NASA SCIENTISTS RETURN FROM ANTARTICA

FROM:  NASA 

NASA aircraft and scientists have returned to the United States after a short ice-surveying mission to Antarctica. Despite having only a week of flying time, the team returned with crucial scientific data and a trove of spectacular aerial photographs.

The flights over Antarctica were part of Operation IceBridge, a multi-year mission to monitor conditions in Antarctica and the Arctic until a new ice-monitoring satellite, ICESat-2, launches in 2016. ICESat-1 was decommissioned in 2009, and IceBridge aircraft have been flying ever since.

Previous Antarctic IceBridge flights took off from Punta Arenas, Chile, but this time NASA’s P-3 took off from the sea ice runway at McMurdo Station, a first for the team. Operated by the National Science Foundation, the station is located on Antarctica’s Ross Island. Flying from McMurdo meant the IceBridge team was able to survey some areas that were unreachable from Chile.

In 43 hours across five science flights in late November, the P-3 collected more than 20,000 kilometers (12,000 miles) worth of science data. Instruments gathered information about the thickness of the ice over subglacial lakes, mountains, coasts, and frozen seas.

Laser altimeter and radar data are the primary products of the mission, but IceBridge project scientist Michael Studinger almost always has his digital camera ready as well. On November 24, 2013, he took the top photograph of a multi-layered lenticular cloud hovering near Mount Discovery, a volcano about 70 kilometers (44 miles) southwest of McMurdo. The Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8 captured a wider satellite view (second image) of McMurdo and New Zealand’s nearby Scott Base on November 30, 2013.

Lenticular clouds are a type of wave cloud. They usually form when a layer of air near the surface encounters a topographic barrier, gets pushed upward, and flows over it as a series of atmospheric gravity waves. Lenticular clouds form at the crest of the waves, where the air is coolest and water vapor is most likely to condense into cloud droplets. The bulging sea ice in the foreground is a pressure ridge, which formed when separate ice flows collided and piled up on each other.  Image Credit: Michael Studinger Caption: Adam Voiland.

ACTING ASSISTANT AG O'NEIL'S REMARKS ON MEDICARE FRAUD STRIKE FORCE ARRESTS OF 90 DEFENDANTS

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT 

Remarks by Acting Assistant Attorney General David A. O’Neil for the Medicare Fraud Strike Force Takedown

WASHINGTON ~ Tuesday, May 13, 2014

In today’s nationwide takedown, scores of defendants were arrested across the country for engaging in health care fraud – to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars in fraudulent bills to Medicare.   Among the defendants charged today were doctors, home health care providers, doctor’s assistants, pharmacy owners and medical supply company executives.   The crimes charged represent the face of health care fraud today – doctors billing for services that were never rendered, supply companies providing motorized wheelchairs that were never needed, recruiters paying kickbacks to get Medicare billing numbers of patients.   The fraud was rampant, it was brazen, and it permeated every part of the Medicare system.

But law enforcement is striking back.   In Brooklyn, Tampa, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, and right here in Miami, 90 defendants were charged today with having submitted over $260 million in fraudulent claims to Medicare.   Using cutting-edge, data-driven investigative techniques to find fraud, we are bringing fraudsters to justice and saving the American taxpayers billions of dollars.   Overall, since its inception, the Department of Justice’s Medicare Strike Force has charged nearly 1,900 individuals involved in approximately $6 billion of fraud.

Today’s defendants played a variety of key roles in the schemes alleged in this takedown.   But most strikingly, at the center of this takedown are the 27 medical professionals, including 15 physicians, who we allege breached the public trust and their professional duties of care, selling out their medical licenses for the lure of easy money.
 
For example, in Houston, we are announcing charges against five doctors employed by a health care clinic who were paid to provide $1.4 million worth of referrals for home health treatments that were not necessary and often not even provided.

In Los Angeles, we have charged a physician with false billings for medically unnecessary home health and medical equipment orders that cost Medicare over $23 million -- including hundreds of expensive power wheelchairs for people who did not need or want them.

In some of these schemes, we saw doctors going to extravagant lengths to conceal their fraud.   In Detroit, we charged a doctor who allegedly conspired with his billing company to conceal his false billings through a complex web of sham partnerships with other health care companies.

In other schemes, we seized extravagant fruits of the crimes, including bank accounts, jewelry, and luxury vehicles tied to the scheme.

The foundation for the success of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force is data.   Cold, hard data.   Medicare recently made physician billing data public for the first time, which has prompted reporters and researchers to take a close look at who is billing Medicare for what.   Our agents and prosecutors have used those numbers and other real-time data for years.   We take that data, provided to us by CMS, and we use sophisticated analytic tools to identify billing patterns that stand out compared to other health care providers in their communities.   The result?   We have identified billions of dollars in Medicare fraud, spread across the country.   This real-time data helps us pinpoint new schemes as they arise so we can stay one step ahead of the fraudsters.

But it is not just data.   We are also using traditional law enforcement techniques used in other types of investigations, like those used in corruption or organized crime cases, to develop evidence.   Undercover officers, Title III wiretaps, hidden cameras, GPS trackers. And I also want to highlight the role that Medicare beneficiaries can play in rooting out fraud.   In many of the schemes charged today, powerful evidence of fraud came from Medicare beneficiaries finding out what was billed to Medicare using their numbers and coming forward to tell law enforcement what they were seeing.

We are investigating and prosecuting all levels of these schemes - from the recruiters to the medical professionals to the owners of these clinics.   We will bring to justice those who steal from Medicare.   With an overall conviction rate of 95%, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force has sent that message to over 1,400 Medicare fraudsters who have been convicted since the Strike Force began operations in 2007.   In fact, just yesterday, a jury convicted a Dallas doctor who took cash in exchange for falsely certifying that Medicare beneficiaries qualified for home health services.

Make no mistake, together with our partners in the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, the FBI, and the Department of Health and Human Services, the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice will continue to aggressively investigate health care fraud using every tool available to us.   We are committed to the fight against Medicare fraud.   We will bring to justice those who loot our nation’s health care funds, and we will recover what has been stolen.

ONE ARRESTED, ANOTHER SOUGHT AS A FUGITIVE FOR ROLES IN PYRAMID SCHEME

FROM:  U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION 

Criminal Charges Filed Against Two Principals of Massachusetts-Based Telexfree

On Friday, May 9, 2014, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts charged James M. Merrill, of Ashland, Massachusetts, and Carlos N. Wanzeler, of Northborough, Massachusetts, with conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with the alleged TelexFree pyramid scheme previously charged by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Federal authorities arrested Merrill on Friday, and an arrest warrant was issued for Wanzeler, who the Department of Justice announced is a fugitive. The Department of Justice also announced it has executed 37 seizure warrants seizing assets relating to the fraudulent pyramid scheme.

The criminal charges against Merrill and Wanzeler related to the same conduct charged in a civil enforcement action filed by the SEC on Tuesday, April 15, 2014, against Merrill, Wanzeler, and others. Those charges were filed under seal, in connection with the Commission's request for an immediate asset freeze. That asset freeze, which the U.S. District Court in Boston ordered on Wednesday, April 16, secured millions of dollars of funds and prevented the potential dissipation of investor assets. After the SEC staff implemented the asset freeze, at the SEC's request the Court lifted the seal on April 17. On April 30, 2014, the Court entered preliminary injunctions extending the asset freeze as to defendants Santiago De La Rosa, of Lynn, Massachusetts, and Randy N. Crosby, of Alpharetta, Georgia. On May 8 and 9, the Court entered preliminary injunctions extending the asset freeze as to all the remaining defendants (Merrill, Wanzeler, TelexFree, Inc., TelexFree, LLC, Joseph H. Craft, of Boonville, Indiana, Steve Labriola, of Northbridge, Massachusetts, Faith R. Sloan, of Chicago, Illinois, and relief defendants (TelexFree Financial, Inc., TelexElectric, LLLP, and Telex Mobile Holdings, Inc.).

 The SEC alleges that TelexFree, Inc. and TelexFree, LLC claim to run a multilevel marketing company that sells telephone service based on “voice over Internet” (VoIP) technology but actually are operating an elaborate pyramid scheme. In addition to charging the company, the SEC charged several TelexFree officers and promoters, and named several entities related to TelexFree as relief defendants based on their receipt of investor funds. According to the SEC's complaint filed in federal court in Massachusetts, the defendants sold securities in the form of TelexFree “memberships” that promised annual returns of 200 percent or more for those who promoted TelexFree by recruiting new members and placing TelexFree advertisements on free Internet ad sites. The SEC complaint alleges that TelexFree's VoIP sales revenues of approximately $1.3 million from August 2012 through March 2014 are barely one percent of the more than $1.1 billion needed to cover its promised payments to its promoters. As a result, in classic pyramid scheme fashion, TelexFree was paying earlier investors, not with revenue from selling its VoIP product but with money received from newer investors.

