Friday, October 31, 2014
U.S. CONGRATULATES PEOPLE OF ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA ON THEIR INDEPENDENCE DAY
FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Antigua and Barbuda's Independence Day
Press Statement
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
October 31, 2014
I congratulate the people of Antigua and Barbuda on your Independence Day on November 1.
For 33 years since your independence, the United States has been a close partner to Antigua and Barbuda.
Through the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative, we work together on maritime capacity building, military training and exercises, and counter-narcotics operations.
The United States also engages with Antigua and Barbuda through the Caribbean Community and Common Market, and the U.S. Caribbean Basin Initiative, which allows trade to flow between our two countries.
On behalf of the people of the United States, I wish all Antiguans and Barbudans peace and prosperity in the year to come.
BONE GROWTH STIMULATOR COMPANIES TO PAY $6 MILLION RELATED TO ALLEGED KICKBACKS
FROM: U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Wednesday, October 29, 2014
Biomet Companies to Pay Over $6 Million to Resolve False Claims Act Allegations Concerning Bone Growth Stimulators
EBI LLC, doing business as Biomet Spine and Bone Healing Technologies and Biomet Inc. have agreed to pay $6.07 million to resolve allegations that EBI violated the False Claims Act by paying kickbacks to induce use of its bone growth stimulators and billing federal health care programs for refurbished stimulators, the Department of Justice announced today. EBI is a medical device company located in Parsippany, New Jersey, that sells bone growth stimulators, which are used to repair fractures that are slow to heal. It is a subsidiary of Biomet, which is based in Warsaw, Indiana.
“Medical device companies must not use improper financial incentives to influence the decision to use their products,” said Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General August Flentje of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “This settlement demonstrates the department’s commitment to protect patients, and the taxpayers who fund their care, by ensuring that medical decisions are based on the patients’ medical needs rather than the financial interests of others.”
The United States alleged that, from 2001 to 2008, EBI paid staff at doctors’ offices to influence doctors to order its bone growth stimulators. These payments were allegedly provided pursuant to personal service agreements with staff members. The United States concluded that these payments violated the Anti-Kickback Act and resulted in false billings to various federal health care programs, including Medicare. The settlement also resolves EBI’s disclosure that it received federal reimbursements for bone growth stimulators that had been refurbished.
“This settlement demonstrates our resolve in ensuring that patients receive, and the government pays for, health care that is based on sound medical judgment, and not compromised by kickbacks,” said U.S. Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz of the District of Massachusetts.
“Kickbacks taint medical decision-making, cause overutilization of services, and lead to increased taxpayer and patient costs,” said Special Agent in Charge Phillip Coyne of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “These improper inducements have no place in government health programs relied on by millions of Americans.”
The settlement resolves in part an allegation filed in a lawsuit by Yu Yue, a former product manager for EBI, in federal court in New Jersey. The lawsuit was filed under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act, which permit private individuals to sue on behalf of the government for false claims and to share in any recovery. Yu’s share has not yet been determined.
This settlement illustrates the government’s emphasis on combating health care fraud and marks another achievement for the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT) initiative, which was announced in May 2009 by the Attorney General and the Secretary of Health and Human Services. The partnership between the two departments has focused efforts to reduce and prevent Medicare and Medicaid financial fraud through enhanced cooperation. One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. Since January 2009, the Justice Department has recovered a total of more than $23 billion through False Claims Act cases, with more than $14.8 billion of that amount recovered in cases involving fraud against federal health care programs.
The settlement was the result of a coordinated effort by the Commercial Litigation Branch of the Civil Division; the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts; HHS-OIG; the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General; the Defense Criminal Investigative Service; the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations.
REMEMBRANCE OF THE LOST ANTARES ROCKET
FROM: NASA
 |
| NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman posted this image of a sunrise, captured from the International Space Station, to social media on Oct. 29, 2014. Wiseman wrote, "Not every day is easy. Today was a tough one." Wiseman was referring to the loss on Oct. 28 of the Orbital Sciences Corporation Antares rocket and Cygnus spacecraft, moments after launch at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. The Cygnus spacecraft was filled with about 5,000 pounds of supplies slated for the International Space Station, including science experiments, experiment hardware, spare parts, and crew provisions. The station crew is in no danger of running out of food or other critical supplies. Image Credit: NASA/Reid Wiseman. |
USING COMPUTERS CAN MAKE EASIER COMPLICATED WATER RIGHTS TRADING
FROM: NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
Selling and buying water rights
NSF Innovation Corps awardees founded the company Mammoth Trading to provide a neutral, centralized resource
It would be much easier if a computer could do it. Now, one can.
Scientists at the University of Nebraska and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have developed an algorithm that can match potential buyers and sellers, sift through the complexity of local physical and regulatory systems, and reach a fair deal designed especially for them. It also allows the negotiating parties to provide information confidentially during the process.
"It's a different way of matching buyers and sellers in places where there aren't established markets," says Nicholas Brozoviæ, director of policy at the Robert B. Daugherty Water for Food Institute and associate professor of agricultural economics at the University of Nebraska. "It's a different way of building a market for potential buyers and sellers of natural resources. It maintains confidentiality and it is structured in a way that is neutral and fair."
The National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded Brozoviæ's research focuses on using economic analysis to understand natural resource systems, with a special emphasis on water resources. He designs and evaluates management policies that can maintain or improve the condition of natural resources. Much involves collaborations with engineers, urban planners and others.
Mammoth Trading, a new company that grew out of his research, hopes to provide a neutral centralized place for both buyers and sellers interesting in trading water rights and other resource use rights. The goal is to craft each transaction by taking local community needs into account, as well as factors unique to the individuals involved.
There is a transaction fee associated with the market and any benefits from trading are split between buyer and seller, "which is not typically how brokerage works," Brozoviæ says. But "we view ours as a fairer system."
The company currently is developing a certified irrigated acreage market for groundwater rights in the Twin Platte Natural Resources District in Nebraska, as well as working on developing other systems, mostly in water quantity and quality, as well as other natural resources.
"Before we started, it was really difficult to identify those interested in buying or selling their rights," says Richael Young, company president, and an expert in environmental engineering and agricultural economics. "We provide a central hub for people. Right now, they spend a lot of time either calling up people, seeing if someone is interested in trading, or hiring a realtor, which can take months, and still may not tell you whether or not a person is eligible to trade."
