014

A milestone in protection from influenza
A statement from Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) Director and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) Robin Robinson, Ph.D.

This week, our nation reached a milestone in battling influenza, with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s first approval to manufacture seasonal influenza vaccine using cell-based technology in a U.S. facility. That facility, owned by Novartis of Basel, Switzerland, and located in Holly Springs, N.C., now can manufacture cell-based vaccine against seasonal as well as pandemic influenza viruses. This new capability demonstrates the effectiveness of a multi-use approach to emergency preparedness.

Since its establishment in 2006, the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR), has sponsored the development of new technologies for use in emergencies, including the cell-based technology at Holly Springs. These new technologies are flexible enough to produce vaccines and other medical products for a variety of public health emergencies.

In pursuing new technology, BARDA leverages public-private partnerships. We also support development of medical countermeasures – drugs, vaccines, diagnostics and devices – that can be used to diagnose or treat illness or injury in public health emergencies like pandemics or following acts of bioterrorism, as well as day-to-day medical conditions. This multi-use approach strengthens everyday systems and increases our resilience in emergencies.

The Holly Springs facility was built through a partnership established in 2009 between BARDA and Novartis to increase the domestic production capacity of pandemic influenza vaccine and quickly provide additional influenza vaccines to combat public health threats.

In 2012, BARDA broadened this partnership with Novartis and expanded the Holly Springs facility’s role in emergency preparedness as one of three national Centers for Innovation in Advanced Development and Manufacturing. These centers provide support for the development and manufacturing of medical countermeasures and can transition efficiently to manufacture pandemic influenza vaccines or other medical products for public health emergencies. The centers also aid in bringing new medical countermeasures to the market and help train the biopharmaceutical workforce needed in the future.

As a center, the Holly Springs facility can produce up to 200 million doses of pandemic influenza vaccine within six months of the declaration of a pandemic.

In 2012, the Holly Springs facility opened to produce cell-based influenza vaccine that could be authorized by the FDA for use during the emergency. That same year cell-based influenza vaccine called Flucelvax, made by Novartis in Germany, became the first approved by FDA for use in the United States. Now, with the approval of manufacturing the Holly Springs facility, the capacity for seasonal influenza vaccine production in the United States has increase by at least 50 million doses.

This latest FDA approval affirms the value and success possible through public-private partnerships as we move forward bringing our nation the medical countermeasures needed to protect health and save lives every day.

U.S. CONGRATULATES PEOPLE OF SEYCHELLES ON THEIR INDEPENDENCE DAY

FROM:   U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT 

Seychelles National Day

Press Statement

John Kerry

Secretary of State

Washington, DC

June 17, 2014

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On behalf of President Obama and the people of the United States, I am pleased to congratulate the people and government of Seychelles as you commemorate 21 years of independence on June 18.

The lengthy and cordial history of U.S.-Seychellois relations illustrates the affinity between our nations, both of which prize diversity and economic opportunity.

The United States appreciates Seychelles’ continuing efforts in support of regional security. Your work to prosecute and incarcerate suspected pirates has made the world’s ocean a safer place. We share your hopes for growth as a tolerant, vibrant society with an active role promoting stability throughout the Indian Ocean region.

We also look forward to working together to sustainably manage our shared ocean resources. No one knows better than Seychelles that our ocean is a precious resource under the threat of pollution, overfishing, and other human impacts. The ocean’s future is our future, and it deserves our attention.

The United States wishes Seychelles peace and prosperity on your day of celebration. We look forward to continued partnership and cooperation in the years to come.

U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT CONTRACTS FOR JUNE 17, 2014

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 

CONTRACTS

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

ArtCraft Optical Co., Inc.,* Rochester, New York, has been awarded a maximum $22,500,000 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for manufacture of aviation flight frames using the electronic catalog program. This contract was a competitive acquisition with one offer received. This is a one-year base contract with four one-year option periods. Location of performance is New York with a June 26, 2015 performance completion date. Using military services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and federal civilian agencies. Type of appropriation is fiscal year 2014 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPM2DE-14-D-7560).

AIR FORCE

Alion Science and Technology Corp., McLean, Virginia, has been awarded a $47,721,229 delivery order (0064) on the Advanced Materials, Manufacturing, and Testing Information Analysis Center (AMMTIAC) indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, cost-plus-fixed-fee, sole-source contract (FA4600-06-D-0003) for Global Force Protection System (GFPS) Test and Evaluation. AMMTIAC's objective is to design and develop system testing, evaluation processes and procedures and advanced manufacturing techniques for the GFPS. The work will be performed at Rome, New York, and is expected to be complete by Dec. 29, 2016. Fiscal 2014 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $2,002,642 are being obligated at time of award. Air Force Installation Contracting Agency/KD, Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, is the contracting activity.

NAVY

Kollsman Inc., Merrimack, New Hampshire, is being awarded a $56,887,669 firm-fixed-price five year requirements contract for the repair of four weapons repairable assemblies on the night targeting system upgrade to support the AH-1W helicopter. Work will be performed in Merrimack, New Hampshire, and work is expected to be completed by July 2019. No funds will be obligated at the time of award, and no funds will expire before the end of the current fiscal year. Fiscal 2014 working capital funds (Navy) will be used on the contract as future requirements are issued. This contract was a non-competitive requirement in accordance with 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1). NAVSUP Weapon Systems Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is the contracting activity (N00383-14-D-021N).
Triumph Gear Systems, Park City, Utah, is being awarded a $55,775,371 firm-fixed-price contract for the repair of various parts including the pylon conversion actuator used on the V-22 aircraft in support of both MV-22 (Marines), and CV-22 (Air Force). Work will be performed in Park City, Utah, and work is expected to be completed by Sept. 30, 2019. No funds will be obligated at the time of award, and no funds will expire before the end of the current fiscal year. Fiscal 2014 working capital funds (Navy) will be used on the contract as future requirements are issued. This contract was a non-competitive requirement in accordance with 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1). NAVSUP Weapon Systems Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is the contracting activity (N00383-14-D-023N).

