SECRETARY HAGEL COMMENTS ON EBOLA MONITORING OF U.S. TROOPS RETURNING FROM WEST AFRICA

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 

Air Force Staff Sgt. Chris Olmsted directs a C-17 Globemaster III in Monrovia, Liberia, during Operation United Assistance, Oct. 23, 2014. Olmsted is part of the Joint Task Force-Port Opening team assigned to the 621st Contingency Response Wing, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Gustavo Gonzalez. 

Hagel: Monitoring Returning Troops Provides ‘Safety Valve’

By Air Force Tech. Sgt. Jake Richmond

DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, Oct. 29, 2014 – A 21-day monitoring period for U.S. service members returning from areas affected by Ebola in West Africa provides a margin of safety that troops and their families wanted, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said here today.

During an interview at the Washington Ideas Forum here, Hagel said the policy he signed this morning was “discussed in great detail by the communities, by the families of our military men and women,” who very much wanted a “safety valve” in place.

The order implements a recommendation from the Joint Chiefs of Staff to place all U.S. military service members returning from Operation United Assistance into a 21-day controlled monitoring regimen. It applies to all military services contributing personnel to the fight against Ebola at its source, Pentagon Press Secretary Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby said in a statement.

Review required within 45 days

Hagel’s directive to the Joint Chiefs also stipulates that they provide operational specifics for the program within 15 days and a review of the new regimen within 45 days. The review will take into account what officials learn and observe from the initial waves of personnel returning from Operation United Assistance, and will result in a recommendation on whether the controlled monitoring should continue, Kirby said.

“The secretary believes these initial steps are prudent, given the large number of military personnel transiting from their home base and West Africa and the unique logistical demands and impact this deployment has on the force,” the press secretary said. “The secretary's highest priority is the safety and security of our men and women in uniform and their families.”

NASA VIDEO: Russian Progress 57 Cargo Ship Launches To The International Space Station

NASA Holds News Conference Following Orbital Launch Mishap

10/28/14: White House Press Briefing

The President Provides an Update on the U.S. Response to Ebola

DOD VIDEO: NAVY'S NEWEST NUCLEAR POWERED SUBMARINE

ONE MEMBER JOINT DOD TEAM BRINGS EXPERIENCE OF TREATING EBOLA PATIENTS

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT

Right:  Navy Cmdr. (Dr.) James Lawler, center, an infectious disease physician, talks to team members during a training event at the San Antonio Military Medical Center on Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, Texas, Oct. 25, 2014. The group is part of a 30-member DoD team that could be called on to respond to new cases of Ebola in the United States. DoD photo by Army Sgt. 1st Class Tyrone C. Marshall Jr.  

Navy Physician Provides Ebola Treatment Expertise to DoD Team
By Army Sgt. 1st Class Tyrone C. Marshall Jr.
DoD News, Defense Media Activity

JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas, Oct. 27, 2014 – The Defense Department’s unprecedented mission of establishing a 30-member team to rapidly and effectively respond to any potential Ebola virus outbreak in the U.S. has brought some of the U.S. military health system’s best medical professionals together.

One member of the joint team brings real-world experience treating Ebola patients to the DoD training course that will assist in advancing the group’s proficiency. Navy Cmdr. (Dr.) James Lawler, chief of the clinical research department of the bio-defense research directorate, Naval Medical Research Center, Fort Detrick, Maryland, discussed his role on the DoD team serving as a subject-matter expert on Ebola treatment.

“I’ve had the opportunity to work in a couple of isolation treatment units in sub-Saharan Africa,” he said, “and recently, in May, I was at the Ebola treatment unit in Conakry, Guinea, as a consultant for the World Health Organization. He also worked with the local health ministry and with Doctors Without Borders, which runs the Ebola treatment unit in Conakry.

Advances in Ebola treatment

Lawler, an 18-year Navy veteran, said he thinks the treatment of Ebola has “evolved significantly” due to the outbreak in West Africa.

“We’re really rewriting the textbook on Ebola virus disease, because we’ve seen so many more cases in this outbreak,” he said. “I think we’ve tried to capture a lot of the lessons that have been learned from West Africa, and also from the repatriated patients who have been treated here in the United States. We’ve learned a lot about effective treatment and how important aggressive supportive care can be, and we’ve tried to impart those lessons to the team here.”

One characteristic of Ebola, he said, has been recognized more widely now for contributing to the mortality and morbidity of the disease: diarrhea and the incredible amount of fluid loss and associated electrolyte abnormalities that come with the disease.

“I think being more aggressive in treating those features of the disease has been an advance that this outbreak has precipitated,” Lawler said. “And I think that there’s a better appreciation that aggressive supportive care can make a significant difference in outcome.”

Training focused on infection prevention

During the DoD training the 30-member team has undergone, Lawler said, the focus has centered on appropriate infection prevention and control in isolation units -- how to set up an isolation unit appropriately, how to use the personal protective equipment, and how to integrate the appropriate infection control procedures into daily clinical practice.

Team diversity

The team’s make-up — 10 critical care nurses; 10 noncritical care in-patient nurses; five physicians with infectious disease, internal medicine and critical care experience; and five members trained in infection control specialties — is essential to its success, Lawler said. “Their complex patients require a significant amount of care,” he added, “and as part of the team we have a core of critical care nurses who are really the most important part of the team.”

That intensive nursing, Lawler said, makes the biggest difference in patient outcome, and all of those disciplines are important to managing patients.
“We also have some other folks who specialize in things like industrial hygiene and environmental health [who] can help with some of the other aspects of setting up a patient care unit that are important,” he said.

The infection prevention control practices the team is training on will work if they’re done effectively, Lawler said.

“It’s important to really rely on your training and to remain focused and deliberate when you’re working in a unit,” he said. “Errors usually come when people get sloppy; when they get tired [and] careless. We really focus on preventing that.”

Additionally, Lawler said, there is “absolutely” a benefit to having a team available for any infectious disease contingency, because Ebola is not the only worry.

“There’s [Middle East respiratory syndrome] Coronavirus that’s out there in the Middle East right now,” Lawler explained. “We’ve already had experience with [severe acute respiratory syndrome] [and] with pandemic influenza, so the threat of emerging disease and pandemic disease is always out there.”
Confidence in DoD team

Lawler expressed confidence in the team’s training and said he believes it’s ready to “deliver good care, and to do it safely.”

“I feel very comfortable that our training has prepared the team to deliver care effectively and safely,” he said. “If the event ever happens [where] the team gets called up, hopefully, other people [outside DoD] have the same confidence that I do that the team is ready to go.”

Lawler said the nation always turns to the military in difficult times, and it is up to the DoD team to ensure it lives up to that trust.

“I think, in general, doing good patient care in difficult situations is what the military medical system always does,” he said. “That mission is not unfamiliar to us, and we’re ready to go if the call comes around for this particular instance.”

FORMER PRESIDENT OF REHAB CLINIC PLEADS GUILTY TO HEALTH CARE FRAUD AND MONEY LAUNDERING

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT 

Monday, October 27, 2014

Former President and Owner of Rehabilitation Clinic Pleaded Guilty in Health Care Fraud and Money Laundering Scheme

The former president and owner of a rehabilitation therapy services clinic pleaded guilty in Tampa today to health care fraud and money laundering charges.