Although the company is just getting started, the researchers see a future where the system will expand to other areas and natural resources.
"Part of our thinking is how we can scale this idea and broaden this scope to other environmental markets," Brozoviæ says. "Beyond this relatively narrow market of trading groundwater rights, there are many other natural resources that have the same features where a similar system could work, such as habitat markets or wetland mitigation markets, storm water management in urban areas, water quality in waste water treatment plants.
"There is a broader move within environmental regulations to move to market based systems," he adds. "If done correctly, it may be a cheaper way to achieve a better environmental outcome."
However, there can be considerable complexity in implementing environmental and resource use regulations using markets.
"For carbon, it's a pretty simple process, since the atmosphere is well mixed so it doesn't matter where carbon emissions occur," Young says. "But when you think about ground or surface water, those are highly localized resources. You can't have a trading scheme that allows people to trade wherever they are located, since there are physical laws that govern the movement of groundwater and surface water.
"So those are the kinds of rules we incorporate into the system to allow people to trade more effectively," she adds. "Our goal is to help businesses operate more efficiently within existing regulations. For now, we are focusing on groundwater. In the future, we hope to enter into markets for surface water and air pollutants."
One incentive for expansion to other areas is the fact that the market for trading groundwater permits is highly seasonal. "Once you've planted your seeds and made those decisions, you may not be interested in trading for more water rights," Young says.
NSF has supported their efforts with a $50,000 Innovation Corps (I-Corps) grant, awarded in 2013, which provides a set of activities and programs that prepare scientists and engineers to extend their focus beyond the laboratory into the commercial world.
The goal of the I-Corps program is to help researchers translate their discoveries into technologies with near-term benefits for the economy and society. It is a public-private partnership program that teaches grantees to identify valuable product opportunities that can emerge from academic research, and offers entrepreneurship training to student participants.
Mammoth Trading recently completed its first deal, and is working on others. "We expected it would take time for people to become familiar with our system, and how it works," Young says. "It surprised us how quickly people did hear about us. We got some trades earlier than expected, and we were able to get them through."
Brozoviæ agrees. "We now have the first trades in our system, which is exciting," he says. "Eventually we could do this nationwide, and potentially internationally."
-- Marlene Cimons, National Science Foundation
Investigators
Nicholas Brozovic
Ximing Cai
John Braden
Albert Valocchi
Stephen Gasteyer
EXPORT-IMPORT BANK GUARANTEES LOAN FOR EXPORTING TRANSMISSION TOWERS TO CANADA
FROM: U.S. EXPORT-IMPORT BANK
Ex-Im Bank Guarantees $21 Million Export Loan
Transaction Supports Hundreds of U.S. Jobs in Texas
The 220,000 square-foot Jyoti Americas manufacturing plant already employs about 159 workers. As a result of this transaction, an additional shift of skilled workers will be added to the present workforce for this export production.
“We’re pleased to support both Jyoti’s direct investment in America, and the jobs that open up when U.S. manufacturers export,” said Ex-Im Bank Chairman and President Fred P. Hochberg. “This transaction also illustrates how exporters like Jyoti Americas can get fast export credit through one of Ex-Im’s delegated-authority lenders, Cadence Bank. Ex-Im’s guarantee helped clinch the sale, and paved the way for more business and U.S. jobs.”
Jyoti Americas LLC is wholly-owned subsidiary of Jyoti Structures, Ltd., India, which directly invested $41 million to establish a state-of-the-art manufacturing plant in Conroe. The Texas employees will source U.S.-produced steel to fabricate up to 54,000 metric tons annually. Jyoti Americas’ customer in Canada requires electric transmission towers for the Labrador-Island Link LP, an element of the Lower Churchill Project which generates and distributes hydroelectric power to Canada’s Atlantic provinces. Jyoti Americas will design, manufacture, and test eleven different types of high-voltage towers weighing a total 34,000 metric tons.
“We are delighted to receive this support from Ex-Im Bank which paved the way for us to secure and smoothly execute this prestigious export to Canada,” said Ashok Goyal, Joint Managing Director at Jyoti. “With Ex-Im Bank’s guarantee support along with Cadence Bank’s working capital facilities, we look forward to many more such successes globally.”
GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCES FINAL RULES MAKING CAREER COLLEGE PROGRAMS ACCOUNTABLE
FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Obama Administration Announces Final Rules to Protect Students from Poor-Performing Career College Programs
New regulations put tough standards in place for career training programs to help protect students from being saddled with debt they cannot repay
OCTOBER 30, 2014
"Career colleges must be a stepping stone to the middle class. But too many hard-working students find themselves buried in debt with little to show for it. That is simply unacceptable," U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said. "These regulations are a necessary step to ensure that colleges accepting federal funds protect students, cut costs and improve outcomes. We will continue to take action as needed."
To qualify for federal student aid, the law requires that most for-profit programs and certificate programs at private non-profit and public institutions prepare students for "gainful employment in a recognized occupation." Under the regulations finalized today, a program would be considered to lead to gainful employment if the estimated annual loan payment of a typical graduate does not exceed 20 percent of his or her discretionary income or 8 percent of his or her total earnings. Programs that exceed these levels would be at risk of losing their ability to participate in taxpayer-funded federal student aid programs.
The final gainful employment regulations follow an extensive rulemaking process involving public hearings, negotiations and about 95,000 public comments. The regulations, which will go into effect on July 1, 2015, reflect the feedback the Department received, and aim to protect Americans from poor career training programs by targeting those programs that leave students buried in debt with few opportunities to repay it. Highlights of the rule include:
Preventing students from being buried in debt: Based on available data, the Department estimates that about 1,400 programs serving 840,000 students—of whom 99 percent are at for-profit institutions—would not pass the accountability standards. All programs will have the opportunity to make immediate changes that could help them avoid sanctions, but if these programs do not improve, they will ultimately become ineligible for federal student aid—which often makes up nearly 90 percent of the revenue at for-profit institutions.
