ORION SPACECRAFT SUIT BEING TESTED AT JOHNSON SPACE CENTER

FROM:  NASA

Engineers and technicians at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston are testing the spacesuit astronauts will wear in the agency’s Orion spacecraft on trips to deep space. On March 17, members of the Johnson team participated in a Vacuum Pressure Integrated Suit Test to verify enhancements to the suit will meet test and design standards for the Orion spacecraft.  During this test, the suit is connected to life support systems and then air is removed from Johnson’s 11-foot thermal vacuum chamber to evaluate the performance of the suits in conditions similar to a spacecraft. The suit, known as the Modified Advanced Crew Escape Suit, is a closed-loop version of the launch and entry suits worn by space shuttle astronauts. The suit will contain all the necessary functions to support life and is being designed to enable spacewalks and sustain the crew in the unlikely event the spacecraft loses pressure. This is the first in a series of four tests with people in the suits to evaluate the performance of the spacesuit systems in an environment similar to a spacecraft.  Image Credit: NASA/ Bill Stafford

PRESIDENT ANNOUNCES "CALL TO ARTS" INITIATIVE

FROM:  THE WHITE HOUSE
March 20, 2015
President Obama Announces New “Call to Arts” Initiative as Part of his National Call To Service

AFI and SAG-AFTRA Answer the President’s Call to Service and Pledge to Work Toward One Million Hours of Mentorship in Support of the Next Generation of Storytellers

Washington, DC - Today President Obama will host the second-annual White House Student Film Festival where he will announce a new Call to Arts Initiative through the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), the federal agency tasked with leading United We Serve, to help inspire and mentor young artists around the country. The President will also announce that the American Film Institute (AFI) and Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) have answered his call and will work toward a goal of one million mentor hours over the next three years together with the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS).

The film festival showcases 15 students’ visions on the theme, “The Impact of Giving Back” and highlights the promise of mentorship in the arts and calls for the entertainment industry to build upon their mentoring programs and engagement nationwide. The fifteen student videos from around the country were chosen as “Official Selections” in collaboration with the American Film Institute who engage with Participant Media and their Teach Initiative to expand the festival this year.

In keeping with President Obama’s vision of giving every child the chance to reach their full potential, the Administration continues to expand opportunities for mentoring and to support the individuals who enable future leaders. The Administration is working with businesses to increase apprenticeship programs and connect groups traditionally underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and math fields with role models in STEM careers. First Lady Michelle Obama's Reach Higher initiative is encouraging campus groups and college students to connect with high schoolers and other near-peers who do not always see themselves completing higher education. The Council on Women and Girls and initiatives like My Brother’s Keeper were launched by the President to recognize our responsibility to reach every young person regardless of who they are or where they come from.

About the “Call to Arts”:

The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), the federal agency that leads the President’s United We Serve initiative, is joining forces with the American Film Institute (AFI) and AFTRA to help lead a three-year effort entitled Call to Arts aimed at inspiring young artists. AFI and SAG-AFTRA will enlist mentors to help young people grow as artists by sharing their passion and furthering their goals.

These groups share a goal of together dedicating more than a million mentorship hours during the next three years.

How this Partnership Works:

CNCS, working with organizations like MENTOR: The National Mentoring Project, will identify partner organizations that can link SAG-AFTRA members to local organizations where they will share their skills and experience to inspire young people to pursue careers in the arts. Serve.gov/CalltoArts, the website for the President’s Call to Service, will include resources and guidance for SAG-AFTRA members. This feature will be in addition to the existing mentoring resources open to all Americans. www.serve.gov/calltoarts

Mentoring:

President Obama believes that we all have unique talents that can open more doors of opportunity for our young people through mentoring. He is now calling on the artist community to join in and help nurture the creativity in the next generation. Research shows that mentoring works. Studies by MENTOR: The National Mentoring Partnership show:

Students who meet regularly with their mentors are 52% less likely than their peers to skip a day of school and 37% less likely to skip a class.
Youth who meet regularly with their mentors are 46% less likely than their peers to start using illegal drugs and 27% less likely to start drinking.
Seventy-six percent of at-risk young adults who had a mentor aspire to enroll in and graduate from college versus half of at-risk young adults who had no mentor.  They are also more likely to be enrolled in college.
Mentoring reduces “depressive symptoms” and increases “social acceptance, academic attitudes, and grades.”
About United We Serve:

United We Serve, President Obama’s nationwide service initiative, is built on the belief that ordinary people can come together and achieve extraordinary things when given the proper tools. This initiative aims to both expand the impact of existing organizations by engaging new volunteers in their work and encourage volunteers to develop their own "do-it-yourself" projects.

If we want to realize change in our communities, we've got to be in it for the long haul, and it starts with each of us.

Serve.gov, the online home of United We Serve, is managed by the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), the federal agency charged with promoting and fostering volunteering and national service programs like AmeriCorps for the nation.

OSHA CITES UNIVERSITY FOR EXPOSING FACULTY TO FORMALDEHYDE

FROM:  U.S. LABOR DEPARTMENT
OSHA cites Nova Southeastern University for exposing faculty to high levels of formaldehyde
Employer name: Nova Southeastern University

Inspection site: 3301 College Ave., Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33314
Date inspection initiated: The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration initiated the investigation on Nov. 5, 2014, after receiving a complaint about faculty in the anatomy lab being exposed to formaldehyde.