BAE Systems San Diego Ship Repair, San Diego, California, is being awarded a $20,524,009 modification to previously awarded cost-plus-award-fee/incentive-fee contract (N00024-11-C-4408) for USS Decatur (DDG 73) fiscal 2014 dry-docking selected restricted availability. A dry-docking selected restricted availability includes the planning and execution of depot-level maintenance, alterations, and modifications that will update and improve the ship's military and technical capabilities. Work will be performed in San Diego, California, and is expected to be completed by February 2015. Fiscal 2014 operations & maintenance (Navy); fiscal 2014 research, development, test & evaluation; fiscal 2014 other procurement (Navy); and working capital funding in the amount of $20,524,009 will be obligated at time of award. Contract funds in the amount of $17,225,290 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Southwest Regional Maintenance Center, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity.
Lockheed Martin Mission Systems & Training, Owego, New York, is being awarded an $11,333,603 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for the production kits in support of the MH-60R/S Point and Click Operator System Interface and Link-16 retrofit programs. Work will be performed in Owego, New York (58 percent); Farmingdale, New York (17 percent); Everett, Washington (12 percent); Austin, Texas (8 percent); Butler, New Jersey (5 percent), and is expected to be completed in August 2017. Fiscal 2013 and 2014 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $9,329,020 are being obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to FAR 6.302-1. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity (N00019-14-D-0032).

ARMY

Skyline ULTD, Inc., Round Rock, Texas was awarded an $18,834,131 modification (P00019) to contract W9133L-09-F-0132 to provide medical case management support to the Army National Guard Headquarters, states and territories. Fiscal 2014 operations and maintenance (Army) funds in the amount of $ 18,834,131.00 were obligated at the time of the award. Estimated completion date is Dec. 11, 2014. Work will be performed in Arlington, Virginia. National Guard Bureau, Arlington, Virginia is the contracting activity.

ASRC Federal InuTeq,* Beltsville, Maryland was awarded a $15,749,022 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract with options to provide the High Performance Computing Modernization Program Office with technical and professional support for all phases of planning and execution. Work will be performed in Lorton, Virginia with an estimated completion date of June 17, 2019. Bids were solicited via the Internet with one received. Fiscal 2013 research, development, testing and evaluation funds in the amount of $3,866,412 were being obligated at the time of the award. Army Corps of Engineers, Huntsville, Alabama is the contracting activity (W912DY-14-F-0095).

*Small business

SECRETARY KERRY'S REMARKS REGARDING CAPTURE OF AHMED ABU KHATALLLAH

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT 

Libya: Ahmed Abu Khatallah

Press Statement

John Kerry

Secretary of State

Washington, DC

June 17, 2014

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Since September 11, 2012, we have mourned the four Americans killed that day, cared for the survivors in our State Department family, and focused with intensity on strengthening security at our high-threat posts around the world. But we have also been focused on another mission of unfinished business: bringing to justice the terrorist murderers responsible for the attacks in Benghazi.

This weekend, that work took a dramatic step forward. Ahmed Abu Khatallah, an alleged key leader of the attacks in Benghazi, is now in U.S. custody. He will face a court of law and be held accountable for his actions. This bold action by the superb United States military is a clear reminder to anyone who dares do us harm that they will not escape with impunity.

The United States stood by the Libyan people three years ago as they stood up to the brutality of the Qadhafi dictatorship. We continue to support them in their desire to build a democratic government that will provide them with security, protect their universal rights and help rebuild their economy. The Libyan people face great challenges, but the vision of a peaceful and productive new nation will guide Libya’s future, and they will have a friend and partner in the United States.

The State Department felt the loss of our colleagues in Benghazi acutely. They volunteered to serve in a dangerous place because they believed in the power of the United States to help people. They represented the very best of America. We continue that mission in their name today.

WHITE HOUSE FACT SHEET ON PROTECTING OCEAN AND COASTS

FROM:  THE WHITE HOUSE 

FACT SHEET: Leading at Home and Internationally to Protect Our Ocean and Coasts

“We’ve already shown that when we work together, we can protect our oceans for future generations.  So let’s redouble our efforts.  Let’s make sure that years from now we can look our children in the eye and tell them that, yes, we did our part, we took action, and we led the way toward a safer, more stable world.”

President Barack Obama, June 17, 2014

President Obama is committed to protecting the ocean and its marine ecosystems. Americans all over the country depend on the ocean for food, jobs, and recreation.  But the health of our ocean is under threat on multiple fronts, from overfishing to carbon pollution.  The recently released National Climate Assessment confirms that climate change is causing sea levels and ocean temperatures to rise. Changing temperatures can harm coral reefs and force certain species to migrate. In addition, carbon pollution is being absorbed by the oceans, causing them to acidify, which can damage coastal shellfish beds and reefs, altering entire marine ecosystems. In fact, the acidity of our ocean is changing 50 times faster than any known change in millions of years. And black market fishing—fishing that is illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU)—continues to pose a major threat to the sustainability of our world’s fisheries, economies and to global security.

Recognizing these significant challenges, President Obama launched the National Ocean Policy early in his first term. The National Ocean Policy seeks to streamline more than 100 laws that govern our oceans and create a coordinated, science-based approach to managing the many resources and uses of our coasts and oceans. National Ocean Policy initiatives range from voluntary marine planning to releasing more federal data to supporting offshore renewable energy projects to making our ports more resilient to sea level rise.