More rigorous accountability than previous regulations: The new regulations are tougher than the Department's 2011 rules because they set a higher passing requirement and lay out a shorter path to ineligibility for the poorest-performing programs. In 2012, the Department estimated that 193 programs would not have passed the previous regulations; with respect to these new regulations, based on available data, the Department estimates that about 1,400 programs would not pass the accountability metric.
Providing transparency about student success: The rule also provides useful information for all students and consumers by requiring institutions to provide important information about their programs, like what their former students are earning, their success at graduating, and the amount of debt they accumulated.
Improving student outcomes: The regulations build on momentum toward increased accountability in higher education by setting standards for career training programs, including programs offered by for-profit institutions, to ensure they are serving students well. While the Department has seen encouraging changes in the past five years, it believes all career training programs can and should meet higher expectations.
Today, the Department is also taking new steps to formalize partnerships with several federal agencies to enhance cooperation and ensure proper oversight of for-profit institutions of higher education through an interagency task force.
Background on the Administration's efforts to protect students from poor-performing career colleges
Too often, students at career colleges—including thousands of veterans—are charged excessive costs, but don't get the education they paid for. Instead, students in such programs are provided with poor quality training, often for low-wage jobs or in occupations where there are simply no job opportunities. They find themselves with large amounts of debt and, too often, end up in default. In many cases, students are drawn into these programs with confusing or misleading information.
The situation for students at for-profit institutions is particularly troubling. On average, attending a two-year for-profit institution costs a student four times as much as attending a community college. More than 80 percent of students at for-profits borrow, while less than half of students at public institutions do. Ultimately, students at for-profit colleges represent only about 11 percent of the total higher education population but 44 percent of all federal student loan defaults.
In response to these concerns, in 2009, the Department began extensive conversations with the higher education community about the role of career colleges, particularly on how they could be held accountable for the outcomes of their students. Following a 2012 court decision, which affirmed the U.S. Department of Education's authority to regulate in this area in order to protect students and taxpayers, the Department undertook new efforts to make sure career training programs provide affordable pathways to good jobs.
The Department believes many institutions have already started to take steps to improve. Some of the largest institutions have instituted trial periods for programs before students have to commit, so students can decide if that program is right for them. There are reports that institutions have decreased program lengths. Some are reducing costs. And a few institutions have closed some locations and programs they judge to be performing poorly.
But the Department also believes there is still potential for improvement in many of these programs—public, private non-profit and for-profit—so it is taking action to spur more change.
The gainful employment regulations are a central part of the Administration's work to ensure that student debt is affordable and that for-profit colleges serve students well. These regulations complement other efforts taken by the Administration to protect students by addressing problems at poor performing institutions, particularly in the for-profit sector. These efforts include:
Formalizing an interagency oversight task force
The Department will lead an effort to formalize an interagency task force to help ensure proper oversight of for-profit institutions of higher education. In particular, the Department and other federal and state agencies will coordinate their activities and promote information sharing to protect students from unfair, deceptive, and abusive policies and practices. The task force will build on efforts already underway among various federal agencies, and include the Departments of Justice, Treasury and Veterans Affairs, as well as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Federal Trade Commission, and the Securities and Exchange Commission. In addition, state attorneys general will also be invited to continue their participation in this collaboration. Given the important responsibilities each of these federal agencies has, and the vital role that states play, the agencies will leverage their resources and expertise to assist one another, thereby making the best use of scarce resources and better protecting the interests of students and taxpayers. This task force will formalize and strengthen a working group that has been working together over the past year and that has coordinated efforts in several reviews and investigatory work. The task force will meet as needed, but at least once each quarter.
Keeping student debt affordable
The Department is helping more students manage their student debt through flexible repayment options like the Pay As You Earn plan, which caps student loan payments at 10 percent of a borrower's discretionary income. In addition, the Administration continues targeted outreach to help borrowers who may be struggling to repay their loans, ensuring that they have the information they need to select the best repayment option for them and avoid future default.
Developing a college ratings system
The Department is also working on a new college ratings system, which will showcase colleges and universities that are effective in improving student success; incentivize institutions to work toward the most important goals, like graduating low-income students and holding down costs; and help students and families choose their school based on the value it provides for their investment.
Strengthening oversight of the programs on which our nation's service members and veterans rely
Through Executive Order 13607, the Principles of Excellence for Educational Institutions Serving Service Members, Veterans, Spouses, and Other Family Members, the Administration has worked to protect our nation's military families by ensuring that federal military and veterans educational benefits programs are providing service members, veterans, spouses, and other family members with the information, support, and protections they deserve. This includes: establishing a centralized complaint system; new, risk-based program reviews informed by students complaints to focus enforcement efforts at the Departments of Veterans Affairs, Defense, Education and Justice, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and the Federal Trade Commission; and key tools and resources like the online GI Bill ® Comparison Tool, which has made it easier for over 450,000 veterans, service members and their dependents to select education and training programs that provide a good value and meet their needs.
U.S. AMBASSADOR PRESSMAN'S REMARKS TO UN ON SITUATION IN JERUSALEM
FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Remarks by Ambassador David Pressman, U. S . Alternate Representative to the United Nations for Special Political Affairs, at a Security Council Open Debate on the Middle East, October 29, 2014
Ambassador David Pressman
Alternate Representative to the UN for Special Political Affairs
New York, NY
October 29, 2014
AS DELIVERED
Thank you, Madam President, and thank you, Under-Secretary-General Feltman for your briefing.
We are deeply concerned by the deteriorating situation in Jerusalem, especially over the last two weeks. We are living in a time of tremendous turmoil in the Middle East. It is a time that requires brave leadership. A time that requires hard choices – choices that advance peace; choices that advance stability; choices that advance security.
This is a time that calls for responsible decisions by leaders and people of both sides, as well as the international community, to advance the goals of security and peace.
The current situation is only made more difficult by actions that pollute the atmosphere for peace and further undermine trust on both sides. We continue to urge all to refrain from actions, including settlement activity and unhelpful rhetoric by either side, that will only further escalate tensions.
The deterioration of the situation in Jerusalem, at a time when so many are eager for signs of progress towards peace, is deeply troubling.
It’s hard to imagine sites more sensitive than those in Jerusalem and, today, we are very concerned by recent tensions surrounding the Temple Mount / Haram al-Sharif. It is absolutely critical that all sides exercise restraint, refrain from provocative actions and rhetoric, and preserve the historical status quo on the Temple Mount / Haram al-Sharif – in word and in practice.