Inspection findings:

OSHA issued 10 serious citations to the employer for not providing personal protective equipment to workers exposed to formaldehyde; exposing workers to formaldehyde levels beyond the safe exposure limits; not providing a medical surveillance program for workers found to be over the short term exposure limit; not taking corrective action to reduce worker exposure; and not providing eyewash stations in the work area where workers prepared a formaldehyde solution. Additionally, the employer failed to provide the employees who were over the exposure limit their sampling results and neglected to take the necessary steps to reduce or eliminate the exposure. A serious violation occurs when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known.

Quote: "Nova Southeastern University failed to protect its workers from the hazards of over-exposure to formaldehyde," said Beatriz Cabrera acting area director of OSHA's Fort Lauderdale Area Office. "Formaldehyde can irritate the eyes and nose, and cause coughing and wheezing. It is a sensitizer, which means that it can cause allergic reactions of the lungs, skin and eyes, such as asthma, rashes and itching. It also has been linked to cancer."

Proposed Penalties: $50,000

EXPORT-IMPORT BANK TOUTS AN EXPORT SUCCESS STORY

FROM:  U.S. EXPORT-IMPORT BANK
Export-Import Bank Small Business Success: Semi-Bulk Systems of Fenton, Mo.

Washington, D.C. – Semi-Bulk Systems (SBS) is a manufacturer of modular engineered process solutions involving dry ingredient handling and dry and liquid mixing systems for the food, beverage, and paint industries based in Fenton, Mo. As a result of financing support provided by the Export-Import Bank of the U.S. (Ex-Im Bank), the company has witnessed a considerable increase in export sales to global markets.

Founded in 1975, the St. Louis area company began utilizing Ex-Im Bank’s export credit insurance, which empowers companies to increase export sales by limiting their risk of buyer nonpayment. The company employs 30 people in Fenton, Mo.

“Without Ex-Im support, it would be difficult to pursue opportunities and offer products and services to our international customers around the world,” said Charles S. Alack, CEO and COO. “With Ex-Im support, however, our export sales have grown from 10 percent of total sales up to 50 percent.”

“Small businesses in Missouri like SBS that wish to boost their sales abroad and support more good-paying jobs at home have a reliable ally in Ex-Im Bank,” said Ex-Im Bank Chairman and President Fred P. Hochberg. “In FY 2014 alone, Ex-Im Bank supported $83.9 million in Missouri exports, 67 percent of which were small business exports.”    

ELEPHANT REFUGE MANAGER FOUND WITH CHEST CRUSHED: OSHA ISSUES HAZARD ALERT LETTER

FROM:  U.S. LABOR DEPARTMENT
OSHA issues hazard alert letter to Hope Elephants following death
Maine elephant refuge instructed to follow industry safety standards
Employer name: Hope Elephants
Inspection site: 49 Hatchet Rd., Hope, Maine 04847

Date of incident: James Laurita, co-founder, curator and elephant manager of the Hope Elephant Refuge was found dead in the refuge's compound on Sept. 9, 2014, with a crushed chest.

Investigation findings: OSHA's inspection found that Mr. Laurita routinely entered the compound to work with the two elephants then in residence at the refuge. As a result, OSHA has issued a hazard alert letter to Hope Elephants' board of directors noting the hazards of having individuals routinely enter the elephant enclosure without protection against crushing injuries caused by elephants and recommending that protected contact, consistent with industry standards, be used when employees work with elephants.

The letter also recommends that Hope Elephants develop and implement a policy as to how it will ensure that elephant care providers are not present in the same unrestricted space as elephants, except in rare circumstances as detailed in the policy. While elephants are no longer present at the facility, the letter instructs the board to notify OSHA of its progress in protecting workers if and when elephants are brought back to the facility or any other owned or managed by the company.

The Association of Zoos and Aquariums' standard for elephant management and care stipulates that institutions have adequate infrastructure to manage and care for elephants with barriers and/or restraints in place to increase employee safety. The AZA measures compliance with the standard through a determination that elephant care providers do not share the same unrestricted space with elephants, except in certain, well-defined circumstances.

"James Laurita's death is a tragic example of what can happen when employers fail to follow industry requirements and to take the necessary steps to protect employees. The care and management of elephants and other wild animals can be a rewarding profession, but not if it comes at the cost of a worker's life," said Maryann Medeiros, OSHA's area director for Maine.

DOJ ASKS COURT TO SHUT DOWN TAX RETURN PREPARER IN CASE INVOLVING INELIGIBLE CHILD TAX CREDITS, OTHER ALLEGATIONS

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
Justice Department Asks Federal Court to Shut Down Indiana Tax Return Preparer

The United States filed a complaint seeking to permanently bar an Indianapolis woman from preparing federal tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced today.

The civil injunction complaint against Jennifer Carolina Gonzalez, doing business as Jenny’s Tax Services, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, alleges that Gonzales fraudulently adjusted customers’ income claimed on Schedule C (Profit or Loss From Business) to either increase an Earned Income Tax Credit the customer was not entitled to, or to reduce the customer’s tax liability.  Gonzalez, according to the suit, also frequently prepared returns claiming head of household filing status for customers who were ineligible.  The complaint alleges that Gonzalez frequently prepared returns claiming child tax credits for customers’ relatives who lived in Mexico and had never lived in the United States, even though Gonzalez knew that children living in Mexico cannot be used to support child tax credits and additional child tax credits.