This week, the State Department is hosting the “Our Ocean” conference, an international conference on sustainable fisheries, marine pollution, and ocean acidification that concludes today. Secretary Kerry has also issued a global call to action to protect the oceans. As part of the conference, the President is announcing several steps that the United States is taking to answer that call. During the closing events of the conference, the State Department will announce additional steps and commitments it has secured to protect our oceans.

New Actions to Protect and Preserve the Ocean

Today, in a video message to conference participants, President Obama is announcing new executive actions to preserve and protect the oceans.

• New protections for world-class marine areas. The President today announced a commitment to use his authority to protect some of our most precious marine landscape just like he has for our mountains and rivers and forests.   To meet the President’s commitment, the Administration will immediately consider how we might expand protections near the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument in the south-central Pacific Ocean, an area which contains some of the most pristine tropical marine environments in the world.  These tropical coral reefs and associated marine ecosystems are also among the most vulnerable areas to the impacts of climate change and ocean acidification. Before making decisions about the geographic scope and details of future marine protections, we will consider the input of fishermen, scientists, conservation experts, elected officials, and other stakeholders.  The President is also calling on other world leaders to join him in this effort to ensure that the world’s most valuable ocean ecosystems remain productive and pristine for our children and grandchildren. 
• Combating black market fishing and supporting fishermen. The President is directing Federal agencies to develop a comprehensive program aimed at deterring illegal fishing, addressing seafood fraud, and preventing illegally caught fish from entering the marketplace by increasing traceability and transparency. Black market fishing constitutes up to 20 percent of the wild marine fish caught each year around the world, and drains up to $23 billion from legitimate fishing enterprises. The program will be an important step in ending illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, building the market for legally and sustainably caught seafood, and supporting the men and women of the fishing industry. 

In addition, the Administration is taking steps to protect coastal communities from the impacts of climate change, improve domestic aquaculture, and providing research to better understand the challenges facing our oceans.

• Establishing a pathway to new marine sanctuaries. Last week, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released a final rule re-opening the public nomination process for proposing new sanctuaries in our oceans and Great Lakes. For the first time since 1995, Americans will be able to nominate nationally significant marine and Great Lakes areas as marine sanctuaries. This reflects the overwhelming consensus of more than 18,000 comments NOAA received on the proposed version of the rule and will give local communities and organizations the opportunity to voice their support for significant marine areas in need of protection. 
• Meeting diverse coastal needs with regional marine planning. Under the President’s National Ocean Policy, voluntary marine planning bodies are working all over the country to find commonsense ways for the wide range of people and organizations who live, work, and play in the ocean to enjoy the full benefits of its resources. Regional marine plans help balance coastal use issues including fishing, energy, and marine transportation with the interests of communities, ensuring maximum benefits for all. Last week, the Administration announced that the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regional marine planning bodies will have their plans out the door by the end of the President’s term. This will allow fishing and coastal communities from Maine to Virginia to meet diverse needs and establish priorities for the use of their ocean areas, while making them less vulnerable to economic shocks and the resilience of climate change.
• Understanding the impacts of ocean acidification. Today, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy is releasing a white paper on ocean acidification, summarizing current scientific knowledge about this key challenge, its relationship to climate change, and its impacts on society, as well as highlighting key steps the Obama Administration is taking to better understand the problem and potential solutions. 
• $102 million to build resilience in coastal communities. Yesterday, the Department of the Interior announced $102 million in competitive grants funding science-based solutions to restore flood plains and natural barriers, such as marshes and wetlands along the Atlantic Coast. The funded projects will help deliver on the Administration’s Climate Action Plan commitment to make local communities more resilient against future storms. 
• Bolstering domestic shellfish aquaculture. Federal agencies are completing work on a new roadmap to streamline the permitting process for shellfish aquaculture. The roadmap will help shellfish farmers understand how to secure the permits they need and will help federal agencies identify ways to improve efficiency in the permitting process. By removing barriers in the permitting process, the United States can encourage shellfish farming and help rebalance our seafood trade. Currently, most seafood consumed in the U.S. is imported, resulting in a seafood trade deficit of between $8 and $10 billion a year. Farming more shellfish will also be an economic boon to local communities, creating jobs and investment on our shores. 
• National Strategic Plan for Federal Aquaculture Research. Aquaculture is an increasingly integral source of safe, nutritious, sustainable seafood for consumers in the United States and worldwide. Today, the interagency National Science & Technology Council’s Committee on Science is releasing a new National Strategic Plan for Federal Aquaculture Research to provide a framework for coordination and collaboration across agencies on research related to this important agricultural domain and to guide Federal agencies going forward as they prioritize their aquaculture-related research and development activities. 

JUDGE ASKED TO DROP 9/11 FBI PROBE INQUIRY

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 

Special Counsel Urges 9/11 Judge to Drop FBI Probe Inquiry

By Terri Moon Cronk

American Forces Press Service

FORT MEADE, Md., June 16, 2014 – In military commission proceedings for five suspects in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States, the lead attorney of the special review team said today the commission should end its inquiry to determine whether FBI investigations into defense teams created a conflict of interest.

The proceedings are taking place at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and are being made available to reporters at the video teleconference center here.
This week’s hearing centers on the commission gathering facts on contact that FBI agents reportedly made with several members of the defense teams so presiding judge Army Col. James Pohl can determine if the interviews pose a conflict of interest in the case.

U.S. Attorney Fernando Campoamor-Sanchez, lead attorney for the special review team, told Pohl the commission has enough facts now to make the ruling. He added that the defense counsels also should agree conflicts do not exist.
“They’re inviting error,” he said of lead counsels of each of the five defense teams, who called on Pohl for an investigation into the FBI interviews. “I urge the commission that this inquiry should end, … because there is no conflict of interest.”