That’s why Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s recent statements expressing his commitment to maintain the status quo there and not to make any changes at the site are so important. We welcome the Prime Minister’s comments.
The continued commitment by Israelis, Palestinians, and Jordanians to preserve the historic status quo at the holy site is critical. Any decisions or actions to change it would be both provocative and dangerous. We urge the leaders of all three parties to exercise decisive leadership and work cooperatively together to lower tensions and discourage violence, alleviate restrictions on Muslim worshipers, and reinvigorate long-standing coordination mechanisms and relationships that have served over the decades to preserve the historic status quo as it pertains to religious observance and access to the site. These arrangements are essential for maintaining calm at this important and holy site.
Israel’s recently announced plans to advance a project to construct more than 1,000 housing units in East Jerusalem are deeply concerning. Beyond these recent developments, we have also seen reports that Israeli authorities met today and discussed the approval of dozens of projects aimed to expand settlement infrastructure in the West Bank – including water projects, electricity grid expansion, and road construction – along with so-called “legalization” of outposts the Israeli government itself considers illegal. The United States is deeply concerned by these developments. We urge all parties to refrain from provocative actions, including settlement activity by Israeli authorities. Settlement activity will only further escalate tensions at a time that is already tense enough.
The United States views settlement activity as illegitimate. And we have made unambiguously clear our opposition to unilateral steps that may prejudge the future of Jerusalem, just as we have made clear our opposition to any unilateral attempts to make end-runs around the hard work of negotiations.
Against this backdrop, the cycle of violence continues. The unconscionable attack at the Jerusalem tram stop last week that killed a young baby who was a United States citizen is unconscionable. We condemn it in the strongest possible terms. We express our deepest condolences to the family of the child who was killed and the second victim, who succumbed to her wounds. We also express our sympathies to those injured in the attack and hope for their full recovery.
The United States also expresses its deepest condolences to the family of the 14 year-old American citizen who was killed by Israeli Defense Forces during the clashes in Silwad on October 24th. We have called on the Israeli authorities to conduct an expeditious and transparent investigation into this incident and we expect them to do so.
In this especially fraught environment, it is critical that all parties restore calm and that hard choices are made to de-escalate tensions and re-engage in the hard work of negotiations. Unilateral actions and short-cuts are no substitute for the difficult work that peace will require.
Our goal must be to lay the groundwork for a negotiated agreement that will lead to two states living side-by-side in peace and security. As we have said before, the two-state solution is the only viable way forward and negotiations are the means by which this conflict will ultimately be resolved. If the parties are willing and committed to go down this path – in both words and in deeds – then we stand ready to support them every step of the way.
Thank you, Madam President.
Thursday, October 30, 2014
SECRETARY KERRY CONDEMNS SHOOTING OF U.S. CITIZEN IN JERUSALEM
FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Situation in Jerusalem
Press Statement
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
October 30, 2014
I strongly condemn yesterday’s shooting of a U.S. citizen outside the Menachem Begin Heritage Center in Jerusalem. My thoughts and prayers are with the family. The State Department is in touch with authorities as we seek more information.
I am extremely concerned by escalating tensions across Jerusalem and particularly surrounding the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount. It is absolutely critical that all sides exercise restraint, refrain from provocative actions and rhetoric, and preserve the historic status quo on the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount – in word and in practice. The continued commitment by Israelis, Palestinians, and Jordanians to preserve the historic status quo at this holy site is critical; any decisions or actions to change it would be both provocative and dangerous. The Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount must be re-opened to Muslim worshipers and I support the long-standing practices regarding non-Muslim visitors to the site, consistent with respect for the status quo arrangements governing religious observance there.
I am in close touch with senior Israeli, Jordanian, and Palestinian leaders to try to deescalate the situation. I urge the leaders of all three parties to exercise decisive leadership and work cooperatively together to lower tensions and discourage violence, alleviate restrictions on Muslim worshipers, and reinvigorate long-standing coordination mechanisms and relationships that have served over the decades to preserve the historic status quo as it pertains to religious observance and access to the site.
TERRA SATELLITE'S IMAGE OF TROPICAL CYCLONE NILOFAR
NASA's Terra satellite captured this image on Oct. 30 at 06:35 UTC (2:35 a.m. EDT) as Tropical Cyclone Nilofar was approaching the Pakistan/India border. Image Credit: NASA Goddard MODIS Rapid Response Team. Image Credit-NASA Goddard.
Tropical Cyclone Nilofar was closing in on the border between Pakistan and northwestern India on Oct. 30 when NASA's Terra satellite passed overhead from space. Wind shear continued to affect the storm making it appear more like a comet with a tail, than a tropical cyclone.
The MODIS or Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer instrument that flies aboard NASA's Terra satellite captured a visible image of Nilofar on Oct. 30 at 06:35 UTC (2:35 a.m. EDT). Nilofar was still being affected by southwesterly wind shear, which was blowing the clouds and showers to the northeast. In the MODIS image, thunderstorms surrounded the center of the storm making it look like the core of a comet. Wind shear was stretching out clouds and showers to the northeast of the center, making it look like a comet's tail. Those clouds over northwestern India were already bringing rain along with gusty winds to the region. Nilofar was already causing rough surf to coastlines from India and Pakistan west to Oman.
The Joint Typhoon Warning Center noted that microwave satellite imagery showed a ragged eye, but the low-level center of circulation appears to be "unraveling."
The wind shear has been weakening Nilofar, and by Thursday, Oct. 30 at 900 UTC (5 a.m. EDT) maximum sustained winds had dropped below hurricane-strength to 50 knots (57.5 mph/92.6 kph) and are expected to weaken the storm to a depression by November 1. Nilofar was located near 20.2 north latitude and 64.3 east longitude, about 294 nautical miles east of Masirah Island. It was moving to the northeast at 5 knots (5.7 mph/9.2 kph).
On Oct. 30, the India Meteorological Department's Regionalized Specialized Meteorological Centre (RSMC) forecast called for Nilofar to move northeastward and weaken into a depression over northeast Arabian Sea off the north Gujarat coast late (local time) on Oct. 31.