Tax return preparers must provide their Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN) on returns they prepare.  As alleged in the complaint, as part of a pattern of non-compliance, Gonzalez failed to provide her own PTIN on returns she prepared until January 2013.  Instead, the complaint alleges that Gonzalez used a PTIN assigned to a person living in New Jersey, who has no connection to Gonzalez and has never authorized Gonzalez or anyone else to use the PTIN.

The complaint further alleges that, in 2012, Gonzalez sold the use of the third-party PTIN she had appropriated, her own Electronic Filing Identification Number (EFIN) and Jenny’s Tax Services’ Employer Identification Number (EIN) to another tax preparation business, which agreed to pay Gonzalez $20 per return filed containing Gonzalez’s identification numbers.  Despite selling the use of the identification numbers, Gonzalez continued to use the identification numbers when preparing returns for the 2011 tax year, as did the purchaser.

According to the complaint, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) estimates that Gonzalez, through Jenny’s Tax Service, has prepared more than 2,000 tax returns since 2011.  The suit alleges that the false information she included on her customers’ tax returns generated larger refunds or reduced tax liabilities for Gonzalez’s customers, and that the losses to the U.S. Treasury could exceed $3.9 million.

PRESIDENT OBAMA SPEAKS ON ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

PRESS STATEMENT ON DEATH OF LEE KUAN YEW, FIRST PRIME MINISTER OF SINGAPORE

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Death of Lee Kuan Yew
Press Statement
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
March 22, 2015

When Lee Kuan Yew became its first Prime Minister in 1959, Singapore was a newly independent nation with an uncertain future. By the time he left office 31 years later, the small island had been transformed into one of the most prosperous and dynamic countries in the world.

Lee Kuan Yew exuded wisdom. The counsel I was fortunate to glean from conversations with him--about life and politics and global affairs--is among the most valuable and insightful I have received. He was, of course, a uniquely astute analyst and observer of Asia, and it is largely through his life's work that Singapore became one of the United States' strongest strategic partners in the region.

Teresa and I join so many around the world in offering our deepest condolences to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who has so ably carried on his father's legacy, to the entire Lee family, and to the people of Singapore, who Lee Kuan Yew always knew were his nation's greatest resource. May he rest in peace.

U.S. STATEMENT ON SITUATION IN YEMEN

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Samantha Power
U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations
New York, NY
March 22, 2015
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The UN Security Council met today to discuss how we can support the resumption of a peaceful, inclusive, and consensus-driven political transition under the leadership of the legitimate President of Yemen, Abdo Rabbo Mansour Hadi. All parties must re-commit to a transition through peaceful participation in talks mediated by UN Special Advisor Jamal Benomar. On March 21, President Hadi called for dialogue on the basis of the Gulf Cooperation Council Initiative and National Dialogue outcomes, and we urge all Yemenis to heed this call to prevent further violence and destabilization.

Unfortunately, the Houthis’ actions – taken in close collaboration with former President Ali Abdullah Salih – have consistently undermined Yemen’s transition. In recent days, forces loyal to the Houthis and Salih carried out airstrikes against the Presidential Palace in Aden – attacking the government’s democratically elected leader. Earlier today, Houthi forces launched destabilizing attacks on the city of Taiz. These attacks are but the latest in a series of violent actions perpetrated by the Houthis since they chose to overrun Sana’a, take over government institutions, and attempt to govern by unilateral decree. To preserve Yemen’s security, stability, and unity, all parties must refrain from any further unilateral and offensive military actions.

The human costs of instability in Yemen grow every day. On Friday March 20, we were shocked and outraged by the horrific terrorist attacks on mosques in Sana’a and Saada that killed more than 130 and injured hundreds more. The United States reiterates again our condemnation of these attacks, which were cowardly attempts to divide the Yemeni people.

And it is the Yemeni people who will continue to feel the consequences if all parties do not immediately cease military actions and return to Yemen’s political transition. Nearly 16 million people – 61 percent of the population in Yemen – are in grave need of humanitarian assistance.

Today, the Security Council spoke with one voice, reaffirming its support for President Hadi as Yemen’s legitimate president, deploring the Houthis’ failure to withdraw their forces from government institutions, and reiterating the Security Council's condemnation of Houthi unilateral actions that undermine the political transition process.

Yemen’s crisis can still be solved peacefully through the full implementation of the GCC Initiative and National Dialogue outcomes, which provide for a Yemeni-led democratic transition. All Yemenis have a right to peacefully participate in the process of determining Yemen’s future. Having worked bravely and tirelessly to bring about a political transition, the Yemeni people should see this process resume with meaningful public timelines for finishing a new Yemeni constitution, holding a referendum on this constitution, and launching national elections.

The United States remains firmly committed to supporting all of Yemen’s diverse communities in this endeavor. Since the Yemeni people took to the streets to demand change in 2011, Yemen’s transition has succeeded when its communities have come together to support a transition by consensus, as opposed to by unilateral decree. We remain firmly convinced that the peaceful future Yemenis deserve will only come through a return to an inclusive transition led by President Hadi with the full support of all Yemenis.

STATE DEPARTMENT STATEMENT ON U.S. PERSONNEL LEAVING YEMEN

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Relocation of U.S. Personnel From Yemen
Press Statement
Jeff Rathke
Director, Bureau of Public Affairs, Office of Press Relations
Washington, DC
March 21, 2015

Due to the deteriorating security situation in Yemen, the U.S. Government has temporarily relocated its remaining personnel out of Yemen. We have informed President Hadi of this step as part of our close coordination with the Yemeni government. We will continue to engage the Yemeni people and the international community to strongly support Yemen’s political transition. We also continue to actively monitor terrorist threats emanating from Yemen and have capabilities postured in the area to address them. As we have in the past, we will take action to disrupt continuing, imminent threats to the United States and our citizens.