In related proceedings, on May 6, 2014, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the District of Nevada granted the SEC's motion to transfer venue of those proceedings from Nevada to Massachusetts. The SEC had contended that the TelexFree entities hastily filed for bankruptcy in Nevada on Sunday night, April 13, 2014, in a transparent attempt to avoid Massachusetts. The SEC had noted that TelexFree does virtually no business in Nevada but rather was headquartered in Marlborough, Massachusetts. The SEC also argued that TelexFree did not have a legitimate business capable of reorganization under the bankruptcy code. The bankruptcy case will be transferred to Massachusetts for all further proceedings.

DOJ RELEASES CIVIL RIGHTS DIVISION'S ACCOMPLISHMENTS 2013 REPORT

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT

Monday, May 12, 2014

Civil Rights Division Highlights Accomplishments and New Records for 2013
The Department of Justice Civil Rights Division today released its accomplishments report for 2013.  This report supplements the division’s first accomplishments report , issued last year, on the division’s work during the first four years of Attorney General Eric Holder’s leadership.  In the division’s 57th year, its substantial caseload reflects the persistence of civil rights challenges that create barriers to equality and freedom.  But in 2013, the division continued to set new records for numbers of cases and to reach first-of-their-kind agreements in a number of areas.  Through its enforcement efforts, the division works to fight discrimination and protect the civil and constitutional rights of people across the country.

The division’s 2013 accomplishments report highlights its work to advance three core principles: expanding opportunity for all, safeguarding the fundamental infrastructure of democracy and protecting the most vulnerable among us.

“Last year, the Civil Rights Division worked to safeguard the most fundamental rights of American democracy, to extend the promise of equality and opportunity, and to advance the cause of justice that has defined this country since its earliest days,” said Attorney General Holder.  “I commend the dedicated men and women of the Civil Rights Division for their leadership on these critical efforts.  Their work is exemplary and in many cases groundbreaking.  It goes to the heart of who we are as a nation and as a people.  And that’s why it continues to be a top priority for this Department of Justice: because we are, and will always be, firmly committed to overcoming persistent threats as well as new challenges in order to ensure equal justice under law.”

“Over the course of 2013, the Civil Rights Division continued the impressive track record it initiated during the first four years of Attorney General Holder’s leadership,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Jocelyn Samuels for the Civil Rights Division.  “But for all that the division has accomplished, much work remains.  The division remains committed to meeting the next generation of civil rights challenges and to combating discrimination in all its forms.  We look forward to an even more productive 2014.”
 
Expanding opportunity for all

The division’s efforts to ensure equal access to education, housing, consumer credit and employment continue to set new records and to pioneer new models for bringing equal opportunity to all.  For example, working with the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau, the division reached its largest ever auto lending settlement when Ally Bank and Financial Inc. agreed to pay $98 million for pricing discrimination in its automobile lending practices.  The settlement provided $80 million in direct relief to African-American, Hispanic and Asian/Pacific Islander borrowers who were charged higher interest rate markups on auto loans than white borrowers.  The division has obtained more than $800 million in monetary relief in fair lending settlements since the unit was founded in 2010.

Ahead of this year’s 60th anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court decision Brown v. Board of Education, in 2013, the division launched new tools and entered into agreements to address racial disparities in education systems across the country.  After an investigation into disciplinary practices in the Meridian, Mississippi, public school system, the division found that black students frequently received far harsher disciplinary consequences, including arrests and incarceration, than white students for comparable and often minor misbehavior.  The department entered into a landmark settlement with the Meridian school system that will create a discipline system that treats all students equally regardless of race.  Also, to help all school districts administer discipline fairly and consistently, the division, along with the Department of Education, issued a groundbreaking joint discipline guidance for schools to prevent and address racial discrimination in school discipline.  This guidance, along with its additional technical assistance material, provides important information on the means by which schools can act to dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline.

The division continues its efforts to eliminate unnecessary segregation of persons with disabilities and to ensure that individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities are given the opportunity to participate fully in their communities, in accordance with the Supreme Court’s decision in Olmstead v. L.C.  In 2013, the division investigated Training Thru Placement (TTP), one of the largest facility-based employment service providers in Rhode Island, and a sheltered workshop in a Providence high school.  The division found that workers with intellectual and developmental disabilities typically remained at TTP for decades, earning sub-minimum wages, and that the high school workshop acted as a pipeline to TTP.  The department’s investigation found that the workers with disabilities at TTP were not in the most integrated setting appropriate for them; rather, they were capable of working in real jobs with supports and participating in activities in the community.  The division entered into an interim agreement with the state of Rhode Island and the Providence Public School District regarding TTP and the school-based workshop and expanded its investigation to all state-funded employment and day facilities to address the rights of people with disabilities to receive state employment and daytime services in the broader community, rather than in segregated sheltered workshops and facility-based day programs.  Since 2009, the division’s Olmstead enforcement work has helped protect the rights of more than 46,000 people with disabilities.

T he division also continues to aggressively enforce the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), ensuring that servicemembers returning from active duty are not penalized by their civilian employers.  The division’s USERRA program is critically important because USERRA cases typically involve small amounts of back pay; without the division’s help, many servicemembers would not be able to find or afford private attorneys to take their cases.  In Forsyth County, North Carolina, for example, the division reached an agreement to vindicate the employment rights of an Army National Guard soldier who was discharged from his job as a sheriff without cause less than a year after completing a deployment to Iraq.

Finally, the division collected a record in civil penalties, nearly $900,000, through its enforcement of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), which prohibits citizenship status and national origin discrimination in hiring, firing or recruitment or referral for a fee, document abuse and retaliation or intimidation.  The division also collected more in back pay than in any year in the past 10 years and settled major cases involving discriminatory documentary practices by Macy’s and Centerplate.

Safeguarding the fundamental infrastructure of democracy  

In the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision in Shelby County v. Holder, the division continues to use all of the tools still available in the Voting Rights Act (VRA) to ensure that all Americans can cast a ballot free from racial discrimination.  In 2013, the department filed three complaints under the VRA to protect the rights of minority voters in Texas and North Carolina to challenge discriminatory voting laws; each of these challenges alleges that these state laws were enacted with discriminatory intent.

The division also expanded its record number of agreements with law enforcement agencies by entering into model agreements with the University of Montana Office of Public Safety and the Missoula Police Department to ensure that police services are delivered without discrimination, that sex crimes are fully and adequately investigated and that victims are treated fairly and with respect after an investigation found systemic failures to protect women victims of sexual assault.

During Fiscal Year 2013, the division’s Courts Language Access Initiative worked with the court systems in 17 states to ensure that individuals are not denied access to important court proceedings because of their national origin and their limited English proficiency.  Access to state courts is critically important.  Whether cases involve child custody, domestic violence, foreclosure, wage claims or criminal prosecution, the stakes are too high in the courtroom context for parties or witnesses to be effectively excluded from participation.                                                  
Protecting the most vulnerable among us

The division prosecutes crimes to ensure protections for some of the most vulnerable populations in the country: those who are abused and trafficked for sex work or labor; those who are attacked out of hate due to the color of their skin, where they worship or who they love.  The division and its partners in the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices across the country filed 141 federal criminal civil rights cases, obtaining convictions of 166 defendants, in Fiscal Year 2013 –more than in any previous year in the division’s history.

For example, the division convicted 23 defendants on federal hate crimes charges – building on the division’s record in Fiscal Years 2009-2012, in which the division convicted 74 percent more individuals than in the preceding four years.  The division’s Appellate Section also defended the constitutionality of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crime Prevention Act in court.  Through its Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit, the division and its partners in the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices also brought 71 human trafficking cases, the most in the history of the division.  The division also brought 53 cases involving sex trafficking, a 55 percent increase over the previous year, and obtained convictions of 90 individuals for trafficking crimes.

The division also works to develop policy and legislative proposals to close the gaps in our nation’s civil rights protections.  This year, the division provided technical assistance on numerous legislative initiatives, including the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act and the Employment Non-Discrimination Act.

PRESIDENT OBAMA'S LAW ENFORCEMENT BRIEFING ON IMMIGRATION REFORM

FROM:  THE WHITE HOUSE 

Remarks by the President at Law Enforcement Briefing on Immigration

Room 350
Eisenhower Executive Office Building

May 13, 2014

12:01 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you, everybody.  (Applause.)  Have a seat.  Have a seat.  Well, it's wonderful to see all of you.  Some of you I've had the chance to get to know working on law enforcement issues and criminal justice issues.  But I cannot thank you enough for participating today on an issue that I think is important to our economic future, to our cultural future, to our standing in the world and to our safety and security, and that's the issue of immigration.

