FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Remarks at the Meeting of the U.S. - Japan Security Consultative Committee (2+2)
Remarks
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Iikura Guest House
Tokyo, Japan
October 3, 2013
Well, thank you very much Foreign Minister Kishida and Defense Minister Onodera. We have very honored to be here, Secretary Hagel and I.
This is – as you have remarked, this is an historic meeting, the first time we’ve ever had this meeting in Japan, the 2+2. And it’s also critical because the framework that we will be discussing today will really lay out the security relationship between the United States and Japan for this region for the next 15 or 20 years.
This alliance, which we believe is the lynchpin alliance for the United States in the region, has not been updated since 1997. And as you said in your opening comments, a great deal has changed in this period of time. There are different threats and different kinds of threats. So it is important for us to recognize that this bilateral alliance remains a vital element of our respective national security strategies. And today, I am convinced, from the work our staffs have done and the groundwork that’s been done leading to today, we’re going to take a very important step forward to modernize that and to bring it up to date.
I’d just close by saying that for more than 60 years Japan has been one of the closest allies and one of our closest global partners, and most important partners. I want to thank you personally, Fumio, for your terrific support and help in New York during the General Assembly meeting on the subject of Syria. Japan has been playing an increasingly visible and important role on a number of different global crises, and we’re very grateful for Japan’s leadership with respect to that. And I’m confident that we’re going to have a very substantive and very productive discussion, so we look forward to getting to work.
Thank you.
Thursday, October 3, 2013
CHANGES LOOKED AT FOR GROWTH OF MILITARY PAY AND BENEFITS
FROM: U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
Military Must Slow Growth for Military Pay, Health Care
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
SEOUL, South Korea, Oct. 1, 2013 - The military has to look at the entire package of compensation, health care and retirement, Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey told a U.S. Forces Korea Town Hall meeting here today.
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and his wife, Deanie, spent an hour answering question from the joint service audience. Budget issues were a main concern for the service members.
Personnel costs have to be brought under control, the chairman said. He assured the service members that any changes to military retirement would be grandfathered. "So the question is what do we do with retirement for the next generation of soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines," he said. "But compensation ... and health care costs are growing at rates that are unsustainable to the all-volunteer force."
This does not mean cuts, the chairman said, "we may not actually have to reduce pay and benefits, but we have to slow the growth."
Last year, for example, DOD recommended a 1 percent pay raise for military personnel. Congress upped the total to 1.8 percent. Slowing the rate by just that much would have saved DOD $13 billion. Instead, the money to pay for the raise came out of readiness accounts, the chairman said.
In an interview with reporters traveling with him, Dempsey expanded on this. He noted he has been through three drawdowns in his career that began in 1974 – the post-Vietnam drawdown, the post-Cold War drawdown and the current one. This one is alarming to him because it is the steepest drawdown he has seen.
"The steepness of it puts us in a position to not exert enough control on balancing our requirements across all the accounts, whether they are manpower accounts, modernization, maintenance, training, family care," he said. "It's extraordinarily challenging to try to balance the budget because of the steepness of this drawdown."
He is worried about the long-term effects of the drawdown. Under sequester, DOD must cut an additional $52 billion from the budget in fiscal 2014. "If I were able to shrink the force, close some unnecessary infrastructure, potentially cancel some weapons systems that we don't think are as important as others, I think I can probably balance it and not affect readiness to the extent we are," he said.
But Congress will not allow another base realignment and closure process, and Congress has continued some weapons systems the department has specifically said it does not need. "Because there are parts of the budget that are untouchable to me at this point," he said. "Unless I can touch some of those things, it all comes out of readiness, which means the next group to deploy will be less ready than they should be.
"That's not a position that our armed forces should be in as the greatest military on the planet serving the greatest nation on the planet."
And sequestration could continue to be a year-by-year process, and that is dangerous "because we are asking the force to live with uncertainty and do it a year at a time," he said. "Eventually I think they are going to lose faith if we do it a year at a time."
Military Must Slow Growth for Military Pay, Health Care
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
SEOUL, South Korea, Oct. 1, 2013 - The military has to look at the entire package of compensation, health care and retirement, Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey told a U.S. Forces Korea Town Hall meeting here today.
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and his wife, Deanie, spent an hour answering question from the joint service audience. Budget issues were a main concern for the service members.