SECRETARY HAGEL PROVIDES INSIGHT INTO HIS APPROACH TO NATIONAL SECURITY
FROM: U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
Hagel Offers Perspective on ‘Historic, Defining Times’
By Air Force Tech. Sgt. Jake Richmond
DoD News, Defense Media Activity
WASHINGTON, Oct. 29, 2014 – Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel today provided perspectives on his approach to national security issues during an interview at the Washington Ideas Forum here.
“I think we are living through one of these historic, defining times,” Hagel told James Fallows, national correspondent for The Atlantic. “I think we are seeing a new world order.”
Hagel said the multitude of issues confronting the nation “affects us now, [and] will continue to affect us into the future,” especially the conflicts involving the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.
“What we’re seeing in the Middle East with ISIL is going to require a steady, long-term effort,” Hagel said. “It’s going to require coalitions of common interests, which we are forming.”
The secretary also cited pandemic disease, relationships with China and Russia and climate change as major issues affecting national defense.
Emphasis on relationships
Navigating those issues, Hagel said, requires not only large-scale cooperation, but also a greater emphasis on individual, personal relationships.
“We all know that nations always respond in their own self interests. That’s predictable. That’s good,” he said. “But personal relationships are the lubricant. It doesn’t change a policy, but it makes it better.”
The secretary said his approach is heavily influenced by his experience as an enlisted veteran of the Vietnam War. Nothing else has made him more aware of being careful of unintended consequences and good intentions, he added.
“It’s made me cautious,” Hagel said. “[I] always think through the whole sequence of questions. What happens? Where’s this going? What’s the end result? And what could go wrong?”
And caution is good up to a point, he said, “but then you’ve got to make decisions.”
POLICE OFFICERS WHO REPEATEDLY TASED MENTALLY DISABLED WOMAN PLEAD GUILTY TO USING EXCESSIVE FORCE
FROM: U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
Two Former Police Officers Plead Guilty to Using Excessive Force When Tasing a Woman
Eric Walters, 39, and Franklin Brown, 35, formerly police officers with the City of Marion Police Department, in South Carolina, pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court to using excessive force against a woman with mental disabilities on April 2, 2013, the Justice Department announced today.
Walters and Brown each pleaded guilty to one count of deprivation of rights under color of law for using unreasonable force for their role in repeatedly tasing the victim when she posed no threat to either officer. Walters and Brown pleaded before U.S. District Court Judge Bryan Harwell in federal court in Florence, South Carolina.
According to the information and facts presented in court, in the course of detaining the victim, Walters tased the victim causing her to fall to the ground and injure her head. Once on the ground, Walters continued to tase the victim multiple times. Brown, subsequently, arrived on scene and proceeded to tase the victim as she was seated on the curb, restrained in handcuffs, and surrounded by law enforcement. In court, Walters and Brown admitted there was no legitimate law enforcement purpose for repeatedly tasing the victim as she did not pose a threat to the officers.
“The defendants abused their authority as law enforcement officers by repeatedly tasing a defenseless, compliant victim,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta for the Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department will continue to vigorously prosecute those who cross the line to engage in acts of criminal misconduct.”
“Law enforcement officers are entrusted with the state’s police powers to maintain and restore order,” said U.S. Attorney Bill Nettles for the District of South Carolina. “In this case, the officers abused that authority, and purposefully hurt the victim who at the time posed no threat to these officers or anyone else. No just society can tolerate this sort of abuse by those who wear the badge. I’d like to thank the Federal Bureau of Investigations, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division and the team in my office who worked together to ensure that these officers were held accountable for their misdeeds.”
Sentencing will be scheduled at a later date. Walters and Brown face statutory maximum penalties of 10 year sentences in prison and $250,000 fines.
The case was investigated by the Columbia Division of the FBI and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John Potterfield of the District of South Carolina and Trial Attorneys Nicholas Murphy and Henry Leventis of the Civil Rights Division.
TWO TAX PREPARERS INDICTED FOR ROLES IN STOLEN IDENTITY REFUND SCHEME
FROM: U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
Alabama Tax Preparers Indicted for Stolen Identity Refund Fraud
Two women from Phenix City, Alabama, were indicted yesterday for their involvement in a stolen identity refund fraud scheme (SIRF), Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Larry J. Wszalek for the Justice Department's Tax Division and U.S. Attorney George L. Beck Jr. for the Middle District of Alabama announced today following the unsealing of the indictment.
Teresa Floyd and her daughter, Lasondra Davis Miles, were charged with conspiracy to submit false claims, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. Floyd was also charged with theft of public money.
According to the superseding indictment, Floyd and Davis operated several tax preparation businesses in the Phenix City area, including T & L Tax Service and T & C Used Cars & Tax Service. Floyd and Davis obtained stolen identities and used those identities to file more than 900 federal income tax returns that claimed more than $2.5 million in tax refunds. To obtain the money from the scheme, the defendants applied for bank products from various financial institutions, which provided to the defendants blank check stock. The bank products allow a tax preparer to deduct their fees directly from a tax refund and then print out the remainder of the refund as a check. Floyd and Davis created fictitious identification documents and bills to provide to the financial institutions in an attempt to verify that the returns were filed in the names of legitimate customers. The defendants caused the fraudulent checks to be cashed at several businesses in Alabama and Georgia. Floyd also deposited fraudulent income tax refund checks into her bank account.
If convicted, the defendants face a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for the conspiracy to file false claims count, a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for each wire fraud count, a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for each theft of public money count and a mandatory sentence of two years in prison for the aggravated identity theft counts. The defendants are also subject to fines, forfeiture and mandatory restitution if convicted.
The case was investigated by special agents of the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation. Trial Attorney Michael Boteler of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd Brown for the Middle District of Alabama are prosecuting the case.
An indictment merely alleges that crimes have been committed and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
ASSISTANT AG CARLIN MAKES REMARKS AT U.S. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE CYBERSECURITY SUMMIT
FROM: U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Remarks by Assistant Attorney General John Carlin at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Third Annual Cybersecurity Summit
Washington, DCUnited States ~ Tuesday, October 28, 2014
Remarks as Prepared for Delivery
In establishing an annual gathering focused on cybersecurity challenges, the Chamber of Commerce continues to demonstrate its commitment to keeping our nation secure, and to lowering barriers for American businesses to compete fairly in our global economy. The fact that this is your third annual cybersecurity summit is a testament to the growing magnitude of these threats and your commitment to make cybersecurity central to your business plans.