There is no military solution to Yemen’s current crisis. We urge the immediate cessation of all unilateral and offensive military actions. We join all of the other members of the Security Council in underscoring that President Hadi is the legitimate authority in Yemen and re-emphasize our support for his efforts to lead Yemen through crisis. We call upon the Houthis, former President Ali Abdallah Salih, and their allies to stop their violent incitement that threatens President Hadi, Yemeni government officials, and innocent civilians.

We encourage all Yemeni factions to constructively engage in the UN-led political dialogue to achieve an inclusive power sharing agreement. No unilateral assertion of authority will succeed in Yemen. We urge a renewed commitment to a peaceful political transition consistent with the Gulf Cooperation Council Initiative, the National Dialogue Conference outcomes, and relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions.

We are concerned that the well-being of all Yemenis now stands threatened by increasing instability, with extremists trying to capitalize on growing volatility as witnessed in the unconscionable March 20 attacks that killed over 130 Yemeni men, women, and children. Progress in the political transition process offers Yemen the best hope to address these grave threats. The United States remains committed to supporting all Yemenis in this endeavor and to aiding those who continue to strive for a peaceful, prosperous, and unified Yemen.

NASA VIDEO: ROVER SEARCHES CALIFORNIA DESERT FOR WATER TO SIMULATE FUTURE LUNAR MISSION

LOOKING TO CURE ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE

FROM:  NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
Researcher studies how to prevent antibiotic resistance
Solution could be in bacterial protein called UmuD

The widespread and indiscriminate use of antibiotics has prompted many bacteria to mutate, an adaptation that often renders the drugs useless. The increasing threat of resistance worries infectious disease experts who fear that the era of public health successes brought by the introduction of antibiotics in the 1940s is seriously eroding, or soon even may be at an end.

But what if science could improve existing antibiotics in such a way as to not only destroy bacteria, but prevent them from mutating?

At least one research team, in seeking to better understand bacterial mutation, may provide scientific answers that ultimately could lead to thwarting the organisms' ability to mutate, thus blunting the increasing threat of antibiotic resistance.

"The idea would be a one-two punch," says Penny Beuning, an associate professor of chemistry and chemical biology at Northeastern University's college of science. "We need a good therapeutic target that will both kill the bacteria and prevent mutagenesis."

To be sure, the approach almost certainly is years away. Still, the National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded scientist thinks it may be possible. She and her colleagues are studying an important bacterial protein known as UmuD that regulates mutagenesis and may provide important clues about how to stop the process that eventually results in antimicrobial resistance.

Using the bacterium E. coli as a model, she has learned that UmuD interacts with the machinery that replicates DNA, and, when altered, may provide the switch that triggers mutation. UmuD exists in two forms, a full length version when first expressed, and later, if DNA is damaged, a much shorter form. It is this shorter version that allows bacteria to mutate.

Once there is DNA damage, "there is an SOS response, and the levels of some specific proteins go up," she says. "There is a massive stress response, and UmuD responds by cutting its arms off."

In cells where only the full-length version of the protein is present, the bacteria cannot mutate. "But when it forms its shorter self, the cells are mutable," she says.

The fact that UmuD is not present outside bacteria makes it a viable antibiotic target.

"The hope would be to find something that targets UmuD together with an existing antibiotic to prevent bacteria from mutating and developing a resistance to that particular drug," she says. "Among the things we have been looking at: how does UmuD work, and what controls the cleavage of the arms?"

Beuning is conducting her research under an NSF Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) grant awarded in 2009 under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The award supports junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through outstanding research, excellent education and the integration of education and research within the context of the mission of their organization. NSF is funding her work with $994,655 over five years.

Beuning specifically is looking at the cleavage process of UmuD using gel electrophoresis, which separates proteins according to size.

"UmuD is a small protein--139 amino acids--which loses 24 amino acids from the arm. So it goes from 139 to 115," she says. "We can observe this difference with electrophoresis, allowing us to determine how different conditions or other proteins might affect UmuD cleavage."

The team is studying different UmuD protein interactions in the lab, using biochemistry to see when and how different proteins bind to one another. Essentially "we light up the proteins and measure how they change when other proteins bind, using a method called FRET, which stands for fluorescence resonance energy transfer," she says.

"This measures energy transfer between two proteins using light emission," she adds. "The proteins have to be close to each other for energy transfer to occur, so it's a way of detecting whether two things bind to each other. People often call the technique a molecular ruler, because it can be used to measure precise distances, but we use it simply to measure proximity."

Using FRET, they discovered that UmuD prevents specific protein interactions in the replication process. That is, it stops or slows down replication by keeping two proteins that need to interact for replication from binding to each other. "Protein-protein interactions are generally hard to target with drugs, but the approach has some potential," she says.

They also use another technique that measures how floppy or flexible proteins are by putting them in heavy water and measuring how much heavier the protein gets as it trades its regular hydrogens with heavy hydrogens from the heavy water. "The floppier parts swap out the hydrogens faster than the less floppy parts," she says.

As part of the grant's education component, she has up to ten undergraduates--as well as local high school students and teachers--working in her research lab. Several students have worked in her lab as part of Northeastern's signature co-op program, in which students work full-time for six months in positions related to their career goals.