Personnel costs have to be brought under control, the chairman said. He assured the service members that any changes to military retirement would be grandfathered. "So the question is what do we do with retirement for the next generation of soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines," he said. "But compensation ... and health care costs are growing at rates that are unsustainable to the all-volunteer force."
This does not mean cuts, the chairman said, "we may not actually have to reduce pay and benefits, but we have to slow the growth."
Last year, for example, DOD recommended a 1 percent pay raise for military personnel. Congress upped the total to 1.8 percent. Slowing the rate by just that much would have saved DOD $13 billion. Instead, the money to pay for the raise came out of readiness accounts, the chairman said.
In an interview with reporters traveling with him, Dempsey expanded on this. He noted he has been through three drawdowns in his career that began in 1974 – the post-Vietnam drawdown, the post-Cold War drawdown and the current one. This one is alarming to him because it is the steepest drawdown he has seen.
"The steepness of it puts us in a position to not exert enough control on balancing our requirements across all the accounts, whether they are manpower accounts, modernization, maintenance, training, family care," he said. "It's extraordinarily challenging to try to balance the budget because of the steepness of this drawdown."
He is worried about the long-term effects of the drawdown. Under sequester, DOD must cut an additional $52 billion from the budget in fiscal 2014. "If I were able to shrink the force, close some unnecessary infrastructure, potentially cancel some weapons systems that we don't think are as important as others, I think I can probably balance it and not affect readiness to the extent we are," he said.
But Congress will not allow another base realignment and closure process, and Congress has continued some weapons systems the department has specifically said it does not need. "Because there are parts of the budget that are untouchable to me at this point," he said. "Unless I can touch some of those things, it all comes out of readiness, which means the next group to deploy will be less ready than they should be.
"That's not a position that our armed forces should be in as the greatest military on the planet serving the greatest nation on the planet."
And sequestration could continue to be a year-by-year process, and that is dangerous "because we are asking the force to live with uncertainty and do it a year at a time," he said. "Eventually I think they are going to lose faith if we do it a year at a time."
CDC TOUT BETTER, FASTER LAB RESULTS
FROM: U.S. CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION
Press Release Better, Faster Lab Reports Help States’ Outbreak Response
CDC Push for Electronic Lab Reports Showing Gains
Once labs detect dangerous infections, it’s crucial for the correct information to get to health departments quickly and in a format that allows them to recognize disease outbreaks. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) efforts to speed this process and ensure that the best and most complete information about disease cases is reported is paying off, according to new data released in today’s issue of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR).
A key to speeding lab reports is widespread adoption of electronic laboratory reporting (ELR) by the approximately 10,400 labs that send reportable data to health agencies. ELR is an important tool that gives health officials vital information on infectious disease cases. Since 2010, CDC has provided funds to help 57 states, local and territorial health departments increase the use of electronic laboratory reporting (ELR).
The MMWR report shows that the number of state and local health departments receiving electronic reports from laboratories has more than doubled since 2005, when CDC last evaluated ELR reporting. In the past year, the number of individual reports received electronically increased by 15 percent. States and local health departments now estimate that nearly two-thirds (62 percent) of total lab reports were received electronically. The number of reports received through ELR varied by jurisdiction, the types of labs reporting and by disease reported.
“Infectious disease outbreaks will always be with us—and rapid recognition of an outbreak saves lives,” said CDC Director Tom Frieden, M.D., M.P.H. “Thanks to electronic laboratory reporting (ELR), we’re detecting outbreaks faster than ever. Unfortunately, only a quarter of the 10,000 labs across the country use ELR. We must keep expanding use of ELR to help CDC and our partners save lives and reduce healthcare costs.”
Press Release Better, Faster Lab Reports Help States’ Outbreak Response
CDC Push for Electronic Lab Reports Showing Gains
Once labs detect dangerous infections, it’s crucial for the correct information to get to health departments quickly and in a format that allows them to recognize disease outbreaks. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) efforts to speed this process and ensure that the best and most complete information about disease cases is reported is paying off, according to new data released in today’s issue of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR).
A key to speeding lab reports is widespread adoption of electronic laboratory reporting (ELR) by the approximately 10,400 labs that send reportable data to health agencies. ELR is an important tool that gives health officials vital information on infectious disease cases. Since 2010, CDC has provided funds to help 57 states, local and territorial health departments increase the use of electronic laboratory reporting (ELR).