In the commission’s case against Khalid Shaikh Mohammad, the admitted mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, and four other defendants, all are charged for their alleged roles in the attacks with eight offenses: conspiracy, attacking civilians, attacking civilian objects, intentionally causing serious bodily injury, murder in violation of the law of war, destruction of property in violation of the law of war, hijacking or hazarding a vessel or aircraft, and terrorism, according to the Military Commissions website.

SECRETARY KERRY'S REMARKS AT "OUR OCEANS CONFERENCE"

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT 

Welcoming Remarks at Our Ocean Conference

Remarks

John Kerry

Secretary of State

Loy Henderson Conference Room

Washington, DC

June 16, 2014

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Cathy, thank you very, very much. Welcome, everybody, distinguished guests all. We have many government leaders, many people, as Cathy mentioned, from foundations, from NGOs, from various interested entities. We are really delighted to have such an extraordinary expert concerned group come together to discuss this really critical issue. And I am personally very, very grateful to the leadership of our terrific Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment – it’s a big package, obviously – who has been working diligently to put this together. You can tell from the surroundings this will be interactive; there will be a lot of visual input to digest and a great deal of science to document what we are talking about here over the course of these next couple of days.

But I’m really grateful to my team here at the State Department that has worked overtime under Cathy’s leadership to help bring everybody together here today, and I thank you all for coming. I welcome you to the State Department, to the Loy Henderson Conference Room, particularly those of you who are representing countries from around the world, the private sector, civil society, academia, as well as many, many people joining us online via livestream through state.gov. And I hope many more people will join us over the course of the next two days.
As many of you know, convening a conference like this has been a priority of mine for some period of time. I really started thinking about this when I was still in the Senate and we wanted to try to pull it together. And then last year we did, and as you know, we had a political moment here in Washington – that’s polite diplomatic-ese – which prevented us from going forward at that time. But candidly, I think it’s worked for the better because it gave us more time to think about how to make this conference perhaps even more effective and how to maximize what we’re doing here.

A commitment to protecting the ocean, which we all share, has really been a priority of mine for a long time, as Cathy mentioned a moment ago, literally from the time I was growing up as a child in Massachusetts when I first dipped my toes into the mud off Woods Hole Oceanographic in that area of Buzzards Bay and the Cape and was introduced to clamming and to fishing and all of those great joys of the ocean. I have had this enormous love and respect for what the ocean means to us. I went into the Navy partly through that and I had the pleasure of crossing the Pacific both ways on a ship and passing through many different parts of the Pacific Ocean region. It’s sort of in my DNA. My mother’s family was involved way, way, way back in the early days of trade through the oceans. And indeed my father was a passionate sailor who, in his retirement, found a way to sail across the ocean several times.

So I learned very early on to appreciate this vast expanse of the ocean, so vast that three-quarters of our planet is really ocean. Someone might have called our planet Ocean, not Earth, if it was based on that, but obviously it is not. Stewardship of our ocean is not a one-person event; it’s a nation event, it’s a country event, it’s a universal requirement all across this planet. And I tried very hard when I was in the Senate as chairman of the Senate Oceans and Fisheries Subcommittee where we rewrote our Magnuson fishery laws on several different occasions, created the Stellwagen Bank Sanctuary, the Coastal Zone Management Act, enforcement, flood insurance, rethinking it – all these things that have to do with development and runoff and non-point source pollution and all of the things that concern us as we come here today.
And that is the concern that I bring to this effort as Secretary of State now. The reason for that is really very, very simple. And for anyone who questions why are we here when there are so many areas of conflict and so many issues of vital concern as there are – and regrettably, because of that, I will not be at every part of this conference because we have much to do with respect to Iraq and other emergencies that we face. But no one should mistake that the protection of our oceans is a vital international security issue. It’s a vital security issue involving the movement of people, the livelihood of people, the capacity of people to exist and live where they live today. The ocean today supports the livelihoods of up to 12 percent of the world’s population. But it is also essential to maintaining the environment in which we all live. It’s responsible for recycling things like water, carbon, nutrients throughout our planet, throughout the ecosystem – “system” is an important word – so that we have air to breathe, water to drink. And it is home to literally millions of species.

Protecting our ocean is also a great necessity for global food security, given that more than 3 billion people – 50 percent of the people on this planet – in every corner of the world depend on fish as a significant source of protein. The connection between a healthy ocean and life itself for every single person on Earth cannot be overstated. And we will hear from scientists who will talk about that relationship in the course of the next hours and days.

The fact is we as human beings share nothing so completely as the ocean that covers nearly three quarters of our planet. And I remember the first time I really grasped that notion. It was in the early 1970s when the first color pictures of Earth from space were released, the famous blue marble photographs. And when you look at those images, you don’t see borders or markers separating one nation from another. You just see big masses of green and sometimes brown surrounded by blue. For me, that image shaped the realization that what has become cliched and perhaps even taken for granted – not perhaps, is taken for granted – is the degree to which we all share one planet, one ocean.

And because we share nothing so completely as our ocean, each of us also shares the responsibility to protect it. And you can look at any scripture of any religion, any life philosophy, and you will draw from it that sense of responsibility. I think most people want their children and their grandchildren to benefit from a healthy ocean the same way that we’ve been privileged to. And they want to do their part to be able to ensure that that is the case.

But here’s the problem: When anybody looks out at the ocean – we’re all sort of guilty of it one time or another – when you stand on a beach and you look out at the tide rolling in, you feel somehow that the ocean is larger than life, that it’s an endless resource impossible to destroy. So most people underestimate the enormous damage that we as human beings are inflicting on our ocean every single day. When people order seafood from a restaurant, most of the time they don’t realize that a third of the world’s fish stocks are overexploited, too much money chasing too few fish, and nearly all the rest are being fished at or near their absolute maximum sustainable level on a level on planet that has 6 billion people and will rise to 9 over the next 30, 40, 50 years.