Also, she teaches an upper level chemical biology class to undergraduates, and created a lab research project for the students that takes place during half of the semester that actually involves them directly in her mutagenesis research.

"A lot of these students had not yet conducted any research, so they were really motivated by the idea of doing something that someone would use as part of a bigger project," she says. "Particularly at Northeastern, where co-op is such a large part of the culture, it is fun to take advantage of the laboratory as the ultimate in experiential education.”

-- Marlene Cimons, National Science Foundation
Investigators
Penny Beuning
Related Institutions/Organizations

SOME PURCHASERS OF BODY SLIMMING CREAMS MAY RECEIVE REFUND CHECKS

FROM:  U.S. FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
FTC Sends Refund Checks Totaling More Than $416,000 to Consumers Who Lost Money Buying “Body Slimming” Creams that Were Deceptively Marketed
More Than 10,600 Checks Are Being Mailed Starting Today

The Federal Trade Commission is mailing 10,620 refund checks totaling more than $416,000 starting today to consumers who lost money buying two skin creams marketed by L’Occitane, Inc., which falsely claimed the creams had “body slimming” capabilities. The amount each consumer receives will vary based on how much of the product they bought.

The refunds are being made from money collected under a January 2014 settlement order with the company, which also agreed to stop making deceptive claims that its Almond Beautiful Shape and Almond Shaping Delight skin creams have body-slimming capabilities and are clinically proven. The online and in-store retailer of beauty and cosmetic products charged $48 for seven ounces of Almond Shaping Delight and $44 for 6.7 ounces of Almond Beautiful Shape.

Gilardi & Co., LLC, the redress administrator for this matter, will mail refund checks to eligible consumers beginning today. The checks must be cashed by May 19, 2015 or they will become void. Recipients should note that the FTC never requires consumers to pay money or provide information before redress checks can be cashed.

GSA ACTING ADMINISTRATOR ISSUES STATEMENT ON EXECUTIVE ORDER ON GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS

FROM:  U.S. GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION
GSA Chief Issues the Statement on New Executive Order on Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Other Sustainability Issues

WASHINGTON – Today, GSA Acting Administrator Denise Turner Roth issued the following statement on a new Executive Order that will cut the federal government’s greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent over the next decade from 2008 levels -- saving taxpayers up to $18 billion in avoided energy costs -- and increase the share of electricity the federal government consumes from renewable sources to 30 percent. In addition to setting new sustainability goals for buildings and renewable targets, the new Executive Order sets new supply chain targets that will require agencies to include greenhouse gas emissions standards in contracts for at least five new procurements annually. For more information about the new Executive Order, click here.

“GSA is proud to be a federal leader in the Administration’s effort to address climate change, and will work hard to remain a leader in this effort by not just meeting the new 2025 targets, but going beyond them. We have already exceeded some of the targets set by the previous Executive Order and we are confident we can do it again.

“Since buildings account for 98 percent of GSA’s operational greenhouse gas emissions, a large part of achieving this goal will require GSA to increase its use of Energy Savings Performance Contracts and other retrofitting strategies to make federal buildings more energy efficient. As one of the first agencies to meet the President’s Performance Contracting Challenge, GSA has used ESPCs to cut energy use in federal buildings by nearly 40 percent and achieve more than $10 million in annual savings.

“Achieving this goal will also require GSA to continue finding innovative ways to increase the federal government’s use of renewable energy. At Fort Huachuca, GSA recently partnered with the Department of Defense to install the Army's largest solar energy installation to date, and will triple that achievement on bases in Georgia soon to be constructed.  At Fort Carson our daylight harvesting research is helping the base move toward Net Zero Energy. Continuing efforts like this to get Army bases and other federal facilities off the grid will go a long way in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

“GSA’s renewed commitment to addressing climate change and other sustainability issues would not be complete without efforts to green the federal supply chain. That’s why last year we included language in the Domestic Delivery Service (DDS3) and One Acquisition Solution for Integrated Services (OASIS) acquisition vehicles that encourages federal contractors to disclose their carbon footprint, and why we will soon begin a new voluntary pilot with CDP and more than 100 federal contractors to expand this sort of disclosure. Sustainable building standards have helped GSA save $250 million in energy and water costs since 2008, and sustainable purchasing will similarly result in additional savings for the American people in the future.

“As GSA has already demonstrated, addressing climate change is good for the environment and American taxpayers. We look forward to furthering our sustainability efforts through 2025 and beyond.”

U.S. WELCOMES PROGRESS IN HAITI

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Samantha Power
U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations
New York, NY
March 18, 2015
AS DELIVERED

Thank you, Mr. President, thank you, Special Representative Honoré, for your briefing and your leadership. And thank you to all the dedicated men and women serving in MINUSTAH, who are working with you to build a more secure and stable Haiti.

The United States welcomes the recent progress Haiti has made toward holding elections this year, including the promulgation of an electoral decree on March 2 drafted by a new electoral council drawn from civil society, and that council’s subsequent announcement of voting dates. While we commend President Martelly’s efforts to promote an inclusive political process, including by forming a multiparty government, the health of Haiti’s democracy depends on restoring a functioning legislature without further delay. That is why it is so important that elections take place this year as planned, and that the government continue to use its extraordinary decree powers solely to administer elections and keep the state running. We also call upon all of Haiti’s political leaders and parties to participate in elections and to ensure an atmosphere of peace so that all eligible Haitians who wish to vote can do so without fear for their safety.