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney A. Lee Bentley III of the Middle District of Florida, Acting Special Agent in Charge Derrick Jackson of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General’s (HHS-OIG) Miami Regional Office and Special Agent in Charge Paul Wysopal of the FBI’s Tampa Field Office made the announcement.

Laura Leyva, 45, of Miami Lakes, Florida, pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida to conspiracy to commit health care fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.  Her sentencing date will be set by the court.

According statements made in court, from June 2007 through November 2009, Leyva was the president and owner of American Rehab of Kissimmee Inc., aka American Rehab of South Florida Inc., a comprehensive outpatient rehabilitation facility located in Kissimmee, Florida, and Hialeah, Florida.  During that time period, American Rehab submitted approximately $2,543,368 in false and fraudulent claims for reimbursement to Medicare seeking payment for rehabilitation therapy services that were not legitimately prescribed and not provided.  Medicare paid approximately $1,074,278 on those claims.  Co-conspirators falsified and forged medical records were used to give the appearance that therapy services were rendered to Medicare beneficiaries at American Rehab when, in fact, they were not.  Leyva admitted that she destroyed falsified medical records in order to conceal evidence of the health care fraud and money laundering scheme.

This case is being investigated by HHS-OIG and the FBI and was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, under the supervision of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida.  This case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Christopher J. Hunter of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.

Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in nine cities across the country, has charged nearly 2,000 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $6 billion.  In addition, the HHS Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.

RECENT U.S. DOD PHOTOS

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT

U.S. soldiers maneuver tanks on Hohenfels Training Area, Germany, Oct. 26, 2014. The soldiers are assigned to 1st Cavalry Division, 1st Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery Regiment.  U.S. Army photo by Capt. John Farmer.

U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush travels through the Gulf of Aden, Oct. 23, 2014. The George H.W. Bush Carrier Strike Group is returning to Naval Station Norfolk, Va., after supporting maritime security operations and strike operations in Iraq and Syria.  U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Abe McNatt

COMPUTER HACKER SENTENCED IN CASE INVOLVING ALTERED ACADEMIC RECORDS AND STOLEN CREDIT CARD NUMBERS

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT

Monday, October 27, 2014

Massachusetts Man Sentenced to Four Years in Prison for Computer Hacking Involving Stolen Credit Card Numbers and Altered Academic Records
A Massachusetts man was sentenced to serve four years in prison today for hacking into computer networks around the country – including networks belonging to law enforcement agencies and a local college – to obtain highly sensitive law enforcement data and to alter academic records, as well as for possessing stolen credit and debit card numbers.

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz of the District of Massachusetts, Special Agent in Charge Vincent Lisi of the FBI’s Boston Division and Colonel Timothy P. Alben of the Massachusetts State Police made the announcement.

Cameron Lacroix, 25, of New Bedford, Massachusetts, pleaded guilty on June 25, 2014, to two counts of computer intrusion and one count of access device fraud.  Lacroix was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Mark L. Wolf of the District of Massachusetts.

Lacroix admitted that, between May 2011 and May 2013, he obtained and possessed payment card data for more than 14,000 unique account holders.  For some of these account holders, Lacroix also obtained other personally identifiable information.

Additionally, from August 2012 through November 2012, Lacroix repeatedly hacked into law enforcement computer servers containing sensitive information including police reports, intelligence reports, arrest warrants, and sex offender information.  In one such instance, in September 2012, Lacroix hacked into a computer server operated by a local Massachusetts police department and accessed an e-mail account belonging to the chief of police.

Lacroix, who was a student at Bristol Community College (BCC), also admitted that between September 2012 and November 2013, he repeatedly hacked into BCC’s computer servers and used stolen log-in credentials belonging to three instructors to change grades for himself and two other students.

The case was investigated by the FBI’s Boston Division Cyber Task Force.  The case is being prosecuted by Senior Trial Attorney Mona Sedky from the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Bookbinder of the District of Massachusetts.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California has also filed hacking charges against Lacroix.  That case has been transferred to the District of Massachusetts and is before Chief Judge Saris.

SCIENTIST SAYS DEEPWATER HORIZON OIL LOCATED

FROM:  NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION 

Where did the Deepwater Horizon oil go? To Davy Jones' Locker at the bottom of the sea

New analysis traces oil to its resting place on the Gulf of Mexico sea floor
Where's the remaining oil from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico?

The location of 2 million barrels of oil thought to be trapped in the deep ocean has remained a mystery. Until now.

Scientist David Valentine of the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) and colleagues from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and the University of California, Irvine, have discovered the path the oil followed to its resting place on the Gulf of Mexico sea floor.

The findings appear today in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

"This analysis provides us with, for the first time, some closure on the question, 'Where did the oil go and how did it get there?'" said Don Rice, program director in the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Division of Ocean Sciences, which funded the research along with NSF's Division of Earth Sciences.

"It also alerts us that this knowledge remains largely provisional until we can fully account for the remaining 70 percent."

For the study, the scientists used data from the Natural Resource Damage Assessment conducted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The U.S. government estimates the Macondo Well's total discharge--from April until the well was capped in July--at 5 million barrels.

By analyzing data from more than 3,000 samples collected at 534 locations over 12 expeditions, the researchers identified a 1,250-square-mile patch of the sea floor on which four to 31 percent of the oil trapped in the deep ocean was deposited. That's the equivalent of 2 to 16 percent of the total oil discharged during the accident.

The fallout of oil created thin deposits that are most extensive to the southwest of the Macondo Well. The oil is concentrated in the top half-inch of the sea floor and is patchily distributed.

The investigation focused primarily on hopane, a nonreactive hydrocarbon that served as a proxy for the discharged oil.

The researchers analyzed the distribution of hopane in the northern Gulf of Mexico and found that it was concentrated in a thin layer at the sea floor within 25 miles of the ruptured well, clearly implicating Deepwater Horizon as the source.

"Based on the evidence, our findings suggest that these deposits are from Macondo oil that was first suspended in the deep ocean, then settled to the sea floor without ever reaching the ocean surface," said Valentine, a biogeochemist at UCSB.

"The pattern is like a shadow of the tiny oil droplets that were initially trapped at ocean depths around 3,500 feet and pushed around by the deep currents.

"Some combination of chemistry, biology and physics ultimately caused those droplets to rain down another 1,000 feet to rest on the sea floor."

Valentine and colleagues were able to identify hotspots of oil fallout in close proximity to damaged deep-sea corals.

According to the researchers, the data support the previously disputed finding that these corals were damaged by the Deepwater Horizon spill.

"The evidence is becoming clear that oily particles were raining down around these deep sea corals, which provides a compelling explanation for the injury they suffered," said Valentine.

"The pattern of contamination we observe is fully consistent with the Deepwater Horizon event but not with natural seeps--the suggested alternative."

While the study examined a specified area, the scientists argue that that the observed oil represents a minimum value. They believe that oil deposition likely occurred outside the study area but so far has largely evaded detection because of its patchiness.

