Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative David Kustoff (TN-08)

WASHINGTON – Today, the House of Representatives passed Congressman David Kustoff’s bill, the Improving Social Security’s Service to Victims of Identity Theft Act (H.R. 5345), by unanimous consent. This legislation creates a single point of contact at the Social Security Administration (SSA) for individuals whose Social Security numbers have been stolen.`

“Victims of identity theft shouldn’t have to fight their way through government bureaucracy just to get their identity restored,” said Congressman Kustoff. “The Improving Social Security’s Service to Victims of Identity Theft Act is a commonsense bill that will improve government efficiency and ensure victims get access to timely relief.”

“Instead of adding more red tape, callbacks, and confusion, our government should make it easier to help victims of identity theft. The Improving Social Security’s Service to Victims of Identity Theft Act ensures families have a single point of contact at the SSA when their Social Security number is compromised,” said Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (MO-08). “I want to thank Representative Kustoff for sponsoring this important bill, which will deliver much-needed help to victims of identity theft.”

Background:

Identity theft continues to pose a serious challenge across the country. In 2024 alone, there were more than 3,000 reported data breaches, including many leaks which involved Social Security Numbers. When that information is exposed, the fallout for victims can last for years, and dealing with federal agencies often adds to the frustration.

H.R. 5345 gives victims a single, dedicated contact at the SSA to help them resolve issues tied to identity theft. This change gives Americans a more effective way to protect their assets when their information is compromised. It replaces a confusing, bureaucratic reporting process at the SSA with one that is far easier to navigate.

Congressman Kustoff’s bill now moves to the Senate for further action. Click here to watch Congressman Kustoff’s remarks on the House Floor. Click here for the full text of the bill.

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Linda Sanchez (38th District of CA)

WASHINGTON – Congresswoman Linda T. Sánchez (D-Calif.) and Congressman Darin LaHood (R-Ill.) both members of the House Ways and Means Committee, today introduced the Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act. The bipartisan, bicameral legislation would give working Americans new flexibility to transfer their Roth retirement accounts when changing jobs, helping them consolidate their savings and reduce duplicative fees. 

Current law prohibits workers from rolling over Roth Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) into employer-sponsored plans. This restriction forces many Americans to maintain multiple small retirement accounts, resulting in unnecessary expenses and, in many cases, leading workers to cash out their savings early and lose critical retirement funds.

“Millions of Americans rely on Roth IRAs to help prepare for retirement. As more people use these accounts, we need to make it easier for workers to move their savings into the Roth options offered through their jobs,” said Congresswoman Sánchez. “I’m grateful to work with Congressman LaHood and Senators Barrasso and Bennet on this bipartisan, bicameral effort to give people a simple way to roll over their savings to build a stronger foundation for retirement.”

“Building retirement security is critical to the well-being of American families and the long-term strength of our economy,” said Congressman LaHood. “Our bipartisan bill will allow for the consolidation of assets, reduce duplicative fees, simplify retirement savings, and help families across the country better plan for their future. Congress must continue to remove unnecessary barriers and find solutions that help American workers build for a comfortable retirement. I am proud to join my Ways and Means colleague, Representative Sanchez, and Senators Barrasso and Bennet on this commonsense legislation.”

Senators John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) and Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), both members of the Finance Committee, introduced companion legislation in the Senate.

“Retirement savings belong to the workers who earn them, and those savings should follow them throughout their careers,” said Senator Barrasso. “The Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act creates new options for workers to bring retirement savings with them when changing jobs. This commonsense reform will strengthen retirement security and help Wyoming families build stronger financial futures.”

“Workers shouldn’t lose track of their retirement savings just because they change jobs,” said Senator Bennet. “Right now, outdated rules prevent Roth retirement accounts from moving with workers the way traditional accounts can. This bill fixes that gap – ensuring all workers can consolidate their retirement savings, reduce fees, and keep their nest egg growing no matter where their career takes them.”