With the electoral decree in place and election dates set, urgent attention to preparing for and organizing the polls is required, to ensure elections that are free, fair, credible, and inclusive. Continued inclusive political dialogue and preparations for elections that are transparent and ensure a level playing field will be required to sustain the generally stable security situation that the Secretary-General has reported.

While MINUSTAH and the rest of the international community, including my government, stand ready to support the administration of the elections, ultimately the responsibility for ensuring their success lies with Haitians: the Haitian government, the electoral council, the political parties, and the Haitian people themselves.

The level of support provided by MINUSTAH, particularly its engineering battalions, for elections in 2010 and 2011 were part of the package of extraordinary measures that the international community took to help Haiti recover from the devastating 2010 earthquake, not an enduring precedent for elections this year or in the future. We join the Secretary-General’s call on the government to ensure the electoral council and other state institutions have adequate resources to administer elections in a manner that reflects Haitians’ increased assumption of a responsibility so central to the exercise of sovereignty. The United States will do our part in support.

Successful elections will require robust international support, of course, including from MINUSTAH. MINUSTAH should without delay catalogue the functions played in the last elections by each of its respective components, including the funds and programs. It should identify any of those critical functions each component will not be able to carry out in 2015. And it should work urgently across the UN system and with the electoral council, donors, Haitian and international civil society actors, and the government of Haiti to ensure that those functions are carried out effectively during this year’s elections. MINUSTAH also should work closely with the electoral council to identify any elements of Haiti’s election planning, including the number and location of polling centers, that may make the process more vulnerable to violence or manipulation, and to develop and implement corrective measures transparently and in consultation with Haitian political actors. The 2015 elections will not be Haiti’s last; it is important to use each electoral cycle to improve Haiti’s electoral system and to make it more sustainable.

We note the generally stable security situation that the Secretary-General reported. This comes amid the continued growth and professionalization of the Haitian National Police, to which donors and MINUSTAH should continue to offer maximum support. The Haitian National Police needs to continue to grow in size and capability. But while we were in Haiti, we heard that every trained Haitian National Policeman or woman is worth ten international police. Moreover, even with the reported increase in crime and gang-related violence, Haiti’s homicide rate remains well below the regional average. Incidents of violent unrest during the reporting period totaled only 215 events. In most of these cases, the HNP required no operational support from any MINUSTAH forces to manage the situation, and in only 16 percent of all incidents of violent unrest nationwide did the HNP require some level of operational support from MINUSTAH’s military forces.

Most of those incidents took place in close proximity to the three locations where the military component will be based following MINUSTAH’s reconfiguration. When support from the military component is required elsewhere in the country going forward, it will be available thanks to the mobility that the reconfigured Mission will have. The overall security situation in the six departments where MINUSTAH military no longer reside remains stable in this reporting period.

MINUSTAH continues to be an essential hedge against the risk of any future deterioration in security conditions. And the United Stated strongly supports a push by the UN, backed by member states, to ensure the dispatch of an additional three hundred international police forces to Haiti, as authorized but not yet deployed. We also support adding without delay medium-lift helicopters to MINUSTAH’s aviation component, which will make the Mission’s forces more quickly deployable in large numbers to any location in the country in the event of a different scale of unrest than we have seen so far. We also support the Secretary-General’s call, echoed here today by the Special Representative, to ensure maximum visibility of MINUSTAH’s forces, an objective well-served by ensuring the Mission’s leaders retain the flexibility to redistribute their forces as necessary to respond to evolving security conditions.

2015 poses extraordinary challenges for Haiti, but also extraordinary opportunities. An opportunity to break from past electoral cycles marred by fraud and disenfranchisement, and the violence that both have historically engendered. An opportunity for Haiti’s political parties to put aside their differences and cooperate to ensure elections that place Haiti’s democracy on sounder footing. An opportunity to adopt more sustainable elections architecture. An opportunity for Haitians to take a giant step forward toward sustained political stability and self-sufficiency. As they seize these opportunities, the government and people of Haiti can continue to count on the utmost support of the United States. Thank you.

DOD REPORTS THAT AIRSTRIKES CONTINUE AGAINST ISIL

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT

Military Airstrikes Continue Against ISIL in Syria, Iraq

From a Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve News Release
SOUTHWEST ASIA, March 20, 2015 – U.S. and coalition military forces have continued to attack Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists in Syria and Iraq, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today.

Officials reported details of the latest strikes, which took place between 8 a.m. yesterday and 8 a.m. today, local time, noting that assessments of results are based on initial reports.

Airstrikes in Syria

A bomber aircraft conducted an airstrike near Kobani, which destroyed an ISIL fighting position and an ISIL vehicle.

Airstrikes in Iraq

Attack and fighter aircraft conducted seven airstrikes in Iraq:
-- Near Hawayjah, an airstrike struck an ISIL bomb factory.
-- Near Bayji, an airstrike struck an ISIL weapons assembly area.
-- Near Haditha, an airstrike struck an ISIL tactical unit and an ISIL vehicle.
-- Near Mosul, four airstrikes struck an ISIL tactical unit, an ISIL rocket site, an ISIL heavy machine gun and destroyed seven ISIL fighting positions and two ISIL excavators.

Part of Operation Inherent Resolve

The strikes were conducted as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the operation to eliminate the ISIL terrorist group and the threat they pose to Iraq, Syria, the region, and the wider international community. The destruction of ISIL targets in Syria and Iraq further limits the terrorist group's ability to project terror and conduct operations, officials said.