"These findings," said Valentine, "should be useful for assessing the damage caused by the Deepwater Horizon spill, as well as planning future studies to further define the extent and nature of the contamination.

"Our work can also help assess the fate of reactive hydrocarbons, test models of oil's behavior in the ocean, and plan for future spills."

Co-authors of the paper are G. Burch Fisher and Sarah C. Bagby of UCSB; Robert K. Nelson, Christopher M. Reddy and Sean P. Sylva of WHOI and Mary A. Woo of University of California, Irvine.

-NSF-

SECRETARY KERRY'S REMARK'S DURING MEETING WITH EMBASSY STAFF IN OTTAWA

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT 

Meeting With Embassy Ottawa Staff

Remarks

John Kerry

Secretary of State

Embassy Ottawa

Ottawa, Canada

October 28, 2014

AMBASSADOR HEYMAN: Okay, everyone. This is an incredibly special day. As you all know, we’ve looked forward to your visit for a long time – (laughter) – a lot longer than this weekend.

Here we have the 68th Secretary of State, sworn in in February of 2013. He spent 28 years in the Senate on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, so he knows foreign relations quite well; an avid proponent of working with veterans as a result of his service, but also just his deep care for veterans. So those of you in the room who are veterans, just – you have a huge fan.

Secretary Kerry is leading our country on the world stage, dealing with some of the most challenging issues of the day, and we couldn’t think of a better person to have than our Secretary. So – sure. That works.

SECRETARY KERRY: It works. (Laughter.)

AMBASSADOR HEYMAN: So with that --

SECRETARY KERRY: I’m a full-service Secretary. (Laughter.)

AMBASSADOR HEYMAN: Full service. Thank you, sir. So the DCM and my wife Vicki and I welcome you to home Ottawa. This is your home, sir.

SECRETARY KERRY: Thanks.

AMBASSADOR HEYMAN: So thank you very much.

SECRETARY KERRY: Thank you very much. (Inaudible.)

Thank you all very much for a wonderful welcome. I am really happy to be here, and despite the fact that it’s taken me longer than I wanted to to be able to get up here, I’m proud to say that John Baird was the first person I received in Washington as Secretary, one of my first three phone calls the day I got sworn in, and I don’t think anybody doubts – we had been meeting everywhere in the world except here, so it’s finally appropriate that I got here, though I’m sorry about the circumstances, obviously.

Thank you all for everything that you all do. You think – you guys aren’t going to throw anything (inaudible), right? (Laughter.) Looks very dangerous up – how do you get the extra plateau here? What’s the deal? You have tickets or something? (Laughter.) Right. Cheaper tickets, right?

Anyway, this is special for me. I’m really glad to get up here. First of all, this building was designed by a fellow from Boston, so it’s special for me to do that. But secondly, a good friend of mine who was on the other side of the aisle, Paul Cellucci, was the ambassador up here. Anybody of you get the chance to work – how many have you worked with Paul? Yeah. He was a terrific guy, and God rest his soul. He really was special, and very courageous in his final battle with ALS.

And I had a lot – a bunch of other friends have been up here too as ambassadors, and it’s – so I feel connected, notwithstanding the fact – I also – it’s nice to be in a – I’m a hockey player, and Bruce and I both root for hockey teams – the wrong ones (inaudible) – in his case, the Blackhawks; in my case, the Bruins. It is very nice to be in a city as a former senator where they actually cheer for senators here. (Laughter.) Although, given what’s going on, not the appointed ones up in the Hill. The other ones.

Thank you all for being here. Thanks for what you do. And I know that the last week was pretty jarring to everybody, being on lockdown. I want to thank the Marines, I want to thank the RSO, I want to thank the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and others, all of whom gave people a sense of confidence during the events of last week, which bring home to all of us why we’re here and what we’re doing and why this work is really so important.

We’re living in an incredibly challenging time. It’s almost cliched now to sort of say that, because it doesn’t fully bring home to people the full measure of challenge that we all face. I’m sure some of you have served in Kabul or Baghdad, and the last thing you expected was to come to Ottawa, know that there were gunshots in the streets and that the parliament was potentially under siege and certainly assaulted by one individual with weapons. That brings home to us that this is a different kind of challenge. This – the challenge of our generation is going to be to deal with religious radical extremism, which exploits a legitimate and beautiful religion that is being totally distorted, has nothing to do with what they purport to be pursuing, and nevertheless captures the minds of some of our young people, even in America. We have over a hundred people who’ve gone over there to fight with ISIL. Several hundred from France, from Germany, from Britain, from Holland, from the Netherlands, from Australia – run around the world.

And so we have to push back. We’re not going to win this exclusively through our efforts on the ground in this coalition with kinetic efforts. We’re going to win this with ideas. And we’re also going to win it with better alternatives for a whole bunch of young people who today live in places where they feel oppressed, where they don’t have a lot of opportunity, there’s not enough education, they don’t have jobs, but they know what the rest of the world has because they all have smart phones, they all have mobile devices, and they’re all seeing what’s going on and they trade thoughts. And frankly, there have been years and years of anger and frustration building up for a whole lot of different reasons in South Central Asia, Middle East, Horn of Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, and different places.

So our challenge is to not make them think that modernity and rule of law and civil society and states that have long existed is somehow the enemy. And what we have to do is take our values and our principles out there as never before, in hard work and now sometimes dangerous work. And what’s critical is we’re near a country that could not be a better partner to us. We’re very lucky. Nobody gets to choose their neighbors, but we have neighbors that are in sync and very much committed and sharing the same set of values, which is not true of everybody everywhere else in the world.

So you are fostering a very important relationship here, and I want to thank you all for doing that. We’ve got all kind of – I think we’ve got more than 30 agencies represented here, 250-plus direct hires, a whole bunch of folks who are Canadian local hires, and we thank you profoundly, all of you, who share in our journey and who are willing to sort of bear the burdens of the United States as well and come here and be part of our team. I think everybody here joins in saying thank you. I think there’s somebody here named Gloria Yerly. Is she here somewhere?

MS. YERLY: Yes.

SECRETARY KERRY: Gloria, where are you? (Cheers and applause.) Gloria – 38 years Gloria has been working here, right?

MS. YERLY: Yes, sir.

SECRETARY KERRY: You’re the best. We love you. Thank you. (Cheers and applause.) Thank you very much. Golly, I can tell why she’s so special. I mention her name and she springs into action. (Laughter.) She’s up here in 10 seconds. I love it. Thank you so much for everything you do. We really appreciate it. And DCM Richard Sanders – where’s Richard? Somewhere. There he is, over here. Thank you, sir, very much for (inaudible). (Applause.)

And Vicki and Bruce, we really appreciate the energy and experience you bring to this and your enthusiasm, which is unbounded. I want you to know I’ve been getting the down-low the whole time we’ve been walking around. So I am well-schooled here in terms of – so schooled that I got out to the Provence, the Moulin de Provence over here, and I’m now full of cookies. (Laughter.) Feeling my sugar high at, what is it, 3:11 in the afternoon? Let it be recorded. (Laughter.)