I’m here with some of the leaders of America’s law enforcement agencies who recognize that fixing a broken immigration system isn’t just the right thing to do -- it’s also the right thing to do for safety and security in communities all across America. 

The immigration system that we have right now makes it harder, not easier, for law enforcement agencies to do their jobs.  It makes it harder for law enforcement to know when dangerous people cross our borders.  It makes it harder for business owners who play by the rules to compete when they’re undercut by those who would exploit workers in a shadow economy. And it makes it harder for law enforcement to do their jobs when large segments of the community are afraid to report crimes or serve as witnesses because they fear the consequences for themselves or their families. 

This system is not fair.  It’s not fair to workers; it's not fair to businesses who are trying to do the right thing; it’s not fair to law enforcement agencies that are already stretched thin.

Now, the good news is the Senate has already passed a bill with a wide, bipartisan majority that would go a long way towards fixing a broken system.  It would strengthen our borders even further.  And I'm sure Jeh has talked to you about the work that's been done over the last five years -- we have put unprecedented resources at the borders, and you’ve seen the results.  We have fewer folks coming in than ever before.  And the personnel that is arrayed along our borders is well beyond anything that we saw five years ago, 10 years ago, 20 years ago. So we take border enforcement seriously. 

But what this reform package would also do is create a firm but fair pathway to earned citizenship for those who live in the shadows -- and as a consequence, would give law enforcement a better idea of who’s in the country.  It would also help build trust between local communities and law enforcement and immigrant communities.  It would undermine criminal enterprises that prey on undocumented immigrants.  And it would allow law enforcement to focus on its primary mission, which is keeping our communities safe.

And these are some of the reasons why a broad, bipartisan coalition -- including law enforcement agencies like the ones who are represented today -- is pushing Congress to go ahead and get the job done, get us over the finish line and do it this year. 

I hope all of you keep it up because it’s making a difference.  A number of Republicans are realizing that blocking immigration reform is not an option, and that's the good news.  And most Americans, the majority of Americans, know this is the right thing to do.  Public opinion is on our side on this.  Unfortunately, we've got a handful of House Republicans right now who are blocking going ahead and letting legislation get to the floor. 

To their credit, I think Speaker Boehner and some of the other leaders there do believe that immigration reform is the right thing, but they’ve got to have a political space that allows them to go ahead and get it through their caucus and get it done.  I've said to them, if they’ve got ideas I'm happy to talk to them.  We're not hell-bent on making sure that every letter of what’s in the Senate bill is exactly what ultimately lands on my desk for signature, but there are some core principles that we've got to get done.  We've got to have stronger border security.  We've got to make sure that we are dealing with companies that are not doing the right thing by workers.  We've got to make sure that we've got an improved legal immigration system, because a lot of folks are getting pushed into the illegal system because the waits are so long through the legal process.  And we've got to make sure that there’s a way for people to earn some pathway to citizenship.

And keep in mind, some of these statistics you may have already heard -- it's estimated that over 80 percent of the folks who are here on an undocumented basis have been here 10 years or longer.  These are folks who are woven into the fabrics of our communities.  Their kids are going to school with our kids.  Most of them are not making trouble; most of them are not causing crimes.  And yet, we put them in this tenuous position and it creates a situation in which your personnel, who have got to go after gang-bangers and need to be going after violent criminals and deal with the whole range of challenges, and who have to cooperate with DHS around our counterterrorism activities -- you’ve got to spend time dealing with somebody who is not causing any other trouble other than the fact that they were trying to make a living for their families.  That's just not a good use of our resources.  It's not smart.  It doesn’t make sense. 

So I know I'm preaching to the choir here.  You wouldn't be here if you didn’t agree with us that this is time for us to go ahead and get moving.  But I just want all of you to know your voices, particularly over the next couple of months, are going to be critical.  I think people have come to expect that I'm in favor of comprehensive immigration reform.  I think that people anticipate that the Congressional Hispanic Caucus is going to be in favor of comprehensive immigration reform.  I think people understand that there are a lot of agricultural enterprises that know how important their immigrant workers are to them.  But it's more important in some ways to get over the hump when they hear from unexpected voices. 

I think the evangelical Christian community has shown itself to be foursquare behind immigration reform, and that's a powerful voice.  I think portions of the business community that people may not anticipate know that this is the key to our economic future.  It would lower our deficits; it would grow our economy; it would bring in some of the most skilled people around the world.  We want them to continue to come here.  That's part of our competitive advantage relative to the rest of the world.  Our population is not aging the way some other populations are because it's constantly replenished with folks who are go-getters.  And hearing from law enforcement is important and I think it lends this overall effort great credibility.

So I just want to say thank you to all of you.  But we've got this narrow window.  The closer we get to the midterm elections the harder it is to get things done around here.  Now, I know it's hard to believe that things could get harder -- (laughter) -- that this place could get a little more dysfunctional.  But it's just very hard right before an election. So we've got maybe a window of two, three months to get the ball rolling in the House of Representatives.  And your voices are going to be absolutely critical to that effort.

So I just want to say thank you to all of you.  And while I'm here, I want to thank you for a wide range of issues that we've had a chance to cooperate with you on.  Whether it's dealing with counterterrorism issues and the preparations that ensure that if and when an event happens that we're prepared, and more importantly, that we're able to prevent such activities from taking place in the first place, or dealing with natural disasters where our first responders are always right there on the scene, day in and day out your teams, your personnel are doing heroic work on behalf of America.  And we're very, very grateful for that.

So thank you, everybody.  Let’s make this happen.  (Applause.)

END              
12:10 P.M. EDT

DEFENSE SECRETARY HAGEL, SAUDI CROWN PRINCE SALMAN DISCUSS STRATEGIC AND DEFENSE PARTNERSHIP

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 

Hagel, Saudi Crown Prince Discuss Threat, Challenges
U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel meets with Saudi Crown Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, who also serves as first deputy prime minister and defense minister, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, May 13, 2014. DOD photo by Erin A. Kirk-Cuomo.

Hagel Thanks Saudi Crown Prince for Hosting Conference
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, May 13, 2014 – Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel met with Saudi Crown Prince Salman this evening in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Pentagon Press Secretary Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby said.

In a statement, Kirby said this is the third meeting Hagel has had with the crown prince and noted that it follows President Barack Obama's visit in March.
Hagel expressed his appreciation for Saudi Arabia hosting the first U.S.-Gulf Cooperation Council defense ministerial conference since 2008, Kirby said, and noted the significance of such a gathering of these leaders at this time.
“Secretary Hagel congratulated the crown prince on Saudi Arabia's successful completion of the Sword of Abdullah military exercise,” the press secretary added. “The two leaders reaffirmed the importance of the U.S.-Saudi strategic and defense partnership and shared challenges, including Iran and Syria. They pledged to continue to work together to deepen U.S.-Saudi defense cooperation.”

U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT CONTRACTS FOR MAY 13, 2014

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 

CONTRACTS

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

Henry Schein Inc., Melville, New York, has been awarded a maximum $348,000,000 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for the distribution of a wide range of general dental supplies to all contiguous United States and outside contiguous United States facilities that participate in the electronic catalog program. This contract was a competitive acquisition with six offers received. This is a 15-month base contract with three one-year options and one eight-month option. Location of performance is New York, with an Oct. 31, 2015 performance completion date. Using services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and federal civilian agencies. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2014 through fiscal 2015 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPM2DE-14-D-7469).

Produce Source Partners,* Ashland, Virginia, has been awarded a maximum $36,000,000 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-quantity contract for fresh fruit and vegetable support. This contract was a competitive acquisition with three offers received. This is an 18-month base contract with two 18-month option periods. Location of performance is Virginia, with a Nov. 12, 2015 performance completion date. Using services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Department of Agriculture school customers. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2014 through fiscal 2015 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE300-14-D-P257).

Kyrish Government Group,* Kileen, Texas, has been awarded a maximum $16,421,974 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-quantity contract for automotive parts and maintenance hardware items. This contract was a competitive acquisition with four offers received. This is a two-year base contract with one one-year option period. Location of performance is Texas, with a May 12, 2016 performance completion date. Using services are Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2014 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Land and Maritime, Columbus, Ohio (SPE7L1-14-D-0001).

NAVY

Lockheed Martin Corp., Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is being awarded a $101,900,000 not-to-exceed modification to a previously awarded cost-reimbursement contract (N00019-12-C-0070). This modification provides for non-recurring engineering and sustainment tasks for mission systems software and autonomic logistics development of the F-35A Conventional Take Off and Landing Air System for the government of Israel under the Foreign Military Sales Program. In addition, this modification provides for the procurement of autonomic logistics hardware to support Israel pilot training. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas, and is expected to be completed in April 2015. Foreign military sales funds in the amount of $37,900,000 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity.