Most people aren’t aware of something called bycatch, where up to half or two thirds of the fish in a particular catch are not actually what the fisher was looking for and they’re simply thrown overboard. And when people go swimming or surfing along the coast, often they don’t realize that pollution has led to more than 500 dead zones in the ocean, areas where life simply cannot exist, and that together those dead zones add up to an area roughly the size of the state of Michigan here in the United States. When people walk through an aquarium and they see and learn about the marine world, they usually don’t realize that because of climate change, the basic chemistry of our ocean is changing faster than it has ever changed in the history of the planet. And if it continues much longer, a significant chunk of marine life may simply die out because it can no longer live, no longer survive in the ocean’s waters.

The bottom line is that most people don’t realize that if the entire world doesn’t come together to try to change course and protect the ocean from unsustainable fishing practices, unprecedented pollution, or the devastating effects of climate change, then we run the risk of fundamentally breaking entire ecosystems. And as you’ll hear throughout the course of this conference, that will translate into a serious consequence for the health and the economies and the future of all of us.

The good news is that at this point we know what we need to do to address the threats facing the ocean. It’s not a mystery. It’s not beyond our capacity. Everyone in this room is aware of the effective steps that people are taking already, both large and small around the world.
In Latin America, NGOs like Paso Pacifico are helping fishers to improve their sustainability by engaging those fishers both in monitoring their catches and in the process of selecting new marine-protected areas.

In Africa, local volunteers – volunteers – take it on themselves to collect the trash that floods from the streets to the beaches during the periods of intense rain. There’s an amazing group of volunteers in Guinea who call themselves “Les Sacs Bleus” after the blue trash bags that they use to collect the garbage, an incredible self-spontaneous combustion effort to be responsible.
In the Asia Pacific, half a dozen nations have come together with U.S. support to protect the Coral Triangle, a part of the ocean that has been called the Amazon of the seas because of its incredible biodiversity. The Coral Triangle Initiative has led to improved management of a marine area that’s almost the size of one of our states, North Dakota, and it has inspired more than 90 policies, regulations, laws, and agreements to protect the local coastal and marine resources. Here in the United States, we have taken very significant strides to end overfishing in U.S. fisheries. We’ve rebuilt a record number of fish stocks back from depleted levels, and at the same time promoted and increased the economic viability of our fisheries, trying hard to actually give meaning to the word “sustainable fisheries.”

These are just a few examples of a great deal of work that you’re all familiar with, that many of you have created that is taking place around the world. But so far, all of these efforts have only been applied on a relatively small scale and only applied in one region or another. If we want to honor – if we are going to be able to honor our shared responsibility to protect the ocean, the ad hoc approach we have today with each nation and community pursuing its own independent policy simply will not suffice. That is not how the ocean works. We’re not going to meet this challenge unless the community of nations comes together around a single, comprehensive, global ocean strategy. That is the only way that we can clean up our ocean today and make sure that it remains what it needs to be for generations to come. That is what this conference is all about.

Over the past few years, even over the past few months, there have been an encouraging number of reports, summits, meetings, even conventions convened to examine the various threats of our ocean and – are facing and potential ways to address those threats. And many of you here have been part of those meetings. I hope you have found them as valuable as we have. They’ve been instructive and they’re critical, but now is the time for us to build on this groundwork of these past years. Now is the time to build on the knowledge-base that we have created through these meetings, and that is why we have invited you here now, not just to have an important conversation, but to reach important conclusions, to try to put together a plan of action.

I want us to walk away from this conference with more than ideas. I want us to walk away from here with a plan, a plan that puts an end to overfishing through new rules based on the best available science. And may I add one of the things that Ted Stevens – Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska who teamed up with me on the Commerce Committee in the Senate – one of the things we always were fighting was getting more, better science so that we could convince fishermen and convince countries, governments of the imperative of making decisions.

Too often we hear, “Well, we don’t really see that,” or, “We don’t really feel that,” or I’d hear from captains of the boats, “When I go out and fish, I see plenty of stocks out there. There’s no reason to be restricted.” We need science, and globally we could put our heads together and our governments together and come up with both the budget and the capacity to be able to do what we need to be able to help convince people of the urgency of this.

We need a plan that requires fisheries to use gear and techniques that dramatically reduce the amount of fish and other species that are caught by accident and discarded; a plan that ends subsidies to fisheries, which only serves to promote overfishing; a plan that makes it near impossible for illegally-caught fish to actually come to the market anywhere, whether you’re in Boston or Beijing or Barcelona or Brasilia or any other city that doesn’t begin with a B. (Laughter.) Let’s develop a plan that protects more marine habitats, and we will have an announcement regarding that. I believe President Obama will make such an announcement.
Today, less than 2 percent of our ocean is considered a marine protected area, where there are some restrictions on human activity in order to prevent contaminating the ecosystem, less than 2 percent of the entire ocean. There isn’t anybody here who doesn’t believe we can’t do better than that. So let’s start by finding a way to perhaps bring that number up to 10 percent or more as soon as possible.
And let’s develop a plan that does more to reduce the flow of plastic and other debris from entering into the ocean. Everybody’s seen that massive array of garbage in the Pacific and elsewhere. We need a plan that helps cut down the nutrient pollution, that runs off of land and is miles from the shore, and that contributes to the dead zones that I mentioned earlier. I learned about that back when I was running for president out in Iowa and Minnesota and the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers, and you learn about the flow of these nutrients that go down the Mississippi out into the gulf, and we have a great, big dead zone as a result.