But the bottom line is that President Obama and I just want to say thank you to you. None of us can do anything that we do without all of you undertaking what you do. And I know it’s easy for me to decide to take a trip like that; it’s hard to make the trip happen. And a lot of you have to scramble and make a lot of pieces come together very quickly. I thank you for doing that, and I know that within about 10 minutes of my getting out of here you guys are going to have a hell of a wheels-up party. (Laughter.)

AMBASSADOR HEYMAN: No, Secretary Kerry. Secretary Pritzker is coming in 48 hours.

SECRETARY KERRY: Forty-eight hours? Well, I’ll warn her about the potential of some very droopy eyes and (inaudible). (Laughter.)

Anyway, keep up – keep doing what you’re doing, because this is a long haul. We have a lot of miles to go, so to speak, and it could get harder before it gets easier in some ways in certain parts of this journey. So I ask all of you – Foreign Service, Civil Service, agency appointees, United States Marine Corps – all of you stay at it. We need you. We are profoundly grateful for the fact that you’re here. But I’ll tell you something: We’re the lucky ones, because a lot of people cannot get up in the morning and go to work and feel as rewarded and make as much difference in people’s lives and have as much impact on a course of history as everybody here gets to do.

So you are the lucky ones in many, many ways. And on behalf of the President, myself, and the people of the United States of America, I thank everybody who’s involved in this great enterprise. It’s a privilege to be with you. Thank you. (Applause.)

U.S. CONGRATULATES PEOPLE OF TURKEY ON THEIR NATIONAL DAY

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT 

On the Occasion of Turkey's National Day

Press Statement

John Kerry

Secretary of State

Washington, DC

October 28, 2014

On behalf of President Obama and the people of the United States, I congratulate the people of Turkey as you celebrate the founding of your republic on October 29.

The partnership between our two governments is vital to the security and prosperity of all our citizens. As close NATO allies for more than 60 years, we continue to work side-by-side in addressing the serious challenges confronting us in the region and around the globe.

Just last month, I was back in Ankara meeting with President Erdogan, Prime Minister Davutoglu, and Foreign Minister Cavusoglu. We talk often, and we are always candid and respectful both about our agreements and the areas where we see things differently. Together, we have strengthened cooperation on many issues including economic and commercial ties and countering regional threats.

The strong bonds between our people bolster the friendship between our governments. The United States is home to a vibrant Turkish-American community. We are proud of the tradition of hosting Turkish students at our colleges and universities, as well as the social and cultural ties between our citizens.

On this joyful occasion, I offer best wishes to Turkey and its citizens.

FTC ACCUSES AT&T OF MISLEADING CONSUMERS WITH 'UNLIMITED' DATA PLANS WHILE REDUCING SPEEDS

FROM:  U.S. FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION 

FTC Says AT&T Has Misled Millions of Consumers with ‘Unlimited’ Data Promises

Company "Throttles" Many Consumers Who Had Signed Up for Unlimited Data
Call-in lines, which are for media only, will open 15 minutes prior to the start of the call. Chairwoman Ramirez and FTC staff will be available to take questions from the media about the case.

The Federal Trade Commission filed a federal court complaint against AT&T Mobility, LLC, charging that the company has misled millions of its smartphone customers by charging them for “unlimited” data plans while reducing their data speeds, in some cases by nearly 90 percent.

The FTC’s complaint alleges that the company failed to adequately disclose to its customers on unlimited data plans that, if they reach a certain amount of data use in a given billing cycle, AT&T reduces – or “throttles” – their data speeds to the point that many common mobile phone applications – like web browsing, GPS navigation and watching streaming video –  become difficult or nearly impossible to use.

“AT&T promised its customers ‘unlimited’ data, and in many instances, it has failed to deliver on that promise,” said FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez. “The issue here is simple: ‘unlimited’ means unlimited.”

According to the FTC’s complaint, AT&T’s marketing materials emphasized the “unlimited” amount of data that would be available to consumers who signed up for its unlimited plans. The complaint alleges that, even as unlimited plan consumers renewed their contracts, the company still failed to inform them of the throttling program. When customers canceled their contracts after being throttled, AT&T charged those customers early termination fees, which typically amount to hundreds of dollars.

The FTC alleges that AT&T, despite its unequivocal promises of unlimited data, began throttling data speeds in 2011 for its unlimited data plan customers after they used as little as 2 gigabytes of data in a billing period. According to the complaint, the throttling program has been severe, often resulting in speed reductions of 80 to 90 percent for affected users. Thus far, according to the FTC, AT&T has throttled at least 3.5 million unique customers a total of more than 25 million times.

According to the FTC’s complaint, consumers in AT&T focus groups strongly objected to the idea of a throttling program and felt “unlimited should mean unlimited.” AT&T documents also showed that the company received thousands of complaints about the slow data speeds under the throttling program. Some consumers quoted the definition of the word “unlimited,” while others called AT&T’s throttling program a “bait and switch.” Many consumers also complained about the effect the throttling program had on their ability to use GPS navigation, watch streaming videos, listen to streaming music and browse the web.

The complaint charges that AT&T violated the FTC Act by changing the terms of customers’ unlimited data plans while those customers were still under contract, and by failing to adequately disclose the nature of the throttling program to consumers who renewed their unlimited data plans.

FTC staff worked closely on this matter with the staff of the Federal Communications Commission.

The Commission vote authorizing the staff to file the complaint was 5-0. The complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, San Francisco Division.

NOTE: The Commission files a complaint when it has “reason to believe” that the law has been or is being violated and it appears to the Commission that a proceeding is in the public interest. The case will be decided by the court.

BOSTON BOMBER FRIEND IS CONVICTED

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT 

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Federal Jury Convicts Friend of Suspected Boston Marathon Bomber
Following an eight-day trial, the jury convicted a college friend of alleged Boston Marathon bomber, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, for making false statements to investigators assigned to the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force.

The jury found Robel Phillipos, 21, of Cambridge, Massachusetts, guilty of making false statements during the terrorism investigation of the Boston Marathon bombings on April 20, 2013, and April 25, 2013.  U.S. District Judge Douglas P. Woodlock scheduled sentencing for Jan. 29, 2015.

 “In the wake of one of the most significant events in this City’s modern history – an event which left two young women and a child dead, and many more injured – thousands of ordinary citizens assisted law enforcement in identifying and locating the perpetrators,” said U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz for the District of Massachusetts.  “Today, a federal jury concluded that Robel Phillipos did just the opposite.  He lied to agents when he could have helped.  He concealed when he could have assisted.  It is a crime to lie to law enforcement agents, and that is why Robel Phillipos was charged and why the jury found him guilty today.  But this case also reminds us that our public safety network relies on every citizen in the Commonwealth.  We look to all of our citizens – our neighbors, our friends, our colleagues, even strangers whom we have never met before – to assist law enforcement in detecting, preventing, and solving crimes.  Mr. Phillipos made a choice: a choice to lie instead of tell the truth.  With its verdict today, the jury got it exactly right.”