“With the rapid expansion of state auto-IRA programs – nearly all of which default savers into Roth IRAs – and with Americans changing jobs more often than ever, the need for true retirement savings portability has never been greater,” said Brian Graff, CEO of the American Retirement Association. “Allowing workers to move their Roth IRA balances into designated Roth accounts within employer-sponsored retirement plans is a smart, timely, and sensible solution. The Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act will reduce duplicative fees associated with maintaining multiple accounts, curb retirement savings leakage through seamless auto-portability, and ensure workers can carry their Roth savings with them as they move through their careers. The American Retirement Association applauds Senators Barrasso and Bennet and Representatives LaHood and Sánchez for their leadership on this critical issue.”

Background:

The Retirement Rollover Flexibility Act:

• Allows workers to transfer (or “roll over”) Roth IRA balances into employer-sponsored retirement plans when starting a new job.
• Creates parity with traditional IRAs, which already have this rollover flexibility.
• Preserves the tax-advantaged treatment of these rollovers and coordinates with existing distribution rules for designated Roth accounts. 

Full text of the legislation can be found HERE.

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Gregory W Meeks (5th District of New York)

Washington, D.C. – Representative Gregory W. Meeks, Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, issued a statement condemning President Trump’s newly released national security strategy: 

“This document is emblematic not only of Donald Trump, but the cynical, dog-eat-dog philosophy that has taken hold across his administration. It discards decades of values-based U.S. leadership in favor of a craven, unprincipled worldview. Trump appears to believe every nation should fend for itself, signaling to our allies that the U.S. is no longer a reliable partner, and to our adversaries and competitors that now is open season to act without fear of American pushback. 

“‘America first’, as this administration frames it, is not a strategy. It ignores America’s core strengths: our democratic values, our network of like-minded allies, and the multilateral institutions that have helped the United States shape the global order. That rules-based system, while imperfect, has overwhelmingly benefitted the United States and our allies. Here ‘America first’ simply means America alone, and that leaves us more vulnerable.  

“Ultimately, actions speak louder than words. Nearly a year into this administration, the only north star guiding Donald Trump’s national-security decision-making is using the levers of government to enrich himself and his wealthy donors. The State Department has been gutted to empower unaccountable special envoys pushing corrupt business deals. American foreign policy is for sale under the Trump administration.” 

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Gregory W Meeks (5th District of New York)

Washington, D.C. – Representatives Gregory W. Meeks, Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Joaquin Castro, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, today introduced a resolution condemning President Trump’s pardon of former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, who was convicted and sentenced in an American court to 45 years in federal prison for trafficking drugs into the United States.

“While the Trump administration carries out its reckless military buildup and potential war crimes in the Western Hemisphere under the guise of preventing drugs from entering our country, Trump’s pardon of Juan Orlando Hernandez—an actual, convicted narco-trafficker who flooded American communities with 400 tons of cocaine—illustrates the hypocrisy and corruption that are hallmarks of this administration. It further demonstrates that the administration’s real objective for its military buildup and lethal strikes is less about drugs and more about threatening a reckless and open-ended war with Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro.

“President Trump owes an explanation to the families impacted by Hernández’s drug trafficking conspiracy, and to the American people, on why he pardoned someone who stated his goal to ‘shove the drugs right up the noses of the gringos.’ Our Congressional colleagues should join in condemning this lawlessness and scrutinizing Trump’s corrupt ties to a growing list of pardoned individuals. But one thing is crystal clear: Trump is not acting for the benefit of Americans.”

A PDF of the resolution can be found here.

Original cosponsors include every Member of the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee, including Representatives Dina Titus, Sara Jacobs, Greg Stanton, Jonathan Jackson, and Sydney Kamlager-Dove. 