This is an important issue, and one I know the Chamber has emphasized as part of its National Cybersecurity Awareness Campaign, which kicked off in May. In the campaign roundtable events leading up to today’s summit, the Chamber stressed the importance of cyber risk management and reporting cyber incidents to law enforcement. I couldn’t agree with these two recommendations more. Today’s event is our opportunity to discuss how we can take these steps and others to best protect ourselves and our nation.
Cybersecurity threats affect us all – and they affect our privacy, our safety, and our economic vitality. They present collective risk; disrupting them is our collective responsibility. The attackers we face range in sophistication. And when it comes to nation states and terrorists, it is not fair to let the private sector face these threats alone. The government ought to help, and we do.
At the National Security Division, we focus on tackling cyber threats to the national security – in other words, those posed by terrorists and state-sponsored actors. As I will talk about a bit later, we have restructured our division to focus on bringing all tools to bear against these threats.
Likewise, Chamber members have a particularly important role to play in our strategy.
You are living through these consequences with alarming frequency: according to Brookings, 97 percent of Fortune 500 companies have been hacked. PwC released a report this week finding that the number of detected cyberattacks in 2014 increased 48 percent over 2013. As FBI Director James Comey said, “there are two kinds of big companies in America: those who have been hacked . . . and those who don't know they've been hacked.”
We are on notice. We are all targets. I would venture to say everyone in this room has, in their professional or private life, been affected by a cybersecurity breach. At best – a minor inconvenience. A re-issued credit card. At worst – devastation to your company’s reputation, loss of customer trust, and injury to your bottom line.
Without taking proper steps – it is a question of when, not if, a major public breach will happen to you. And with that will come questions about whether you did enough to protect your company, your customers, and your information.
Have you thought ahead to the day when you will have to face your customers, your employees, your board, and your shareholders. When you will have to notify them that someone has infiltrated your company and stolen your most valuable or private information? If that day was today, could you tell them that you’ve done everything in your power to protect your company’s future? Had you warned them of the risks? Would you be able to say that you minimized the damage?
Do you have a plan?
It’s a pretty daunting scenario. So it is no surprise that surveys of general counsels identify cybersecurity as the number one issue on their minds today. But surveys show that over a quarter of Fortune 500 companies still don’t have an established response to cyber intrusions.
This is risky business. We know that we will never achieve impenetrable defenses. That we will remain vulnerable. But you can take steps to mitigate the risk, protect yourselves and your companies, and ultimately, the cybersecurity of the United States.
We have identified four essential components of corporate cyber risk management.
First – equip and educate yourself. Make sure you have a comprehensive—and comprehensible— cyber incident response plan.
And review it. I have spoken with many CEOs and general counsels who have said they have not reviewed, or cannot decipher, their company’s plan. We must do better. These are C-suite decisions. You cannot manage your corporate risk if you do not understand it.
Make sure it addresses the “who,” the “what,” and the “when.”
Who is involved and who needs to be notified?
What will you disclose?
When will you notify clients, law enforcement, and the general public?
Second – know that your business contacts create risk. Malicious actors can exploit your outside vendors—no matter how resilient you think your defenses may be. Consider guidelines to govern third-party access to your network and ensure that your contracts require vendors to adopt appropriate cybersecurity practices.
Third – protect your bottom line. Companies are increasingly considering cyber insurance, and you should consider how this may fit into your risk management strategy. Cyber insurance may offer financial protection, and may also incentivize companies to audit their system’s defenses.
Finally – do not go it alone. Some of our attackers are linked to deep state military budgets. And when they are, it’s not a fair fight for you to take on alone. We must work together.
So working with us can be one more component of your risk-management strategy. As more breaches are publicly acknowledged, the public will ask how quickly and effectively you responded.
As leaders, you will have to answer to your shareholders, board members, customers, the media and the public. You will want to say you did everything you could to mitigate your financial loss. Your company’s bottom line, and your financial reputation, will depend on it. And we can help. We can provide you with information to protect your networks, and we may be able to take actions to disrupt and deter the attackers that you cannot take by yourself. So you are on the front lines of these battles, but we are with you. We are committed to working with you to protect your networks, identify perpetrators, disrupt their efforts, and hold them accountable. At the Department of Justice, this is among our top priorities.
At the National Security Division, we recently appointed new senior leadership to strengthen our capacity to protect national assets from cyberattacks and economic espionage. We created and trained the nation-wide National Security Cyber Specialists’ – or NSCS – Network to focus on combating cyber threats to the national security.
At DOJ, we follow the facts and evidence where they lead – whether to a disgruntled employee or lone hacker working in obscurity; to an organized crime syndicate in Russia; or even to a uniformed member of the Chinese military.
And indictments and prosecutions are a public and powerful way in which we the people, governed by the rule of law, legitimize and prove our allegations. As Attorney General Holder said in May, “enough is enough.” We are aware of no nation that publicly states that theft of information for commercial gain is acceptable. And that’s because it’s not. Nevertheless, in the shadows of their flags, some may encourage and support corporate theft for the profit of state-owned enterprises. We will continue to denounce these actions, including by bringing criminal charges. And we won’t stop until the crimes stop. A core part of the government’s response must be disruption and deterrence, in order to raise the costs to people who commit these thefts and to deter others from emulating their actions.
Of course, we recognize that the criminal justice system is just one tool in our toolbox. In addition to prosecutions, we are working in conjunction with key government partners to explore how to apply designations, sanctions, trade pressure, and other options, to confront new cyber challenges.
These changes will help us fulfill our collective responsibility. And they will help us work with you.
Which is important because we rely on cooperation from the private sector to bring many of these cases, from identifying the malware and its functions, to pinpointing the location of servers commanding botnets, to assisting victims in removing the malicious software from their computers.
Take as one example the take-down of Gameover Zeus and disruption of the Cryptolocker ransomware – a big success for our colleagues in the Criminal Division’s Computer Crimes and Intellectual Property Section and the Western District of Pennsylvania. This take-down would not have been possible without close cooperation. The FBI’s Robert Anderson called it the “the largest fusion of law enforcement and industry partner cooperation ever undertaken in support of an FBI cyber operation.”