Long Wave Inc.*, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (N39430-14-D-1422); SiteMaster Inc.*, Tulsa, Oklahoma (N39430-14-D-1423); and Shape Construction Inc.*, Bremerton, Washington (N39430-14-D-1424), are each being awarded an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity multiple award contract for construction services for specialized antennas, towers, and communication facilities at Navy installations worldwide. The maximum dollar value including the base period and two option periods for all three contracts combined is $45,000,000. The work to be performed provides for the maintenance, repair, or new construction of telecommunication towers and supporting communications and electrical equipment for Navy telecommunication towers. These requirements may include project development, concept development, design, engineering analysis, preparation of plans, writing of specifications, estimation of construction costs, fabrication, construction, and controlling quality, troubleshooting, overhauling old equipment, procuring new components, equipment installation and testing. SiteMaster, Inc. is being awarded task order 0001 at $669,794 for the extension of top-load radials at the Naval Radio Transmitting Facility, Aguada, Puerto Rico. Work for this task order is expected to be completed by November 2014. All work on this contract will be performed at various Navy installations worldwide. The term of the contract is not to exceed 36 months, with an expected completion date of May 2017. Fiscal 2013 other procurement, Navy and fiscal year 2014 Navy working capital funds in the amount of $669,794 are obligated on this award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the Federal Business Opportunities website with eight proposals received. These three contractors may compete for task orders under the terms and conditions of the awarded contract. The Naval Facilities Engineering and Expeditionary Warfare Center, Port Hueneme, California, is the contracting activity.

Raytheon Missile Systems, Tucson, Arizona, is being awarded a $38,401,383 modification to previously awarded contract (N00024 13 C-5403) for Standard Missile-2 (SM-2) and Standard Missile-6 (SM-6) engineering and technical services to ensure continuity in production, design integrity, and total systems integration of the missile round and its components. This contract provides support to both the U.S. Navy (92.3 percent) and the following SM-2 foreign military sales (FMS) customers: the governments of The Netherlands (1.7 percent), Taiwan (1.7 percent), Japan (1.4 percent), Germany (1 percent), Korea (1 percent), Australia (.7 percent), and Spain (.2 percent) under the FMS program. Work will be performed in Tucson, Arizona (99 percent), and Portsmouth, Rhode Island (1 percent), and is expected to be completed by December 2015. Fiscal 2013 and 2014 research, development, test and evaluation; FMS and fiscal 2014 operations and maintenance, Navy funding in the amount of $25,495,322 will be obligated at time of award. Contract funds in the amount of $30,000 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity.

HART Technologies,* Manassas, Virginia, is being awarded a $32,182,700 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract with cost-plus-fixed-fee completion and firm-fixed-price delivery orders to provide for rapid prototype development, hardware fabrication, hardware and software for prototype or prototype pre-production units and kits in support of the Battle Management Systems, Dragon Spear, and Littoral Combat Ship programs. Work will be performed in Manassas, Virginia, and is expected completed by August 2018. Fiscal 2013 aircraft procurement, Navy contract funds in the amount of $64,434 are being obligated for the first delivery. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively via the Federal Business Opportunities website, with two offers received. The Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division, Dahlgren, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N00178-14-D-1009).

Huntington Ingalls Industries, Huntington Ingalls Inc., Pascagoula, Mississippi, is being awarded a $12,168,588 modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-12-C-2312) to exercise options for DDG 51 class follow yard services (FYS). The FYS provides necessary engineering, technical, material procurement and production support; configuration; class flight upgrades and new technology support; data and logistics management; lessons learned analysis; post-delivery tests and trials; post-shakedown availability support; reliability and maintainability; system safety program support; material and fleet turnover support; shipyard engineering team; turnkey; crew indoctrination, design tool/design standardization, detail design development, and other technical and engineering analyses for the purpose of supporting DDG 51 class ship construction and tests and trials. Work will be performed in Pascagoula, Mississippi (97 percent), and Washington, D.C. (3 percent), and is expected to be completed by May 2015. Fiscal 2010 and 2013 shipbuilding and conversion, Navy and fiscal 2014 research, development, test & evaluation contract funds in the amount of $12,168,588 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity.

M. A. Mortenson Co., Minneapolis, Minnesota, is being awarded a $7,262,015 firm-fixed-price modification to a previously awarded contract (N40085-12-C-7722) to increase the maximum dollar value of a firm-fixed-price contract for increasing the apron for aircraft maintenance hangar/apron/classrooms and combat aircraft loading area addition at Marine Corps Air Station New River. The work to be performed provides for the expansion of the parking apron and relocation of the wash rack for the parking apron. After award of this modification, the total cumulative contract value will be $66,111,686. Work will be performed in Jacksonville, North Carolina, and is expected to be completed by February 2015. Fiscal 2012 military construction, Navy contract funds in the amount of $7,262,015 are being obligated on this award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Mid-Atlantic, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity.

ARMY

Kipper Tool Co., Gainesville, Georgia, was awarded an $85,010,115 firm-fixed-price contract to procure 401 hydraulic electric pneumatic petroleum operated equipment tools and special application tools for engineering tasks. The estimated completion date is March 13, 2019. Bids were solicited via the Internet with one received. Funding and work location will be determined with each order. Army Contracting Command, Warren, Michigan, is the contracting activity (W56HZV-14-D-0069).

NAN-Samsung LLC, Honolulu, Hawaii, was awarded a $69,749,203 firm-fixed-price competitive contract for construction of the Combat Aviation Brigade Complex, Phase 2, Wheeler Army Airfield, Oahu, Hawaii, with an estimated completion date of Jan. 10, 2017. Bids were solicited via the Internet with nineteen received. Fiscal 2013 military construction funds in the amount of $69,749,203 were being obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Shafter, Hawaii, is the contracting activity (W9128A-14-C-0002).
Leonie Industries LLC, Pacific Palisades, California, was awarded a $55,449,092 firm-fixed-price competitive contract for the Military Information Support Task Force-Afghanistan. Work will be performed in Afghanistan, with an estimated completion date of May 21, 2019. Bids were solicited via the Internet with six received. Fiscal 2014 operations and maintenance, Army funds in the amount of $21,398,953 are being obligated at the time of the award. Army Contracting Command, Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, is the contracting activity (W560MY-14-C-0002).

CDG Engineers, St. Louis, Missouri, was awarded a $9,000,000 firm-fixed-price competitive contract for architectural and engineering services for civil works and support for other agencies for the St. Louis, Rock Island, and St. Paul Districts, the Mississippi Valley Division, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, or in other areas of continental United States as needed. Funding and work location will be determined with each order. The estimated completion date is May 12, 2019. Fourteen bids were solicited and fourteen received. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Louis, Missouri, is the contracting activity (W912P9-14-D-0517).

AIR FORCE

Rockwell Collins Inc., Cedar Rapids, Iowa, has been awarded a $20,022,313 modification (P00017) to FA8807-12-C-0013 for software coding and security on the military global positioning system user equipment contract. The total cumulative face value of the contract is $50,916,525. The contract modification is to mature the software coding of the GPS receiver cards being developed and perform security certification to enable faster fielding of M-code capable GPS receivers to the warfighter. Work will be performed at Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and is expected to be completed by Aug. 31, 2015. Fiscal 2014 research, development, testing and evaluation funds in the amount of $7,000,000 are being obligated at time of award. The Space and Missile Systems Center Contracting Directorate, El Segundo, California, is the contracting activity.

*Small Business

FDIC, SALLIE MAE SETTLE DECEPTIVE PRACTICES ALLEGATIONS RELATED TO STUDENT LOANS

FROM:  U.S. FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION 

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) today announced a settlement with Sallie Mae Bank, Salt Lake City, Utah, and Navient Solutions, Inc. (formerly known as Sallie Mae, Inc.), subsidiaries of SLM Corporation and Navient Corporation, respectively, and herein collectively referred to as Sallie Mae, for unfair and deceptive practices related to student loans in violation of Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act (Section 5) and for violations of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA).

This action results from an examination of Sallie Mae by the FDIC regarding Sallie Mae's compliance with federal consumer protection statutes, including Section 5 and SCRA, and a companion investigation by the Department of Justice (DOJ) related to the treatment of servicemembers. As part of the settlement, Sallie Mae stipulated to the issuance of Consent Orders, Orders for Restitution, and Orders to Pay Civil Money Penalty (collectively, FDIC orders). The FDIC orders require these entities to pay civil money penalties totaling $6.6 million, to pay restitution of approximately $30 million to harmed borrowers and to fund a $60 million settlement fund with the DOJ to provide remediation to servicemembers. The DOJ has also taken separate action against the entities with regard to violations of the SCRA.