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Gregory W Meeks (5th District of New York)

Washington, D.C. – Representative Gregory W. Meeks, Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, issued the following statement in support of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and the American Foreign Service Association (AFSA), which have filed a temporary restraining order to stop the State Department from moving forward with a reduction in force (RIF) in defiance of PL. 119-37, which the president signed into law and explicitly prohibits such actions:

“AFGE and AFSA should not have to file this injunction. Congress was clear when it passed the latest CR: the Trump administration must stop its efforts to fire career public servants. Yet, Secretary Rubio is ignoring the law and moving ahead with RIFs anyway. It’s shameful how far this administration is willing to go to put fellow Americans, who have dedicated themselves to our country at home and abroad, out of their jobs. The continued purge of expertise at the State Department is strategic self-immolation. It undermines our national security, and weakens America’s ability to lead. Secretary Rubio’s actions are completely unacceptable and must be reversed in accordance with the law.”   

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Gregory W Meeks (5th District of New York)

Washington, D.C. – Representative Gregory W. Meeks, Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, today issued the following statement after Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) signed a joint declaration recommitting to the Washington Accords.

“DRC and Rwanda recommitting to the Washington Accords peace agreement can be an encouraging step toward ending decades of conflict in eastern Congo, but a signing ceremony hosted by President Trump risks being more show than substance. Unfortunately, recent diplomatic promises have not resulted in tangible improvements for the Congolese people. Just yesterday, clashes between Congolese troops and the Rwanda-backed M23 militia continued in South Kivu, displacing civilians hoping to rebuild their lives and undermining implementation of the peace process.

“President Trump cannot simply declare this peace deal a success for the sake of stroking his own ego. Nor should he treat Congo’s suffering as a backdrop for exploiting critical minerals while millions of Congolese remain impoverished, as he did today. The administration must ensure the parties adhere to the terms of this agreement and that the Congolese people benefit from the country’s mineral resources. That is the only path to a durable peace and an end to this decades-long conflict.” 

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Gregory W Meeks (5th District of New York)

“We must reject language that divides Americans and support those immigrants who contribute to our communities, economy and national security.”

Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Mike Johnson (LA-04)

WASHINGTON — Speaker Johnson released the following statement on S. 1017, The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026.

“This year’s National Defense Authorization Act helps advance President Trump and Republicans’ Peace Through Strength Agenda by codifying 15 of President Trump’s executive orders, ending woke ideology at the Pentagon, securing the border, revitalizing the defense industrial base, and restoring the warrior ethos.

“This legislation includes important House-passed provisions to ensure our military forces remain the most lethal in the world and can deter any adversary. It roots out Biden-era wokeism in our military and restores merit-based promotions and admissions to service academies, prohibits contracts with partisan firms, counters antisemitism, and halts harmful, unnecessary programs like CRT, DEI, and climate initiatives. 

“President Trump has made clear the past few decades of investments propping up Communist China’s aggression must come to an end, and this bill includes important guardrails to protect America’s long-term investments, economic interests, and sensitive data.

“The NDAA builds on the landmark investments included in the Working Families Tax Cut, ensuring America has both the economic strength and the military power to deter our enemies and protect our interests worldwide. The legislation improves the livelihoods of America’s brave men and women in uniform by giving them a well-deserved pay raise, and ensures our warfighters have access to the best and most innovative military technologies. 

“Under President Trump, the U.S. is rebuilding strength, restoring deterrence, and proving America will not back down. President Trump and Republicans promised peace through strength. The FY26 NDAA delivers it,” Speaker Johnson said.

“The FY26 NDAA delivers on President Trump’s promise of peace through strength and ensures America can deter our adversaries and protect our homeland. This legislation builds on the wins from the Working Families Tax Cut – revitalizing our defense industrial base, improving our servicemembers’ quality of life, and building out critical warfighting capabilities,” House Armed Services Committee Chairman Rogers said. “We’re also reforming the Pentagon’s broken, bureaucratic acquisition process so that our troops can quickly get the tools they need to deter our enemies, instead of waiting up to a decade while our adversary’s field new technologies within months. I’m eager to send this to President Trump’s desk so we can give our military the tools they need to remain the most ready, capable, and lethal force in the world.”