We recognize that one of the best ways to protect the nation is to support you in your own efforts. In 2013, federal agents informed over 3,000 companies that their computer systems were hacked. And every day, the FBI works with companies targeted by malicious activity, ranging from low-tech denial of service attacks to sophisticated intrusions by elite, state-supported military hacking units.
But, we’re not limited to helping you solely in the aftermath of an intrusion.
Nor do we see our role as only a collector of information.
We also share sensitive information with you so you can defend against attacks in real time, and engage in disruption efforts. In the past year alone, the FBI presented over three dozen classified, sector-specific threat briefings to companies like yours.
The information we share with you may enhance your ability to deter future intrusions. And your engagement with law enforcement can help us connect the dots between your breach and a broader threat.
We may be able to help identify what was stolen from you, locate the perpetrator of the attack, and in certain cases, be able to disrupt planned attacks or mitigate the effects of past intrusions.
Given the importance of this cooperation, the Department of Justice is committed to lowering the barriers to sharing information. Through extensive one-on-one meetings with in-house legal teams, we learned what you perceive to be the legal hurdles to cooperation, and are addressing them.
We’ve clarified that certain laws - such as the Stored Communications Act and antitrust statutes – are not impediments to sharing information with the government in certain situations.
We understand that trust is an essential predicate to voluntary reporting. And in our work with you, we strive to protect your sensitive data – including trade secrets, details of network architecture, and PII.
Bottom line, we can help you manage your risk, and you can help us keep our nation safe.
The 9/11 Commission recently concluded that “we are at September 10th levels in terms of cyber preparedness,” and warned that “history may be repeating itself in the cyber realm.” We must band together to keep that from happening.
At the department, we want to arm ourselves for the threats of today, but prepare ourselves for those that are just over the horizon.
Think about the tools that cyber criminals use – intrusion software, ransomware, and botnets. When used by cyber criminals, these tools are generally used for financial gain. But these tools can also be used to disrupt and destroy. Terrorists have stated they want to exploit cybersecurity vulnerabilities to harm our way of life. Al Qaeda announced its intent to conduct cyberattacks against civilian targets such as the electric grid and financial system.
The Department of Homeland Security recently confirmed it is investigating two dozen cybersecurity flaws in medical devices and hospital equipment that could be exploited to injure or kill a patient with a few strokes on a keyboard. The threats are real.
We must acknowledge that terrorists want to acquire these cyber capabilities and, if they succeed, will not hesitate to deploy them. It is a race against time, and one with high-stakes consequences.
At the department, we are also looking at the gaps that may exist in our authorities. Many of our laws – long on the books – were not written with cyberspace in mind. They don’t necessarily contemplate remote access or extraterritorial crimes, they don’t facilitate multi-jurisdictional investigation, and they don’t always empower us to bring our authorities to bear swiftly and effectively. But we are committed to working with the relevant law- and rule-makers who support modernizing these laws. New cyber legislation, in several different areas, is needed.
I want to conclude my remarks by discussing the changing perceptions of being hacked. Among consumers and industry, there is a growing understanding that companies are going to get breached. But that doesn’t mean you should turn the other way. There is an enormous downside to taking an “ostrich approach” to cyber threats. Consumers expect that companies will adopt industry standards for cybersecurity. And when intrusions happen, consumers expect companies to respond promptly, acknowledge the intrusion publicly, and cooperate with law enforcement to mitigate the damage.
The Chamber of Commerce and its members are uniquely positioned to drive corporate change; to ensure that your companies and your partners treat cyber breaches as more than mere technical problems; to recognize that security operations are not insulated from business operations; and to discuss with your boards, your employees, and your industries the importance of cybersecurity risk management.
As we face ever more threats in cyberspace, let’s incorporate public-private cooperation into our cyber tool kit. The threats aren’t letting up, and neither will we. Thank you very much for inviting me.
ANNE RICHARD MAKES REMARKS AT CONFERENCE ON PROTECTION OF REFUGEE CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS
FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Investing in the Future: Protecting Refugee Children in the Middle East and North Africa
Remarks
Anne C. Richard
Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration
Remarks at the First Regional Conference Dedicated to the Protection of Refugee Children and Adolescents
Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
October 15, 2014
Children in the region confront horrors and hardships that almost defy belief. They have been blown apart by bombs at elementary schools, sold as sex slaves and forced to fight.
Millions of children have been driven from their homes in Syria. Recently hundreds of thousands have fled their homes in Iraq. I have met refugee children in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq, and heard their harrowing stories.
I have also seen hundreds of refugee children who were bound for North Africa. They had walked from Eritrea to a camp in Ethiopia. Many were utterly alone. They had fled ruthless repression, hopelessness, and military service without end. But were about to continue northward, where smugglers and traffickers could easily kidnap, rob, rape them or send them off aboard unseaworthy boats to drown.
By cooperating more effectively, I believe we can offer more and better protection to these vulnerable refugee children and adolescents. So I am very pleased that we have gathered for this conference.
Meeting refugees’ basic needs – providing shelter, health care, and nutrition – is not enough. Children and adolescents need targeted aid that is tailored to their ages and needs, recognizes how vulnerable they are and how resilient they can be. These programs can change the trajectory of their lives.
The U.S. government supports the goals outlined in UNHCR’s 2012 Framework for the Protection of Children. Today I will focus on one of these goals, safety, and on the related issues of protecting girls, providing quality, education and proper documentation for refugee children.
Children continue to face danger, long after they flee from the bullets and the bombs. Often refugee children and adolescents shoulder burdens that they should not, because families are fractured, or because years of exile have stripped them of their money, their dignity, and their patience.
More and more children are working, often in jobs that jeopardize their health or their futures because their families need the cash.
Refugee girls and adolescents face sexual exploitation and abuse. Some of those who wield power over refugees have reportedly extorted sexual favors. Land lords, camp leaders, and as in crises elsewhere, even some of those charged with delivering aid.
Many Syrian refugee girls are not allowed to attend school or even leave their homes because it’s considered too dangerous. Women and girls may be reluctant to seek help when they are harassed. Adolescent girls who are harassed may themselves be blamed and punished by relatives for shaming their families. In part, because sexual abuse is such a danger, and in part because families are running out of money, girls are being forced to marry.