The FDIC determined that Sallie Mae violated federal law prohibiting unfair and deceptive practices in regards to student loan borrowers through the following actions:

Inadequately disclosing its payment allocation methodologies to borrowers while allocating borrowers' payments across multiple loans in a manner that maximizes late fees; and Misrepresenting and inadequately disclosing in its billing statements how borrowers could avoid late fees. The FDIC determined that Sallie Mae violated federal laws regarding the treatment of servicemembers (SCRA and Section 5) through the following actions:

Unfairly conditioning receipt of benefits under the SCRA upon requirements not found in the Act;
Improperly advising servicemembers that they must be deployed to receive benefits under the SCRA;
Failing to provide complete SCRA relief to servicemembers after having been put on notice of these borrowers' active duty status.

In addition to the payment of restitution to harmed borrowers and a civil money penalty, the FDIC orders require Sallie Mae to take affirmative steps to ensure that disclosures regarding payment allocation and late fee avoidance are clear and conspicuous, that servicemembers are properly treated under the SCRA, and that all residual violations be remedied to ensure compliance with applicable laws.

DOJ ANNOUNCES DOZENS OF ARRESTS FOR MEDICARE FRAUD SCHEMES TOTALING OVER $260 MILLION

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT 

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Medicare Fraud Strike Force Charges 90 Individuals for Approximately $260 Million in False Billing

27 Medical Professionals, Including 15 Doctors, Charged with Health Care Fraud

Attorney General Eric Holder and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced today that a nationwide takedown by Medicare Fraud Strike Force operations in six cities has resulted in charges against 90 individuals, including 27 doctors, nurses and other medical professionals, for their alleged participation in Medicare fraud schemes involving approximately $260 million in false billings.

Attorney General Holder and Secretary Sebelius were joined in the announcement by Acting Assistant Attorney General David A. O’Neil of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, FBI Assistant Director Joseph Campbell, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Inspector General Daniel R. Levinson and Deputy Administrator and Director of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Center for Program Integrity Shantanu Agrawal.

This coordinated takedown is the seventh national Medicare fraud takedown in Strike Force history.   The Medicare Fraud Strike Force operations are part of the Health Care Fraud Prevention & Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), a joint initiative announced in May 2009 between the Department of Justice and HHS to focus their efforts to prevent and deter fraud and enforce current anti-fraud laws around the country.

Since their inception in March 2007, Strike Force operations in nine locations have charged almost 1,900 defendants who collectively have falsely billed the Medicare program for almost $6 billion.  In addition, CMS, working in conjunction with HHS-OIG, has suspended enrollments of high-risk providers in five Strike force locations and has removed over 17,000 providers from the Medicare program since 2011.

The joint Department of Justice and HHS Medicare Fraud Strike Force is a multi-agency team of federal, state and local investigators designed to combat Medicare fraud through the use of Medicare data analysis techniques and an increased focus on community policing.   Almost 400 law enforcement agents from the FBI, HHS-OIG, multiple Medicaid Fraud Control Units and other federal, state and local law enforcement agencies participated in the takedown.

“Medicare is a sacred compact with our nation’s seniors, and to protect it, we must remain aggressive in combating fraud,” said Attorney General Holder.   “This nationwide Medicare Strike Force takedown represents another important step forward in our ongoing fight to safeguard taxpayer resources and to ensure the integrity of essential health care programs.   Department of Justice will not tolerate these activities.  And we will continue working alongside the Department of Health and Human Services – as well as federal, state, and local partners – to use every appropriate tool and available resource to find, stop, and punish those who seek to take advantage of their fellow citizens.”

“The Affordable Care Act has given us additional tools to preserve Medicare and protect the tens of millions of Americans who rely on it each day,” said Secretary Sebelius.  “By expanding our authority to suspend Medicare payments and reimbursements when fraud is suspected, the law allows us to better preserve the system and save taxpayer dollars.  Today we’re sending a strong, clear message to anyone seeking to defraud Medicare: You will get caught and you will pay the price.  We will protect a sacred trust and an earned guarantee.”

The defendants charged are accused of various health care fraud-related crimes, including conspiracy to commit health care fraud, violations of the anti-kickback statutes and money laundering.   The charges are based on a variety of alleged fraud schemes involving various medical treatments and services, including home health care, mental health services, psychotherapy, physical and occupational therapy, durable medical equipment and pharmacy fraud.

According to court documents, the defendants allegedly participated in schemes to submit claims to Medicare for treatments that were medically unnecessary and often never provided.   In many cases, court documents allege that patient recruiters, Medicare beneficiaries and other co-conspirators were paid cash kickbacks in return for supplying beneficiary information to providers, so that the providers could then submit fraudulent bills to Medicare for services that were medically unnecessary or never performed.  Collectively, the doctors, nurses, licensed medical professionals, health care company owners and others charged are accused of conspiring to submit approximately $260 million in fraudulent billings.

“Today, across the nation, scores of defendants were arrested for engaging in hundreds of millions of dollars in health care fraud,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General O’Neil.  “Among the defendants charged were 27 medical professionals, including 16 doctors.   The crimes charged represent the face of health care fraud today – doctors billing for services that were never rendered, supply companies providing motorized wheelchairs that were never needed, recruiters paying kickbacks to get Medicare billing numbers of patients.  The fraud was rampant, it was brazen, and it permeated every part of the Medicare system.  But law enforcement continues to strike back.  Using cutting-edge, data-driven investigative techniques, we are bringing fraudsters to justice and saving the American taxpayers billions of dollars.  Overall, since its inception, the Department of Justice’s Medicare Fraud Strike Force has charged nearly 1,900 individuals involved in approximately $6 billion of fraud.  We are committed to using every tool at our disposal to prevent, deter, and prosecute health care fraud.”

“We all feel the effects of health care fraud,” said FBI Assistant Director Campbell.  “It leads to higher health care costs and makes it harder for seniors and those who are ill to get the care they need.  The FBI and our law enforcement partners are committed to preventing and prosecuting health care fraud at all levels.  But we need the public’s help.  Take the time to be aware of fraud and call law enforcement if you see anything suspicious included in the billings to your insurance, Medicare, or Medicaid or have any unusual encounters with health care providers.  We can work together to ensure your hard-earned dollars are used to care for the sick and not to line the pockets of criminals.”

“ Today's arrests demonstrate the effectiveness of our Strike Forces in combating Medicare and Medicaid fraud,” said HHS Inspector General Levinson.  “Through seamless teamwork, our agents and law enforcement partners bring lawbreakers to justice, protect beneficiaries and recover stolen taxpayer funds.”

“ Fraud can inflict real harm on Medicare beneficiaries and CMS is committed to working with our law enforcement partners to get criminals behind bars and out of the Medicare program as swiftly as possible,” said CMS Program Integrity Deputy Administrator Agrawal.  “Today’s actions represent further consequences for bad actors, many of whom CMS had already stopped paying, or even kicked out of the program. Fundamentally, this is about protecting the well-being of our beneficiaries and the investment of taxpayer dollars.”

In Miami, a total of 50 defendants were charged today and yesterday for their alleged participation in various fraud schemes involving approximately $65.5 million in false billings for home health care and mental health services, and pharmacy fraud.   In one case, two defendants were charged in connection with a $23 million pharmacy kickback and laundering scheme.   Court documents allege that the defendants solicited kickbacks from a pharmacy owner for Medicare beneficiary information, which was used to bill for drugs that were never dispensed.   The kickbacks were concealed as bi-weekly payments under a sham services contract and were laundered through shell entities owned by the defendants.

Eleven individuals were charged by the Houston Medicare Strike Force.   Five Houston-area physicians were charged with conspiring to bill Medicare for medically unnecessary home health services.   According to court documents, the defendant doctors were paid by two co-conspirators to sign off on home health care services that were not necessary and often never provided.

Eight defendants were charged in Los Angeles for their roles in schemes to defraud Medicare of approximately $32 million.   In one case, a doctor was charged for causing almost $24 million in losses to Medicare through his own fraudulent billing and referrals for durable medical equipment, including over 1,000 expensive power wheelchairs, and home health services that were not medically necessary and frequently not provided.

In Detroit, seven defendants were charged for their roles in fraud schemes involving approximately $30 million in false claims for medically unnecessary services, including home health services, psychotherapy and infusion therapy.   In one case, four individuals, including a doctor, were charged in a sophisticated $28 million fraud scheme, where the physician billed for expensive tests, physical therapy and injections that were not necessary and not provided.   Court documents allege that when the physician’s billings raised red flags, he was put on payment review by Medicare.   He was allegedly able to continue his scheme and evade detection by continuing to bill using the billing information of other Medicare providers, sometimes without their knowledge.