The MMWR report shows that the number of state and local health departments receiving electronic reports from laboratories has more than doubled since 2005, when CDC last evaluated ELR reporting. In the past year, the number of individual reports received electronically increased by 15 percent. States and local health departments now estimate that nearly two-thirds (62 percent) of total lab reports were received electronically. The number of reports received through ELR varied by jurisdiction, the types of labs reporting and by disease reported.
“Infectious disease outbreaks will always be with us—and rapid recognition of an outbreak saves lives,” said CDC Director Tom Frieden, M.D., M.P.H. “Thanks to electronic laboratory reporting (ELR), we’re detecting outbreaks faster than ever. Unfortunately, only a quarter of the 10,000 labs across the country use ELR. We must keep expanding use of ELR to help CDC and our partners save lives and reduce healthcare costs.”
U.S. SAYS IT WILL CONTINUE WORK IN SOMALI
FROM: U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
Pentagon Official: U.S. Must Continue to Work with Somalia
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Oct. 8, 2013 - Progress in Somalia has been "significant," a senior Defense Department official told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee today, and the United States will continue to work with the Somali government to defeat terrorism there.
Amanda J. Dory, the deputy assistant secretary of defense for African affairs, told the committee that al-Shabaab -- an al-Qaida affiliated terrorist group -- once controlled large swaths of Somalia, including most Somali cities.
"Today, Somali, [African Union Mission in Somalia] and Ethiopian forces have weakened al-Shabaab as a conventional fighting force in Somalia," she said in prepared remarks.
Still, al-Shabaab remains dangerous, she said. The terror group is capable of launching sophisticated unconventional attacks aimed at the African Union mission and the fledgling Somali government, Dory told the senators.
"For the foreseeable future," she added, "we must maintain focus on Somalia to sustain security progress made to date, as al-Shabaab is likely to remain the primary threat to Somalian and East African stability for some time to come."
The African Union mission -- supported by the United States -- has provided critical space for the Somali government to stand up and establish its legitimacy. The United States recognizes the new government and wants to normalize military-to-military contacts. U.S. Africa Command will work with State Department personnel to assist with the development of a unified Somali security force, Dory said.
Piracy that originated from Somalia has been virtually eliminated, Dory said.
"As recently as 2011, Somali pirates held nearly 600 mariners hostage aboard 28 captured ships, and roamed an area the size of the continental United States looking for their next opportunity," she said. "Today, thanks to changes in business practices by the commercial maritime industry, and the presence of international naval forces, piracy is almost nonexistent off the coast of Somalia. The last successful hijacking of a major commercial ship was in 2012."
Dory said she is encouraged by the way the African Union mission in the country has provided stability. The troops come from Uganda, Burundi, Kenya, Djibouti and Sierra Leone. They work with Ethiopian forces and the Somali National Army.
The United States and international partners have provided important training and equipment to the Somalis. The proposal for training in fiscal 2014 will stress logistics, personnel management, finance and budgeting and maintenance, Dory said. All this is done in close cooperation with the Somali government.
The antipiracy mission must continue, as the progress made is perishable, she said, adding that Somalia will continue to present problems and opportunities.
"With sustained assistance from the United States and other international partners, Somalia's national security apparatus will be better positioned to fend off the al-Shabaab insurgency, and gradually transform the fragile state into a success story," she said.
Pentagon Official: U.S. Must Continue to Work with Somalia
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Oct. 8, 2013 - Progress in Somalia has been "significant," a senior Defense Department official told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee today, and the United States will continue to work with the Somali government to defeat terrorism there.
Amanda J. Dory, the deputy assistant secretary of defense for African affairs, told the committee that al-Shabaab -- an al-Qaida affiliated terrorist group -- once controlled large swaths of Somalia, including most Somali cities.
"Today, Somali, [African Union Mission in Somalia] and Ethiopian forces have weakened al-Shabaab as a conventional fighting force in Somalia," she said in prepared remarks.
Still, al-Shabaab remains dangerous, she said. The terror group is capable of launching sophisticated unconventional attacks aimed at the African Union mission and the fledgling Somali government, Dory told the senators.
"For the foreseeable future," she added, "we must maintain focus on Somalia to sustain security progress made to date, as al-Shabaab is likely to remain the primary threat to Somalian and East African stability for some time to come."