In August 2014, Dias Kadyrbayev pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice charges related to the Boston Marathon bombing investigation.  Kadyrbayev admitted to removing evidence from Tsarnaev’s dormitory room at University of Massachusetts Dartmouth and discarding Tsarnaev’s backpack with fireworks, some of which appeared to have been emptied of their explosive powder, in a garbage dumpster.  In July 2014, Azamat Tazhayakov was found guilty by a federal jury in Boston of obstruction of justice charges for his role in impeding the Boston Marathon bombing investigation.  His conduct was related to the same conduct as charged against Kadyrbayev that occurred in Tsarnaev’s dormitory room on the evening of April 18, 2013.  

At the Phillipos trial, the government proved that Phillipos lied about his knowledge and activities on the evening of April 18, 2013.  Specifically, Phillipos repeatedly lied to investigators when he denied that, on the evening of April 18, 2013, he entered Tsarnaev’s dormitory room and saw Kadyrbayev remove a backpack containing fireworks.

According to evidence presented at trial, at 7:00 p.m. on April 18, 2013, Phillipos saw the images released by the FBI of the two suspected bombers and immediately recognized one of them as Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.  At 10:00 p.m., Phillipos went with Tazhayakov to Tsarnaev’s dormitory room where he and Tazhayakov watched, as Kadyrbayev searched through Tsarnaev’s belongings and found a backpack containing fireworks.  When Kadyrbayev, Tazhayakov and Phillipos left Tsarnaev’s room at 10:30 p.m., Kadyrbayev removed Tsarnaev’s backpack containing fireworks, a jar of Vaseline, and Tsarnaev’s laptop computer.  Later that night while Tazhayakov and Phillipos were monitoring the manhunt for the Tsarnaevs on television, Kadyrbayev discussed getting rid of the backpack containing the fireworks with them.  Tazhayakov agreed with Kadyrbayev that they should get rid of it.  After this conversation, Kadrybayev placed Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s backpack in a garbage bag and placed it in a dumpster outside their New Bedford apartment.  The FBI recovered the backpack a week later, after 30 agents spent two days searching a landfill in New Bedford.

Between April 19, 2013 and April 26, 2013, Phillipos was interviewed five times by investigators conducting the Boston Marathon bombing investigation and during each of those interviews Phillipos lied.  At the conclusion of the fifth interview, Phillipos finally admitted that he did go into Tsarnaev’s dormitory room on the evening of April 18, 2013 and that he saw Kadyrbayev remove evidence from Tsarnaev’s room.  After he confessed, Phillipos indicated he regretted his decisions.  In his signed statement, Phillipos stated: “In retrospect, I should have notified the Police once I knew Jahar was the bomber.  Further, I should have turned over the backpack to the authorities.”

The charging statute provides a sentence of no greater than eight years in prison for each of the two false statement counts, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000 for each charge.  Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties.  Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The sentencing hearing for Kadyrbayev is scheduled for Nov. 18, 2014, and Tazhayakov’s sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 19, 2014.  

U.S. Attorney Ortiz and Special Agent in Charge Vincent B. Lisi of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Boston Field Division made the announcement today.  This investigation was conducted by the FBI's Boston Division and member agencies of the Boston Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) which is comprised of more than 30 federal, state and local enforcement agencies.  Essex County Sheriff’s Office, U.S. Department of Transportation – Office of Inspector General, Massachusetts State Police, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Department of Public Safety, New Bedford Police Department, Dartmouth Police Department, U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigations, and Homeland Security Investigations in Boston provided assistance to this investigation.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys B. Stephanie Siegmann and John A. Capin of U.S. Attorney Ortiz’s Anti-Terrorism and National Security Unit.

10/27/14: WHITE HOUE PRESS BRIEFING

NASA VIDEO: SPACE STATION SPACEWALK

U.S. MARINES AND U.K. SERVICE MEMBERS LEAVE HELMAND BASES IN HANDS OF AFGHAN FORCES

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT

Left:  Marines and sailors with Marine Expeditionary Brigade Afghanistan load onto a KC-130 aircraft at Camp Bastion in Afghanistan’s Helmand province, Oct. 27, 2014. The Marine Corps ended its mission in Helmand province the day prior. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Staff Sgt. John Jackson.  

Marines, Brits Turn Over Helmand Bases to Afghan Forces
By Marine Corps 1st Lt. Skye Martin
Regional Command Southwest

HELMAND PROVINCE, Afghanistan, Oct. 27, 2014 – U.S. Marines and service members from the United Kingdom left Regional Command Southwest in Afghanistan’s Helmand province today, turning their facilities over to the Afghan security forces.

The lift-off followed a ceremony held at the former command post of Marine Expeditionary Brigade Afghanistan at Camp Leatherneck, signifying the transfer of Camps Bastion and Leatherneck to the control of the Afghan National Army’s 215th Corps.

Regional Command Southwest is the first of the International Security Assistance Force commands to transfer authority to the Afghan national security forces as ISAF moves toward the Resolute Support mission that begins in 2015.
During the past year, Bosnia, Estonia, Denmark, Georgia, Jordan and Tonga ended their operations in Regional Command Southwest.
‘A very, very tough area’

Army Gen. John F. Campbell, ISAF commander, acknowledged that Helmand has been a “very, very tough area,” and he expressed confidence in the Afghan forces. “We feel very confident with the Afghan security forces as they continue to grow in their capacity and they continue to work better between the police and the army," he said.

Above:  U.S. Marine Corps and British Royal Air Force helicopters fly in formation after departing Camp Bastion in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, Oct. 27, 2014. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Staff Sgt. John Jackson.

Army Lt. Gen. Joseph Anderson, commander of ISAF Joint Command, echoed that confidence. "We lift off confident in the Afghans’ ability to secure the region,” he said. “The mission has been complex, difficult and dangerous. Everyone has made tremendous sacrifices, but those sacrifices have not been in vain."

Marine Corps Brig. Gen. Daniel D. Yoo, commander of Marine Expeditionary Brigade Afghanistan, said today’s transfer is a sign of progress. “It's not about the coalition,” he said. “It is really about the Afghans and what they have achieved over the last 13 years. What they have done here is truly significant.”
The Marines, sailors and British service members flew to Kandahar Airfield after the ceremony and will return home in the coming weeks.

WHITE HOUSE FACT SHEET ON NEW ACTIONS TO STRENGTHEN U.S. MANUFACTURING

FROM:  THE WHITE HOUSE 

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release October 27, 2014

FACT SHEET: President Obama Announces New Actions to Further Strengthen U.S. Manufacturing

U.S. manufacturing is central to the foundation of our economy, and the U.S. manufacturing sector is as competitive as it has been in decades for new jobs and investment.  Since February 2010, U.S. manufacturing has added more than 700,000 jobs, the fastest pace of job growth since the 1990s.

Today, to continue to build on this momentum, the President will unveil new executive actions to strengthen U.S. advanced manufacturing, spur innovation, and continue to take steps to make the U.S. a magnet for new jobs and investment.  At an event this afternoon, the President will thank the Advanced Manufacturing Partnership (AMP) Steering Committee, a working group of the President’s Council of Advisors in Science and Technology, for their efforts to develop advanced manufacturing across the U.S.  The final AMP, Accelerating U.S. Advanced Manufacturing, is now available.