We need to develop a plan that gives us a better understanding of the acidification effect that carbon pollution is having on our ocean, that we know that in the Antarctic, for instance, there was a regurgitation of carbon dioxide. Have we reached a saturation point? I don’t know. But I know that it’s a question that is critical to our capacity to deal with climate change and to maintain the oceans. We ought to be able to know where it’s happening, how quickly it’s happening so we can find the best way to slow it down. And we need to push harder, all of us, for a UN agreement to fight carbon pollution in the first place because the science proves that’s the only way we’ll have a chance of reducing the impact of climate change, which is one of the greatest threats facing not just our ocean, but our entire planet.

Finally we need to develop a plan that not only lays out the policies we need to protect our ocean, but that also considers how we are going to enforce those policies on a global scale. Because without enforcement, any plan we create will only take us so far. I think it was back in the ’90s, if I recall correctly, that Ted Stevens and I joined forces to take driftnet fishing to the United States. And we had become aware of literally tens of thousands of miles of monofilament netting that was dragged behind a boat that would literally strip-mine the ocean with vast proportions of the catch thrown away and clearly not sustainable.

So Senator Stevens and I managed to go to the UN. Ultimately it was banned by the UN. But guess what? There are still some rogue vessels using driftnets to strip-mine the ocean because they get more money, it’s faster, and there’s nobody out there to enforce out – no one out there to enforce it.

So we need to change this. That’s our charge here, all of us. Over the next two days, let’s put our heads together and work on a plan for how we can preserve fish stocks, manage coastlines, and protect ecosystems, a way for us to try to preserve fisheries, a way for us to come to a common understanding of our common interests and find a consensus that we could take to the UN – take this plan to the UN, take it to other international organizations. All of us begin talking the same language off the same page about the same objective, and if we make this a plan that all countries must follow by helping all of them to understand that no country can afford not to, whether you’re on the ocean or not on the ocean.

I know all of this sounds pretty ambitious. It’s meant to be. I know that some of you are probably thinking, “Well, what did I get myself into here?” But look around the room. Every one of you is here for a reason. We have government leaders from around the world at the highest levels, including three heads of state. We have experts from international organizations, World Bank President Jim Yong Kim, others. We have private sector leaders who are committed to our oceans’ future, people like Chris Lischewski from Bumble Bee Foods. The best ocean scientists in the world are here. All of us can come together and each can help the other to ensure that every solution that we discuss is directly tied to the best science available.
Ask yourself: If this group can’t create a serious plan to protect the ocean for future generations, then who can and who will? We cannot afford to put this global challenge on hold for another day. It’s our ocean. It’s our responsibility. So I hope that over these next two days, we will maximize the time we are here. I am really delighted that you all came to be part of this. And I hope this will be a new beginning, a new effort to unify and to create a concerted pressure which is necessary to make a difference.

It’s now my pleasure to introduce one final speaker before we open the program up, and there’s going to be a great deal of information coming at you in short order. But President Anote Tong of Kiribati is one of the loudest voices, one of the clearest voices in the world in the call for global action to address climate change. And there’s a simple reason why he has a special interest. It is because climate change is already posing an existential threat to his country. But he’s also one of the world’s greatest advocates for the protection of the ocean well beyond the interests of his own country. Under his leadership, Kiribati has established one of the largest marine-protected areas in the world in the Phoenix Islands in the Pacific. It’s an honor to have him here to share his thoughts with us this morning.

Ladies and gentlemen, President Anote Tong. (Applause.)

SECRETARY KERRY'S REMARKS WITH PRINCE ALBERT II OF MONACO

FROM:  THE STATE DEPARTMENT 

Remarks With Prince Albert II of Monaco Before Their Meeting

Remarks

John Kerry

Secretary of State

Treaty Room

Washington, DC

June 16, 2014

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SECRETARY KERRY: Good morning, everybody, and my distinct pleasure to welcome His Serene Highness Prince Albert II of Monaco here. He has really been one of the most outspoken protectors of the environment and particularly concerned about the ocean, ocean acidification. He has put together a center for research, which is based at the IAEA lab in Monaco. And his interest in not just ocean acidification but overall environmental protection of fisheries has made him perhaps one of the most defined and accepted leaders on this subject. And we’re happy that he’s going to be addressing the ocean conference Our Ocean today – our luncheon speaker.

And also I might add, I think he is the only head of state who has been to both – to the North and South Pole, so this is not a passing interest on his behalf. He and his family and he, particularly, have been important voices for reasonableness with respect to the environment broadly, but the effect of climate change, the effect of power plants and acidification emission, the impact it is having on the ecosystem of our oceans, which, as I said this morning, three billion people rely on for food and which is a major global security issue.

So I’m very grateful to His Serene Highness for coming. Thank you for being with us today.

PRINCE ALBERT II: Well, thank you very much, Mr. Secretary, and thank you for your leadership in convening this summit. I know you’ve been interested in these issues for a very long time, and we’re both navy men, I know. I was also in the French navy for a short while and – but I know that these are concerns that we share and that we need to see put on the international agenda at a much more important level than they are today.

As you know, and as you were able to tell us this morning, these issues concerning our global ocean don’t concern only a few activists anymore. It’s the concern of all of us. And each stakeholder, be they government leaders, be they civil society, be they international organizations, be they other NGOs, scientists, corporations, the corporate world, I think we all have a say and we all can do something. And we have to work together to meet these challenges and to make our global ocean as sustainable as possible and as healthy as possible, because the services that the global ocean provides to all of us is immeasurable. And to see the state of degradation that some parts of our ocean is showing, be it from pollution of any sort, be they – be it of overfishing, be it of other forms of exploitation in an unregulated way is simply unacceptable and abhorrent. And we absolutely have to come together to address these issues and find the solutions, find viable solutions, not only on the economic side, on the social-economic side, but also on the sustainable and environmental side that is so important.
And so this summit I think will be able to address these issues with some of the leading specialists that you have invited here, the scientific community, but also from other parts of civil society, as I said, and the corporate world and other organizations and government leaders.
And I’m very happy to see also that other two heads of state have joined you here, aside from me, to – and I know President Tong and President Remengesau very well. And we’ve worked with them not only with my foundation but with other organizations to help them also constitute that, and their leadership is also invaluable for marine-protected areas because that is – and they were able to announce that and President Tong was able to announce that this morning, that marine-protected areas do work, and no matter how big or small they are. And we’ve been able to do that also in – I’m just trying to push that in the Mediterranean as well. And we need to see more protected areas (inaudible) our global ocean.