The African Union mission -- supported by the United States -- has provided critical space for the Somali government to stand up and establish its legitimacy. The United States recognizes the new government and wants to normalize military-to-military contacts. U.S. Africa Command will work with State Department personnel to assist with the development of a unified Somali security force, Dory said.
Piracy that originated from Somalia has been virtually eliminated, Dory said.
"As recently as 2011, Somali pirates held nearly 600 mariners hostage aboard 28 captured ships, and roamed an area the size of the continental United States looking for their next opportunity," she said. "Today, thanks to changes in business practices by the commercial maritime industry, and the presence of international naval forces, piracy is almost nonexistent off the coast of Somalia. The last successful hijacking of a major commercial ship was in 2012."
Dory said she is encouraged by the way the African Union mission in the country has provided stability. The troops come from Uganda, Burundi, Kenya, Djibouti and Sierra Leone. They work with Ethiopian forces and the Somali National Army.
The United States and international partners have provided important training and equipment to the Somalis. The proposal for training in fiscal 2014 will stress logistics, personnel management, finance and budgeting and maintenance, Dory said. All this is done in close cooperation with the Somali government.
The antipiracy mission must continue, as the progress made is perishable, she said, adding that Somalia will continue to present problems and opportunities.
"With sustained assistance from the United States and other international partners, Somalia's national security apparatus will be better positioned to fend off the al-Shabaab insurgency, and gradually transform the fragile state into a success story," she said.
DOJ AND PLAZA HOME MORTGAGE INC. REACH SETTLEMENT OVER ALLEGATIONS OF MORTGAGE LENDING DISCRIMINATION
FROM: U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Friday, September 27, 2013
Justice Department Reaches Settlement with Plaza Home Mortgage Inc. to Resolve Allegations of Mortgage Lending Discrimination
Settlement Provides $3 Million in Compensation to African-American and Hispanic Borrowers
The Justice Department announced today that Plaza Home Mortgage Inc. (Plaza) of San Diego will pay $3 million to aggrieved borrowers as part of a settlement to resolve allegations that it engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination on the basis of race and national origin.
The settlement also requires Plaza to establish race- and national origin-neutral standards for the assessment of broker fees, monitor its wholesale mortgage loans for potential disparities based on race and national origin, conduct fair lending training and continue to operate a community enrichment program designed to address the lack of affordable housing and lending products in minority and underserved communities nationwide.
The settlement, which is subject to court approval, was filed in conjunction with the Justice Department’s complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California. The complaint alleges that Plaza charged thousands of African-American and Hispanic borrowers higher fees than white borrowers on wholesale mortgage loans in violation of the Fair Housing Act (FHA) and Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA). Plaza cooperated fully with the Justice Department’s investigation into its lending practices and agreed to settle this matter without contested litigation.
“Today’s settlement demonstrates that the Civil Rights Division is committed to ensuring that all lenders, including wholesale lenders, comply with the fair lending laws,” said Jocelyn Samuels, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “We commend Plaza for working cooperatively with the Justice Department in reaching an appropriate resolution of this case.”
The lawsuit originated from a 2011 referral by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.
The proceeds of the settlement will be used to compensate the African-American and Hispanic victims of Plaza’s alleged discrimination. The proposed settlement provides for an independent administrator to contact and distribute payments at no cost to borrowers whom the Justice Department identifies as victims. Borrowers who are eligible for compensation will be contacted by the administrator. The department will make a public announcement and post contact information on its website once the administrator begins contacting victims.
“It is patently wrong for a lending institution to require African-American and Hispanic homebuyers to pay more for their mortgages than white borrowers,” said Laura Duffy, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California. “We are happy to be able to make this right for the victims, and to send a message that we will protect people of all races and national origins from injustice of any kind.”
The Justice Department’s enforcement of fair lending laws is conducted by the Fair Lending Unit of the Housing and Civil Enforcement Section in the Civil Rights Division. Since the Fair Lending Unit was established in February 2010, it has filed or resolved 27 lending matters under the FHA, ECOA and the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. The settlements in these matters provide for a minimum of $660 million in monetary relief for impacted communities and more than 300,000 individual borrowers. The Attorney General’s annual reports to Congress subject to ECOA highlight the department’s accomplishments in fair lending and are available at www.justice.gov/crt/publications/ .