In response to an earlier report of the Advanced Manufacturing Partnership, which began in June 2011, the President has already launched four manufacturing innovation institutes with four more on the way; invested nearly $1 billion to upgrade our community colleges to train workers for advanced manufacturing jobs; expanded investments in applied research for emerging, cross-cutting manufacturing technologies; and launched a new initiative to deploy the talent of returning veterans to in-demand jobs, including in advanced manufacturing.

The final AMP report makes recommendations addressing three key pillars that support American manufacturing: 1) enabling innovation, 2) securing the talent pipeline, and 3) improving the business climate. The executive actions announced today align with the report’s recommendations by making investments in emerging, cross-cutting manufacturing technologies, training our workforce with the skills for middle-class jobs in manufacturing, and equipping small manufacturers to adopt cutting-edge technologies.

New Executive Actions to Strengthen Advanced Manufacturing in America

Enabling Innovation:

Investing More than $300 Million in Emerging Manufacturing Technologies Critical for U.S. Competitiveness:  The Departments of Defense, Energy, Agriculture and NASA are announcing more than $300 million in investments in three technologies the AMP identified as critical to U.S. competitiveness: advanced materials including composites and bio-based materials, advanced sensors for manufacturing, and digital manufacturing.

Spurring Innovation by Providing Manufacturers Access to New and Expanded State-of-the-art Facilities like those at our National labs:  The National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy, and NASA are taking steps to connect industry and universities on research and development and develop ‘technology testbeds’ within Federal research facilities where companies can design, prototype, and test a new product or process.

Securing the Talent Pipeline:

Expanding Effective Workforce Development Strategies through the $100 Million American Apprenticeships grant competition: This fall, the Department of Labor will launch a $100 Million American Apprenticeships Grant Competition to spur new apprenticeship models and scale effective ones in high-growth fields like advanced manufacturing.  AMP members Dow, Alcoa, and Siemens have launched apprenticeship pilots and a “how-to” guide for other employers looking to use apprenticeship as a proven training strategy.

Improving the Business Climate:

Launching New Tools and a Five-Year Initial Investment to Support Innovative Small Manufacturers in the Supply Chain:  Given the  innovation gap faced by small manufacturers, the Department of Commerce’s Manufacturing Extension Partnership, which serves over 30,000 U.S. manufacturers each year, will build new capabilities at its state-based centers and pilot a competition for $130M over five years across ten states to help small manufacturers adopt new technologies and bring new products to market.

Background on New Executive Actions to Strengthen American Manufacturing Enabling Innovation

Investing Over $300 Million in Emerging Manufacturing Technologies Critical for Sustaining U.S. Competitiveness: The Departments of Defense, Energy, and Agriculture and NASA are committing to invest over $300 million in three emerging manufacturing technologies including advanced materials like composites and bio-based materials, advanced sensors, and digital manufacturing. In its recommendations, the AMP report identified these technologies as critical for lasting U.S. competitiveness in advanced manufacturing. The Administration’s research investments, matched by private sector efforts and resources, will drive advances in manufacturing high-tech materials, like new steel alloys that are twice as strong and lighter than today, new processes to eliminate reliance on foreign supplies of critical materials, cut the time to test and prototype a design by half, and replace chemicals made using oil with those made from plants harvested on American farms.

Spurring Manufacturing Innovation by Reinforcing New Partnerships between Manufacturers and Universities, National Labs, and Manufacturing Centers of Excellence:  The National Science Foundation (NSF), the Department of Energy (DOE), and NASA will take new steps to support science and research capabilities that strengthen U.S. manufacturing competitiveness.

NSF will establish up to two new manufacturing centers of excellence in basic research, bringing together universities and industry to partner at the earliest stages of the manufacturing technology pipeline with a particular focus on advanced sensors for manufacturing and digital manufacturing, through its Industry and University Cooperative Research Center Program (IUCRC).
DOE will expand its efforts to provide small manufacturers with access to cutting-edge tools for technology demonstration by reaching more companies through new or expanded “technology testbeds.” An existing model for these efforts is the Manufacturing Demonstration Facility located at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, which has helped close to 150 small businesses access cutting edge manufacturing technologies and research this year alone.
NASA is expanding its efforts to engage industry and academia on advanced manufacturing topics central to the nation’s space mission through its National Center of Advanced Manufacturing, with a particular focus on manufacturing technologies that reduce the weight of materials during space flight.
Securing the Talent Pipeline

Expanding Effective Workforce Development Strategies through the $100 Million American Apprenticeships Grant Competition: AMP has highlighted apprenticeships as a highly effective strategy for manufacturing workforce development. This fall, the Department of Labor will launch a $100 Million American Apprenticeships Grant Competition to launch new apprenticeship models in high-growth fields like advanced manufacturing, align apprenticeships with pathways for further learning and career advancement, and scale apprenticeship models that work. Industry is already leading the way in exploring new models, and Dow, Alcoa, and Siemens have launched new apprenticeship pilots and developed a “how-to” guide for other employers looking to use apprenticeship as a proven training strategy.

Communicating the Value of Careers in Manufacturing to America’s Youth: This year‘s National Manufacturing Day, hosted by the Department of Commerce Manufacturing Extension Partnership and leading manufacturing industry associations, attracted more than 50,000 visitors to over 1,600 factories across the country to teach America’s youth about the good career opportunities in manufacturing, double the number of events in previous years. Next year, the Department of Commerce and its partners plan to further expand the number of Manufacturing Day events across the country and the number of people participating in Manufacturing Day. In addition, the Department of Education has begun developing a national campaign to promote the value of career and technical education.  The campaign will inform educators, students, and their families of the value of promising careers and education pathways in technical fields, like advanced manufacturing.
Improving the Business Climate

Launching New Tools and a Five-Year Initial Investment to Support Innovative Small Manufacturers in the Supply Chain: The National Institute of Standards and Technology Manufacturing Extension Partnership (NIST MEP), using its network of more than 50 centers and relationships with over 30,000 small manufacturers each year, will deploy new tools to help small manufacturers access advanced technologies, new markets, and growth capital. As part of a national Supply Chain Innovation initiative, these tools will help connect small manufacturers with testbeds housed at national research facilities to test new technologies, helping small manufacturers bring to market novel products and processes. In addition, NIST MEP is committed to providing greater flexibility and funding to its national network of locally-based centers, to allow them to use these new tools and others to better assist small firms in adopting new technologies and innovations. As an initial investment, NIST MEP is launching a $130 million pilot competition in ten states to give centers the flexibility to adopt supply chain innovation tools and build enhanced capabilities over five years.
Building on Progress:  The Administration’s Investments to Increase U.S. Competitiveness in Advanced Manufacturing

The Obama Administration has continued to make investments that directly support innovations in manufacturing, and we’ve made significant progress to date, supported by our ongoing work with AMP, making good on the President’s commitment in 2011 when he launched the AMP to create new partnerships between industry, academia, and government to spur U.S. advanced manufacturing competitiveness, including:

Reaching the halfway mark on the President’s original goal of 15 manufacturing institutes in the National Network for Manufacturing Innovation with more than $1 billion in Public-Private Investment to date supporting four manufacturing institutes open today and four more on the way.
Deploying nearly $1 billion to strengthen manufacturing curriculum at community colleges across the country to train America’s workforce through the TAA-CCCT fund, led by the Departments of Labor and Education.
Increasing Federal investments in advanced manufacturing research and development to nearly $2 billion supporting investments in major developments in advanced manufacturing, up over 34 percent from $1.4 billion in 2011.
Investing in energy efficiency to lower costs for manufacturers so that American manufactures have the opportunity and the imperative to lock in a competitive advantage in energy costs by implementing energy-saving technologies and practices.
The White House and the Department of Commerce recently released a Digital Tour of American Manufacturing, highlighting how our manufacturing sector is central to making America a magnet for good, middle-class jobs and for generating durable economic growth, both today and tomorrow.