The FY26 NDAA Helps Deliver Peace Through Strength:

• Provides enlisted servicemembers with a 4% pay raise.
• Expands our counter-drone defenses and new technologies.
• Advances the Golden Dome and enhances America’s nuclear deterrent and new nuclear power technologies.
• Enacts guardrails to protect America’s long-term investments and economic interests.
• Fully supports the deployment of National Guard and active-duty troops at the southwest border to intercept illegal aliens and drugs.
• Enhances U.S. defense initiatives in the Indo-Pacific to bolster Taiwan’s defense and support Indo-Pacific allies. 
• Revitalizes American shipbuilding and expands the Maritime Industrial Base.
• Strengthens U.S.-Israel military operations and cooperative missile defense programs. 
• Strengthens our defense industrial base and supply chains.
• Reforms the defense acquisition process to eliminate regulatory barriers, enhance speed, and scale capacity for our Warfighters.
• Accelerates the development and delivery of space capabilities to counter Chinese and Russian nuclear arsenals and space surveillance.
• Streamlines operations by eliminating $20 billion in obsolete weapons, inefficient programs, and Pentagon bureaucracy.
• Prohibits contracts with advertising firms, like NewsGuard Technologies Inc., that blacklist conservative news sources.
• Restores merit-based promotions and admissions to service academies.
• Counters antisemitism and eliminates programs that discourage military readiness like CRT, DEI, and climate initiatives.

FY26 NDAA Bill Text, HERE.

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Ed Case (Hawai‘i – District 1)

(Washington, DC) – U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-HI) and Mazie Hirono (D-HI), and U.S. Representatives Ed Case (HI-01) and Jill Tokuda (HI-02) joined in a letter to the Federal Emergency Management Agency to “express their concern regarding execution challenges with several Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grants and the negative effects on the people and institutions of Hawai‘i.”

In their letter to Secretary Kristi Noem, whose Department of Homeland Security oversees FEMA, and Karen Evans, FEMA’s Senior Official Performing Duties of Administrator, the delegation stated that they “have heard from various state and local agencies and nonprofits that they have experienced significant delays and obstacles” with grants that support much needed assistance in Hawai‘i but that “the related funds have not been properly awarded and obligated.”

After local and state agencies and nonprofits shared several examples of confusion over the way FEMA has administered the various grant programs, the delegation stated that “these examples suggest that FEMA’s current grant-making operations are experiencing significant difficulties marked by challenges in timelines, communication and procedural consistency.”

The delegation is calling for answers to several questions by December 31, 2025, which can be found here and below:

Dear Secretary Noem and Ms. Evans:

We write today to express our deep concern regarding execution challenges with several Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grants and the negative effects on the people and institutions of Hawai‘i.

We have heard from various state and local agencies and nonprofits that they have experienced significant delays and obstacles with the Emergency Food and Shelter Program (EFSP), the Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention (TVTP) Grant Program, the Homeland Security

Grant Program (HSGP) and the Emergency Management Peformance Grant (EMPG) Program. These grants are critical to the execution of much-needed assistance in Hawai‘i, but as explained below the related funds have not been properly awarded and obligated.

EFSP Funding. FEMA announced the Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 EFSP funding (Phase 42) on December 6, 2024, with Hawai‘i allocated a total of $285,947 through Aloha United Way. After the announcement, the first step is typically to submit a plan to the EFSP National Board Program through an online portal, after which the funds are released. However, FEMA has not created an option for funding recipients to do so, and the steps to proceed have been unavailable all year.

In a letter dated September 16, 2025, the Department of Homeland Security wrote to Congress regarding EFSP: “As reviews are conducted, FEMA continues to process and release funding for grantees that meet all statutory and programmatic requirements to avoid disruption of vital services to eligible communities.” However, Aloha United Way, like other EFSP funding recipients around the country, still does not have access to its funds and has not received any communication regarding any statutory or programmatic requirements from FEMA noting any noncompliance.