Coalition nations conducting airstrikes in Iraq include the United States, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Jordan, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Coalition nations conducting airstrikes in Syria include the United States, Bahrain, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

FRANK ROSE MAKES REMARKS ON NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT VERIFICATION

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
International Partnership for Nuclear Disarmament Verification Kickoff
Remarks
Frank A. Rose
Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Arms Control, Verification and Compliance
Reagan International Trade Center
Washington, DC
March 19, 2015
As prepared

Thank you, Rose. Today is the product of a lot of hard work since Under Secretary Gottemoeller announced the formation of the International Partnership for Nuclear Disarmament Verification (IPNDV) last December. Thanks also for your leadership, without which, today would not have been possible.

It is a happy coincidence that we are gathered today in a building named for our 40th President, Ronald Reagan. Thirty-one years ago President Ronald Reagan pronounced clearly and with conviction that “there can be only one policy for preserving our precious civilization in this modern age. A nuclear war can never be won and must never be fought.”

President Reagan's belief became the basis for pursuing serious nuclear arms reductions on a bilateral basis between the United States and the Soviet Union, and later with Russia. Of course his ultimate conclusion was that to achieve a future world in a state of abiding peace, where all countries can thrive in conditions of what we often call “mutually assured security,” nuclear disarmament must be our ultimate goal – a world without nuclear weapons.

President Obama took the torch and carried it forward in Prague and again in Berlin, reaffirming our commitment to the peace and security of a world free of nuclear weapons. President Obama acknowledged that reaching this goal will not be easy and may not be achieved in his lifetime.

But, the goal of a world without nuclear weapons is as relevant today as it was in the darkest days of the U.S.-Soviet nuclear arms race when inspired leadership was all that stood in the way of cataclysm.

Understanding the hard lessons of the Cold War, the challenge we face now is not one of ambivalence towards disarmament, but rather how to realize this long-standing goal in a manner that enhances international peace and security.

Verification is the indispensable component in reaching that goal. Regardless of the political and diplomatic decisions that are made in the future, verification of nuclear weapons will become increasingly complex at lower numbers. At the same time, requirements for accurately determining compliance will increase dramatically.

As we will hear today, the United Kingdom and Norway have already pioneered this type of work. It is our hope that the IPNDV will build on the spirit of that experiment to create a non-traditional partnership that draws on the expertise of talented individuals around the world, in both the public and private sectors.

We are also pleased to be working with a partner like the Nuclear Threat Initiative. The intellectual energy and resources that they are bringing to the project will be so important to our success.

As I said, future steps in nuclear disarmament are expected to pose significantly more complex and intrusive verification challenges than past steps. Success in addressing future verification and monitoring challenges will be dependent, in part, on the development and application of new technologies or concepts. Make no mistake, we are facing some truly formidable technical challenges that must be overcome. Addressing these challenges, and finding solutions, is the bridge that spans the gap between the aspiration of nuclear disarmament and the fulfillment of nuclear disarmament.

Every nation on Earth has an interest in the success of these efforts. That is why the United States did not want this to be an area of engagement confined solely to the NWS. A larger, more diverse group of states with technical expertise in nuclear verification or the related sciences will contribute to the discussion and provide a broader intellectual basis for determining solutions. After all, the Nonproliferation Treaty makes no distinction between the NWS and NNWS when it comes to the obligation to pursue disarmament.

Everyone who shares the goal of a world without nuclear weapons should devote time and energy to address this challenge right now. Only through this upfront investment in the tools and technologies to verify nuclear weapons and associated items at lower numbers can we reap the reward we all seek. And it is on this that the International Partnership for Nuclear Disarmament Verification is premised.

The idea of a broad-based, international collaboration to identify and address these technical challenges has been proposed by multiple individuals and organizations. But today, in this room, for the first time, countries are set to embark on that very path.

And not just countries with nuclear weapons and nuclear weapons programs, but countries without them – countries that have, in fact, forsworn them.

There are many reasons why this type of “mixed” group of states is better equipped to address these challenges than one with only nuclear weapons states. Most importantly, a multilateral disarmament regime must achieve multilateral confidence in the effectiveness of its verification methods. It is not likely this kind of confidence is even possible absent truly joint, international research and development of the concepts and technologies that undergird its operation.

As we move forward today, we need to keep in mind that while not all research and development efforts end in success, few big innovations start without big ideas.

The nuclear weapon states currently have the most knowledge and experience regarding the specific technical challenges facing us, they have begun the process of disarming and continue to do so.

The proof of U.S. progress on disarmament is in the numbers. At the height of Cold War tensions with the former Soviet Union, the United States stockpile consisted of 32,000 nuclear warheads. Decades of bilateral arms control treaties and agreements have slashed that number by 85%, retiring whole groups of weapons along the way.

Some might conclude that this is really just a job for the nuclear weapon states. But as the numbers of nuclear weapons go down, and the objects to be verified are smaller, the need for confidence will become increasingly difficult to address. We will need trained scientists and engineers from all over the world to help contribute to the solutions. We might suppose that innovation is the sole domain of those experts that have the most experience with the “questions” being addressed. But if we do, we are on shaky ground as we know the opposite is usually what holds true.