In Tampa, Florida, seven individuals were charged in a variety of schemes, ranging from fraudulent physical therapy billings to a scheme involving millions of dollars in physician services and tests that never occurred .  In one case, five individuals were charged for their alleged roles in a $12 million health care fraud and money laundering scheme that involved billing Medicare using names of beneficiaries from Miami-Dade County for services purportedly provided in Tampa area clinics, 280 miles away.  The defendants then allegedly laundered the proceeds through a number of transactions involving several shell entities.

In Brooklyn, New York, the Strike Force announced an indictment against Syed Imran Ahmed, M.D., in connection with his alleged $85 million scheme involving billings for surgeries that never occurred; Dr. Ahmed had been arrested last month and charged by complaint.   Dr. Ahmed has charged with health care fraud and making false statements.   In addition, the Brooklyn Strike Force charged six other individuals, including a physician and two billers who allegedly concocted a $14.4 million scheme in which they recruited elderly Medicare beneficiaries and billed Medicare for medically unnecessary vitamin infusions, diagnostic tests and physical and occupational therapy supposedly provided to these patients.

The cases announced today are being prosecuted and investigated by Medicare Fraud Strike Force teams comprised of attorneys from the Fraud Section of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and from the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Southern District of Florida, the Eastern District of Michigan, the Eastern District of New York, the Southern District of Texas, the Central District of California, the Middle District of Louisiana, the Northern District of Illinois and the Middle District of Florida; and agents from the FBI, HHS-OIG and state Medicaid Fraud Control Units.

A complaint or indictment is merely an accusation, and defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

FRENCH FOREIGN MINISTER SAYS "WE HAVE 500 DAYS TO AVOID CLIMATE CHAOS"

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT 

Remarks With French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius Before their Meeting

Remarks

John Kerry
Secretary of State

Treaty Room

Washington, DC

May 13, 2014

---

SECRETARY KERRY: Good morning, everybody. This is, indeed, a pleasure. Laurent Fabius, the foreign minister of France, has welcomed me to France more times than I can count. He’s been an exceptional host, and most importantly, a great partner as we have worked together on issue after issue since I’ve become Secretary. Second time we’ve been pleased to have him here at the State Department; he was here with President Hollande not so long ago.But today, we have much to talk about in the context of our partnership and work together. France has been really one of the most steady partners in almost every single endeavor that we are engaged in, particularly on the challenge of reaching an agreement with Iran with respect to Iran’s nuclear program; with respect to Syria, where we have worked from day one on our efforts to hold the Assad regime accountable and provide support to the moderate opposition; with respect to Libya, Mali, Chad, the Maghreb, the entire Middle East peace process, Afghanistan. I mean, there really is not an issue where we are not able to find a path to be partners.

In addition to that, we share major responsibilities of the P5. The P5+1 initiative on Iran is a significant one. We work very closely together in Geneva and in Paris and elsewhere in our efforts to advance those negotiations.

So I’m happy to welcome Laurent here today. He’s now working with an expanded portfolio in the French Government in dealing with economic issues. I’ve said from day one foreign policy is economic policy, and economic policy is foreign policy. So we find ourselves working in concert on those issues too – on the health of our economies and the effort to provide jobs for our people. So it’s a great pleasure to welcome you here. Thank you, Laurent.

FOREIGN MINISTER FABIUS: Merci. (In French.)

SECRETARY KERRY: In French. Okay.

FOREIGN MINISTER FABIUS: (In French.) We have 500 days to avoid the climate chaos. (In French.)

SECRETARY KERRY: Thank you very much. Do you want to say anything? He speaks perfect English. Do you want to say anything?

FOREIGN MINISTER FABIUS: Well, I’m very happy to be with John. There is no week without a phone call or a visit between John and myself, and we have on the agenda many items, many issues – Iran, because negotiations are resuming today; the question of Syria, and we shall meet next Thursday in London together; Ukraine as well; and very important issues, issue of climate change, climate chaos. And we have – as I said, we have 500 days to avoid climate chaos. And I know that President Obama and John Kerry himself are committed on this subject and I’m sure that with them, with a lot of other friends, we shall be able to reach success on this very important matter.

And it’s always a pleasure to meet with John. We are working very closely together. And we speak either French or English, but the most important point, whatever the language is, is to (inaudible) case. Merci. Thank you.

SECRETARY KERRY, CYPRIOT FOREIGN MINISTER KASOULIDIS MAKE REMARKS BEFORE MEETING

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT 

Remarks With Cypriot Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulidis Before Their Meeting

Remarks

John Kerry

Secretary of State

Treaty Room

Washington, DC

May 13, 2014

---

SECRETARY KERRY: Well, good morning, everybody. Delighted to welcome Foreign Minister Kasoulidis of Cyprus. And it’s a real pleasure. We saw each other last May. We had been talking and working on the issue of trying to find a peace for Cyprus, a reunification of the island on a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation policy. President Anastasiadis and the foreign minister have taken leadership in trying to bring a long sought-after resolution to this and we are privileged to work with them in that effort. We’re very supportive of this initiative.
It’s my hope to be in Nicosia and perhaps in Athens somewhere in the next weeks, if not early months. We’ve been talking about a visit for some time. We want to try to be helpful in this process. There are exciting things happening, and we respect and appreciate Cyprus’ efforts to work on a number of different fronts. Most importantly, Cyprus has been really helpful – a partner, a strategic partner, in a number of initiatives, and most importantly with respect to Syria and the removal of the chemical weapons. That leadership, that partnership is absolutely critical to all of us. There are new economic opportunities in the energy sector, looking at Cyprus.
So we have a lot to talk about today, and I want to impress on everybody our respect for and gratitude for the leadership that is currently being provided by the current administration, and we look forward to continuing to work with them. So welcome, Mr. Foreign Minister; we’re happy to have you here. Do you want to say something?

FOREIGN MINISTER KASOULIDIS: Thank you very much. I would like to thank Secretary Kerry for this meeting. It’s the second one within the last 12 months. A lot of things are happening in the world, particularly in Europe with Ukraine, but also in our region, the eastern Mediterranean. We are excited to have the (inaudible) region, and something that renders the resolution of the problem of Cyprus (inaudible) and we thank very much Secretary Kerry himself and the United States Administration for their assistance, for their interest. We need the assistance and interest of the international community because I think the circumstances are appropriate to push in order to find a settlement in this quorum, if I can call it this way. Thank you.

SECRETARY KERRY: And we agree with that, absolutely, and we will work at it. Thank you. Thank you very much, everybody. Ioannis, thank you.

CHAIRMAN OF JOINT CHIEFS SPEAKS AT DUKE UNIVERSITY COMMENCEMENT CEREMONY

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 

More than 14,000 people watch about 5,100 Duke University graduates receive undergraduate, master's and professional degrees at the university's commencement ceremony in Durham, N.C., May 11, 2014.  DOD photo by D. Myles Cullen.

Right:  Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, commissions 20 ROTC cadets during a ceremony at Duke University in Durham, N.C., May 10, 2014. DOD photo by D. Myles Cullen. 

Dempsey Urges Grads to ‘Make it Matter’
By Karen Parrish
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, May 11, 2014 – Wearing the dark blue jacket of his dress uniform, surrounded by fresh-faced, scrubbed and gowned graduates on a lush green morning campus in North Carolina, Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey today painted a vivid picture of a faraway reality.

“It’s sunset right now in Afghanistan,” he said. “Thousands of young men and women your age are either completing their day’s work or just about to begin it. They do what they do because they trust each other; because they sense that they should give something back because of the opportunities that they enjoy in this country.”

So they put on their rucksacks, he said, and they march out of their base camps and into an uncertain future.

“That’s their way of making it matter,” he said.

Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, gave a call-to-action speech emphasizing leadership, partnership, and responsibility today to graduates of North Carolina’s Duke University.

“It’s terrific to see so many international students among the student body,” he said. “I trust, I hope, I expect that you’ve formed relationships and friendships that will help us all manage an increasingly complex, and in some cases dangerous, world.”

Dempsey noted that during pre-commencement events yesterday, “I was privileged, really, to welcome 11 newly commissioned ensigns and lieutenants into the armed forces, our next generation of military leaders.” He invited the new service members -- uniformed for the ceremony -- to stand, then led a round of applause for them.

“And let’s not forget today’s Mother’s Day,” the general said. “So I also salute those of you who have nursed, nudged, nurtured, and nervously watched these terrific young men and women grow. You’ll still watch them nervously, but thanks for what you’ve done to bring them to this point in their lives.”