Advanced Manufacturing Partnership Final Report

Beginning in October 2013, the AMP Steering Committee “2.0” – a council of 19 leading CEOs, labor leaders, and university presidents co-chaired by Andrew Liveris, CEO of Dow, and Dr. Rafael Reif, President of MIT - began working with the recognition that industry, academia, and government must work in partnership to revitalize our manufacturing sector. The AMP Steering Committee is a working group of the President’s Council of Advisers of Science and Technology (PCAST) and was initially launched in June 2011.  The initial findings and recommendations in the AMP "1.0" report released in July 2012 have already spurred action by both the Administration and by the manufacturing community.

Over the past year, the AMP Steering Committee has harnessed the energies and expertise of over 100 manufacturing industry and academic experts to identify opportunities and policies to strengthen U.S. advanced manufacturing. The final Advanced Manufacturing Partnership report released today, Accelerating U.S. Advanced Manufacturing, AMP makes recommendations addressing three key pillars:

Enabling Innovation – Recognizing that leadership in emerging technologies anchors advanced manufacturing in the U.S. ,AMP endorses increased technology coordination and investments in three priority technology areas – advanced materials, advanced sensors for manufacturing, and digital manufacturing – calling. The report s for a full pipeline approach spanning centers of excellence in basic manufacturing research, the continued creation of the National Network for Manufacturing Innovation for final mile development of advanced technologies, and technology testbeds to spur the adoption of these technologies on factory floors.

Securing the Talent Pipeline – Manufacturers continue to need highly-skilled workers to fill open jobs on factory floors. AMP, building on its playbooks for employers and colleges to replicate proven training models, like apprenticeship, calls for further investments in the creation of a national industry-recognized, competency-based system of workforce development. And, to change the image of manufacturing, a national effort to communicate the value of careers in manufacturing to the nation’s youth.

Improving the Business Climate – For the U.S. to compete in manufacturing, we must build the environment for main street and start-up manufacturers to scale and grow. AMP calls for building new intermediary services to help small manufacturers adopt new technologies and expand into new markets and calls for a public-private investment fund to help high tech manufacturing start-ups scale from pilots and prototypes into full scale U.S. commercial production, ensuring what is invented here can be made here.

AG HOLDER'S REMARKS AT INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CHIEFS OF POLICE CONFERENCE

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT 

Remarks by Attorney General Holder at the International Association of Chiefs of Police Annual Conference

Orlando, FLUnited States ~ Monday, October 27, 2014

Remarks as Prepared for Delivery

Thank you, Chief [Yost] Zakhary, for that introduction; for your leadership as President of the International Association of Chiefs of Police; and for your dedicated service to the people of Woodway, Texas – as Police Chief, as City Manager, and as Public Safety Director – for over three decades.

It’s a pleasure to join you here in Orlando today.  And it’s a tremendous privilege, as always, to stand with so many distinguished law enforcement leaders.  I’d like to thank the IACP’s Board of Directors – and every one of your members – for inviting me to take part, once again, in this important annual conference, as we confront a range of evolving challenges and reaffirm our shared commitment to honoring all who wear the badge.

Over the course of my career in public service – and especially during my tenure as Attorney General – I have been fortunate to work closely with many of the leaders in this room, and with your colleagues across the country, to address urgent and emerging threats; to improve our collective ability to protect the communities we serve; to secure the resources we need to keep our officers safe; and to ensure that America’s criminal justice system is as fair – and as effective – as possible.

It has been among the greatest honors of my career to count you as colleagues, as partners, and as friends in advancing this important work.  For over 120 years, the IACP and its members have stood on the front lines of America’s struggle against crime, violence, and victimization.  You have been keepers of a sacred public trust, and stewards of a proud tradition of service, that predates our Republic.  And especially in recent years – in the face of sequestration, government shutdown, and other unprecedented difficulties – you have repeatedly proven the power of cooperation and collaboration across jurisdictions and even international borders, speaking out for the physical and mental health of those brave few who wear the badge – and risk their lives – to keep their communities safe.

We gather today at an auspicious moment.  Thanks to your leadership – and the extraordinary valor of every one of our officers on the street – the past two decades have been defined by dramatic reductions in criminal activity.  As you know, the rate of violent crime that was reported to the FBI in 2012 was about half the rate reported in 1993.  It has declined by more than 11 percent just since President Obama took office.  And the rate of incarceration has gone down by more than 8 percent over the same brief period – the very first time these two critical markers have declined together in more than 40 years.

This signal achievement owes a great deal to the courage, and the profound sacrifices, of our men and women in law enforcement – each of whom shoulders tremendous burdens, at great personal risk, in order that others might live safe and free.  As we come together here in Orlando, we must bear in mind just how challenging – and how often thankless – their vital work can be.  We have a great deal of work to do when it comes to increasing support for law enforcement officials and their families; forging close bonds of trust between our officers and the communities they serve; and overcoming the mistrust and misunderstanding that some people bring to interactions with the police – and that some officers may bring to interactions with certain communities.

But as we open a new chapter in this important conversation, we must never lose sight of the immense and unyielding difficulties that are inherent in the law enforcement profession – from the dangers these brave men and women face every time they put on their uniforms, to the split-second decisions they often must make, to the anguish of family members who awaken at night to the sound of a ringing telephone –hoping for the best, but fearing tragic news about a loved one out patrolling the streets.

As our nation’s Attorney General, I have always been proud – and steadfast – in my support for law enforcement personnel and their families, who make tremendous and often unheralded sacrifices every single day to keep us safe.  These sacrifices are too often overlooked.  And I believe we do ourselves, our communities, and our nation a grave disservice if we ignore these difficulties – just as we do ourselves a disservice if we dismiss, or fail to address, the conditions and lingering tensions that exist just beneath the surface in so many places across the country – and that were brought to the surface, and raised to the urgent attention of this group and others, by this summer’s events in Ferguson, Missouri.

As law enforcement leaders, it is incumbent upon each of us to take constructive, inclusive steps to rebuild trust and instill respect for the rule of law in all of the communities where these tensions are uncovered.  This is something that our new Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division, Vanita Gupta – who’s here with us today – understands well.  She recognizes, as we all do, that this is best accomplished through a collaborative process with law enforcement, with the proactive leadership of OJP and the COPS Office, under Karol Mason and Ron Davis.  We are all committed to standing with you in the effort to build trust.  And fortunately, thanks to robust partnerships that bind the Department of Justice to the IACP – and the innovative work of so many of the chiefs who are here in Orlando today – together, we are making great strides to do just that.