While Aloha United Way administers EFSP funding for Hawai‘i, the organization distributes the funds to several key organizations that depend on this funding, including the Institute for Human Services, the Hawai‘i Foodbank, The Salvation Army and two federally qualified health centers – the Waimānalo and Wai‘anae Coast Comprehensive Health Centers. These organizations provide critical support for some of the most vulnerable in our communities.

For example, in FY 2023 the Hawai‘i Foodbank provided 150,000 meals on O‘ahu and Kaua‘i Islands with EFSP funds. Without access to FY 2024 EFSP funds all year, it was unable to serve as many meals in 2025. As yet another example, local service providers like the East and West Hawai‘i Domestic Abuse Shelters now have less capacity to provide meals and support to survivors escaping violence. Aloha United Way reports that food assistance is now the number one reason Hawai‘i residents call their 211 Statewide Helpline, surpassing housing assistance for the first time in many years. This truly underscores the need for food assistance, including through EFSP funding, in our communities.

Additionally, the Government Accountability Office found that FEMA violated the Impoundment Control Act by failing to award appropriated FY 2025 funds to the EFSP National Board Program in a timely manner (see 1). This has resulted in real harm as delays in both FY 2024 and FY 2025 EFSP funding are now having tangible and harmful effects on communities in Hawai‘i and across the country.

TVTP Funding. The State of Hawai‘i Office of Homeland Security was awarded $803,330 in FY 2024 TVTP funding to support the nation’s first-ever targeted violence prevention implementation plan (see 2). The plan is an effort to preemptively address mass shootings and other violent acts by ensuring the state has the resources needed to handle unexpected incidents.3 The VTP funding is intended to support payroll costs for two positions, as well as a framework for extending targeted violence prevention best practices, training and resources to the Territory of Guam.

Despite the award to a project that directly implements the statutory intent of the TVTP Program – preventing targeted violence and terrorism – the State of Hawai‘i’s FY 2024 TVTP funding was unfortunately abruptly terminated in July 2025. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has claimed that this termination, along with nearly $18 million in funding for other awardees, was “slashing waste” from projects that do not “prevent terrorism or targeted violence.”4

We question DHS’s reasoning for concluding that supporting the implementation of the nation’s first-ever targeted violence prevention plan is not preventing targeted violence. We are also concerned to hear that a 2025 TVTP Notice of Funding Opportunity was not published in Grants.gov, only afforded a three-day turnaround and was only advertised to certain states.

This approach not only runs the risk of eroding trust in DHS’s grantmaking process, but also jeopardizes the efforts to prevent targeted violence that DHS aims to prioritize.

HSGP and EMPG. There is significant confusion around the FY 2025 periods of performance (POP) for HSGP components – State Homeland Security Program and Urban Area Security Initiative – and EMPG. Typically, both grant programs carry three-year POPs to afford emergency managers and public safety partners adequate time to plan, coordinate with partners, procure resources and adapt to the highly dynamic nature of emergency management.

However, when FEMA sent award notices in September 2025, it detailed just a one-year POP, which is highly unusual and operationally unrealistic given that emergency grant managers have historically planned for three-year POPs. In the case of the EMPG Program, both FY 2024 and FY 2025 funding are scheduled to end on the same day: September 20, 2026.

This is unfortunately nowhere near enough time for awardees like the Hawai‘i Emergency Management Agency to complete its proposed projects, some of which were planned to run through 2027.

This shortened period of performance puts an unexpected burden on any subrecipients, like the City and County of Honolulu’s Department of Emergency Management. In its case, for the last several years $500,000 in EMPG funding has been used to directly fund relevant staff salaries.