Dempsey noted he last stood in Duke’s Wallace Wade Stadium when he received his master’s degree in English in 1984, when he was a captain in the Army. He learned some things during his time at the acclaimed university, Dempsey said.
“As the product of a Catholic education and West Point, I’d actually never had to dress myself,” he said. Even tougher challenges arose, he continued, and “there were moments I wasn’t sure I would make it through Duke. But instinctively, I knew I had to keep trying and I had to keep learning.”

The general said that even then, he had a sense that his chosen profession might lead him to an intersection with history.

“And history did find me, about 20 years after I left this beautiful campus,” he said.

Dempsey said that nearly 40 years into a military career that has arced from the Cold War to counter-terrorism and the cyber domain, “Of course I’m worried about the future.”

He worries about big nations becoming more aggressive; little nations developing weapons of mass destruction; religious extremism “and what it creates,” the chairman said.

Dempsey noted that his worries also include “the collapse of governance along in the Mideast and North Africa; about criminal networks that move drugs and illegal immigrants and arms to and across our borders.

“I worry about a pervasive and growing weakness in national and international institutions and structures that have for decades held together our sense of order and well-being,” Dempsey continued. “And yet, when I look carefully and thoughtfully at all of this, I see more opportunity than vulnerability. I remain encouraged.”

He draws hope not least from “the young men and women that I find poised to lead us,” he added.

People will have to think, not bludgeon, their way into the future, the general said. There will be more options, but also more ambiguity, in “dealing with the challenges we face.”

“You will need to find, fix and remain true to your moral compass, or you’ll find yourself paralyzed,” he cautioned the graduates. “… You have to find your own way. You leave Duke with the intellectual tools to accomplish whatever lies ahead of you. But that’s only half of what you need, and only you can measure the other half.”

Dempsey told the graduates they have crossed the academic goal line.
“You’ve hit it out of the park,” he said. “You’ve … thrown it down with a vengeance. But what’s in your heart?”

Dempsey said his real worry is that they and some of their peers across the country won’t confront that question.

“You’ll quickly become too busy to give each moment the value it deserves,” said the 18th chairman, who has spent countless weekend days and holidays playing with, singing to and just spending time with the surviving children and families of fallen service members.

“Too driven to lead personally,” he continued. “Too confident to be inquisitive, too certain to be approachable. I had a mentor suggest to me once that from time to time, I ought to ask myself a very simple question: When is the last time I allowed someone to change my mind about something?”

The more responsibility a person has, Dempsey said, the more important that question becomes. Standing in sunlight on a peaceful green campus, surrounded by academic robes and the traditions of the ivory tower, Dempsey evoked the stern ethos of World War II recruiting posters.

“Let me be clear: America needs you,” the chairman said. “It needs each of you, if it hopes to remain what it is and what it needs to be. We are and have it within us to remain exceptional. But you’ve got to make this wonderful education you’ve just consumed matter.”

Dempsey recounted a fact of his daily life that he speaks of often. On his desk in the Pentagon, he said, sits a small wooden box filled with 129 laminated cards, each bearing the photograph of one of the 129 service members who died under his command in Baghdad in 2003-2004.

“On that box in the Pentagon, on my desk, are three simple words: Make it Matter,” he said.

Dempsey told Duke graduates his hope for them is that they believe in themselves “as much as those sitting up here, and those sitting around you, believe in you.”
The nation’s senior military officer said he also hopes they “genuinely believe in the greatness and the exceptionalism of this country.”

He advised them, “Encourage it. Criticize it. Participate in it. But above all, believe in it.”

America needs leaders of consequence, he said. “No mediocrity, no bystanders, no ambivalence,” Dempsey urged. “ … Make it matter.”

STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL'S REMARKS ON ILLEGAL TRAFFICKING IN WILDLIFE

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT 

Opening Statement of the United States at the 23rd UN Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice

Remarks

Todd Robinson

Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs

Vienna, Austria

May 12, 2014

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Mr. Chairman, thank you for the floor. The United States joins our distinguished colleagues in congratulating you on your election, and my delegation looks forward to a productive week under your leadership.

The United States delegation would like to associate ourselves with the remarks of Ambassador Galuškova and others, regarding our deep sympathy over the tragic deaths of Clément Gorrissen and Simon Davis, in Puntland, Somalia, and of Luis Maria Duarte, in Afghanistan. These men were dedicated public servants who worked tirelessly to help the governments of Somalia and Afghanistan to build peace, security, and the rule of law. They were respected and admired by their American colleagues who worked with them and we will miss them. The Government of the United States extends its sincere condolences to their families and loved ones.

Normally at the opening of these Commissions, delegations call attention to urgent priorities in need of remedy, with heavy emphasis on gaps in the international community’s collective response. This time, I’d like to begin on a different note, and recognize progress that has been achieved over the past year in addressing the theme of last year’s Commission—confronting the challenge of illegal trafficking in wildlife.

The United States is encouraged by how many governments have taken action on this issue since we last met, and by the spirit of cooperation among countries to reduce demand for these illegal products and prosecute the organized criminal networks involved. Since our last meeting, in February, President Barack Obama released our government’s “National Strategy to Combat Wildlife Trafficking” with three key pillars: reducing demand for illegally traded wildlife, strengthening domestic and global enforcement, and strengthening international cooperation. The National Strategy also closed loopholes in U.S. law to achieve a near complete ban on the commercial trade of elephant ivory in the United States. In November 2013, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry announced the first reward offer under my government’s new Transnational Organized Crime Reward Program. The reward offers up to $1 million for information leading to the dismantling of the Xaysavang Network - a major transnational crime syndicate facilitating wildlife trafficking across Africa and Asia. Much work still needs to be done, and the trafficking in threatened and endangered species remains a crisis that needs urgent attention from all governments. But we should recognize that this Commission has played an important role in generating positive change, and we need to build on this momentum.

This year, to further advance the Commission’s work, the United States has introduced a resolution in partnership with Norway to encourage additional cooperation against illicit trafficking in timber and forest products. Our resolution highlights the nexus between trafficking in timber and corruption, and encourages additional international cooperation, including cross-border information sharing and investigative efforts to counter trafficking in timber. On behalf of our Norwegian partners, we invite all delegations to take part in an informal meeting to discuss the resolution at 2:30 today in Room M4. We also invite all Commission participants to attend a U.S.-sponsored side-event on international cooperation to combat criminal elements in illicit trafficking in timber and forest products, scheduled to take place today from 1:00 to 2:00 pm.
Mr. Chairman, I would now like to turn my remarks to this Commission’s focus on International Cooperation in Criminal Matters. This broad topic covers much of the mandate of this Commission, and the United States looks forward to hearing examples of good practices and successful strategies for extending and improving criminal justice cooperation across borders from our partners. For our part, the U.S. delegation will describe our experiences with cooperation on mutual legal assistance, with particular emphasis on the critical role of effective national central authorities. The United States will also describe our work to provide technical assistance to those seeking to enhance legal frameworks and mechanisms to facilitate mutual legal assistance. We look forward to UNODC’s event at 1pm tomorrow to describe its efforts to promote regional networks of central authorities, including the West Africa Central Authorities and Prosecutors Network, a program my government is pleased to support.

Thank you very much for this opportunity.

SCORE ANNIVERSARY RECOGNIZED DURING NATIONAL SMALL BUSINESS WEEK

FROM:  U.S. SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION 

SBA Recognizes SCORE 50th Anniversary During

National Small Business Week

WASHINGTON – During National Small Business Week, the U.S. Small Business Administration is proud to recognize SCORE for its 50th anniversary in providing volunteer counseling and mentoring to our nation’s entrepreneurs.

SCORE, SBA’s valued resource partner, has served more than 10 million entrepreneurs since 1964, providing mentoring, counseling and coaching sessions for entrepreneurs and small business owners in its 50 year history.  SCORE has a network of 320 chapter locations and 11,000 volunteer mentors dispersed throughout the country.

“Congratulations to SCORE for 50 years of success and service to our nation’s small business community,” said SBA Administrator Maria Contreras-Sweet.  “Thanks to SCORE, the small business community is able to reach so many entrepreneurs and small business owners to make sure they have the tools and resources they need to succeed.  Working together, SCORE, our other resource partners, and SBA are able to reach so many small businesses and help foster an environment where the spirit of entrepreneurship thrives.”

SCORE volunteers are trained to serve as counselors, advisors and mentors to aspiring entrepreneurs and business owners, and their services are offered at no cost.  The celebration of SCORE’s 50th anniversary will continue throughout 2014, with a special focus on the 6th Annual SCORE Awards on August 14, 2014 in Washington, DC.