The Civil Rights Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California, and the FTC are members of the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. President Obama established the interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. The task force includes representatives from a broad range of federal agencies, regulatory authorities, inspectors general and state and local law enforcement who, working together, bring to bear a powerful array of criminal and civil enforcement resources. The task force is working to improve efforts across the federal executive branch, and with state and local partners, to investigate and prosecute significant financial crimes, ensure just and effective punishment for those who perpetrate financial crimes, combat discrimination in the lending and financial markets and recover proceeds for victims of financial crimes. For more information on the task force, visit www.StopFraud.gov .
Friday, September 27, 2013
Justice Department Reaches Settlement with Plaza Home Mortgage Inc. to Resolve Allegations of Mortgage Lending Discrimination
Settlement Provides $3 Million in Compensation to African-American and Hispanic Borrowers
The Justice Department announced today that Plaza Home Mortgage Inc. (Plaza) of San Diego will pay $3 million to aggrieved borrowers as part of a settlement to resolve allegations that it engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination on the basis of race and national origin.
The settlement also requires Plaza to establish race- and national origin-neutral standards for the assessment of broker fees, monitor its wholesale mortgage loans for potential disparities based on race and national origin, conduct fair lending training and continue to operate a community enrichment program designed to address the lack of affordable housing and lending products in minority and underserved communities nationwide.
The settlement, which is subject to court approval, was filed in conjunction with the Justice Department’s complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California. The complaint alleges that Plaza charged thousands of African-American and Hispanic borrowers higher fees than white borrowers on wholesale mortgage loans in violation of the Fair Housing Act (FHA) and Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA). Plaza cooperated fully with the Justice Department’s investigation into its lending practices and agreed to settle this matter without contested litigation.
“Today’s settlement demonstrates that the Civil Rights Division is committed to ensuring that all lenders, including wholesale lenders, comply with the fair lending laws,” said Jocelyn Samuels, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “We commend Plaza for working cooperatively with the Justice Department in reaching an appropriate resolution of this case.”
The lawsuit originated from a 2011 referral by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.
The proceeds of the settlement will be used to compensate the African-American and Hispanic victims of Plaza’s alleged discrimination. The proposed settlement provides for an independent administrator to contact and distribute payments at no cost to borrowers whom the Justice Department identifies as victims. Borrowers who are eligible for compensation will be contacted by the administrator. The department will make a public announcement and post contact information on its website once the administrator begins contacting victims.
“It is patently wrong for a lending institution to require African-American and Hispanic homebuyers to pay more for their mortgages than white borrowers,” said Laura Duffy, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California. “We are happy to be able to make this right for the victims, and to send a message that we will protect people of all races and national origins from injustice of any kind.”
The Justice Department’s enforcement of fair lending laws is conducted by the Fair Lending Unit of the Housing and Civil Enforcement Section in the Civil Rights Division. Since the Fair Lending Unit was established in February 2010, it has filed or resolved 27 lending matters under the FHA, ECOA and the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. The settlements in these matters provide for a minimum of $660 million in monetary relief for impacted communities and more than 300,000 individual borrowers. The Attorney General’s annual reports to Congress subject to ECOA highlight the department’s accomplishments in fair lending and are available at www.justice.gov/crt/publications/ .
The Civil Rights Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California, and the FTC are members of the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. President Obama established the interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. The task force includes representatives from a broad range of federal agencies, regulatory authorities, inspectors general and state and local law enforcement who, working together, bring to bear a powerful array of criminal and civil enforcement resources. The task force is working to improve efforts across the federal executive branch, and with state and local partners, to investigate and prosecute significant financial crimes, ensure just and effective punishment for those who perpetrate financial crimes, combat discrimination in the lending and financial markets and recover proceeds for victims of financial crimes. For more information on the task force, visit www.StopFraud.gov .
FOREIGN INVESTOR AGRICULTURAL LAND HOLDINGS IN U.S.
FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
USDA Releases Annual Report of Foreign Investors’ Holdings of U.S. Agricultural Land
WASHINGTON, Sept. 27, 2013 — USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) has released its annual publication regarding foreign investors’ holdings of United States agricultural land. The publication contains statistics that are current through Dec. 31, 2011.
The report, titled “Foreign Holdings of U.S. Agricultural Land Through December 31, 2011,” is now available on the FSA website at
http://www.fsa.usda.gov/FSA/webapp?area=home&subject=ecpa&topic=afa.