Under the new timeline, these positions may no longer be financially sustainable, putting certain Hawai‘i residents at risk of losing their jobs and leaving communities across the state more vulnerable to emergencies due to reduced staffing and diminished capacity.

For HSGP, pending litigation may alter SHSP and UASI allocations, introducing further uncertainty for public safety agencies that depend on these funds to sustain intelligence and information sharing, violent crime reduction and counter–transnational drug trafficking operations. Compounding the problem, many jurisdictions, including Hawaiʻi, cannot access previously awarded funds (FY2021–FY2024) due to federal freezes and staffing issues at FEMA because of the government shutdown.

Taken together, these examples suggest that FEMA’s current grant-making operations are experiencing significant difficulties marked by challenges in timelines, communication and procedural consistency. These have unfortunately extended beyond routine administrative matters and are having concrete negative effects on our constituents, communities and local governing institutions.

With all of this in mind, we request that you respond to the following questions by December 31, 2025:

1. Why did FY 2024 EFSP awardees not receive their funding in a timely manner?

2. What steps are DHS and FEMA taking, in coordination with the EFSP National Board

Program, to ensure that FY 2024 EFSP awardees receive their funding expeditiously and

that the FY 2025 EFSP funding process experiences no further delays?

3. Why did DHS and FEMA terminate the State of Hawai‘i Office of Homeland Security’s

FY 2024 TVTP grant that supported the implementation of the nation’s first targeted

violence prevention plan?

4. How does DHS and FEMA plan to support targeted violence prevention in Hawai‘i and

other localities across the country?

5. Why did DHS, through FEMA, only allow a one-year POP for FY 2025 HSGP and EMPG awards?

6. Given that the one-year POP decision for HSGP and EMPG may reduce the capacity of emergency managers nationwide and potentially heighten community vulnerability, how does DHS and FEMA plan to address these potential impacts?

We look forward to engaging constructively with DHS and FEMA to clarify these matters and implement the solutions needed to correct them, all toward our mutual goal of making Americans and their communities safer across the nation.

With aloha,

1 Government Accountability Office. “Department of Homeland Security – Application of the Impoundment Control

Act to Federal Emergency Management Agency Fiscal Year 2025 Federal Assistance Appropriations,” September

15, 2025, https://www.gao.gov/assets/890/881507.pdf.

2 Department of Homeland Security. “Fiscal Year 2024 Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention Grantee

Abstracts,” last updated December 12, 2024, https://www.dhs.gov/fiscal-year-2024-targeted-violence-and-terrorism-prevention-grantee-abstracts

3 Department of Homeland Security. “State of Hawai‘i Office of Homeland Security Publishes a New Targeted

Violence Prevention Plan,” April 10, 2024, https://www.dhs.gov/archive/news/2024/04/10/state-hawaii-office-homeland-security-new-targted-violence-prevention-plan

4 Department of Homeland Security. “DHS Axes Wasteful, Misdirected Grants, Saves Taxpayers $18.5M,” July 17,

2025, https://www.dhs.gov/news/2025/07/17/dhs-axes-wasteful-misdirected-grants-saves-taxpayers-185m.

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Eric Swalwell (CA-15)

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Rep. Eric Swalwell (CA-14), released the following statement:

“My best friend died 4 years ago.  

My head was spinning. My heart halved.  I didn’t know what to do.  But I did know that my friend’s high school daughter loved architecture.  

Distraught, I called up my friend Frank and asked for his advice.  He said, “Why don’t you just send me her portfolio?”  

Then Frank talked to her and asked, “Why don’t you just work for me?”  And he mentored her every summer at Gehry Partners since.

Frank Gehry, the most brilliant architect of our time, had the greatest eye and most visionary mind.  But his heart?  It towered over every magnificent building that will forever carry his name.

When you talk about the most creative, world-changing Californians of all time, I know Walt Disney, Steven Spielberg, and Steve Jobs may first come to mind. But always, always remember Frank Gehry. 

I know I will.”

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