And so we thank you very much for all of this, and we hope that this will be a successful and worthy meeting of all these wonderful people that are gathered here in Washington today.

SECRETARY KERRY: Thank you very, very much. And we really look forward to your comments at the luncheon. And we also look forward to coming out of this conference, as I said this morning, with a plan of action. We don’t want to talk for the sake of talking. There have been a lot of meetings in the past, which has led to a growing consensus of the actions that need to be taken.

So His Serene Highness will help us today to crystalize our focus on these steps and we really look forward tomorrow to coming to conclusion on what we can do to advance this initiative. So we’re grateful, very much. Thank you for coming.

PRINCE ALBERT II: Thank you very much.

SECRETARY KERRY: Thank you.

HUD TOUTS PROGRESS AMONG KEY INDICATORS FROM MAY HOUSING SCOREBOARD

FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT 

WASHINGTON- The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of the Treasury today released the May edition of the Obama Administration's Housing Scorecard – a comprehensive report on the nation’s housing market. The latest data show progress among key indicators, including growing equity and a rebound in the sale of new and existing homes. While this scorecard notes positive overall trends in the housing market, officials caution that the harsh winter slowed growth as the economy recovers from the Great Recession.

“May’s Housing Scorecard shows that the housing market recovery is picking up after the harsh winter months,” said HUD Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Research Katherine O’Regan. “More homeowners have positive equity, foreclosures continue their downward trend, and sales of new and existing homes are rebounding. While these are all good signs, it’s clear that we must remain committed to helping homeowners as they recover from the worst housing recession since the Great Depression.”

“The standards set by the Making Home Affordable program have significantly changed the mortgage servicing industry,” said Treasury Acting Assistant Secretary Tim Bowler. “Treasury is committed to holding servicers accountable to these standards, and as a result has seen continued improvement by the largest servicers.”

The May Housing Scorecard features key data on the health of the housing market and the impact of the Administration’s foreclosure prevention programs, including:

Homeowners’ equity shows another strong gain.According to the Federal Reserve, homeowners’ equity was up nearly $795 billion in the first quarter of 2014, reaching more than $10.8 trillion, the highest level since the second quarter of 2007.  Homeowners’ equity has risen sharply since the beginning of 2012, with equity up 73 percent, or nearly $4.6 trillion through the first quarter of 2014.  The change in equity since April 1, 2009 now stands at more than $4.7 trillion.

In the first quarter of 2014, more than 300,000 borrowers returned to a position of positive equity in their homes. According to CoreLogic, the number of underwater borrowers (those who owe more on their mortgage than the value of their home) has fallen 48 percent--from 12.108 million to 6.284 million--lifting more than 5.8 million homeowners above water from the beginning of 2012 through the 1st quarter of 2014. Approximately 12.7 percent of residential properties with a mortgage are still underwater, however.

Foreclosure starts continue their downward trend.  Lenders started the public foreclosure process on 49,240 U.S. properties in May, down 10 percent from the previous month and down 32 percent from one year ago to the lowest level since December 2005—a 101-month low (although foreclosure starts were up from a year ago in 12 states). (Source: Realty Trac)

Purchases of new homes rebounded in April after declining for four out of the previous five months.New home sales were up 6.4 percent to 433,000 (SAAR) in April, following a 407,000 pace in March, but were down 4.2 percent from one year ago. (Source:  HUD and Census Bureau).

Sales of previously owned (existing) homes rose in April for the first time this year. The National Association of Realtors® (NAR) reported that existing homes—including single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums, and cooperatives—sold at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 4.65 million in April, up 1.3 percent from March but still 6.8 percent below the 4.99 million pace a year-earlier. The weakness in sales reflects low inventory, strict bank lending standards, fewer distressed properties on the market, and less favorable housing affordability.

The Administration's foreclosure mitigation programs continue to provide relief for millions of homeowners as the recovery from the housing crisis continues. In all, more than 8.3 million mortgage modification and other forms of mortgage assistance arrangements were completed between April 2009 and the end of April 2014. More than 2.0 million homeowner assistance actions have taken place through the Making Home Affordable Program, including nearly 1.4 million permanent modifications through the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), while the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) has offered 2.3 million loss mitigation and early delinquency interventions through April. The Administration’s programs continue to encourage improved standards and processes in the industry, with HOPE Now lenders offering families and individuals more than 4.0 million proprietary modifications through March (data are reported with a 2-month lag).

NSF ON "NEW CLOCKING TECHNOLOGIES"

FROM:  NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION 

Revolutionizing how we keep track of time in cyber-physical systems

New five-year, $4 million Frontier award aims to improve the coordination of time in networked physical systems

The National Science Foundation (NSF) today announced a five-year, $4 million award to tackle the challenge of synchronizing time in cyber-physical systems (CPS)--systems that integrate sensing, computation, control and networking into physical objects and infrastructure.

Examples of cyber-physical systems include autonomous cars, aircraft autopilot systems, tele-robotics devices and energy-efficient buildings, among many others.

The grant brings together expertise from five universities and establishes a center-scale research activity to improve the accuracy, efficiency, robustness and security with which computers maintain knowledge of time and synchronize it with other networked devices in the emerging "Internet of Things."