SCORE CEO Ken Yancey reflected on the organization’s 50th anniversary, saying “This milestone is about so much more than half a century of existence; it is about the work of hundreds of thousands of volunteers who have donated their time, energy and knowledge and about the more than 10 million small business owners who used those resources to enhance the American economy and their local communities. We are honored to be a part of these stories and these accomplishments and look forward to serving 10 million more.”

Since its inception, SCORE’s services have evolved in their methods for aiding entrepreneurs to include email mentoring and an extensive offering of online resources and educational workshops.  SCORE mentors share their experience and expertise with aspiring and current entrepreneurs in every stage of the business life cycle, from formation to planning for sale or exit.

PRESIDENT OBAMA, VP BIDEN HONOR TOP COPS

FROM:  THE WHITE HOUSE 

Remarks by the President and the Vice President Honoring the National Association of Police Organizations TOP COPS

East Room

May 12, 2014

5:39 P.M. EDT

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to the White House.  I especially want to welcome my old friend, Tommy Nee, and Bill Johnson and everyone in the National Association of Police Organizations.  Ladies and gentlemen, let me begin by saying congratulations to all of you assembled behind us.

It’s a genuine honor to be in the presence of the “best of the best.”  Each year you guys come down here -- and, Tommy, you bring down the best -- and you're an inspiration.  You're not only an inspiration to us, but you're an inspiration to all your fellow law enforcement colleagues all across the entire country.

And the President and I, we recognize the bravery that you display simply by putting on that shield every morning.  That, all by itself, is an act of bravery.  Strapping on your sidearm, kissing your husband or your wife goodbye at the door, walking out knowing -- because most of you are experienced -- knowing that you don't know with any degree of certitude what’s about to greet you.  You have no idea -- except some of it may not be good.

The officers we have here today have been singled out for going above and beyond the call of duty, and we commend each and every one of them.  And from my perspective, there’s no greater honor that a law enforcement officer could have than being recognized and nominated by his fellow officers -- because you all know what real courage is.  You all know what kind of steel in your spine it takes to make the decisions that the men standing behind me have made.

We also know that there are thousands and thousands of more law enforcement officers out there on the job today and every day who are taking risks that are hard for ordinary people to imagine.  They take risks to protect the community, protect the people they don't know, protect people they’ve never met.  But they go out there and you all do it anyway, regardless of whether or not -- where they’re from, who they are, whether you know them or not.

And today is a day for them as well, all those officers -- a day that every man and woman in uniform should feel extremely proud -- proud of themselves, not just the men and women standing behind me.  Today is a day the entire community of police officers should understand that America appreciates what you're doing, that this President and I appreciate what you're doing.

We owe the families, because every single day, as I said, you kiss your husband or wife goodbye, your son or your daughter, you know there’s that little, nagging feeling inside you -- that nagging feeling that I wonder what’s going to be meeting them today.  And that's a sacrifice.  It's a sacrifice that goes without adequate recognition.

Ladies and gentlemen, it's my great honor and privilege to present to you a man who fully recognizes that sacrifice, who’s committed to law enforcement in his bones.  And every action he has taken as President has been designed to protect those of you behind the shield, and the shield in front of the families that they represent. 

Ladies and gentlemen, it's my honor and privilege to present to you the President of the United States of America, Barack Obama.  (Applause.)    

THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you, everybody.  It is a great honor to be here -- one of my favorite events that we do every single year.  And let me start by thanking Joe Biden not only for being a great Vice President -- which he is -- but also being a lifelong friend of law enforcement.  (Applause.)  Now, he and I have a special reason for loving law enforcement, because we have the unusual privilege of being surrounded by law enforcement every minute of every day.  (Laughter.)  And they also protect the people we love most in the world -- our families.  So we’re incredibly grateful to them and to all the law enforcement officers who serve and protect families and communities across the nation every single day.

Some of the public servants who make sure America’s police officers have what they need to do their jobs are also here today, and I just want to recognize them briefly.  First of all, Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson is here.  (Applause.) Attorney General Eric Holder is here, as well.  (Applause.)  Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton is here.  (Applause.)  And I want to thank everybody from the National Association of Police Organizations, including your outstanding president, Tom Nee.  (Applause.) 

But, most of all, we’re here to welcome and congratulate our guests of honor, America’s Top Cops of 2014, and to thank their families -- their spouses, moms, dads, sons, daughters who love and support these heroes every single step of the way.  So give them a big round of applause.  (Applause.)  We know it takes a lot of courage to be a cop, but it also takes a lot of courage to love a cop -- (laughter) -- and to send them off to work every single day with a hug and a prayer for their safety.  So all of you are heroes in my book, as well. 

The 53 officers, detectives, patrolmen, special agents, and troopers that we celebrate today are America’s Finest -- the best of the best.  They hail from different parts of the country, and different events brought them here today.  But they share one important thing in common.  When the moment came -- when the shooting started, or a bomb went off, or a hostage was taken, or a child screamed for help -- they did not hesitate.  They went into action.  They ran toward the danger -- not away from it.  And they risked their lives to save the lives of others.

Now, I got a chance to spend a little time with these guys before they came out here.  When you talk to them -- and this has been true every time we’ve done this, every single year -- they’ll always say, I was just doing my job, insisting that they didn’t do anything extraordinary.  And they’re right about one thing:  There are heroes in every force, in every city, in every town across the nation.  And everyone standing up here owes something to police officers who aren’t here, somebody who pushed them to do their best and had their backs when they needed it.  So this is also a celebration for all law enforcement who are doing their jobs out there bravely and diligently, and we want to thank them for keeping us safe.

Having said that, even if these guys won’t admit it, there is something special about these guys.  This is the sixth year that I’ve welcomed Top Cops to the White House, and every year, their stories are incredible.  There are no exceptions.

There’s somebody on the loose here!  (Laughter.)  Oh no!  She was making a break for it.  (Laughter.)  That was great.  Did you see her?

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yes, I saw her.  (Laughter.)

THE PRESIDENT:  She was moving.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  She could move quickly.  (Laughter.)

THE PRESIDENT:  Here are some of the reasons these officers are here today. 

Surviving a violent ambush in the pitch-black woods while confronting an escaped felon convicted of sexual assault.  

Engaging in hand-to-hand combat to take down someone seen trying to blow up a gas station near a major international airport. 

Storming an underground bunker to rescue a kidnapped five-year-old boy. 

Braving a hail of gunfire to protect victims of domestic violence.

One of these officers, in protecting the public, took out a suspected cop-killing bank robber with what was described as a one-in-a-million shot.  Another stopped a shooter by returning fire through the windshield of his patrol car -- while making sure to wear his seat belt.  (Laughter.)  One jumped a fence during his own Father’s Day celebration when a boy screamed that someone was trying to kill his mom.  He saved both the mother and her son -- and now that little boy says he’s thinking about becoming a cop as well.

And there are officers here who were in the thick of two attacks last year:  the shooting at the Washington Naval Yard and the bombing at the Boston Marathon.  On those awful days -- and we all remember them -- amid the smoke and the chaos, the courage of these officers shone through.  And their quick thinking and level-headedness undoubtedly saved lives.  Their willingness to put themselves in danger to protect others answered the prayer of Americans watching all across the country.

So heroism like this can come with great sacrifice.  Some of the officers here today sustained serious injuries in the line of duty.  They were shot or stabbed.  Some lost friends, even a partner.  Some are still recovering. 

There’s one person who should be here today but isn’t -- Officer Dennis Simmonds of the Boston P.D.  Last year, Officer Simmonds was injured in an explosion during that gun battle after the Boston Marathon bombing.  And just a few weeks ago, he died while on active duty.  Dennis’s partner, Officer Jean Gerard Jean-Louis, is here.  So are members of his family, including his parents, Dennis and Roxanne.  And our sorrow at your loss is matched only by our gratitude for your son’s service and sacrifice.  I told the family before I came out here he will not be forgotten.

So what these officers do is dangerous.  They do it because it’s important.  Maintaining the public safety is the foundation of everything that is good that happens every single day in America.  It’s why parents can send their kids to school and adults can head off to work, and community centers and houses of worship can open their doors to one and all, and businesses can start and thrive.  And that’s why people can cast their votes and express their views without fear.  It’s one of the reasons people travel and do business in these United States. 

And that’s why Americans everywhere owe a debt to our nation’s law enforcement.  And we have to do our part by making sure all of you have the resources and protections and support that you need to do your job well.  That’s our end of the bargain.  That’s what I’m going to keep on fighting for every day that I have the honor of serving as your President.  And that’s what Joe Biden is going to work every day as long as he has the honor of serving as your Vice President.   

So on behalf of all the American people, thank you.  There are people alive today because of you.  You may not even know their names, but we do, and we’re proud of you.  

God bless you.  God bless your families, and God bless the United States of America.  Please give them a big round of applause.  (Applause.)

END
5:51 P.M. EDT