The data gathered through Dec. 31, 2011, indicate that foreign investors hold an interest in 25,715,588 acres of U.S. agricultural land, which is approximately 2 percent of all privately held U.S. agricultural land, and 1 percent of all land in the U.S. The total foreign-held U.S. agricultural acres as of the last report, dated Dec. 31, 2010, were 24,224,807, resulting in an increase of 1,490,781 acres.
The annual publication includes a wide variety of both annual and cumulative activity reports.
Annual Activity Reports include the following:
U.S. Agricultural and Nonagricultural Landholdings Annual Activity of Foreign Investors by State U.S. Agricultural and Nonagricultural Land Acquisitions by Country of Foreign Investor U.S. Agricultural and Nonagricultural Land Dispositions by Country of Foreign Investor
Just a few of the Cumulative Activity Reports within the publication are:
U.S. Agricultural Landholdings of Foreign Investors by State U.S. Landholdings of Foreign Investors by Type of Land Use and by State U.S. Agricultural and Nonagricultural Investors, Parcels, Acres and Value by Country of Foreign Investor
The publication’s findings are based on reports submitted to FSA in compliance with the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 1978 (AFIDA). The law was created to establish a nationwide system for collecting information pertaining to foreign ownership in U.S. agricultural land. Foreign investors who buy, sell or hold an interest (other than a security interest) in U.S. agricultural land are required to report such holdings and transactions to the Secretary of Agriculture on AFIDA Report Form FSA-153. The data gleaned from these reports is used in the preparation of an annual report to Congress.
USDA Releases Annual Report of Foreign Investors’ Holdings of U.S. Agricultural Land
WASHINGTON, Sept. 27, 2013 — USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) has released its annual publication regarding foreign investors’ holdings of United States agricultural land. The publication contains statistics that are current through Dec. 31, 2011.
The report, titled “Foreign Holdings of U.S. Agricultural Land Through December 31, 2011,” is now available on the FSA website at
http://www.fsa.usda.gov/FSA/webapp?area=home&subject=ecpa&topic=afa.
The data gathered through Dec. 31, 2011, indicate that foreign investors hold an interest in 25,715,588 acres of U.S. agricultural land, which is approximately 2 percent of all privately held U.S. agricultural land, and 1 percent of all land in the U.S. The total foreign-held U.S. agricultural acres as of the last report, dated Dec. 31, 2010, were 24,224,807, resulting in an increase of 1,490,781 acres.
The annual publication includes a wide variety of both annual and cumulative activity reports.
Annual Activity Reports include the following:
U.S. Agricultural and Nonagricultural Landholdings Annual Activity of Foreign Investors by State U.S. Agricultural and Nonagricultural Land Acquisitions by Country of Foreign Investor U.S. Agricultural and Nonagricultural Land Dispositions by Country of Foreign Investor
Just a few of the Cumulative Activity Reports within the publication are:
U.S. Agricultural Landholdings of Foreign Investors by State U.S. Landholdings of Foreign Investors by Type of Land Use and by State U.S. Agricultural and Nonagricultural Investors, Parcels, Acres and Value by Country of Foreign Investor
The publication’s findings are based on reports submitted to FSA in compliance with the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 1978 (AFIDA). The law was created to establish a nationwide system for collecting information pertaining to foreign ownership in U.S. agricultural land. Foreign investors who buy, sell or hold an interest (other than a security interest) in U.S. agricultural land are required to report such holdings and transactions to the Secretary of Agriculture on AFIDA Report Form FSA-153. The data gleaned from these reports is used in the preparation of an annual report to Congress.
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
GENERAL DEMPSEY FORTELLS THE FUTURE
FROM: U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
Dempsey Gives Hints on Priorities for Future
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
American Forces Press Service
SEOUL, South Korea, Oct. 1, 2013 - In his first two-year term as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey hasn't blinked when facing challenges that would make some men quit – the Iraq withdrawal, the Afghan surge, the sexual assault epidemic, green-on-blue killings in Afghanistan, sequestration, Benghazi, the Arab Spring, the Syrian War, a colder relationship with the Russians. And it goes on day after day after day.
The chairman began his second two-year term today.
But he, and his wife Deanie, will make it through the second two-year term. He is in South Korea discussing the 31-year-old communist dictator that rules North Korea.