As a result of the leadership that so many local police are providing – and the Justice Department-led reform efforts that are underway in St. Louis County and elsewhere – we are making this effort a focused, national priority.  The Justice Department has launched a substantial new program – known as the National Initiative for Building Community Trust and Justice – to enhance procedural justice, to reduce implicit bias, and to support racial reconciliation.  Through this and other programs – as in our regular interactions with exemplary law enforcement executives like you – my colleagues and I are doing important work to see that tensions are addressed, rather than swept under the rug; to build dialogue and bridge longstanding divides; and to ensure fair treatment for everyone who comes into contact with police – while enhancing citizen compliance with law enforcement authorities.

At its core, this is about far more than addressing the issues highlighted by the intense public response to events in Ferguson.  It’s about practicing sound and effective law enforcement.  That’s why, under the leadership of our COPS Office, the Justice Department is working with the IACP and others to conduct a broad review of policing tactics, techniques, and training –so we can help the field swiftly confront emerging threats, better address persistent challenges, and thoroughly examine the latest tools and technologies to enhance the safety, and the effectiveness, of law enforcement.

Going forward, I will support not only continuing this targeted review, but expanding it – to consider the profession in a comprehensive way – and to provide strong, national direction on a scale not seen since President Lyndon Johnson’s Commission on Law Enforcement nearly half a century ago.

After all, we’ve come to understand over the years that – when people have faith in the integrity of the process – they are more likely to cooperate with local authorities and obey the law, even if they disagree with particular outcomes.  And that’s why our COPS Office has invested more than $14 billion to keep our streets and communities safer through community policing – funding over 126,000 officers; awarding approximately 39,000 grants to state, local, tribal, and territorial law enforcement agencies; and training more than 700,000 law enforcement personnel, community members, and government leaders.

In September, I announced a new round of investments in this work – in the form of nearly $124 million in grants under the COPS Hiring Program.  This important funding will support the hiring and retention of 944 officers at 215 agencies and municipalities around the country.  And the impact of these grants will extend far beyond the creation and preservation of law enforcement jobs – helping to strengthen relationships between these officers and the communities they serve, to improve public safety, and to keep more officers on the streets.

This has the potential to make a profound, positive difference in the lives of millions of people.  But it’s only the beginning.

Through our highly successful Byrne Justice Assistance Grants – or Byrne-JAG – the Bureau of Justice Assistance, a part of our Office of Justice Programs, has awarded nearly $290 million in funding to 56 states and territories, and more than 1,000 local jurisdictions, during the last fiscal year alone.  These resources are helping to spur innovation and drive evidence-based policing in countless communities.  And thanks to initiatives like VALOR, which has trained more than 15,000 officers at over 110 training events – and ALERRT, our active shooter response training partner through VALOR, which has trained over 50,000 officers – we’re making good on our commitment not only to ensure success, but to promote safety, among law enforcement professionals throughout America.

By helping to prevent violence, to improve officer resilience, and to increase survivability during violent encounters – including ambushes and active shooter situations – the Justice Department is empowering our local, state, and tribal partners.  And under our Bulletproof Vest Partnership Program, we’re also helping to provide access to the lifesaving equipment that they need to stay safe.

Since we launched this important program in 1999, the Department has awarded more than $390 million toward the purchase of over 1.1 million bulletproof vests.  In 2013 and 2014 alone, protective vests saved the lives of at least 31 law enforcement and corrections officers.  And three of their vests were purchased, in part, with BVP funds.

Beyond these efforts, the Justice Department is striving to expand access to the tools our law enforcement officials need to counter a wide range of evolving public safety threats, from human trafficking to opioid addiction.  I’m pleased that a new e-Guide – available from our Office for Victims of Crime – gives law enforcement and victim service providers the information and insights they need to respond effectively to crimes involving forced sex and labor.  This updated resource will help strengthen anti-human trafficking task forces now in operation across the country.

And as we face down the growing threat posed by addiction to heroin and other opioids – including prescription painkillers – I’m proud to announce that the Justice Department is rolling out a new online toolkit to help law enforcement professionals respond to drug overdose emergencies both safely and effectively.

Because local police officers are often the first to arrive on the scenes of these overdoses, it is absolutely critical that we equip them to respond appropriately.  As you know, naloxone – also known as Narcan – is a fast-acting drug that’s extremely effective at restoring breathing to a victim in the midst of a heroin or other opioid overdose.  In recent months, I have begun urging local law enforcement authorities to equip their officers with naloxone.  I’ve directed federal law enforcement agencies under the authority of the Justice Department to review their policies to determine whether their personnel should also be equipped with this potentially-lifesaving remedy – just as ATF Special Response Team medics have been for some time now.  And in the course of my regular interactions with leaders like you, I’ve heard a number of requests to offer new information and assistance to public safety professionals who carry this drug.

In response, we’ve assembled new online toolkit, comprising over 80 resources from 30 contributing law enforcement and public health agencies.  This naloxone toolkit is available today on the Bureau of Justice Assistance’s website.  And I encourage you all to take full advantage of the information it provides.

Coupled with the targeted reforms we’ve made under the “Smart on Crime” initiative I announced last year, I am confident that these efforts will save and improve lives while conserving precious resources.  As you know as well as anyone, we must never – and we will never – stop being vigilant against crime, or the conditions and choices that breed it.  But investing in effective prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation; ensuring that incarceration is used appropriately – and reserving the toughest penalties for serious, violent, or high-level traffickers – can only serve to strengthen our criminal justice system as a whole.

Now, I know there are some who have suggested that recent changes in charging and sentencing policies might somehow undermine our ability – at the federal level – to induce cooperation from defendants in certain cases.  But – as I know from experience, and as so many of the seasoned law enforcement leaders in this room surely recognize – the reality is that these concerns are overstated.

Defendant cooperation depends on the certainty of swift and fair punishment, not on the length of a mandatory minimum sentence.  Like anyone old enough to remember the era before sentencing guidelines existed and mandatory minimums took effect, I can testify to the fact that federal guidelines attempted to systematize the kinds of negotiations that were naturally taking place anyway.  Far from impeding the work of federal prosecutors, the sentencing reforms I’ve mandated have strengthened their discretion.  And the belief that cooperation is wholly dependent on mandatory minimums does not align with objective facts.

Going forward – with these important, commonsense changes; with the resources and support the Justice Department is providing; and with the strong leadership of the IACP and each of its members – I am confident that we will continue to see crime and violence decrease in all of the jurisdictions represented here.  We will continue to ensure that America’s finest can protect themselves, and secure their communities, as effectively as possible.  And – with dedication and persistence, in partnership with one another, and thanks to the bravery of our men and women on the front lines – we will continue to make the progress that our citizens both need and deserve.

In the weeks ahead – wherever my individual path may take me – I want you to know that my commitment to this work, and my abiding respect and admiration for you and your colleagues, will never waver.  I am proud of all that we have accomplished together over the last six years.  I look forward to everything we will achieve in the critical days to come.  And I thank you all, once again, for your tireless work, for your friendship – and for your ongoing service to the nation we love so dearly.