Time has always been a critical issue in science and technology. From pendulums to atomic clocks, the accurate measurement of time has helped drive scientific discovery and engineering innovation throughout history. For example, advances in distributed clock synchronization technology enabled GPS satellites to precisely measure distances. This, in turn, created new opportunities and even entirely new industries, enabling the development of mobile navigation systems. However, many other areas of clock technology are still ripe for development.

Time synchronization presents a particular fundamental challenge in emerging applications of CPS, which connect computers, communication, sensors and actuator technologies to objects and play a critical role in our physical and network infrastructure. Cyber-physical systems depend on precise knowledge of time to infer location, control communication and accurately coordinate activities. They are critical to real-time situational awareness, security and control in a broad and growing range of applications.

"The National Science Foundation has long supported research to integrate cyber and physical systems and has supported the experimentation and prototyping of these systems in a number of different sectors--from transportation and energy to medical systems," said Farnam Jahanian, head of NSF's Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering. "As the 'Internet of Things' becomes more pervasive in our lives, precise timing will be critical for these systems to be more responsive, reliable and efficient."

The NSF award will support a project called Roseline, which seeks to develop new clocking technologies, synchronization protocols, operating system methods, as well as control and sensing algorithms. The project is led by engineering faculty from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and includes electrical engineering and computer science faculty from the University of California, San Diego; Carnegie Mellon University; the University of California, Santa Barbara and the University of Utah.

"Through the Roseline project, we will drive cyber-physical systems research with a deeper understanding of time and its trade-offs and advance the state-of-the-art in clocking circuits and platform architectures," said UCLA professor Mani Srivastava, principal investigator on the project.

Today, most computing systems use tiny clocks to manage time in a relatively simplistic and idealized fashion. For example, software in today's computers has little visibility into, and control over, the quality of time information received from its underlying hardware. At the same time, the clocks have little, if any, knowledge of the quality of time needed by the software, nor any ability to adapt to it. This leaves computing systems that are dependent on time vulnerable to complex and catastrophic disruptions.

The Roseline team will address this problem by rethinking and re-engineering how the knowledge of time is handled across a computing system's hardware and software.

"Roseline will drive accurate timing information deep into the software system," said Rajesh Gupta, University of California, San Diego computer science and engineering chair and a co-principal investigator on the project. "It will enable robust distributed control of smart grids, precise localization of structural faults in bridges and ultra-low-power wireless sensors."

Roseline will have a broad impact across many sectors, including smart electrical grids, aerospace systems, precision manufacturing, autonomous vehicles, safety systems and infrastructure monitoring.

In addition to Srivastava and Gupta, the Roseline team includes Sudhakar Pamarti of UCLA, João Hespanha of UC Santa Barbara, Ragunathan Rajkumar and Anthony Rowe of Carnegie Mellon University and Thomas Schmid of the University of Utah.

Beyond the research and testing of components, project leaders plan to integrate CPS and timing components into graduate and undergraduate course materials and engage pre-college students in outreach efforts, including the Los Angeles Computing Circle, which focuses on teaching real-world applications of computer science to students from local high schools.

"The measurement, distribution and synchronization of time have always been critical in science and technology, and there is a long history of new time-related technologies revolutionizing society," said David Corman, NSF program director for CPS. "As computation becomes embedded in the physical systems around us, it becomes all the more important that computers be able to know time accurately, efficiently and reliably. I am excited to see the Roseline team undertake this challenging and important task."

NSF's long-standing support for CPS research and education spans a range of awards amounting to an investment of nearly $200 million during the last five years.

-NSF-
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Aaron Dubrow

U.S. CONGRATULATES THE PEOPLE OF ICELAND ON THEIR NATIONAL DAY

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT 

On the Occasion of Iceland's National Day

Press Statement

John Kerry

Secretary of State

Washington, DC

June 16, 2014

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On behalf of President Obama and the people of the United States, I congratulate the people of Iceland on the 70^th anniversary of the founding of the Republic of Iceland.

I am proud that the United States was the first country to recognize Icelandic independence in 1944. As NATO allies, we are working to promote peace, security, and prosperity around the world. Our shared commitment to our common defense remains the cornerstone of our relationship.

Together, we confront the effects of climate change and the dynamics of a changing Arctic. And we enjoy strong people-to-people ties. The innovation, creativity, and talents of Icelandic musicians, artists, entrepreneurs, and students, continue to enrich both our cultures.
As you celebrate this special day, I extend to all Icelanders my best wishes for the coming year.

GENERAL APPOINTED TO PROBE SGT. BERGDAHL'S CAPTURE

FROM:   U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 

Army Appoints General to Lead Probe Into Bergdahl’s Capture

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, June 16, 2014 – The Army has appointed a general officer with Afghanistan combat experience to lead its investigation into the facts and circumstances surrounding the disappearance and capture of Sgt. Bowe R. Bergdahl from Combat Outpost Mest-Lalak in Afghanistan’s Paktika province on or about June 30, 2009.

In a statement released today, Army officials said Maj. Gen. Kenneth R. Dahl will lead the investigation.

The primary function of this investigation, as in any other investigation, officials said, is to ascertain facts and report them to the appointing authority, officials said in the statement.

“These types of investigations are not uncommon and serve to establish the facts on the ground following an incident. The investigating officer will have access to previously gathered documentary evidence, including the 2009 investigation,” officials added.

The statement emphasized that the Army's top priority remains Bergdahl's health and reintegration. “We ask that everyone respect the time and privacy necessary to accomplish the objectives of the last phase of reintegration,” the statement said.
No timeline has been established for the investigation, officials said, noting that he investigating officer will not interview Bergdahl until the reintegration team clears such interaction.