And the challenges elsewhere will pile up – the arguments over the East and South China Sea, trying to cajole allies to see the wisdom of your ways. Some challenges he will expect, but other will crop up and he will have to deal with them along with all the things he has to do.
And now the money that was there when he first took office is gone. In fact, instead of finding just $487 billion in savings in the defense budget, he needs to find an additional $500 billion – forcing a $1 trillion cut to defense.
And add that to the fact that the U.S. government just closed.
When he started his first term as chairman he issued four priorities. The first was to achieve the national objectives that the military forces had — Iraq and Afghanistan, deterrence in the Persian Gulf and so on.
Second was to build Joint Force 2020 which was a look to the future to build the capabilities we will need in the future and not just today.
The other two priorities dealt with the profession of arms. "It occurred to me that after 10 years we needed to take a look at the values to which we claim to live to determine whether the personnel policies, training, deployment, all of that was contributing to our sense of professionalism or whether we had some points of friction," he said during an interview here.
His final priority was keeping faith with the military family. Dempsey is an Armor officer by trade, and an English professor by heart and he is choosy about his words. "I chose family not families, because it's not just spouses and children; it's about veterans and it's about the many, many young men and women who will transition out of the military under my watch," he said.
These priorities will remain the same, he told reporters traveling with him. "But what I've learned over the past two years is where I have to establish some initiatives, some milestones, some programs and processes to achieve progress in those areas over the time remaining to me."
He notes it is a much different budgetary and fiscal environment than when he started. In fact, it's twice as bad. "It was $487 billion when I started, and now it's a trillion-dollar challenge," Dempsey said.
"Expectations about levels of support, the pace of training the pace of deployments are all going to change in the next couple of years, and I have to make sure the force adapts to that," he said.
"We're going to transition 100,000-plus out of the military, and I have to make sure those young men and women are ready for that change," Dempsey said. "I have to slow the growth of pay and health care – I don't have to reduce it – I have to slow the growth [and] make it sustainable."
"And I've got to reshape the force both in size and capability, and we've got [to] renew our sense of professionalism because it is through that, that we'll get through this incredible uncertainty," he said.
Dempsey is most worried about uncertainty in the force and what that is doing to the military family. "Now, we are far more adaptable than we are given credit for," he said. "There's this notion of the cumbersome military bureaucracy. Some is true, but there is also underneath the Pentagon an incredible group of young men and women leaders who change as they need to change to address the challenges as they find them. And they will continue to do that."
And the challenges elsewhere will pile up – the arguments over the East and South China Sea, trying to cajole allies to see the wisdom of your ways. Some challenges he will expect, but other will crop up and he will have to deal with them along with all the things he has to do.
And now the money that was there when he first took office is gone. In fact, instead of finding just $487 billion in savings in the defense budget, he needs to find an additional $500 billion – forcing a $1 trillion cut to defense.
And add that to the fact that the U.S. government just closed.
When he started his first term as chairman he issued four priorities. The first was to achieve the national objectives that the military forces had — Iraq and Afghanistan, deterrence in the Persian Gulf and so on.
Second was to build Joint Force 2020 which was a look to the future to build the capabilities we will need in the future and not just today.
The other two priorities dealt with the profession of arms. "It occurred to me that after 10 years we needed to take a look at the values to which we claim to live to determine whether the personnel policies, training, deployment, all of that was contributing to our sense of professionalism or whether we had some points of friction," he said during an interview here.
His final priority was keeping faith with the military family. Dempsey is an Armor officer by trade, and an English professor by heart and he is choosy about his words. "I chose family not families, because it's not just spouses and children; it's about veterans and it's about the many, many young men and women who will transition out of the military under my watch," he said.
These priorities will remain the same, he told reporters traveling with him. "But what I've learned over the past two years is where I have to establish some initiatives, some milestones, some programs and processes to achieve progress in those areas over the time remaining to me."
He notes it is a much different budgetary and fiscal environment than when he started. In fact, it's twice as bad. "It was $487 billion when I started, and now it's a trillion-dollar challenge," Dempsey said.
"Expectations about levels of support, the pace of training the pace of deployments are all going to change in the next couple of years, and I have to make sure the force adapts to that," he said.
"We're going to transition 100,000-plus out of the military, and I have to make sure those young men and women are ready for that change," Dempsey said. "I have to slow the growth of pay and health care – I don't have to reduce it – I have to slow the growth [and] make it sustainable."