Studies show that in two years, the rate of child marriages among Syrian refugees in Jordan has doubled, and nearly half of these marriages pair girls with men at least a decade older. Child brides are more likely to drop out of school, have risky early pregnancies, and face domestic abuse, which endangers both them and their children.
Donors, aid agencies, and host governments can work together to help children be and feel safer. Specialized training can help aid workers care for and counsel children. Most aid groups know that we should not create redundant structures that run parallel to existing government institutions, but instead, improve government services to protect all children.
As humanitarians and donors, we must hold ourselves to the highest possible standard. Aid workers and others who are supposed to be helping refugees should NEVER – not ever – get away with sexually exploiting or abusing them. This is why codes of conduct and respect for the core principles of Preventing Sexual Exploitation and Abuse are so important. We can improve safeguards and mechanisms for reporting abuse and work together to bring perpetrators to justice.
Countries hosting refugee children can also consider tightening certain laws or stepping up enforcement of existing laws to prevent forced early marriage and the worst forms of child labor. Governments could ease the financial pressures on families that put children at risk. For instance, granting temporary work permits to adults – can make an enormous difference to children.
Access to good schools can insulate refugee children from all sorts of hazards. Parents who believe their children are learning something useful are less likely to urge them to drop out and go to work or get married. Being in school lowers the risk that children will be recruited to fight.
In addition, school can offer something precious to uprooted children: normalcy and social cohesion. Yet, after more than three years of warfare, three million children in Syria are no longer in school. More than half a million Syrian refugee children in neighboring countries face the same predicament. This includes half of all registered Syrian refugee children in Jordan and 80 percent of those in Lebanon.
Because schools are severely overcrowded, some communities have resorted to double-and even triple-shifts. Syrian children in Turkey and northern Iraq also struggle because they do not understand Turkish or Kurdish. The majority, who do not live in camps, have a much harder time enrolling in school. Some have missed too much school to go back. Some are too traumatized to concentrate and learn.
Education is also under siege in Iraq and Gaza. In parts of Iraq, more than 2,000 schools now house families forced to flee the mayhem unleashed by ISIL extremists. After the recent fighting, many schools in Gaza are either damaged or destroyed or continue to shelter displaced civilians.
Many of your governments are pouring enormous effort and resources into accommodating the huge influx of refugee children. The No Lost Generation initiative has helped to nearly triple the number of Syrian children receiving education in neighboring countries. The United States is committing millions of dollars for education programs through organizations like UNICEF, UNHCR, UNRWA, and international non-governmental organizations.
The international community supports steps to broaden access further by making it easier to register for school or earn certificates or other credentials. Innovative solutions including non-traditional education can fill gaps. For example, UNRWA is broadcasting school lessons on satellite television and YouTube to reach its students in Syria who are unable to attend school.
We can help children feel safer in school and on the way there. Children too emotionally distraught to pay attention may benefit from counseling. Additional training can help teachers to recognize and assist them. Our projects should not only help refugees but also build social cohesion between refugee and host communities by meeting both groups’ needs.
Finally, I would like to talk about my third topic: the legal documents every child needs to be recognized as a person. We are at risk of creating a generation of stateless children. This is because many refugee children are not registered at birth and because nationality laws in several countries in the region bar women from conferring their nationality to their children.
Every year, thousands of Syrian refugee children are born without documentation, and without fathers on hand to help secure their nationality. Without birth registration, these children may not be able to enroll in school or gain access to vital services. Worse still, they become particularly vulnerable to the type of exploitation we’ve already discussed today: to child labor, child marriage, and other forms of gender-based violence. This lack of birth registration can haunt refugee children for the rest of their lives.
In 2011, the U.S. Department of State launched an initiative to promote women’s equal right to nationality. It seeks legal reforms in the 27 countries where women lack this right, and pushes for registration of all children at birth.
Some countries have taken important steps to remove barriers to registration.
Jordan, for example, is establishing satellite offices of its Civil Service Department in major refugee camps, and waiving certain deadlines and fees for birth registration.
We know that children are resilient. If someone stands up for them, protects them, teaches them, while they are still young they can heal, and learn. The demands are so great and the stakes so high that we must not falter, or waste precious resources or miss opportunities to cooperate. I am grateful to be here, to share our perspectives and to hear yours as we work together to help the region’s children.
Thank you very much.
Wednesday, October 29, 2014
SECRETARY HAGEL COMMENTS ON EBOLA MONITORING OF U.S. TROOPS RETURNING FROM WEST AFRICA
Air Force Staff Sgt. Chris Olmsted directs a C-17 Globemaster III in Monrovia, Liberia, during Operation United Assistance, Oct. 23, 2014. Olmsted is part of the Joint Task Force-Port Opening team assigned to the 621st Contingency Response Wing, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Gustavo Gonzalez.
Hagel: Monitoring Returning Troops Provides ‘Safety Valve’
By Air Force Tech. Sgt. Jake Richmond
DoD News, Defense Media Activity
WASHINGTON, Oct. 29, 2014 – A 21-day monitoring period for U.S. service members returning from areas affected by Ebola in West Africa provides a margin of safety that troops and their families wanted, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said here today.
During an interview at the Washington Ideas Forum here, Hagel said the policy he signed this morning was “discussed in great detail by the communities, by the families of our military men and women,” who very much wanted a “safety valve” in place.
The order implements a recommendation from the Joint Chiefs of Staff to place all U.S. military service members returning from Operation United Assistance into a 21-day controlled monitoring regimen. It applies to all military services contributing personnel to the fight against Ebola at its source, Pentagon Press Secretary Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby said in a statement.
Review required within 45 days
Hagel’s directive to the Joint Chiefs also stipulates that they provide operational specifics for the program within 15 days and a review of the new regimen within 45 days. The review will take into account what officials learn and observe from the initial waves of personnel returning from Operation United Assistance, and will result in a recommendation on whether the controlled monitoring should continue, Kirby said.
“The secretary believes these initial steps are prudent, given the large number of military personnel transiting from their home base and West Africa and the unique logistical demands and impact this deployment has on the force,” the press secretary said. “The secretary's highest priority is the safety and security of our men and women in uniform and their families.”
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)