Going forward, we look to, and can expect great contributions and ideas from our non-nuclear weapons states colleagues, as well as our nuclear weapons states colleagues. Over the next two days I look forward to your presentations, your comments and your ideas. The success of this group depends entirely on the vigorous engagement of its members, focusing on the technical issues at hand. I hope we will leave here on Friday ready to implement a partnership that can achieve some very good, useful things.

I have mentioned more than once how excited I am about this international partnership; about its potential. I have good reason and I believe you will, too. On behalf of the United States, and NTI, I would like to thank you for being willing to join this initiative and for traveling here for the “kick-off” meeting.

WHITE HOUSE VIDEO: TRAVELS WITH THE FIRST LADY IN KYOTO, JAPAN

SECRETARY KERRY'S REMARKS ON GOALS AND GAPS IN IRAN NEGOTIATIONS

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
03/21/2015 09:23 AM EDT
Remarks to the Press
Remarks
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Olympic Museum
Lausanne, Switzerland
March 21, 2015

Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you so much for your patience. I know this has been a long few days, and we really are appreciative of everybody’s willingness to wait for long hours for small amounts of information. And we appreciate enormously your being here.

I want to first of all just thank Thomas Bach, the president of the IOC and himself an Olympic fencing champion from Montreal for the very special tour that I was able to have here of the Olympic Museum, which obviously means a lot to those of us from Boston because we’ve had a long history of Massachusetts athletes being involved in the Olympics and great memories, of course, of Lake Placid in 1980 and other times. So it’s very special for me to have a chance to sort of review the history of my television watching and my passion for the Olympics. And we appreciate their hospitality, of course, for hosting all of you and making this the headquarters – the international headquarters for the press during the course of these negotiations.

I also want to thank particularly the Swiss Government. I’d like to thank Didier Burkhalter for his personal generous welcome to me each time that we’ve come here, and I’m very grateful for the enormous effort of the municipalities Geneva, Montreux, Lausanne. They’ve become a very special part of this negotiating process, and we thank the citizens who have put up with any disruptions of our presence and we’re grateful for their hospitality. They’ve been enormously generous. And of course, Switzerland itself is known for its deep dedication to the resolution of complicated global issues, and they’re always contributing.

Also, I want to thank my colleagues – Energy Secretary Moniz, who has spent more time here than he thought he was going to, and I particularly thank Under Secretary Wendy Sherman and an extraordinary team of international diplomats and expert teams, all the members of the teams of the P5+1, all of the political directors who have been here in daily meetings, briefings, consultations. All of this has been going on tirelessly for many months on these negotiations. And I want to acknowledge the Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif and Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, and the rest of the Iranian team for approaching these talks with seriousness of purpose and the willingness to commit very long hours to work through what are very complicated issues.

I am returning home today to Washington, stopping in London to coordinate with our European counterparts from the P5+1 – specifically the foreign ministers of the United Kingdom, Germany, and France, and the high representative of the European Union. I spoke by telephone yesterday with Foreign Minister Lavrov of Russia and with Foreign Minister Wang Yi of China.

And I want to emphasize from the beginning –and I’ve said this in every public statement I’ve ever made – this is and remains a P5+1 negotiation with Iran, and I emphasize we are united in our goal, our approach, our resolve, and our determination to ensure that Iran’s program is entirely peaceful. The European Union has continued to play a pivotal role in facilitating the talks. And I thank EU High Representative Mogherini and her Deputy Helga Schmid, who was here with us in Lausanne participating in our meetings.

Over the past few days, I’ve had lengthy negotiations with the Iranian team about the steps that Iran must take to demonstrate that its nuclear program now and ongoing in the future is exclusively for peaceful purposes. Over the past months, the P5+1 have made substantial progress towards that fundamental goal, though important gaps remain. In London, we will share ideas this evening about how to resolve the remaining sticking points, as I did yesterday on the telephone with Foreign Minister Lavrov and Foreign Minister Wang Yi. We will coordinate our strategy, as we have, as we approach the end of the March deadline, to reach an understanding on the major issues. And those of us meeting tonight will then return to our respective capitals for consultations before coming back to Lausanne next week to determine whether or not an agreement is possible.

I want to emphasize: In my conversations with Foreign Minister Zarif, and indeed over the last 16 months since the Joint Plan of Action took effect, we have made genuine progress. We have all kept the commitments that we made in the Joint Plan, and we have all lived up to our obligations. We have worked long and hard to achieve a comprehensive agreement that resolves international concerns about Iran’s nuclear program. The stakes are high and the issues are complicated, highly technical, and all interrelated.

Once again, let me also be clear we don’t want just any deal. If we had, we could have announced something a long time ago. And clearly, since the Joint Plan of Action was agreed, we are not rushing. This has been a two and a half year or more process. But we recognize that fundamental decisions have to be made now, and they don’t get any easier as time goes by. It is time to make hard decisions. We want the right deal that would make the world, including the United States and our closest allies and partners, safer and more secure, and that is our test. President Obama has been clear that the best way to achieve that security, that safety, is through a comprehensive and durable agreement that all parties are committed to upholding, and whose implementation is not based on trust, but it is based on intensive verification, on the ability to know and understand what is happening.

So in the days ahead, we will stay at this. We will continue to exercise the judgment and the patience to defend our interests, to uphold our core principles, and maintain our sense of urgency. We have not yet reached the finish line. But make no mistake, we have the opportunity to try to get this right. It’s a matter of political will and tough decision making. It’s a matter of choices, and we must all choose wisely in the days ahead.

Thank you, and we’ll see you next week.

Weekly Address: It’s Time to Confirm Loretta Lynch