"And I've got to reshape the force both in size and capability, and we've got [to] renew our sense of professionalism because it is through that, that we'll get through this incredible uncertainty," he said.
Dempsey is most worried about uncertainty in the force and what that is doing to the military family. "Now, we are far more adaptable than we are given credit for," he said. "There's this notion of the cumbersome military bureaucracy. Some is true, but there is also underneath the Pentagon an incredible group of young men and women leaders who change as they need to change to address the challenges as they find them. And they will continue to do that."
U.S.-SOUTH KOREA WILL ESTABLISH "BILATERAL STRATEGY FOR TAILORED DETERRENCE"
FROM: U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE HAGEL
U.S., South Korea Announce 'Tailored Deterrence' Strategy
By Karen Parrish
American Forces Press Service
American Forces Press Service
SEOUL, South Korea, Oct. 2, 2013 - The United States and South Korea today agreed to establish "a bilateral strategy for tailored deterrence against ... North Korean nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction," Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said during a press conference here today.
Hagel and his counterpart, South Korean Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin, spoke to reporters after the 45th Security Consultative Meeting in the South Korean Ministry of Defense building this morning. The annual meeting brings together military and foreign affairs officials from the two nations to discuss alliance, peninsular, regional and global issues.
The tailored deterrence agreement will create a strategic, policy-level framework within the alliance for deterring specific threats, Hagel said, "and help us work together more seamlessly to maximize the effects of our deterrence."
Kim noted both sides have agreed on the need for a "more future-oriented and comprehensive strategic alliance."
In a joint communiqué issued after the meeting, Hagel and Kim condemned North Korea's December 2012 long-range missile launch and its February 2013 nuclear test, and "urged North Korea to abandon all nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programs in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner and to cease ... its nuclear programs immediately, including its nuclear activities at Yongbyon, uranium enrichment and construction of a light water reactor."
In his remarks, Hagel also emphasized North Korea's stockpiles of chemical weapons. "There should be no doubt that any North Korean use of chemical weapons would be completely unacceptable," he said.
The communiqué reaffirmed U.S. commitment to provide and strengthen deterrence for South Korea "using the full range of military capabilities, including the U.S. nuclear umbrella, conventional strike, and missile defense capabilities."
It also provides for a "comprehensive counter-missile strategy" to, Kim said, "detect, defend, deter and destroy" threats from the North Korean arsenal.
The agreement states South Korea will "continue to build reliable interoperable response capabilities and to develop the Korean Air and Missile Defense system" and that both sides will further interoperability of the alliance's command and control system.
Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, also attended today's discussions. Other senior U.S. military leaders in the region were present as well, including Navy Adm. Samuel J. Locklear III, who leads U.S. Pacific Command, and the outgoing and incoming commanders of U.S. Forces Korea, United Nations Command and Republic of Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command, Army Gen. James D. Thurman and Army Gen. Curtis "Mike" Scaparrotti. Their South Korean counterparts also attended.
Scaparrotti assumed the three-flagged South Korea-based command later in the day from Thurman, who is retiring.
Locklear and Thurman shared their views on regional issues yesterday with reporters traveling with Hagel before the change-of-command ceremony. Locklear noted that units from within his command train and conduct exercises regularly with South Korean forces, which he termed "highly capable and very professional."
Thurman, who has commanded the roughly 28,500 U.S. service members in South Korea for two and a half years, noted that during his tenure readiness across the joint and combined force has been his highest priority.
During his command, he said, South Korean military forces have continued to "demonstrate their expertise in the air, on the ground and in the maritime domains."
Thurman said he remains confident the allies can defend the peninsula, which has been in a state of suspended war since North and South Korea signed an armistice in July 60 years ago. The United States fought side-by-side with South Korean forces during that war, he noted, and the two countries signed a mutual defense treaty in 1953, 60 years ago yesterday.
Thurman said the alliance is based on shared values, combined hard work, and a collective commitment to stability involving the U.N. sending states, South Korea and the United States.
"Since the Korean War, the Republic of Korea has been one of the greatest success stories of our time," he said. "They went from a country that was torn apart by war ... [to] a very vibrant democracy, a global economic power, a vital security partner and a world leader."
That success, Thurman added, "is an important example of what a great alliance can accomplish together, and it is worth defending together."
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